Chapter Ten: The Confession

"Excuse me, Ma'am," a man's voice came as Brittany looked up. "May I be of assistance?"

"Well, it just stopped," she said.

"Let's have a look," the man said.

"Thanks, I really appreciate this," she said.

Suddenly the man grabbed her from behind, as she screamed.

"No!" Brittany screamed and woke up in a cold sweat. The noise was enough to startle her sisters who ran into her room to see her sitting up in bed shaking.

"Brittany, what's wrong?" Jeanette asked as she held onto her sister. "What happened?"

Eleanor ran into the bathroom to get a wash cloth to wipe the sweat off of her. Brittany calmed down and looked at both of her sisters.

"I'm fine now," Brittany said, and got out of bed and went into her bathroom.

Miss Miller frantically ran into Brittany bedroom. "What happened? I heard Brittany screaming..."

"She had another nightmare, Miss Miller," Eleanor said.

"Oh, dear," Miss Miller said, a sad look on her face. "Where is she?"

"I'm right here," Brittany said. "Please, don't worry about me. I'm fine, really."

"Alright," Miss Miller said. "If you need anything, I'll be in my room." Brittany nodded and sat down on her bed.

Her sisters came over to her, but Brittany just looked at them. "I told you I'm fine. It's still early. You two should go back to sleep."

"Are you sure?" Jeanette asked her.

"Yes," Brittany insisted. "Now, you two go back to bed."

They did as she asked, leaving Brittany alone. She sat down on her bed and cried quietly. She looked up and spotted a piece of her stationary. It was folded and standing up on her nightstand. She picked it up and unfolded it.

It read:

Good night, Beautiful.

See you tomorrow.

Alvin

She only started crying again. A few of her tears soaked through the paper. She put the note back on her nightstand. She got up off her bed and quickly changed clothes. She grabbed her purse and walked quietly down the stairs and walked out the door.

A few hours later, a call came to Eleanor's cell phone. It was almost nine in the morning, and she was still groggy.

"Hello," she said, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

"Ellie, it's Alvin," he said frantically.

"Alvin, why are you calling me so early?" she voice was cranky.

"Is Brittany awake? I tried calling her, but she's not picking up."

"Wait a minute, and I go check." Eleanor staggered out of bed and went to Brittany room and knocked on the door. "Brittany, are you awake?" She didn't hear anything, so she peeked into her room, but she didn't see her. She opened the door fully, and walked in. She checked her bathroom, but she wasn't in there either. She noticed that Brittany's purse was gone. She ran downstairs to see if she could find her, but she wasn't there either. She noticed that the front door was cracked.

She put her ear to the phone and said, "Um... Alvin... Don't freak out, but... Brittany's not here."

"What?" Alvin practically shouted in the phone. "She just got out the hospital two days ago. She supposed to be resting."

"Alvin, calm down," Eleanor said. "This morning she had another nightmare. She said she was okay but..."

"She took off," Alvin said. "Damn. Where would she...?"

"Alvin? Are you still there?" Eleanor asked.

"Yeah, but I think I know where she went. Don't worry. I'll find her."

"Okay," Eleanor said and hung up the phone.

Now, she was really starting to worry. She ran upstairs to wake her sisters and Miss Miller.

Alvin frantically raced around his bedroom, trying to find some clothes to change into. His room was a mess, but he didn't care. All that was on his mind was finding Brittany. He had an idea where she was. The one place she always went to when she was upset about something.

He looked under his bed and found his shoes. He put them on quickly and ran down the stairs and out of the house.

He raced down the sidewalks and swiftly made his way to the park. He walked over by the duck pound and saw Brittany standing by the railing. She looked as if she had been crying.

He walked over to her, speaking in a soft voice. "Brittany?" He approached slowly, but Brittany jumped back. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," she said and looked away from him.

"Eleanor was worried when she couldn't find you. I called her after you didn't pick up your phone."

"I'm sorry," Brittany said, still not looking at him. "I turned it off."

"She told me you had another nightmare," Alvin said and tried to reach for her, but she jerked away from him.

"Eleanor has a big mouth," she said, a bit angry.
"Brittany, she's just worried," Alvin said. "Please, let me help you."

She looked at him for the first time. She had tears in her eyes, and she could see how concerned he was. "You can't help. Nobody can." She started crying again. "I just don't want to think about it anymore."

"Brittany," Alvin said. He came closer to her, but she stepped back, keeping herself just out of his reach. "Do you remember what happened?" She couldn't speak. "Please, tell me. Do you remember the car accident?" He was able to put his hands on her shoulders.

There was a look of hurt and anger in her voice. "There was no car accident!" she shouted and attempted to walk away from him.

He wasn't about to let this go. He grabbed hold of her hand, refusing to let her go. "What do you mean?"

She slumped down to the ground weeping. "It wasn't an accident," she cried. He knelt on the ground and held her. "He tried to kill me."

He looked her in the eyes and put his hands on either side of her face. "Someone attacked you?" She nodded still shaking.

She tried to rise to her feet, but she was so shaken that she couldn't stand up straight. Alvin caught hold of her and led her to one of the benches so she could sit down.

She calm down a little, enough to where she could talk. "The nightmares, they were about him."

"Do you know who it was?" she shook her head in the negative. "Can you tell me what happened?"

"Okay," she said, wiping the tears out of her eyes.

Flashback

Brittany POV

I was just driving down the highway at a leisurely pace. I was so excited to be going home. I just talked to Alvin a few days before, and I wanted more than anything to fix things with him.

Suddenly I heard sputtering noise coming from my car. I pulled over at a rest stop to see what was wrong. I tried to start the car again, but nothing was happening. I got out of the car and opened the hood.

This was no good. I wasn't a mechanic. I didn't know anything about how a car worked. I just stood there and stared, wondering what I was going to do now. I was practically in the middle of nowhere. I was only hours from home, but it felt like a million miles away.

I jumped when I heard a man's voice.

"Excuse me, Ma'am. May I be of assistance?" I heard him say.

I felt relieved to see another person on this vacant road. "I just stopped," I said.

"Let's have a look," he said.

"Thanks, I really appreciate this," I said.

Before I knew it the man grabbed me from behind. I screamed, but doubted that anyone would here me.

"Shut up!" he shouted.

I saw that he had a knife in his hand. I was so scared I froze. I kept thinking in my mind. Please don't kill me. Tears ran down my face as he dragged me into the woods. This wasn't happening. It couldn't be. I wasn't going to let him kill me. I had to find a way to get away from him.

Once we were deep into the wood he threw me to ground. I tried to crawl away, but he grabbed hold of my leg and dragged me towards him. He slapped my face and waved the knife in front of my face.

"Try that again, and I'll slit your throat."

"Please, don't hurt me," I cried. He grabbed hold of me and held me down. That's when I knew what he wanted. I'd be damned if I was going to give it to him. I became angry, and kneed him in the midsection. I saw that he dropped the knife, so I scrabbled to my feet and took off running. If only I could get back to the road I thought. Perhaps someone would pass by, and I could get away.

The man was relentless. He ran after me and caught me before I could make it to the road. I stumbled to the ground and hit my head on something hard. I was losing consciousness. I knew. He was sure to kill me now, and there was nothing I could do about it.

My eyes must have been closed, because I couldn't see anything. I heard his voice though.

"You stupid bitch," I heard him shout at me. I felt him kick me in the side. "Lay there and die," he said, and I heard him walk off.

I laid there for the longest time, feeling myself drift away. Then everything went black.

End of Flashback...

After Brittany had finished her story, she waited for Alvin to say something, but he just sat there speechless. She was ready to get up and walk away, but Alvin took a hold of her hand. She looked back down at him. She sat back down. He put his arms around her.

"I'm so sorry, Brittany," he said, tears flowing from his eyes. "This is my fault."

She looked him in the eyes. "No, it's not your fault. I shouldn't have left. I shouldn't..." She couldn't go on. She tried uncontrollably. Alvin just held her, until she calmed down.

"Brittany, you need to tell your family," Alvin said.

"No, I can't," she said, getting up off the bench. She folded her arms over and had her back to him.

He touched her shoulders gently, and spoke almost in a whisper. "Brittany, they're worried about you. You should tell them."

"How can I?" she said, getting upset again. "They can't understand. I feel so... ashamed."

He turned her around. "No, Brittany," Alvin said. "Baby, it wasn't your fault. You need to tell them, then you need to go to police and tell them what happened."

"I can't," she said. "I'm afraid."

"You don't have to be afraid," Alvin said. "I'll be there with you."

"Okay," she said hesitantly, and held onto him. "Take me home."

He put his arms around her and walked out of the park with her. They soon arrived at her home. As she walked in the door, her sisters and Mother flocked to her and put their arms around her.

"Oh, Brittany, dear," Miss Miller said. "We were so worried.
"Yes," Jeanette said. "Where did you go?"

"Guys, I have something to tell you," she said. She looked back at Alvin who took her hand. She felt strong enough now to tell the truth.

Okay, I know that was a bit of a cliffhanger, but that's how it goes. Remember to review. Feedback is always helpful. And thanks to everyone who's reviewed so far. Be here next time for No Fear. See you next chapter.