"Somebody help! Someone help!"
Astera's eyes snapped open, as she sat up abruptly. She was breathing silently, her eyes shifting. She wasn't sure whether or not the sound she just heard was real or a nightmare.
It was then she heard a high pitched scream, and she knew that it was no dream. She threw the covers off of her and ran out of her room.
She had to avoid a near collision with Mike as they both met at the top of the steps. "So I wasn't imagining?" Astera questioned. Mike shook his head, before rushing down the steps.
They both rushed outside to see Gabby standing in the middle of the street. Her fingers were stressfully locked in her hair.
Astera and Mike exchanged looks, before running out to her.
"Gabby, what's wrong?!" Mike demanded.
"Someone was in the house…they…they…" Gabby paused and began to cry.
That's when Astera noticed a gash on Gabby's arm that was at least four inches long.
"Gabby, what the hell happened? Come…sit over here…" Astera said, leading Gabby to the curb.
Mike looked and saw Carlos on the doorstep. "Gabby! Gabby, where are you!?" he called. Gabby reached out and grabbed Mike.
"Please… don't tell Carlos that I got hurt. Just call the cops and tell them that someone broke in…" Gabby stated. Mike nodded, somewhat hesitant.
Astera looked up to see some of the neighbors on their porches, gasping.
Yes…thank you so much for your help! Astera thought.
She looked at Gabby's wound. "You don't need stitches, its just a good scrape. But I'll wrap it for you…be right back…" Astera said, running back to her house.
Gabby looked down to see her blood on her hands. She shivered, and she heard footsteps approach her.
"Gabby, oh my god…are you okay? What happened?" Susan questioned.
"I don't know…I was getting ready to go back to the bed from the bathroom and I saw someone in the room. They were just standing there…completely covered in black with a ski mask. They were watching Carlos sleep, a knife in their hand. I panicked, and screamed. I tried to hold them off, afraid they would go for the kids…then they cut me and went out the window.." Gabby said, clut6ching her wounded arm again.
"Well, we definitely know that something needs to be done…" Susan stated.
………………
"Well, I hope you are all thinking what I am…" Bree said, folding her arms.
Almost the whole street had gathered in her living room, to discuss the situation.
Astera was sitting next to a newly bandaged Gabby, Ria on Gabby's left. For some reason, Astera seemed to think that Ria had this eerie calmness to her.
"I'm thinking we should bring back the neighborhood watch…" Bree stated.
There was a murmur of agreement from almost everyone and Bree smiled. "Good…in that case…I'll pair you all up. I think its best if not in couples. There could be…distractions…also I think it should be a boy and a girl. Carlos, you just sit tight…you don't need to do this…" Bree said, nodding at him.
Carlos sat back, in slight disappointment.
Bree disappeared in the kitchen, to organize a list. Meanwhile, everyone broke into multiple conversations about the event.
Astera looked over at Ria. "Ria, you look so calm about this whole thing…" Astera stated. Ria shrugged. "Don't get me wrong…it is creepy. But I grew up in a neighborhood where this stuff happened all the time…" she replied, before looking at her nails.
Gabby sighed. "She's got a point…I'm such a wimp…" she said.
"No, you're not. Its scary as hell. Whether or not its happened before,"" Astera stated, shooting a glare at Ria.
Bree returned, placing the list on her table. "Alright…find your…pairing…" she stated:
Bree/Katherine, Susan/Orson, Lynette/Dave, Gabby/Mike, Astera/Andrew, Ria/Tom, Edie/Porter
"There weren't enough boys so I decided to pair Katherine and myself together," Bree said.
Astera looked around the room trying to figure out who Andrew was. She turned to look at Bree. "Who is Andrew?" she asked.
"Oh. Andrew is my son…he is out right now. Probably with his…lovely boyfriend…" Bree said, with a tight smile. Astera sighed. "And… I have shift tonight…" Astera stated.
"Oh! I'm so sorry Astera…oh… I'll switch it off to someone else…" Bree said, looking around anxiously. Astera shook her head.
"No, its okay. I probably wasn't going to sleep anyway…I got it…" Astera replied. Bree looked at her, and raised an eyebrow.
"But…by yourself?" she asked. Astera shrugged. "It's no biggie…" she said, before walking away. She walked towards the door, and saw Mike standing and talking to Dave.
"Astera, you heading home?" Mike asked. "Actually, I start patrol duty tonight…but Andrew isn't here. So I'm just going to walk around…" Astera stated.
"Ast, I can't let you do that by yourself…" Mike said, shaking his head. "Hey, I'll take care of it for you buddy…" Dave said, putting a hand on Mike's shoulder.
"But you've got Edie to look after…" Mike said. Dave shook his head. "Edie will be fine. You on the other hand probably have about a hundred plumbing jobs to do tomorrow, plus you will need some energy for the Battle of the Bands on Friday. I was going to go over speeches for the hundredth time anyway…." Dave said, with a smile.
Mike sighed. "Dave, you're such a great guy. I mean…I really am in your debt. You've just been so great to both me and Ast…" Mike said, with a smile.
Yes, you are…Dave thought
"Oh, its not a problem…" Dave said, before following Astera out the door. Astera turned to face him, folding her arms. "I still stand by what I said. I think you have a crush on Mike. It's okay to admit it…" Astera said, with a shrug.
Dave smirked at her. "You're right…I confess…" he said, rolling his eyes.
"I'm serious. It's like whenever you are around me…you ask about Mike. You think that I'm going to be friends with you if all you talk about is him? I mean…I love him to death, but still….do you know how weird it is?" Astera asked.
Dave let out a small laugh, before stepping towards her. "Well, I didn't know it would make you jealous…" he said.
"Jealous? I'm not jealous. It's just…confusing…" Astera pointed out. Dave sighed. "Well…its just me and you all alone outside in the middle of the night. Some people would call this romantic others….would call this a perfect time to talk. So, you want me to talk about something other than your cousin with you? I guess I'm going to need to get to know you first for us to find a perfect topic. So you tell me stuff about you, I'll tell you stuff about me…." Dave said, as they started to walk down the street.
"Okay, like how its probably going to be me saving both of us from whatever creeper is running around out there?" Astera played. "Wow. The first thing you say is completely against my manhood. That…wow. I'm sorry, but….that's just wrong. Do you do that to your cousin?" Dave questioned.
Astera paused to look at him, and he sighed.
"I'm sorry. Your cousin is just a good friend of mine…." Dave said, with a small smile. "A good friend or a beloved crush?" Astera asked, rolling her eyes. She walked forward, while Dave continued to stand in place.
He smirked. If only she knew what he really wanted from Mike. Something way beyond a crush. A little something beyond deceit. Something big…like pain and revenge.
………….
Ria rushed outside, and hid behind the bushes in Bree's back yard. She used the excuse 'I need to get air' to get out of the house. She looked down at her now gloved hands, and picked up the knife from the spot where she hid it, in Bree's yard.
She looked around, trying to find somewhere to hide it. She hadn't touched it with her bare hands once, so there was no way it could be traced back to her.
She looked towards Susan's house and smiled to herself. She really needed to get rid of the evidence, and Susan's house seemed to be the best place for it.
She looked down the street to see Dave and Astera walking, laughing about something.
She narrowed her eyes at Astera as they drew closer. Once she was finished with the man she came to finish, she would make sure Astera got hers too.
