Break Me

When I don’t reach up, he allows the paper to drop in through the gap in the window.

“Thanks.”

He nods. “Like I said, I owe you.”

When he steps back, I quickly put the car in drive and pull out of the parking lot as my heart beats nearly out of my chest.

I look at the clock. It’s nearly midnight. I don’t understand why he is being released so late. It frightens me, yet he was kind.

His name is Jason.

As soon as my front tires hit the paved driveway of my home, I press the garage door opener and race into the garage, quickly hitting the remote to close it behind me. As always, I wait until it is completely closed, look around the well-lit garage, and see Boots sitting on the stairs, waiting for me.

I take a deep breath and get out. Then I close the door behind me and lock it.

“You happy to see me?” I ask just like I do every time I return home. Our routine is the same as I allow him to walk in a figure-eight pattern between my feet as he rubs against my legs. “That’s a fine welcome home, Sir Boots. It never gets old.”

I squat down and scratch under his chin, behind his ears, and then run my hand down his back a few times before standing up, grabbing the bat that sits by the door, and then punching in the code to unlock the house.

The lights automatically go on inside, and I take a deep breath and step in.

I scan the room as I close the door behind me. Without looking I lock the door, using the three dead bolts, and then punch in the code to the security system.

I walk around the kitchen to make sure each window is locked before checking the dining room then heading across the hall to the family room. I then peek my head in my parents’ old room; the closet doors are wide open and empty, as is the room.

After inspecting all their windows, I head to the bathroom, making sure to look behind the shower curtain. Everything checks out.

“Come on, Boots.” I call him to the bathroom.

He walks in, and then I lock the door, dead-bolting it.

I undress fast then start the shower. I brush my teeth, wash my face, use the toilet, close the lid, set a towel on top of it, and Boots jumps up and sits while I get in the shower.

I wash and condition my hair, shave my underarms, and then quickly shave my legs. I scrub my body with an accustomed swiftness and am out of the shower in seven minutes. Then I dress in the nightclothes that I brought in this morning, towel off my hair, and then brush it.

With a deep breath, I grab the bat and unlock the door. I open it then walk out, looking ahead at the stairs that I hate.

I grab two bottles of water from the kitchen then look at the clock, starting to feel that anxiety rise.

“Come on, Boots,” I call to him as I walk to the doorway and punch in the code to the thick, steel door. As soon as I open it, Boots heads down the stairs.

I step on the landing, close the door behind me, lock it up tight, and walk down the stairs to the basement where Socks is waiting for us.

“Did you have a good day?” I ask as he does his normal stretch.

I take the keys next to the door to my room and unlock it. The lights automatically come on, and once the cats are inside, I lock the door.

I set the water on the small table. Then I bend down to pick Socks up.

“We’re going to be okay. We’re going to make sure of it. We’re not alone. She’s gonna help us. She’s gonna figure out what happened, and then the whole street can play and laugh and maybe even sleep again.”

I set him in the recliner near the bed with his brother then pick up the picture of my family. I run my finger over the frame then the side of each of their cheeks and whisper, “I won’t let you down again. She’s gonna help us.”

It’s morning. I know it. Not because the sunlight is peeking through the windows or because I can hear the birds awakening me with their chirping. I know it because the clock says so.

I swing my feet over the side of the twin bed then push my feet into my slippers. I quickly change into my clothes and run a brush through my hair. I grab the bat and the small basket of dirty clothes, unlock the door, and slowly walk out of the room.

I look around and let out my held breath. “Come on, scaredy-cats; everything is good. Everything is fine. See?” I lock the door behind me then place the keys behind the wall hanging, hidden away but very close by.