I came wide-awake all remnants of sleep gone when I realized what the sound reminded me of. It’s the sound our alarm system makes when it’s waiting for the right code to be set, only this one was taking too long for anyone who was supposed to know the correct numbers. I didn’t think, just jumped out of bed and sprinted for the door. My only thought was for the girls alone in their little cribs unprotected.
It didn’t matter who was breaking in at this point; my first priority was getting to them. I dashed into the nursery and closed the door behind me, putting my ear to it as I slowed my breathing so that I could hear what was going on outside.
Adrenaline pumped through my system at a fast rate as I waited with my breath held, and my ear pressed up against the wood of the door. I let my limbs go limp, relaxing the natural tension in my body from the fight or flight mode it was in.
I heard the sound of footsteps on the stairs before they reached the landing, and flight was no longer an option. The footsteps stopped at the door to the master bedroom before making their way towards the nursery.
Seconds later, the door handle rattled, and I stepped back and away cautiously and got into position. I didn’t know if the person was armed, but I can work around that. I looked back at the two cribs where the girls were fast asleep, hoping they didn’t wake up.
Whoever it was put their shoulder to the door and tried pushing it open, it worked on the third try. I didn’t stop to think about my actions. I didn’t have to. As soon as the figure stepped into the opening, I was ready.
I went in low and fast, shoving my shoulder into their midsection, lifting the person up and over my head. I broke their fall with my thigh so that whoever it was didn’t land on the floor. I didn’t want them waking the girls. “Hello, Lauren.”
Her eyes looked wild and unhinged in the darkness of the room with only the little nightlight to break it up. She made a low guttural animal-like sound and tried to escape my hold. I knew it wasn’t possible, not unless she broke her arm; that’s the only way she could escape the hold I had on her wrist.
“Shh!” I put my finger to my lips as I held her arm in such a way that one wrong move and it’ll break like a rotten twig. It was taking all my inner strength not to do just that. “We’re going outside because you’re not waking the girls. Come along.” My voice was as non-confrontational as I could make it while screaming inside.
I could kill her right now and get away with it, given the circumstances. No, Jenny, that’s not right. I shook my head to free it of thoughts of how much simpler life would be without her in it. Instead, I dragged her out of the room with her arm twisted up between her shoulders and pulled the door closed with my foot.
“You bitch, get your hands off me. They’re my children; this is my house.” She made a wild move as if to hit me with her free hand, and I almost felt bad for her. Then she tried getting around me to the door, kicking and screaming like a maniac.
It was a repeat of that day, the day when I’d played it safe, and she almost killed Derrick. Back then, I didn’t have the right, this wasn’t my family, and I had no place here. Now things have changed, and I’ll be damned if she’s going to get away with it a second time. So when she made a second attempt to get around me to get to the girls, I forgot all about playing nice.
“I think the fuck not.” I put more pressure on her arm and punched the side of her head to stun her before pulling her towards the stairs. I just needed to get her as far away from the nursery as possible. I’d be too worried about the girls getting hurt if we stayed up here. And just where the heck is Derrick?
I ignored the names and slurs she threw at my head, not even bothering to correct her when she accused me of fucking her husband while she was still in the picture. I listened only to the tone of her voice and the erratic way she breathed, all signs of a heightened mental break.
I had no interest in hurting her, or in having some kind of pissing contest with her. She’s just a casualty of the Jenny-Derrick saga. And the fact that she has a mental imbalance makes me even less willing to do her bodily harm.