Page 126 of Sour Lollipops and Sweet Nightmares
Now she understood just how dire her situation was. The only person at a disadvantage here was Georgia.
“W-w-where are you?”
She wasn’t so confident anymore.
I bent down, bringing my face close to her ear, and whispered, “Boo.”
She bolted.
Georgia
Home break-ins weren’t new to me. It happened to Mom and me three times. The first time, Mom scared them off, the second, no one was home, and the third, I scared them off with a bat. In most cases, burglars didn’t want the hassle of dealing with someone. They were looking for an easy score and nothing more.
This one was very different than that. Whoever broke into my house wasn’t an addict looking for his next fix. They did it solely to mess with me, and I was having none of it. Assholes had already invaded my life.
I’d be damned if I was going to lose the sanctity of my home as well. That was until I realized that they could see me, and that changed everything.
As soon as I felt breath on the back of my neck and a quietly uttered ‘boo’, I took off. It was so dark in here that I didn’t know where I was going, but I could see moonlight beaming off the loveseat in the living room. So that’s where I headed with my lamp in hand.
Running with such a cumbersome item wasn’t easy, but it was the only defense I had. When something reached out for me from the darkness, trying to block my exit through the bedroom door, I was glad I had it.
I swung that lamp like my life depended on it.
Not only did I hear the shade tear and the bulb shatter, but I felt the impact. Even then, I was entirely sure I hit someone until I heard a growled, “son of a bitch,” as I ran into the living room. If I were able to see the person, I might’ve stayed to beat them some more, but I couldn’t.
Hopefully, my strike would discombobulate my attacker long enough for me to get out of sight. I could hear him grumbling as I jumped up on the loveseat and climbed over the top.
Keeping the lamp firmly in my grip, I dropped down on the floor and pressed my back against the fabric-covered frame. It wasn’t the best hiding place, but it was better than being out in the open.
My heart was pounding so hard against my ribs that it hurt. Then again, that could’ve been my lungs. Heavy breaths scratched down my dry throat like sandpaper. My entire body was on high alert, which did me no good. Panic and fear never got anyone out of danger.
I needed to take a minute, calm down, and figure out my next action. However, I wasn’t sure if I had a minute. It wouldn’t takelong for whoever was in my house to find me. That is, if they didn’t see where I went.
Cautiously, I peeked over the top of the loveseat. There didn’t seem to be any movement from over there, but the house had fallen silent again. For all I knew, he was somewhere else, slowly stalking up to me.
“Fuck. Okay…” I ducked back down and inhaled a deep breath. “You got this, Georgia,” I told myself. “You just have to make it to the front door.”
Shit! The front door! That was how I got out of this. It was right there. All I had to do was make it through the kitchen. But could I do that without being caught? I was fast. All that running had to pay off at some point, right?
I got back on my feet but stayed in a crouched position. Before I did anything, I needed to make sure the coast was clear. As I lifted up to take another peek, a sound stopped me dead in my tracks.
Crunch.
Why did that sound like glass?
Crunch.
The lightbulb! He was coming out of my room.
Crunch.
My heart stopped as I held my breath.
Please don’t hear me.Please don’t hear me.
Ever so carefully, I dared to peek over the edge. A very large figure stepped slowly towards where I was hiding. He wasn’t sneaking or creeping along as if he didn’t care about being seen.
He was casually strolling. And that wasn’t the scariest part. It looked like a man but had no distinguishing features. Black arms, black legs, black torso, no face that I could see. Just black, like a shadow come to life.
