Page 2 of Haunted By the Storm
Something dangerous flickers in his eyes. "We'll see." He reaches out, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear, and I have to fight not to flinch away. "I'll be seeing you both soon."
With one last smirk, he turns and walks away, leaving me standing there, shaking with fury and terror. I abandon my shopping cart where it is and rush out of the store, not caring about the items I'm leaving behind. I need to get home. I need to get to Emily.
The drive home is a blur. My hands tremble on the steering wheel, and I check my rearview mirror every few seconds, paranoid that Eric might be following me. By the time I pull into my driveway, my shirt is sticking to my back with cold sweat.
I rush inside, relieved to find Mrs. Mickelson, my elderly neighbor who watches Emily after school, sitting at the kitchen table helping my daughter with her homework.
"Mommy!" Emily exclaims, her face lighting up when she sees me. She jumps off her chair and runs to me, wrapping her arms around my waist.
I hug her tightly; perhaps too tightly, because she squirms in my grip. "Hey, baby," I whisper, pressing a kiss to the top of her head.
"You're home early," Mrs. Mickelson observes, rising from her chair. "Everything okay?"
I force a smile. "Yes. I just finished what I needed to do faster than expected."
She gives me a curious look but doesn't push. "Well, Emily's done with her math. We were just about to start on her spelling words."
"I can take it from here," I say, grateful when she nods and begins gathering her things.
Once Mrs. Mickelson leaves, I double-check all the locks on the doors and windows. I draw the blinds closed, peering through them first to make sure no one's watching the house. My paranoia is in full swing, but after what Eric said, I can't be too careful.
"Mommy, why are you locking everything?" Emily asks, watching me with curious eyes; eyes that, despite what Eric said, look nothing like his. They're all mine, a deep hazel that shifts between green and brown depending on the light.
"Just being safe," I tell her, forcing another smile. "How about we order pizza for dinner? Would you like that?"
Her face lights up. "Yes! Can we get pepperoni?"
"Anything you want, baby."
Later, after Emily is tucked into bed, I sit on my couch in the dark, jumping at every noise outside. Rain begins to fall,softly at first, then harder, pelting against the windows. A flash of lightning illuminates the room, followed by the low rumble of thunder.
My breath catches in my throat as the storm intensifies, and suddenly I'm not in my living room anymore.
I'm sixteen years old again, pinned down on a bed in a strange room. The thunderstorm rages outside, each crash of thunder drowning out my cries for help. Rain lashes against the windows, blurring the world beyond, isolating me in this nightmare.
"Stop fighting," Eric growls, his breath hot against my face, reeking of alcohol. "You know you want this."
"No," I gasp, struggling against his weight. "Eric, stop. I said no!"
Lightning flashes, briefly illuminating his face twisted with anger and lust. "You've been teasing me all night. What did you expect?"
Thunder booms so loud it seems to shake the room. Or maybe that's just me, trembling with fear and fight. I claw at him, scratch, bite, anything to get him off me. He slaps me hard enough that I see stars, and in that moment of disorientation, he pins my wrists above my head with one hand.
"No one can hear you," he says, his voice almost swallowed by another crack of thunder. "It's just you and me."
I scream anyway, the sound tearing from my throat as the storm rages on, uncaring, drowning out my cries with its fury. Tears blur my vision as I realize with sickening clarity that he's right, no one can hear me. No one is coming to help.
The storm becomes the soundtrack to my nightmare, every flash of lightning burning the scene into my memory, every roll of thunder punctuating the violation. By the time it's over, the storm has begun to subside, as if satisfied with what it has witnessed.
A particularly loud crash of thunder jolts me back to the present. I'm huddled on my couch, arms wrapped around myself, tears streaming down my face. The storm outside continues, oblivious to how its presence rips open old wounds.
I hate storms. I’ve hated them ever since that night. The sound of thunder, the flash of lightning; they're triggers that send me spiraling back to the worst night of my life. A night that, despite all my efforts to move forward, left a permanent mark on me. A mark I see every day in my daughter's face.
I love Emily more than my own life. From the moment I knew I was pregnant, despite the circumstances, I loved her. She's mine; my daughter, my heart outside my body. Not his. Never his.
But now he wants her. After all this time, he wants to come into our lives and take her from me. I can't let that happen. I won't.
With shaking hands, I reach for my phone. I need help, but I don't trust the cops. They didn't believe me eight years ago; why would they now? No, I need someone else. Someone who can make Eric stay away. Someone who can protect Emily and me.
