Friendship at the edge of sanity

At the edge of insanity screaming that I am sane. 

Here am i world and yet no one says a thing. 

There in my darkness i bump into you. 

A soul so lost like me, we had no clue.

I cried about my true sorrows and we promised eachother there would be a tomorrow. 

Over time we grew in the darkness where nothing should grow.

but there we were with our bloody souls.

Cuts on arms, not mine my cuts were internal. 

i never judge how you dealed with your pains as for me you did the same.

At the edge of insanity i felt you were my sane.

You loved my broke pieces as i loved you longing heart. 

We were both ruined from the start.

We played in the light for others to see.

but in the dark is where our mind would really be.

We said the things you aren't supposed to out loud. 

We laugh and cried mostly at our selfs.

I can not say i will miss those days. 

My darkness i eventually Concord and over came. 

Once we left that dark place, no longer at the edge of sanity we found we weren't the same.

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     I find a room to lie down in. I just lay there to think for a bit and get my bearings. Grace walks in the room and lies next to me. “You haven’t asked about Enrique.” Grace says to me. “I know. That was not an accident and no I have not forgotten about him. 5 years is a long time, figured he was dead or married.” I tell her. “Do you care where he is?”  She asks me. “Should I?” I ask Grace. She lays next to me completely silent for a moment. “I think you should.” She replies. “How about we take a nap and talk about this later. Today has been a lot.” I tell her. She nods and gets comfortable.

                “Cahira, I wish I knew if you could hear me. I really need you right now. I think I am turning into them. They tell me to just focus on the anger inside of me but they don’t understand that……… my anger is hard to put away once it is out. Cahira I need you please come back to me, I need you more now than ever, wake up!” I hear Percy voice calling to me in my sleep. I can hear him as if he is next to me whispering in my ears. “Little warrior.” I hear Hope’s voice and I open my eyes to see her. She puts her finger over her lips for me to not wake Grace. She grabs me by the hand and takes me to the window.  She opens the window and climbs out. I look back at Grace who is still sleeping.

                She hands me a jacket.  “Follow me.” She says as she starts to walk toward the gates.  I follow her to the gate and she starts to climb over with such ease. I follow her and climb over to. I am not sure where she is going. Hope stops at a parked car. I look at her. “Listen to me; there are a lot of things in this life I could not control. I had to always work with the hand I was dealt. For you I wanted so much more. That was why I left you with your parents. They found out when you were in the coma that you were my daughter. They promised not to take you; but they how ever wanted to speak to you one on one without any interference.” Hope says as she looks over at the black town car. Well let’s see what they have to say.

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    I look at the picture my mother just handed me. Percy is lying with his body opened up and most of his insides missing. I feel the anger wash over me. I look at my parents and this feeling of anger gets worse when I look at them. So I turn away and look at Grace. “How close did he get?” I ask Grace. “Close enough to scare me.” Grace says. I sit there and look down at the coffee table in front of me, this dark brown little coffee table with a glass insert. I pick up the coffee table and throw it at the wall. My family doesn’t even flinch. “I want his head on a spike!” I scream at my parents.  My mother gets up turns to the broken coffee table on the floor. “As do we.” She says to me.
                 “So why isn’t he dead?” I ask. “We can’t find him. It is why we needed Hope’s connections to change our names and give us a new start.” My dad says. “You mean the mob.” I reply back to him. “What did you say?” My mother says to me even though I think she is asking a question. “Hope works for the mob. That guy Frankie clearly a mobster.” I say back to her. My mother just looks at me for a moment. “Let’s not waste our time with semantics. Hope helped us change our identities and hide you away.  Since then, there has been no sign of Daniel.” I nod my head and start to walk away. “Where are you going?” My dad asks me. “Away from you. He killed Percy and went after Grace and your solution was to run away with new identities. I just need a moment to wrap my head around all of this.”
                My mother chases after me. “Don’t you dare judge us Cahira! You have no idea what it has been like for us. You cannot fight a ghost.” My mother says to me. I stop walking and think of all the different ways to get her to shut up. I could rip her throat out with my teeth or I could strangle her or even better I can put her in her place. I turn back to her and smile. “What do you do if you have a bug problem? You call an exterminator. What do you do if you have a ghost? You call a witch doctor. There will always be someone who can solve your problems if you just take the time to look. So before you tell me that I don’t know what it was like. Tell me you tired and exhausted every avenue you could before getting scare of the unknown and running away?”  I stand here and wait for her response. She is speechless. “That is what I thought.” I say as I turn back around and walk away. 

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What does he mean I can’t handle it? I look at him for a second. “Anything you can handle, I can handle.” I tell him as I turn the page. I see the ripped out organs. The organs were not cut out they were ripped out. Daniel didn’t just kill Percy he butchered him. I look at all the different organs ripped apart.  When I get through all the pictures I realize something. “Where is the picture of his body?” I ask my parents. My mother hands me a letter, this does not answer my question at all. I open the letter and instantly I recognize the hand writing.

                The letter read as followed. “Dear Dad, See as you want nothing to do with your first born son I have taken your baby boy. I decided he was going to be the first to go. If you wish to bury him in peace you will give me Grace. You will put her in the play room for me. If you do not comply you will never find where I hid the rest of Percy. So make sure to choose wisely. Also if you choose not to give Grace to me just know it is only a matter of time before I get her on my own. Love your first born.” I finish reading and look at Grace.

                “They didn’t give me up.” Grace says to me with a smile. “I can see that.” I say with a smile back. Grace laughs and we both just look at each other. “He did keep good on his word and went after Grace.” My mother says ruining the nice moment I was having with Grace. I turn to look at my mother. “Did you think he wouldn’t? Is this it, this is all he sent?” I ask her. “How did you know?” My dad asked. “Know what?” I ask him. “How did you know he sent pictures with the letter?” My dad asks me like I am some kind of palm reader. “I didn’t know that. I just know Daniel and he wouldn’t just send a letter.  He goes big. Where is the picture?”  I ask.  My dad looks at my mother and gives her a nod. She lifts her leg and pulls out the picture and hands it to me.

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       My dad makes sure that my mother sits as far from me as possible. “We thought Daniel was dead. There wasn’t any evidence to prove us wrong. Also it had been years since that day, we had all moved on with our lives. Grace was away at college while your mom and I were raising Percy. Percy had really changed a lot after your accident. He was a much stronger person. He had really come into his own.” My dad stops talking and looks over at my mother. “What your father is trying to say is Percy wasn’t the boy you remember.” My mother says as if this has anything to do with how she let him get killed. Both of my parents sit there silently.
                “None of this tells me about the night Percy was murdered. Do you even have the police report?” I ask them.  “Yes we have the police report.” My mother answers as she gets up. “So tell me how you didn’t protect him.” I say to my dad. “He didn’t need protecting because there was not threat, or so we thought. Percy was very social he was always at one event or another. So the dance wasn’t even on our radar.” My dad says as my mother walks back in the room and hand my dad a folder. He looks at it and hands it to me. I open up the folder to see the police report. I start to read through it.
                He didn’t just murder Percy. He tore Percy into pieces. The report states that the kids thought a pipe had busted. The floor was covered in Percy’s blood. When the children noticed the blood the faculty turned on the lights. That is when they started to find pieces of Percy. They found a part of his liver, his spleen, fingers, toes, a chunk of scalp and…….  I look up at my parents. “Does it say his testicle was found on the floor?” I ask them. My parents both nod. I go to turn the page to look at the evidence photos. My dad grabs my hand. “You don’t want to look at those. You can’t handle it.” He says to me.

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      My parents stand there just waiting for me to walk in. “Cahira.” My mother says almost as a whisper. “We weren’t sure if you would ever wake up.” My dad says as he goes to hug me. I feel his arms embrace me. My dad has always had big strong arms that I often felt safe in as a little girl. I am no longer a little girl and his arms did not make me feel safe, it actually makes me feel nothing at all.  I pull back from my dad’s embrace and put on a fake smile. My mother steps towards me with her thick black hair tightly pulled back with metal hair stick. I move away from my dad and walk up to my mother with open arms. She goes to hug me and I pull her sharp metal hair stick out of her bun. I stab her in the leg and as she goes down I whisper in her ear. “I never took you for an idiot, I guess I was wrong.” I tell her.
                “Cahira what are you doing?” My dad says as he pulls me away from my mother. “Out of all the times I went to visit you and spoke to you in your coma that is the one thing you heard and held on to.” My mother says to me. “That’s the only one I heard from you.” I tell her with a smile on my face as she pulls the metal stick out of her leg. My dad pulls me back and looks me in the eyes. “Grace wasn’t kidding, your back.” My dad says as his eyes search mine. I am not sure what he is talking about nor do I care. “How did Percy die?” I ask my dad. He puts his head down and steps away from me.
                “We didn’t see it coming. We saw his dead body, he tricked us.”  Grace says from behind me. “Grace this is not your fault and your also not who I asked the question to.” I tell her without turning around to look at her, no my focus is on my parents. “How did this happen? How did he get close enough to kill PERCY!” I start yelling at my parents. “Don’t take that tone with me!” My mother says as she limps towards me. “Or what mother? What are you going to do!?” I ask her as I step towards her. My dad grabs me and pulls me away from my mother. “Stop it both of you! Now do you want to hear about what happened to Percy or do you want to kill your mom.” My dad says to me. I push him off of me and walk over to the living room that I see off to the side to sit down. “I don’t wish to kill her just yet. That would be boring, so why don’t you tell me what happened to Percy.” I tell my dad as I sit down.

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    I wake up to see Grace at the end of my bed. “You killed a nurse?” she asks me. “Did I?” I response. “I suppose not. The official story is she killed herself.” Grace says as she comes close to me. “Cahira why did you kill her?” She asks me. “I didn’t care for the tone of voice she took with me.”  I explain to Grace. Grace puts her hands over her stomach and takes a deep breath. “Your back.” Is all she says. “Grace where is dad and mother?” I ask her.  She closes her eyes for just a second, like she is taking what she just said in. “They are at the safe house. Where I am going to be taking you as soon as the doctor signs you out.” Grace looks out the door. I can see the panic all over Grace’s face.

                “Cahira you are good to go. Just make sure to go to your weekly checkups for the next few months.” The doctor says as a nurse walks in the room with a wheel chair. “I am not getting in the chair. I am okay to walk.” I tell the nurse. “It’s hospital policy.” She says to me. I look her up and down; she is a small mousy thing. I would be able to crush her wind pipe with ease. “Cahira, I’ll push you it will be fun.” Grace says to me. She smiles just like when we were girls. “Ok.” I say as I get in the wheel chair.  As Grace pushes me she whispers in my ear. “You can’t just kill people for disagreeing with you.” I hear her words and laugh. “I don’t know what you are talking about.” I response to her. “You forget I was always with you as a child. We were inseparable before your accident and I remember that look in your eyes before you kill someone. The same one you gave that nurse back there.” Grace says. I just laugh and get comfortable in the wheel chair as she pushes me out of the hospital.

                We pull up to a house that looks more like a fortress. We wait outside these big black iron gates. As the gate opens I see a house covered in snow. I assume this is where my parents are waiting for me. I sit in the car for a moment and close my eyes to think. I wonder if I really want to see my parents, I do have lots of questions about what happened to Percy. I get out of the car and Grace opens the front door for me. Here goes nothing.

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    “I wasn’t around when Percy died. I had to keep my distance so Frankie wouldn’t figure out you are my daughter. We thought you had killed Daniel. Your parents had gone back to their normal lives. Daniel got Percy at a school dance. He gutted Percy bleeding him dry. He left pieces of Percy all over the dance floor for the other kids to find.”  Hope reaches out to me but I look out the window and I see snow. “Where am I?” I ask her since it doesn’t snow where I am from. “We had to move you around a few time. We found out Daniel was visiting you after he killed Percy and we didn’t want to risk him killing you to.” I look back at Hope. “I know he was visiting me I could hear him in my sleep. Where is Grace?”  I ask. “She like your parents are on their way here.” I nod my head and lay back down.

                I must have dosed off, I look around and its night time. I look around my room to see no Hope. She must of left. I really don’t want to be here. I start to pull off the heart monitors and the machine starts making the most annoying beeping noise. I look at it and all of the buttons on it.  A nurse comes running in and looks at me. “You can’t just pull your monitors off it makes us think your dead.” She is scolding me. I do not care for her tone. I look and she is wearing scrubs with pockets. I see a pair of scissors in her left pocket. “I don’t want to be here anymore. I wish to go find my family.” I tell her. “You cannot just leave because you feel like it. You have been in a coma for 5 years. You need to stay here until the doctor tells you that you can leave.” She is scolding me again. “I do not like your tone.” I tell her. She looks at me and I see her grab a shot out of her other pocket. “That would be a mistake.” I tell her as I grab the scissor out of her pocket and stab her in the throat. I feel a pinch in my side. She got me with the shot.

                I stand over her body. She isn’t dead yet she is choking on her own blood. “Like I said I didn’t care for your tone. No one tells me what to do.” She looks at me as she fights for her last breath. I feel my legs getting weak. I am not sure what was in the shot but I feel myself going down. I hit the floor hard. I can hear other nurses screaming as they come in. The scream is the last sound I hear.

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     My room is full of nurses trying to calm me down. I see one step off to the side and call someone on her cell phone. I read her lips. “She has awoken.” The nurse says. I feel a pinch in my arm and look at the nurse giving me a shot. “Percy!” Is all I can get out before I gently fall back to sleep. “Cahira.” I hear, I open my eyes. I look to see a doctor at the foot of my bed. I look him up and down. “Glad to see you with us.” The doctor says to me. “Where is my brother Percy?” I ask the doctor.  “Cahira you were involved in a horrible accident. You have been in a coma.”  I start to sit up. “How long was I out for this time?” I ask the Doctor. “Far too long.” Hope says as she walks through the door. “MOM!” Is all I can say as she floats on in?

                “That will be all doctor I will take it from here.” Hope says as she sends the doctor away. “I could hear you in my sleep.” I tell her, she smiles at me. “I was hoping you might say that.” Hope sits next to me on my bed. “I need to talk to you about a few things.” Hope says as she touches my face. Her touch feels different; it doesn’t have the same warm feeling in my stomach as before. “Where is Percy? Daniel is going to go after him.” I tell Hope.  Hope kisses me on the forehead. Her kiss feels hollow like she is about to tell me something I don’t want to hear. As she kisses my forehead she is holding the back of my head. I don’t feel any pain. I start to touch my head and I don’t feel any stitches not ever a scar.  “How long was I out for?” I ask her.

                “You were in a coma for 5 years.” Hope says in a soft voice. “5 years!” I just sit here. “Wait where is Percy? You never answered me.”  I ask Hope. “I was going to wait until everyone got here but I guess I’ll tell you. Percy is dead, Daniel killed him.” Hope is trying to hug me. “When? I just heard Percy’s voice.” I pull back from her. “Percy hasn’t seen you in 3 years. He was killed about 2 years ago.”  I just stare at Hope. “You need to tell me how this happened, every detail.”

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   “Cahira if you can hear me please come back to me. Please wake up.” I can hear Grace’s voice but it is so far away like I can barely hear it. “Little Warrior what were you thinking!? Why would you do this?” I hear Hope’s voice. “I never took you for an idiot, I guess I was wrong.” I hear my mother’s voice. How can I hear all of their voices but I can’t see them. Their voices fade in and out, almost like a bad cell reception.  Where am I?

                “Everyone says you can hear us and talking to you will make you heal faster. I don’t know if I believe them. I do know that I need my sister back. Grace is a mess without you. I am a mess without you. The doctors say that your brain injury is in the same place as the last time. They say you might never wake up, but we are not supposed to say that to you. We are only supposes to say positive things to you. I... I… I need you! So I guess what I have to say is. FIGHT! Fight to come back! FIGHT for me!” I can hear Percy and I can hear the pain in his voice I just want to come back for him. I am trying to see him but I can’t seem to get to where he is.  I am stuck here in the darkness. “PERCY!” I try to scream but there is no sound here. Where am I? Am I dead? Is this hell?

                “Cahira….. They really did name you wrong didn’t they? Here you lay so defenseless, not much of a warrior if you ask me. Then again no one asked me, probably because they think I am dead. Little do they know I am just buying my time, I have made my choice that everyone is going to die and you can’t do anything about it? I think I’ll start with Percy since he will be the easiest to take out.” I hear Daniel’s voice and I open my eyes. I start screaming and this time I can hear it. “PERCY! HE IS GOING AFTER PERCY!” I scream. I look around and it is night time and no one is around. A nurse comes running in. She must have heard my screaming. I don’t understand what is going on. Where is everyone I could hear them, where is Daniel!? 

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“Why!?” I scream at him. “Like I said she is not going to be a part of my family.”  Daniel is standing there so proud of himself. This smug asshole thinks he won. Hope is looking down at her side where he shot her. “Just a flesh wound.” She whispers to me. Blood is pouring out of her side and her shirt is slowly soaking up the blood. I can’t let him win! I need Hope to get out of here so she can get help. How am I going to convince Daniel to let her go? I need to come up with a plan fast.

                How am I going to get us safely off this roof? I look around and Daniel is standing between us and the fire escape. We can’t run back the way we came, Daniel could shoot Hope again if we try. I feel so helpless. I have never felt like this but I wish my mother was here. My mother Rose would know exactly what to do. I take a deep breath. “Why don’t you put that gun down!” I hear Enrique’s voice. I see him come up the fire escape with a gun pointed at Daniel. I can’t help but smile. Enrique smiles at me and I start to tear up knowing that this is all over.

                “It’s over Daniel. Give him the gun.” I say as I look at Enrique. “You really think I am that easy to beat? That I can just be taken out like that.” Daniel says back to me, I look at Daniel’s face and he is smirking. He turns around and shoots Enrique. I stop breathing and run toward Daniel. I push Daniel off the roof. We both fly off the building. All I can hear as we hurtle to the ground is Hope scream my name. They say your life flashes before your eye when you know you’re going to die. I don’t see my life I just see my sister’s and brother’s face. Not their face now but when they were just little kids. I feel the love I felt for them all my life. I know once I hit the ground I might never see them again. This fall feels like it is taking a hundred years, I feel as if time has somehow stopped.  I slowly feel my head hit the ground and I can feel the impact of the fall crack my skull. Is this it, is this the end? If it is I hope I killed Daniel along with me.

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“Frankie was only 6 years old when they bought me. I was the youngest girl they ever acquired. I was raised by Frankie’s father’s personal mistress. She was the best money could buy; it’s why Frankie’s father bought her. She only trained his best girls, the real money makers. Since I had been with her all my life, I only ever learned how to be the best from the best. Frankie grew up visiting me and playing with me as a child. His father spent a lot of time at our house. One day when Frankie was a teen he came to love me, so he paid for my time. His father told him nothing in life was free. I was already working out in the world and had many loyal clients.  I was the top earner. Frankie’s father treated me with such respect and allowed me to pick my clients and decided if I want to serve someone’s fantasy. I thought I was blessed then I met your parents and fell in love for the first time. However giving you up was more then I could ever take. So once I came back from being with your parents, Frankie offer to buy me so we could marry but I turned him down. I couldn’t marry someone I didn’t love; I also knew that I could never be his wife. His father would never allow it. I would have had to become a mistress meaning no children for me. After holding you that was a thought I couldn’t bare.” Hope’s eyes tear up.

                I hug Hope and I turn to show her that we have made it to the fire escape. “Do you know I taught Rose that trick?” Hope says with a smile on her face. “You can tell me all about it later. We have to get off this roof.” I tell her. I hear a shot sound right next to me. Daniel has fired his gun in the air. “She really can’t tell you later. Because she is not going to be a part of the family.” He says to me. Why don’t I have a gun on me? I look at Hope who looks calm as a cucumber.  “Why can’t I be a part of the family?” Hope asks Daniel. He is circling us and Hope slowly pushes me behind her. “Because you are not like us. You were raise with no emotions and no real feelings. You are an illusion at best. That is just not good enough for my family.” Daniel sounds like a total nut job. “Not your family. MY FAMILY but sure as hell not yours! So do not tell me who is going to be a part of MY family!” I scream at him.

                Daniel is laughing at me. “You don’t believe in killing, so you expect me to listen to you about your family?” Daniel says to me sarcastically. “Let me and Hope go. I will leave with her and never look back. You can have my family.” I tell him as I try to push Hope behind me.  Hope will not go behind me. “You can’t just leave with me now that Frankie has seen you. I can’t risk it.” Hope whispers into my ear. “Let’s talk about it later.” I whisper back to her. “So do we have a deal?” I ask Daniel. He moves is head back and forth like he is thinking about it. “No, I don’t want a family without you.” He says as he shoots Hope. 

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   “We need to get off this roof.” Hope says to Frankie and I. “The only way I saw off was the way we came up and it sounds like someone is coming from that way right now.” I tell Hope. “Go to the fire escape on the side of the building. Just get down to my men and I will meet you at the spot. My men have the location.” Frank says as he kisses Hope on the lips. I think there is way more going on with them then I thought. I look away as he kisses her. “Hope please be careful don’t make me come hunt you down again.” Frankie says. “I’ll see you soon.” Hope says not so lovingly back. She grabs my hand and we start to walk to the end of the large roof.
            I can hear the shooting behind us. We start to run to get to the end of the roof where the fire escape is. Hope is breathing very hard and stops running. “Come on we are almost there.” I tell her. She lifts up her shirt to show me bandages. “What is that?” I ask. “He punctured my lungs and had a doctor sew me back up. To ensure I couldn’t run away.” Hope explains. “You must be in so much pain.” I tell her. “Not pain, I’m use to pain this is just very annoying. It’s like my body can’t breathe the way I want it to.” Hope says as she holds her side. I can hear the gun shots behind us, they do not sound like they are getting closer. They sound like they are not moving. Maybe Frankie is keeping the shooters back.
            I for some reason can’t shake this memory of my mom Rose. I keep thinking of the time she told me the best way to really make someone suffer is to make them focus on the pain. When she is torturing someone she likes to make them tell her what they are feeling. So that way they cannot find relief in their minds from her. Maybe it can work both ways maybe I can make Hope focus on something else so that way she won’t feel her body fighting her to breathe. “Who is Frankie to you?” I ask her, I am trying to change her focus but I also really want to know. “Frankie is the closest thing I have to a childhood friend. His father bought me as a baby. As you know I was raised to serve the fantasy of others. I was never mistreated in the way you might think. I just was always for sell to a high caliber of men.” I can see Hope choosing her words carefully. As Hope is telling me her story I am picking her up and making her walk toward the fire escape. We need to get off this roof is all I am thinking as I continue to listen to Hope’s story.

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    Frankie pulls Hope out of the fake AC unit. She has her hands tied behind her back and her feet tied together. “HOPE!” I say as I pull the tape off her mouth. “Frankie what are you doing here?” Is the first thing she asks? “I have come to save you my little warrior.” He says. Frankie is untying Hope’s feet as I untie her hands. “Who is the girl?” Hope asks as she looks at me. I get the feeling that she really doesn’t want Frankie to know who I am. “She is your precious Rose’s daughter. You haven’t met her?” Frankie asks as he helps Hope up. “You know what I think I did briefly before I was taken. Where is that psychopath by the way?” Hope asks as she looks around. “He is down stairs with the boys. I brought a good amount to come save you.” Frankie smiles. “Thank you, does your dad know you’re here?”  She asks him. “Of course he does and he knew I had to come save you. You are mine and no one can take that away.”  

            “Is the little boy Percy okay?” Hope asks. “Rose’s son is okay and with her.” Frankie says. Hope nods. “Hope why did he take you?” Frankie asks. Hope looks at Frankie and touches her head. “I haven’t had any water in two days. I will answer all your questions after I get some water I feel dizzy.” Hope says. Frankie looks at me. “What about the girl?” Hope looks at me. “We give her back to her family, give her back to Rose.”  Hope says. I think he wants to kill me by the way he is looking at me. “Is Rose her family? Because she looks a lot like your mother.” He tells Hope. I see Hope slowly moving herself in front of me. “My mother? I don’t remember her, seeing as she sold me to your father as a baby.” Hope sounds almost angry.

            Hope is standing between Frankie and me. “Are you not happy with the life we gave you?” Frankie asks her. “This is not the time or place for that conversation.” Hope says. “You are acting like a completely different person right now. One who does not know her place. You should be thankful to us for all that my father and I have given you. You could have walked away from the travel but you didn’t want to get married and slowdown from the only life you have ever known. That is what you told me.” This seems like a conversation that has been going on long before today. I hear the gun shots from down stairs coming closer. “Do you hear the gun shots?” I ask. “It’s headed toward us.” Frankie says as he pulls out his gun.

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      I tap on the AC when I notice a lock on it. There isn’t a lock on any of the other ACs.  Something inside taps back. “FRANKIE!” I scream. I think Hope might be in here. Frankie runs over. I just point at the AC and he walks around the unit. He starts tapping on the AC unit. The unit once again taps back. Frankie smiles as he starts taping rhythmically on the AC unit. The AC unit seems to be taping back rhythmically. “It’s her! She is in there.” Frankie says to me. “That’s great but how do we get her out?” I ask him.

            Frankie looks at the fake AC unit puzzled. “I would say just rip into it but we don’t know how she is tied up in there and I am afraid to hurt her.” Frankie says. “You really care about her?” I ask him. “Have you ever had a pet before?” I look at him confused by his question. “Yes I did for a bit but my mother made me kill it.” I tell him. “Well then you will never understand what I feel for her. I could never hurt her. She is mine to protect.” He talks about her as if she is more of an object then a person.

            Frankie is tapping as he walks around the AC. I can hear in the distance gun shots. “We are out of time!” Frankie says to me as he starts kicking the AC unit wall. “Hope if you’re in there duck!” Frankie is yelling as he keeps kicking. I hear the fake AC unit breaking. Frankie starts to pull the now broken AC unit apart. The gun shot sounds seem to being getting closer. Frankie is pulling pieces of the AC unit away and I see hair. “HOPE!?” We both yell.

Series Wednesday: Family Game night page 62

  We go to open the door. “You better pray that Hope is on the other side of this door.” Frankie says to me. He has no idea how much I’m praying for her to be on the other side. Frankie opens the door and pushes me through. I look around the roof and I don’t see Hope. I see a lot of AC units but no Hope. I am starting to get a little scared that I am never going to see my mom again. I put my head down. “She has to be hidden somewhere up here.” Frankie says to me. I turn to look at him. “Hidden? Where?” I ask him. “Yes hidden. He wouldn’t leave her out in the sun, plus he wouldn’t risk someone finding her on accident. So he hid her. That’s what I would do.”  Frankie says.
            I look around and I don’t see where he would hide her. I look back at Frankie as he is looking around. I want to walk around the roof but Frankie has a good grip on my arm. “I say we walk around and see where he would hide her.” I tell Frankie. “If you run I’ll shoot you.”  He says as he lets me go. “I won’t run I promise. I just want to help you find her.” I start to walk off to look at the lined up AC units.
            Why is this roof so big but nothing is up here. I walk through the rows of AC units. I hate the humming sound they make. I can’t stand how loud the humming sound is. I feel like my brain is humming. I keep walking through the rows and the humming stops. I stop and sit next to the AC unit making no sounds. Finally a moment of peace, I felt like my brain was rattling in my skull.  Why is this AC unit not on? All of the other AC units are on. So why not this one? I start to circle it when I notice that this AC is a lot cleaner than the other AC units up here. I wonder why.

Series Wednesday: Family Game night Page 61

We all just look at Frankie. “I don’t trust you, so I am going to take your sister here with me up to the roof to make sure that Hope is really there.” Frankie says as he grabs me. “You’re not taking my daughter Frankie!” My mother says to him. “Rose you really have no says here. Plus I think there is something about this one that you are hiding from me. So until I get Hope back I am going to keep her close.” He says as he hugs me tight. Frankie puts a gun to my head and I can’t help but laugh. “You think this is funny?” He asks me. “You’re not going to use the gun, you’re too curious about me to kill me. I just don’t get your fascination with me. I am no different from my sister and brother but you seem to be drawn to me.” I tell him as he puts the gun away. “You have eyes I have seen before.” He tells me. “You wish.” I tell him back. He laughs at me. “No matter how drawn I am to you, if I don’t get my Hope back I will kill you to prove a point. Do you understand me?” He asks. I look him in the eyes and nod yes.

            We slowly make our way through the warehouse to the stairs that lead to the roof. “Have you ever met Hope?” Frankie asks me. “Just recently. She came to help my parents find my little brother. He was kidnapped by my deranged older brother that you just met.” I keep walking. “You see that is where I can’t help but scratch my head.  Why would Hope come to help your parents when they casted her out? That is the part I don’t get.” We keep walking. “I am sorry I don’t know this story. I met Hope only when she showed up.  My parents never really explained who she was to them.” I tell him hoping to hear what he knows. “Well your parents and Hope were in love according to Hope, so much so she left everything she knew to be with them. She got pregnant with your father’s baby.” He stops talking and looks at me to see my response. “Really? What happened to the baby?” I ask. “She had a stillborn; the baby was dead in her stomach. After the baby boy was lost they casted her out. She wasn’t as much fun, so they kicked her out. That was why she never saw them again. That is what she told me.” Frankie says. “Well seeing as I am my parent’s child you can understand why they wouldn’t tell me that story.” I say as we walk up the door to the roof. “Here we are.” I say as I stop in front of it.

Series Wednesday: Family Game Night Page 60

      Daniel smiles at Frankie. “Kill me!” Is his only response. Frankie just seems to growl at him as he walks away. We all just look at Daniel. Kill him? That is really all he has to say. “Just as I suspected, you won’t hurt me because you care too much about finding Hope. So how about we make a deal. You go away and let me finish what I am doing here, I will gladly give you back Hope alive and well. How does that sound?” Daniel says to Frankie. Frankie shifts his head back and forth. “You see that doesn’t work for me. So how about I counter your offer.” Frankie says as he snaps his fingers.
            All the guys with guns grab us. They have a good grip on me, Percy, Grace and my mother. “How about I kill them one by one and ruin whatever it is that you’re doing.” Frankie says as he points a gun at Grace. “Or how about you kill him and we search for Hope.” Grace says. I look over at Grace who is struggling to get free from the man with the gun. Frankie looks over at me again and walks over to me. “What do you think I should do?” He says as he walks right in front of me and looks me in the eyes. “Kill us all.” I say. “What is your name?” He asks me. “Why does it matter?” I ask him. “Her name is Julia.” My mother says. I am not sure why she just lied. Well I guess it’s not a complete lie, Julia is my middle name.
            Frankie keeps circling me. “You don’t look like a Julia to me.”  He says as he sniffs at me. “What do I look like to you?” I tell him as I try to back away from his sniffing. “You look like a little warrior to me.” He says to me. I can’t help but think of how I got my name. “What is a little warrior?” I ask him. “It is a child with death in their eyes. I have only seen one other girl with this. I use to call her my little warrior my Hope.” He says this with such love. I look Frankie up and down. “I am not you’re Hope nor if you let me feel will I inspire any hope trust me.”  I say as I try to step towards him. The guy with the gun pulls me back. He looks over at my mother. “I think I’ll keep her.” He says with a laugh. “You can’t have my sister.” Daniel says. “Wait you were doing all of these to your own family?” Frankie asks Daniel. “They are my family to do what I want with.” Frankie smiles at Daniel’s response. “Give me Hope and I will leave your family alone.” Frankie says. “Fine, she is on the roof.” Daniel says. Finally Daniel tells us where she is and she is here. I can’t believe it soon I will have my mom back. I can’t help but smile to myself. “See now was that so hard?” Frankie asks Daniel. “Yes it was. Now why don’t you go get her and leave me to what I was doing?” Daniel says as he points at the stairs. “No that’s not going to work for me.” Frankie says.

Series Wednesday: Family Game Night page 59

     “Frankie there is nothing more I can say about the past. All I can do now is point you in the right direction. I want Hope to be safe as much as you. So instead of focusing on me, get him!” My mother says to him looking over at Daniel. Frankie turns and walks over to Daniel who has guns pointed all round him. My mother grabs Percy and Grace. We start to move towards the door when more men with guns walk into the warehouse. These men look completely different from the men that came with Frankie. Two of the men point their guns at us, while the rest move toward Daniel and Frankie.
            “So let’s have a conversation about why you felt it was okay to take my Hope away.” Frankie says to Daniel. “I needed Hope so I could draw out other people. She really was just collateral damage.” Daniel says with a smile. “She better not be dead or you are going to have to pay me. Seeing as I owned Hope and she was not yours to be collateral damage or however you want to put it. She belongs to me!”  Frankie says with a serious look on his face. “I think you might be over playing your hand here Frankie. I really don’t have to explain anything to you.” Daniel says as he points at the men surrounding Frankie with guns. “You think you can kill me?” Frankie screams at the men with guns. “They could if I tell them to. So why don’t you take your men and go while I am kind enough to let you walk out of here.” Daniel says back to Frankie.
            Frankie just looks at the men with guns and smiles. He puts his two fingers in his mouth and whistle loudly. I hear more footsteps coming from the door of the warehouse. More men with guns come running through the front door.  They surround the guys who have guns on us and surround us as well. More come in and surround the guys with guns on Frankie. “What you thought I came unprepared. I never come to a party empty handed. That is the problem with the youth of today; they always think they are so much smarter than they actually are. So let’s try this one more time. Where is my Hope?”  Frankie says. 

Series Wednesday: Family Game Night page 58

     “I have the big gun so I ask the questions. How does that sound?” The man says. “Seeing as none of us here are afraid to die, your gun really doesn’t matter.” Grace says as she steps towards him. “I am simply here for my beloved. She was taken so I have tracked her here. I just want to be sure she is safe.” The man says now fixing his eyes on me. I talk from behind Grace. “He is here for Hope” I whisper in her ear. “Who is this love of yours?” Grace asks him as the swat team slowly surrounds us. “Hope, I am looking for Hope and she was last seen being dragged into this warehouse.” The man says not even looking at Grace. The man’s eyes are locked on me. “Cahira come here.” My mother says to me, still strapped to the table. Grace turns and looks at me. “We need a plan to get out of here. We can find Hope later or just wait for these nice men to find her. I am sure once she is back with her people she will contact you.” Grace whispers to me.
            I am ignoring my mother’s request for me to go to her. I am staying right next to Grace. “Are we going to kill mother or take her with us?” I ask Grace. “If we don’t have to kill her I say we take her.” Grace says back.  “Sounds good to me” I whisper back to her. “We did not take Hope. He did, we are the ones trying to get her back.” Grace says to the man pointing at Daniel. “I can see that. My question for you is why are you trying to get Hope back? Who is she to you?” The man asks. I look back at Percy and he is gone. The swat men are surrounding Daniel now. I look over at my mother and see Percy unstrapping her from the table. “Because they are my kids Frankie.” My mother says as she walks out in front of us. “Hello there Rose didn’t see you there strapped down.”  Frankie says to my mother. She seems to know him. “Well we were having a little bit of fun. You have the man you want, he is the one that took Hope and is keeping her hostage. So my children and I will be on our way. Tell Hope to give us a ring some time.”
          My mother is trying to grab us all and push us behind her. “Rose, oh sweet Rose.” Frankie says to her. I notice my mother stands right in front of my ensuring that he has to take his eyes off of me. “I don’t feel like you are telling me the whole truth. So I think you and your children are going to need to hang out for a bit until I can sort somethings out.” Frankie says. “What could I possible be lying about Frankie? We have always had a good relationship.” My mother says. Frankie walks right up to my mother. “You’re right we have. But there was a time you hid my Hope from me which left me with many questions on why she did not want to come home.” Frankie says right in my mother’s face. “I was in love with her Frankie I was not hiding her she was simply staying with us for a bit and if I remember correctly we paid you for that time.”  My mother says right back in his face. “Yes you did pay you’re not lying there, I just did not like not knowing for a whole year where my Hope was.” Frankie does not seem to like my mother. “That was her choice Frankie, we paid like we were supposed to and the rest you have to take up with Hope.” My mother is still blocking me. “HOPE DOES NOT HAVE A CHOICE. I OWN HER!” Frankie yells at my mother. I have never seen my mother let anyone speak to her this way; I am starting to fear this man.