Nothing but The Sheets

by Stacy McWilliams

  “Blake,” she muttered, and I spun around to see her standing at the kitchen door.

  “Yeah,” I whispered across the foyer and she moved closer to me.

  “I think this might be Kinsley’s boyfriend. I think he may have hurt her.”

  I gave her a tight smile and opened the door to reveal a preppy looking white dude, with a blazer, dark blond hair, and grey eyes, who was about half a foot shorter than me and a little slimmer.

  “Can I help you?” I asked him a low voice and he took a step back.

  “Uh, I’m looking for my girlfriend. We had a bit of a fight last night and when I woke up this morning, she was gone. Her cell told me she was here.”

  His words sounded off and I stood taller, staring at him.

  “Sorry, but who is your girlfriend?” I asked him as he tried to match my stance, but I could tell I was irritating him from the flash of annoyance that crossed his face, to the way he clenched his fists.

  “Kinsley. This is her dad’s house and I’m sorry, but who the fuck are you? Why are you even here?” His bravado was betrayed by the fact his voice shook and I glared at him.

  “I don’t know any Kinsley, but this is my house. I live here.”

  I was holding the door closed with my left hand as I spoke to him and listening for the sounds of Cara and Kinsley, but he didn’t wait, just barged right by me and stormed into the house shouting for her.

  “Kinsley. You. Can’t. Hide. Here.” He screamed, and spit flew from his mouth, as I walked after him.

  “Come in, why don’t you?” I said to his retreating back as he ran into the kitchen.

  “Kinsley.” He continued to scream, and I followed him through the door to the kitchen. He spun around and flew towards me, screaming in my face.

  “Who the fuck are you? Where is she? What have you done with her?”

  He pinned me to the wall, and I wanted to laugh in his face. I could easily have gotten out of the hold, but I was worried, because, frankly, he seemed quite unnerved.

  “Dude, chill the fuck out.” I told him and he pushed harder against my chest.

  “Where. Is. She?” he hissed against my face and his breath was so bad, my eyes watered.

  “Fuck if I know. I don’t know who you are talking about. How many times do I need to tell you that?”

  He slammed his hands into my chest, and I didn’t move, just stared at him. My temper was beginning to break, and I was about to push him away from me, when Kinsley stepped out of the pantry to my left.

  “Grant, you need to let the kid go. The cops are on their way here right now and will be arresting you, if you don’t leave.”

  I shook my head at her, and she gave me a small smile, before speaking in clipped tones to him. Her words were forced, and he dropped his hands from my chest. Cara appeared at her back and shared a worried glance with me.

  “Thought you didn’t know who she was?”

  The dick turned to me and gave me an evil glare.

  “Kins, get your things. We’re leaving. My parents are expecting us for dinner.”

  Her shoulders dropped and I moved away from the wall, stepping in front of Grant, and blocking her from his path.

  “She’s going nowhere with you.” I informed him and he stepped towards me, until we were toe to toe.

  “Not really anything to do with you is it?” he hissed in my face and Kinsley stepped around us both, putting her hand between us and pushing him away.

  “Leave him alone. He’s just a kid.”

  His eyes blazed, he reached up and grabbed her hand, twisting it until she let out a squeal of alarm. He met my eyes and smirked at me, as she began to squirm.

  “Grant, let go of me. You’re hurting me,” she begged, and I saw that there was no reasoning with him, but I had to try.

  “Let her fucking go,” my voice was loud and echoed in the kitchen, he grinned an evil looking grin, as he took a step back from me with her wrist still twisted.

  He stepped back again and before I could move, he slapped Kinsley hard across the mouth, making her cry out. I didn’t think. I just charged at him and he dropped her hand. He brought his fists up and swung at me, but I ducked it and he caught nothing but air. I’d taken a boxing class to teach me discipline, which my dad said was important from the age of eight until I was fifteen. So, I knew how to incapacitate someone, without having to hit them. This guy was getting on my nerves, when he tried to hit me again and his fist connected with my shoulder, I didn’t hold back. I lifted my fist and threw all my weight behind it, punching at him and knocking him right on his ass. He scuttled backward on the cool tiles, as I advanced on him furiously.

  “You think you’re a big hard man,” I hissed as he scrambled to get away from me.

  “Hitting a girl. What the fuck she sees in you I don’t know, but I tell you what,” I spat at him as I grabbed his collar and held onto him, glaring down at him. “You've got ten seconds to get the fuck outta this house, before I really go to town on your shit for brains face.”

  His eyes widened and he crawled backwards, away from me and pulled himself up by the door, hissing over his shoulder.

  “You’ll be sorry.”

  I stepped towards him and he scuttled from the kitchen and out the front door, running full pelt towards his car. As soon as he reached it, I closed the door and locked it, going back to the kitchen to see Kinsley crying and Cara holding her. I almost relaxed until I heard the sound of a gunshot. It was loud, then there was another and another.

  “Quick,” Kinsley yelled, tugging at my arm, and pulling me away with her.

  She led Cara and me down a flight of stairs, carefully closing the door at her back and tugged us into a room that blended in with the wall at the back of the basement. She closed the door and an automatic green light came on. Cara was shaking hard and I walked over, pulling her into my arms and pressing a soft kiss to her forehead. Kinsley stood by the door and we heard the gunshots getting louder and louder in the kitchen above us.

  “Not. So. Brave. Now. Are. You?” Grant yelled, as he fired round after round.

  We heard the tinkling of glass and then nothing. Kinsley walked behind us and sat down on a bunk, that was attached to the wall without a word and Cara wrapped her shaking hands around my waist, holding me tightly.

  “Kinsley,” we heard, and we all turned towards the door, but then we heard more glass tinkling, and the smash and crash of wood as he searched through the house.

  “Can he find us?” Cara whispered and I turned in time to see Kinsley shake her head.

  “No. This room is soundproof, bulletproof and lightproof. Well it’s soundproofed in that you can’t hear a sound from anyone inside, but you can hear noises from outside. There’s a control though to let you speak to the outside, but it’s broken. Once the door is closed, you have to know exactly where it is to be able to find it.”

  She put her head into her hands, and I could see her shoulders shaking with sobs. I wanted to comfort her, but there was only so much I could do. I glanced around and spotted a small loveseat to the side of the bunks and led Cara over to sit there while we waited.

  “You guys did call the cops, right?” I whispered into Cara’s ear and she nodded before curling against my chest.

  We sat in the room for a while and I glanced around taking in the surroundings. There was a small loo, with a tiny sink beside it on the left-hand side of the room and a wooden partition screen was beside it. On the righthand side of the door, were another set of bunks and some cabinets. There was also an old TV with buttons and some blankets.

  “Kinsley.” We heard again and we all jumped, but none of us more than Kinsley.

  “Hey, are you okay?” I asked her as she stood up and began pacing around the room.

  “No. I’m really fucking not. My boyfriend has turned out to be a total psycho and I’m stuck in here with two kids I barely know.” She broke off breathing hard, as my stomach growled loudly.

  “There’s snacks in the
cupboard by the door.” Kinsley threw carelessly at me and I stood up quickly and walked over to find protein bars, bottled water, candy, and chips.

  I grabbed a pile of each and handed them out to the girls, while we waited on the cops to arrive.

  “Can you call the cops again?” I asked and glanced around at the girls.

  Cara checked her cell but had no service. My cell was out of charge, but Kinsley shook her head.

  “My cell is in the kitchen,” she told me before she put her head down on the table.

  We were stuck down here until the cops came and I didn’t know how long it would take. I just hoped Cara’s family heard the gunshots and called the cops.

  “Is there a landline …” I began, but Kinsley was already shaking her head.

  “No. It’s broken, and my dad hasn’t bothered to fix it. We just need to sit tight and wait.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  Anxious Wait

  Cara

  My legs bounced as I waited nervously for the cops. Blake was calm and reassured, but his eyes were tight. I could tell he was worried as he paced around the tiny box room, that I’d only been in once as a kid. Marty and I had been playing around and he’d shown me into this room when I was seven or eight, closing the door over tightly and I’d begun to panic.

  What if we were stuck in here?

  What if no-one found us?

  I couldn’t find the doorway to let myself back out again, but Marty held my hand and pushed against the door at the right spot, leading me back upstairs, where his mom scolded him for scaring me.

  Now, however, I was glad we were in this tiny room. I knew I was safe in here, but it was the people outside I was worrying about.

  What if Josh decided to come over to speak to Blake?

  Or my mom came over to see where I was?

  My heart was hammering in my chest and I stood up walking towards the door to see if I could hear anything going on.

  “Kinsley. I. Know. You’re. Down. Here.” Grant called out, sounding closer than before. I started back, careering into Blake, who held me as I shook. He led me back over to the loveseat and sat down, pulling me onto his lap and wrapping his arms around me.

  “Shhh, Cara. It’s okay. It’ll be okay.” He whispered into my ear and ran his nose along my neck.

  “You can’t hide forever.” Grant screamed and we all stared at the door, but Kinsley began to hyperventilate. Blake gently set me down, before going over to her and taking her hand. He spoke to her in a low voice that caused butterflies to erupt in my gut.

  “Kinsley,” Grant screamed, and I saw her visibly flinch.

  Blake stayed beside her, and we heard a loud scuffle outside. Then there were two very loud gunshots that made my ears ring. Kinsley covered her ears and I dropped to the floor on instinct, but then, there was nothing. We all sat in the silence that followed, praying that the cops had managed to disarm Grant, but no-one wanted to open the door to check. After an hour of silence, I stood up and was about to open the door, when Blake stopped me.

  “No, Cara. We don’t know if it’s safe or not. We can’t go out yet. We have to stay in here, because if he’s waiting out there and opens fire on us in here, then we’re all dead. There’s nowhere to hide.” His words were gentle, but still made me shake all over, because I knew that if he found us, he’d kill us all.

  His words made sense and I nodded, before he gently lifted my chin and pressed a soft kiss to my lips, that almost made me forget where I was and what was happening. He stepped back and I went and lay down in one of the bunks. My body began to shake and shiver, until Blake opened up one of the blankets and covered me with it. He opened another one and covered Kinsley, before he sat on the floor beside me facing the door.

  Hours passed and I slept a little, so did Blake and Kinsley and still there was nothing. No sounds outside the door or anything. We all sat in silence and Blake had his hand over my waist, giving me comfort as I slept.

  Eventually, at around three in the afternoon the door opened, and bright lights flooded the room. Kinsley sat up, rubbed her eyes, and flew towards the door. Blake stood stiffly from the ground and helped me up from the bunk, as my mom and dad came into view. Kinsley had flown into Don’s arms and he was holding her tightly, as he spoke into her ear. I couldn’t make out what they were saying, but she was shaking in his arms. My body flew without moving and I rushed into my mom’s arms, seeking comfort from her, and breaking down as soon as I was in her arms. She led me from the basement, up the stairs and didn’t stop walking until we were home. Once we were inside, she took me into the sitting room and just sat with me until I calmed down. Once I was, she gave me a gentle shake and I lifted my eyes to look at her.

  “Mom, I was so scared.” I confessed in a quivering voice and she gave me a tight smile.

  “What were you doing over there? Didn’t you know Marty was away for the weekend?” Her reproachful tone made me sit a little straighter. While I knew my mom wouldn’t approve of me seeing Blake, I had to be honest with her. I didn’t lie to my mom, not ever.

  “I went to see Blake.” I muttered in a small voice looking down at my hands and glancing back at her from under my lashes.

  Her eyes widened in surprise and she sat up a little straighter.

  “Why did you go to see Blake? I don’t understand. Is something going on with you two?” She asked me in a serious voice, and I stared at her in silence for a beat. I could feel the blush creeping up my cheeks and I decided to play it off like I just had a crush on him.

  “No, mom, nothing’s going on. I wanted to see if he wanted to come for a run with me.” I told her and could feel the heat on my cheeks as I answered her. I refused to meet her eyes and hoped she wouldn’t quiz me too much more.

  “Do you have a crush on him, Caralynn?” She asked as her eyes took in my blush, my darting eyes and I laughed, because I was nervous. I was worried that she would be angry, or somehow annoyed that I liked him.

  “I uh… I don’t…” I stuttered and I chewed on my lip as I tried to figure out what to say.

  Did I have a crush on Blake?

  Yes.

  Did I think he liked me back?

  Sometimes.

  But could anything happen with us if he was still determined to move back to Georgia?

  No, not likely.

  My mom smiled at me and moved closer to sit by me on the couch.

  “It’s okay to have a crush on someone, but he’s bad news according to his mom. You gotta keep your wits about you with guys like that. He is very good looking though, so I don’t blame you for liking him.” Her kind words made me melt a little and I opened up to her about him.

  “I know mum, but he’s kind and sweet, I don’t think he would hurt me.” I responded as I curled into her side and she gave me a soft kiss to my head.

  “Oh, my sweet girl, I hope he doesn’t because you are kind, fearless, loving, sweet and any boy would be so lucky to have you. I just want you to be careful and don’t throw your heart at him, because he’s exciting or new.”

  I knew she spoke from a place of love, so I hugged into her and rested my head on her shoulder. She clicked onto the movie channel and together, we watched The Hunger Games, which I loved. It was one of my favorite movies and I totally crushed on Liam Hemsworth. My dad made me food, came in and sat on the other side and we were joined by Josh, who kept glancing at me suspiciously. Eventually, everyone was engrossed in the movie and when it was finished, we put on the next one.

  Dad ordered takeout and I went up to my room to change from my running clothes. While I was in my room, I checked my cell to see Blake had sent four messages. I’d saved his number after I read his message earlier and had texted him to ask him to come for a run with me. So, I when I arrived at Marty’s, I was very surprised to see Kinsley back home. While Blake went to dress, I saw more of her neck and noticed the bruising around her cheek and eye, but I didn’t ask her about it, because I didn’t know how to. My cell vibrated in my p
alm, breaking me from my thoughts of earlier and I glanced down to see another message from him had arrived.

  Blake - Hey, are you okay, Cara? I didn’t get to see you in all the confusion.

  Blake - Hey, what’s wrong, Princess?

  Blake - Cara are you okay?

  Blake - Cara, please answer me.

  Blake - I don’t know if I freaked you out with hitting that douche, but I need you to know I’d never ever lift my hands to hit a girl. I swear.

  My eyes watered and I slumped down onto my bed, as I pondered what to reply and then I decided to just type what I was feeling.

  Cara - Hey Blake, you didn’t freak me out. I was just freaked by what happened. Are you okay? Is Kinsley okay?

  The three little dots appeared as Blake typed his response and my cell vibrated but before I could read the message, Josh came into the room and plopped himself onto the bed beside me.

  “Hey, Cara, is something going on with you and Blake?” He asked as he picked at a piece of lint from his jeans and I turned to look at my amazing, protective brother. I wondered whether to lie to him too, but then decided to tell him a half truth.

  “I’m not sure. I’d like something to happen with him, but he keeps pulling away.” I muttered shyly and Josh smirked and then turned to face me fully.

  “That’s teenage boys for you. If he likes you, he’ll make a move, but if he hurts you, I’ll end him.” He answered in a deadly voice, which made me chuckle. I watched as his face darkened and I reached over and gave him a hug.

  “Thank you, Josh. Thanks for always having my back.” I mumbled and squeezed him tightly.

  No matter what happened, Josh was always there for me and I didn’t always appreciate it like I should. He hugged me back and then shrugged me off, standing up and walking towards the door.

  “The cops came while you were at Marty’s. Klaire has been arrested for assault and Harley has been charged with perverting the course of justice.”