Cry For Help

by Clara Lewis

  At this point, Evelynn let muscle memory take over. Her hand pressed each note with confidence, and judging from the look on Jennifer’s face, she enjoyed it too.

  The nursery rhyme was done in what seemed like seconds. Evelynn expectantly looked at Jennifer who looked at her with simple adoration. Jennifer walked closer and stroked her hair.

  “That was beautiful dear.”

  She looked at her watch and gasped.

  “It’s late! Come on now, I’ll show you to your room.”

  Evelynn nodded meekly. She got up slowly from the seat and followed Jennifer. Despite Jennifer’s mood change, Evelynn could still see how tightly she held onto her gun. The safety wasn’t even on; Jennifer was ready to shoot.

  Jennifer led her through another part of the house, one that Evelynn had no chance to look at. They passed the living room and entered a narrow hallway. Jennifer walked to the first door. It opened with a creak, leading into a room. She held the door open for Evelynn and ushered her inside.

  “Sleep well. We have to start practice early in the morning. There’s a talent show this weekend!”

  Evelynn almost laughed. Sure, bring a kidnap victim to the local talent show and win the blue ribbon. She walked into the room and didn’t relax until the door had closed. She only let out the breath she’d been holding when she heard the lock click.

  Evelynn huffed when she realized that she hadn’t seen her phone lying around anywhere in the house. All she needed was one opportunity to grab hold of it. She needed to send a message.

  Step one of being a kidnapper: remove anything that can enable your victim to contact the outside world.

  “At least you have a bed now,” she whispered to herself.

  The room was a typical room for a thirteen-year-old. Evelynn was sure that Emily hated this room. No seventeen-year-old would accept the pink wallpaper and the princess theme. The pink hurt her eyes.

  Another reason would be that this room was essentially a prison cell.

  Maybe this room had something that could help her escape. Evelynn walked around and laid a palm against the wall. She looked through all the drawers and knocked on them softly just in case there was a false bottom. Nothing.

  Evelynn tried her best to stay silent. She had to move the bed to feel the wall behind the heavy bedframe. As quietly as she could, Evelynn pushed the bed. It caused a loud scraping noise and she stopped immediately. With bated breath, she stood still and stared at the door.

  She heard Jennifer stir and rushed into the bed. She threw the covers over her and pretended to sleep.

  Sure enough, the light in the hallway turned on and Jennifer’s footsteps made their way to Evelynn’s room.

  “Emily? Are you all right?”

  Evelynn said nothing and buried her face into the covers a little deeper.

  The lock turned and the door creaked open. Jennifer stood at the doorway and whispered something. Evelynn wished for her to go away.

  She didn’t.

  Jennifer walked toward Evelynn, sat down next to her and started to stroke her hair. Evelynn resisted the urge to curl away from this woman’s touch.

  “I was going to become a star.”

  This sounded good.

  “They said I wasn’t good enough. Do you know who will be good enough?”

  Evelynn almost answered. Her sarcastic retort was on the tip of her tongue.

  “You will be good enough, Emily. You will show them that you’re my blood and that we are good enough.”

  Evelynn wanted to scream. Jennifer continued to stroke her hair until her hand stopped. Evelynn began to relax but suddenly pressure was around her throat. Jennifer kept on pressing and there was only so much Evelynn could take.

  Evelynn’s eyes shot open and the sight of Jennifer looking down on her was outright terrifying. She closed them again, willing Jennifer to leave. It was something that would haunt her nights starting from tonight.

  “You will be perfect for me.” Jennifer whispered.

  Her hand went back and gave Evelynn’s hair one last stroke. Evelynn couldn’t prevent herself from flinching away. Thankfully, Jennifer didn’t notice. She just got up and left the room.

  The lock clicked and Evelynn sat up in bed. She took in deep gulps of air and held a hand over her heart. It was beating like crazy. Her hand went to her throat and traced where Jennifer’s hand had been. She would have a bruise come morning.

  “I have to get out of here,” she sighed.

  Chapter 7

  Evelynn barely slept. Jennifer was highly unpredictable, and Evelynn jolted awake every single time she heard footsteps.

  Just like the piano room, this room had no windows. Evelynn had no idea as to what time it was. Judging from the chirping of the birds outside, she guessed that it was morning. The sound of Jennifer’s car starting up had proven her theory.

  Jennifer had work in the morning and wouldn’t be back till around three in the afternoon. That gave Evelynn ample time to look for a way out. When she heard the car door slam and the car back out of the driveway, she got out of bed.

  She resumed her search of the room. Evelynn pulled the heavy bed away from the wall and felt along it. She placed her palms on the walls and pushed. Evelynn’s heart soared when one of the boards squeaked.

  For a moment she stood still and waited for any sound that would indicate that Jennifer was home. Evelynn allowed herself a small smile when she didn’t hear Jennifer’s footsteps headed her way. She was gone. She was at school. With excited hands, Evelynn pulled on the loose board in the wall.

  It came away easily and she looked inside. The opening wasn’t big enough for her to stick her head in to look. Evelynn stuck her arm inside and pushed on the wall across from her. It gave way and cracked loudly. The loose board hadn’t fallen over to the other side, but there was a big enough hole for Evelynn to see the living room. And there… just beyond the living room, was the front door.

  Evelynn’s heart beat faster when she realized that she finally had a way out.

  However, she couldn’t fit through the hole created by one loose board. She had to make the hole bigger for her to crawl out and escape. Evelynn pulled on another board, and when it came loose, she silently cheered.

  As Evelynn pulled on the board, something fell out and landed on the ground with a soft thud. Evelynn put the board aside and inspected it. It was a diary: an old, tattered and yellowed diary. Its pages had already been filled a long time ago, but as Evelynn paged through the diary, she saw the handwriting of different people refilling the same pages over and over again.

  Evelynn knew exactly who this diary belonged to. She flipped through the pages and brought a hand to her mouth as she read its contents.

  Jennifer had been terrible to her lately, but these girls had spent years with Jennifer. The first few pages had been Emily pouring her heart into the diary. She was terrified of her own mother. For years, Jennifer had been obsessed with perfection.

  I didn’t want to play the piano. I wanted to travel, and I met someone who will help me escape this hell.

  Those were the last words that Emily had written in her diary. The following pages were filled with someone else’s handwriting.

  “This must be Becca.” Evelynn whispered to herself.

  Becca had known Emily personally. She’d even gone as far as describing Emily as her best friend. It was only after Jennifer had killed her that she understood why Emily missed school a lot. She had always thought Emily was just sickly. However, after she had now stayed in the same room as Emily and experienced the same abuse at the hands of Jennifer, she understood why Emily had random bruises on her hands and body.

  I should have been careful. I should have listened to Emily when she said I should no longer visit.

  Evelynn felt for Becca. She recalled the information she read in the case notes. Becca had stayed in this house for nearly five years before her dead body wound up in the woods nearby.
Out of everyone, she had suffered the most.

  Within those five years, people had simply given up searching for her. While they had all moved on with their lives, Becca was subject to Jennifer’s treatment. In all her time, she had finished up the remaining pages of the book.

  Leah Sanchez. Her neat scrawl crowded the margins of the diary. She was slightly younger than the two previous victims. Compared to the others, Leah’s story had caused a tear to slip out of Evelynn’s eye. Becca and Cassie had families who would look for them.

  No one will look for me.

  Early into her diary entries, she had given up.

  Evelynn flipped to the beginning of the diary again and looked for Cassie’s entry. Sure enough, in the spaces available, she spotted the girl’s scribbles.

  She was the youngest. Despite the horrible situation that she was put in, she always looked at the bright side. Jennifer would hurl abuse her way both physically and verbally and she would just take it. Her positivity hurt Evelynn to the core.

  I’ll try harder tomorrow. Maybe then Ms. Campbell will let me see my mom and grandma again.

  The experiences the girls shared were different in a few ways. They had all come from different circumstances in life. Evelynn could even tell their handwriting apart, the more she read through the diary. However, there was one thing each of the girls shared.

  Each girl had cried while writing in the diary. Evelynn didn’t know if they cried for themselves or if they cried when they realized that there were more victims aside from themselves.

  Evelynn shut the book, no longer able to read more. This diary was all she needed to get Jennifer in a prison cell with no way of her ever getting out. And it still wasn’t what she deserved.

  She placed the book within the walls again and focused on pulling away loose boards. She kicked at the wall across her and the wood gave way. Evelynn scrambled out then reached back in the wall to grab the diary. She held it close to her chest as she looked around her.

  Evelynn stood up and dusted pieces of the wall off her borrowed clothes. She needed to find her phone. She ran from room to room and found her phone in one of the drawers in Jennifer’s room. With her phone safely tucked into her dress, she took a moment to stand back and examine the room.

  Every surface had either a trophy or a medal on it. Evelynn looked closer. All these awards were dedicated to Jennifer Campbell. Jennifer had built up a collection of prizes, and they were consistent. However, after a certain year, it stopped.

  Evelynn guessed that was her breaking point. That was the point she decided that if she wasn’t going to be a successful pianist, her daughter would become one.

  There was no time to waste. Evelynn left the room and entered the living room. She finally stood at the front door. Taking a deep breath, she placed her hand on the handle.

  Of course, it was locked.

  Chapter 8

  Jennifer was meticulous. Evelynn hoped the door was flimsy enough to at least crack when she slammed into it. It didn’t. Frustrated, Evelynn kicked at the door.

  She continued to search for any opening. She had to get out. However, the windows were all barred. There was no getting out.

  So caught up was Evelynn in trying to look for a way out, she didn’t notice Jennifer’s car pull up in the driveway. She didn’t hear the sound of keys jingling outside the front door nor the key turning in the lock. She had been so distracted with locating an escape route, she didn’t notice the front door open.

  “What are you doing?”

  Jennifer’s voice stopped Evelynn in her tracks. She turned and looked at Jennifer whose stare had turned icy.

  “You’re trying to run away from me again, Emily?”

  The door slammed.

  Evelynn threw the diary under one of the sofas and hoped Jennifer wouldn’t find her phone. She backed up into a corner as Jennifer stormed towards her.

  “You’re leaving me for a boy you knew for a few months? After everything I sacrificed? To raise you?”

  Jennifer was in a haze of anger, but Evelynn had no idea what she was talking about. There was one thing she knew for sure. This anger would be enough to make her the fifth victim. Evelynn looked from side to side, eager for a way out, but she found none.

  “I’m not Emily!” Evelynn yelled back.

  Jennifer paused. She looked absolutely hurt. Her had quickly dug in her purse and pulled the gun out.

  “You take that thing to a school?” Evelynn gasped.

  Jennifer didn’t hear her. She only stalked over and pointed the gun at Evelynn’s head. She grabbed Evelynn’s upper arm in a tight grip and pushed her in the direction of the basement.

  “Get to the basement now.”

  Evelynn walked over in front of Jennifer and closed her eyes when she felt the phone slip from within her dress. Immediately, she wrapped her hands around her waist. Jennifer frowned but said nothing. She brought the gun closer and pushed her into the basement.

  Evelynn still had no shoes. On her feet were thin socks that were absolutely hopeless for the damp basement floors. Evelynn rubbed her arms as a cold gust of wind came in through the small windows.

  “Sit.”

  Evelynn sat and gasped when the cold floor touched her bare legs. Jennifer fetched the shackle as she kept the gun trained on Evelynn. The rusted metal clicked closed and Jennifer stood up.

  She took a deep breath and walked back up the stairs. Evelynn held her breath. Jennifer would most likely come back with some sort of punishment. Evelynn had done nothing but push Jennifer and she must have had enough of Evelynn’s disobedience.

  The moment that Jennifer slammed the basement door closed, Evelynn dug the phone out of her dress and looked at her notifications. Alec had sent her dozens of missed calls and messages.

  Evelynn had no time to look through all of them. She turned on her location and sent a message to Alec.

  At Jennifer’s house. Send backup.

  She quickly stuffed the phone back into her dress, just in time for Jennifer to come back with a belt. Evelynn couldn’t help but scoot back until her back hit the wall. Jennifer gave her a sad smile.

  “I didn’t want to do this,” she said , “but you have to learn.”

  Evelynn shook her head.

  “I think three lashes would do.” Jennifer said, more to herself than to Evelynn.

  “None would be preferable.” Evelynn retorted.

  Jennifer gave her a glare.

  “Turn around.”

  Evelynn refused to do so. Jennifer huffed and roughly pushed her. It was all Evelynn could do to curl herself into a ball on the floor and close her eyes as Jennifer dealt out her punishment.

  Each strike felt like fire. It was only three, but the pain got worse with each swing that landed on her back. However, Evelynn refused to make a noise. She had a feeling that if she did, Jennifer would take that as asking for more.

  Judging from the wounds Evelynn had sustained when she woke up and her encounter with the baseball bat, Jennifer had a heavy hand.

  In the midst of the chaos, the phone flew out of Evelynn’s dress and clattered loudly on the floor. Jennifer’s eyes followed the phone and her gaze turned deadly. Evelynn closed her eyes and shielded her head with her arms. No strike came.

  Jennifer simply walked over and picked up the phone then hurled it against the wall. The screen cracked and the light eventually flickered and died. Evelynn bit her lip and hoped that Alec had gotten her message.

  Jennifer lowered the belt and calmed down. Evelynn sat herself up and winced as the coarse material of her dress rubbed against her new welts. Jennifer came closer and got down on her knees. They were now at eye level. Despite that, Evelynn flinched away. Jennifer brushed a stray hair away from her face.

  Jennifer looked at her with different eyes. This was no longer the Jennifer who called her Emily. This was the woman who had attacked her in the piano room for not being her real daughter.

>   “How did you know about the other girls?” Jennifer asked, her voice as sweet as honey.

  “I- I guessed at first.” Evelynn said.

  Jennifer stared at her, expecting more. Evelynn had found out more. Once she had recognized the wounds on Emily’s body weren’t because “she tripped and fell down the stairs” and that they were in fact signs of abuse, Evelynn had pointed a finger at Jennifer.

  Although it was based on a hunch, Evelynn’s theories were proven eventually. At this point, she was a walking piece of evidence.

  Jennifer finally realized that Evelynn wasn’t willing to say anything anymore. She stood up and brushed off her skirt.

  “You’ll get no dinner tonight, not after what you did today.”

  Evelynn resisted the urge to roll her eyes. That was the last thing on her mind.

  Chapter 9

  Alec struggled to get the backup to drive to Jennifer’s house. She was a respected member of the community after all. It would make sense that any effort at getting a warrant was denied.

  She had been gone for only twenty-four hours, but in the short time that he knew Evelynn, he could tell that she was stubborn. Enough so that he feared for her life.

  He hadn’t slept a wink. He held his phone in a vice grip, checking constantly for a message from Evelynn.

  “Hey man, I think you should just leave the case. Nothing good comes from stressing over something that’s essentially a cold case.”

  Alec gritted his teeth. He decided to ignore the man.

  He had started to doze off when his phone buzzed in his hand. He stood up abruptly causing his chair to fall over and skid on the floor. Heads turned but he didn’t care. He finally had something to show his boss.

  The chief was on his way out. Alec intercepted his exit. In his hands he held the phone and a warrant.

  “Please sir, I just need you to sign this.”

  The chief looked down on him in irritation.

  “I said no the first time, didn’t I now?”

  Alec practically shoved the phone into his face. The chief’s face changed. He still couldn’t believe that Jennifer was capable of anything this horrendous, but Alec rejoiced that the chief started to doubt.