Young Writers Society

I did it. I finally did it, Miranda. I was able to protect all of us from mom’s asshole of an ex-boyfriend. He thought he could come on in right in the middle of the night and jump into her bed, but he wasn’t able to. He didn’t anticipate that I’d be there in the house. It’s a good thing I had a friend who could cover me on overtime. If not for that, then we’d probably both come home to see mom crying on the living room sofa again. No way can we just leave it at that! He probably thinks that because we’re all women in the house that none of us knows how to fight – how wrong he was.

That moment when I saw him creeping up the stairs to mom’s room, I sprang into action and pulled his leg from behind. I might have tumbled down the stairs with him, but it was worth it to see the bastard fall on the steps face first. Both of us were woozy at the time, considering we did fall at least half of the flight of stairs, but luckily my adrenaline got the best of me. I saw something poking out of his pocket, so I decided to pull it out. It was a box cutter. God knows what he thought of using it for.

Instantly, maybe because he felt the metal tip of the cutter slide across his thigh, he rolled on his back and grabbed a hold of me. I’d like to say that I was winning – that I didn't have any difficulty throwing this man away from me, seeing that he was bleeding from a gash on his forehead, but I did have a hard time. His trained muscles were no match to mine – how I wish I took self-defense PE seriously at that point. Thankfully, a wave of common sense washed over me. I looked down and saw he wasn't protecting that sensitive area that he so loved using. One quick knee thrust and he was there, lying on the staircase, crying over the possible loss of his future children.

It was my chance – it was that one opportunity to change the tide. If I could use that box cutter and graze it across his neck, then months of terrorizing would be over. You remember how stuff in our house would be moved without our knowledge? Do you remember those tapping noises on the windows when we have a movie night, streaming whatever we find on Netflix? Sis, if I could do it, then it would all be over. We wouldn't have to be afraid anymore. No more lack of privacy.

So I did it. It was the goriest thing I'd seen all my life, yet it also was the most glorious moment I'd ever felt. I felt like a hero. No one has to mess with any of us anymore. His blood sprayed everywhere – on my clothes, on the walls, even on the carpets. It was the sound that seemed music to my ears – the gurgles and gasps he released as he tried to keep the blood from flowing by holding on to the cut I've just made. Too bad for him, no matter how much he tries to fight back, his death is inevitable. No way can he survive.

I stood up and left him there – left him on his own to suffer, to let him meet Death without any interruptions. Then again, maybe I was Death in his eyes. Who knows, but what’s important is it’s done. Nothing and no one can make us scared again, especially with this new-found power I wield. I know now that I have the hands and mind that can decide when to erase someone off the face of this earth, for the betterment of everyone else alive.

Aren't you proud of me, Miranda? All three of us can live peacefully from now on. I’ll be here to protect all of us, no matter what method I have to use. If push comes to shove, I can lay it all down again and be Death’s apprentice. I’ll do it. I’ll do it if it means it’s all for our family. You know that that’s what I care about right? It’s about us, about the people dear to me. So please, help me. These people – all these people are judging me. They confined me in a room and look at me as if I’m a rat. They murmur things – things that aren't true. I can hear them say that they’ll keep me here until I can live on my own – until I can accept the truth. Do you want to hear the lies they say? I’ll tell you.

They say you and mom are dead.

That isn't true right? I saved all of us. They try to tell me that lie – they try to make me believe, but I won’t, because I know better. I killed him, I know I did. I killed him, didn't I? You should know that, you and mom have been visiting me time and again inside this room. I tried telling them that, but the dumb people won’t believe me. They tell me there’s no one there. Of course there is! There’s mom and you! What I don’t understand is why they can’t see the living but would interact with the dead.

You know what I mean, right? All the time, the ghost of mom’s ex-boyfriend stands outside that door, looking at me with those rage-filled eyes.