The Man

CW: violence, killing/suicide

She saw the man, casually walking past the end of her driveway as she cleaned her kids dinner plates up. She didn't think much of it at first. It's a small town, and people usually walk around at night to get some last minute exercise before it got too dark. In the back of her mind, though, she wondered who it was. That thought was quickly interrupted by the sound of her daughter yelling at her son.

"Bed time!" she shouted down the hallway, and a second later, the sound of brushing teeth began. As she washed the dishes, the man started popping into her mind once more. Maybe it was the scary movie she watched last night that was putting her on edge. Still, there was an odd sense of familiarity about him. The way he was walking, his posture, and the way he hesitated briefly when he got to the gravel of the drive butting up to the street. She'd worry about it later, she thought. Her newfound way of thinking since becoming a single parent. Only so many hours in the day to worry about things. She didn't see much sense in taking any of that precious time to worry about a little paranoia when there were more practical things to fret over. Bills, job hunting, and scheduling her week out needed to be front and center on her mind. After reading her kids a story and tucking them in, the silence and calm of the home she had made for them after the divorce crept in. She had moved her little family so many times in the past three years, she wondered when it was going to stop. The prank calls that scared her from the small outskirts of a larger town. The vandalism done to her car left her fleeing from the bustling metropolis. She had hoped that moving to a tiny town would give her some peace. She chose her home town for many reasons. He wouldn't think to look for her there. Too many people had seen his face when she brought him down here to meet the family. Still. the thoughts wouldn't leave her mind. Grabbing her planner and pen as she made her way to the desk in the living room, the man invaded her thoughts once more. "I'll just look outside, and see that he isn't there. That'll calm me down." A rational thought, until she pulled back the curtain and saw the outline of a man leaning against her trash can. Panic set in. She had escaped her ex-husbands abuse 3 years ago. Surely he wouldn't come around now. She looked again to the trash can and he wasn't there. Peace washed over her for only a second. The outline was now at the door of her car. A mere 20 feet away. She knew she wasn't crazy. She quickly grabbed her phone and dialed 911. The dispatcher let her know it would be a few minutes before anyone could arrive. A few minutes might be too late, if it was the man she thought it to be. She ran to the door of the room her precious babies were sleeping soundly in, when she had a thought. "Did I lock the door?" A second later, she heard the front door open, slowly as if to not disturb the inhabitants of the home. She peeked around the corner, hoping it was just the wind. "That doors been broken forever, there still might be hope" she thought. That hope was quickly crushed when the man, none other than her ex-husband slowly walked to the start of the hallway. She ducked into the door of her kids room, and started moving whatever furniture she could behind it. The hope chest, filled with her daughters extra clothes. The desk her kids had started using for homework. She woke the kids up and got whatever shoes she could find on their feet. The windows in the house have always had issues opening, but still she hoped one would work, just this once. As she started lifting, the door started to shake. He was pounding on it with what sounded like both fists. She didn't stop to listen to what he was yelling. She had to get her babies out, if nothing else. The window was sticking, as per usual. She had no choice. She grabbed a blanket from her sons bed, and broke the glass. She had to get them out. Just as she started lifting her daughter to get her through the window, a bang. It pierced the air and made their ears ring. Then another. They ducked under the bed and tried to stay as quiet as they could. A second later, the top half of the door was pushed into the floor. She looked up to see feet coming around the side of the bed. They paused when they got to the long side of the bed and she saw the pants legs rise. She knew she would have to sacrifice herself to get her babies to run out. A hand appeared, and she did the only thing she could think to do. She grabbed it and bit as hard as she could. The figure pulled her out from underneath the bed as she screamed for her babies to run. It wasn't until a light was turned on and the man held her tight that she realized it was her neighbor, who had heard the commotion and ran over. A second later, the red and blue lights shown through the broken window. She ran outside, only pausing once to find the body of her ex-husband laying on the floor outside of the kids' room. As she ran out of the front door she scanned the yard, hoping her kids hadn't ran out before the police got there. The officer tried to make her sit but she refused. After a short search of the lot next to hers, they found the kids. Huddled up under some bushes. She knew her kids would be terrified of nights for a short while, but they were still having night terrors from the abuse they had witnessed before the divorce. She picked them up, and held them tighter than she ever had. She wouldn't let them go for as long as they'd stay in her arms. As she sat there, breathing in the smell of their shampoo, she couldn't help but release a sigh of relief. "It's finally over" she whispered under her breath. "We're safe at last."