BLACK CAT.✔

Chapter Fifty-Nine

"They're here." He stared wide-eyed at her. Drool ran from the corner of his mouth. "They're listening." His head jerked and tilted toward the ceiling. "Can you see them?"

Becky watched her father's blood shot eyes dart around the room to then focus on the rubbish bin he was digging into. Like a crazed starving dog hunting for prey hidden amongst the garbage, empty beer bottles and scraps were slung behind him and lay all over the kitchen floor.

"There's no one here, Dad." Becky spoke in hushed tones. "It's okay." She timidly reached out and touched his shoulder." No one's listening." Becky crouched down to gather the rubbish into a pile.

"They fucking are!" Jared Bridgestone lunged and grabbed his daughter by the shirtfront. He jerked her forward and pushed his face so close to hers that their noses touched. "You wouldn't know!"

Becky could smell the stench of his breath as he spat the words at her.

"You weren't here!" His voice took on a higher timbre then he jerked her again, backwards and forwards, so hard, that her shirt ripped.

Becky struggled to stay upright. "Dad! Please don't." She gasped in a desperate breath. "It's okay. No one's here."

"Where the fuck were you?" Jared shoved her away from him as if she were diseased.

Becky landed on her back and hit the side of her head on the handle of a kitchen drawer. Shards of lightning pain flared over her skull, seared down her neck and tore behind her ear.

Her father didn't notice; he peered around the room, opened the cupboard under the sink, and then frenetically started to pull everything from it. "When I find those fuckers I'm gonna kill them." He pulled his head from the cabinet, a can of insect spray in his hand, grabbing Becky's ankle with his other, and yanked her towards him. "You hear me!" Jared shook the can at her. "I'm gonna kill those fuckers!" He released her and moved on to the next lot of shelving.

Linc hid around the doorway and watched. He got on his hands and knees and crept forward.

Becky shook her head. The place was a mess. She didn't know what drug caused her father to go into his fit of paranoia but it never ended well. She slid slowly backwards, keeping her eyes on him until she got to the door. "Help me up," she whispered to Linc. A stream of blood ran from her scalp, around her ear and flowed down her neck.

"He's been like it for a couple of hours," Linc whispered. "I hid under the bed, Becky." Tears seeped from his eyes as his body trembled.  "I didn't know what to do."

"It's okay." Becky locked the bedroom door and hugged her brother. He clung to her as she rubbed her hand up and down his back. "I'm here now. It's going to be okay."

"Where...where...were you?" He gulped back sobs. "Did...did... you have to work late?"

She didn't want to lie to Linc and felt ashamed for leaving him alone for so long. "Rob and I went for a drive after work." Becky sat on the bed so she could look into his eyes. "I'm so sorry. I should have come and got you but we both worked the same hours today." Becky drew him towards her and held him tighter. "God...I'm so sorry, Linc."

He nodded against her chest. "It's alright." Linc lifted his face and looked at her . "What are we gonna do?"

"Grab your school bag and throw everything you need for tomorrow in it." Becky reached her own bag and gave Linc a smile. "We're gonna go camping so put a pillow with your bag. It'll be an adventure." She shoved her school clothes and purse in on top of her books.