Praying to the Moon

Chapter Eleven- The Footage

The next morning I woke up with a pounding headache and a sick stomach. I felt so stressed out, my head was constantly clouded. I tried to figure out a plan to fix everything for everyone, the guilt was beginning to get too much for me. Suddenly, a light bulb flashed inside my head, I had the live camera in my bedroom. I prayed that the person who broke in hadn't seen it and disconnected it or stolen it. It may hold all the footage needed to stop this person.

I nervously turned my laptop on. I knew once I began the footage I would see someone stealing all of my stuff and trashing my room. I knew that it was also highly likely that this person would be responsible for everything that had been happening to me. They would be responsible for me having to go away for so long and the strain on my relationship with both Sienna and James. I held my breath as the footage began. I sat for ten minutes watching an empty room before I decided to fast forward until I saw any movement. The footage was slightly grainy and in black and white. I hoped the person wouldn't just be a pixelated shadow, too grainy to identify.

My closed bedroom door sat untouched for majority of the footage. I began to lose hope that anyone was captured on my recording. Unexpectedly, my bedroom door slams open. It flings against the wall, creating a hole from the door knob. A tall man walks in, head covered by a hoodie and a hat. He was carrying a baseball bat and an empty rubbish sack. My heart sinks as he starts swinging the bat against the wall and plaster crumbles to the floor. How much would we have to pay the landlord for all of this damage? I had hardly any money left.

The man walks over towards my bed and looks underneath it. I assumed he was searching for something valuable to take. My room was pretty empty and he picks up the only thing left, my bedding. He shoves my pillows and duvet into his bag. I wondered why he would want to take that, surely it had no monetary value, it was all pretty old and used. He then runs over towards my closet and violently swings the doors open. He picked up a few pairs of my shoes and chucked them into the bag. I could tell he wasn't alone, he was calling out to someone else in the house. The footage had no sound, I couldn't hear what he was saying. I longed for him to turn around and face the camera, I needed a got shot of his face to give to the police. He continued to look around my bedroom, lifting every object and checking underneath. Finally, he edged closer to the desk, towards the camera. His face became clearer and I could identify his face. I couldn't believe my eyes, the person robbing my house and trashing my room was James.

I ran straight to the bathroom and threw up several times. I was screaming and my mum came running up the stairs.
"Lily, what's wrong? Are you okay?"
I swung the bathroom door open and started hyperventilating, the room was spinning faster and faster.
"Sit down on the edge of the bath. You're okay, just breathe."
I wanted to tell her what was wrong, I wanted someone to help me make everything better. The only words I could manage to verbalise was "no, no, no."
"Shh, you're okay, you're okay. We will fix it. Just relax and breathe."
My mum held me in her arms, rocking me back and forth. I began to feel like a child again, only this time my issues were much more serious.
"It's so bad mum."
I watched my tears drip onto her wrist as her arms cradled me.
"Nothing is too big or bad okay. We can fix it."
I lied against my mum, listening to her heart beat for well over an hour before I calmed down.

"Let's go to your room and chat."
Mum grabbed my hand and lead me towards my room. My laptop sat still paused on the footage, I felt dizzy again looking at it.
"What's going on?"
Mum sat down on the edge of my bed and I sat down on my desk chair. I wanted to be as far away from the laptop as possible. A heavy downpour of rain began falling on the tin roof, creating the sound of a rumbling drum.

Over the course of an hour I filled my mum in on my life from the past year. I told her about James and how perfect he appeared. I told her about the group of girls in my class and then everything from the fleas to the brick and the police station. Then, I told her the soul crushing confession of what I had seen on my laptop. I could feel my throat getting tighter and my eyes getting blurry with tears. I wondered how long it would be before I felt okay again.

"Alright Lily. This is fixable. It's horrible, but it's fixable. Don't let James know you know it's him yet. As hard as that will be, we can't give him any clues because then he might take off. In the morning we will drive you back to the city, you can check the flat out and what's been damaged and then we will go to the police and show them the footage. I trust once this is all done you'll break up with James? I would recommend getting a restraining order, he sounds very unstable."

I could tell my mum was organising everything in her head, she was always good at making lists. I began to feel better as I felt the support of my family behind me. I knew I would no longer have to face any of this alone and I felt safer. As horrible as it was to know James was behind all of this, it was also a relief to not have to be paranoid around every single person. I knew who was risky and who I now needed to stay away from.

The rest of the day felt like a dream, like I wasn't present in my own reality. I participated in conversations with my family and played with Luca outside. I was still only thinking about one person and one situation, though. How could James do this to me? Did he ever love me or was this just one big plan to rob me?

Later that night James texted me. I felt disgusting even reading his messages, I wanted to throw my phone in the trash. I had to follow my mums plan though, so that he didn't run away before we went to the police. I couldn't let him get suspicious that I knew.

"Babe, those people rammed my car today. I'm at the mechanics. I hope you're keeping yourself safe. Xx"

I stared at the text and tried to figure out why he was making this story up. What was he gaining out of pretending he was attacked? I figured he was doing it to keep me off his trail, so I wouldn't suspect him. I had to play along.

"That's awful! I hope you're not hurt :( try to keep yourself safe."

I tried not to sound cold in my message but knew it probably came across that way anyway. There was only so much I could bare saying to him.

"I will. Looks like the damage will be expensive though! Sleep well xx"
"Night James, you too."

I turned my phone off and shoved it into my bedside drawer. I wouldn't have to talk to him again hopefully. His game will end tomorrow when I go to the police, I just have to be patient and keep him unsuspecting.