Watch Her Run

Jamie Crest was tall for fourteen, and lean. Her deep auburn hair that fell just past her shoulders with the perfect amount of wave. She was fair skinned with big brown eyes that were always filled with curiosity about the world around her. She was a very accepting girl and didn’t complain about anything at all. She never minded that she didn’t know her dad. It never bothered her that her mom worked all the time and didn’t have much to spare. She didn’t care that she had no one at bring-your-parent-to-school day. Her real family may not have been blood but they cared for her and loved as her own. She fought with Damon Bower like she would an older brother. Mrs. Bower always called to make sure she was home on time. Even Mr. Bower, a military man, gave her money to go to the movies with her friends. She knew that her real mom worked hard to support their family of two all by herself and she appreciated the fact that she wanted the best for Jamie. She did her best to not ‘run away’ from their small family like her mom always accused her of but the pull of living with people that actually knew her and cared about her was too strong. Jamie may not have loved living with just the two of them but she never liked it when her mother dated people. Her mother never understood that Jamie loved the life she lived and loved what she had. Jamie never wanted anything more. She complained to Damon often about the men her hard-headed mother would bring home. Damon was always a good listener and patient too. Lots of Jamie’s friends thought she had a crush on him but they were completely off…..mostly off anyway. It was true that his perfect tan and dark messy hair and icy blue eyes made most women swoon, but Damon was close enough to Jamie’s brother that it would just be weird. Okay, maybe not that weird but she would never date him…then again never was a long time. She told him anything and everything and he did the same. They comforted each other in the hard times and toughened each other up when it was needed. So it was no surprise that when Jamie’s mother started dating this random creepy guy that Jamie had never even seen in their tiny little town, Damon definitely got an earful.

“He’s really weird and old,” she would complain, “I don’t even think he’s from Maryland. He always gives me a really creepy grin whenever he looks at me.”

“Maybe he’s just trying to be nice to you so your mom will like him more.” Damon tried to sympathize with her as much as he could but unlike a lot of the bums and losers her mom usually dated, this guy wasn't half bad. True he was bony and his hair was barley there but he was still charming nonetheless. His light green eyes were always calm and he had a huge smile on all the time. You couldn't help but feel strangely safe around him. For about two years they dated even though Jamie hardly saw him around the house. Finally, around her thirteenth birthday and much to her dismay, Carl Jameson proposed and they became Mr. Jameson, Mrs. Jameson, and Jamie Crest. Jamie refused to give up her mother’s name when they got married. Jamie didn’t want anything to do with this strange man waltzing himself into her life.

“Oh Jamie, you’ll get used to having a man in the house. He’s going to make such a nice addition! And you won’t need to spend so much time at the Bowers’.” her mother would say, trying to convince Jamie to stop sulking. But Jamie did not want ‘a man around the house’. And Jamie definitely didn’t want to spend less time at the Bowers’. In fact as soon as her mother got married Jamie spent much more time there to get away from her new step dad. Anytime Carl would be watching Jamie alone, she would take the bus directly to Damon’s house without even going home.

“Have you ever just tried talking to him?” Damon asked one night when Carl was supposed to be watching her.
“No, and I don’t want to. He creeps me out. I don’t care what my mother says about him
being ‘the perfect father figure’ he is just weird.” Jamie replied, annoyed that he kept
talking about it. Why was she the only one who couldn't stand him?

“Well I think you should just try to make the best of it. Maybe go out with him and your mom to dinner or something like that.” Damon suggested.
Jamie shot him the best death glare she could manage. Damon held his hands up in a fake surrender,
“Okay, okay! It was just a suggestion!”
“Well you suck at suggesting things.”
They both laughed it off and didn’t mention him anymore when they hung out. That was the best thing about hanging out with Damon; he made her feel comfortable and was easy to talk to. He knew when and what to say and when to just shut up. When he needed to press a problem or just let it go. But he still didn’t get why she couldn't be around Carl. No one did.
He always acted…different around her. She couldn’t explain it but whenever it was just the two of them alone, he didn’t make normal conversation like he did with the others. He pried way too much for her liking. And not just the normal questions of ‘How was school?’, ‘Did you like the movie?’, or ‘How have you been?’ He asked seriously personal questions that made her uncomfortable. And he wouldn’t ask then wait for a reply, he would fire out questions in succession, not waiting for an answer. ‘How many friends do you have?Do you have a boyfriend?Why not?What do like in a man?Do you always walk the same path to this friend’s house?’ Of course Jamie had told her mother about this but does she ever listen? Of course not! She wouldn’t hear anything accept how amazing Carl is and how great of a step dad he is. Soon her mother discovered that Jamie was sneaking off to Damon’s every time she was with Carl and started calling Mrs. Bower whenever she was supposed to be home to make sure Jamie wasn’t leaving anymore.
“It’s been almost a year Jamie! You’re going to have to spend some time with him
eventually. And besides Carl has told me some interesting things about Damon that I never would have guessed. I don’t want you going over there anymore.” Her mother told her one day after school.

Too tired to even try to argue Jamie just blew it off. What did it matter what Carl thought? Her mother had always loved Damon. She didn’t seriously believe Carl did she?
It was that first night alone together that things became…..weird. At first he seemed normal. Once she came home he asked her how school was and things like that. Jamie gave him very short answers then ran upstairs and locked herself in her room. There was no way she was going to spend any more time with him than needed. Around eight o’ clock Carl called Jamie down for dinner. Reluctantly she left her algebra homework (her least favorite subject) and went downstairs.

“Nice of you to join me,” Carl said with a grin.
Without so much as a shadow of a smile, Jamie sat down and started eating her spaghetti. About five minutes passed in an awkward silence. Jamie was trying to scarf her food down as fast as possible so she could get back upstairs. Jamie was almost done with her dinner when Carl decided to start talking.

“So your mother tells me that you don’t really want to hang out with me too much…”
Jamie shrugged her response the said

“Can I please go back upstairs? I still have homework to finish.”
“Just wait a little bit. I want to talk to you,” Why did he want to talk now? “I
would like to know why you feel so uncomfortable around me.”
He wanted to know why Jamie thought he was a super creepy weirdo? Fine. She was almost fifteen, and he deserved to know the truth.
“I hate being around you because one: you are not my dad and even though I never knew
my dad, I was okay with just me and my mom, two: if you’re going to waltz yourself into my life without my consent, the least you could do is give me some space and stop being a nosy little creeper, and three: I’ve looked you up and you do not exist anywhere. You are the slimiest, creepiest, ugliest scum ball I have ever met. I don’t know who you are or where you’re from but you had better leave me and my mother alone. I think I’m going to excuse myself.” Jamie took a deep breath, proud of the stinging words she had thought of, and began up the stairs when she felt his cold fingers wrap around her arm.
“You’re right,” he said with a wide grin on his face, “you don’t know anything about me, but I think we can change that.” He pulled her away from the stairs, toward the living
room across from the kitchen, and sat down on the couch with his arm draped firmly around her shoulders. Heart racing Jamie immediately tried to stand up but he pushed her down and forced her to sit.

“Come, come Jamie. Your mother would want us to spend some quality time together.”
He grinned as he reached for the remote and turned the TV on to some reality show, but Jamie wasn’t paying attention. At that moment Jamie was more scared than she had been in her entire life.

She knew she had to run. Get out of there as fast as she could, but it was like a switch had been turned off in Jamie’s head, she couldn’t even move. Carl slowly pulled his hand back across her shoulders, down her arm and started rubbing the top of her thigh.

“See? That’s not so bad is it?” murmured Carl. Jamie shut her eyes as hard as she could, as though if she closed them hard enough, she would be able to shut out the feeling of his cold hand on her leg. Soon Jamie felt his hand creep towards her zipper and undo her jeans. Paralyzed by fright, she just sat there while he ran his hand down the inside of her jeans. Not realizing that she had been holding her breath, she gasped loudly when he snapped the elastic on her panties and started chuckling.

“Don’t be afraid Jamie. This is fun right? You wouldn’t mind if your precious Damon was in my place would you Jamie? Why am I so different?” he crooned.
Jamie would have liked to be at the Bower’s right now, sitting on the couch next to Damon just relaxing and watching one of their favorite black and white movies together. But now Jamie couldn’t think about that, she wouldn’t let him get to her.

“Speaking of Damon,” he continued, “I don’t think that you need to be seeing him so much. You just tell him too much Jamie. It would be a shame if something just slipped out and got you both in trouble wouldn’t it?” Carl had pulled out a Swiss Army knife from his pocket, keeping his other still rubbing Jamie’s leg inside her jeans. He pressed it up against her cheeked and pulled it down, as if he were sharpening his knife on a rock. Jamie started crying, heavy tears started falling down her face.
“Now, now Jamie, don’t cry,” he crooned, “I’m going to make you feel so nice tonight. We’re going to have lots of fun, aren’t we?” He pressed the knife harder onto her cheek. Jamie shut her eyes and shook her head yes as more tears fell faster down her face. Carl smiled, obviously satisfied with her answer. Carl removed his hand from her jeans and pulled her off the couch and Jamie by her arm upstairs to her bedroom. He left the lights off as he cleared off her bed and put her down. Finally the off switch in Jamie’s brain turned on again as she slowly returned to what was happening. She looked over at Carl, who was turned around and taking his shirt off and knew this was her only chance to get away. Quietly she stood up and when Carl didn’t turn around she ran as fast as she could trying to get out of there. She had barely made it to the front hallway when Carl wrapped his boney arms around her waist and dragged her kicking and biting and screaming, back up stairs. Halfway up, he let go with one arm but kept a strong hold with the other, and pulled a white cloth out of his pocket and covered her nose and mouth until she went limp. When Jamie woke up she was lying face up on her bed with her arms and legs tied to the bed posts and a gag in her mouth, completely naked. She lifted her head and saw Carl sitting next to her, also naked and smiling.
“I didn’t want to have to do that but you’re much friskier than some of the other girls. I wanted to wait for you to wake up before we began. I want to make sure that you’re just as satisfied as I am.”
Carl got up and turned the lights off again. Jamie started crying as he walked back to the bed and she could feel his weight on top of her.

The next morning Jamie woke up on her bed curled up in the fetal position. Her clothes were back on her body and there was a blanket tucked up under her chin. Her wrists and ankles had red marks on them which burned. Her whole body was sore from the inside out. Try as she might the images from the night before were permanently burned into her brain. Tears started rolling down her nose and cheeks. A sliver of light shone from outside her doorway. She wished she could slam the door closed and barricade it, never to leave her room again. She kept her eyes wide open, knowing that if she closed them, she would see that horrible grin again. Jamie stared at the door for a while. Time seemed to pause. She didn’t hear anything or see anything move. After what seemed like an hour or more, the light by her door got wider. At first she couldn’t see who it was standing there but she recognized the voice that came from the shadow. That terrible, grinding voice.

“Wakey, wakey Jamie!” Carl said quietly. “You’ve been sleeping all day! It’s about time for lunch now. Don’t you want to join me and your mother?”

Jamie glared at him with more hatred than she had ever felt towards anyone. But she was also scared. It wasn’t fear like she felt at the haunted house during Halloween, or watching a scary movie. What she felt when she saw him now was genuine, pure terror.

“Get away from me. Don’t come any closer to me.” Jamie tried to say in the strongest voice she could muster, which unfortunately wasn’t more than a whisper. She cleared her throat and a little louder she said again,
“I said get away! Don’t come any nearer or I’ll scream, I swear I will.”
“Oh Jamie,” Carl chuckled, “sweet, sweet Jamie. You won’t scream. I also know that you won’t tell anybody about all the fun we had last night.” He took a step inside Jamie’s room and she backed up against the back wall by her bed.

“Do you want to know how I know that Jamie? Go on, ask.” He said. Jamie just continued to glare at him. Carl pulled his switchblade out of his pocket again and started swinging it around.

“You know it would be just a shame if I found out that you had told your wonderful mother or any of your precious little friends more than they should. And it would be much too easy for some tragic accident to happen. Especially in a beach side little town like this.” Carl grinned maniacally at her, his eyes staring directly into hers. He chuckled as he backed out of the room again and closed the door. Jamie let out the breath she didn’t realize she had been holding and slumped back down onto the bed. She didn’t know what to do. She couldn’t say anything to anyone without risking their lives. She thought about just ending everything now, leaving a letter telling them who to arrest then end her life right then and there. It was an easy solution to something she knew would continue. Jamie stayed in bed the rest of the day. She didn’t answer her phone or text anyone back. There was nothing she could do. A feeling of complete hopelessness over took her and she felt like crying again. She had to at least try to get away. Jamie tossed and turned all night long, barely getting a wink of sleep. Her nightmares were haunted with images of his laughing face and that evil grin. When she woke up she decided to get dressed then go directly to Damon’s house. However before she could even reach the door, Carl was standing there with that grin that seemed to be glued to his face. Jamie took a couple steps back and looked around for her mom.

“Now where do you think you’re going young lady? Your mother had an emergency at work and she had to leave right away. I think she’ll be gone the rest of the day.” Carl sounded so happy it made Jamie sick. She ran upstairs to her room and started barricading the door. When she heard banging she backed up towards the window that led to the back yard and opened it. Heart racing, she was about to take the fifteen foot plunge when suddenly the banging stopped. She looked back at the door for one second, only to see that it was still securely closed. Jamie looked back down at the ground and saw Carl standing there; his arms wide open as if ready to catch her. Jamie locked the window again and shut the curtains. She checked the door one more time before picking up her phone and calling 911. Her heart almost stopped when on the other end she heard an operator’s voice say:

“We’re sorry; calls cannot be made at this time. Please check with your local cellular provider and try again later.”
Her mother had forgotten to pay the damn cell phone bill.

Jamie screamed when she heard the banging on the door again. She sprinted back to the window and flung it open again. This time, without hesitating, she leaped from her window and landed in the bushes right next to her house. Pumped full of adrenaline, Jamie didn’t feel any pain from the jump. She just got right up and sprinted as fast as she could away from that house. She didn’t slow down for anything; she just kept running faster and faster, fear and adrenaline keeping her going. The tears in her eyes from the wind were blurring her vision. She didn’t even know where she was. Jamie felt a pain in her side and her breath was coming in heavy. Jamie decided to take one chancing glance behind her to see if Carl was still on her tail. He was. He was in his old pickup, going just slow enough to stay behind her even though she knew he could go faster. Was he playing with her or something? That look gave her one last burst of energy and she sprinted as fast as she could away from the truck. Carl was getting tired of the games though. He wanted Jamie and he wanted her now. He pressed the gas pedal just a little bit further down and became even with Jamie, head down and arms pumping furiously. They had reached a place that was just past the neighborhood behind them so the only thing left were some backwoods that never got cut down. Carl sped up a little bit and turned the wheel sharply to the right so he blocked Jamie’s path. She fell on the slippery grass as she tried to turn around but that was enough for Carl to get out of the truck and grab her. As soon as Jamie felt his boney arms wrap around her she screamed as loud as she possibly could. Maybe someone would hear her and help. Carl covered her mouth to get her to shut up but she just bit his hand and screamed some more. Surprisingly strong, he was able to hold on to her even through all the kicking and punching and clawing.

“AAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!!! HELP!!!!! PLEASE SOMEBODY HELP!!!!!!!” Jamie screamed as loud as possible, but it didn’t seem like anyone was coming to help her. This was it she thought as Carl dragged her away towards the woods. There was nobody coming for her. Finally deep in the woods Carl pinned Jamie down and put a gag in her mouth to get her to shut up. He also happened to have some random rope with him to tie her wrists and ankles together behind her back so she couldn’t get away. Jamie kept screaming and thrashing anyway, her survival instincts kicking in. Carl walked away for a few seconds then Jamie heard a huge crack and Carl came back with a huge tree branch that was almost as tall as him and half as thick. Suddenly she felt a wave a burning pain as the branch fell on her with skull splitting force. She let out one last shriek before she fell limp on the ground. Blood spilled dark and warm from her head, creating a pool all around her.

“There. Now that’s better isn’t it?” Carl sneered as he set the branch down. “You know I never planned to kill you Jamie but I just can’t seem to keep you down.” Carl sat down in front of her and brushed the sticky hair away from her face. Even the slightest touch caused the drum like pounding in her head to turn to a nauseous, fire like pain. She tried to move away, but any movement was impossible. She couldn’t think or feel anything besides the horrible pain in her head. She just lay there; a helpless, pathetic little shell of a child, slowly draining away.

“I tried to be nice to you. I wanted to be the fantastic father figure that you never had. But you didn’t give me the chance Jamie. I wanted you to love me as much as I loved you. I actually knew everything about you far before your mother and I got married. I watched while we dated and you seemed so mysterious and intriguing. That’s when I decided I wanted a closer look at this strange child.” He continued his monologue, apparently unaware that he was talking to himself, “But now I’m afraid that we can’t afford that beautiful big mouth of yours to get on the loose.” Carl stood up again and undressed from the waist down. Jamie had shut her eyes a long time ago to get rid of the pain, but now it was to keep the tears falling down her face. She didn’t know why she was hiding them anymore. It’s not like it mattered much anyway. She hardly noticed when Carl pulled down her pants as well and got on top of her. Sure it added to the beating in her head but it was all starting to go kind of numb now. She opened her eyes but found it was too much work to focus on anything in particular. Jamie felt his weight lift off of her body and kind of heard the crunching leaves as he walked away. Of course he didn’t bother to dress her again. It seemed like a silly thing to think about at a time like this but if she was going to die, then she could at least die decently. Suddenly another surge of pain sent fire through her body originating from her stomach. She let out a short shriek. All of her senses seemed to be sharpened by 500 percent and she looked up to see Carl standing over her with a huge rock over his head. BAM! Her head seemed to split open as he hit her again. Her breath became ragged and everything started getting lighter. She felt one last clip on her shoulder that almost seemed comforting compared to the searing pain all over her body. Then, she might have been imagining things but she thought she heard Damon’s voice from somewhere in the distance crying out to her, telling her to come back. Were those sirens she heard too? It was about time they came she thought to herself as she lay there bleeding out. It didn’t hurt much anymore though. In fact she didn’t feel anything at all. She opened her eyes and found that she was watching the whole scene from above. Damon was leaning over her lifeless body covered in blood crying. This was the first time that she had ever seen him cry… and the last. She looked around and saw Carl unconscious with that large branch next to his head a few feet away. The ambulance and police cars had finally arrived and were on the edge of the forest with the lights flashing. At the end of the street was a huge crowd closed in by yellow tape, looking to see what all the commotion was about. That was when she realized that she had been running down Damon’s street without even noticing. Maybe she had a feeling that he would come to save her – even if it was too late. She was sad to be leaving everyone and everything she had loved so soon. There were still so many things she never got to do, places she never saw, people she never met, loves she never had. Now it was time for her to rest. It was as though the weight of her whole life was being put on her all at once and she felt so tired. As though she had done nothing but run her whole entire life. But as the scene below faded to white, the exhaustion that was her life overcame her. She laid down in her white dressing gown onto what seemed like a cloud but was a million times more comfortable than any cloud had ever looked. Finally she closed her eyes and went into the most peaceful sleep, for the rest of eternity.