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Chapter or Story
Disclaimer: Don’t have anything to do with the pretender. No money is being made from this.
Chapter 1
Broots sat in his car, looking across the street toward Miss Parker’s house. He prayed that she wasn’t home, but unfortunately she was. He let out a deep sigh, and stared at the gun sitting in the passenger seat. How could he do this to her? Miss Parker was almost like a sister to him. She was always there for Debbie, like a mother figure to the girl.
Putting the keys back in the ignition he turned the car on, but then quickly turned it back off. There was no escaping this nightmare. It was either Debbie or Miss Parker. It was a no brainer for him. His daughter’s life was the most important thing to him. If he didn’t follow through with ‘his’ plan, Debbie will die. He wasn’t going to let Debbie down. Trying to gather up as much courage as he could, he grabbed the gun and put it in his jacket pocket. Grabbing the baseball cap off the dashboard, he put it on and got out of the car.
The rain was coming down in buckets. Trying to delay the inevitable, he slowly walked up the concrete path to Miss Parker’s house. While walking, he scanned the area around him. He knew they were watching him, making sure he went through with it.
By the time he reached Miss Parker’s front porch, he was soaking wet from the rain. Instead of knocking on the door, he just stood there. The thought of killing Miss Parker was making him sick. Feeling the bile rising in his throat, he ran to the bushes and threw up. While he was still bent over, he didn’t hear Miss Parker open the door. Since his back was towards her, she didn’t recognize him.
“Buddy, I don’t know who you are. But, if your some sick pervert looking for a cheap thrill, you’ve picked the wrong house. Now slowly turn around.” He then felt her gun being pressed in his back.
He raised his hands above his head and turned around slowly. “Miss Parker, it’s me, Broots,” he said in a nervous tone.
She lowered her gun and let out a sigh of relief. “Broots, what are you doing out here? You scared me half to death. I thought there was some prowler or peeping Tom out here.”
Broots dropped his hands to his side, and put them in his pocket. He felt the gun in his hand. It was reminding him in some sick way, that he had a job to do. This wasn’t a social call for him. “I’m sorry Miss Parker, I didn’t mean to scare you. I was just about ready to knock on your door, when I got sick all of a sudden.” Looking at the bushes he commented, “I’m sorry about the bushes.”
The hard look she usually has on her face softened. “Don’t worry about them. Are you okay?” She asked with concern.
“Uh yeah, I’m okay. I’m probably getting some bug that’s going around.” He averted his eyes from the woman standing before him and scanned the area again, but the street appeared to be dead.
“Broots, what are you doing here?”
He took a deep breath before looking at her. “I know it’s late, but I was wondering if I could get your help on something.” He prepared himself for a sarcastic comment to come out of her mouth, but he was surprised by what he heard.
“What do you want help with?” she asked gently.
Broots was surprised by her tone. She was actually being nice to him. Even her demeanor seemed to be different. She felt more like a friend then a boss. This made the situation only worse. It would be so much easier, if she were angry with him or calling him names. Rubbing the back of his head he answered, “Well, Debbie’s birthday is coming up. It’s her sweet sixteen. I have no idea on what to do. My ex-wife won’t help, to busy with her gambling.” He hesitated and finally blurted out, “Would you help me plan a party for her?”
Miss Parker continued to stare at him, contemplating on what he just said. Slowly, her face broke into a smile. “I would be more than happy to help, Broots.” Turning around she walked to the door. “Come on, let’s go inside before we catch our death out here.”
Broots stopped walking at the mention of death and gave Miss Parker a solemn look. Why did it have to come down to this? He just hoped Debbie’s captors would follow through on their promise to him, and let her go when Miss Parker was dead.
Miss Parker opened the door, expecting Broots to be behind her. “Are you coming or what?” She asked with an impatient voice.
Miss Parker didn’t wait for his answer as she walked back into her living room. Broots reluctantly left his spot and walked over to the door. He took his baseball cap off and shook off the rainwater. When he was done, he slowly stepped through the doorway and closed the door.
“Broots, take your coat off and stay for awhile.” She got up from where she was sitting and headed towards the kitchen. Stopping in the entranceway, she turned back to Broots. “I’m going to make a pot of coffee, do you want some?” He meekly nodded yes to her. Turning back around, Miss Parker headed into the kitchen.
Broots put his hands back in his pockets and sat down on a chair by the door. He still felt the gun in his one pocket, but he felt something else in the other. He pulled the item out and stared at it. It made him sick to his stomach. In his hands was a picture of Debbie, tied to a chair, with duct tape on her mouth. Her face was tear stained. The photo tore at his soul. He could feel the tears building in his eyes. Miss Parker was talking from the kitchen, but it was like a foreign language to him. He just couldn’t concentrate on her words. Broots quickly put the picture back in his pocket as he heard Miss Parker coming out of the kitchen, holding two coffee mugs.
She offered him the steaming mug and stood in front of him. Broots, didn’t want to look up, but he did. This was too much, he thought to himself. Her face was showing concern for him. “Are you sure that your okay?” She asked with a soft voice.
“Really, I’m fine,” he mumbled out.
She continued to give him a skeptical look, then shrugged her shoulders and headed back towards the couch. Once she was settled she commented, “It’s hard to believe Debbie is going to be sixteen. It seems like only yesterday, when you asked me to watch her when you went down to Florida to do work for the Centre.” She took a sip of coffee and continued, “Broots, I...I want to say thank you.”
Broots choked on the coffee he was drinking, shocked by what he just heard. He heard Miss Parker chuckle to herself as she handed him a napkin to clean the mess on his shirt. While dabbing the wet spot he asked, “What for?”
“For bringing her into my life when you did. I know I’m not Mary Poppins, but she helped bring out a side of me that I never knew existed.”
Broots could feel his eyes watering up again. Damn it, not now. He was doing all he could to stifle the tears. He abruptly got up from his chair and looked at Miss Parker. “Is it alright if I use the restroom?” She nodded yes to him, with a somewhat worried look on her face.
Broots headed towards the bathroom. Closing the door behind him, he leaned against it and closed his eyes. “I can’t go through with this. I can’t kill her,” he said in a low whisper. He opened his eyes and slowly pushed off the door. Going over to the sink, he turned on the faucet and splashed cold water on his face. Lifting up his head, he stared into the mirror. It was like a different man was staring back him. It scared him a bit. His eyes were red rimmed and puffy from crying since he found out about Debbie. His face had an unhealthy pallor to it. Broots brought his hands up to his face, trying to rub the weariness out. He stopped when he heard his cell phone ringing. He answered it on the first ring.
“Hello?”
A familiar male voice came over the other line. “What’s taking so long?”
“I know its taking long, but—“
“Stop making excuses. It’s time to end this madness once and for all. Now do it!” The male voice hissed and then clicked off the phone.
Broots stared absently at the phone for a few seconds and then put it back into his pocket. Taking another deep breath, he slowly turned the doorknob, an opened the door. He walked back into the living room to find Miss Parker staring out the front window. Seeing this was his only opportunity, he reached into his pocket and brought out his gun.
His arm and hand was unsteady due to his shaking. He was glad that her back was facing him; he was scared to look at her when he did this.
“Please God, forgive me for what I’m about to do,” he said under his breath.
He was about to pull the trigger when Miss Parker turned around. At first, confusion spread across her face, but then it slowly turned to shock. “Broots, what are you doing with that?” She asked with an even tone, trying to keep the fear out of her voice, while eyeing the gun in his shaking hands.
“I’m sorry Miss Parker, there’s no other way.” As much as he tried, he couldn’t make his finger pull the trigger. He could feel the battle waging in his mind, it was so tiring. He just wanted everything to go back to the way it was. He lowered the gun a bit, staring down at the floor. Broots quickly brought it back up when he saw Miss Parker coming towards him out of the corner of his eye.
She stopped and put her hands up. “Broots, I don’t know what’s going on, but killing me is not the answer,” she said pleadingly. “Please, don’t do this. I can see the turmoil in your eyes. Just tell me what’s going, I can help you.” She took a step closer to Broots.
“Miss Parker, don’t make this any harder. Please, just turn around,” he cried out.
“I’m sorry, but I won’t make this any easy for you. If you’re going to shoot me, then you’ve got to face me.” The look on her face became steely and hard.
“It figures you wouldn’t make this easy.” He smiled sadly at her. “Just turn around. I have to do this. If I don’t follow through they’re going too...they’re going too...” He couldn’t finish his train of thinking.
“What are they going to do?” She took another step towards him. “If I’m going to die, I would like to know what I’m dying for.”
Broots stared at her for what seemed like an eternity. He quickly looked away then looked back at her. “For Debbie,” he simply stated. With more determination, he held the gun steadier, taking aim at her. Miss Parker slowly backed away, while still facing him.
He could feel the hot tears coming down his cheek. Through his blurry vision he said sadly, “Miss Parker, please forgive me.” He then pulled the trigger.
XXXXXX
To Be Continued...
Chapter 1
Broots sat in his car, looking across the street toward Miss Parker’s house. He prayed that she wasn’t home, but unfortunately she was. He let out a deep sigh, and stared at the gun sitting in the passenger seat. How could he do this to her? Miss Parker was almost like a sister to him. She was always there for Debbie, like a mother figure to the girl.
Putting the keys back in the ignition he turned the car on, but then quickly turned it back off. There was no escaping this nightmare. It was either Debbie or Miss Parker. It was a no brainer for him. His daughter’s life was the most important thing to him. If he didn’t follow through with ‘his’ plan, Debbie will die. He wasn’t going to let Debbie down. Trying to gather up as much courage as he could, he grabbed the gun and put it in his jacket pocket. Grabbing the baseball cap off the dashboard, he put it on and got out of the car.
The rain was coming down in buckets. Trying to delay the inevitable, he slowly walked up the concrete path to Miss Parker’s house. While walking, he scanned the area around him. He knew they were watching him, making sure he went through with it.
By the time he reached Miss Parker’s front porch, he was soaking wet from the rain. Instead of knocking on the door, he just stood there. The thought of killing Miss Parker was making him sick. Feeling the bile rising in his throat, he ran to the bushes and threw up. While he was still bent over, he didn’t hear Miss Parker open the door. Since his back was towards her, she didn’t recognize him.
“Buddy, I don’t know who you are. But, if your some sick pervert looking for a cheap thrill, you’ve picked the wrong house. Now slowly turn around.” He then felt her gun being pressed in his back.
He raised his hands above his head and turned around slowly. “Miss Parker, it’s me, Broots,” he said in a nervous tone.
She lowered her gun and let out a sigh of relief. “Broots, what are you doing out here? You scared me half to death. I thought there was some prowler or peeping Tom out here.”
Broots dropped his hands to his side, and put them in his pocket. He felt the gun in his hand. It was reminding him in some sick way, that he had a job to do. This wasn’t a social call for him. “I’m sorry Miss Parker, I didn’t mean to scare you. I was just about ready to knock on your door, when I got sick all of a sudden.” Looking at the bushes he commented, “I’m sorry about the bushes.”
The hard look she usually has on her face softened. “Don’t worry about them. Are you okay?” She asked with concern.
“Uh yeah, I’m okay. I’m probably getting some bug that’s going around.” He averted his eyes from the woman standing before him and scanned the area again, but the street appeared to be dead.
“Broots, what are you doing here?”
He took a deep breath before looking at her. “I know it’s late, but I was wondering if I could get your help on something.” He prepared himself for a sarcastic comment to come out of her mouth, but he was surprised by what he heard.
“What do you want help with?” she asked gently.
Broots was surprised by her tone. She was actually being nice to him. Even her demeanor seemed to be different. She felt more like a friend then a boss. This made the situation only worse. It would be so much easier, if she were angry with him or calling him names. Rubbing the back of his head he answered, “Well, Debbie’s birthday is coming up. It’s her sweet sixteen. I have no idea on what to do. My ex-wife won’t help, to busy with her gambling.” He hesitated and finally blurted out, “Would you help me plan a party for her?”
Miss Parker continued to stare at him, contemplating on what he just said. Slowly, her face broke into a smile. “I would be more than happy to help, Broots.” Turning around she walked to the door. “Come on, let’s go inside before we catch our death out here.”
Broots stopped walking at the mention of death and gave Miss Parker a solemn look. Why did it have to come down to this? He just hoped Debbie’s captors would follow through on their promise to him, and let her go when Miss Parker was dead.
Miss Parker opened the door, expecting Broots to be behind her. “Are you coming or what?” She asked with an impatient voice.
Miss Parker didn’t wait for his answer as she walked back into her living room. Broots reluctantly left his spot and walked over to the door. He took his baseball cap off and shook off the rainwater. When he was done, he slowly stepped through the doorway and closed the door.
“Broots, take your coat off and stay for awhile.” She got up from where she was sitting and headed towards the kitchen. Stopping in the entranceway, she turned back to Broots. “I’m going to make a pot of coffee, do you want some?” He meekly nodded yes to her. Turning back around, Miss Parker headed into the kitchen.
Broots put his hands back in his pockets and sat down on a chair by the door. He still felt the gun in his one pocket, but he felt something else in the other. He pulled the item out and stared at it. It made him sick to his stomach. In his hands was a picture of Debbie, tied to a chair, with duct tape on her mouth. Her face was tear stained. The photo tore at his soul. He could feel the tears building in his eyes. Miss Parker was talking from the kitchen, but it was like a foreign language to him. He just couldn’t concentrate on her words. Broots quickly put the picture back in his pocket as he heard Miss Parker coming out of the kitchen, holding two coffee mugs.
She offered him the steaming mug and stood in front of him. Broots, didn’t want to look up, but he did. This was too much, he thought to himself. Her face was showing concern for him. “Are you sure that your okay?” She asked with a soft voice.
“Really, I’m fine,” he mumbled out.
She continued to give him a skeptical look, then shrugged her shoulders and headed back towards the couch. Once she was settled she commented, “It’s hard to believe Debbie is going to be sixteen. It seems like only yesterday, when you asked me to watch her when you went down to Florida to do work for the Centre.” She took a sip of coffee and continued, “Broots, I...I want to say thank you.”
Broots choked on the coffee he was drinking, shocked by what he just heard. He heard Miss Parker chuckle to herself as she handed him a napkin to clean the mess on his shirt. While dabbing the wet spot he asked, “What for?”
“For bringing her into my life when you did. I know I’m not Mary Poppins, but she helped bring out a side of me that I never knew existed.”
Broots could feel his eyes watering up again. Damn it, not now. He was doing all he could to stifle the tears. He abruptly got up from his chair and looked at Miss Parker. “Is it alright if I use the restroom?” She nodded yes to him, with a somewhat worried look on her face.
Broots headed towards the bathroom. Closing the door behind him, he leaned against it and closed his eyes. “I can’t go through with this. I can’t kill her,” he said in a low whisper. He opened his eyes and slowly pushed off the door. Going over to the sink, he turned on the faucet and splashed cold water on his face. Lifting up his head, he stared into the mirror. It was like a different man was staring back him. It scared him a bit. His eyes were red rimmed and puffy from crying since he found out about Debbie. His face had an unhealthy pallor to it. Broots brought his hands up to his face, trying to rub the weariness out. He stopped when he heard his cell phone ringing. He answered it on the first ring.
“Hello?”
A familiar male voice came over the other line. “What’s taking so long?”
“I know its taking long, but—“
“Stop making excuses. It’s time to end this madness once and for all. Now do it!” The male voice hissed and then clicked off the phone.
Broots stared absently at the phone for a few seconds and then put it back into his pocket. Taking another deep breath, he slowly turned the doorknob, an opened the door. He walked back into the living room to find Miss Parker staring out the front window. Seeing this was his only opportunity, he reached into his pocket and brought out his gun.
His arm and hand was unsteady due to his shaking. He was glad that her back was facing him; he was scared to look at her when he did this.
“Please God, forgive me for what I’m about to do,” he said under his breath.
He was about to pull the trigger when Miss Parker turned around. At first, confusion spread across her face, but then it slowly turned to shock. “Broots, what are you doing with that?” She asked with an even tone, trying to keep the fear out of her voice, while eyeing the gun in his shaking hands.
“I’m sorry Miss Parker, there’s no other way.” As much as he tried, he couldn’t make his finger pull the trigger. He could feel the battle waging in his mind, it was so tiring. He just wanted everything to go back to the way it was. He lowered the gun a bit, staring down at the floor. Broots quickly brought it back up when he saw Miss Parker coming towards him out of the corner of his eye.
She stopped and put her hands up. “Broots, I don’t know what’s going on, but killing me is not the answer,” she said pleadingly. “Please, don’t do this. I can see the turmoil in your eyes. Just tell me what’s going, I can help you.” She took a step closer to Broots.
“Miss Parker, don’t make this any harder. Please, just turn around,” he cried out.
“I’m sorry, but I won’t make this any easy for you. If you’re going to shoot me, then you’ve got to face me.” The look on her face became steely and hard.
“It figures you wouldn’t make this easy.” He smiled sadly at her. “Just turn around. I have to do this. If I don’t follow through they’re going too...they’re going too...” He couldn’t finish his train of thinking.
“What are they going to do?” She took another step towards him. “If I’m going to die, I would like to know what I’m dying for.”
Broots stared at her for what seemed like an eternity. He quickly looked away then looked back at her. “For Debbie,” he simply stated. With more determination, he held the gun steadier, taking aim at her. Miss Parker slowly backed away, while still facing him.
He could feel the hot tears coming down his cheek. Through his blurry vision he said sadly, “Miss Parker, please forgive me.” He then pulled the trigger.
XXXXXX
To Be Continued...
