Chapter 28
Avidya
I just finished writing another journal entry when the doorbell rang through the house. Zachariah was at work. Again. I understood his need to work, but that didn’t mean I liked it. I missed him being home with me and being lazy. It was almost the weekend, finally, and we’d be able to do just that.
Maybe I did need to get out more often like nearly everyone around me kept hinting.
As the doorbell rang once more, I made my way out of the office and towards the front door. My socked feet padded along the hardwood floor towards the door.
Stopping a yard away from the door, I couldn’t help as my heart pounded in my chest at the dark figure that stood on the other side. From the angle I was at, I was unable to see a face clearly through the beveled glass of the heavy wooden door.
Listening to my instincts that felt like a solid rock in my gut, I pushed the single button on the camera that was connected to the alarm to see who was here. Zooming in on the face, my breath caught in my throat. I never expected it to be him.
There, standing on the other side of the door was the one and only Cody Ray. He was dressed in a black suit and looked like he was more put together than I had ever seen him.
Why was he here? Was he here for me? For Zachariah?
He pressed the doorbell again, a look of impatience on his face while doing so. A moment later, he pounded roughly on the door.
I was frozen in place, my heart beating way too fast as questions raced through my mind.
“Come on! Open the stupid door!” Cody shouted, although his voice was slightly muffled from being on the other side. He pounded a fist on the door once more, causing me to quietly yelp.
What did he want?
I sure wasn’t going to open that door to find out, either. There was no way I’d willingly let that man into my house. Ever.
Slipping back the way I came, I made my way quickly and quietly up the stairs and to where I had left my cell phone on the side table next to the bed. I knew I needed to start having the device with me wherever I went. Even inside the house.
I could still hear the pounding of his fist against the door along with the doorbell my hands shook in fear. He couldn’t get in, could he?
Cody shouldn’t cause this much fear in me. It was possible he wasn’t even here for me as it was.
Pulling up Zach’s name on the phone, I pressed call and waited for him to answer. He answered on the first ring, most likely because I hardly ever called him. Thinking about it, I don’t think I’ve called him while he was gone before now. He’s always been the one to call or text me a couple of times throughout the day.
“Avidya?” he answered, his voice filled with concern and on edge.
I was on edge myself, given the situation I found myself to me in.
I wondered, for the billionth time, what more could I handle?
“Cody’s here,” I spoke, my voice as shaky as my hands.
“Okay,” Zachariah answered. “Where?” Despite the calmness of his voice, I could hear the worry.
“He’s at the front door. Pounding on it,” I answered, fear consuming me. My words were rushed as I tried to spit them out.
“He’s not in the house, then?” he asked, sounding a bit calmer.
“No,” I answered, shaking my head even though he couldn’t see that.
“Good,” he sighed out. “Now, I need you to listen very closely.” I heard his car door shut from his side of the line. “I need you to go to the office.”
“What if he sees me?” I asked, feeling my panic start again. Couldn’t I go anywhere else but back downstairs?
“That’s okay,” Zachariah said calmly. How could he be so calm at a time like this? How? “Just follow my orders, okay. Everything will be perfectly fine.”
“Okay,” I breathed, forcing my legs to take me to his office. I couldn’t help but pause at the top of the stairs, hearing Cody’s fists now banging on windows.
“He’s trying to get in,” I whimpered.
Would Cody really be able to get into the house? Was there a way in that he’d be able to find without much force? Would he stop at nothing to get in? Did Cody do something to the gaurds that were stationed around the property?
“Go to the office, Avidya,” Zachariah said more urgently. “You’ll be safe there.”
With one last deep breath, I dashed down the stairs, nearly skipping the last few as my socked feet skidded across the glossy hard flooring.
“Okay,” I panted out once I reached the doorway of his office, my heart pounding a million miles an hour inside my chest. It felt as though it would beat itself out of my chest like in the cartoons.
“Good,” Zachariah stated. “Now, shut the door.”
I did with too much force, but at least it was closed. I didn’t see how that was going to keep me from the man that was trying to force his way in.
“Behind my desk, on the bottom section of the bookshelf right in the middle of it, there’s a blue book with no title. Can you see it?” he asked out.
I quickly walked behind his desk, looking for what he was describing. It didn’t take much to find the book that Zach had said.
“Yes, I see it,” I said, yelping as a gunshot echoed along with what sounded to be Cody shooting at one of the many windows.
“It’s okay,” Zach soothed. “Pull that book from the top, it’ll tip down towards you.”
I placed my hand on the top, feeling the leather spine against my fingers. It felt as though it was real, maybe too real to be something that could save me.
Pulling the top backward towards me, a simple small beep sounded from the bookcase. Half a second later, the middle part of the bookshelf began to open inward.
“It’s open,” I said, almost in awe.
At the same moment, the sound of glass breaking reached my ears. Pure fear ran in my blood.
“He’s shot out a window!” I hissed, fighting my tears of fear back.
“That’s okay. I’m almost there,” Zach said. “With backup. Now, go in and close the shelf behind you. It’ll relock. If you need out, there’s a handle on the inside. But please, don’t come out until I say you can.”
“What if you get hurt?” I cried out at the same moment I entered into the hidden space.
“Don’t worry about that,” Zachariah soothed. “You’ll be safe, and that’s all that matters. I’ll come get you when Cody is taken care of.”
“Okay,” I whispered. “I love you.”
“I love you too, Vidie. I’ll see you soon,” he said before hanging up.
Turning the ringer on the phone off and stuffing it inside the waist of my pants against my hip, I took a moment to look around the room. It wasn’t overly big, but big enough to not feel like a cell, thank God.
The cream walls were painted light to make it feel more homey and spacious. On one wall, there was a light wooden TV stand almost four feet tall and three feet wide with a flat screen TV sitting on the top. Along another wall was a sink with a small countertop and a mini fridge underneath it. In the far corner, I assumed was a bathroom, the white door almost shut.
Against the other wall sat a mud-brown couch, a couple of blankets and pillows piled neatly on the top as though they had never been used before.
Had Zachariah used this room before? Why did he have it? Was it often he came in here? Did I even want to know?
I took a seat on the couch, feeling my body sink into the cushion as questions plagued me. I let my head fall into my hands, elbows on my knees as my emotions fought a war against one another.
I wasn’t sure if I could feel relieved, as now I couldn’t hear a sound from within the house. I was frightened that something bad was going to happen.
Not knowing what else to do, I prayed.
I prayed to God, apologizing for the lack of attention I’d given him lately. I prayed that everything would be okay.
For the first time in a while, I prayed like my life depended on it.