Worth the wait

Chapter Seventeen.

She started to panic. "Ben. What do I do?" She could hear his car unlocking, followed by a door slamming and the engine roaring to life .

"I'm on my way." She heard him but was stood frozen to the spot. "Go get Rosie and I want you to lock yourselves in the bathroom. Can you do that?" No reply came. "Charlotte!" He shouted.

"I'm here. Get Rosie, lock us in the bathroom." She ran up the stairs as quick as she could.

"Don't hang up, stay on the phone. I'm less than ten minutes away."

"Sweetie, come on, wake up. I need you to come with me." She gently shook Rosie awake.

"Put me on loud speaker."

"Mum? What's wrong?" She yawned.

"I'll explain everything soon sweetie but first you need to come with me." She helped the dazed, confused little girl out of bed and ushered her towards the bathroom.
"Rosebud, can you hear me?"

"Ben? What's happening?" She asked quietly.

"I need you to stay with mum ok. Stay real close and do exactly what she says. Can you do that for me sweetheart?"

"I can do that. Are coming?"

As they crossed the landing, she noticed the front door handle was now being tried. "Ben! They're trying the front door!" She whispered as she pushed Rosie in to the bathroom, going in behind her and locking them in.

"I'm nearly there. Just a few more minutes, I promise. Everything is going to be ok. I won't..." Her phone died.

Picking Rosie up she climbed in the bath, pulled the curtain closed and held her little girl tight.

"Mummy what's going on?" Now fully awake and aware something was happening.

"I want you to try not to panic ok, because everything is going to be ok. Someone is trying to get in the house sweetie." The scared girl gasped and clung to her mum "But Ben is on his way; he'll be here soon. Everything will be fine".

Just then they heard glass smash. Rosie started to cry. "Mummy!" She screamed. No amount of consoling seemed to help calm her. Time felt like it was at a standstill. Tyres could be heard screeching outside. All of a sudden, she heard what sounded like the door breaking open and then the alarm started blaring its loud obnoxious noise. Trying her best to cover Rosie's ears to drown out the worst of it and trying to block the noise out herself. The bathroom door was all but knocked off its hinges and instinctively Charlotte wrapped her body around Rosie in a bid to protect her. The shower curtain ripped down and she was greeted by the sight of a frantic Ben. He dropped to the floor and wrapped his arms around the two of them, both crying uncontrollably.

"It's me. It's just me. Im here!... You're safe... I've got you. Nobody's going to hurt you I promise... I'm here."
They stayed like that until the police arrived. After answering some questions he finally managed to coax them both out of the bath tub and they walked down the stairs to finish talking to them. Rosie sat on Ben's hip with her arms around his neck and her face hiding in his shoulder, while Charlotte was clinging to his free hand. He sat on the sofa, Rosie still sobbing and Charlotte curled in to his side; when a police officer sat on the coffee table opposite them.

"Im just going to ask a couple more questions before I let you go. It's been quiet the traumatic night for you all. Sir, you said to my colleague, you were the one to break the door open. Is that correct?"

"Yes. As I pulled on to the street, I saw someone throw something at the window but as I pulled up on the front, they ran before I could get out of the truck." He sighed in annoyance that he didn't get to them sooner. "I needed to get in! I had to make sure they were ok." He told the officer as he pulled them both closer to him.