Lullaby | Brahms Heelshire |

Chapter 9

Lullaby, and good night,
   It was the night before my date with Andy and I laid in my bed completely sleepless. I kept closing my eyes for long periods of time to try to doze off, but I would still be wide awake. To many thoughts kept running through my mind. Stressful thoughts like my family, Andy, my job, and life danced around in my head. The only comfort I found was when I thought of Brahms.
   I kept thrashing around and flipping positions becoming even less tired than I was before.
Go to sleep
   Go to sleep
   Go to sleep
   I finally threw in the towel. I reached out and twisted my lamp on. The time on my clock read 2:45. I sighed when I realized that I had left my book in the living room downstairs. I slid out of bed angry that I had to go and get it. I wasn't just going to sit and stare at the wall. I left my room to check on Brahms before heading downstairs. He laid peacefully in his small bed and I couldn't help but smile.
   I stopped at the top of the stairs. There was a light on down below. I cocked my head and took a few steps down. I didn't leave that on. My step grew slower as the light from the living room group brighter. My feet began to drag once they stepped onto the wood floor. I had a terrible feeling, my heart beat like a hammer desperate to pound it's way out of my chest. What was wrong with me?
   Time seemed to slow as I entered the lit room. My heart dropped and my muscles turn to ice.
   There was a man on my couch.
   I was paralyzed. My mind was screaming at me to run, to call the police, to find something to defend myself with. But I couldn't move.
   The man just laid there, still as a corpse. I gulped in a breath and used all the energy I had to move backwards, out of the room. I stood in the hall and ran my hands through my hair.
   There is a man in my house.
   There is a man in my house.
   Panic bubbled in my throat. I could hear my pulse crashing in my ears. What did he want? Was he wanting to rob me. Why would he come all the way out here to do that. The blood rushed from my face. Oh my gosh! He must have escaped an asylum in the woods and come across my house. He wanted to kill me! I should've listen to the news more.
  "Stop it!" I whispered to myself there is no asylum in the woods. My mind was desperately searching. How did he get in? I swear I locked all the doors. I knew I should've gotten a security system!
  Wait! My mind slowed it's pace, if he were going to rob me I would have missing stuff, and he would have a bag or something. I didn't see him with a bag. If he didn't want my stuff, than what did he want?
   My heart beat spiked. My fingertips tingled. My stomach knotted up. He wanted me... I shook my head and ran to the kitchen. There was no way I was going to let him anywhere near me. I took a frying pan out from a drawer and forced deep breath's in and out.
   I forced myself to stand tall and walk back into the living room. I held the frying pan like a baseball bat, ready to strike at any moment. I turned the corner and found him exactly where I have left him. I swallowed down my fear and decided to get a closer look at him.
   He laid on the couch peacefully. I stepped closer. He was asleep. His body looked fit. He wore a foul looking tank top underneath a loose dark blue cardigan that brought out his arms. He had a wild dark curly hair that must've reached the nape of his neck.
   Then there was the mask.
   My heart dropped.
   It was Brahm's face. It was the exact face sculpt of the Brahms doll.
   My mind was spinning. Why? Why? I stared at the man's body. He looks like he could be in his late 20s.
   He looked like he could be 29.
   No, no, no.
   Brahms died 21 years ago.
   But I couldn't stop finding the correlation. Looking at the mask brought me comfort. It was Brahms his face. I stepped closer until my legs almost brushed up against his. The book that I had left down here was resting on his chest, steadily rising and falling to his breath.
   My heart rate slowed the more I looked at him. He looked so peaceful. So harmless. Curiosity was nagging at me. I wanted to speak to him. I wanted to wake him.
   I slowly reached my hand towards him, it shook in the air. I was going to do it. I was going to wake him. My heart raced so fast I thought it would combust. What was he going to do when I woke him? I stopped at an image of him jumping up and clamping his hands tightly across my throat. What was I thinking? What if he was dangerous? What if he could kill me?
  I turned my head to look at the telephone placed on the table behind me. Should I call the police?
   Warm fingers tenderly wrapped around my wrist. My heart leapt into my throat. "Danny." The voice almost made me scream. It was Brahm's. It was small and soft, just it had been when he spoke to me before. But the voice didn't come from the doll. It came from him. My stomach lurched and I quietly whispered "Brahms?"
   My head flicked forward to see him. Wide hazel eyes stared at me through the holes in the mask. I shook, completely shellshocked. "It's ok Danny". Why was his voice like that? "It's only me." He sounded like a child! "Brahms?" I spat nervously. I took a step back, tightening my grip on the frying pan. he gently released my hand, set my book on the floor, and raised himself off the couch.
   He was tall. Oh my gosh he was tall. My body locked up as he stepped in closer to me. He was a good foot and 4 inches taller than me. He had gotten so close, we were almost touching. I could hear his heavy breaths through the mask. I had to tilt my head up to look at his face. Hair was beginning to peek out the bottom of the white mask. He also had hair scattered on his chest. I looked to his tank top and felt sick. It was stained beyond repair. He needed a shower.
   I just stared at him, I couldn't believe it. He was alive! Brahms never died! I shiver ran through my entire body at my next thought. He was here the whole time. Listening to me, moving the doll, always watching. My eyes grew at the thought of him watching me while I was changing. But if he was here, how did I never see him?
  None of this made sense. My stomach twisted into knots. Why? Why the doll? My mind spun. Did the Heelshires know? Was the doll just for fun?
   Brahms suddenly touched my arm and leaned in close. "Danny?" His voice cracked a bit letting me know he was speaking in his falsetto. His eyes squinted curiously. Sickness bubbled up in my stomach. How is he alive? Why is he wearing a mask? The questions spun, making me dizzy.
   White and black spots began to appear before my entire vision shut down. The last thing I remembered was falling. Falling into strong careful arms.