Lullaby | Brahms Heelshire |

Chapter 20

I'll protect you from harm.
   My fingers slowly clicked against the key board as I stared at my computer screen. I could not focus on anything but me and Brahm's kiss, despite the busyness of the work day. We had been slammed since we opened and because of it I had not been able to leave my desk. My eyes hurt from starring at my screen all day long, preparing all sorts of legal briefs and court subpoenas.
   I lifted my hands from the keyboard and rubbed my face, letting out a long exhale. I just wanted to go home. Unfortunately because of how busy we were, I had to stay a little longer than I was suppose to. At least I was going to be payed over time. I heard a buzz from the corner of my desk and looked longingly at my phone. Only an email. Dang. I wanted to call Brahms on the home phone and check up on him. I told him that I would at some point in the day.
   Before I left for work, I went back into the walls and was able to find the source of Brahm's pneumonia. The very corner wall of his room was covered in a disgusting fungus. I had no time to take care of it because I had to be off, so I gave Brahms strict rules not to go back into the walls. I didn't want him to get more sick than he was.
   The sound of muffled footsteps, followed by the squeak of a door. I deftly moved my fingertips to the keyboard so that I appeared to be hard at work when the door opened. Collin, one of the lawyers at the firm, poked his head out from his office. He looked worn and had dark bags under his eyes. "Good afternoon Collin." I said professionally. "Is everything going alright with the Zinger's divorce?" He looked at me with a cold expression. "Cut it out with your bloody chit chat and get me a cup of coffee."
   Collin's words hit me like a razor blade. I stared at him speechless. He had never talked to me like that before. I stood up, dumbstruck and slowly nodded my head. "I'll be right back." I said with a shaky voice. I then grabbed my phone off the desk and began down the hall to the expresso machine.
   For some reason I felt like crying. I know that he was stressed out, but why take it out on me? At least I could call Brahms while I put his coffee together.
   I unlocked my phone and dialed home. There was only one ring and then Brahms picked up. He had been waiting for my call. "Hey! It's Danny!" I said trying to sound cheerful. "Hello Danny." He said in his little voice, sounding almost relieved. I told him that he was not allowed to say anything on the phone unless he knew that he was talking to me.
   "How are you feeling?" I asked as I began to set up the machine. "Much better", he said, beginning to flip into his regular voice, "I've been drinking my juice like you told me to." I couldn't help but smile at how cute he sounded. "Good. That vitamin C will help you feel better."
   "Have you stayed out of the walls?" I asked flipping the coffee machine on.
   "Of course Danny. I'm a good boy, I won't break the rules."
   I smiled and let out a small chuckle. "You are a good boy Brahms."
   "Hey Danny?" He asked.
   "Hey what?" I answered.
   "How are you going to clean up the mold in my room?" I bit my lip. Honestly I didn't want to clean it soon because I didn't want him to go in the walls and leave me anymore, but it had to get clean soon or the whole house would be dangerous to stay in.
   "Um.. I was just planning on using a mixture of bleach and water." I said putting the coffee under the machine.
   "Oh. Alright." He said.
   I paused for a second before asking him my question. "Hey.... So I was thinking.... Maybe even after we clean out the mold.... You could just... You know... Live in the house. Like not in the walls. With.... Me?" My heart raced as Brahms took an eternity to answer.
   "I'd love that." He said shyly.
   Butterflies began flittering around in my rib cage. "Wonderful! I uh.... I better get back to work. I had a good time talking with you. See you when I get home." I smiled.
   "Bye Danny. I can't wait for you to come home."
   He hung up and I bit down on my lip to conceal a smile.
   "Who was that?" Asked a voice behind me that made me jump. I quickly turned around to find Leah standing behind me, holding an empty coffee mug.
   She stood looking curiously at me through her wide framed glasses. Her dark brown almost black hair was tied back into a low ponytail. Leah was one of my only friends at the office. She was so sweet and always seemed to be there for you. And she shared the same annoyance for Andy, which was a bonus.
   I tucked my phone into my pocket and casually shook off her question. "It was just my sister."
   Leah raised an eyebrow suspiciously. "People don't generally blush like that when talking to their sisters."
   I could feel my face turn red and I quickly looked to my feet. Leah laughed a cute I-told-you-so laugh and came to stand beside me.
   "So, who is the guy?" She asked with a suspicious twinkle in her eyes.
   My hands shook as I picked up the hot coffee cup and turned toward Leah. "He uh..." I began to say before bumping my elbow into the counter. Hot coffee suddenly fell from the mug and onto me.
   ''Ahhh!" I shrilled from the sudden heat on my stomach. Leah's eyes widened and she rushed over to me in seconds. "Oh my goodness! Danielle are you alright?" I looked down at my spoiled shirt and sighed. "Could this day get any better?" I said drearily. Leah examined the spill and bit her lip. "Here", she said taking the mug from my hands. "You go to the bathroom and rinse off your shirt, and I'll make some new coffee." I smiled at Leah. She was so genuine and kind. "Thank you!" I'll be back in a minute.
   I rushed out of the room and turned the corner just to run right into Andy. We collided and he smiled at me in his creepy way. I wanted to scream.
~*~
   Closing time did not come soon enough. I left the building almost an hour after everyone else went home because of all the paperwork that I had to do. I was beat down and bone tired. The night air was crisp and the parking lot was nearly empty. I shivered and walked quickly to my car. No way I was staying here any longer.
   Behind me I heard footsteps and turned to find Leah walking out of the building. She looked at me and smiled "Goodnight Danielle!" Before walking to her car. "Goodnight!" I replied and got in my own.
   I slumped into the seat and tossed my purse down beside me. Finally I could go home. I reached my keys and plugged them into the ignition. I twisted my wrist and an awful grinding sound came from the car. My heart dropped into my stomach and the cavity that once held it filled with dread.
   "No!" I said desperately trying to start the car. Why wasn't it working? I turned the keys again. More grinding. I turned the keys again and again and again until the car stopped its noise completely.
   I leaned back in my seat and reviewed what, if any, options I had of getting home. No one was here to give me a ride. Except...
   A flash of Leah's tail lights crossed my vision and I could see her just about to exit the parking lot. I jumped out of my car so fast, I almost fell on the gravel. "Leah!" I screamed running to her car. I lifted my arms desperately trying to catch her attention. "Leah!" I screamed again, louder this time. My heels clicked frantically on the ground, and I was surprised that I hadn't broken my ankle yet. "Leah!" I screamed one last time before she turned onto the road and drove away.
   "No!" I shouted into the night. I slowed my speed and pathetically yelled, "Come back." I stood staring into the dark road for the longest time. What now?
   I walked back to my stupid car with slumped shoulders. My nose tingled, warning me that I was on the verge of tears. What now? I just stared at my car, absolutely clueless of what to do. The only thing I really knew how to do in the car industry was change a tire, and that wouldn't help in this situation whatsoever.
   Was there some one I could call? I opened my car door and folded uselessly into the seat. Reaching over, too lazy to dig through my bag, I dumped the contents of my purse onto the seat. My phone came toppling out along with some gum wrappers, tampons and pepper spray. I picked up my phone with a tiny sliver of hope in my chest and pressed my thumb to the home button.
   Nothing.
   I tried it again.
   Nothing.
   I pressed the start button.
   Nothing.
   I held down the start and home button.
   Still nothing.
   I cursed and chucked my dead phone back on the seat. Just my luck. I groaned and slammed my head down on the wheel, causing the horn the blare.
   My mind raced. How was I going to get home? I had no idea where the nearest anything was. And then I also had to worry about if it was opened. My mind wandered to Brahms. Poor Brahms. He would be excepting me home soon. I had no way to communicate with him to let him know of my situation.
   The horn continued to blare in the empty parking lot, and I hoped that someone would hear it. Someone would pass by, hear the horn, and turn around to make sure that Everything was okay.
   If only.
   Just then I heard the faint sound of tapping glass through the loud horn. My head shot up in seconds. To my relief and absolute horror, I saw Andy staring at me through the glass.
   He smiled a concerned smile that made me feel uneasy. Where had his signature smirk gone? He motioned for me to roll down my window and I complied. "Rough night?" He asked, looking into my car at the mess in my passenger seat. I sat quietly for a moment, looking around at the situation I was in. Then before I could help myself I burst into a fit of laughter. Not a fit of tears. A fit of disgustingly humorous laughter. Andy stared at me with a confused look on his ratty face. "Danny?" He asked raising an eyebrow. I just kept laughing until my gut began to ache and my eyes grew wet. After a few more seconds I was able to calm down and catch my breath. Andy stared at me intently, eager for me to explain myself. "Oh Andy", I began wiping a tear from my eye, "My life at the current moment is not even funny, and that is why it is funny." I stated in a rather confusing manner.
   Andy snickered "Do you need any help?" Without even really thinking I shook my head. "No." I said blindly. "I have everything under control." I said, even though that wasn't even remotely true. I just really didn't want a ride from Andy. His eyes showed me he was unfazed by my response. "So what? Are you just going to walk five miles to your house?" He asked lifting and eyebrow.
   Instinctively I bit my lip and made an Ahh-Crap face. "Ha! See!" He said pointing to my expression . "Come on get in my car, I'll give you a ride." His words hit me in the pit of my stomach and formed a sour feeling. This didn't seem right. I looked around at my hopeless car. What other choice did I have? I leaned over to the seat next to me and began gathering up the mess and putting back into my bag. I then unbuckled my seat belt and got out of the car defeated. "There we go, I finally talked some sense into you." He said smiling. I rolled my eyes. I didn't care if I was being ungrateful for his help.
   "This way." He said directing me to his truck. He went right around to the drivers seat and got in. For some reason I was surprised that he didn't open the door for me. I shouldn't have been. I hiked my purse higher up on my shoulder before climbing up to get into his car. As soon as I sat down and closed the door, a dark feeling came over me. This was a bad idea. I ignored the feeling and buckled myself in. 
   Andy let out a chuckle that sent shivers down my spine. "Why are you laughing?" I asked a bit nervously. He shook his head as if it was nothing. "I've just been waiting to get you alone for a long time." And with that, he started the car and drove off.
~*~
   The car ride was agonizing and it kept dragging on and on. When we finally pulled around a bend in the forest and came to the old twisted gate in closing my property, I wanted to cry tears of joy. I was so close to being home. "You can just pull up the gate and I'll walk from there." I said casually. I didn't want him to come any closer to the house in fear of him seeing Brahms. And I wanted to get away from him as soon as possible. He pulled up right in front of the gate and stopped the car.
   I heard a click and looked at the door handle to find the lock symbol illuminated. Did he just lock me in the car? I looked over at him to find that he was starring straight at me. "Um, I think you accidentally locked me in." I said a little nervously. He just looked at me and smiled a disturbing smile while slightly shaking his head. My heart beat picked up and I slowly reached in my purse to feel for my pepper spray. With my other hand I tried to open the door but found that it was indeed locked. "Aren't you forgetting something?" He asked with a strangely smooth voice. "Oh right. Thank you so much for the ride." I said trying my best to sound kind.
   He laughed a small low laugh that send my heart thumping faster. What was he doing? "Oh Danielle. You are cute you know that?" He said softly. "But a thank you wasn't what I was looking for." His hand suddenly rested on my thigh and he began leaning in a little. "What are you doing?" I asked shoving his hand off me. He snatched my wrist instantly after. "Come on Danny. You have to pay your fee to the driver." He said licking his lips. "No." I shook my head. "No I don't think..... I don't have to do that." I stuttered, searching more frantically for my pepper spray. "Be a good girl. Do what I want." He said beginning to pull the collar of my shirt down to expose my shoulder. My heart was beating so fast I could hardly think.
   My fingers wrapped around a small tube just as his lips came in contact with my shoulder. I felt around it and found the trigger for the spray. I pulled out out of my bag as quickly as I could. "Andy." I said firmly so that he would look at me and give me a clear shot of his eyes. The instant he looked up, I pressed down on the lid causing tiny droplets to spray in his face.
   He gave no expression to hint that he was in pain. Why didn't it work? He licked his lips. "Minty." He said harshly grabbing my arm. What? I looked to the tube in my hand and  found what I thought was pepper spray was actually breath spray. I tried my best to gulp down the dread that was rising in my throat. Andy wiped his face with his free hand. "You are really going to wish you didn't just do that."