Silencing Joy Read Online Free PDF

light was blocked by a
form filling the window. I freaked, picturing my demise like in an
old Hitchcock movie. When the face came close to the window, I saw
it was Derek. My heart slowed down minimally. The glass between us
muffled his words, but I could make them out.
    “Let me in,” vaguely adding the word,
“please.”
    My mind grappled with what to do. He’s a
criminal, he beat up Will...no wait...he killed Will. He broke in
to my apartment. He grabbed me. But...he tried to save me from
Tommy, he brought back my cell phone, he seized me because I was
ready to run away screaming.
    Something was off. Something didn’t add up. I
was back to that word again – closure. I needed to know why. Derek
was the only one with the answers.
    I reached for the window lock and twisted it
open. Derek lifted it and put one leg in. I snatched my baseball
bat and held it in front of me, ready to strike if necessary.
    “Still in fight mode I see,” Derek laughed
lightly. He came in the rest of the way. His blue eyes sparkled
with amusement. Was he laughing at me? He stood in front of
me with his hands up, like I had a gun and not a bat.
    “Why are you here?” I asked with a voice full
of authority. Derek’s demeanor changed, and he became brutally
serious.
    “You have to come with me. You’re in danger.
Tommy and the guys know where you live. One of them remembered you
from a couple of years ago and Googled you. Good thing it didn’t
dawn on John that night, or I don’t know what I could have done to
stop them.”
    “Googled me? Are you serious? I bet you told
them, and this is a trap for me to come with you.”
    “No. Joy, I swear. This is me trying to get
you out of here. As soon as Tommy heard that Will died...well, he
went ape-shit. He now has homicide to add to his list of transgressions. You’re an eyewitness. He’s gonna come after
you...no question.” He walked over to my dresser and starts
grabbing clothes, throwing them on the bed. “Do you have a
bag?”
    “I’m not going anywhere with you!” I heard my
own stubbornness in my wavering voice. “You and your friends are
murderers!”
    He reached out to me and stopped when I
flinched. Derek ran his hands through his hair.
    “Joy...you...have...to...trust...me.
Everything is not what it appears. I have to get you out of
here.”
    I turned my back to him. Thinking this was
probably a stupid move, I swung back around with purpose, putting
my non-baseball bat carrying hand on my hip.
    “Okay, let’s say I believe you. Where are you
taking me? What about my family...my friend, Jen, upstairs? Who, by
the way, is going to be here in about ten minutes.”
    “It would be best if we got out of here
before she comes. Leave her a note. Tell her the stress is too
much, and you went to stay with some aunt somewhere. Tell her
you’ll call her soon. Now, please get a bag.”
    Derek pleaded with me, and something in his
eyes told me he wasn’t lying. This was the first time I had been in
his company with a mildly clear head. I remember thinking when I
saw him through the lens of my camera that he didn’t fit with the
others. He seemed different. I pondered and rehashed everything he
said.
    I walked to the closet. I picked up a duffle
bag and my camera case.
    “This goes with me,” I said forcefully. I
went to the bathroom to get my make-up bag and toiletries.
    Derek called from the bedroom for me to write
a note to Jen. He also told me to leave my front door unlocked. We
left through the window, like in a Mission Impossible movie.
    I reached for my coat as Derek zipped up the
duffle and tossed it over his shoulder.
    “Is my camera in there?” I asked.
    “Yup, it’s in there.”
    He took my hand and led me to the window. He
peered out scanning. Looking for trouble I guess. When Derek felt
the coast was clear, we made our way onto the fire escape. He shut
the window, and we walked down until the last part. We had to scale
down a small metal ladder. Derek let go and