#Chapter 11# More complications

"My mom is not home." I said this after entering the house with Asher.

"Opps!" He exclaimed.

"You can take your leave now. Thanks for bringing me home," I said, hugging him.

"Nah! I don't think I'm going to leave you here alone in the house with what we discussed at school." He said this, touching my nose with his pinky finger.

"Nothing's going to happen. It's not night yet. I don't want you to get home late," I said, placing my palm on his cheek.

"Hmmm. I didn't see any security men outside like you said." He said. 

"Yeah. They will only be on guard at night," I replied.

"Really? What if something happens during the day and not at night? Who will be there to save my princess?" He said it romantically.

"Nothing can happen. Besides, I'm not sure of the situation. It might be the shadow of an object, probably not a human." I said it convincingly.

We were still both arguing about him going back home when we heard crashes from the kitchen. You both looked at each other, shocked.

"Who's there?" Asher called out

He walked closer to the kitchen, quietly and slowly, and I followed him carefully behind.

"Oh my God! Who did this?" I exclaimed, covering my mouth with my hand.

All the ceramic dishes in the kitchen were shattered and broken to pieces. The whole kitchen looks messy.

"My mom couldn't have done this," I said to myself.

I went to my school bag to grab my phone. Asher went around the house to see if anyone was inside.

"Hi mom," I said.

"Hey Bella. How was school today?" she inquired.

"School was great, mom," I replied to her.

"Mom? Did you leave the kitchen messy before leaving?" I asked. 

"Messy? How? " She asked, surprisingly.

"Asher and I were in the kitchen discussing when we heard the shattering of plates from the kitchen. When we got there, we found everything messy. The tap was on, the jam in the cupboard was opened, and it spilled around the kitchen walls, and the unbreakable plates were scattered about." I explained it to her.

"Whaat!" She exclaimed. 

"Did you see anyone around?" she asked.

"No, I didn't. But Asher has gone around to check." I replied. 

"You both should get out of that house and go to the security post immediately. It's not safe in there," she said, speaking at the top of her voice.

"Okay, mom," I said, and I hung up the phone.

"Asher! I called out.

"Babe, we need to get out of here." He said this, dragging me out of the compound.

He was panting really fast, like he was being chased by a hungry lion. I tried to free my wrist from his grip and ask what happened at the back of the house when he went there, but he wasn't ready to let me go. We both ran to the security post. He was almost out of breath when we got there.

"Asher, what happened? Why did you come out from the back of the house, tensed and afraid?" I asked desperately.

It took him five minutes to relax. He asked for water, and a security officer gave him some water. After drinking, he spoke out. Two security men were also there to listen to him. I sat beside him and patted him on the back.

"While I was walking around the corners of the house, I saw a hand holding a trench knife at the back of the house. I was very terrified. After 2 seconds, I could no longer see the hand. The person walked away; probably he was going to pass the other side back into the house. That was why I ran to grab you out." He said this, using the back of his index finger to swipe off his sweaty forehead.

"Did you see his face, or do you know the color of the clothes he was putting on?" One of the security men asked

"No, I don't. I neither saw his face nor the clothes he wore. I just saw a hand holding a trench knife."

"Put a call through the state police force." The senior officer told one of his sergeants.

"James, get some officers with you and go to the house. Search every nook and cranny of the building. If you find any strange objects or see anything, gather them or take pictures of them. They will be needed by the state police force for investigation." He told another officer.

"Where is your mom?" He asked me.

"We went out. She is aware of the situation and will soon be on her way here, I guess. I replied to him.

"Put a call through her. Tell her not to head home but to come here for her safety." He said. 

"My phone is not here with me. I left it at home. Asher, are you with your phone?" I asked. 

"No, I'm not with it. It must be in my bag at your house." Asher replied to me.

"Take mine." The senior officer said

"What's your name?" He asked me.

"I'm Tara. I said. 

"I'm Officer Gabriel. You can address me by my name only." The senior officer said nothing and walked away.

I dialed my mom's number. It rang for a few seconds, and she picked it up.

"Hello, mom." I said that but didn't receive any response.

"Hello?" I said again.

I still didn't get any reply. The call was disconnected. I dialed the number again, and it said the number wasn't reachable. I dialed for the third time, and it said switch off.

"What's going on?" I asked myself.

"Have you called her?" Officer Gabriel asked.

"Well, her number isn't going through." I said. 

"Opps! keep trying. Which way will she pass home?" He asked. 

"She usually passes Johnson Street to link our house." I replied. 

"Great. I'll send two officers to stay there so that when she passes, they can bring her here. That will avoid her going home first." He said. 

I nodded  my head. After ten minutes, we heard the siren of an ambulance moving along the road. Not quite long after, a call came in from an officer saying they found my mom lying unconscious in the house.

"Sir, we've called an ambulance and they are on their way." The officer continued as he spoke to Officer Gabriel on the phone.

"I'll be there shortly." He said. 

"I want to go with you," I said, crying.

"No. You can't. Stay here. An officer will bring you to the hospital, where she will be taken." He said it and left.

I cried and screamed. I threw myself to the floor, ripping my uniform shirt apart. Asher begged me to calm down and stop crying.

"How can I stop crying? Who knows the condition my mother is in right now? What if she is dead?" All these questions ran through my head as I cried.