I\u2019m Emily. I live a quiet, completely predictable life in a secluded suburb of Seattle. At least, I did until 2:00 AM tonight. The thunder was already shaking my windows, but it was the frantic, violent hammering against my front door that jolted me wide awake.<\/p>\n
My heart hammered against my ribs as I crept down the dark hallway, the hardwood freezing under my bare feet. I peered through the peephole. A sudden flash of lightning illuminated the porch, revealing a soaked, trembling figure. It was my older sister, Sarah.<\/p>\n
I threw the deadbolt back and pulled her inside. She collapsed into my arms, a dead weight shivering uncontrollably. Blood trickled down her swollen lip, and she let out a sharp, agonizing gasp when I accidentally brushed her side. She was clutching her ribs, her face pale with raw terror.<\/p>\n
“Sarah, my god, what happened?” I dragged her gently toward the living room rug.<\/p>\n
Before she could answer, my phone on the console table buzzed aggressively. I glanced at the glowing screen. It was a text from our mother.<\/p>\n
Don\u2019t open the door for her, Emily. Don’t help that traitor. She made her bed, let the cripple lie in it.<\/i><\/p>\n
My blood ran cold. How did Mom know she was here? I shoved the phone away, grabbing a heavy wool blanket to wrap around Sarah’s trembling shoulders.<\/p>\n
“He… he found out,” Sarah choked out, coughing up a terrifying speck of blood. “Mark. He\u2019s going to kill me, Em.”<\/p>\n
She had been hiding the abuse for years, trapped in a marriage that looked flawless on the outside but was a living hell behind closed doors.<\/p>\n
Suddenly, the front door shuddered under a massive blow. The wood splintered near the top hinge.<\/p>\n
“Sarah! I know you’re in there!” Mark\u2019s voice was a guttural roar over the howling wind. “Give her to me, Emily, or I’m tearing this whole damn house apart!”<\/p>\n
My hands shook violently as I pulled out my phone and dialed 911, the dial tone ringing agonizingly in my ear. The door cracked again, much louder this time. He was breaking in.<\/p>\n
Option A:<\/b> Confront Mark at the door with a weapon to buy time for the police.<\/p>\n
Option B:<\/b> Drag Sarah into the basement panic room and barricade the heavy steel door.<\/p>\n
The wood is practically splintering, and Mark is not going to stop until he gets inside. I can’t let him touch her again, but the police are still too far away. What would you do in my shoes? The rest of the story is below \ud83d\udc47<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Part 1 I\u2019m Emily. I live a quiet, completely predictable life in a secluded suburb of Seattle. At least, I did until 2:00 AM tonight. The thunder was already shaking my windows, but it was the frantic, violent hammering against my front door that jolted me wide awake. My heart hammered against my ribs as […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-75140","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n