Free Monsters & Fairytales by Rebecca Suzanne

made me jump and gasp. My hand was on my heart. I looked towards the noise. From where I was, I could see the entrance to the hallway but not the door to the spare bedroom. The only lights I had on were in the living room with me, so everything else was too dark. My heart skipped a beat and I felt my hands start to shake. Maybe I just heard something else from outside? This was the first time I had been standing still and quiet since my outburst. I held my breath and tried to listen. I could feel self-loathing creep over me.              
    Of course it would only be perfect that someone was in that bedroom waiting on me. Someone else would get to mess up the rest of the house far worse than I already had. Who honestly chooses to break in on a day like today and at a time like now? It was uncanny.              
    I took a step in that direction and noticed Spike twitch. He was staring down the hallway. too . There was a low growl coming from him. I had been sort of hoping my brain was playing tricks on me, but Spike confirmed any suspicion. God put that feather pillow in my hand to make me calm down. I was supposed to be prepared and on alert for this burglar. I would have never heard him if I was still throwing a tantrum.
    The hair on my arms stood up. A chill echoed down my spine and through my fingertips. Focus. Looking down the hall, I debated for a few seconds on whether to grab a broken snow globe or an intact one. The broken one would make them bleed. The bank would have to clean that. I grabbed the broken one. Slowly, with all the rage I had left over, I walked towards the back room with Spike right at my side. We were ready.
    When I passed the foyer I was reminded of the alarm. Did I set it? Was it on silent? Would the cops be here any second? Should I just wait? There was a panic button, I could press that. That was indeed silent. Then they would literally be here in just seconds. Could I live with that? Could I trust someone else to protect me? What if they let me down again? I can’t be defeated. I needed to face my demons head on. Even if my demons were a murderer stumbling in through my guest window, I needed to be brave. There was nothing more anyone could take from me. I was prepared now.              
    Rounding the corner, I stumbled to a stop when I saw the door was closed. I didn’t remember having shut it behind me. Staring at it, I was sort of glad I had this obstacle to overcome first. I wasn’t so sure I could have just waltzed down the hallway being able to see into the room and thus, immediately thrown into danger. I was slightly calmed down, but Spike’s growling stayed the same. He was like my shadow and only moved when I moved.              
    We stopped outside the door together. He looked up at me, waiting for his orders. Inside my head, I was battling for the extra courage to turn and unlatch the door from its frame. However, a small part of me wanted to see if it would move from the person on the other side first. Could I wait? I supposed this was technically waiting. Nothing was happening. I couldn’t hear anything moving from inside the room either. Could they hear us? Could they see our legs from under the door?              
    I was acting crazy. There wasn’t someone in there. I woke up in this room from getting hit on the head. Clearly, boxes were moving around on their own, they weren’t stable. I just need to walk in the room and see the clutter on the floor. It’s like how I tore the box open earlier; I just need to suck it up and do it.              
    Finally, with a quick breath, I flung the door open and screamed. Spike charged in and chased a dark shadow into the closet. Oh, my God, it was real! There was someone in my house. Holy crap they were going to kill me, I was going to die. This was complete insanity! Why hadn’t I just hit the panic button like a normal person? I had to be brave, I had to