Born To Die

Christmas was a holiday that everyone loved. There was the decorations, the trees, the baking, the music and so much more. Growing up though, Chelsi Davis-Bryar, Christmas wasn't her favorite holiday. She much preferred Halloween over all the holidays. She loved getting dressed up, going to parties and handing out candy to trick or treaters. But now that she was married, Christmas always seemed a bit brighter. She was away from New Jersey, where her mother and father were. She had a career, a loving husband and a bunch of fur babies. She was head chef at a top of the line restaurant in New York City.

But on a day like today though, she was sitting on a chair, sipping a glass of wine and looking out the window that overlooked the water. It was her husband's idea and she enjoyed the view. With a few days before Christmas, Chelsi had been doing a lot of thinking. Even though she had a career (sometimes two), she still felt alone. She often remembered the days when she was back in high school, all of her friends and the band. Smiling at the thought, she took another sip of wine from the glass. She remembered all the fun times she had with them all, going to shows, supporting the boys. She had been on several tours with them and had seen them through everything. Their group did everything together. But now, they only seemed  to get together was marriages and funerals. The last marriage being her own almost four years ago.

Picking up the iPhone, she put in the passcode and unlocked it. She went to the contacts and looked through the contacts slowly. Looking over certain names, she frowned a bit. She had spoken to some of the wives, asking how their families were doing. The one person though, she hadn't talked to in a long time was Charlotte, one of her closest friends in high school. She had often paused at the name, just wanting to send a text or even call her but she never did. Since Bob was out of the band due to injuries, she felt like she was looking from the outside in.

Several days later, Christmas had come and gone. The holiday was spent with Bob's family and once or twice, she was told to stay out of the kitchen. It had often felt weird to her that she was not the one cooking.

Pulling her car into the driveway, Chelsi sat in the car for a little bit. She didn't know why she was sitting there but she was. Her mind was racing for some odd reason. She knew it wasn't from work, where she had spent most of her day. Pulling her phone from her purse, she unlocked it and typed in a message. Her thumb hovered over the 'send' button for several moments before she actually sent it. Turning the car off and grabbing her purse, she got out of the car. She made her way to the trunk to pull out her chef's uniform when she heard something click behind her. Spinning around, she saw a figure in the darkness.

"Hello sweetheart, it's been a while." The male voice said. She had recognized it right away; it was her father's.

"What are you doing here?" She asked, gripping onto her phone and keys tightly. Bob was right there in the house and if she shouted, he would come running but fear was running through her veins. She now noticed that her own father was pointing a gun at her.

"Why, I came to see you. Been sitting in jail for quite a while. Been following your progress." Her father watched her carefully. Chelsi felt her old fears from childhood come back; all the alcohol, the shouting and the abuse. She was a grown woman but it still scared her. Her last run in with her father sent her to the hospital and after that, she had lived in New York with her grandmother. She stayed silent. "What, nothing to say?"

"No, why would I have anything to say to you? You made my childhood a living hell." All she heard was a dark laughter emit from her father and she shivered.

"But from what I heard, you've forgiven your mother."

"Of course I did. She actually felt bad for not protecting me from you." Shortly after her mother had gotten out of rehab, she went to go live with her mom in New York. It took a while for the young woman to trust her mom again and they now had a better relationship now that she was older. Her father on the other hand? She didn't want nothing to do with him. Her life was much better without him. Silence had engulfed them now and Chelsi didn't know how long she  was standing out there for. She heard the porch light click on and the door open. She spun around. "Bob!" She shouted and saw his figure in the door way. She spun to face her father and after that moment, she couldn't hear anything.

Her father fired the gun at her and started to run. She fell to her knees and felt her dogs rush past her, chasing after the intruder that hurt her. She didn't hear the shouts as she fell back to lay on the ground. She stared up at the sky, seeing it full of stars.