Unextinguished Flame.

Chapter 10

You stand there in the doorway frozen. Trying to comprehend what you just heard this woman say to you.

"I'm sorry. But who are you?" You ask the woman in front of you.

"My name is Diedra Marsh. And I have evidence to put your husband away for life."

Yup. You heard her right.

She can put him in jail. For life. Which means you and your son could finally be free. The tyranny could be over. But what if that's not what you really want?

"May I come in?" she asks you.

"Uh yeah, sure," you replied.

You step aside to let her in and quietly shut the door behind her.

"This is a beautiful home you have, Mrs. Johnson," she says to you.

"Thank you. Now, why are you here?" you ask her

"I know this is a shock to you. But you don't have to fear me. I'm here to help." she replies.

"Help with what?" you ask.

"With escaping your husband. I know he's dangerous. I know he's psychotic. And I know you're afraid of him. That's why I'm here. I want to help you and your son make a clean break and be done with him for good."

You stare at her in fear and shock. Could it be real? Can you do this? Can you run away for good?

"I don't know what you're talking about," you say to her.

"Mrs. Johnson, I'm not your enemy. I'm only here because he has to be stopped."

"What does that mean?!" you ask.

She takes a deep breath.

"You're not his first victim, Mrs. Johnson. And if he has his way, you won't be the last," she replies.

An icy feeling made its way down your spine as you took a breath.

This was bad.  You weren't Noah's first victim.

But maybe you could be his last after all.

You moved aside to let Diedra Marsh sit down.

Diedra watched suspiciously as you hurriedly ran to close the curtain, noting your nervous breaths and shaky fingers.

"Taking any meds?"  She asked conversationally.

You looked at her, taken aback, "I'm sorry?"

"For your anxiety," she says, "You taking meds?"

Your brow furrowed at how quickly she was dissecting you.

"I invite you into my home and the first thing you ask is if I'm taking meds?"

"Most victims in relationships with particularly volatile partners tend to be...anxious."

You narrowed your eyes at her and her purple lips form into a thin smirk.

"People say you miss social cues when you're autistic," she says, "I like to think it allows me to see who people truly are."

"Along with your overt desire to be nosy."

She nods.

You sigh and sit down, "Fine.  What do ya' got?"
__

"Before I became a reporter," Diedra said, pulling a file out of her bag, "I was a college student."

She pulled out a photo of her and another woman and handed it to you.

In the photo was a younger version of her smiling and linking arms with another young woman, one who...looked exactly like you.