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I was dog-tired when I got home that night. My feet hurt from being in high heels all day and my brain was spinning from looking at budget reports. I peeled off my clothes and threw on an oversized T-shirt to sleep in. Wearily I staggered to the bathroom to wash my face, brush my teeth and take out my contact lenses. Drunk Thumbnails The day had been cold and damp so I also took a cold pill as I could feel my sinuses begin to congest. When I finally fell into bed, I hadn't been there more than a minute before I was fast asleep.
To this day, I don't know what woke me up. I can only attest to the fact that my eyes opened and I realized it was still dark outside. When I squinted at the clock, I was barely able to make out that it was just after 5:00am. I was about to roll over and go back to sleep when I heard a noise downstairs. Someone was trying to get in the front door and wasn't being too quiet about it. I reached for the cordless phone by the bed but it was gone. Drunk Thumbnails Ben must have made a call earlier in the day and then just set the phone down where ever he ended up in the conversation. It was a habit of his that drove me nuts and now it was having potentially dire consequences.
Fear turned my mouth to cotton and it's probably just as well that I was unable to call the police. I'm not sure that I would have been able to say anything to them anyway. My heart raced even faster when I heard footsteps climbing the stairs. Our neighbor's home had been broken into the week before and I was afraid we were about to be the next crime victims in the subdivision. As the footsteps got closer to the bedroom, I reached under the bed and pulled out the shotgun that Ben insisted we keep there. My hands trembled and I watched the doorway. Drunk Thumbnails I'm not a great marksman but you don't have to be when you're using a shotgun at close range. A figure appeared, framed by the portal and I cocked the gun and snugged it tight against my shoulder. The figure paused for a moment and then moved again. In that instant I pulled the trigger.
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