Every Last Breath by Jessica Gaffney

He dared not move. He watched his father come into sight and back out again. He laid ever still.
    When Jack went back to the house as an adult, he took Maggie with him. They pulled up to the three story monster, parking along the unkept curb. The roof was in shambles and the yard had not been kept in years. The broken fence and rusty posts lined a square lot. The trees out front were dead and overgrown, as were the bushes in front of the home. The walk out stoop was in need of paint. Jack wanted to revisit the scene of his horrific childhood; there on the wall was a small poster, tattered from the damp weather. It was a portrait of a child on his knees praying to God for protection and care.  Jack squared his shoulders, stared at the photo and elbowed the glass. The pieces hit the floor with a crescendo and Maggie stood there completely frozen. She made no movements as she watched the blood ooze from his arm.
    He made no comment to the pain or the gash in his arm. He only studied her reaction. She quivered as he leaned closer. “Nobody overpowers me. You hear that!” Jack spit at the poster and turned around, the heel of his boots crunching the crushed glass. “Nobody,” he sneered.
    He kicked over some moldy boxes and headed up the stairway.  Maggie stood frozen. She knew better than to talk to him. He may have forgotten she was there or he may turn on her. He had, in times past, mistaken her for his father during a fit of rage. The scary part was she didn’t know which of the two he would choose.
    She stood alone, her legs shaking as the basement door shut. A stream of mascara dribbled down her hand as she wiped her eyes. She stared at the dimly lit floor as pieces of bloody glass lay in disrepair. What the hell had just happened?
    When the policeman came back to the car he motioned for her to exit. She turned toward Eli, “Stay in the car sweetie, it’s warmer in here.” Maggie recognized the fear in her own voice.
    “I will mommy.” His eyes were bright and wild with wonder. “Vala will get the bad people,” he said reassuringly. Maggie’s heart sank when she realized her boy was trying to comfort her.
    Eli hugged his toy and watched with an enlarged gaze. Her adrenaline was pumping.
    Maggie opened the garage door so Vala would hear the familiar sound. She’d been trained to make visual contact with her master before following a command.
    The officer crept up the three steps from the garage to the house, slowly. With one hand on his pistol, the cop raised his arm to the door handle.
    Vala appeared by the door, her face stoic as the officer and Maggie entered the house. Maggie spoke to Vala in Slovik and told her to stand down.
    Maggie knew no one was in the house or Vala would have them cornered or would at least have stayed by the body. It took her two years to pay for Vala and it was days like this she could see where the money went.
    Maggie looked around the house; so far nothing looked out of the ordinary. Vala rounded the couch and led her to a bird, lying in the center of the floor. “How did you get in here?”
    The dog sat by Maggie, which was a sign of impending danger. “Jack,” she uttered aloud.
    Vala rose to her feet and moved toward the door.
    There was no way that bird flew in from the chimney. They didn’t have many birds at this altitude. Just then she heard the police officer call her from the hallway.
    “Ms. Burke, can we talk?”
    Maggie’s head jerked back. Eli stood in the doorway, tears running down his face. “Mommy, some stranger is outside.”
    The officer exited the home as she ran to her son. Eli jumped into her arms and held on tight. “Baby who was it?”
    “I don’t know momma but he scared me.”
    “Did he come into the garage,” the policeman asked. Eli sucked his thumb and shook his head, yes. He held on tighter.
    The police officer headed outside. Maggie clutched the back of Eli’s head and followed him outside. Vala had taken the protective stance, maybe Jack