The Framing

A gunshot rang out, accompanied by yelling. Two more shots, police sirens wailed nearby. Then silence, everything went still. A minute passed, then two, then three. The silence broke with the roar of gunfire, screams and shattering glass. Then it went silent again. All was still, night turned into day and the city seemed as if nothing had happened.

The phone rang, waking Isabelle. She walked over and answered the phone, “Hello?”

“Thank God, you’re alright!” the voice exclaimed.

“Yes, Ed, I’m fine.” Isabelle told her boyfriend.

Ed sighed, “That shootout was a block from your apartment,” he said with an air of concern in his voice.

Isabelle giggled in an attempt to calm his nerves, “I have to get ready for work, I’ll see you at five.”

Isabelle hung up the phone, and got her uniform out and laid it on the bed. As she walked to the bathroom, she noticed her door was cracked open. She returned to her bedroom and retrieved her old softball bat from under her bed. She began to search her apartment for an invader. When she got to the kitchen there was a woman sitting at the table eating a bowl of cereal. “Mom?!” questioned Isabelle.

“What’s with the bat?” her mother inquired.

Isabelle lowered the bat. “You left the door open, I thought someone broke in.”

“Did I? Sorry about that.” said her mother.

“Wh-what are you doing here, Mom? More importantly, how did you get in?” asked a very confused Isabelle.

“Picked the lock,” her mother said nonchalantly, while continuing to eat her cereal.

“You what?!” Isabelle demanded.

“You heard me. I picked the lock,” her mother stated calmly.

Isabelle just looked at her mother in utter shock. She didn’t know how to respond. Just as she was about to say something, a man spoke from what sounded like the bathroom. “Where’s the plunger in this place?” asked her father as he walked into the kitchen.

“Dad?!” she shouted.

“Good morning, Princess,” her father said to her.

Isabelle was completely confused. She looked at her mother, who had poured herself another bowl of cereal. Then she looked at her father, whose head was buried in the refrigerator. “What the hell is going on?!”

“Watch your mouth, young lady!” her father said from inside the fridge.

Isabelle glared at her father, then looked at the clock. “Sh*t! I’m going to be late for work!”

Isabelle took a quick shower and hastily threw on her uniform and ran out the door. She just barely made it to work on time. As soon as she got there punched her time card and threw on her apron. The diner was unusually slow all day. When her shift was over, she rushed home.

Not to her surprise, her parents were still at her apartment. Her father lay sprawled across the couch, beer in one hand remote in the other. However her mother was nowhere in sight. Just then she heard singing coming from the bathroom. Her mother was taking a bubble bath. “Mom, I have to get ready for dinner with Ed.” she yelled to her mother threw the door.

“Be out in a minute,” her mother replied.

The sound of water draining could be heard through. Her mother came out of the bathroom wrapped in a bath towel and flip-flops. Isabelle’s mother walked over to the couch where her father was sleeping, and began to shake him. “Ben, wake up!” her mother shouted.

Ben snorted and shuddered as he was shaken awake by his wife. “Dammit, Lucy, what?” he groaned.

“Get your lazy ass up.” she retorted.

Isabelle watched her parents intently. Her mother was clearly the one who wore the pants. At the same time her father was known for his rather defiant personality, an odd coupling. Isabelle pondered this for a moment, then left to get ready.

By the time Isabelle had gotten out of the shower her parents were gone. A note was attached to the fridge with a bunny magnet. Went to dinner, back at 8.

Ed showed up at about quarter till six. Isabelle got into the car, and the left for dinner. She told Ed about about her day at work and about her parents breaking into her apartment. He laughed at the story, but listened well.

They finished eating and Ed took her home. When they got to her apartment building, Ed gave her her a kiss good night. She got out of the car and went to her apartment.

When she arrived she found her house empty. She sat down and turned on the TV to the news. A story on last night’s shooting was on. “The shooters are believed to be a married couple in their mid to late fifties,” said the anchorman.

Isabelle thought nothing of the news report. She began to flip through the channels. As she was looking for something to watch, a live news bulletin flashed by. The caption read: Last Night’s Shooting Suspects Flee Police. She flipped back to the bulletin. As she watched, her jaw dropped in horror.

Isabelle watched in terror as her parents’ car wove through high speed traffic. Police cruisers followed close behind. Every so often they would try to pull ahead of the fleeing vehicle. Her parents’ car suddenly veered left, across two lanes of traffic. Almost immediately, a cruiser sped up and slammed into the left side of the rear bumper. The car spun out of control. It slammed into the guardrail. The cruisers swarmed around like bees, surrounding the vehicle.

The officers rushed out of their cars, weapons at the ready. A gunshot rang out, glass shattered, the officers began to discharge their own firearms immediately. Isabelle screamed in terror, pouring from her eyes. Suddenly, an explosion, her parents’ car was instantly set ablaze. Police officers scattered as the flames consumed the wrecked vehicle. Shards of glass and metal debris flew in every direction. Then, silence.

__END__