Surrender

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By Guardian795

Author's Note/Disclaimer: I do not own CT, wish I did. Adult Bobby and Dan looking like older Edward would be hot! XD

Anywho, bad things are gonna happen in this fanfiction. Blood, gore, sexual innuendos, rape, you name it! Doesn't that sound like fun? On with the show!

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Chapter 2: Haunted

The girl fell heavily down the stairs with a scream. Each step must have stabbed into her back harshly, but the final fall to the bottom must have hurt more than anything. She laid there, gasping for breath, any bit of movement sending pain up her spine. And then, he was there. He stood at the top of the steps, his axe dripping with the blood of her lover. Her eyes widened as he slowly descended the steps, making his way towards her. She slowly picked herself up onto her hands and knees, but it was too late. He was above her, looming over her innocent form. He raised his axe, the blood covering it spilling everywhere, onto her, onto the floor. She screamed.

"Turn that off, Nolan!" she yelled.

Tim, Nolan, and Helen looked over at Jennifer, who had emerged from the kitchen. She seemed pale, her eyes focused on the horror movie that they were watching. She knew what came next. Everyone knows what comes next.

"Aw, c'mon, Jenny," Nolan said. "It's the best part…"

"Off!" she said again. Helen quickly turned off the TV, and Tim groaned.

"Party time's over," Tim said to Nolan, standing up. "I gotta head home anyway. My girlfriend wants to come over after work tomorrow, and I need to clean."

"Want me to come help?" Helen asked. She and Tim had quickly become fast friends after the terrors of the Barrows' Castle. "I can come vacuum and clean while you're at work. Jen wants to head out with her friends anyway."

Tim smiled. "Thanks, Helen. You're a lifesaver." Helen returned the smile.

Nolan looked over at Jennifer. "I thought you wanted to see this movie, Jenny."

Jennifer glared at him. "No, you and Tim wanted to see it. You two just thought it'd be cool to crash here."

Helen stood. "It's true. Now, you two should head on home." Tim grinned and stood up, making his way to the door after thanking the girls for the meal and for the movie night. Nolan stopped in the doorway and looked at Jennifer.

"Hey, Jen…can I…call you tomorrow?" he asked. She looked up at him and slowly smiled.

"Yeah, okay," she said. "I'll be on my cell phone."

Nolan gave her a secretive smile and leaned down to kiss her hair before ducking out the door to avoid Helen's yells about him 'cradle-snatching'. Jennifer giggled. It had been two years after Dan's death, and she had never truly gotten over it. But Nolan and Helen had always been there for her. Helen was there when the nightmares came of Laura's tragic death in the shower, and she was there when Jennifer saw anything sharp like scissors or knives around the house. Nolan was at her side when she was afraid to face the public again. He was there when they went to a restaurant that cut the meat right in front of you with large knives. That was the last time Nolan ever took her to one of those restaurants. He was there when horror movies were shown on TV with hooks and dead people and blood.

But there were times when she was alone, when she had to face these nightmares for what they were – only memories and fears. Bobby and Dan were gone. Their evil deeds and killings left behind great fear but nothing more, and she had to get on with her life. It was hard, though. She kept expecting one of them around the corner, or to see one behind her when she looked in the mirror.

She looked over at Helen. "I'm off to bed. Goodnight, Helen."

Helen smiled as she watched her adopted daughter go to bed. "Goodnight, Jennifer. Sleep well."

§§§

"You look great in that outfit, Jen!" Lily said. Jennifer looked over at her friend Lily, a girl with black hair and pale skin. Her other three friends, Carol, Sam and Erin were also trying on different clothes.

Jennifer looked down at her clothes. She was wearing a white tank top with fashionable cuts and tears in parts of it, then some tattered jeans. "Is it okay? Really?" she asked.

"How many times do we have to say yes, Jen?" Carol asked, rolling her eyes. "Honestly…"

Erin grinned. "Don't be like that, Carol. We know you're just angry cuz your mom took your car away."

Suddenly, a ring went off. All five girls reached for their cell phones and answered. Jennifer smiled. "It's mine, girls." She turned around. "Hey, Nolan."

"Hey, Jen. What's up?"

"I'm at the mall, trying on some new clothes," she replied. She could hear her friends giggling in the background. "You?"

"Ugh, I'm busy trying to get an interview with this guy who almost got shot the other day outside of an elementary school," Nolan's tired voice said. "Boring as hell." There was a pause. "Will I be able to see you in some cute outfit later? Say…dinner with me?"

Jennifer laughed. "Ooh, you wish. No, Helen wants me to pick some stuff up for her while she visits a friend tonight after cleaning Tim's house."

Nolan sighed over the phone. "Okay…well, I'll call you later to set up some plans. Love ya."

"Love you - " Jennifer started to say, but Nolan hung up. She sighed. He must've been busy, or someone walked in on him on the phone.

Sam sighed. "Boys. Don't sweat it, Jen," she said reassuringly. "They can be so thick headed and cruel, especially if a girl says no." Carol nodded in agreement as she adjusted her shirt and looked at herself in the mirror.

Lily was pulling her hair back into a braid. "Jen, you're 17. Why are you hanging out with that guy? He's…like…25!"

Jen smiled. "He can be a brute at times, I know, but we really became close two years ago when…" Jennifer trailed off, looking down. Carol lightly stepped on Lily's foot to remind her of Jennifer's past experiences.

Erin sat beside Jennifer. "Hard times bring people together. I'm glad you two can stay together with so many things in common and have a good time. After all, that's what a relationship is, isn't it?"

"But relationships should have passion too," Sam pointed out. "Passion and risks. Something to get the blood running!"

Jennifer's phone rang again, and she hesitated to pick it up. "It's him, calling you back to beg for your forgiveness," Carol said.

"Ew, then don't pick it up," Erin told her. "Give that jerk a taste of his own medicine."

But she couldn't. She should at least let Nolan apologize. Jennifer picked up the cell phone and walked a few yards away from the girls to speak to Nolan in private. She hit the Talk button. "Hello?"

"You certainly do look beautiful today. White really suits you."

"Huh? Nolan? How on earth did you get to the mall that quickly?"

"Nolan?" There was a laugh – dark, malicious.

She shivered involuntarily. This wasn't Nolan. "Who is this? Who are you?"

"Jenny…have you forgotten me already?" There was a light pause. "No…of course you haven't. When you got out of your car today, you checked under it twice. Last night, you didn't watch that movie. Why? Because of me."

She stiffened. The voice was older, different…but…it was him. The one who tormented her dreams. The one who killed her only friends in the world. It was Robert Barrows – Bobby.

"B…Bobby?" she asked.

He laughed again. "I'm so flattered that you remember me, Jennifer…And I meant what I said – white looks great on you. Makes you seem so…innocent. Like an angel…But I think I'd prefer to make the rips and tears in it myself."

Jennifer stepped out of the store and looked around wildly. He wouldn't dare attack here, in a mall…would he? "Bobby…I thought…"

"You won't find me, little Jenny. You'd better just go back to your friends before I'm forced to introduce them to your old buddies."

She froze, then. Her eyes were wide like saucers, and she glanced around once more before slowly going back inside.

"Good girl…I have to go now, Jen. But don't worry, I'll drop by another time, and I think I'll bring along a good friend. Oh…and by the way…buy the top. You can wear it the next time I see you." He hung up.

Despite her numb and shaking fingers, Jennifer put her phone away and quickly changed back into her blue shirt. Before any of her friends could ask, she paid for the shirt. "I…I gotta go, girls. See you soon!" she called as she ran out of the store and back to her car.

§§§

"He said that?" Helen asked. Jennifer, in her bed clothes and wrapped up in a blanket, nodded. Helen sat down beside her adopted daughter and hugged her gently. "Oh, Jennifer…I…I don't really know what to say. Are you sure it was him?"

"My phone rang, Helen. Everyone heard it. I don't think I could really imagine up Bobby's voice on the phone," Jennifer replied. She pulled her hair away from her face and put it up in a ponytail.

Helen slowly stood up. "I'm going to get you some hot chocolate." Jennifer nodded, sinking a bit lower into the couch. She was scared, to be sure, but also confused. Bobby died, clear as day. She saw it with her own eyes. But…if that was true, how was he suddenly there? No one else spoke like Bobby did. No one could send shivers up her spine like Bobby could. Except…maybe…for Dan, but he was also dead.

Jennifer grabbed her forehead and buried it in her knees. This couldn't be happening to her. The two worst people to ever enter her life were, seemingly, alive again. And if they weren't…she must be finally losing her sanity.

At her side, her cell phone ran and she shot her head up. She began to tremble at the thought of the caller being Bobby or Dan, and she nudged the phone away from her with her foot. After a few more rings, the phone quieted, and Jennifer let out a sigh of relief. Then, the phone began to vibrate, signaling a text message, and Jennifer slowly picked up the phone to read it.

Jen – where are you?

Nolan

Jennifer softly laughed. It had been Nolan, trying to call her. She picked up her cell phone, only to have Helen grab the phone away from her. "Hey!" Jennifer said.

"Not tonight," Helen replied. "I'm going to call Inspector Gotts and speak to him about this. In the meantime, why don't you go up to bed? I'll be up after I call Gotts to bring you something warm to drink to calm your nerves."

Jennifer sighed, but got up from the couch with her blanket and went upstairs to her room. She laid down in the bed and curled up in its warmth, sighing as she put her blanket over her other sheets. Before she met Helen, she never had such a comfortable bed. She stayed at that terrible orphanage, never leaving until that fateful day when she and her friends went to the Barrows Mansion. She shivered a little under the covers and sat up, hugging her knees.

"Jennifer," Helen called. Jennifer lifted her head and saw her adopted mother entering the room. "Inspector Gotts said he'd get right on it and begin an investigation."

"An investigation?" Jennifer asked. "Helen…will it help?" She saw Helen sigh, and knew the truth. All of the cops in the country could attempt to find her stalker, but if it was Bobby or Dan, none of them would live. Jennifer nodded. "Okay. I'm going to go to bed."

"I'm heading to work tomorrow," Helen said to her. "I'll call every few hours to check on you. I should be home by late afternoon." Jennifer nodded. "If you can avoid it," Helen went on, "Don't leave the house. Don't let anyone in unless they are a police officer."

Jennifer nodded again. "I will, trust me." She knew what to do. She had almost died on two separate occasions, and this was no different. Only now…the danger was once dead, now alive again. Helen kissed Jennifer's forehead.

"Sleep well, Jennifer. I'll go to bed once a cop or two shows up," the older woman said, before leaving the room. Jennifer leaned over to her bedside table and turned out the light. She laid down in bed and curled up a little, looking to the window by the side of the bed. She waited, watching. Would someone come through it? Would a shadow pass by, or would she just hear the horrific sound of scissors clanging together before she died? She continued to watch the window, but nothing happened.

She sighed and curled up more, clutching the sheets tight. Nothing will happen, she told herself, and with that thought, she fell asleep.