This story is first told through Jackson's perspective. It is post Red Eye, about three months to date, give or take. After escaping from the hospital, he sets out to find someone that he has unfinished business with. Maybe some romance, though they both try to suppress it as much as possible. Rated M for the usual reasons because I'm not sure where this story will go. I don't own anything Red Eye, so don't sue. I don't own anything Harry Potter either; I just know that if I had a cat, I would name it Crookshanks because it's cool. So don't sue!

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Chapter Three – Steamy Exhaustion

Lisa's feet were killing her. She had just pulled an eleven hour shift, in heels no less. It had been a terrible night, with customer complaints galore, an unmarked wet floor that an old woman had slipped on, and a plumbing problem in 2314 to top everything off. The night's unfortunate events had Lisa and Cynthia running around like crazy people.

Ugh, she thought as she unlocked the door and walked into her dark two-story house. Why do I torture myself like this? I'd love to find the person that invented heels and pull their toenails out one by one.

She slid her heels off of her aching feet and quickly turned on the light, illuminating the living room. She reached behind her on instinct and locked the door behind her. Her heart fluttered for a just a moment as she gazed around her spotless home and dropped her purse on the beige leather couch. She wiped some excess dust off of the glasstop side table that sat between the couch and loveseat and adjusted the antique lamp that sat on the table. She always was an obsessive cleaner, but now more than ever. Everything had to be in its perfect place. Her black, glasstop coffee table was centered in the floor space in front of the loveseat and couch. She adjusted the black, silk throw pillows on both her loveseat and couch before deciding that the room looked okay enough for her to walk away from.

No one's here, Lisa, she thought as she let out a breath. Everything's okay. Now, where is that damn cat?

She pushed the PLAY button on her answering machine that sat on her counter top beside the phone, knowing that her father had already called at least three times.

"Hey, sweetheart," his voice sounded through the machine. "Just wondering if you were working tonight. You work too hard, too much. Maybe you should take some time off. I'm sure that they will survive without you for a few days."

He said the last sentence as if she would be right there to argue with him over it. She let out a small laugh and rolled her eyes. He knew her too well and worried about her constantly, now more than ever.

"Dad, that's the thing," she muttered, shaking her head and allowing a small smile to pull at the corners of her mouth. "They can't make it without me."

She walked delicately up the carpeted stairs and into her bedroom before peeling her clothes from her body. She put on her maroon bathrobe and grabbed a hairclip. The sight of her in the mirror stopped her for a moment. Her makeup still looked okay, but nothing could hide those dark circles under her eyes. She wiped her lipgloss off with the back of her hand before regarding her tired eyes. If she could only sleep more instead of falling prey to her horrible nightmares involving a certain someone with cold blue eyes. She clicked on her CD player and allowed the soft, classical music to fill her ears as she popped a Xanax dry.

Ah, relaxing. Won't be surprised if I fall asleep in the bathtub. But what if he comes back to haunt me? Don't. Don't even think about him. It's bad enough he robs you of pleasant dreams. God, I do look exhausted, she thought as she regarded the mirror once again. I just need a bath and the leftover Chinese in the refrigerator. Lisa had not eaten scrambled eggs in the middle of the night since being stalked by the notorious man with the ice blue eyes. He had seemed to know her better than she knew herself; he held all of the answers to her most personal daily quirks and routines. She looked in the mirror as she pulled her hair up off of her neck. Pinning her hair up in a messy french twist with several brown tendrils falling free of it, she went to fill her tub with soothing warm water. She allowed her toe to test the bathwater temperature before dropping her bathrobe on the toilet and stepping slowly in to gradually immerse her entire body into it. She let out a small moan of pleasure and allowed her heavy eyes to close as every muscle in her body relaxed for the first time since that morning. She slid down further into the warmth of the bathwater and allowed an unintentional slumber to claim her.