NOTE: In this version Kyle did tie Sunny up when he put her in the Jeep.

Chapter Seven: I knew you'd come

Kyle's POV
He drives into the outskirts of the city early on the morning of the third day; his eyes gritty his brain numb. The sun was just about to rise by the time he steers the Jeep up a quiet street behind the house where he hopes, no prays that she would be in. After parking in a small car park he continues on by foot. Sometimes, the best place to hide is in plain sight.

As he walks up the street to the house his pulse increases, his tiredness disappears. He can feel the adrenaline pulsing through him. What if she wasn't here? What if he never finds her again? He could not help the groan escaping his lips. An old lady, a soul, glances at him, and he pulls his baseball cap lower over his eyes, feeling grateful that he grew out his hair so it covers the back of his neck where the scar was supposed to be. Wanda showed Jared how to make the scar look real and Jared in turn showed Kyle. But you could never be too careful.

By now he'd reach the house, the one she may be living in. He was about to cross the street to take a closer look when the front door opens. He bends down, pretending to re-do a shoelace, but studies the figure exiting the door intently from under his cap. He sucks in air, like when you get a fright. And then he holds his breath and he forgets everything else, except the woman walking down the path. It was her. It was Jodi. It was his tiny fragile breakable girl. He wants to run over to her, sweep her up, hold her in his arms, stroke her face, kiss her eyes. He wants to grab her and take her away from this place, right this minute.

As she gets closer he notices something different. She'd cut her hair short, but that's not it. It's something else, a melancholy in her step, one that he's never before seen in her. She was always thin, but now she looks anemic. She looks so fragile that even a strong breeze could lift her off her feet and blow her away. She looks exhausted, drained, even from this far away he can see the dark circles under her eyes and her mouth that always used to lift at the corners are turned down as if in mourning.

The shock of seeing her, not just her, but this sad ghost of her, leaves him stunned. He can barely breathe let alone rush over and grab her. By the time he can move again, she's walked all the way down the street and turned a corner.

He feels his rage flaring up again in the pit of his stomach, burning through him like a wild fire. What the fuck was this soul doing to Jodi's body? Was it trying to kill her? He can't get the image of her pale face and sad dark ringed eyes out of his mind's eye. Suddenly he feels tired. The adrenaline left with her when she turned the corner and a weariness replaced it, settling behind his eyes. He can feel himself swaying. The sight of her was too much for him. It would have been too much for any man to take.

He glances around to make sure that the street is empty, and quickly slips around to the back of the house. He remembers that there was a shed back there, maybe they kept that. He feels a little worried because Jodi's mom used to have a dog, but there is nothing back there, except him. "They obviously got rid of the dog," he mumbles.

At least they kept the shed. It is in better condition than when he saw it last. What if it was locked? He didn't want to have to break a lock and draw attention to the fact that he, or anyone else for that matter had been here. He thought for a moment before he tried the door. It wasn't locked. He shakes his head at the trusting nature of the souls. Of course they won't lock it, who is going to break in? Who is going to steal anything? As he closes the door behind him quickly the small room turns dark and he slides down to the floor while waiting for his eyes to adjust. Next to him are two deckchair cushions which he spreads out and he stretches out on them.

He needs rest and the cover of darkness before can put any kind of plan into action. Now that he had seen her he feels a little lighter somehow. If he sleeps for a few hours, he will have a much better chance to, to what, he thinks to himself before drifting off.

It was dark. The night was warm, humid. He was in her room, bending over her bed. Her eyes opened. They were shining soul eyes. Her face contorted in fear. She opened her mouth and screamed. Lights came on.

He wakes with a start, covered in sweat, breathing hard. "Just a dream. It was just a dream." He repeats until his breath returns to normal.

The light in the shed had turned denser and when he opens the door a little he sees that it was dusk. His mouth is dry from thirst and his head aching after the uncomfortable sleep. His backpack still hangs on his shoulders and he shrugs it off. The water in the bottle is warm but he greedily gulps it down. After a few deep breaths to clear his mind, he comes up with a plan.

Well it wasn't really a plan, plan. Ian is the one with the plans. Kyle never really thinks things through much. He just acts on impulse most of the time. "Nothing I can do about that now," he mumbles.

When dusk turns to darkness he goes outside and slips back into the street again. He picks up the Jeep and parks it across from the house, leaving the keys in the ignition, because he needs a quick getaway if his plan was going to work. If you could call it a plan.

He hurries to the backyard. The lights in the house were switched on and he can see through the windows. She is sitting on her bed, her arms clutching her legs to her chest, her chin resting on her knees, staring at nothing. Her mind seems far away. Her mother is busy somewhere else in the house, a shadow moving from room to room.

His eyes draw back to the thing that took Jodi's body. He can't seem to keep them away from it for long. There were times where he'd given up all hope of seeing her again, and now she's sitting in front of him with nothing but an open window and a few feet of grass separating them. He's struck again by how fragile and desperate she looks. A single tear makes its way down her cheek and he feels his chest tighten in response.

There's a knock on the door to her room and a voice says: "Time for dinner." She quickly brushes the tear away before responding softly: "I'll be there in a minute." It is the first time in years that he heard her speak and the muscles in his groin tighten. "Fuck Kyle, now is not the time," he chastises himself. Her voice always had this effect on him. By now she'd gotten up and went to the mirror. She looks at her own reflection and he sees her mouth attempting to curl upwards into something that looks like a very unconvincing smile. His heart breaks a little more.

His thoughts went back to the first time he kissed her. It was also the first time they danced. They went to a school dance and he asked her for a slow dance. His mouth was dry and he was shaking from nervousness. He led her by her hand to the dance floor, all the while thinking how he should hold her. Should he pull her close or keep a distance. In the end he lost his nerve and there was space enough for another person between them. They swayed slowly to the music, neither one saying a word. His hands on her hips were a little clammy and he felt even more embarrassed, but when the song ended he didn't let go. He stood like that while praying that the next one would be slow as well. And for once his prayer was answered.

She looked up into his eyes when the next song started and he moved closer to her. He felt her small breasts pressing against his thin t-shirt and she looked down. He inhaled her smell and his fingers circled around her back. He could feel her intake of breath and for a moment she stopped moving. But then she placed her head against his shoulder and he rested his chin on her hair. They moved very slowly, slower than the music actually required them to. Her body pressing against almost every inch of him stirred up feelings that he'd never experienced before. His heart kept on going faster and then slower without reason.

When he walked her home, he held her hand a little differently than usual. He didn't want to let go of it ever. They didn't speak much at all, which was strange for them because they always talked about everything. Well actually Jodi would talk and he would listen. Her voice was his lifeline. She could make him soar above the clouds or revel in depression, just with her voice.

When they got to her house, he knew that he would kiss her. He had wanted to kiss her for a long time but was too unsure of how to progress a normal conversation into a kiss. But that night was special, different. They climbed the steps to her porch and then, just as she started to stretch her other hand towards the door, he grabbed it with a quick: "No." They were both surprised by the intensity of his tone. He held both her hands at hip level and turned her to face him. She looked up into his eyes and he bend down towards her lips, slowly. Her eyes shut closed and she lifted her chin a little. He took it as a good sign and then their lips touched.

It felt kind of awkward when they connected. Neither one of them knew what they were doing really. He moved his lips slightly and the friction made her gasp. He unskillfully thrust his tongue into her mouth because that is what the older boys told him to do. It was not a good kiss as far as kisses went, but it was their first one. Once they got that out of the way, they would sneak of whenever they got a chance and explore each others' mouths and together with that, each other's bodies.

He comes back to the present with an uneasy feeling. Looking up he sees the soul in Jodi's body staring out the bedroom window, right at him. For a moment he thinks that she could see him, but her sad eyes are just staring out into the darkness, not looking at anything. She sighs deeply and he sees then what she was wearing - a tank top and boxer shorts. His mouth goes dry. He always found Jodi irresistible in boy shorts and a tank. He wasn't a man for flirty girly sleepwear. Her small breasts pushes against the cotton fabric. The shorts sitting low on her hips evaporates any coherent sensible thoughts out of his brain. All he wants was to go to her, join her on the bed she's now turn to and hold her and kiss her and... "Fuck Kyle, now is not the time!" he repeats the same words he said earlier, a little more forcefully. But he's fighting a losing battle of mind versus body. He's not a man with much self control. He never had been and with Jodi he had none.

By the time his heartbeat had settled into an almost steady thud, the lights in the house have been off for about an hour. There is no movement. This is what he was waiting for. Slowly he climbs through her window which was still open to let in the cool night air and turns to her sleeping form on the bed. With her eyes closed she looks exactly like Jodi. Her breathing is erratic and for a few moments he can only stare at her, watch her sleep. She moans softly and again he feels that stirring in his groin. Without another thought be bends down, strokes her cheek and inhales her scent before swiftly clasping her mouth with his hand. Not tight, just enough so that she won't be able to scream. His other pulls the bedding off of her and he picks her up in one movement.

He sees her eyes open wide when she wakes up but he doesn't pay much attention. He has one thought only and that is to get her out of there before anyone wakes up. He pulls her out of the window with his hand still cupping her mouth. She put up no resistance and he thinks that she is still too sleepy, too shocked to realize what is happening. He is glad for that because it makes it easier to carry her to the Jeep. He throws the driver side door open and pushes her over onto the passenger seat groping for the rope. Only then does he realize that he had to let go of her mouth and this is the part he didn't think through beforehand. If she screams now, they would be found. Their eyes meet for a moment and he sees a flash in hers, something, like a recognition? But that can't be. She sits perfectly still while he wraps the rope around her waist, trying her arms to her body. She just stares at him and the longer her silence stretches out the more confused he gets.

"You're not going to scream are you?" He finally whispers. Her big eyes stare back at him and she shakes her head. He doesn't get it, but he can no longer resist the temptation. His head dips and he roughly takes her mouth. The world and everything in it shrinks and becomes her lips. The only thing he's aware of was her soft mouth and her tongue gently probing to get access. She's kissing him back. The soul was kissing him back. He thrusts her away from him and stares into her glowing eyes in shock.

She smiles timidly and says: "Kyle, I knew you'd come for me."