Part 10
Stephanie had just gotten out of the shower and was drying her hair when the phone rang.
"Hello?"
"Hey, sis, it's me." Xandra's voice was on the other end.
"Xandra! What's going on?"
"Are you busy? I need to talk to someone."
"No. As a matter of fact, I was going to go to the mall and walk around."
"Would you like some company?"
"If you mean yourself, definitely!"
"Do you mind if I bring Lizzie along? Will you be OK with seeing her?"
"I don't mind at all. She can come along. Let's make it a girls' outing. But what about Taker?"
"He left early this morning, and I don't know where he is." Xandra confessed.
"That's not like him to just disappear like that."
"I know, and I'm worried. But I want to talk to you in person about that."
"That's fine. Let me get dressed and I'll see you in a while."
"OK. Bye."
"Bye."
Stephanie hung up and felt a sense of dread come over her. 'Taker, what are you doing now? I swear, if you're mistreating my sister, you'd better not let me find out. Don't forget, I know several of your dark secrets. I still hold the power to bring your world crashing down around you. You'd better watch how you treat Xandra, or she will find out the truth about her husband.'
Meanwhile, Taker was on his motorcycle, riding down the highway. He often rode down this particular stretch of road when he needed to clear his mind...and did he ever need to clear it.
His mind went back to this morning, before he'd left the house.
*Flashback*
Taker was buttoning up his shirt as he looked over at Xandra, who was still sleeping.
He sighed longingly. "My love..."
He went into his closet and reached up to grab a journal. He'd started writing in it every now and then ever since he'd met Xandra. He sat down in a chair in the corner of the room and began to write.
"Dear Journal...I don't know how much longer I can go without making love to my Xandra. I owe her a proper wedding night, but I haven't been able to give it to her. It's always been ruined by visions of...her.
She haunts my dreams at night and tortures me every time I'm alone with Xandra. She won't leave me alone! I see her standing there and it scares me to death. I know that everything I did was wrong, but only now am I beginning to feel...guilt over it all, I guess. I don't know what led me to do it all in the first place, but for the first time since it happened, I feel ashamed.
I don't know if I'm just saying that because of this need to be with Xandra, but I want these nightmares to stop so I can finally enjoy being with my wife for the first time.
I know she's probably concerned about me, but she can't know what I've done. I have a family with this woman now and I'm not going to jeopardize it in any way. She can't ever find out the truth."
He finished writing and stared at his sleeping bride.
'You have no idea what you mean to me...you and Lizzie are my world. I'll do anything to make sure it stays that way.' He thought.
He pulled out a piece of paper from his journal.
"You look so beautiful, I couldn't bear to wake you up. I'm just going out for a few hours. I'll be back as soon as I can. Give Lizzie a kiss for me. I love you both."
He stood up, walked over to the bed and placed the note next to Xandra.
He brushed her hair away from her forehead and gently laid a kiss on the top of Xandra's head. "I love you so much." He whispered softly.
*End of flashback*
Taker continued to ride as he thought of Xandra and Lizzie.
'I'm sorry, Xandra. I don't want to hurt you or Lizzie. But the more I think about everything I did to your sister...and your niece, the more I fear losing you. I'll be damned if I let anything come between us. That's why you can never know the truth about what I've done. It's better this way. You, Lizzie, and I will have our happily ever after. Just the three of us against the world...and that includes Stephanie.'