A.N.: This chapter id dedicated to twilightangel61090 for being the first to review to my last chapter. I would also like to announce that the next chapter will be my last. And no, there will not be a sequel. You'll find out why next chapter. I hope you all enjoy the end of the ride with me. it's been a long four years writing these two stories.
twilightangel61090: I'm actually ignoring my other stories until I finish this one.
Lady Elaine of Shalott: Yes, Jess broke off the engagement. But the story isn't done yet. And I'm glad you like it.
Molz: I'm fully back on track as you can see by my posting so soon and ignoring all my other stories. I sorta feel guilty about that.
Moonygirl13: We'll have to see what happens. I have an idea, but when I'm writing, my fingers do all the work and sometimes change things on me.
acavoo: Yes, we should all feel bad for Rob. Especially after next chapter HINTHINT! And about hurting me…I'd like to see you try, especially with the quick update. You have to love me for that.
Mediatorgrrl: Rob is definitely broken as you say…you'll have to wait to see what happens to His Highness Your Broken One.
sexydiamond123: …I think this is my story and I'll do whatever I want. Sorry if that sounded snotty, I'm not trying to be. It's just, I'm not one for happy endings.
Living2Love: I know I'm the worst updater. But I was also waiting for a review from one of my favorite reviewers, WHICH I NEVER GOT!
kawaiibritt: I did update soon. Yay me.
KleineSchweinae: Thanks so much for the compliment. I love those things.
prv226: No what?
Tears of Red Diamonds: Lol, I know. But hey, I love cliffies. Well, writing them at least. I hate reading them.
tennisgirl: Thanks for all the reviews. I loved them.
smarterthanu101: Thanks for the review!
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Remember Me?
So Here's To My LifeI ended up walking to a park. Of course, being the middle of the day that it was, it was filled with little children running around. I could see some children playing tag on the grass and other children running around near the monkey bars. A little farther away I could see some kids playing Frisbee with their dogs. Over at the benches there were parents sitting talking to each other and taking care of the babies who were too young to play. It was a perfect scene. And it seemed as if every second a new kid came onto the playground and started playing with the other kids whether they knew each other or not.
I stayed standing looking at the scene for a while. I'm not quite sure how long it was. But all of a sudden I came out of my trance. There was a little girl on the ground only a few feet away from me. She was crying. She couldn't have been more then six years old. I walked over to her and said softly, "What happened?"
She sniffled loudly, "My brother pushed me down on the ground and I hurt my knee."
"Can I take a look at it?" I kneeled down in front of her and held my hand out to her.
She nodded and took her hand, which had been covering her injured knee, and put it in mine. I held her hand in one of mine and squeezed gently to reassure her. Then I took my other hand and slowly took a look at wound. It was really only a scratch.
I tsked and said, "Well, that looks like it stings. Why don't we go find your mom so we can bandage this up, okay?"
She wiped the tears out of her eyes and said, "Okay! My name's Sarah, what's yours?"
"My name's Jess. Do you want a piggyback ride?"
She nodded happily and climbed on my back. Then she proceeded to tell me where her mother was sitting with all the other mothers. I walked over with Sarah, all the while joking and laughing around with her. We finally reached them and I slowly let Sarah slide off my back, but she kept a firm grip on my hand.
"Mommy, Booby pushed me down and I hurt my knee. Jess gave me a piggyback ride! She said you would put a band-aid on it and make it all better."
"Sarah, what have I told you about talking to strangers?" Her mother took Sarah onto her lap and nursed her booboo.
"But Mommy, Jess was really nice."
I cleared my throat before Sarah's mother could make a reply. "I'm sorry. It must have been very forward of me to approach your daughter like that. It's just…she was crying and I wanted to see if I could help her at all. Believe me, I know all about talking to strangers. My name's Jessica Mastriani by the way. It's nice to meet you."
Sarah's mother nodded and said, "Julie Gould. Thank you for getting Sarah to me. It was very nice of you."
I nodded to acknowledge her before bending down to Sarah's level. "I have to go now, so be careful. And don't let those mean boys push you around. You're a very sweet little girl."
She threw her arms around my neck and gave me a giant hug and whispered in my ear, "It's okay, I put mud in his undies."
I laughed and walked away waving ay Sarah and her mother. They were very nice people.
I sat down on one of the swings and gave myself a little push. I needed to think. I know Sean lives somewhere around here. But how do I find him? The agents said I can look at a picture and know where a person is. But I haven't gotten that with Sean yet. I took his picture out of my pocket and studied it again. I would have to think of something fast, eventually the agents would catch up to me.
Little Sarah came running back to me when she saw me sitting there. This time her knee was all bandaged up good. "I thought you said you had to leave." She gave me an innocent little pout that only a little girl can do.
"Well, I do have to leave. You see, it's very important that I find this boy. He's a friend of mine and he's in a lot of trouble."
I showed her the picture of Sean. Her face lighted with recognition. "Hey, I know him! Yeah, that's Sal. He lives really close. He comes by and plays sometimes. He's really nice. Is he really in trouble?"
"Sarah, this is really important…do you know where Sal lives?"
She closed her eyes tightly for a minute before she nodded and said, "Uh, huh. It's down that street." She pointed to a side street that connected to the park.
"Do you know which house it is?"
"Yep, it's the gray one next to the really ugly green one."
I stood up quickly and almost started to run toward that direction. But I kneeled down to Sarah first and said, "You are an angel." And I kissed her forehead lightly before running away.
I ran fast. Well, faster than I normally did. I could feel the wind in my hair. In my haste I almost ran straight into a car. That would have been bad. But I stopped right before the curb and listened vaguely as the driver yelled profanities at me and beeped his horn threateningly. When he angrily drove away leaving skid marks on the street I slowly looked both ways and crossed when there was no traffic. I really don't want to die by being run over by a car. When I reached the other side of the street, I stopped and looked down at the row of houses that lined the street where Sarah had pointed. I looked back across the street to take a look at the park and saw Sarah standing where I had almost been run over and waving at me. I waved back at her and I heard her yell, "Jess! Don't go! Something bad is going to happen…I can feel it!"
I looked down the street again where Sean's house was and yelled to Sarah, "Everything's going to be fine. Don't worry about me." But I could still see the tears running down her face.
I quickly checked for traffic and ran back across the street to her. "Listen, sweetie, everything is going to be fine. I'll be fine. And so will Se-Sal." I pulled her into a hug and I could feel her crying into my shirt.
"No, you're going to get hurt. I know it. And he won't come in time." She sniffled loudly, "He's going to be too late to save you."
"Hey, sweetie, if you want to make sure I'll be fine, you can take this," I handed her my cell phone, "and call Rob Wilkins and tell him where I am. Okay? Will that make you feel better?"
She shook her head but took the phone from my hand. I gave her one last hug before going across the street. The only thing was that this time I wasn't going to look back. I knew Sarah would call Rob and tell her where I was. And he would come alone without the agents. Not that I didn't like the agents, they just tend to freak me out.
I walked down the line of houses and looked back and forth across the street to try to find the right house. I think I looked like a lost tourist, but I wasn't quite sure. I walked about half way down the street before I spotted it. And it was just as Sarah described. I saw the really ugly green house with the perfect yard that would have one some kind of award back home. And then there was the gray house next to it. The gray house that looked like it hadn't been taken care of in a while. And I think I knew why.
I walked up the walkway until I was right in front of the door. I couldn't hear anything on the other side. But if the reality was anything like my dream, they were on the other side of the house in the kitchen. I hope it wasn't like my dream though, but I have my doubts.
I put my hand on the doorknob and took a deep breath. I felt the wind pick up and I shivered. And I don't think it was because it was cold. It was the end of April in California.
I turned the doorknob and was surprised when the door gave way and opened. I knew back home in Indiana that people didn't lock their doors, but I thought that in Los Angeles, one of the busiest cities in the United States, people would lock their doors. Or maybe it was just this door that didn't get locked.
I heard a glass shatter in the distance, just like my dream. Only this time I didn't fall through the door. The living room floor was littered with beer bottles and glass. I could tell that everything in the room had been thrown to the floor and not picked up. Even the television was broken on the floor. The couch that occupied most of the room was ripped to shreds. If I hadn't been feeling bad about this before, I was definitely feeling bad about it now.
I could tell this was at least a little different than my dream. This time, I heard a yell. A woman yelling at someone to get away from her son. Her son, Sean. I took one last look around the room that I could hardly call a room, it really didn't look like one anymore. I figure it had been a nice cozy house before. I remembered Sean again and practically ran through the house to the kitchen. I knew the house's layout from my dreams. Those damn things seem to be occupying much of my life these days.
I reached the kitchen with my heart in my throat. You know that feeling? The one where your heart is pounding so hard that it feels as if your entire chest is going to explode. It's not fun to say the least. I stopped in the doorway and the first thing I saw was Sean's mother practically sitting on Sean to block Sean's father from hitting him.
"Hey!" I yelled and stepped clear into the room. Sean's father had a knife in one hand and a bat in another. He had been hitting Sean's mother with both and I could see the bruises that had formed over days of abuse and the cuts that ran deep. I could even see the dried blood attached to her skin and clothing. I felt really bad for her. And I felt guilty that I hadn't gotten here earlier to save her.
"Who the hell are you?" He pointed at me with the knife. And let's just say that it wasn't a small knife.
"Jess, Jess Mastriani. I'm here to stop you form hurting Sean and his mother." I was happy my voice didn't stutter. I was so nervous and scared I thought I was going to shit my pants.
He laughed. A bellying laugh. The kind people give when they think something is extremely funny. I didn't think this was funny. Not at all. "And what exactly are you going to do to stop me?"
"Well, I haven't figured that out yet. But I will." I glanced a look at Sean and his eyes met mine. All of his emotions seemed to transfer to myself. I could feel his pain and terror. His fear. But he was really hurt. I knew that even though his mother was protecting him, he had protected her in the same way.
Sean's mother slowly sat on her knees and pushed herself off Sean. I could tell her breathing was labored. I didn't think she was going to make it out of this. I don't think she did either. She met my eyes with her own and asked with her eyes if I would make sure Sean was taken care of when she did pass. I nodded softly and let a tear fall down my cheek for her. She turned away to look at her ex-husband and sighed softly, "Just leave them alone. I'm the one you have a problem with. They mean nothing to you. I'm the one who left you and took your son from you."
"Yes, yes, you are right about that." He stepped toward her quivering form. While Sean's mother had been talking, I had already grabbed Sean and pulled him into my body. Sean's father took the bat he had in his right hand and slammed it hard into her head. I could hear the crack even on the other side of the room. I started crying. Sean screamed loudly and sobbed into my shirt. I pulled him into a hug so he wouldn't have to look at the sight of his mother's dead body. Sean's father threw the bat next to her body and switched hands of the knife. Then he started walking towards us.
I pushed Sean behind me and into the stove. Sean's father laughed hysterically and stopped right in front of me. "This will cost you your life just like it did her."
I reached behind me and took Sean's hand in my own. He squeezed my hand and I squeezed his in return. That's when I felt it. The knife slide into my stomach area and it being pulled out. I didn't even try to fight it. There was no point. If I fought, Sean would end up getting killed. I couldn't feel the pain. I knew it would be a while before I started to feel it. But I was still in shock. I mean, the guy stabbed me. I slowly slid down Sean's body and landed in a heap on the floor. But that's when the weird thing happened. All my memories came rushing back. It was a really weird sensation knowing that I remembered my life, but there was a few months where I didn't. It's hard to explain.
I could vaguely hear Sean's father yell something at Sean. But it seemed almost like all the blood had rushed to my head and my ears were clogged so I could only hear a disjointed version of the conversation. Then I heard a crash. I looked up at the scene and saw Sean with a plate in his hand and his father on the floor unconscious.
Sean ran over to my crying his head off. "Hey, kiddo. I'm sorry about all this."
He shook his head and asked, "What should I do?"
But before I could answer, the back door swung open. I looked toward the bright sunlight and saw Rob standing there in the doorway. Well, it was more like his outline. The light was in the wrong direction. But I did see little Sarah behind him. Evidently, she called him and led him to the house. "Oh my God. Jess!" He ran over to me and looked down at the stain of the blood on my shirt and the floor next to me.
"Rob. Rob, I'm sorry. I didn't mean anything I said-"
He put his finger to his lips and shushed me, "I know baby. Oh, God, he stabbed you. That bastard. Baby, I'm going to have to put pressure on this. It might hurt a little." He stuttered when he said the last part. I looked at his face. The beautiful face that I had dreamed about so many times before and saw his tears.
He grabbed a towel and pressed down on the wound. "Rob, I love you. And I remember now. I remember everything. Can you take me back?"
"Baby, let's talk about this later." He looked down at me and kissed my lips lightly before frowning at Sean. "Sean, call the ambulance…and the cops." He nodded and ran off to the phone.
"No, Rob. We have to talk about this now. Can you take me back? Can you still be my husband?" The pain was starting to come on slowly. It was getting harder to talk. I think it was also blood loss too. I knew I was loosing too much blood too quickly.
He nodded and reached into his pocket and put the engagement ring on my bloody finger. I reached up with my bloody hand and ran it down his cheek. It was wet from the tears pouring down his face.
And I could feel the darkness getting closer. It was pulling me in fast. And there was nothing I could do to stop it. "Rob, promise me…Promise me you'll look after Sean. His mother…He doesn't have anyone. He'll need you. And I love you, so much."
"No, Jess, don't talk like that. You're going to be fine." I smiled wanly at him. "But I promise if it'll make you feel better."
I coughed and felt blood rise in my throat. That's never a good sign. "And tell my family…that I love them. Sean, I'm sorry…about your mother, but Rob will take care of you."
I heard Sean sobbing loudly and Sarah scream. Rob was still pressing the towel against my stomach, but that was blood soaked by now, too. I took my last bit of strength and pulled Rob's face down to mine with my bloody hand and gave him a bloody kiss. "Oh, God. I love you so much."
I heard the siren of the ambulance and Rob roar like a caged animal before my world became black and I knew no more.
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A.N.: So, did you like? And the next chapter will be sort of like Loose Ends but only in the fact that the next chapter is in Rob's point of view again. And you can't hate me for updating because I ignored all my other stories to update this one. And I know the scene wasn't exactly like the dream and there's a reason for that. If you don't know, private message me and I'll tell you.