20
After they returned the rental car, Sheldon proceeded to Rene's apartment.
Knock. Knock. Knock. Rene.
Knock. Knock. Knock. Rene.
Knock. Knock. Knock. Rene.
"Hello, Sheldon."
"Hello, Penny. I think it's time we had a serious discussion."
"I think you're probably right. Where would you like to start?"
"Tell me."
"Tell you what?"
"Everything."
"That's going to take a long time."
"I'm not going anywhere."
"Eventually you're leaving."
"Not necessarily. Tell me."
"There's something specific you want to know, isn't there?"
"Leonard."
"I figured. I don't know if I can do that. I don't know if I want to do that."
"Let me be clear. I am not leaving this apartment until you do. And neither are you."
"I have a business to run."
"You have a competent staff. You have Nora and Janie and Carli. And you have a computer and a telephone. Until we finish this discussion you are not leaving."
"You're starting to scare me, Sheldon. This is kind of like what he did."
"Then tell me what he did and I will not repeat that behavior or anything akin to it. And one thing you know is that you are safe with me."
"Do I know that?"
"I promise you. Have I ever broken a promise I made you?"
"No. I think I need a drink."
"You don't drink."
"Actually, Sheldon, I choose not to drink as much as I once did. I still have one every once in a while. This is sounding like a good time to have one."
"I will not allow you to become inebriated and thereby evade this discussion."
"Don't worry. The last time I got drunk I woke up with Kurt in my bed. That'll never happen again."
"I should say not. Nevertheless, you may drink alcohol but I reserve the right to cut you off."
"Fine. I don't keep anything in the house. I need to go downstairs and get something from the bar."
"I don't think so. Nora and Carli have not yet left. Call Nora and ask her to bring a bottle up."
"Fine."
Penny got out her phone.
"Hi Nora. Can you please bring a bottle of Grey Goose up here? Sheldon won't let me leave and I think I need just a little lubrication."
"Thanks."
A few minutes later there was a knock at the door.
"Here you go."
"Thanks."
"Don't overdo it. And remember what I said."
"You're in on this?"
"It's for your own good, kiddo. And remember, he's exposing himself too. This isn't just about you."
"Okay. Will you guys be downstairs?"
"Nope, we're heading out. Not really sure where. But we both have our phones if we need to come back and clean up the bodies. But we won't come up here unless you guys both ask us to."
"Gee, thanks."
"Good luck."
Penny closed the door, took the bottle to the kitchen, poured herself a drink and then came back out to Sheldon.
"Okay, what do you want to know?"
"Tell me about what Leonard did. All of it."
"It was a long time ago."
"That may be so but I suspect you relive the experience often."
"Sure wish I didn't. Drinking used to help with that."
"Penny, please stop avoiding the subject."
"Fine. You remember what I told you he did at Manny's when we first met?"
"You know that I do."
"Well, I really didn't see him again until he showed up at my door after I got back from spending Thanksgiving with my folks in Nebraska."
"You knew that Cyndee had been photographed at Manny's but were unaware at that time who was involved."
"Yeah."
"Go on."
"He showed up at my door and made me let him in. Then he showed me the pictures and told me that he would send them to Child Services if I didn't do what he wanted. The first thing he wanted was for me to stop seeing you."
"Which you did."
"There was other stuff first."
"What stuff."
"I can't."
"You will. You haven't shared these details with anyone but the police and in a closed court. You have allowed these events to build a wall of fear around your heart that permitted Leonard to destroy our family. I need to know."
"Fine. First he made me get undressed and give him a lap dance. Then I had to give him a blow job and then I had to let him fuck me. Satisfied."
"And…"
"He was waiting for me when I got home from work every day to repeat that. Sometimes he'd just show up in the morning. He made me feel dirty and worthless."
"He is a vile human being."
"Yeah, well. He kept reminding me that he was the one who spotted me first and that you had no right to me. And that he would make sure that Cyndee was taken away and that your career would end if I said anything to anyone."
"It must have been horrible."
"It was. I was so incredibly scared."
"How were you able to ultimately stop him?"
"I'm surprised you don't know. Raj was there. I would have thought he told you."
"He did. You didn't."
"On the way to the fundraiser he made me give him a hand job in the back of the limo. I think he was getting tired of me and his main thing was getting back at you anyway. After you stormed out he tried to give me to someone else."
"As though you were his property?"
"Yeah."
"I believe that I may have been too easy on him."
"That's part of the problem, Sheldon."
"I don't understand."
"When I saw the video of what you did to him in the cafeteria, when I saw your face I saw a stranger. The rage… the anger in your face, I don't know who that was. I don't want to know that person. I'm afraid of him."
"I admit that I lost control of myself, a very rare thing for me."
"Sheldon, I've seen you lose control. When we're together. Intimate. I enjoyed that. A lot. What happened there was not the same."
"I'm sorry you saw that."
"It scared me Sheldon. That's kind of why I left. That's kind of why I don't like talking to you about this. I don't want to see that again."
"You won't. Please go on."
"After he and that woman took Cyndee away I didn't see him again until the meeting we had."
"When you attacked him."
"Yeah."
"And then not again until the trial. Which you would not allow me to attend."
"I was afraid of what you'd do once you heard all the details."
"You didn't have enough faith in me."
"I'm sorry. I though that once he was put away everything would be okay. And it was."
"Until he began stalking you."
"Yeah. He was everywhere. I couldn't avoid him. I called the cops. They spoke to him but he somehow had people who would say he was with them when I know he was following me."
"I'm still not certain how he did that, but I believe they were paid. What didn't you tell me?"
"I was scared of what you'd do. I thought you might hurt him or he might hurt you. Or worse. Then he started sending me pictures of Cyndee. With her friends. Playing. At school. I panicked."
"You ran."
"Yeah. I went to Jeff and Weldon. They set up a loan and bank account for me that only I could access and that couldn't be traced."
"And they lied to me about knowing where you were and why you left."
"Not true. They never knew. They were just helping a friend in trouble. Nobody ever knew."
"I hated you for leaving, you know. And I hated myself. I thought that I must have done something. I retreated from everyone. I replayed everything that had happened from the moment I met you. Years of memories in excruciating detail. Over and over again. It was very painful to relive all of the joy we shared and be faced with the emptiness that was left. And not knowing. I didn't know if you and Cyndee were even safe. Or alive. That was not a very nice thing to do, Penny. It was very hurtful. And very selfish. I hated you for a long time."
"So why do you even want me back?"
"Because hate, just like love, is borne of an intensity of emotion. It is because I feel for you. Not feeling at all would be worse. I don't like you cheating us out of our love."
"I never stopped loving you, Sheldon."
"I want you back."
"I don't know if I can do that."
"I merely want you to seriously consider it. Can you do that?"
"Maybe."
"Is it possible that we could make love again before I return to California?"
"Possibly. I could consider doing that just because you didn't call it coitus."
"Don't tease me, Penny. I am speaking of us being truly intimate. I don't want what you shared with Kurt. I don't want to just fuck you and then leave."
"I think that I'm finally hearing some of that anger now."
"I apologize."
"Don't. It's deserved. Well deserved. And I'm pretty sure that we can't resolve this until you do show it. And I don't think either of us want that to happen in bed."
"Agreed. How do we proceed?"
"Maybe we just hold each other for awhile and then get back to talking. And maybe order some dinner."
"All acceptable."
A/N: FYI, the next few chapters be short, quick scenes and conversations. The story just seems to be flowing that way, building towards the big climax, or possibly multiple climaxes, which would be better. Right?