Controlling Our Fates
Disclaimer: I do not own iCarly!
AN: "'The past is past, that is why they call it the past.' –C. Hurn. Yes one must look at the past, and then learn from it, but to ruminate and dwell on it is counterproductive. There is a new path ahead of you that YOU and only YOU created. There will be a time when you can walk it safely and be happy. I promise you."
Chapter 28 (Peaceful)
Jonah drove down the streets of Seattle, tapping his thumb on the steering wheel as his Nickelback CD played off the song Never Again. It was a great song, one of his favorites from his favorite band. He was going to meet Valerie at the church that Marissa and Freddie usually went to. It would be a private location that Rodney wouldn't be able to find. Valerie sounded worried when she detected the wavering nervousness in his voice, so he had told her simply he'd tell her when they got there. He didn't think of whether or not she might be followed by this guy, but he was hoping Rodney was taking time off from being a creep.
When he pulled up to the church's parking lot, he left his car and looked around for Valerie's car. She drove a dark colored minivan with black tinted windows. He rested his arm on the top of his car and leaned diagonally against it, tapping his fingers gently on the roof. What were the chances of Rodney seeing them talking? What would happen if he did? He'd have to defend Valerie from the menace.
His eyes trailed the quiet street until he spotted Valerie's minivan turning onto it down a ways. This church was a ways into the country area, so it was definitely a drive. He smiled as she drove into the parking lot and stopped her car next to his. He scanned the surrounding areas once more as she got out of the car. He moved his eyes over to her and his heart fluttered about as it always did. She was glowing, her eyes were lit with happiness and wonder, she was beautiful as always and no longer makeup dependant. "Okay, I'm here, so what's going on, Jonah?" He cleared his throat and walked around his car to her side, he had to give himself a minute to pull himself out of that trance.
"You know your ex boyfriend…" He caught a flicker of pain in her eyes and wished he didn't even have to bring him up. "I know you don't want to think about the guy, and I am sorry for bringing him up, but you need to know something…"
"What?" He peered down the street, watching closely. It was a one way street this way, so if Rodney had decided to follow either of them, then that entranceway would be the only possible way for him to get to the church. "Jonah? Is everything okay?"
"Yeah, come with me." He pushed his hands into his pocket and walked to the front doors of the church. Marissa had stated the church always had somebody working inside, so the doors were unlocked each day. He gripped the door handle firmly and pulled open the door. He scanned the street once more as Valerie walked inside. He swung around and made his way into the building. They made their way into the foyer and sat down in one of the pews furthest from the door. This way if Rodney entered, they might spot him first and get out of there before he got to them.
"Okay Jonah, you're starting to worry me here."
"Don't be. We just need to talk about Rodney some place he's not going to find either one of us." Her eyes widened and she cupped her hand over her mouth.
"Oh god, he's stalking you too, isn't he!"
"Don't worry about me, Valerie. I'm tough, he won't scare me easily, but he's been threatening my family. Olivia and I are going to move in with my cousin while Dad goes with Uncle Roy and Grandpa back to their family farm in Nebraska, help them pack, and move back here."
"June's got a place here?"
"I don't know if she's found a place or not, but she's trying to move to a farm." He placed his arm on the back of the pew. Valerie leaned against the back and moved her head back, resting it on his arm. "Has he been threatening you?" He watched her facial expressions and saw a tear slowly moving along her cheek. He lifted his hand and wiped the tear away with his thumb. He probably didn't need to ask her that question, considering the answer was most likely an obvious yes. "They'll find him Val, the police will get him."
"How do you know? How do you know meeting me right now won't hurt your family some way? Should we even be meeting?"
"I'm not letting him scare me away from you." The corners of her mouth lifted as her eyes slowly drifted to him. "Besides, I'd miss that cooking of yours if I didn't have you around." He smirked playfully as she chuckled. His eyes studied her joyful face and he felt a deep yearning inside of him to lean in and kiss her, but he pushed that desire away as inappropriate for the time being. Besides, why kiss when they weren't even dating? Perhaps he needed to look into what his best friend had done with Sam, that spontaneous kiss. Those two were officially boyfriend-girlfriend now.
"Ah my cooking's not all that special."
"So says the girl who had a perfect bake sale last week, topped off by a guest appearance of her idol." He nudged her playfully and her cheeks grew red. "Is that a blush?"
"No."
"Uh huh, are you sure?"
"I'm positive." He laughed for a brief second and stopped when he felt her head upon his shoulder. His cheeks burned and his heart pounded roughly inside of him. This was too unexpected, but yet, it was nice. He moved his eyes to the large cross on the stage and smiled slightly, maybe God was there looking over them right now. "Jonah, why does God let people like Rodney do the things they do?" He lifted his eyebrows and brought his arm gently to her shoulders. He rubbed her arm gently and continued to stare at the cross, searching for an answer. Everyone would tell him throughout life that trials happened because they were tests, but the emotional and mental ramifications of these tests were sometimes very damaging, but yet, God always provided a way out.
"I guess guys like Rodney are around to test us, I don't know. All I know is, God provides a way out most of the time. He gives something or someone to make it all better."
"Kind of like you…" She whispered it, possibly meaning for that to be only for her to hear, but he heard it. His heart lifted up inside and he slowly leaned back, closing his eyes. This felt right. He couldn't remember feeling this comfortable before, never had he actually enjoyed a girl's touch so much. She was beautiful, an angel really. They dozed off, blissfully unaware of the danger that couldn't make it inside.
Rodney paced the church grounds, steaming mad. The doors were locked, every one of them! The doors into the foyer, the doors into the church, and even the office doors, it was as though something were preventing him from getting inside the building. There were people in there, he saw them, but for some reason, they didn't see or hear him banging around. Surely they weren't ignoring him, because if they were, he was going to become further pissed off.
"She's mine!" He growled angrily and slammed his fist against the wall. He heard a popping sound and jerked his hand back, searing in pain. "Fuck!" He heard Valerie tell her mother earlier that she was meeting Jonah at this church. He got there in time to see the two go inside, so why was he unable to get in there? He scoffed and mocked the building as he kicked its walls. "A higher power, no doubt. Well fuck the higher power, I'm getting inside and there's nothing anyone or anything's going to do about it!" He slammed himself into the door and heard a crackling noise, pain shot through his body as he fell backwards onto the ground, holding his side and rolling back and forth. "Son of a bitch! Fuck the higher power, I said!"
Rodney was unlike Jonah and Valerie, a proud atheist. Although he'd seen a number of things that couldn't be explained, this was one of those things. There had to be a logical explanation for why the doors weren't opening for him, but he couldn't believe every single door would be broken. "Hey God, you're not keeping me away from her, I hope you know that. I refuse to be without her. I don't care what your rules are, I will get in there one way or another. I'm a desperate man, and I'm sure you know what that means."
He made his way to his car and glared at the building, he could smash through the walls if he were crazy enough, but that much property damage might cause a severe problem for him. Perhaps the axe in his trunk could destroy the oak door that stood in his way. He was about to retrieve the axe when he heard a siren in the distance. He lifted his eyes up and saw two police cruisers turning onto the street. "Oh you have to be shitting me…" He lifted his head to the sky and raised his hand up, sticking his middle finger out. "Fuck you!" Thinking fast, he jumped into his car and started driving around the back of the church. "Don't worry Val, I'll bring you back to me. You'll see the error of your ways soon enough. I'll be the only one you're going to love."
The police cruisers turned into the parking lot while Rodney quickly drove over the curb, through the grass, and onto the street, unseen by the officers. Kid
Jonah felt someone nudging him in the side and opened his eyes to see Valerie peering over her shoulders nervously. "What's wrong?" That's when he heard the sirens and blinked himself awake. "Let's see what's going on." Hopefully they weren't in trouble for falling asleep in the church. He helped Valerie up and moved into one of the main halls where a few office workers were talking to a couple officers. "What's going on?" One of the office ladies looked over at him and smiled vaguely.
"Someone was trying to break in, they set off an alarm. It's strange, because the doors are normally unlocked and they were all locked. Someone must of accidently hit the master lock button, but nobody heard anything." Jonah felt Valerie tense up and looked at her, she was afraid of something. The office woman went back to talking with the officer, so Jonah pulled Valerie aside to see what was going on. He had a sinking suspicion who might have tried to break in, but he hoped he was wrong.
"Are you okay, Valerie?"
"I'm fine, it's just…do you think Rodney might have been trying to get in?"
"The important thing is, if it was that guy, that he didn't get in and must have given up." She nodded and stared off at the doors. "Want to head back home?"
"I'd rather not go alone right now."
"Understandable." He could pick his car up later, no big deal. "I'll go with you if you want me to."
"Please? You don't mind?"
"Of course I don't mind. I can always get my car later, it's no big deal."
"Thanks Jonah." He was stunned when she quickly and tightly hugged him. He smiled softly and wrapped his arms around her in a hug, she felt so warm and so fragile. He needed to be gentle with her. "I wonder, how come you didn't bring your motorcycle?"
"Don't always pull it out of my garage…plus, Olivia's not fond of when I ride it, she says it's too dangerous."
"Well she's right, you know." He chuckled as she released him and stepped back, brushing her hair over her shoulder. She smiled and looked into his eyes with a kindness that made the butterflies jump into his stomach. "So let's go. Thank you for telling me about Rodney, I'm sorry he's bothering you…"
"Well, it's nothing too bad, we'll be fine."
"Sure you're not just saying that to protect me, or keep me from worrying?"
"I'm sure, but I would do anything to take your worries away." He paused briefly as her cheeks turned red once more. Did he just say that to her? He really needed to watch what he said. He felt her studying him and chuckled nervously.
"Why do you look so nervous? You didn't say anything wrong. You're not embarrassed, are you?" She smirked at him and his cheeks flared red. She let out a satisfied chuckle and started heading outside. Jonah followed after her, trying to get rid of this blush that he had. It was a bit too difficult. He watched as she stepped next to her car and looked at him, beaming with joy. "I thought you were a guy that 'never blushed', Jonah?"
"I am…" He closed his eyes and casually opened the door. "I'm not blushing at all, you don't see a thing."
"Whatever you say, Jonah."
Yes, I'm a Christian. I really hope this chapter was enjoyable! I think Jonah and Valerie deserved some peace, and apparently there may be a power out there that doesn't want Rodney in that church. Of course, I did try to make it believable too, using the explanation of what mechanisms failed. Ah, hope you enjoyed it as much as I did ^_^. Stick around for the next chapter, which I believe is a little karaoke time.
