Hey Guys!
Well here we are this is it! I can promise that by the end of this very long chapter (my first and probably last 15 thousander) that you will know everything you need to know. However if you still have questions after this chapter feel free to let me know and I will more than happily answer them for you.
Before I go any further I want to give the biggest hug and shout out to my dear friend Nathan who did so much for me regarding this chapter. Whilst the book is mine and the chapter is mine also, I cannot sit here and say that I wrote all of the chapter on my own as that is not true. I came into this chapter really stressed. I was stressed about getting everything right, I was stressed about not leaving anything out and I was also stressed about the mountain of stuff I had to go back through to ensure I didn't leave any stone unturned. Nathan, you helped me not only by assisting me with a good portion of the chapter but you also helped me emotionally to get through this mountain of work. On behalf of myself and my avid readers I thank you. Without you, I would have still been stressed about it all and the chapter would not have even been finished. Thank you again.
MDexter2010 – Mdexter before I respond to your review I want to also thank you for your support. It cannot go without saying that you have been a tower of support for me not only for this book but for the entire series as a whole. There were moments that I was down, worried about how people would take things and even struggled to get through the writing. But you were always there and it's people like you that keep authors like me happy, sane and most of all give us the strength to go on. Thank you. Ok, I'm so glad you found the last chapter riveting and that you were on the edge of your seat! This is exactly what I was hoping would happen and it's a blessing to see that it did. Yes the reveal of T.E. means the story is coming to an end, but I promise you there are still 2 chapters to go. I simply could not end the book, let alone the series, by just saying "This is T.E. the end." It would not be fair to you, the other readers, the characters or even myself. So don't worry there are still 2 more chapters. I'm so glad you loved the service, I really did try to do it justice within the limited frame I felt I had and I'm glad to see that came across. I agree Andy definitely did the right thing regarding Mrs. Kemmel's offer for a lift. It's nothing personal to the educator but it's better to have Andy arrive home in one piece. As they say 'better safe than sorry'. The fact that there was a message on the mirror I think also reminded Andy that the game was nowhere near over. Despite the fact that he knew who T.E. was, T.E. was not about to just 'give up the game'. It's so true that you never know who is good and who is bad and you'll realize that again during this chapter. There have been question marks on Palmer for a very long time, I can confirm that you will finally know what if anything, his involvement is or is not. I can say without a doubt in my mind that I will not stop writing any time soon. The joy it has brought me (most of the time anyway lol) is more than I could have ever imagined and so though I don't plan on doing anymore QAF stuff (though you never know, but at least not for now) I can confirm that my writing will continue and I'll go into that more in my usual author's notes at the end of the book.
There is so much more to say, but I think I'll just thank you all privately as I've already taken up too much space even with a smaller font and besides I know what you all really want is to know who T.E. is.
So here we go, go forth…good luck…and let's peer inside Palmer's café and see what is about to unfold…
A/N: Strong course language.
Love Hurts.
Chapter Twenty Eight – This is…MY HELL!
Andy's arm appeared to be frozen as if no longer apart of his body as his finger remained pointed at T.E.
A distinct air of shock and horror filled the café as everyone turned to face the villain who for so long remained elusive, yet right under everyone's noses, right in front of their faces this entire time… There she was. The woman who stayed close to everyone. The very person that of course absolutely no one could ever have suspected.
"M-Mom?" Jay asked shakily.
But there came no response from the woman that had finally been revealed as the ultimate betrayer.
Jenny stepped behind the counter as Andy managed to release his arm from its pointed position, and everyone else seemed to jump in to action. But in that moment Jenny raised a gun from behind the counter and held it up toward the group, forcing them to back down.
"I think you all need to sit down," Jenny said as she motioned with her gun at the chairs, staring sharply and wide-eyed at everyone, barely fluttering an eyelid. "It's time to talk."
Jay however did not sit.
His blood began to boil with rage, all manner of thoughts and feelings of disgust, hurt, fear and absolute loathing filled every fiber of his being. Indeed he felt as though he had transformed into hell itself.
"You fucking bitch! You whore! You vile piece of scum!" Jay screamed as his pupils contracted, his eyes became bloodshot and his face turned bright red.
The entire café turned silent as the sound of his voice rang into every corner of the room.
"H-how…what… who are you? What in God's fucking name have you done?" Tears rushed from Jay's eyes as he stammered for every word, losing strength over his body as the adrenalin weakened him.
"Well," Jenny said curtly, still motionless, "That is absolutely no way to speak to your mother. I can't be having that language thank you."
Jenny gave a small twitch out of the corner of her eye as she pointed her gun squarely at Jay.
"Oh mom!" She whined sarcastically, "Oh mom don't!" She taunted at Jay as her face began to change and she let out what seemed to be a giggle. "Sit down you little shit! This is…MY HELL!"
"*"
Jay sat down, still quivering as Andy comforted him, also in tears at the interaction. He was shocked, confused and more to the point disgusted that Jenny had been T.E. all this time.
Yes, he had known it was her since working it out at the hospital, but owing to all the stress he had endured since, he had been unable to give himself the appropriate amount of time to actually feel the vulnerable feeling of what it had meant for Jenny to be T.E.
"I'm so sorry Jay," Andy said shaking. "I only found out when I was at the hospital. I travelled a long way to find you after her minions dropped me into the middle of fricken East Rock Park."
"East Rock Park?" Lauren asked. "How the hell did you get back here from there? That's miles away."
"I know," Andy replied, feeling the energy the entire walk had taken. "But I survived on the strength and determination to out this bitch for who she really was."
Jay smiled quickly at his boyfriend in appreciation of his efforts.
Mel started up next, voicing what everyone wanted to know.
"Talk," she spat, "And leave out nothing."
Jenny's gaze turned to Mel and froze for a moment, which made Mel sit, as even her strength had its limits.
Jenny then turned and pointed her gun toward Debbie.
"Debbie, would you be a dear and lock the door? Oh, I want those blinds down too. I never did like the sun much." she said in a disturbingly chirpy voice.
With the gun still pointed at her, Debbie got up slowly and did what she was told before sitting back down. Like everyone else Debbie was ready to hear what Jenny had to say.
And like with everyone else, Jenny too, felt it was time for everything to be made clear. So grappling her gun, Jenny began to tell her story.
"It all started after I left New Haven after the whole incident with…Lindsay," she began.
As she said Lindsay's name her voice deepened with contempt.
Jenny glared at the former villain with a heavy disdain that caused Lindsay to recoil fearfully, even to her surprise.
"Oh I know, they all forgave you, I came close to doing so also. But you see Lindsay," she spat. "Like you blamed your wife for everything, I…blame you."
Jenny turned back to the others as she continued on.
"For you see, all of this began with her! By which I mean," she went on. "if not for Lindsay doing what she did at the warehouse T.E. would never have existed."
Mel looked from Jenny to her girlfriend surprised. Yes Linds had committed a crime and even tortured Jenny's own son. But to hear that all of this had actually started with her, didn't sit well with Mel at all.
Linds meanwhile shrugged it off. She'd had the feeling for a while that whoever T.E. was, they were doing everything simply to imitate her. Why not blame her while they were at it also?
Meanwhile Jenny strolled up and down behind the counter. The sound of her pacing stilettos echoing through the room as the group waited for her to go on.
"I didn't feel safe anymore," Jenny continued. "How could I? Someone I'd grown to know, grown to care for, had basically spat in my eye and said screw you!"
Pausing for a moment, Jenny stood as if waiting for a retort of challenge from Linds, but Linds knew better than to speak at such a pivotal moment.
"So what-" B asked miffed by this revelation. "An eye for an eye? Rather than let it go and try to move on, you decided to get your revenge?"
Jenny's face turned sharply towards B and she glared down at him.
Though B was not one to normally back down from a fight, he also knew what T.E. was capable of and so stopped talking.
Andy however had no such issues. After everything he'd gone through in the past few weeks T.E. deserved to have someone yelling right back at her. But instead he simply answered B.
"That's only part of the reason though, isn't it Jenny?" he asked rhetorically.
"Who's story is this?" Jenny fumed. "Mine or yours Andy?"
Though in his mind Andy wanted desperately to claim it as his own and advise his friends on everything that had gone down since he'd been abducted, the look on Jenny's face and the gun she was holding told him that it was not a good idea to respond.
"Lindsay had done something that I couldn't have come close to imagining," Jenny went on in the face of Andy's silence. "So I took some self-defence classes. It turned out I was a good student. So I completed that and moved on to karate and-"
Lauren sniggered, but unfortunately for her a little too loudly.
"Surprised Miss Lauren?" Jenny asked. "You don't think I have what it takes to master self-defence and karate?"
"No, it's not that," Lauren replied. "I just can't exactly imagine you doing Karate. It just seems like…something…you…wouldn't…do."
Lauren couldn't help but slow down as she saw everyone staring at her. It was then that she realized that now was not the right time or place for snide comments.
"Well my simple-minded friend," Jenny went on as Rein grabbed her mother's arm and gave it a comforting squeeze. "Suffice it to say there's a lot you don't know about me."
Rein gave her mother a look advising her that retaliation would not be a wise move.
"Now that I had learned to defend myself I wanted to learn how to attack if necessary." Jenny continued.
"All because of me?" Linds asked. "I'm touched."
"You should be," Jenny replied. "You instilled quite a bit of fear in me for a very long time Lindsay. Not to mention my son experiencing some PTSD. In any event, it didn't take long until I was advised of your parole hearing date-"
"Hold on, hold on, hold on!" Mel jumped in as she had grown dissatisfied of Jenny's ramblings so far. "Boy are you skipping ahead. I received my first message from T.E. or should I say you while Linds was still in the sanatorium!"
"Oh-ho-ho-ho dear no!" Jenny snickered as if deflecting an offence to her character. "You mean that piddly little rhyming piece?"
She laughed wickedly again now seeming more bemused than anything else that Mel would even think she would write something like that.
"How'd that go again?" she wondered aloud. "Something like: Your wife played a game and it was fun, until she went to the nut house farm?"
Mel went to continue but was interrupted.
"Wasn't even good rhyming," Jenny laughed. "I mean farm and fun? At least try charm and sun. If you think I wrote that puerile nonsense you've got another thing coming."
"But you're T.E!" Andy snapped. "Who else could have written it?"
Everyone else seemed to murmur in agreement.
"Again with the interruptions, my dear Andy?" Jenny replied shocked. "I will not tell you again to shut-up. Next time it's a bullet to the head!"
Jenny faced the gun in Andy's general direction and mocked shooting him with it, before beginning to pace once more. Spying the dripolator to her right Jenny walked over and poured herself a coffee, stirring in the sugar with her gun before placing it snugly at the dripolator's side where she could see it and no one would dare attempt to snatch it.
"No," she went on. "Suffice it to say apparently I wasn't the only T.E! Rather disappointing, actually."
Eyes darted around the room as confusion began to set in.
Not that it was surprising as everyone had been confused from the moment that Andy had outed Jenny as their psychopathic stalker.
"Don't act so shocked," Jenny said quickly. "You all knew Zandra was the first? Or was I mistaken?"
It was true, they had actually been informed that Zandra was involved and some even accused her of being the one and only T.E. But even though Svedantcha had told B and Jay that this was the case, it was just so hard to believe that she had only done so little.
"No apparently I was the last to find out that it was little Ms Zandra who thought she had what it took to play the game," Jenny chuckled quickly to herself. "Forgive me Mel, I thought it was you."
"Me?!" Mel asked scandalized. "Why would I be T.E? What would I have to gain from it?"
"Revenge for one thing," Jenny snapped as though it should have been obvious. "Your wife locked away for a bit of torture. I assumed you would want to get revenge on those who wanted her kept in the sanatorium."
"That's why you stormed out of my office!" Mel shouted. "You thought I was T.E! Well I've got to say, I did think it was strange-"
"Not quite Melly dear," Jenny snapped wanting to stop this completely incorrect assumption as quickly as she could. "I stormed out of your office because I thought it would be inappropriate to speak to the wife of the potentially released! My we do think highly of ourselves, don't we?"
Embarrassment washed over Mel, something she rarely felt as she realized she had been put in her place and struggled to find anything else to say at that moment.
"So naturally I called my son," Jenny went on. "I needed him to be vigilant around you."
"Yeah, that was your first mistake!" Mel yelled back allowing the animal instinct inside of her needing to say something to step forward.
"My what!?" Jenny demanded, surprised at the insubordination and yet intrigued as to where Mel might be going with this.
"Oh come off it Teliam," Mel said snidely, using Jenny's alternate name for the first time in front of the group, "You made many mistakes. Your first was thinking that I wanted to tell people what to do at the trial. All I wanted was to ask if you guys had any questions!"
"Yeah," Lauren agreed, finally piping up, "I remember you asking me too. It was just standard routine stuff."
B chuckled at the women's ability to fight back.
"The second was calling yourself Teliam," he laughed.
"Quiet you!" Debbie said snarling, deciding it was her turn to speak.
"Excuse me?!" Lauren asked, appalled that Debbie would speak to him like that.
But if they had intended to illicit a huge reaction from Jenny, they weren't going to get it. Instead she simply waved a hand at Debbie as though dismissing her.
"Yes, yes, Debbie calm down," Jenny agreed. "We'll get to your part in a minute."
The air in the room was thick with tension as everyone exchanged long, surprised looks filled with disgust and at the same time an unnerving sense of awe at the sick but impressively complex logic behind all of Jenny's actions leading up until this moment. Everyone's attention drew to Debbie for a brief moment, and Debbie gave a sorry glance before looking down at her feet and trying desperately to remain under the radar, knowing what was to come.
"As I was saying," Jenny went on, commanding everyone's attention. "I called my son and told him something was amiss. We all needed to be ready for Linds' impending release. I don't know how I knew, but I had a funny feeling that you were going to be able to successfully get your wife released from the sanatorium and I just couldn't allow that. So, the night Andy had his celebratory drinks right here at our lovely Palmer's café, I stayed at the hotel."
"I thought something was up with that," Andy chimed in. "I mean you're normally up for joining us with everything we do."
"Well of course," Jenny agreed, "But it was more than just that. While I was at the hotel I had the chance to send a charming little email to our friendly judges on the parole board."
"That was you?" Mel said exasperated before calming down, "Well it's a good thing that it didn't amount to anything."
"Indeed," Jenny said, "But of course I had no choice but to send that email. I had been asked by Zandra to send it – very impolitely I must say. But I couldn't have anything happen to my son who I love so much, could I?"
"Now you decide you love me?" Jay stood angrily, "Oh you don't get to say that! You don't deserve to say that! I don't love you! I hate you! Protection? Protection!?"
Jenny ignored her son and went to continue speaking, however then Debbie interjected. "I was trying to be a good friend to you that day, and even then you were betraying us?"
"Oh shut up Debbie!" Jay yelled. "This isn't about you. It's about me and that woman who calls herself my mother!"
No one said a word to this. Despite wanting to know what Teliam had done, everyone just seemed to mutely agree that Jay deserved to have this moment.
"So who is Teliam then huh?!" Jay spat. "How'd you come up with that one?!"
"I thought it'd be obvious," Jenny replied with a wry smile. "And if you hadn't worked it out, then I was sure Spencer had."
Everyone turned to look at the brown haired girl who seemed to be just as transfixed at this situation as everyone else. She likened the situation to a car crash that, though you knew you should, were unable to actually turn away from.
"Teliam Vendeez is an anagram of Team Evil," she said with an air of confusion. "Though it still leaves N, D, two E's and a Z."
Everyone looked at her as though she would continue, but that was all she had.
"That's as far as I got," she said lamely.
Jenny laughed a shrill petulant laugh that sounded very much like a young girl.
"And so what?" she asked in between laughter. "You gave up? I'm surprised at you Spencer!"
"Anyway!" Mel yelled out, frustrated that T.E. could be so easily distracted, considering there was a time when she wanted them to do that. "What did it stand for?"
"Teamed Evil Zen," Jenny annunciated clearly.
Lauren couldn't help herself as once more she sniggered.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Debbie advised, her eyes narrowing.
"So what you created a dumb name thinking it would justify everything you did and then dragged Debbie into your mess?" Jay asked.
It was an assumption Jay was making, but Debbie didn't seem to deny it either. Somehow the letter Simon had written to Jay seemed to materialize into his mind.
I overheard her talking to someone saying she didn't trust everyone she knew.
That is what Simon had written about Debbie and Jay finally began to wonder if this was because she was actually on Team Evil.
"up-bup-bup" Jenny pointed her finger towards Jay so as to shush him, before turning back to Debbie. "I was doing the right thing. I had no other choice. But of course, you know all about that don't you?"
"What is she talking about?" Micah finally chimed in now as things started to become a little more chaotic.
"It's not what it looks like," Debbie pleaded, not having a moment to say much more before Jenny took the floor again.
"Oh but you were more than happy to be at my side when I pleaded my case to you, as it were." Jenny smirked slightly as everyone gasped and turned their gazes to Debbie. "Yes I recall it well, as though it were yesterday. Mel had just left Latro-Mare having had what seemed like a heart-felt discussion. But little did you know Mel that it was I who arranged for Debbie to agree to meet you."
Mel seemed satisfied with that answer as though in her mind she was finally starting to tick questions off her list. She had always wondered how Debbie had complied so easily to her request after all. However for everyone else all of this was new information. Though Andy knew that Mel had visited Debbie just prior to the night they'd slept together, it had naturally become something that had been forgotten by the next day.
"However, for you to fully appreciate the situation and of course my mastery I must take you back to a moment before that time," Jenny went on. "Dear, dear Debbie…"
As Jenny's taunts seemed to shock everyone, Debbie herself had buried her head in her hands. By now everyone could tell that Jay's assumption had been correct.
"No one seemed to want to tell her anything at all!" Jenny shrieked. "And though normally that wouldn't matter, what you guys seemed to have forgotten is that the self-proclaimed mother hen does not like being put in the corner blind-folded."
"What do you mean no one was telling her anything?" Andy enquired. "I don't remember keeping anything a secret from her."
Debbie raised her head at that remark.
"Oh really?" she asked cocking her head to the side in disbelief at his words. "You came to me and told me all about T.E. did you?"
Andy's eyes widened. She was telling the truth after all.
Though he'd had many opportunities when it came to Teliam Vendeez he had never once sought out the advice of his Aunt Deb.
"No?" she asked cocking her head even more to the left. "Or what about Rick and seeing him at the jail?"
"Lindsay said it in the throne room and I repeated it at the hearing, but I guess you can just never say it enough," Jenny intervened. "Nothing compares to being kept in the dark over and over again."
"It's true," came the sound of a lone timid voice in the crowd.
Everyone turned to look at the former Queen of Team Evil who looked quite lost at having been dethroned and placed into one of the victim's chairs.
"I meant it when I said it," Linds went on. "Being kept out of something hurts. Especially when it's done by the people we love. But it's almost too simple to just say it hurts. The truth is your heart breaks. You lose trust in people. Eventually you start questioning if you ever had a relationship with anyone to begin with."
"Admirable sentiments Lindsay," Jenny chimed in. "Now then, as I was saying…"
Mel looked over to her girlfriend and lightly put her hand on top of Linds'.
"You know I've told you everything since right?" she asked, concerned that Linds still felt that way.
"I know honey, I know," Linds replied.
Jenny however couldn't have cared less for the exchange and went on as though no one had diverted their attention.
"Debbie was so obviously upset that no one was telling her anything, but of course none of you could see that. All you saw was the mother-hen that you all used when you needed her!."
The facial expressions formed on the rest seemed to vary. Some seemed confused knowing they thought of her as more than that. Others seemed to feel bad for her, while others still seemed nonplussed.
"I on the other hand noticed rather early on and so like the rest of you that I tried to help I-"
"Help?!" Andy demanded. "When did you ever try to help anyone?"
"Oh," Jenny replied, pausing at the questionable outburst. "So my text to you about Dr Stappord was not considered helpful? My text to Jay to do more than just read journals was not me assisting?"
"Not when you write it in such a demeaning way!" Andy retorted. "I don't know about Jay, but for you to write Poor Andy, driven to drink doesn't exactly inspire confidence in me that you're doing it to help. Let alone that you didn't sign off as Jenny."
"Ah yes, well, we all make mistakes don't we?" Jenny questioned rather patronizingly. "As Mel has pointed out and now so have you. And don't even start me on Twitter. Suffice it to say Spencer – good job – but my account has now been closed down."
Only Spencer and Lindsay could exchange quick glances recalling the moment when Linds sent Jenny a message to her account.
"But I warn you Mr. Thompson-" Jenny went on.
"Oh Mr. Thompson now is it?" Andy asked, as rage built up inside of him.
"It won't be if you continue to interrupt me!" Jenny screamed grabbing the gun and pointing it at him once more. "Some of you seem to be forgetting that I'm in charge of this summit!"
The anger building up inside of Teliam was obvious, from her reddened face to the obvious shaking caused by a monumental rush of adrenaline that was clearly evident.
As everyone clearly seemed to get the picture, Jenny continued but her gun remained pointing at the others.
"Like I said," she went on testily. "I wanted to help Debbie and unlike the rest of you, Debbie actually complied with my texts. I sent her to the cul-de-sac near bridge wood street, the store that sells all those TV's. Debbie? Why don't you tell everyone what you saw?"
Debbie, who's head had gone back to slumping down on the table, rose again at the mention of her name.
"I…I saw," she began petrified. "What everyone had been keeping from me. Jay was looking at something on a computer, Andy had visited Rick and Mel had slept with…"
Debbie couldn't say the name and everyone was grateful for it.
"I knew she would be grateful to get the info I could supply and it didn't take long for me to realize that Debbie would actually be a good partner to have in crime," Jenny chimed in.
Micah stood up in shock, "Mom? Oh come on, can this get any worse? It's like the deranged-mother's-club in here!"
"I thought she had a good cause," Debbie replied genuinely. "I mean I would have done the same to protect you, maybe not to the same extreme, but you know."
Whether Micah did or didn't know would remain to be seen, Jenny's impatience had risen once again and she hastened to make it all about her once more.
"So finally, I played on Mel's emotions and sent her that text advising her to make up with Debbie. Well…" Jenny paused, but only to smile to herself. "Advise is such a funny word isn't it? I knew if she didn't have extra motivation she wouldn't go. So I sent her a text suggesting that Debbie might say something and bribing her with a picture I'd retrieved from Zandra."
"Shut her up before I show this to Lindsay," Mel replied in a monotone, recalling the message easily.
Lindsay looked over at Mel sympathetically. Yes she'd already explained what she'd been through but it still hurt her deep inside every time something was mentioned that Mel had to do in order to keep her safe.
"That's the one," Jenny smiled. "Of course Mel complied, but of course Debbie didn't know what to do. Knowing what I wanted out of Debbie I texted her advising that meeting up with Mel would be a good idea. The fact that I timed it so perfectly…well that's…that's just how good I am."
Everyone seemed to exchange glances of confusion except for Mel who glared at Jenny as the realization of what she'd done hit her.
"You're the one that told the authorities that I'd left Linds!" she screamed.
"Funny how you never suspected T.E. huh?" Jenny retorted. "You were so caught up on how Linds was treating you that I had you exactly where I wanted you. Feeling alone and vulnerable."
"But there you go again!" Mel replied, not helping a smile of reassurance that spread across her face. "Yet another mistake you made! Debbie and I made up and I felt closer to her than I have in a very long time."
"Oh Mel," Jenny laughed condescendingly. "Oh sweet, innocent, I work 9 to 5 Mel. Of course I knew that would happen! But I didn't care! The sacrifice of you two making up was worth more than what I had in mind…"
As Jenny recalled the moment it was as though she were reliving it once again.
Jenny watched Mel walk out of Latro-Mare shaking her head.
As Debbie stirred what was left of her drink, she was shocked to see Jenny slide into the seat opposite her.
"So sad that she can't recall what happened," Jenny said genuinely. "Sorry couldn't help but listen in."
"That's ok honey," Debbie replied. "It's confusing though isn't it? I mean how can she not know?"
Jenny smiled up at Debbie.
"You look like you can do with some cheering up," she offered beaming. "Want to come for a ride?"
"Sure," Debbie replied up for anything at that point.
"The drive lasted quite a while," Jenny said casually her eyes unfocused as though she was still inside the memory itself. "But I didn't care how long it took. As long as I recruited her nothing else mattered…"
"You know," Jenny started. "I don't trust that Zandra woman."
"Nor do I honey," Debbie replied. "Been wondering about that one for a while now."
Jenny smiled as she continued to drive the car.
But where they were going had Debbie absolutely puzzled. They'd left the main area she had known of New Haven and were now in an area she had never seen before.
"I suppose sometimes people want to forget having sex," Jenny said from out of nowhere.
"What?" Debbie asked confused at this change of topic.
"I mean now with Lindsay out, why would Mel want to spread that she'd been with someone else? It would only complicate things and naturally we can't complicate anything with Lindsay can we?"
Debbie looked around wildly. Birch tree after birch tree flashing past her eyes. But no sign of civilization. No stores…no people…just…trees.
"Honey?" Debbie asked, shaking off the comment. "Where are we?"
"I guess sometimes keeping secrets is for someone else's benefit," Jenny continued ignoring Debbie's question. "I mean, it's different of course when it's selfish, but hasn't Mel learned her lesson from last time?"
Debbie was just about to ask what in the world she was on about, when everything clicked into place.
"Oh my god your T.E!" she exclaimed her eyes growing wide.
"I shouldn't have been surprised that she'd figured it out first," Jenny said aloud. "I mean, she always was smart…"
Debbie couldn't believe it.
Jenny.
Her friend.
T.E.
It was a lot to take in.
"So- So you're the one that showed me all that surveillance stuff?" Debbie asked.
"I thought you had the right to know," Jenny replied. "Like I said at the hearing, keeping secrets is not a good thing."
They rounded yet another corner as Debbie looked at their surroundings. By now even the trees had disappeared. In fact all that laid out ahead of them was a dirt track road.
"But now that you know Debbie," Jenny continued ominously. "You have two choices. You can join the T.E. Team or you can disappear."
"Of course I'll join," Debbie said quickly, knowing the moment she'd said it how sure she was. "I'm with you honey all the way."
"*"
"With Debbie on board life as T.E. had become so much easier," Jenny went on, now refocused on everyone who was looking up at her with naught but determination in their eyes.
"With Linds out of the sanatorium I was prepared to deal with a whole lot more. I felt sure that she was going to get out and become T.E. again and we'd probably end up at war with each other."
Linds smiled up at Jenny; it was something she was proud to know hadn't happened. She hadn't reverted back to her old ways and in that moment she was so grateful for it.
"Oh Linds you smile now," Jenny went on. "But the best part about it was that everyone seemed to suspect you anyway!"
Jenny laughed maliciously.
"I get it now," Jenny chocked out through the laughter. "Once a criminal always a criminal. Everyone just seemed to think Linds was up to her old tricks and I was in the clear. It's funny how that happens, your eyes focus on the one that did the wrong in the past. While in the meantime, the person you are looking for is standing right in front of you, just to the left of your line of sight."
"I was angry that you were released Lindsay," Jenny continued. "I really was. But I wasn't angry at you. I was angry with these two bitches!"
She pointed to Lauren and Andy in turn.
"A killer walks and it's all your fault," Andy said remembering the moment.
"I'm angry," Lauren chimed in, picking up where Andy left off. "And you won't like me when I'm angry – T.E."
"And I was," Jenny said rather seriously. "Can you imagine how I felt? As a mother, my child tortured by this woman and thanks to his boyfriend and best friend, his torturer walks?!"
Andy turned to Jay.
"I'm so sorry," he said feeling the weight of what he had done all those months ago.
"I'm over it sweetie," Jay replied. "Really, don't listen to her."
"But you weren't over it then were you?" Jenny taunted. "Oh no, sitting there reading your little book. What was it called again? Goodbye to you now I'm free? Wasn't even entertaining."
Jenny rolled her eyes showing just how little an effect the book had on her.
"You leave Rick's journal alone!" Jay yelled.
Everyone looked at Jay as they realized he was out of his seat.
"How dare you!" he cried. "How fucking dare you! He was tortured more than I was!"
"Jay!" Jenny cried out exasperated, but more motherly than she'd done in a very long time. "He was a huge part of your torture! Don't you see that?!"
"If you'd actually read the book you would understand why!" he shrieked.
Jenny looked at Jay as though she didn't know him.
"And that makes it ok?!" she demanded. "Not to mention your boyfriend decides to defend the guy behind your back!"
"You were T.E. behind my back!" Jay screamed back at her. "How dare you say a word against Andy?! Ok so he kept it a secret, but he did it to protect me. You on the other hand became a selfish malicious bitch all for your own gain!"
"No Jay!" Jenny yelled back. "I did it for you!"
But by now Jay had given up.
"Yep, you keep telling yourself that Teliam," he replied as he took back his seat.
"*"
Jenny seemed shocked by what Jay had said and certainly seemed to take quite a while to compose herself. Taking a sip from her now cold coffee, Jenny decided it would be best to press on.
"It's true that I wasn't angry at you Linds," Jenny said. "But I was still scared for my son. One of the times Micah and I came over for Friday night dinner I actually got up in the middle of the night and planted some cameras around Andy's home."
"Yes, yes," Andy flicked away. "We know all that."
"Ah but what you don't know Andy," Jenny replied. "Is that I actually did do that out of the goodness of my heart. Sometimes an invasion of privacy can seem malicious, but sometimes it's done with selfless reasoning."
Jenny thought back to the first time she was checking out the surveillance system in her lair.
"Jay and I had agreed that if Lindsay were to come out that he'd come back home with me, so I ordered tickets back to Pittsburg for us knowing that more than likely Linds would be released. Once the tickets had arrived I looked at the cameras and I noticed with shock-horror that Lindsay was actually in Andy's home. The nerve of you Andy!" she cried.
Jay went to jump up, but Andy stopped him.
Silence was what was needed right now.
"When I saw Lindsay there I actually feared what she was going to do to you," Jenny said. "So I texted Jay immediately."
"If you want to save Andy, you'd better get home. Before it's too late," Jay said dully remembering the one and only message that had made him rush from the hotel.
"And you did!" Jenny replied. "You made it home in time to save Andy, because of me!"
Andy smirked at Jenny's last. Either she was being a bitch or she was as crazy as she was making herself out to be.
"But Andy wasn't in danger you dumb-ass!" Jay screamed. "If anything my PTSD spiked because of you! Had you not sent me that fucked-up text, I wouldn't have rushed home, lashed out at Mel and then flown off to fricken Pittsburg!"
"Ah but you see once again Jay it didn't matter how," Jenny replied. "All that mattered was that it happened. Regardless of whether or not your life was in danger I had succeeded and gotten both you and Andy out of New Haven and on your way to Pittsburg."
"*"
"There's one thing I still don't understand," Mel piped up, looking at Jenny questioningly. "What was Svedantcha's involvement in all this? Was she just…innocent?"
Looking around the room, Mel noticed the others were wondering the same thing. This whole time everyone had thought Svedantcha had to be involved somehow. But since they hadn't seen her for such a long time, Mel couldn't help but wonder if her warning to B and Jay was actually legit.
"Oh Svedantcha was involved," Jenny confirmed. "She was involved from the very beginning."
"What with Zandra?" Andy asked.
"All in good time dear Andy," Jenny replied. "All…in good time. My trip to Pittsburg was one I'll never forget. The fun we all had, you must all remember. Babylon bubble night for example was a blast!"
"No," Andy insisted. "It wasn't. It would have been had you not sent me that text but-"
Andy stopped as a stroke of realization hit him.
"Wait a minute," he said. "If you were T.E. then, how did you text me? You were with Micah, B and Jay the whole time weren't you?!"
Jenny sighed contentedly.
"Ah Andy," she sighed again. "You were so caught up in finding out who I was that your distractions lead to your undoing. I took a break from the bubble room not much later than you actually…"
Jenny recalled the night as though it were the best night of her life.
"It's raining men! Hallelujah! It's raining men!" came the sound of the booming music as bubbles continued to foam out of the room.
Andy turned to Jay.
"I'm just going to take a quick breather," he said. "Will you be ok?"
"Yeah I'll be fine," Jay replied smiling.
After Andy left the room, Jenny glanced around. Now would be the perfect opportunity to set part of her plan into motion.
"I think I might get a drink too guys," she said smiling.
"We'll come with you if you want," Jay replied, not necessarily wanting to let his mother waltz through Babylon alone.
"Oh no, no, no!" Jenny waved off. "You guys keep having fun. I won't be long."
The guys eventually agreed, especially when B told Jay he needed to meet the new DJ. So Jenny walked out of the bubble room taking one of the towels that were conveniently placed by the door before drying herself off.
As she pushed open the door she spied him. There he was sitting at the bar and more importantly looking at his phone.
"Having fun little darling?" asked a shirtless guy who had walked up to her.
Jenny was moments away from telling him how not little she was, when another plan began to formulate in her mind.
"I am now," she flirted. "Hey, you look like a dependable guy. What's your name?"
"Jack," the man said. "And you are?"
"Not important," Jenny laughed off. "So Jack, wanna make $20 in 10 minutes?"
Jack clapped his hands wildly.
"Are you one of those mystery people that organize mini games?!" he asked excitedly.
"Why yes," Jenny replied appreciating how convenient his timing had been. "Yes I am. Now then here's your task. See that guy over there?"
She pointed to Andy who was still at the bar looking at his phone.
"Yeah?" the guy questioned. "What about him?"
"Well as you can see he…has no one to talk to," Jenny quickly made up. "And at Babylon we…strive to be inclusive. So if you go over to him and talk to him for 5 minutes, I will give you $20."
"Really?" Jack asked. "Just talk?"
"Just talk," Jenny confirmed.
Before she knew it Jack had walked over to Andy and had started up a conversation. Jenny raced to the bag check area and grabbed her phone. The moment was just too perfect to miss. There was Andy sitting with a guy, both of them topless in a bar.
Holding her phone out in front of her Jenny's eyes narrowed.
"Release Lindsay will you?" she asked darkly, before snapping some pictures of the scene in front of her. "This ought to break you and my son up."
Satisfied Jenny changed back into her clothes and slipped out of the club. She'd text everyone else later. But now she needed to text Andy.
"So that's when you sent me the message about Jay?" Andy asked.
"Naturally," Jenny smiled. "I needed to get out of there so that I could execute my other plan, but thank you for the photos. They wound Lauren up like you wouldn't believe."
"Fuck you!" Lauren spat.
"Oh Lauren," Jenny smiled wickedly. "We'll get to you soon."
Confused face after confused face seemed to meet among the crowd. What had she meant by that?
"So after that I got in the car and texted Jay, telling him that I wasn't feeling well, but naturally that was just a cover. I went straight over to Micah's and planted the letter."
"The one with the photos?!" Jay demanded. "You just…let yourself in?"
"Micah leaves his spare key lying around," Jenny replied. "Who was I not to take advantage of that?"
Micah didn't know where to look but if he knew one thing, it was that the moment he got out of there, that spare key would be removed.
"Now then," Jenny continued swiftly. "I believe that turnabout is fair play. So then, I have told you all this so far, you all can answer something for me!"
Her final word echoed off the walls. Clearly Jenny was frustrated about something that had eluded her. What could it be?
"Which little bitch or bastard decided to break into my room at Floral Shore?!" she demanded. "I thought it was Lauren, but I realize now how mistaken I was."
No one said a word. Some of them knew who it was, while others hadn't even heard of Floral Shore before now.
Those who knew didn't want to throw the guilty party under the bus, but it didn't matter anyway.
Andy rose out of his seat confidently.
"That…was me!" he said darkly.
"*"
"You?!" Jenny shrieked in shock. "Piddly little whiny Andy?!"
"Who did you think it was?!" Mel demanded, having had just about enough of Jenny's taunts.
"As I said I first thought it was Lauren, but then I realized it wasn't. Well Andy, you will pay for that mark my words."
Andy stood there frozen to the spot. Was T.E. about to shoot him? She had threatened as much already. Now that she'd found out it was him that discovered her hidey-hole was she actually going to carry through with the treat?
"You can sit down now Mr. Thompson," Jenny said darkly addressing Andy in the formal stranger way she had earlier.
Andy complied, taking the seat as Jay wrapped his arm around the man he loved.
"B is getting way too close, must kill him!" Lauren cried as though recalling the memory was a gift. "Finally I can ask you, what the hell did that mean?"
Jenny laughed.
"Ah yes, the cryptic messages," she recalled. "Was a bad stroke of luck that Andy got his hands on them, but I must say Lauren, watching you pull those all nighters trying to work out what I meant, provided me with such entertainment."
"You still haven't answered her question!" Mel demanded. "Andy and I found the piece of paper where Lauren had worked it out. I'd like to know what it meant myself."
"Are you daft or just dumb Mel?" Jenny questioned. "I thought you were a lawyer! Let me make this quite plain. B…is…getting…way…too…close…must…kill…him, means that B, that man behind you, was working out too much and now I have to kill him for it."
Everyone glared at Jenny with absolute loathing for her petulant attitude.
"Ahhhh but what made it even better was the outcry!" Jenny went on. "With Jay having found the letter, a lover's quarrel ensued with my son finally socking his boyfriend! Way to go Jay!"
Sarcastically Jenny clapped.
"I always knew you had it in you! Very much like your father!" she said. "This of course led to the best part of all. You simply cannot make this up! Andy everyone…Andy…An…" Jenny couldn't keep talking she was laughing so hard.
"Andy raced home and slept with Mel!" she blurted out before laughing again.
"What?!" came the general consensus of those who didn't know.
"I thought Mel slept with Zandra?" Debbie questioned.
"Oh we'll get to that," Jenny laughed. "My my you guys are so impatient. Let's enjoy things one moment at a time shall we? I mean…the idea…Andy…and Mel! It's just…it's so…hilarious!"
Mel, filled with rage, picked up the salt shaker from her table and flung it at Jenny with such force that had she not ducked would have certainly caused quite an injury. Instead Jenny's reflexes allowed the shaker to whiz over her head and smash into the wall.
"Well," Jenny said no longer laughing. "That was a little dramatic."
"You filmed us, you sick bitch!" Mel screamed. "That's disgusting! How could you do that to-"
"How could you sleep with Andy?!" Jenny screamed back. "You all make it seem like I lost my mind. But did I tell you to go and sleep with a guy? Let alone Andy? No. That Mel was your doing."
Mel had no response to that. While she stood by her own statement, Jenny was right, no one had forced her to sleep with Andy as much as she regretted it. It was her choice. Mel sat back down and put a hand on her belly as if to stroke the unborn child inside. At least that was one good thing to come out of that whole mess.
"But I was there, you were right," Jenny said. "I was there on a completely different mission but when I heard oooooh Aaaaannnddyyyyyy I mean, come on, how could I resist? It was pure gold!"
Jenny placed her gun down again and began to pace behind the counter once more.
"Of course after that I knew I had you. After all Mel," Jenny put on a voice imitating Mel's fear. "He…she…it…knows?! All I had to do was send you little texts here and there threatening to tell Linds and I knew you'd be all mine. And now…" Jenny continued pausing for dramatic effect. "We finally come to Debbie's involvement."
"Oh we really don't have to," Debbie waved off wanting nothing more than to slink out of there.
"Oh but we do!" Jenny said reveling in delight. "I knew that I would come to a point where I would need someone to take care of stuff for me! After all, I couldn't be in two places at once now could I?"
Andy chanced a glance at Lauren who looked back at him, both recalling the moment they'd wondered the same thing.
"I'd gotten myself into a bit of a situation," Jenny went on. "It seemed that our lovely lesbian torturess/attorney couple had decided they were going to move home-"
"You didn't!" Mel cried, almost knowing exactly where Jenny was going with this.
Quick as a flash Jenny grabbed her gun and shot it into the air.
"Silence!" she yelled out over the screaming cries of everyone else. "Melanie! I am surprised at you! Weren't you the one that adopted the no one interrupts anyone rule? Now, if you please, where was I?"
Mel just gave Jenny a pointed look. It was so like T.E. to shove something very much like that into her face.
"Ah yes, I went searching for the homes available in the area. Knowing of course that the former-now-abdicated-queen would not be able to leave the state I knew she would want something nearby. The moment I found the property I knew it would be the one they'd choose. But the problem was that I was dealing with Mel myself at that very moment. For you see Mel, I needed a laugh and nothing screams belly laugh more than you listening to a audio recording thinking it's all innocent and yet hearing a blaringly loud Yes! Yes! Yes! Oh Andyyyyyy!" Jenny ranted excitedly.
"You were there?" Mel asked just loudly enough to be heard but fearful of the gun she had not yet put back down.
"Of course I was," Jenny laughed. "It was so amusing watching you! But I digress, the problem as it were was that I had an appointment with the realtor of the house you were going to buy. But I couldn't very well leave you and take the meeting now could I? That's where Debbie came in."
Debbie froze for a moment, then she let out a deep sigh before revealing her part in everything. "All I really did was set up cameras in Mel's house and visit the estate agent. I just ran errands. Like I said I thought I was helping!"
Mel and Linds, both shocked, but at this point not all too surprised considering what had been revealed so far, frowned at Debbie as Linds now decided to speak.
"We thought that was Jay!" Linds said as she went to stand, now feeling ready to make this confrontation more interesting. "I suppose he isn't exactly… a handyman, though."
"Hey!" Jay retorted, finally having calmed a bit but now just feeling slightly peeved. "I could have, it would have only taken me a few hours, you know."
"Yes, yes Jay you were a good little boy," Jenny mocked now getting bored with everyone's constant interruptions. It hadn't gone this way for Linds, why did it have to be like this for her?
"Naturally time moved on and everyone was placed exactly where I wanted them, however there were a few things I still needed to work out but nothing was more important to me than approaching Svedantcha. But how to do it? The maid seemed like the perfect person to work with us and yet she didn't know us so she'd probably slam the door in our faces! That Mel, is where you come back in," Jenny smiled.
"I sent you the text to meet me at Royal Park knowing you'd jump at the chance to do so and I fully intended on meeting you too. I was dressed in such inconspicuous clothing that you wouldn't have known who I was. But admittedly I got nervous. If you did manage to unmask me the game would be over and I was so close to reaching my goal."
"So that's why you left the envelope lying around?" Mel asked.
"Like I said I couldn't risk it," Jenny brushed off. "Once you had completed the deed – Oh and by the way Andy, chucking Jay's phone on the floor? Lame - I was able to learn the name of our Russian friend and it was then that I sent Debbie to go and talk to Svedantcha. So don't lie Debbie and say you did nothing else. I absolutely can't stand liars!"
"You're a fucking cow!" Debbie couldn't help but spit back. "I helped you because I thought you were doing all this for a noble cause! And yet, after we recruited Svedantcha I found out just how evil your plans were!"
"So why didn't you get yourself out?" Micah asked confused. "If you knew she was going to do all this why didn't you just step aside and tell everyone?"
"I was going to," Debbie admitted. "But then Jay joined the team."
"*"
"Yes, yes," Jenny waved off as everyone connected the dots over Jay joining his mother and not even knowing it. "Jay joined his mom on the T.E. team, how amusing!" she quipped.
"But let's not detract from one of the best moves I ever made. Some of you may think I knew all about Dr Stappord and what he'd done with Martha before Lauren's arrest but I didn't. In fact the whole thing just seemed to play into my hands. On the night in question when William shot his dear sister…" she paused to smile at the memory. "I found out, thanks to Debbie telling me all about it."
"I found out from William," Debbie admitted. "While I was with Svedantcha I'd gotten to know him and he felt a close connection to me."
"What?!" Micah screamed. "That whole time we were at Casa De Carmita, he knew you were on Team Evil?"
"He was too scared to say anything and I couldn't blame him," Debbie replied. "It was me who suggested he tell you all it was Svedantcha."
"Oh how lovely," Jenny chimed in not caring for this extra bit of information. "Debbie told me he'd killed a family member and immediately I assumed it was Martha. By this time Lauren was doing so well with working out everything that I needed her out of the way and my charming little hospital wasn't ready yet. So I told the cops that I knew who'd committed the crime and that I couldn't cover for her anymore. It was a rather convincing speech if I do say so myself."
"So that's how they screwed up when they said it was Martha who died?" Jay asked.
"Precisely," Jenny smiled. "The cops bought everything I told them hook, line and sinker, including that no one should be allowed to visit her as she had friends in high places that would probably try to bail her out. But it was after I got home that night that I received a fax from Debbie. Why you would want to shy away from the big part you played in all of this I have no idea Debbie."
Debbie just rolled her eyes not willing to say anything else at this point.
"The fax proved to be very interesting; it contained some information about William's sister-"
"The birth certificate!" Andy piped up.
"Exactly," Jenny confirmed. "I found out that Dr Kenneth Stappord was Rhonda's father and it didn't take more than one T.E. meeting to put everything together."
She now smiled at Micah which surprised everyone as no one had ever suspected he had been involved in any of this.
"That's when I realized something rather crucial," Jenny went on. "I had been out of your lives for too long. If I remained gone everyone would have just suspected me so I needed a way to make sure you guys kept seeing me so as to keep a target off my back. That's when I told Micah about my plan for us to go to New Haven on Friday nights rather than having Jay and Andy come to us."
"P-p-papa, you w-w-weren't inv-v-volved?" Andy stammered.
"Oh god no!" Micah replied to his son. "I didn't know that was the reason. I just assumed she was being a good mother."
"It's true," Jenny admitted in a bored tone. "Micah was a tool, he was never a minion. The idea!"
Jenny laughed heartedly picturing herself trying to obtain Andy's Papa as a minion. It was ludicrous.
"Naturally the cops found out that Rhonda was the one that was killed, but by then I'd approached Kenneth and told him that he needed to join me or else I'd tell everyone about Mariana. So by that time I didn't care. Of course I was so proud of having gotten Lauren out of the way that I knew I only needed to get two more people Mel and Andy and the game would be won. So that night…I went to Andy's home…"
Jenny reflected on the moment.
The moon was bright but her surroundings were dark enough that she knew she wouldn't be seen. She made her way over to the window and peered in.
There was Andy, alone writing something. Now would be the perfect opportunity to catch him in the act of something. If only he would pick up a knife to carve something for dinner, she could snap a picture and get him thrown away too.
"Hello?" Andy could be heard saying, pulling Jenny out of her thoughts as she saw him talking on his cell.
"Lauren? Hi how are-?"
Lauren!
Jenny panicked. Hadn't she told the cops to not let her have access to anyone?
"What? Why?" Andy questioned. "You met Martha Mc-?"
Oh no she didn't! Jenny thought to herself. Lauren didn't just tell Andy she'd met Martha?
"I – I will," Andy could be heard saying. "I'll leave right now!"
Crap! Jenny thought, if he leaves he'll see me.
Trying hard to creep away Jenny didn't look where she was walking and suddenly she tripped.
"Ow!" she cried out, before remembering where she was and more importantly who had probably heard her. "Oh shit!"
Andy confirmed as such as the next thing Jenny knew he yelled out to her.
"I see you! And I can hear you too!"
Jenny came back to the reality of seeing the proverbially cornered Andy. So much had happened between then and now and it was nice to have a moment to appreciate it.
"I really thought you were going to get me Andy," she said. "I felt it and I'm sure you felt it too."
"Damn Trash can!" Andy spat. "If I had just seen where I was going, I would have unmasked you."
"Naturally after that I was too scared to hang around," Jenny went on surprising everyone as no one could have guessed she was ever in a vulnerable state. "Of course B told you everything about our capture of him and I worked out later on at Mel's that B had learned enough of our plans that I needed to change tactics. But at that moment I felt like I was about to lose it all and to make matters worse, it was then that I saw the report of Lauren's release."
"You fucking bitch!" Jay spat. "You made me put cameras up in my own home all because you were nearly unmasked!"
"Yes, well, I had you at that time!" Jenny spat back. "Who knew you'd up and betray me not too much later?"
But then Jenny smiled. A very twisted smile.
"But then," she went on. "I saw the report that the plane flight from Tuscany to Zurich had crashed and it was exactly the mood-lifter I needed. Once again things had started going my way."
"*"
Linds, now standing, had become sick of all of the bantering and back-and-forth that was not leading to further revelation at this time, and of course having been a mastermind before, was feeling that it was dragging on and still wanted to know her implication in all of this. "Okay, now back to me." Linds proclaimed.
"Oh, yes!" Jenny turned to her, almost surprised, as if she had forgotten that Linds was in the room. "Scary, scary, Lindsay. How could I forget about you?"
"You really suck at this!" Linds had finally really had enough, "I mean you wanted to keep me in the nut house but at the same time it was Zandra that told you to try to keep me in even though she wanted me out? That doesn't make sense!"
"Yes." Jenny said, "Well you see, it's a little…unfortunate, but we all have our little niggly imperfections, don't we? Well, it just so happens that I am, how shall I say, not so very well acquainted with certain parts of myself."
"What the hell does that mean?" Lindsay retorted, edging forward slowly.
"I don't know if any of your little minds ever noticed this, but didn't all of these people seem a little familiar to you? A little bit alike? A little bit the same?" Jenny had placed her gun down on the counter again, sensing that there was no longer a threat to her safety.
"What, like some kind of multiple personality thing?" Lindsay asked, having subtly become closer to the counter than she was a moment ago.
"Why, I suppose so. Yes." Jenny smirked slightly, and her eye twitched again. Jenny reached toward her head and tugged at her hair. A wig fell to the ground and a large bushy mane of brown curls fell down and around Jenny's face.
"Z-" Everyone started
"Zandra! Yes! Zandra!" Jenny shrieked as she began to cackle madly.
"*"
Everyone's jaws dropped and no one was able to comprehend what had just taken place. Jenny spun around, delighting in the confusion and the horror on everyone's faces. Linds was not nearly as surprised as everyone else, having experienced and encountered far worse things during her time in the sanatorium, she was not frozen in shock like the others, and took that moment to make her move. Leaping forward, Lindsay clasped Jenny around the neck and wrestled with her as Jenny's gun flung from the counter. Mel came to her senses briefly also and snatched a nearby chair where together they planted Jenny with Linds now holding her in place.
"Okay!" Mel said, breathless, "Now you really need to start talking!"
"Aww, is this too much for your tiny little head to handle?" Jenny quizzed, cocking her head slightly in the struggle, "Keep your wits about you, Mel!" she blurted as Mel remembered the first T.E text message she was ever sent. "Not that you did after Jay's party! Ah ha-ha-ha-ha!"
Again Jenny laughed manically.
Mel hunched over slightly as if she'd been hit, "You? I slept with you? I was drugged?"
She couldn't believe what she was seeing or even what she was saying. It was too much for her to handle. Jenny winked and licked her lips as Mel's eyes widened, and she vomited. Debbie moved in to help Mel and the others crowded in closer to Jenny and Linds, ready to fire off their questions.
"Zandra died!" Andy screamed out now, "She died after bombing the plane! And Jenny was here the whole time! You can't be her! It isn't even logical!"
Jay who was standing with Andy commented also,
"Not quite," Jay began, "Mom, er Jen- uh Zandra whatever her stupid name is wasn't really around during the plane crash remember?"
"But Zandra was at my case-win party, and Jenny was at the hotel. She's lying!" Andy proclaimed, beginning to seethe with rage as his inner-lawyer passions came out. "Look this is completely ridiculous, come on guys, I mean seriously Zandra and Jenny are not the same people!"
"ah-haaaa-haaaa!" Jenny started writing about in her chair as she made strange noises, "Where you lead, where you lead, I won't follow because you're a bunch of dumb fucks!" Jenny spat at the others.
Linds punched Jenny in the side to stop her nonsense and demanded she remain coherent, "Just tell us what is going on, or I'll blow your stupid crazy-bitch-brains out!"
"Tried to tell, tried to tell, but you're all dumb-dumb-dumb.Ah ha-ha-ha!" Jenny shrieked as she had almost entirely lost her sanity by now.
"Well Zandra did seem to act strange during the party," Debbie chimed in, now feeling she was able to speak freely, "I mean she was entranced in her phone a lot. Kind of antisocial, I thought. But anyway, maybe she did send the email?"
"But what about the hotel?" Andy insisted again, wanting to leave no stone unturned.
Spencer jumped up out of her chair, almost excited to impart some intelligence, "Well I suppose no one really saw Jenny go to a hotel, I don't think anyone even confirmed it. Maybe she was never there? Besides no one told me anything."
"Fine," Rein interjected, "But what about the plane? I mean, I blacked out so I don't know what happened, but that news report seemed pretty definitive."
"Zandra was on the plane and tried to warn Carmita, Emmett and Rein about the bomb, obviously she had it with her, but then if she did how could she not have died?" B wondered aloud. "And besides, the police report had said she was carrying a bomb that looked like a cell battery."
In a moment of apparent coherency, Jenny decided to butt in.
"My dear, my dear! Surely you think I would not have bared the thought of having to blow my beautiful self to bits now, did you? I knocked Rein out and raced to the exit. Sure it's not advisable, but what are rules nowadays? Besides it's called checked baggage! Well no, it isn't really haha no they only check for liquids don't they!? Stupid, stupid dumb-dumb-dumb" With that Jenny started trailing off again and Linds whacked her over the head for a bit of peace.
"Oomph That's better," Linds sighed as she took over to answer the question with her tech savvy, "I guess it could have just been a detonator she was carrying?"
The others nodded in agreement. Though they had once thought it to be impossible they now realized how true it was. Jenny had been Zandra all along.
"*"
"But that still doesn't explain what happed to Svedantcha!" Andy cried, annoyed that they had skirted around the topic for most of the discussion and still not gotten to it.
"When Svedantcha found out Zandra…," Debbie began. "I mean to say Jenny…I mean T.E….Jesus! You are a bitch!"
It was then that Debbie took her turn to punch Jenny.
"Debbie stop!" Andy cried. "Just tell me what happened to Svedantcha! Speaking of detonators, for all we know she's standing outside with one right now waiting for some kind of signal from this deranged loon!"
"Oh no-no," Debbie waved away. "Once Svedantcha found out her friend died she fled back to Russia."
"What?!" Jenny cried, as though like a switch this new piece of information had snapped her right out of her loony-phase.
"Yeah, she told me not to tell you until the time was right," Debbie replied. "Merry Christmas Teliam!"
Jenny smiled up at Debbie wide-eyed and blinking like the deranged loon she had been accused of being. Debbie threw her arm back to hit Jenny again, but Lauren caught it.
"Wait-wait-wait-wait-wait!" she cried. "Before you kill her, which believe me I have no problems with you doing, I must know how did you capture Andy?! It's been playing on my mind since I found out."
"What is it that your friends have told you?" Jenny asked smiling.
"All I can work out is that Andy was in bed with Jay," Lauren began. "Jay got up for a drink, came back and Andy was gone! How was that possible?!"
"That was me," Debbie admitted. "Under Teliam's orders me and…"
Debbie paused rather dramatically looking around the room.
"…some other minions were forced to collect Andy that night and take him to the hospital."
"Dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb!" Jenny sang out, clearly the sanity hadn't lasted long.
"I'm so sorry Andy," Debbie pleaded. "I was in too deep and there was no way out, please, please forgive me."
"Of course I will Aunt Deb," Andy replied. "Please just don't hurt me again."
Debbie left Jenny's side to hug her very forgiving nephew.
"I was in too deep, I was in too deep!" Jenny mocked. "That's not what Mel said when she mmmmm."
Jenny imitated something graphic that Mel had done the night they'd slept together.
Mel rolled her eyes not wanting to give this bitch the satisfaction of a reaction as Andy continued to hug his Aunt. Jay walked over and leaned in towards Debbie.
"Is Shekland dead?" Jay whispered into her ear.
"What honey?" Debbie asked softly turning to him.
"Please don't make a fuss," he continued to whisper, "I just need to know if T.E. killed the driver."
"Oh god no," Debbie whispered back. "The driver is fine, he's on his way home to be with his family. But you know she killed William right?"
Jay nodded, while Andy who knew nothing about William's death or Shekland at all, walked back to the others.
"But there's just one more thing…" Mel began as she turned to look at Linds, "I never told you because I didn't want to scare you, but that day when I didn't want you to go to the shower-"
"Okay now probably isn't the best time for that" Linds quipped slyly but playfully.
Mel acknowledged Linds with a half-smile and then proceeded to explain.
"Well before you came back to the room that morning, I had been in the bathroom and found writing on the wall from T.E, then of course when you'd gotten into the bathroom the writing was gone. I never worked out what had happened and I had never told you because, well, you'd just gotten out of-"
"It's okay", Linds responded kindly, "More important things happening now anyway, so what about the writing on the wall?"
"Well that's the thing," Mel said, "I don't know how Jenny…Zandra…ugh, could have gotten in and out during the time you were gone and the time you'd returned."
"Welllll!" Jenny exclaimed, coming slightly back to consciousness, "After my son had decided he would not be coming back to Pittsburg with me, I was absolutely maddened – and of course, Jay, if you had just come with your mother none of this would have even happened-"
Jay scoffed and almost wanted to lay into his mother then and there, however Andy held him back and told him it wasn't worth it.
"So in my battered state I went straight to the Dètendez-Vouz and as luck would have it, I saw Lindsay going into the kitchen, telling Lauren she wanted to cook Mel breakfast. So I paid the window washer to be able to use his machine and that's how I got up to the Praeses Locus to write the message"
Jenny took a breath to continue on, glancing at Mel.
"I so much wanted to use real blood, but blasted red paint was all I could find. Then, I wrote the letter in the bathroom and snuck out to the balcony placing the letter under the other mail. I got into the window washer and crouched down to hear what was going on. Mel almost found me, so I started a timer using this delightful electricity grid hacking device."
"Oh come off it Teliam, admit it," Alison began speaking up for the first time. "Mona was the reason you were able to get the hacking device."
"Mona?!" Andy shrieked in shock turning back to look at Alison. "You mean the radio presenter?" Andy asked.
"One and the same," Alison responded.
"Oh, you mean Mona Turskin!" Lindsay added, "Oh yeah, I got my stuff from her too, but hang on how do you know of her?"
"How do you think I got the info on Rick Jr. for you, Andy?" Alison asked.
Before anyone else had a chance to continue on, Jenny interrupted.
"I am not finished! Now, while Mel was out of the room I raced to the bathroom to clear the message off the wall, getting past the living room just in time. Since Mel was too transfixed on the timer with her back to me, I was able to get back to the balcony and down the window washer. I had no idea Lindsay was on the way back up, it was just perfect coincidence that the elevator dinged when it did."
Mel turned to Linds and sighed in relief recalling that it was Linds who'd come in through the elevator and not T.E.
"Knowing I had successfully scared Mel, I got back into my car. That's when I texted you, Mel, because I thought I deserved a little thanks, quite frankly."
Linds stepped away from Jenny and walked over to Mel. As she did so Jenny flung herself up out of the chair she'd been held in. Emily, being the first to notice this, had found the gun that had flung off the counter earlier and had been holding it this entire time.
She had not really been paying much attention to anything else that was happening. While she was holding the gun in her hands and staring at the woman who killed her husband, thoughts and feelings had been whirling around within her. Stirring from deep within her psyche, the voice of Richard came to be in her mind. Action and reaction…in justification…righted…My love.
"Don't…move!" Emily shouted as she shot up from her chair, awkwardly but very tightly holding the gun toward Jenny. "Richard always said that every action has a reaction, and that every in justification needs to be righted. I'm going to right all of your wrongs. You can have your hell!" and with that, Emily fired the weapon.
The bullet zipped forward and straight into Jenny's chest and she fell to the ground. Shocked, Emily let out a loud exhale as she recovered from the adrenalin rush.
Suddenly in that same moment Mel let out a scream.
"My…my water! Oh my god! My water broke!"
"*"
"What? Now? Oh, come on!" Linds yelled out, hoping this would be the last crazy thing to have happen. "What do we do? Someone get the door! Let's get out of here!"
Debbie ran over to try the door and it wouldn't budge. After locking the door at the start of the fiasco, Debbie gave the key to Jenny who had hidden it behind the counter, but of course no one saw where, and of course Jenny would not be able to tell them. "It's locked! Jenny had the key!" Debbie cried out as everyone flew into a panic, except for Alison and Palmer who stepped away.
"Let's just get this thing out!" Lindsay screamed, finding some towels from behind the counter and laying them down near Mel who was laid down on the ground, being supported from behind by Rein.
"Thing!?" Mel shouted, before letting out another contraction-induced ooooaaaah. "This is our baby!"
"Mine too!" Andy added in at the worst possible time, "I mean…Right behind you Linds."
Ooooaaaah!
Lauren came around to the front of Mel. "Okay, everyone out of the way. Looks like she's plenty dilated already!" she said matter-of-factly. Having given birth at a most inconvenient time herself, she easily recalled everything they needed to do.
Micah went to go wet some towels while Jay and Emily helped by trying to provide Mel with some comfort.
Ooooaaaah!
"Okay you're gonna need to breathe and you're gonna need to push" Lauren said, as Mel gave her a sort of disgusted and bewildered look.
"Yes honey, remember the bunny from the class we did?" Linds said brightly.
"Do you see a fucking bunny around here?" Mel snapped. And oh, yes Lauren thank you so much, how else is it gonna- Ooooaaaah!"
"hee-hee-hooo" Jay and Emily started, as they attempted to coach Mel to breathe better.
"Oh shut up!" Mel proclaimed, as her face saturated with sweat.
"I think I can see…a head!" Lauren shouted, Linds inspecting also.
Ooooaaaah!
"Mel I'm gonna need you to give one more big push!" Lauren said as Mel made her final, big push.
Everyone else stood there, waiting for the new life to enter the world at what seemed the most chaotic time.
Time froze as everyone stood in awe and in wait of the newborn.
With her last push, a tiny figure emerged from Mel. Lauren and Rein had come around to the front by this point and captured the new baby as she arrived. Lindsay took some of the wet towels that Micah had prepared earlier to clean off the baby, and then she was handed to Mel where she rested the infant against her bosom.
"She's so…beautiful." Mel proclaimed with a small tear that was just barely visible.
"What a lovely, darling child!" came an unexpected voice from behind the commotion.
There was Jenny, standing with the gun which she had managed to pick up, apparently having only been unconscious when she was shot. Linds pointed the gun at Mel or more specifically, at the newborn.
"I'm not entirely certain that you deserve children, do you Mel?" Jenny quizzed, face pale and eyes darkened. "Oh no. You don't get to have this, not after everything I've lost!"
Emily, incredibly shocked that her knowingly feeble attempt at gun use had failed, riled up with anger and charged toward Jenny risking her own life as meternal instincts for this new child took over.
Arms outstretched she clasped over Jenny's hands on the gun, spun it up and over 180 degrees, and forced the trigger, where the bullet went straight into, and straight through, Jenny's heart.
In that moment Emily and Jenny's eyes met, and Emily saw Richard in the mist of Jenny's pupils. As Jenny froze and begin to slip from consciousness into death, Emily saw – most possibly through her own mind – the image of Richard saying "Thank you, in justification righted."
Jenny slumped forward and down, sliding down Emily's front leaving a smear of blood, now most definitely dead.
Jay let out a horrified and exasperated shriek before bursting into tears at the death of his mother. But then in the same moment his expression changed to a somewhat flat affect.
"You did the right thing, Emily. Zandra's dead. Teliam is dead, Jenny is dead. Don't worry."
"I'm so sorry." Emily responded, still somewhat numb.
"What you saw today wasn't really your mother," Andy said as he came over to comfort Jay in the moment, "Just some crazy misguided lady. The good in your mother, and the mother you always knew will always be in you. You know that."
Jay broke into sobs as Andy rested Jay's head onto his shoulder and tightly clasped his arm around him, rubbing it with his hand.
Palmer and Alison came back over to join the group. Palmer came behind Emily as if to comfort her, and as he placed his hand over Emily, removed the gun from her grip.
"Oh come on!" Linds shouted as before, finally tired over the commotions. "What's with you two?"
Alison gave her hair a swish-flick as she turned on her heel to be at Palmer's side, shoving Emily slightly back toward the rest of the group whose attention was now on the two. "Look, we want to get out of here as much as you. It's been a long night. Just let us leave, say nothing, and we can all just…" Palmer began to say shakily holding the gun down at his side.
"You were involved in all this too?" asked Jason, who having been there the whole time hadn't really spoken, as was his style.
Everyone had been shocked to see him as no one actually noticed he was even there.
"Weren't you as well?" Mel asked Jason, calmly clutching her baby.
Alison, flicking her hair, turned from gazing at Palmer in a creepily loving way and answered the question, "No, please, he wouldn't have been able."
Palmer interrupted to explain the situation. "Alison and I worked together at the hospital under the names Scott and Sophie. I didn't know Jenny personally, however I can admit that she hired me to come after you, Lauren."
Alison butted in again to add her part, lest she be left out. "Well, I was looking for work and Teliam hired me to work with her. She wanted to make sure I got the job as your assistant Mel, so that I could spy on all of you to relay all of the information back to T.E."
Feeling that she was the one responsible for Alison's hire, Spencer stepped forward aggressively.
"I trusted you!" she blurted out to Alison.
Alison dipped her head slightly, eyes pointed squarely at Spencer, forming a wry smirk on her petite little face.
"I know", she proclaimed, as if reveling in her greatness.
Spencer scoffed in return.
"When Teliam found out I had an in with so many of you she really couldn't resist. Oh yeah, sorry I deceived you, Lauren." Alison finished with a glint of malicious pride.
Andy chanced a glance back at Mel and it was a good thing he did. Her face was all red and not because she had just delivered a baby, but because she was holding her breath fuming at what Alison had just said.
"Ok Mel take a breath, that's my baby you're holding there I don't want anything to happen to her," Andy said before turning to the other two. "Ok time to start filling in a few quick blanks you two."
"Yeah," Jay said, jumping right in. "One – why is it that Andy's side of the bed had blood on it when you took him away?"
"That was my doing," Alison replied. "While Debbie and Palmer tossed him through the window, I smeared dark red paint on his side of the bed. Not something I would do normally, but at that stage what Teliam wanted Teliam got."
"Um ok," Andy replied feeling that Alison was right and that she would never do anything she didn't feel she had to. "So where's Carmita and Richard?"
"Dead," Palmer replied. "But your friends already know this."
"Yeah," B jumped in. "Richard, Carmita and…Emmett are dead."
"Em- Emmett?!" Andy asked. "Who the fuck killed Emmett?"
"That would be me," Palmer replied. "As most of your friends know Emmett survived the crash and made it back to New Haven hospital. I knew Teliam would be outraged when she found out so I killed him. William however killed Richard."
Lauren just gaped at her now definite ex.
"What was the point of the hospital?" Spencer asked, having tried to work it out for a while now.
"Teliam wanted to take fear to another level and see how much of it people could cope with," Palmer responded. "She knew that keeping Lauren away from knowing what happened to Rein would instill fear in her and she also knew that Andy was trypanophobic."
"She knew?!" Spencer gaped, disgusted.
"Yeah," Palmer replied simply. "Everyone that worked at the hospital were innocent, they actually thought Teliam was a good person who was trying to help the world learn how to conquer fear. We were told to monitor Andy and Lauren and give updates on how they were coping."
"That's why you never came looking for me!" Lauren cried out.
"Exactly," Palmer replied. "I knew what Teliam was up to but I was getting paid to do what I did. As a matter of fact Rein nearly caught me when they came to rescue you. I had to get out of the way in time. But did you notice that Teliam never arrived at the scene? By then I was actually happy that you guys were taking her away."
"Who took me to East Rock Park?" Andy barged in now just wanting to know everything he could.
"Palmer, Alison and I did," his Aunt replied. "Teliam ordered us to. The only reason I complied is because I knew you would at least be safe from her."
"But then how did Teliam get the message on the bathroom mirror at the school?" Andy pondered.
"Huh?" Jay asked.
"What school?" Lauren chimed in.
Andy quickly explained how he'd made it out of the park and into the locker room much to everyone's surprise.
"That was me," Palmer said. "It was the last act I did for Teliam before making my way back to the café. Teliam had ordered me to keep tabs on you so that we knew exactly where you were at all times. You were so transfixed on other things that you didn't notice me."
"And another thing!" Andy went on. "I came across a certain shopping list while I was in the hospital."
He turned to Debbie the tiniest glint of a sparkle in his eyes.
"It sounded very familiar," he went on. "Blueberries, cherries, wine, ketsup and jankaroo sauce."
Though it may not have seemed appropriate, Andy smiled as he mentioned of the last item.
"Aunt Deb?" he asked chuckling. "Something you want to tell me?"
"Yeah!" she replied quite defiantly. "It's called a diversion. Teliam figured if she put something in that file that made you connect the dots to me, you'd falsely accuse me of being T.E. instead of her, keeping you in the hospital."
"Oh," was all Andy could say.
After all, it made sense.
"While we're at it," Spencer chimed in. "Who's the blonde pageant girl?"
"Who?" Palmer asked.
"Oh yeah," Jay chimed in recalling the memory. "The driver mentioned picking up a blonde pageant girl and a guy that smelled like 3 day all ganja."
Alison chuckled slightly before flicking her hair and looking from Jason to Jay.
"Yeah, we figured that was Jason," Jay pressed. "But the blonde-"
Jay stopped himself as the realization hit him.
"Yeah," Alison replied noticing as such. "That's me I'm guessing. You know…blonde."
She grabbed at some of her hair twisting it through her fingers.
"But pageant hey?" she turned back to smile at Palmer. "Who knew?"
"Hold on!" Maya piped up, shocking everyone more than Jason had with her presence. "If you were on the T.E. team then why did you play that trick on me? Come to think of it both you and Teliam were involved with that."
"Because they were being bitches!" Spencer spat having been the only other innocent member of the moment. "Everything we'd said was true. We'd discussed who T.E. could be and thought it was you."
"Anything to steer away from Teliam," Alison chimed in flicking her hair once more.
"Was Simon involved?" Jay asked suddenly earning a look from Andy. "I just…I just need to know."
"No," Palmer replied. "The only people you guys know that were involved was Alison, myself, Debbie and Svedantcha."
"But what about Jason?!" Lauren demanded coming to join them from her place with Mel as Rein took over. "The driver practically admitted you were on the team!"
"No he didn't," B corrected. "He said he picked up those people."
"When I found out that Alison was going to New Haven I knew it was for a malicious reason, so I insisted on following her. But I was never involved."
"But-but," Jay stuttered. "The pot?!"
"Pot?" Linds questioned smiling. "Who's got pot?"
Mel rolled her eyes recalling the few times the pair had smoked together.
"I brought pot down for Andy as a treat," Jason replied. "My intentions were selfless not malicious."
"And Connor?" Andy asked, always feeling that he was somehow connected.
"The sniveling little brat?" Alison asked laughing. "Please! He's just a trouble maker. He's gifted, I'll give him that much, but he was never involved with Teliam."
No one had anything to say to this and the room fell momentarily silent.
"Ok," Emily began. "I'll ask. What happened between my husband dying and us finding out that everyone's ashes were mixed together."
"What?!" Andy reacted horrified and disgusted all at the same time as his head turned to glare at Emily in horror.
"Later honey," Jay responded taking his hand comfortingly.
It was Palmer who took this one.
"Teliam felt that death was simply not enough to get back at everyone," he said. "So she ordered me to bring them all to a crematorium right here in New Haven. Don't ask me how I did it, the story's too long. Not that it matters, I guess, the point is it happened."
"Ok so you transported them there," Emily rushed. "And?!"
"And Teliam sent them all through the crematory," Palmer said plainly. "Once the process ended I gave her the ashes separately. It was Jenny who decided to amp things up even more when she realized you guys had trapped Dr Stappord and cornered William."
"Speaking of those two," Rein chimed in. "I guess my question would be, whatever happened to Martha?"
"Good question!" B agreed looking at her before turning back to Palmer. "Well?"
"Oh Martha's fine," Alison waved off. "She was forced to join the nurse's team but since the hospital went out of commission she's been back at home."
The others looked at her skeptically.
"I can confirm that," Palmer said. "I went and checked up on her on my way back."
It was weird that the group could trust Palmer more than Alison, but somehow with all the revelations he'd pointed out they just felt as though he wouldn't lie at this point.
"She's back with Kenneth and though they're dealing with the loss of both of their kids, other than that they're fine. I promise."
Palmer stepped in front of Alison addressing the group, looking quite exhausted and Lauren made her way back to Mel feeling, like the others did, emotional over everything that had happened, but happy to at least have all the answers.
"Look, you know what we've done; we know what you've done. Why don't we just agree to let this go and go our separate ways? I'm keen to skip town anyway so I won't be around to cause trouble."
"No!" Lauren yelled defiantly, "That's not fair, I mean you can't just take six months of my life away and then expect to just fly on home!"
Mel clasped at Lauren's shoulder and sighed.
"Lauren, look," she said, "He's right. I mean we're all tired. So much has happened. We all just want this to be over and it finally can be. We can't get any of this time back, none of us can. But we're all going to try to move forward as best we can."
Everyone nodded in agreement and encouragement and in the end Lauren relented.
Andy looked from Lauren to Mel, to Jenny on the floor with blood still oozing out from where Emily had shot her. Then finally he looked at Jay which allowed him to sigh and let everything go.
"Okay, fine, deal" Andy sighed. "You go your way, we'll go ours. That goes for you too, Alison."
Nodding and looking at each other with understanding, Alison and Palmer turned from the group without any goodbyes. Palmer kicked in the locked door before they stepped out of the café, and were gone from sight.
After many hugs of comfort and several apologies from one guilty party to another innocent one the room fell into a comfortable silence.
At least more comfortable than it had been throughout the entire process.
"What do we do about the body?" Micah spoke up at last.
"Someone needs to call the police," Melanie said exhaustion evident in her tone. "If we just leave it here they'll come after us. Palmer and Alison will back up our story if needed and thanks to Palmer's video surveillance…"
She pointed upwards to a camera that stood diagonally opposite her, placed in the perfect position to pick up pretty much everything that had happened.
"We may not even need them."
B announced that he would call the cops and Micah stepped outside to join him.
"So…" Lauren piped up deciding to be the first to speak, "The baby? Is it ok?"
"It's so cute!" Rein joined in.
"Thanks Rein," Mel replied. "Hey daddy? Want to hold your child?"
Andy smiled in appreciation and made his way forward towards the girl that was going to have a huge impact on his life. Whether Mel wanted him involved or not would be her decision, but he knew in his heart that this child was his and now for the first time, after everything he'd gone through he was finally going to do something special.
Hold a child that he had helped to create.
Mel handed the baby to Andy and as everyone expressed their awe in unison Andy couldn't help the tears that escaped from his eyes.
"She's so beautiful," he blubbered through the tears as Jay loosely wrapped an arm around his boyfriend.
"She is beautiful isn't she?" Mel agreed.
"By the way Linds and I have come up with a name for her too," Mel continued. "In honor of her godparent's if they choose to accept, her name will be Lorraine".
"*"
So there you go! Jenny was T.E and Zandra! Debbie helped her as did Svedantcha, Alison and Palmer.
Do you think Jay's reaction to his mom was fair? Would you have forgiven Debbie as easily as everyone else? Jenny tried to say that she did some things to help people. Did you see any of it as help? Do you feel sorry for Jenny at all? Were you surprised that it was Debbie who originally sent the birth certificate to Jenny? Did you suspect that Jenny was Zandra? Did you suspect that Jenny was T.E? What did you think of the explination we finally got as to how T.E. did that stuff to Mel at the Detende-Vous? Jenny mentioned that if Jay had just come back with her the game would have ended, were you surprised? Did you suspect journalist Mona Turskin to be the one to supply all the technical stuff? What did you think about Emily killing T.E? Once Jenny died everyone seemed to relax despite Alison and Palmer still being there. Would you have been able to do that? One of the sweet things to come out of the chapter was Lorraine. What did you think of the whole birth process and more importantly Andy's moment with his biological daughter.
Next time on Love Hurts, with only 2 chapters left till the end of the series.
You've been through nearly 3 books…
(Mel): "I can't tell you."
(Linds): "Why? Afraid I'm going to run off and tell people?"
(Mel): "No not people, but yes definitely the person involved."
Through 78 chapters…
(Linds): "Oh how I love naivety…B wasn't the one pulling the strings. It was…me."
(Linds): "Oh you know, the usual torture. Hot, cold, sharp, blunt; you name it, it was a blast!"
(Jenny): "You sick freak! How dare you?!"
And close to 450,000 words…
(Jenny): "This is…MY HELL!"
(Linds): "All because of me? I'm touched."
(Jenny): "Zandra! Yes! Zandra!"
And 7 deaths…
(Andy): "You're the one that will bring us b-bright days f-forever more. Thanks dad…I love you."
(Rhonda): "Why?"
(William): "I thought it was obvious Rhonda. You knew too much."
(T.E/Jenny): "William! Hiding will do you no good!" (Gun noise).
(Emily): "Richard? Richard! Richard get up, AAAAAAH!"
(News Anchor): "This just in Carmita DeLeon has passed away tonight."
(B): "Oh…yep. That's him."
(Micah): "Noooooooo!"
But they all had one thing in common…
(Andy): "T.E."
(Mel): "T.E."
(B): "T.E."
(Jay): "T.E!"
(Gun noise!)
But now the T.E. is gone, how is it possible that in the next chapter….
BEAT-BEAT-BEAT-BEAT-BEAT-BEAT…THERE-WILL-BE-ONE-MORE-DEATH!
(Gun Shot Sound).
And as we move forward 4 weeks later…
(Jay): "Merry Christmas Andy."
(Andy, excitedly): "Jay!"
After torture:
(Jay): "We?! Who else is helping you with-" (screams out in pain).
(Andy): "N-no needle, I'll go back to s-s-sleep I pr-pr-pr Aaaaah!"
Mind games:
(Andy reading): "Find him tonight because it's the end. Fail to do so and it's bye-bye boyfriend."
(Jay reading): "I told you not to cross me Jay. Better start looking for a new boyfriend."
And even sometimes fate intervening:
(Andy): "You still love B! I know you do Jay!"
(Mel): "Ooooh Andyyyy!"
(Rick): "It's not like I'm fully exposed or something. Although…I could be."
What's the one thing everyone's been dying to hear?
(Jay): "Andy…I love you."
(Andy): "And I love you Jay, what's going on?"
BEAT-BEAT-BEAT-BEAT-BEAT-BEAT…WHAT-4 WORDS-WILL-JAY-FINALLY-SAY?
(Andy): "Really?"
ALL NEW Love Hurts
Next Monday.
