Sweet Revenge
Chapter 24
Previously: Jed remembered the morning Annie said she killed Emma. Annie wanted to confess to the police, who were now suspicious of her whereabouts on the night of the murder, but Jed refused to let her.
Summary: Jed and Abbey disagree about how to help a distraught Annie. Abbey takes matters into her own hands.
Annie stood in the shower of her bedroom in the Residence. She let the water pour over her, bouncing off her already wet skin. She was used to showers like this. She was used to going about her day like a zombie, still shocked over that one night. Ever since the murder, things hadn't been the same. Every thought was consumed with images of Emma and whether or not anyone would find out what she had done.
Annie wanted to come forward. Despite her apprehension about the outcome, she wanted to confess. But her grandfather warned her against it. He promised he'd take care of everything. Well, almost everything. He couldn't take away her guilt and her fear, no matter how badly he wanted to.
It had been a week since the police had called to talk to her and she knew that despite her lawyer's successful attempts thus far, she couldn't avoid answering the tough questions forever and being railroaded is what scared her more than anything. She lost her breath just thinking about it.
After she rinsed her hair, Annie opened the shower curtain and reached for a towel on the rack. She carefully stepped out of the tub and began to dry herself off. Her eyes wandered around the bathroom until her they locked on the mirror in front of her. Her towel, which was wrapped around her petite body, fell to the floor, leaving her wet, naked, and terrified.
On the steam-covered bathroom mirror, were the words "EB was here." At first, she was paralyzed, unable to even scream, but her gut reaction was to pick up her toothbrush holder and hurl it towards the horrifying phrase. The glass shattered, but her fear didn't.
"HELP!" Annie finally shouted over and over until she was heard.
Three agents ran to her bedroom to find her sitting on the floor of her bathroom, completely naked. As one covered her with the discarded towel, the other two searched the room.
When Jed heard about the commotion in the Residence, he ended his meeting in the Oval Office and headed for the door. No longer needing his cane since Abbey had given him a new bottle of steroids, he ran towards Annie's room, nearly knocking over everyone in his path.
As he walked through her door, he found Abbey sitting on the bed with Annie's head on her shoulder. She was stroking her head gently.
"What happened?" he asked.
"It's fine. The Secret Service made a clean sweep," Abbey replied.
Jed turned his eyes to his granddaughter. "Annie?"
"Her initials," Annie said weakly.
"What?"
"EB. Emma Bradford. 'Emma Bradford was here.' That's what it said on the mirror when I got out of the shower."
Jed went into the bathroom and noticed the shattered glass. "Who did this?"
"I did," Annie admitted. "I wanted to get rid of it."
"Honey, the agent said there was nothing on the glass," Abbey reminded her.
"There was before I broke it."
Jed joined them on the bed and the First Couple sat with their granddaughter until her anxiety melted away. With each passing day, Abbey's concern was growing. She was caring for a 16-year-old girl who had been so traumatized that she could no longer sleep with the lights off, she couldn't be around other people for fear they would notice that she's changed, she couldn't even take a shower in peace anymore. Annie was on a seemingly endless downward spiral and Abbey wasn't sure how far she'd go before she hit bottom.
That night, as they got ready for bed, Abbey brought up the subject with Jed. "I think we're handling the situation with Annie all wrong."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean I think if she wants to confess, we should let her."
"Abbey, we agreed..."
"No, Jed, we didn't. You said what you thought, then you tried to convince me. I went along with it because I wasn't sure, not because I agreed."
"And now you're sure?"
"Yes. I'm sure we're doing the wrong thing." Jed shook his head cynically while getting into bed and sliding under the blanket. Abbey walked over and rested her knee on the matress, leaning in towards him. "She's being tormented, Jed."
"By her own mind. That isn't going to go away if she goes to the police."
"Maybe it will. Maybe it's the guilt that's making her react this way."
"And maybe it's not. Maybe if she admits to everything, she'll still be having nightmares, she'll still be hallucinating. Only then, she'll be doing it behind steel bars!"
Abbey crawled into bed, ignoring her husband's glance. "I want to call Liz. She should know what's going on."
"No. We can handle this. There's no reason to get Lizzie involved."
"Annie is her daughter. She has a right to know."
"Abbey, you, Annie, and I made a pact. Do you remember that? When she told us the story, we promised we would never tell anyone. And we're not going to," he said firmly.
"When did you become the one who makes all the decisions?" Her question was met with another cynical eye-roll. "No, really. What is this really about? Why are you so adamant about how we should handle this?"
"Because I love my granddaughter."
"And I don't?" Her tone was accusatory.
"I didn't say that! Damn it, Abbey, we agreed to keep this to ourselves! We need to help her through it, yes, but calling Liz will only upset her, and going to the police will only land her in jail."
"It was self defense, Jed. Emma grabbed her and put a gun to her head!"
"And you're sure a jury's going to believe her?"
"You're innocent until proven guilty in this country. They have no reason not to believe her."
"Oh really? Well, gee, Annie, did you lie about where you were on Christmas Eve? Did you lie during police questioning regarding the dead body that landed on your family's doorstep? Did you and your grandparents make a secret deal to fool investigators and the nation about what really happened to Emma Bradford? Do you want me to continue?"
Abbey curled up under the blanket and turned her back to him. "I got it."
"Abbey, it's the only way we can get through this. I don't want to jeopardize Annie's future. Now if she had come forward in the beginning, if we knew what happened before it got this out of hand, hell, even if after she told us, if we had said 'yes, let's go to the police right now,' that's one thing, but we've waited too long to give her a fighting chance in a courtroom."
"I said I got it," she snapped as she pulled the blanket higher to cover part of her face.
Jed turned off the light and rolled over to his side. Abbey may have said she understood, but she was still determined to do what she needed to help her granddaughter, whether or not Jed approved. It had gone too far now and the only way to get Annie the peace of mind she needed was to make her face what had happened.
The next morning when her grandparents left for work, Annie did what she had done on so many other days -- she went for a walk in the garden. Being alone was common for this once-social butterfly. Nowadays, she had closed herself off from everyone but her family. Even when Elizabeth would call with messages from her friends and classmates back in New Hampshire, Annie would dismiss them. She was depressed and lonely and the walk around the garden was the only time she would actually leave the Residence.
But on this day, Annie was more jumpy than usual. Perhaps it was because of the shower incident the day before or the nightmares she was having. Or maybe the stress of the situation was just getting to her. It didn't matter what was causing it. Her anxiety level was at an all-time high and it was about to get even higher.
As she walked along the concrete path admiring her surroundings, she looked up. In that brief moment, something caught her eye. She thought it was her imagination playing tricks on her so she looked away for a moment before turning her gaze to the frightful sight once again. It was still there -- in a window on the fifth floor, there she stood, staring at her with those cold, vacant eyes she was now infamous for. It was Emma.
Annie let out a bone-chilling scream as Secret Service agents swarmed her on the ground and snipers on the roof got their weapons ready. But, once again, it was a false alarm. Agents looked up at the window Annie pointed out to them and nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Inside the building, other agents searched the room, but again, it was clear.
Abbey rushed back from her office after she was called by one of the agents. She comforted Annie for only a few moments before she decided she had to take matters into her own hands. She left Annie sitting on the couch and walked over to the phone to begin dialing.
"Lizzie, it's Mom. Can you get away for a few days? I need you to come to Washington."
TBC
Chapter 24
Previously: Jed remembered the morning Annie said she killed Emma. Annie wanted to confess to the police, who were now suspicious of her whereabouts on the night of the murder, but Jed refused to let her.
Summary: Jed and Abbey disagree about how to help a distraught Annie. Abbey takes matters into her own hands.
Annie stood in the shower of her bedroom in the Residence. She let the water pour over her, bouncing off her already wet skin. She was used to showers like this. She was used to going about her day like a zombie, still shocked over that one night. Ever since the murder, things hadn't been the same. Every thought was consumed with images of Emma and whether or not anyone would find out what she had done.
Annie wanted to come forward. Despite her apprehension about the outcome, she wanted to confess. But her grandfather warned her against it. He promised he'd take care of everything. Well, almost everything. He couldn't take away her guilt and her fear, no matter how badly he wanted to.
It had been a week since the police had called to talk to her and she knew that despite her lawyer's successful attempts thus far, she couldn't avoid answering the tough questions forever and being railroaded is what scared her more than anything. She lost her breath just thinking about it.
After she rinsed her hair, Annie opened the shower curtain and reached for a towel on the rack. She carefully stepped out of the tub and began to dry herself off. Her eyes wandered around the bathroom until her they locked on the mirror in front of her. Her towel, which was wrapped around her petite body, fell to the floor, leaving her wet, naked, and terrified.
On the steam-covered bathroom mirror, were the words "EB was here." At first, she was paralyzed, unable to even scream, but her gut reaction was to pick up her toothbrush holder and hurl it towards the horrifying phrase. The glass shattered, but her fear didn't.
"HELP!" Annie finally shouted over and over until she was heard.
Three agents ran to her bedroom to find her sitting on the floor of her bathroom, completely naked. As one covered her with the discarded towel, the other two searched the room.
When Jed heard about the commotion in the Residence, he ended his meeting in the Oval Office and headed for the door. No longer needing his cane since Abbey had given him a new bottle of steroids, he ran towards Annie's room, nearly knocking over everyone in his path.
As he walked through her door, he found Abbey sitting on the bed with Annie's head on her shoulder. She was stroking her head gently.
"What happened?" he asked.
"It's fine. The Secret Service made a clean sweep," Abbey replied.
Jed turned his eyes to his granddaughter. "Annie?"
"Her initials," Annie said weakly.
"What?"
"EB. Emma Bradford. 'Emma Bradford was here.' That's what it said on the mirror when I got out of the shower."
Jed went into the bathroom and noticed the shattered glass. "Who did this?"
"I did," Annie admitted. "I wanted to get rid of it."
"Honey, the agent said there was nothing on the glass," Abbey reminded her.
"There was before I broke it."
Jed joined them on the bed and the First Couple sat with their granddaughter until her anxiety melted away. With each passing day, Abbey's concern was growing. She was caring for a 16-year-old girl who had been so traumatized that she could no longer sleep with the lights off, she couldn't be around other people for fear they would notice that she's changed, she couldn't even take a shower in peace anymore. Annie was on a seemingly endless downward spiral and Abbey wasn't sure how far she'd go before she hit bottom.
That night, as they got ready for bed, Abbey brought up the subject with Jed. "I think we're handling the situation with Annie all wrong."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean I think if she wants to confess, we should let her."
"Abbey, we agreed..."
"No, Jed, we didn't. You said what you thought, then you tried to convince me. I went along with it because I wasn't sure, not because I agreed."
"And now you're sure?"
"Yes. I'm sure we're doing the wrong thing." Jed shook his head cynically while getting into bed and sliding under the blanket. Abbey walked over and rested her knee on the matress, leaning in towards him. "She's being tormented, Jed."
"By her own mind. That isn't going to go away if she goes to the police."
"Maybe it will. Maybe it's the guilt that's making her react this way."
"And maybe it's not. Maybe if she admits to everything, she'll still be having nightmares, she'll still be hallucinating. Only then, she'll be doing it behind steel bars!"
Abbey crawled into bed, ignoring her husband's glance. "I want to call Liz. She should know what's going on."
"No. We can handle this. There's no reason to get Lizzie involved."
"Annie is her daughter. She has a right to know."
"Abbey, you, Annie, and I made a pact. Do you remember that? When she told us the story, we promised we would never tell anyone. And we're not going to," he said firmly.
"When did you become the one who makes all the decisions?" Her question was met with another cynical eye-roll. "No, really. What is this really about? Why are you so adamant about how we should handle this?"
"Because I love my granddaughter."
"And I don't?" Her tone was accusatory.
"I didn't say that! Damn it, Abbey, we agreed to keep this to ourselves! We need to help her through it, yes, but calling Liz will only upset her, and going to the police will only land her in jail."
"It was self defense, Jed. Emma grabbed her and put a gun to her head!"
"And you're sure a jury's going to believe her?"
"You're innocent until proven guilty in this country. They have no reason not to believe her."
"Oh really? Well, gee, Annie, did you lie about where you were on Christmas Eve? Did you lie during police questioning regarding the dead body that landed on your family's doorstep? Did you and your grandparents make a secret deal to fool investigators and the nation about what really happened to Emma Bradford? Do you want me to continue?"
Abbey curled up under the blanket and turned her back to him. "I got it."
"Abbey, it's the only way we can get through this. I don't want to jeopardize Annie's future. Now if she had come forward in the beginning, if we knew what happened before it got this out of hand, hell, even if after she told us, if we had said 'yes, let's go to the police right now,' that's one thing, but we've waited too long to give her a fighting chance in a courtroom."
"I said I got it," she snapped as she pulled the blanket higher to cover part of her face.
Jed turned off the light and rolled over to his side. Abbey may have said she understood, but she was still determined to do what she needed to help her granddaughter, whether or not Jed approved. It had gone too far now and the only way to get Annie the peace of mind she needed was to make her face what had happened.
The next morning when her grandparents left for work, Annie did what she had done on so many other days -- she went for a walk in the garden. Being alone was common for this once-social butterfly. Nowadays, she had closed herself off from everyone but her family. Even when Elizabeth would call with messages from her friends and classmates back in New Hampshire, Annie would dismiss them. She was depressed and lonely and the walk around the garden was the only time she would actually leave the Residence.
But on this day, Annie was more jumpy than usual. Perhaps it was because of the shower incident the day before or the nightmares she was having. Or maybe the stress of the situation was just getting to her. It didn't matter what was causing it. Her anxiety level was at an all-time high and it was about to get even higher.
As she walked along the concrete path admiring her surroundings, she looked up. In that brief moment, something caught her eye. She thought it was her imagination playing tricks on her so she looked away for a moment before turning her gaze to the frightful sight once again. It was still there -- in a window on the fifth floor, there she stood, staring at her with those cold, vacant eyes she was now infamous for. It was Emma.
Annie let out a bone-chilling scream as Secret Service agents swarmed her on the ground and snipers on the roof got their weapons ready. But, once again, it was a false alarm. Agents looked up at the window Annie pointed out to them and nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Inside the building, other agents searched the room, but again, it was clear.
Abbey rushed back from her office after she was called by one of the agents. She comforted Annie for only a few moments before she decided she had to take matters into her own hands. She left Annie sitting on the couch and walked over to the phone to begin dialing.
"Lizzie, it's Mom. Can you get away for a few days? I need you to come to Washington."
TBC