Sweet Revenge
Chapter 25
Previously: Jed and Abbey disagreed about what to do about Annie, who was seeing Emma at every turn. Abbey called Elizabeth.
Summary: Elizabeth is determined to help her daughter. Annie recalls the details of Emma's death.
Elizabeth caught the first flight to Washington and arrived at the White House only hours later. She was completely stunned by what little Abbey had told her on the phone. She now knew why her daughter was behaving so strangely, why her parents had wanted her to stay in Washington instead of going back to New Hampshire with her family. She knew and she was angry.
"Why didn't anyone tell me?" she kept asking a speechless Abbey, who took the brunt of her anger until Jed arrived at the Residece.
"Liz, what are you doing here?" he asked, already knowing the answer. Abbey hadn't talked to him since she called Liz, but given their conversation the night before, it wasn't difficult to figure out why his daughter would show up out of the blue.
"Jed, I didn't get a chance to tell you," Abbey said.
Jed walked over to his wife, addressing her with his own anger. "You told her to come."
"Yes, Dad, she did and I'm glad she did. Both of you should have called me sooner. In fact, you should have told me before Doug and I left! She killed a woman and you don't think I, as her mother, had a right to know that?"
"Liz, it wasn't as simple as that," Jed tried to reason.
"Why wasn't it? You had no right to keep me in the dark. Annie is my daughter, not yours."
"We love her," Abbey reminded her.
"And we wanted to protect her," Jed added.
Liz turned to Jed coldly. "Because you couldn't protect Zoey?"
"Elizabeth!" Abbey exclaimed.
She took her eyes off Jed and turned to her mother. "Where's my daughter?"
"She's in her room."
Jed stared at Liz as she left the sitting room and headed towards Annie's bedroom. Abbey approached him slowly from behind, putting a comforting hand on the back of his shoulder. Jed took a step forward, rejecting her touch, then turned to face her.
"You shouldn't have called her," he said.
"I did what I thought was best," she answered.
"What you thought was best? You knew how I felt."
"Yes, and you knew I disagreed with you." Jed put his hands in his pocket and turned away from her. "I love Annie just as much as you do, Jed. I won't apologize for trying to help her."
"This isn't the kind of help she needed!" Jed shouted as he turned back around and walked back towards Abbey.
"Says you! Liz and I disagree. You're outnumbered on this one and don't you dare get angry with me because I didn't obey your 'order!'" She crossed in front of him to put some distance between them as she calmed herself down, then turned around, now facing his back. "Jed, look at me." Abbey put her hand on his arm to spin him around. "What's going on? This isn't like you." Jed listened to what she was saying but didn't say a word. "The morning we talked to Annie, you wanted to know what she had seen because you wanted to bring the real killer to justice. And now, you're risking everything to continue covering this up."
"Annie doesn't need to be brought to justice, Abbey."
"I know that. But she's so scared. She needs to come forward, for her own peace of mind. Can't you see that?" He didn't answer. "Jed? Is this about Zoey?"
That got his attention. "Are you channeling Liz now?"
The shiny tears in his eyes melted Abbey's heart. She took his hand in hers and stroked the back of his fingers. "This is the right thing to do. You know it deep down. I know you do."
Later, in Annie's room, Liz helped her daughter pack up her clothes. Other than exchanging a few pleasantries, the two worked in complete silence, neither knowing what to say to the other. Liz had been told the basics about the murder, but the details she wanted could only come from Annie.
"I need to know what happened on Christmas Eve," she finally said as she stood behind her daughter.
Annie didn't look at her. She continued folding her clothes and laying them on the bed. "Didn't they already tell you?"
"I need more. I don't understand. You have to help me understand."
"How?"
Liz walked over and sat on the bed, now facing her daughter. "By walking me through it."
Annie still avoided her glance. "I left to go to Jennifer's and I heard something outside. Before I could turn around..." Sensing the pain in her voice, Liz put her hand over Annie's as a show of support while the teen caught her breath and continued. "...she grabbed me and twisted me around so that my back was to her."
"Did she say anything to you?"
"She was mumbling something."
Flashback
"It's payback time! She took Michael, she took everything!" Emma shouted as Annie struggled to free herself from her grasp.
"What are you talking about? Who's Michael?" Annie kept asking, tears trailing down her cheeks.
Emma tightened her hold and shoved her gun into Annie's side. "She sent you out here to guard her, didn't she?"
"No. I don't even know what's going on. Please, let me go. You're hurting me!"
"Everytime I begged her to let go, she just held me tighter. My arms hurt so badly from how she was pulling me to her body, but I struggled even more because I kept thinking I could eventually get away." For the first time since the conversation began, Annie looked up at her mother. "But I couldn't. She was too strong. I tried to scream, I wanted to get someone's attention, but she kept ramming the gun into my gut over and over again."
"Annie, I'm so sorry we didn't hear you."
"She told me she already killed a secret service agent and that she would kill anyone who stood between her and Grandma."
"She was taunting you."
Annie nodded. "I thought she would kill me. And then I remembered some of the self-defense moves that Dad taught me. I twisted my arm and pulled it up towards her thumb. That released her hold on me and I was able to turn around. I guess it was the adrenaline that kept me from running at that point because I wanted to get the gun away from her. I didn't mean for it to go off."
"Did you pull the trigger?"
"I don't know. I hit her a few times and she punched me back. We both fought over the gun. I don't know which one of us actually did it. At first, I thought I had been the one who was shot, then I saw her face and she stepped backwards and fell down."
Flashback:
Annie watched as Emma grasped her stomach and fell to the ground, her eyes still open and her mouth moving, though not forming any words. Blood covered the scene and Annie began to walk backwards, still keeping her eyes on Emma.
"On my god, oh my god," she kept mumbling as she ran towards her car.
Just before reaching her destination, she was stopped by a Secret Service Agent.
"Are you okay?" he asked.
Annie realized that the silencer on the gun must have kept him from hearing the shot. She quickly closed her coat before he had a chance to notice the blood on her sweater. "I'm fine," she answered. "Just in a hurry."
"Are you sure?"
"I'm sure. Everything's fine."
"I got into my car and I just kept driving. I didn't care where I went, I just wanted to get away from there. I took off my sweater in the car and switched into the clothes I brought with me in my overnight bag."
"What did you do with the sweater?" Liz asked.
"I tore it up with a pair of scissors in my car. It was in a million pieces when I buried it in the park. I know it was wrong. I was just scared. I was so scared."
Liz stood up and pulled Annie into her arms. "I know you were."
"I'm so sorry, Mom."
Jed stood in the hall and watched mother and daughter from the crack in the door. Liz was right. She should have been told what was going on with Annie. Annie needed her Mom and now, he knew he needed to support her as she prepared to go back to New Hampshire to face her deamons -- and the police.
TBC
Chapter 25
Previously: Jed and Abbey disagreed about what to do about Annie, who was seeing Emma at every turn. Abbey called Elizabeth.
Summary: Elizabeth is determined to help her daughter. Annie recalls the details of Emma's death.
Elizabeth caught the first flight to Washington and arrived at the White House only hours later. She was completely stunned by what little Abbey had told her on the phone. She now knew why her daughter was behaving so strangely, why her parents had wanted her to stay in Washington instead of going back to New Hampshire with her family. She knew and she was angry.
"Why didn't anyone tell me?" she kept asking a speechless Abbey, who took the brunt of her anger until Jed arrived at the Residece.
"Liz, what are you doing here?" he asked, already knowing the answer. Abbey hadn't talked to him since she called Liz, but given their conversation the night before, it wasn't difficult to figure out why his daughter would show up out of the blue.
"Jed, I didn't get a chance to tell you," Abbey said.
Jed walked over to his wife, addressing her with his own anger. "You told her to come."
"Yes, Dad, she did and I'm glad she did. Both of you should have called me sooner. In fact, you should have told me before Doug and I left! She killed a woman and you don't think I, as her mother, had a right to know that?"
"Liz, it wasn't as simple as that," Jed tried to reason.
"Why wasn't it? You had no right to keep me in the dark. Annie is my daughter, not yours."
"We love her," Abbey reminded her.
"And we wanted to protect her," Jed added.
Liz turned to Jed coldly. "Because you couldn't protect Zoey?"
"Elizabeth!" Abbey exclaimed.
She took her eyes off Jed and turned to her mother. "Where's my daughter?"
"She's in her room."
Jed stared at Liz as she left the sitting room and headed towards Annie's bedroom. Abbey approached him slowly from behind, putting a comforting hand on the back of his shoulder. Jed took a step forward, rejecting her touch, then turned to face her.
"You shouldn't have called her," he said.
"I did what I thought was best," she answered.
"What you thought was best? You knew how I felt."
"Yes, and you knew I disagreed with you." Jed put his hands in his pocket and turned away from her. "I love Annie just as much as you do, Jed. I won't apologize for trying to help her."
"This isn't the kind of help she needed!" Jed shouted as he turned back around and walked back towards Abbey.
"Says you! Liz and I disagree. You're outnumbered on this one and don't you dare get angry with me because I didn't obey your 'order!'" She crossed in front of him to put some distance between them as she calmed herself down, then turned around, now facing his back. "Jed, look at me." Abbey put her hand on his arm to spin him around. "What's going on? This isn't like you." Jed listened to what she was saying but didn't say a word. "The morning we talked to Annie, you wanted to know what she had seen because you wanted to bring the real killer to justice. And now, you're risking everything to continue covering this up."
"Annie doesn't need to be brought to justice, Abbey."
"I know that. But she's so scared. She needs to come forward, for her own peace of mind. Can't you see that?" He didn't answer. "Jed? Is this about Zoey?"
That got his attention. "Are you channeling Liz now?"
The shiny tears in his eyes melted Abbey's heart. She took his hand in hers and stroked the back of his fingers. "This is the right thing to do. You know it deep down. I know you do."
Later, in Annie's room, Liz helped her daughter pack up her clothes. Other than exchanging a few pleasantries, the two worked in complete silence, neither knowing what to say to the other. Liz had been told the basics about the murder, but the details she wanted could only come from Annie.
"I need to know what happened on Christmas Eve," she finally said as she stood behind her daughter.
Annie didn't look at her. She continued folding her clothes and laying them on the bed. "Didn't they already tell you?"
"I need more. I don't understand. You have to help me understand."
"How?"
Liz walked over and sat on the bed, now facing her daughter. "By walking me through it."
Annie still avoided her glance. "I left to go to Jennifer's and I heard something outside. Before I could turn around..." Sensing the pain in her voice, Liz put her hand over Annie's as a show of support while the teen caught her breath and continued. "...she grabbed me and twisted me around so that my back was to her."
"Did she say anything to you?"
"She was mumbling something."
Flashback
"It's payback time! She took Michael, she took everything!" Emma shouted as Annie struggled to free herself from her grasp.
"What are you talking about? Who's Michael?" Annie kept asking, tears trailing down her cheeks.
Emma tightened her hold and shoved her gun into Annie's side. "She sent you out here to guard her, didn't she?"
"No. I don't even know what's going on. Please, let me go. You're hurting me!"
"Everytime I begged her to let go, she just held me tighter. My arms hurt so badly from how she was pulling me to her body, but I struggled even more because I kept thinking I could eventually get away." For the first time since the conversation began, Annie looked up at her mother. "But I couldn't. She was too strong. I tried to scream, I wanted to get someone's attention, but she kept ramming the gun into my gut over and over again."
"Annie, I'm so sorry we didn't hear you."
"She told me she already killed a secret service agent and that she would kill anyone who stood between her and Grandma."
"She was taunting you."
Annie nodded. "I thought she would kill me. And then I remembered some of the self-defense moves that Dad taught me. I twisted my arm and pulled it up towards her thumb. That released her hold on me and I was able to turn around. I guess it was the adrenaline that kept me from running at that point because I wanted to get the gun away from her. I didn't mean for it to go off."
"Did you pull the trigger?"
"I don't know. I hit her a few times and she punched me back. We both fought over the gun. I don't know which one of us actually did it. At first, I thought I had been the one who was shot, then I saw her face and she stepped backwards and fell down."
Flashback:
Annie watched as Emma grasped her stomach and fell to the ground, her eyes still open and her mouth moving, though not forming any words. Blood covered the scene and Annie began to walk backwards, still keeping her eyes on Emma.
"On my god, oh my god," she kept mumbling as she ran towards her car.
Just before reaching her destination, she was stopped by a Secret Service Agent.
"Are you okay?" he asked.
Annie realized that the silencer on the gun must have kept him from hearing the shot. She quickly closed her coat before he had a chance to notice the blood on her sweater. "I'm fine," she answered. "Just in a hurry."
"Are you sure?"
"I'm sure. Everything's fine."
"I got into my car and I just kept driving. I didn't care where I went, I just wanted to get away from there. I took off my sweater in the car and switched into the clothes I brought with me in my overnight bag."
"What did you do with the sweater?" Liz asked.
"I tore it up with a pair of scissors in my car. It was in a million pieces when I buried it in the park. I know it was wrong. I was just scared. I was so scared."
Liz stood up and pulled Annie into her arms. "I know you were."
"I'm so sorry, Mom."
Jed stood in the hall and watched mother and daughter from the crack in the door. Liz was right. She should have been told what was going on with Annie. Annie needed her Mom and now, he knew he needed to support her as she prepared to go back to New Hampshire to face her deamons -- and the police.
TBC