~Part Five~

Jake's eyes flittered open as she felt the bed shift next to her.  This was either an extremely vivid dream...or she wasn't alone.  Hearing a deep breath being slowly released from the body lying next to her, she threw herself off of the bed, tangling her legs in the sheets and landing on the floor with a loud thud.  Swearing as she propped herself up on her elbows, Jake raised a hand to rub the back of her head where she'd bumped it on her way down.

Just as Hamilton was settling in for the night he felt movement in the bed and barely opened his eyes in time to see a bundle under the sheets flip onto the floor.  He almost groaned at the thought of his hyper dog attacking him with a happy wag of its tail in a matter of moments, but felt his breathing stop as he caught the sound of quiet cursing coming from the floor where the pile had fallen.  That voice...he knew that voice.

Peering slowly over the edge of the mattress, a large lump formed in Hamilton's throat.  A very shocked-looking Jake was staring up at him, her wide eyes reflecting the moonlight that was filtering in through the slit in the curtains.

"KATE!!!"

"MOM!!!"

"What are you doing in my bed?" Jake asked harshly, desperately trying to pull the sheet off of the mattress to cover herself with.

"What?" Hamilton stammered, still too shocked at finding her in his room and his bed, no less, to decipher her question.

Pushing herself up off of the floor, Jake clutched the sheet around her tightly.  "Why are you in my bed?!" she repeated, quickly scurrying to a set of drawers on the opposite wall and grabbing some clothes out as the door flew open and light from the hallway flooded the room.

"Jacqueline, what's...Hamilton!?"

Slipping passed Kate and walking to the bathroom, Jake turned around and glared at her.  "I can't believe you never told him!" she huffed, before slamming the door and locking it.

Finally finding his voice again, Hamilton looked at his mother.  "What is she doing here?" he asked, horrified as his eyes traveled around the room.  "AND WHY ARE MY WALLS PINK?!!"

.  .  .

Bella groaned and threw her pillow on top of her head, desperately trying to drown out the knocking she decided could only be coming from the deep recesses of her warped mind.  It couldn't have been much passed 3 o'clock in the morning and she had to head over to the gas station early to help out.  No one in their right mind would be waking her up now...everyone that knew her valued their lives.

Coming to grips with the fact that the insistent knocking wouldn't end unless the owner of the hand was let into the room, Bella dropped her feet onto the floor, pausing a moment, before dragging herself up.  "This better be good," she grumbled as she threw open the door.

Jake stood in the hallway, her arms wrapped tightly around her childhood best friend with a small backpack resting on her left shoulder.  She looked up as the door opened, silent tears streaming down her cheeks and a searing expression on her face.

"What happened?!" Bella asked concerned, pulling Jake into the room and closing the door behind her after spotting the stuffed bear trapped beneath her friend's arms.  If Mr. Babbs was involved, this couldn't be good.

Collapsing on the empty bed just across from Bella's, Jake stared up at the ceiling, swallowing to stay calm.  When she finally spoke, Bella felt her face flush with anger.

"He's back."

.  .  .

Hamilton lay awake, glaring at the ceiling.

It hadn't taken long for Jake to gather the few things she needed for the morning and ask his dad to let her into the girls' dormitories.  What he found odd was how quickly his father agreed.  Even more strange was the fact that Jake had been living in his house - for over a year - and he'd had no idea.  He couldn't imagine the strict, unwavering man he'd been raised by allowing a girl who'd deceived the entire school for so long to stay enrolled there, let alone live under his own roof!

It was like he was reliving an episode of the Twilight Zone; he could almost hear the narrator's description of events unfolding in the background as he lay helpless to play them out.

His mother wasn't any help in the matter either, telling him they'd talk in the morning and closing his bedroom door while he was in the middle of asking her a question.  As far as he was concerned it was morning, and he had the right to know.  The only thing that kept him from storming his parents' room was the fact that he knew his dad wouldn't be too happy about it, and would probably expel him out of spite.  That is if his father was actually in there somewhere...

Flipping onto his side he groaned, stopping himself from taking in a deep breath.  He couldn't sleep in that room; everything smelled like Jake, looked like Jake, reminded him of Jake.  He'd be staring up at the ceiling all night if he didn't leave.

Walking out into the hallway he searched the linen closet for an extra blanket and pillow.  Grabbing a set off of the top shelf, he made his way out into the living room, flopping down onto the couch.  "And all I wanted was to get some sleep," Hamilton snorted to himself, throwing an arm above his head.  This was going to be one very long night...

~TBC~