My anonymity is gone…I tried to keep this story a secret from my friends but one of them has found out. Oh well. I'm expecting you to review every chapter now-you know who you are!
Anyway, thanks everyone who reviewed the last chapter. We're in the last few chapters of the story now-there will be about sixteen.
She should have seen it coming. She should have picked up on it sooner. Hadn't Sandy always thought that Jimmy still had a thing for her? Once again, he'd been right. If only she'd believed Sandy. Then what? Would that have changed the course of things much?
Maybe if she'd have known she could have talked to Jimmy before things had gotten so out of hand. She could have helped him, taken him to a therapist or something. Anything to prevent being where she was now, with no idea of what she might be facing.
This was not the Jimmy she'd met back as a teenager, Kirsten thought, watching him potter around the kitchen preparing dinner. The Jimmy she'd met was smart, kind, gentle and funny. The Jimmy she thought she'd always known was like that, too-not the bitter, pissed off, dangerous and moody person several feet away from her.
Kirsten instinctively rested a hand on her stomach at the thought of Jimmy's mood swings: one minute he'd be acting in a normal manner-like he had been when she'd first arrived, and then, without warning, he'd become alive with fury-like he had been when he was explaining to Kirsten why he had done this. It was awful wondering when Jimmy's mood would shift suddenly. After he'd told her that he'd never let her go, Jimmy had sighed, stood up, flashed Kirsten a smile and then begun cooking dinner, acting as though nothing was wrong. Kirsten didn't know what mood she found more terrifying.
Att least he hadn't tried to hurt the babies, Kirsten consoled herself. There was a definite tiny bump there now, and the further along Kirsten got in her pregnancy, the more attached she felt to the babies. It was Kirsten's biggest fear that something should happen to them if she was hurt during one of Jimmy's mood swings.
A hand resting on her shoulder made Kirsten jump a mile.
"Dinner's ready," Jimmy told her, handing her a plate. "We only have ramen at the moment."
Jimmy joined Kirsten on the couch. She looked down at the food, feeling as though she'd throw up if she ate anything. One of the worst things, Kirsten thought, is that if someone looked through a window now, they'd probably think we were a family.
"Maybe she's not missing," Ryan suggested in an unconvincing manner.
"Maybe she's just running late from work by three hours and isn't answering her phone," Seth said sarcastically. "Plus, she's being stalked by a guy who was hired by her oldest friend so, you know, that should be working in favor of her safety."
"At least Charlotte came forward," Ryan said. "That will be a big help in trying to find her."
"You do realize that Mom's been abducted by your girlfriend's father, don't you?" Seth thoughtfully informed Ryan.
"This family just keeps on getting weirder," Ryan muttered.
"It's too soon to joke," Seth told him. "Even for a Cohen."
"I wasn't joking," Ryan declared. "I'm gonna try Kirsten again."
Seth stood up and made his way to the fridge to get a drink. A picture on the fridge door stopped Seth from opening it: it was a picture of the family on Chrismukkah, almost two years ago. Ryan had just joined the family and they all looked so happy. Kirsten's smiling face caught Seth's eye, and pain took over his body. Seth stood staring at the picture for a minute, fighting back tears, before opening the fridge and grabbing a bottle of Mountain Dew and slamming it shut. Seth turned to avoid seeing the photo, and saw Ryan walking to the doorway.
"Any answer?" Seth asked, already knowing the answer by the look in Ryan's eyes.
"It goes straight to voicemail now," Ryan told Seth.
"So what are you going to do with me, Jimmy?" Kirsten asked, after forcing down some food, a touch of anger in her voice.
"Actually, I haven't thought that far ahead," Jimmy admitted, conversationally. "I didn't actually think this would happen-I thought Brain would get caught again."
"Brian?" Kirsten asked.
"'Richard'," Jimmy explained. "You didn't think he'd use his real name, did you?"
Kirsten stared down at her barely touched dinner, wishing that Richard-or Brian, had been caught again.
"I just…I don't want to have to hurt you, Kirsten," Jimmy told her seriously.
"Is that a threat?" Kirsten asked in a whisper-did this mean that Jimmy thought he had to hurt her?
"No…oh, I-I don't know," Jimmy stuttered. "I never thought it would wind up like this. I don't want to hurt you-you mean more to me than anything else."
"If I did, then you'd put my happiness above yours," Kirsten told him.
"Life's not always that straightforward," Jimmy admitted.
"And what about your kids?" Kirsten demanded, her anger rising. "What about Julie? Sandy? My kids? You're hurting all of them, too, you know-just like you're hurting me! If I mean more to you than anyone else, then take me home. Let me go, Jimmy!"
"Shut up, Kirsten!" Jimmy yelled, raising a hand to Kirsten's face as she flinched back. Jimmy stared at his hand and the horror in Kirsten's face at what he had almost done, before lowering it and sighing.
"You didn't want to hurt me, huh?" Kirsten whispered.
"Go away," Jimmy muttered, gesturing towards one of the rooms. "The windows here are barred, and I'm gonna lock your door at night. So there's no point in trying to escape… I have to think about what I'm gonna do with you."
Kirsten walked into the room, closing the door behind her. Raising her hand, she groped around the wall for a light switch only to discover there were no working lights in the room. Sliding down on the floor, tears began forming behind Kirsten's eyes. She crawled around until she found a sheet and pillow on the floor. Wrapping herself up inthe sheet and resting her head against the pillow, she repeated a mantra drilled into her by her father; "Tears are for the weak. Never let someone know how much they've affected you." It wasn't so easy for Kirsten to follow that belief. Initially fighting them off, Kirsten soon gave up and let the tears fall freely.
"Thank you," Charlotte told Sandy. "For talking the cops out of locking me up and letting me stay here."
"You're more help here than you are behind bars," Sandy pointed out brusquely. "I suppose I should be thanking you for coming forward even if it was a bit late, but… Well anyway, the guest bedroom's upstairs, second on the right."
Charlotte nodded and walked upstairs. Sandy glanced at his watch-it was almost midnight. The police sure didn't believe in keeping things short and sweet.
"Dad," Seth said, walking up to Sandy with Ryan. "What happened?"
"Well, they've got someone out looking for her," Sandy told them. "And they've been given a suspect, which gives them a head start."
"So she really is missing?" Ryan asked quietly.
"Looks that way," Sandy said heavily. "You guys should try to get some sleep."
Sandy walked to his bedroom, making his escape before he got choked up in front of the boys. He had to stay strong for them.
Opening his bedroom door, a part of him expected to see Kirsten there. Sleeping, showering, reading-just there. Maybe she was just playing a very un-Kirsten-like prank and was waiting for him in their room. Sandy's heart sank as he opened the door to reveal emptiness, the room exactly how it had been left that morning.
Sandy looked around-there was the place where they'd fought this morning, the place where she'd told him she was pregnant months ago, there was the place where he'd given her the new rings and that lunch in bed. The whole room was full of memories, but they just seemed empty and meaningless without her. A dark side of Sandy wondered if she'd ever be there again to make new memories with him, but he quickly pushed that thought out of his mind. He had to stay positive and strong.
Sandy slipped on some pajamas and hopped into bed. He wouldn't be able to sleep, he knew it, but it was worth a shot.
About to turn off the light, Sandy hesitated. He looked over at Kirsten's empty side of the bed and rested his head on her pillow. Breathing in, he could smell the shampoo she used and it was like she was there with him.
Opening his eyes, a glint on the pillow caught his eye. Pushing himself up, he saw a strand of Kirsten's hair before loosing his composure.
The sound of the door unlocking and opening woke Kirsten-she'd cried for maybe ten minutes before exhaustion took over and she'd fallen asleep. She glanced up at the door and saw Jimmy standing there. Who else would there be? Kirsten thought bitterly.
"I destroyed your cell phone," Jimmy told her casually. "I didn't want to take any chances."
Kirsten sat up and looked at him. Surely he'd come in for more than that.
"So," Jimmy said, letting out a deep breath. "I'm really sorry for this, Kirsten."
"So take me home," Kirsten pleaded with him. "Please."
"I wasn't talking about that," Jimmy told her, giving her a sympathetic glance. "I meant that I'm sorry for what I'm about to do."
Kirsten's mouth went dry and her body numb as her eyes darted all over Jimmy, looking for a gun.
"You're gonna kill me?" Kirsten whispered, not even noticing the tears slipping down her cheeks.
"No," Jimmy told her.
He pulled her up and looked her in the eye.
"Look," Jimmy explained. "It's just you and me now-no Sandy, no Julie, no one else. But…at the moment, it can't be just us, There are two things preventing that, so that's why I have to do this."
Kirsten opened her mouth to ask Jimmy what he was about to do, shaking in terror, but before she had the chance, she cringed as the wind was knocked out of her, Kirsten kneeled over in pain, setting her arms protectively across her stomach, but Jimmy's hands soon pried them apart.
"I'm sorry, Kirsten, but I don't have a choice," Jimmy apologized. He paused for a moment and looked at the anger in her eyes behind the tears. "You're not gonna give up those babies without a fight…I should go get the rope."
I'm sorry! The story's probably going to get darker and darker right up until the end-but it will get happier then!
So please continue reviewing-tell me how much you hate me or whatever, just let me know what you think.