Chapter 6:

Pulling into Steph's driveway, I saw she wasn't here yet. I also looked around for Jay's car incase he hadn't gone to work, but he had. A couple minutes later, Steph pulled in and opened the front door for us. When we got inside, I saw the mess they had made in the kitchen. Steph's blood was all over the white tiled floor, along with pieces of glass. There was also a rag covered in blood. I couldn't believe how much blood was on the floor, no wonder Steph couldn't really recognize me last night. Look at all the blood she had lost!

We went into the bedroom and started packing some of Steph's belongings. Her clothes, shoes, books, photos, make up and her laptop. We also went into Robbie's room and packed his clothes, toys and books. Once everything was loaded into both of our cars, we went back inside the house to get Steph's dog, Holly. She was a two month old yorkie and was the cutest little thing. Steph would tie ribbons and barrettes in Holly's hair to make her all pretty. She was the most spoiled dog I'd ever seen. When Holly and her things were packed, we went back inside once more to check if we had left anything behind.

When Steph went back into her bedroom, she couldn't help but cry at how empty the place looked. It was left with only Jay's things and she just couldn't help but think about how she would be without him. But, we did know this day would come and as much as I loved Jay, I didn't like him so much for hitting Stephanie. She went over to the bed and made it for him, since he had left it open. She also went into his closet and took one of his old shirts that she loved. She raised it up to her nose and breathed in his scent. It was the shirt that he slept in, and the one she usually stole from him. She decided to take it home and steal it for good this time.

She went through each bedroom and did this. In each room, she saw a little bit of the life she and Jay had built for themselves. Even though both of them were pretty well off, financially, they lived a very regular life. They didn't have a maid or a cook or too fancy cars. True, she was the heir to a billion dollar company but she didn't let that reflect on who she was.

When she was ready to go back to my place, we drove our own cars because Steph had taken so many of her things. Not that I minded, I loved having Steph stay with me and I wasn't too happy about her relationship with Jay at the moment. I called John again to check on Robbie, John told me that he was watching Sponge bob and eating Fruit Loops. I pulled into my driveway, since Steph's house was less than 10 minutes from mine, we got there quickly. This time she beat me to it.

I called John out to help us with some of their things and when everything was loaded out of the cars, we moved everything into the biggest spare room. Robbie was thrilled when he saw Steph and they hugged for quite a while. Robbie was so happy his mom was back, that he jumped right into my arms and I carried him inside. When we got inside, he was confused why all of his things were at my house. He watched John, his mom and I carry in everything and eventually pulled me down to his level and asked what was going on. I asked him if he would like to stay with me for awhile and he seemed to be excited by that idea. He usually loved coming over but I was pretty sure eventually he'd want to go back home.

When we were finished, Steph asked Robbie if he wanted to go to McDonald's and he agreed, so they left. Steph had wanted to try and explain what was going on to him, so she thought this was a fairly good way of telling him. After they were gone, John and I decided to do something fun together. He suggested we go take a bubble bath and just relax before dinner but I thought it was too early for that. It was like 3pm and way too early in the day to sit and relax. He asked if I had a better idea and of course I did. I picked up the phone and called a random number. Prank calls were one of mine and John's favourite things to do so after dialing the number I handed him the phone. We spent the rest of the afternoon calling random people and being cursed at by total strangers.

Meanwhile, Jasmine was getting ready for her big date with Randy. She had been planning it all night and even though her and Randy had gotten quite close the night before, she couldn't help feeling a little excited to see him again. After all, he was a great kisser! She had made plans with Randy to go out to dinner tonight around 6 and later for a walk on the beach. When she had finished taking her shower and washing her hair, she heard the telephone ringing. Running to grab it, she found out it was Randy. Laughing as he teased her over the phone, she melted to his voice. It was so deep, manly and sexy. She wanted him, and he knew she wanted him.

He gave her little details about the evening to come and told her to wear something sexy. He had this way with her, he could make her do anything, anytime he wanted her to do it. He wasn't pushy or controlling, he was just so sexy. The way her name rolled off his tongue, the way he laughed and his eyes twinkled, just everything about him was perfect. She loved the way his hands caressed her back and neck as he kissed her that night in the club. How his arms were so strong and muscular, how he knew exactly what to say to her to get her heart beating. She couldn't wait to be with him later that night, and she couldn't wait to taste his sweet lips again. To feel his wandering hands all over her body, it was something she had only dreamt about. Putting down the phone, she ran to dry her hair. She had two hours to get ready, but she wanted to drop by my place first to check on Steph.

Around 6 that night, I got a call from Jay. He seemed to sound exhausted and a little cranky, but he assured me he couldn't wait to see Steph and Robbie, to finally talk to her. I told him John was going to barbeque steaks for dinner. He sounded a little nervous of seeing John after everything that had happened, but I promised him John wasn't upset with him. I was in my bedroom talking to Jay when Steph came in and asked if I had a minute. I let Jay go since he was only about 30 minutes away from my home.

Turning to Steph, I could tell she was a little hesitant about him coming over. She sat down on my bed and asked if she was making the right decision. I don't know if my opinion would help in this matter, because if she was going to hand him the papers, she had already made up her mind. I listened to her speak, and tried my best to help her out. I knew she did love Jay, after all they had been together for over five years now. But after what happened Friday night, she wasn't completely trusting him yet. I knew deep down she didn't want to divorce him, but she felt like there was no other way. She didn't want to go through another abusive relationship, and she was sick of hearing Jay put her down.

I tried my best to comfort her and let her know that even though I loved her and Jay dearly, I didn't agree with him hitting her. It was old fashioned and just wrong, plus she was a grown woman and the mother of his child, his only child. Around 6:15 Jasmine showed up to see us, and wait for Randy. They had agreed to meet at my place because Randy had wanted to talk to me and since Jasmine was coming over anyway, it made sense to meet at the same spot. So when she showed up, Steph and her sat in the living room to talk. I was helping John outside with the barbeque since Jay was going to show up any minute. John had his cute apron on, the one that said Kiss The Chef and as soon as he saw me, pointed to it. I laughed at him and went over to kiss him. I was so happy now, I felt like we were finally going to make this work.

I hugged him and went back inside because it was kinda cold outside, and I wanted to see if Randy had showed up yet. Just as I was going inside, he opened the door and nearly hit me in the face. I stepped away fast enough not to get knocked onto the grass, and he laughed and brought me back inside. I had no idea what he wanted to talk about but it must be important because whenever Randy did want to talk, it was usually big news. I went into the kitchen and he sat down on one of the counter stools, and just watched me for a while. When I finally couldn't wait any longer, I made him spit it out.

He breathed deeply and came over to me, so close I could feel his breath on the back of my neck. It was just the two of us in the hot kitchen, Steph and Jasmine were out in the living room so they couldn't see us. He came up behind me and rested his head on my shoulder, wrapping his arms around my waist. He smelled like after shave, like he usually did. I could feel myself starting to sweat as I tried to break free of his hold. It wasn't tight or anything, he was just stronger than me. I listened to him speak as he whispered into my ear, so close I could feel his lips moving against my ear. He asked me if I could ever love him and I didn't really understand the question because I answered by saying I already did love him. He laughed quietly and asked me again, and this time I understood because he started kissing my neck, then my cheek, then my chin and finally my lips. It felt strange, it felt cold and it felt wrong.

I pulled away from him and ran out to the living room. Finally realizing what had happened, I tried to not look at him as he came after me. I brought out coffee for Steph and Jasmine on a tray, and I nearly dropped it as I walked over to them. I didn't like Randy that close to me, and I didn't like him touching me that way. First, I was married to one of his best friends and second, he was dating one of mine. The more I thought about it, I assumed he was just joking with me and so I let it pass.

Just a little after 6:30, Jay knocked on my door. I answered it holding four trays of food. He laughed at me and grabbed the top two. I hugged him briefly while holding the trays, and we went inside. John came back inside from outside to greet Jay. Although he was still a little steamed at Jay, he had been friends with him for over 10 years now and they still were the best of friends. I knew there would come a time when John would finally talk to Jay about all this, but it wasn't tonight.

Soon afterwards, I was alone in my bedroom and I was looking for an old photo album from high school. Steph wanted to look through it and I decided it would be a good way to cheer her up. So as I went upstairs and closed my door, I could hear footsteps coming behind me. I thought it must have been Jasmine because she told me she would be up in a moment, but when I turned around it was Randy.

I had sort of forgotten what had happened to us in the kitchen and brushed it off. I asked him what he wanted and he told me he wanted me. Such a typical answer, I thought. I rolled my eyes at him and went to my closet. He sat down on my bed and watched me. Just as I knelt down, I looked over at him. He was smiling, and he was giving me this look of curiousity. He got up and started looking through my stuff, he went over to my dresser and looked at an old picture of me and John at a football game. He asked me how long we had been together now and I told him it had been about four years now.

He seemed to not care about what I was saying. I sat watching him silently, he was a very curious guy if you watched him closely. The way he looked at everything and took it in, very carefully. Anyway, he started walking over to me holding a photo. This was the picture of John and I at his Dad's house, posing with all of his brothers. It was one of my favourite photos becuase it was the first Christmas I had spent with John's entire family. I loved each one of his brothers dearly and absoloutely adored his parents.

As Randy brought it over to me, he asked me another question. This time he said it alot slower, alot more careful, as if he was picking his words very precisely. He asked me how long I thought John would be around for as he came behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist again. I looked at him oddly and pushed him away playfully, but I soon realized this was no joke.

I panicked, and tried to run away. I couldn't get loose from his grip. I could hear myself screaming but the words would not come out of my mouth. I didn't know this side of Randy, and I didn't like it. It was vicious, agressive and controlling, the total opposite of the Randy I knew. He grabbed me and pinned me up against the wall. Pushing himself towards me, holding me up he leaned in and kissed me. Alot rougher and harder, alot more painfully. He had my hands pinned above my head and my legs were wrapped around his waist. I didn't know what to do, all I could do was pray that John would not come up here to see this. I tried looking over at the door, but I couldn't turn my head away. I waited for him to let me go, even though he was kissing me and holding my hands, he was wandering my body with his hands. I waited, and eventually heard footsteps.

He let go of my hands, almost as instantly as the door opened. All I could do was wait ...