Author's Note: Here's the next chapter, I think you are all in for a bit of a surprise! Hope you enjoy it and thanks for the great feedback, I love it so much!
The minute Casey, Jake, and I came through the front door, Edwin barreled down the staircase, Lizzie following not too far behind.
"What happened?" Edwin asked immediately, I guess more curious than I had thought.
Casey and I looked at each other. When I didn't respond immediately, Edwin let out a disappointed noise. "Oh no. What happened?"
I raked my hand through my hair. "She's…not the person I wanted her to be," I said simply.
"She was terrible," Casey couldn't help but blurt, and Edwin and Lizzie both looked up at her in surprise. "She insulted Derek, my mom, and me."
Lizzie's eyes flew to mine. "What did you do?" She knew I wouldn't have let anyone insult me…or, more importantly, Casey.
"Yelled at her and took off," I kicked my feet up onto the table. "One thing's for sure. I'm definitely not going to see her again."
Edwin nodded. "Me neither," he stated firmly.
"You can, Edwin--" I began.
But he shook his head. "No."
And I simply nodded. I wasn't going to push him. And I didn't want her insulting Edwin, too. I was the only one who could do that.
"Gah!" cried Jake, breaking the tension and making us all laugh.
I didn't bother telling my dad about what had happened over my mom's house. He never asked about the visit anyway, like he was pretending that I hadn't gone to see her. Nora didn't ask about it either, unless she asked Casey when I wasn't around. But Casey didn't mention it to me, so I assumed that it had never been brought up by her mother.
This family seemed to want to bury anything argumentative and just always pretend that we were a happily joined family. I'm sure Nora and Dad never mentioned to any of their friends that their children had had a baby together.
Alice Venturi never called back again. Even the next month, on Marti's birthday.
Jake was growing every day. He smiled a lot now. Mostly at me and Casey. For Christmas, Nora took a picture of the three of us together. Casey dressed up Jake in a little elf costume. I protested it at first, of course, but Casey begged me to just let Jake try it on so that we could see him in it, and I caved right away. He just looked so damn adorable that I had to relent. He definitely made the cutest baby elf. Casey dressed in a slinky red dress that she looked gorgeous in, and had me wear a green shirt. We posed near the Christmas tree, our happy little family.
When the photo came back, I held it in my hand and just stared at it, a faint smile on my face. It was a perfect picture; Jake was smiling brightly as Casey and I both held him. But I couldn't shake the odd feeling I had as I studied the photograph.
"What's wrong?" I felt a hand on my back as Casey sat down next to me at the table. The ominous feeling I had must have been showing on my face.
I shook my head. I was probably just being paranoid. "Nothing," I gave an uneasy smile as I looked up into Casey's wide blue eyes.
She didn't look convinced, but didn't push it. I wish I had told her about the feeling I had. I wished that I had believed the feeling myself.
The next evening, just three days before Christmas, Nora suggested that I take Casey out for dinner, that it would be nice for the two of us to get away for a bit and spend some time together because I had been busy with hockey and Casey was busy with a sudden homework overload. It was the first day of winter break, and it was clear to see that Casey and I were both exhausted.
I nodded at this suggestion, and looked over at Casey. "Sounds like a good idea to me."
"You don't mind watching Jake?" Casey glanced over at her mother.
Nora smiled. "Of course not. George is working late and the kids are all over friends' houses tonight. I really don't have anything else to do." Her smile widened. "Plus, you know I love spending time with my grandson."
I chuckled. Nora had gotten quite attached to my little guy. Dad seemed to, too. In fact, the whole family was attached to him. There was always somebody fawning over him. Casey joked about how spoiled Jake was with all of the attention. But he seemed to love every minute of it, always smiling and googling at his admirers.
"Alright, then," Casey gave me a saucy look. "I'll go get ready." She gave my arm a squeeze before taking off.
The phone rang, and Nora grabbed it. "Hello?" she asked and I looked around for the newspaper to read the funnies or fill in the hard words on the crossword puzzle for my dad.
"Hello?" Nora asked again and I looked up at her. Her eyebrows were knit together in puzzlement. "Hello?" she questioned one more time and then shook her head, setting the phone back down. She looked over at me and shrugged. "Must have been a wrong number."
I simply nodded, opening the Toronto Star and thumbing through it. My stomach grumbled as I flipped through the pages, and I sighed, thinking about how I hadn't eaten in hours. I gave up on the newspaper and walked over to the bottom of the stairs.
"Casey, come on, I'm starving here!" I called up to her.
"I'm almost ready!" she called back and I rolled my eyes. Sure. Then, "Come up and change your son's diaper!"
I scowled, but jogged up the stairs and into Casey's room. As soon as I walked inside, I could see Jake grin up at me from his crib.
"Hey buddy, you stinky?" I asked him with a smile and scooped him up into my arms. He reached up for me and I kissed his tiny hand. I easily changed him and then lied back on Casey's bed with Jake on top of me as we waited for Casey, who must have been in the bathroom.
Casey finally emerged, and I let my eyes move slowly down her body. She was in a sexy little dress and her eyes sparkled, pleased as my gaze lingered on her every curve. I sat up with Jake, not taking my eyes off of my girlfriend in front of me.
"Maybe we should just stay here," I said, my voice suddenly husky. She knew what I meant and her laugh rang out musically.
"Oh no, I didn't get all dressed up just so I could get undressed a minute later," she said playfully, sitting down on the bed next to me.
I feigned a look of disappointment and she smiled, leaning over, her lips just millimeters from my own. "Later," she whispered a promise and leaned back again.
"Tease," I said, but smirked to myself.
Jake gave a noise of agreement and I smiled down at him.
"Let's go, I'm hungry too," Casey said, standing up.
We brought Jake down and handed him to Nora, who took him happily. "You two have fun," she smiled. She seemed to be much better with the whole idea of me and Casey being a couple. Or at least she was becoming good at acting like it didn't bother her that her children were dating.
"Thanks, Mom," Casey kissed her cheek and Jake's, and took my hand.
"You be good, buddy," I warned Jake with a smile and he grinned back up at me, all gums. I laughed and kissed his tiny nose before we left.
We should have never left that night.
But we did, and we actually had a really nice night out together. Casey and I had a quiet dinner and got to catch up with each other. We really hadn't had much alone time together in the past couple of weeks, mostly because hockey had taken over my life for the winter season. So I was either in school, at a practice or game, or sleeping, exhausted from said practice or game.
"I miss you," said Casey quietly, and I felt my heart skip a beat at her words.
"I'm sorry I haven't been around much, Case," I told her, reaching across the restaurant table and placing my hand on top of hers. "I don't have any games for the next week, and practice isn't that long, so I'll have a lot of time at home."
She nodded. "I know, hockey's important to you."
"You're more important to me," I told her automatically, and she looked surprised at how quickly and easily those words flowed out of my mouth.
"You and Jake are the most important things in my life," I continued, on a roll now. I just wanted her to know that, in case she ever doubted it. "Don't forget that."
She smiled, looking at me with love, and I felt my neck flush. Sometimes I still felt uncomfortable with that goopy, mushy stuff. It was weird how it had become more natural to me, though.
Casey laced her fingers through my own and we finished our dinner with our hands still joined.
It wasn't very late when we got back home. Casey called out for her mother, and Nora came into the living room from the kitchen, a wide smile on her face as she dried her hands on a washcloth.
"Derek, Casey, did you see our guest?" Nora gestured to the empty couch and we both looked at her as if she was insane.
Nora stopped and looked around. "She must be upstairs or something," she looked slightly confused.
"Who, Mom?" Casey asked, wondering if her mother had finally lost it. I wasn't so sure she hadn't myself.
"Alice," Nora said, making me freeze in place.
"My mother?" I managed to ask, never expecting that one.
Nora nodded, her smile returning. "She game to visit, isn't that nice?"
Casey and I just looked at each other. What could she possibly want?
"Mom?" my feet began moving upstairs. She wasn't in the bathroom. I checked my room, Casey's room, Marti's room, Lizzie's room, and even ran up to Edwin's room. Nothing.
I had a horrible thought as I ran back down the stairs. "Where's Jake?"
"Up in his crib sleeping," Nora said quickly.
My heart stopped all together. "No, he isn't."
Casey's eyes enlarged and I could see her physically weaken. She slid down to the floor and I ran back outside. I knew I hadn't seen a car in the driveway when I pulled up to the house, and there were no new cars around.
I didn't want to believe it, but I knew deep down in my heart what had happened.
My mother had kidnapped Jacob.