Day-to-Day

Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to Red Eye!

Chapter Ten

True to his word, Jackson returned. Lisa had barely walked in the front door, and there he was. A typical self-satisfied smirk was upon his face as he lounged about on her couch. One might venture to say that it had become his couch, yet Lisa was not one to give away her possessions. It was still her couch and this was still her apartment. Jackson was just merely a visitor.

"How the hell did you get in?" she questioned, somewhat amused and amazed at the ability that he had to make himself at home and look as if he belonged.

"Lisa, you really need to stop leaving the spare key under the rock. Shame on you," he scolded her, wagging a thin finger at her face.

She rolled her eyes and scoffed. "Like that'd stop you."

"Me? Never. An ordinary killer—definitely."

"What the fuck are you saying?"

"Before this goes any farther, I need to make sure you understand exactly what you're getting yourself into."

"Jackson…" she began, sinking into the couch beside him. What was he trying to tell her? Was he trying to end this?

"Shh, Lisa," he whispered, covering her lips with his finger. "I need you to listen to me."

She swallowed hard and softly nodded her head. Was Jackson having second thoughts? Could he possibly be that cruel after what she had done? She had freely given herself to him…now what did he want? What could he possibly want now?

"You need to be careful. If you want stability, you've got to tell me now and I'll leave. I can't give you that—even if I wanted too. My job is not going to go away, okay? There's always a chance that someone will find out and you'll be in danger. I can't guarantee anything, even though I want to. But I can promise this—I will protect you until I die. You got that, Leese?"

"Yes," she muttered. "I understand."

"Do you want me to leave, Lisa?" Jackson questioned, tilting her face towards him. "Don't lie to me."

"No, stay. Stay with me, Jackson. Don't leave…"

"Good girl," he smirked before his lips roughly descended upon hers.

She eagerly returned the kiss with the same amount of force and passion. Lisa ended up straddling his lap in a matter of seconds, after somewhat launching herself at him. As his lips left hers and trailed down her bruised neck, she moaned. Whether it was in pleasure or pain, neither of them knew nor cared.

"Tell…me…what…you…want…" Jackson demanded between kisses.

Lisa felt her defenses crumble once more. The lines were gone—there were no lines to cross anymore. There was no longer a right or wrong answer. Logic fled her frazzled mind. All that remained at this very moment was emotion; the strong, overwhelming power of love. Or was it lust?

"Fuck me—right here, right now."

"On your 'new' couch?" he teased.

"I don't give a damn," she breathed. "Just do it. Please…I need you…"

They both needed each other. That's why they could never break away. The only force that could stop them was death. Until they died, they would rely upon each other to feel, even if only for a few moments. Being together kept them alive. It made them both human.

Close to seventeen years later…

The final bell rang. Kyra's heart began to quicken—its beat echoing in her sensitive ears. She was only a few yards from her locker. She bent down to the ground before turning the corner, knowing that she had to come prepared. This was it. She could potentially come face-to-face with her stalker and her mother's killer.

The familiar weight of the blade in her hand comforted her. She slipped it up her loose-fitting left sleeve. She needed to be able to get at it fairly easily just in case. Just in case…

Hordes of students stormed past her in the hall as she attempted to relax. They were dashing to various cars in the parking lot or to the familiar yellow buses. They were oblivious as she walked to what could potentially be her death. An unknown foe waited for her around the corner.

The sounds of lockers slamming finally ceased and Kyra knew that it was time. She had to face him now.

Her boots clicking against the floor were the only sounds in the deserted building. It was just the two of them. In a matter of seconds, only one of them might still be around.

She turned the corner and saw that the locker bank was empty. She breathed a sigh of relief and spun the combination into her locker to collect her belongings. The sudden weight of a hand upon her shoulder returned the feeling of dread that she had barely shed.

Kyra whipped the blade out from her sleeve and spun around; prepared to fight. A set of intense blue eyes met her gaze and she paused. No, no…it couldn't be.

"Jack…" he said softly, tears surfacing in his eyes.

Her knife clattered to the floor. No, no!

"Jack…" he tried again. "It's me…"

"Get away!" she hissed as he tried to take a step towards her. "Get away, you piece of slime!"

The man before her seemed hurt by the hostility of her voice. How was that even possible? No one had ever managed to hurt him before. After all, you can not hurt someone who is cold and without emotions. It's impossible.

"Jack…Jackie…please."

"The name's not Jack, father," Kyra spat.

"So you do remember me," he smiled at her. What a two-faced bastard.

"How could I forget? You killed her! You fucked up my life!"

The smile faded and in a flash, her back had been smashed into a locker and his hand was upon her throat.

He was hissing at her now. His true self was showing through. "How dare you say that? I loved Lisa—I wouldn't kill her."

"Tell that to the judge," she choked. "If you're lucky, you'd end up serving life. You should be thankful that Joe died—he would have made sure you got the chair for what you did."

Slam! Her head cracked against the lockers. Her vision was blurring now.

"I didn't kill Lisa. I could never have killed her. Don't you know? Don't you know what happened that night? Huh?"

Father and daughter glared at each other; silence filling the small void between them. Hatred flared in both sets of cold eyes and each held a determined streak. There was no backing down. There was no weakness that could be shown.

That was not the Rippner way.

Weakness got you killed and it was in those few moments that felt like hours, that Kyra slowly came to realize that her father was not the person that she had been convinced that he was for the past fifteen years. He had already shown his vulnerability; his fatal flaw.

It was not hubris as she had believed. It was love… love for her mother and for her.

There was no way that Jackson Rippner had murdered Lisa Reisert. Which meant that her mother's killer was still loose and she was next. The notes were not from her father—it was her mother's murderer that was threatening her.

Then why, why after so many years was her father finally showing up? What the hell was Jackson doing here?

It was not to be with her mother, she knew that much and it certainly was not to see her.

Then why? Why?

Author's Notes:

What a wacky family, huh? Just because Kyra's his daughter doesn't stop Jackson from hurting her. After all, how else would he act when he hasn't seen her since she was a baby? He doesn't know how to act around people other than Lisa. Enjoy! Next chapter soon!