When Rebeka went to go see who knocked on her apartment door she felt her heart give way.
Rebeka had found it easy to forget as time went on. She felt bad about leaving before Jared and Beth's wedding, but she left a note explaining everything and knew that they would understand.
But Sophie (or Abbie) had been right. She had no intention of ever going back. At least not for many years.
She quickly found a job and soon found a nice routine to fit into. She worked and hanged out with friends and would occasionally go clubbing. Her wish was just to enjoy life- a normal life. She knew that she would never get that while in contact with anyone who had gone through that whole ordeal and she soon came to call it.
She even gave herself another name, picking Noelle Plain as a name, and forged her own identity- which made it take four years for Kenneth to finally track her down.
But he had.
And he was here at her door. She rushed to her bedroom as he knocked again and put on her wig and glasses to which she then rushed back to the door to open it.
"Yes?" She asked in a heavy British accent. "How may I help you?"
"I heard that Noelle Plain lived here is that correct?"
"I am Noelle's aunt. She is not here right now. Is there anything I can do for you, sweetie?"
He thought for a moment before he spoke. "I am a modeling agent and have heard about your niece's great beauty and was wondering if she had any interest in modeling. I really wanted to see what she actually looked like as well. Is there any way that I can see a photo of her?"
"No." She looked horrified. "I don't know you at all. And my niece doesn't as well. You could be a rapper for all I know. Now please leave before I call for security and don't ever come back." She slammed the door and immediately looked out the peephole.
After standing outside her door for a couple more seconds he left.
She breathed a sign of relief and told herself not to worry about anything. There was no doubt she fooled him and he would not be back.
"Noelle, you have a client in your office. Seems he wants to buy a nice house- so be good to him. It looks like we could make some good money."
Rebeka nodded her head to her boss and made her way to her lovely office. Being a hard worker and a good real estate seller, she had made her way up the ladder rather quickly and soon had her own office with a lovely window and view of the pond beside their office building. Many times she stayed late just to enjoy the relaxing view of the water.
"Now, what is your price range and where were you thinking of an area. There are many nice neighborhoods around this area that are reasonable priced." She spoke as she made her way to her desk and once there she opened the notebook on it. When she looked up she froze.
"You really think you fooled me yesterday." Kenneth was sitting across from her smirking. "Now I must admit for you being on the good side of the whole saving or destroying the whole world thing you know how to do some pretty illegal things. Completely forging a new life? Impressive. Took me a while to find you and figure it out."
"Get out." She spoke through clenched teeth.
"I'm not leaving until we talk...and maybe I buy a house here. You are right, they aren't so badly priced."
She stood up, closed the door, and moved the shades so they would have more privacy.
"Where would you like to start?"
She moved back to her seat. "Listen close and listen carefully- there is nothing I ever want to say to you and will say to you."
"Julian and Sydney are getting married. He really wants his sister to come."
"Shut the hell up and get out of my office."
"Then why did you close the door?"
"Because." She looked like she was talking to a two year old. "I know its going to take forever for me to get you out and I don't want them." She nodded in the direction of all those in the cubical's. "To hear it."
"Sophie and Tony have a baby now. I think they may finally get married."
"Why are you telling me this?"
"I want you to come back. See how much has gone on since you have been gone?"
"So your way of getting me to go back is to make me feel horrible?"
"Beth is pregnant and Abbie and Joseph are finally dating. Took them awhile to go official."
"Would you just shut up and listen to yourself for a moment." Her voice was rising. "You have no right to come and mess my life up again. I learned how to change my name and identity because you, Raul, and everyone else were looking to kill me. Kill me. So if you think that I am going to sit here and listen to you brag on and on how my friends have seemed to forgive you and actually give a damn care about you then you are wrong. Stop following me and stop trying to fix a problem that will never be fixed. Anything we had before is gone. There is nothing for us anymore." She stood up. "I'm leaving. Don't come back."
"Running away again?" He turned serious.
"I don't run away."
"Yes you do. You ran away from everyone. You ran away from your friends because all they could ever give you were pity looks from you almost dying in that horrible way. You ran away from the life you knew you would have once people found out about what happened. And you ran away from me because of the feelings you have that scare you." He had stood up as well and stood within inches or her.
"There are no feelings for you, Kenneth, none and the sooner you realize that the sooner you'll get out of my life for good." With that she left the office, told her boss she was sick and he would have to handle the new client, went home, and cried herself to sleep.
"I'm telling you- I don't think that anything will get through to her." Kenneth paced the living room of the suite he, Abbie, and Joseph had rented on Neptune. Close to where Rebeka "Noelle" was living.
"She is doing what she always does. If she removes herself from the problem. Then the problem goes away. But it doesn't. Seeing you brought back everything that she pushed to the back of her mind." Abbie opened her soda as she sat back down.
"I hate hurting in this manner." Kenneth groaned and sat down.
"Its needed for her." Abbie gave a small smile. "Let me go and talk with her. Maybe I can get some feelings out of her."
"Ok. Try. But..."
"She is a closed book. Believe me, I know." She sighed. "I wish Sophie was here, she and Rebeka were a lot closer once our families divided." She stood and stretched. "Wish me luck!" With that she left the suite, grabbing her purse along the way.
Kenneth closed his eyes.
Rebeka was surprised to see Abbie there the next day after she saw Kenneth. Could more then one person have come? She needed to learn to hide better.
"Abbie. Hi." She opened the door and greeted her friend, but made no move to invite her into to her apartment.
"Hi! I was just in the neighborhood and wanted to come and see you."
"Really?" Rebeka leaned against the door frame. "I don't recall telling you where I lived...considering all the changes its quite surprising that you just happened to know where I live."
"Alright so me and Kenneth tracked you down. But I have missed you. Whats up? Can I come in?"
"Im actually just about to leave. Can we plan something for tomorrow maybe?"
"Sure!" Abbie smiled. "We're here for awhile so tomorrow sounds good. Can I come around nine?"
"Sure."
"Great see you then!" Abbie gave a wave and left.
Rebeka groaned. Did her whole family come as well? Shaking her head she went to take her shower to get ready for her night.
Nine was just too early. Rebeka groaned as she woke. She stumbled her way down to her front door where Abbie stood right on time. Perky. Smiling. She opened the door.
"Hello, dear cousin!" Abbie smiled and made her way inside. "Seems you just woke up, no matter, I will make breakfast for the two of us. Coffee?"
"Yes please." Rebeka sat down once they made it to the kitchen.
"Late night?"
"Early morning. I hate mornings." Rebeka groaned.
Abbie sat down across from her once she got everything going. "Listen. I wanted to tell that Kenneth was just looking at places to rent here because his daughter lives here...or well...you know the whole thing from college. And since your firm is the best in the business here he went looking at real estate agents. When he noticed Noelle looked a lot like you he did some digging- took awhile but when he finally found out he had to come and me and Joseph tagged along. He planned on giving you your space- but once a led was started he couldn't let go. You need to talk with him. I don't know why you let your brother and you kinda patch things up- but for a guy you knew for like a month and saw like twice, you can't let him talk with you?"
"I don't want to go into it."
"Listen, I know that I am not Sophie, she wanted to come by the way but with the new baby and everything it just wouldn't work, but I can listen. I can talk. I had anger and hurt after everything and I know that I wasn't meant to be a sacrifice and wasn't slowly cut to basically had the slowest death ever, but I fought him and felt his evil. I saw his thoughts and his plans. And I thought that I could as it was before. I thought I would just forget about it after a few months and be fine. But once the nightmares made it so I couldn't even close my eyes without seeing something horrific, Joseph sent me to see someone and it helped. The best thing, aside from saving the world, for me to do was to get help. Let us get up the help you need and deserve." She took Rebeka's hand.
"Ive...I've made some mistakes, Abbie and I don't think that I can ever..."Rebeka took a deep breath. "You remember the night that we all went out?"
Abbie nodded. "Before everything went down right?"
"Well...afterwords of all the partying...Kenneth and I slept together."
"And that's why your so mad at him and don't want to talk with him. That makes sense."
"I found out at the hospital while I was recovering that I was pregnant and the baby had survived even with all the blood loss and everything..only being a couple of days old." Rebeka was looking at the floor. "After my second check-up to make sure that everything was ok, I left. I didn't know how to tell him and everything after everything went down."
"So you have a..."
"Son- Jayden. He turned three yesterday."
"And Kenneth is the father?"
"There is no doubt about it. Only guy I've slept with since I met up with Sophie to go on that whole adventure."
"You need to tell him. You can't keep a parent in the dark unless they are like a mass murderer...and Kenneth is not one." Abbie stood up to get the coffee and meal. "Where is he?"
"Jayden? He stayed at my friends house. She has three year old twins that he loves to play with. I wasn't planning on telling you or anyone from back home about him."
"And what would happen when he reached an age were he wondered where his father is?"
"Died. Cancer. From around the time he was born."
"You would have lied to him."
"He did die. He died to me the day he showed up on that planet and was trying to kill us. He has cancer- cancer of the soul. He is a evil man and I will not let him hurt my son." Rebeka exploded.
"He wont hurt him. You will hurt Jayden by keeping him from his father." Abbie crossed her arms as she started Rebeka down.
The doorbell rang.
"Oh good. He's here."
Rebeka's eyes went wide. "You didn't."
"You can tell him, Rebeka, it will make you feel a lot better. I know you can." Abbie's eyes softened. "You will keep running till someone forces you to face your issues. Well, here is one of them. Get everything out. Let the pain come and flow out of you. Let the truth flow out. All these lies and hurt will only keep hurting you. She left the room to go answer the door.
"Hey." Kenneth spoke softly as he entered. "How are you doing?"
"Please sit." Rebeka cursed herself for her shaky voice. She didn't look at him, looking at the table and continued speaking once he sat down. "I have something I want to tell you and...you have every right to get mad but please wait to explode until I get everything out."
"Talk." Kenneth braced himself for whatever she was about to tell him, happy that she was actually telling him something.
"I've kept something from you. Something I am ashamed of not telling you... you have a son."
He stayed silent. But she did not know how he reacted because she didn't look up. "I was hurt and angry...I am hurt and angry that you led me on because you needed to make sure that I got to Raul. You acted like you liked me just so that I could go and be killed. Its messed me up. I have nightmares and sometimes I can't sleep at night because I keep replaying the pain and the cuts...I flinched at the sound of a knife being sharpened. I have cuts all over my body...and once I found out I didn't know how to tell you. I didn't know how I would deal with everything and part of me wanted to hurt you in some way. To get back at you- even if you didn't know...I knew and that was enough for me. But I regret it now because all it did was sink me more to the level you were under Raul. It made me someone I didn't want to be. But then again...I never will not be someone I don't want to be...but you have a three year old son named Jayden who will be back over here around noon if you want to meet him."
"Rebeka...I'm sorry." His voice was shaky and she turned her head to look up at him. His face was white. "I really am." He stood up.
"Is that all you have to say?"
"You had every right to keep this from me and I am sorry that I have come and ruined what life you made for yourself. It was wrong and selfish of me. I'll leave you alone then." He moved to leave.
"Wait!" She called after him, catching up with him right by her door. "I...I want to hear it. Your story. Abbie is right, I need to get help. One part of it would be to hear what you need to tell me."
He turned, walked up to her, took her face into his hands, and kissed her. When he pulled away he spoke. "I love you. I love the way your lips quirk up to make a smile, i love the way you fight till the end, i love how you say your stronger then you really are, I love how you made a life for yourself after all that has happened. I know that nothing I do or say will ever take away from the part I played in working for Raul. And I know that even though I was under his control...I liked being in power- I liked being in control- I liked having people fear me and that part scares me the most. I'm afraid I will fall back into who I was...who he made me. But when I'm with you- the world falls away. My fear falls away. I can be whoever I want to be. You give me courage. Something I haven't felt in awhile. I just wanted to thank you."
"Thank you?" Rebeka was shocked. "That was all you wanted to say."
"That's all?"
"I mean to say that I thought that you were going to try and explain why you did everything. That you would want me to forgive like nothing."
"Everything I did- even though I was controlled by Raul I never tried to fight his power over me. Joseph did and got free after many months of pain. Julian and even Sydney tried at random times. But I never did. And although not always in control of what I did- I knew, I saw, and I felt it. I am not going to defend myself for my actions. And you seeing me hurts you and I don't want to do that to you- but I wanted to just let you know my feelings and to thank you- for being a rock in my unstable world." He gave a small smile and turned.
"Don't...don't go." Rebeka reached out and grabbed his hand. "Please- don't go."
He turned around surprised.
"I needed to hear that." Tears were pouring from her eyes now. "I needed to know that I still am doing good in this world. I feel lost. I feel that because I am stuck in re-living that horrible time that I am not living...but just going through the motions. And not even Jayden can bring me out of that for every long. And I can't stand that even he can't do anything. Sometimes I cry myself to sleep at night because my own son can't make me happy and he is everything to me. And then the nightmares come and..."She broke off and fell to the floor. "I re-live it all the time. I feel the pain again." She grabbed her wrists. "I see him in my dreams and he seems so real."
He fell down in front of her. "You have been living with this for the past four years and keeping these thoughts and feelings from your son?" His heart broke for her.
She nodded. "I don't blame you. I'm not mad at you. I'm mad at me for letting him control me even though he is dead."
He pulled her into a hug. "Give me all your pain and hurt. Let me carry it."
"I don't want you to. I don't want you to feel it." She was crying in earnest now. "I don't want anyone to."
"Let Abbie heal you." He spoke softly, by her ear.
Suddenly Rebeka felt all her worries and pain and hurt and memories leave her body. Peace washed over her and she felt warm and safe and the world faded away.
Soo...its been months since I updated so here is a really long chapter to make up for it! I hope that everyone likes it and we are close to the end. One or two more chapters and mabye an epilogue..? Who knows. As always thanks for reading and reviews are welcomed! Peace!