I do not own Pepe or Penelope

I do own Hope Hathaway. This chapter may be disturbing.

Chapter Eighteen

Her Choice

Paris has its troublemakers. The worst of them were men who don't have a heart. So it was frightening to hear on the news that something had happened to someone who was innocent. Penelope was almost home when she saw a paramedic outside of a local bar. She couldn't see exactly who it was, but it was a young woman and she was crying hard, nearly screaming as she was being wheeled into the paramedic. With a loud wailing the paramedic zoomed down the street.

"Poor girl," said one of the gendarmes on the scene. "Zhe rapist escaped. We'll need backup for zhis case."

Penelope ran straight to her home and locked the doors and windows. She even pushed her furniture against the door. She lay in her bed shaking and fearing that she was next.

The next morning had the news (if anyone paid attention to it.) Penelope didn't catch the girl's name, but she heard the information. The victim was a skunk in her mid-twenties named Hope Hathaway. She was a girl Pepe knew from middle school, who disappeared from the students' memory in the middle of sophomore year of high school. The report was that she had met with her online "friend" who was a criminal. She agreed to meet him after giving out all of her information. He knew what she looked like, her age and stole her credit cards. She met him at the bar were she was drugged by him and then taken out into the back alley and was…

The news was disturbing. Thankfully though, Hope was in the hospital and would recover and she wasn't pregnant. Penelope though was shaken and slowly became obsessed with staying in her apartment. She dared to not look out the window.

The only time she did, she saw Pepe sitting on the steps. She glared at him.

"Let him stay there all night then!" she grumbled bitterly. She didn't mean to be grouchy, but she was frustrated from the news. With that she curled up in her bed and read a book.

Pepe, amazingly, was on the steps half of the night. By seven in the evening it was pouring heavily with rain. He didn't budge. He only blinked out the water droplets and stayed at his post. It wasn't a surprise he went home with Kleenex nursing his nose. He was concerned for Penelope's safety after hearing only the information, instead of the name of the victim on the news. He made his own stakeout in front of her home. Horrible images of her being attacked haunted him until he couldn't bear it and decided to try to protect her.

It was a week after the case was first heard when Penelope has finally got the courage to leave her home.

"I am just going to walk around the block and get some fresh air," she kept on telling herself. "If another crazier thing happens in this city, I just may go back home to Orleans!"

She almost turned on her shower when she heard a noise from her window. Tightening the sash she went to see. There peeking into her window was the criminal with lustful eyes, hoping to study his next intended victim. He was standing on a ladder and staring in. Penelope screamed which startled him and he fell off the ladder. He wasn't hurt that much for he took off running.

Penelope was thankful that she had been changing in her bathroom instead of her bedroom. He may have been looking in there!

All the fear and frustration suddenly controlled her and she made a decision.

"I cannot take this anymore!" she shrieked. "I am moving away and I will never come back!"

Author's Note: Pardon my lateness and anything disturbing in this chapter.