Chapter Five
I woke up what felt like only minutes later to the sharp, bleachy smell of the stiff sheets dropped over me. All the daylight was gone from around me, and we weren't in the truck anymore. The darkness of the room paralyzed me at first, especially as I heard Jack's breathing and felt him in the bed behind me where I laid on my side. I hadn't been prepared for this, and had absolutely no idea where we were.
It took me a minute before I remembered. The motel.
This was where Jack had decided to stop for the night. What I remembered of last time, he was far too tired to even glance at me twice, so I knew I was okay. With that worry slightly calmed, I focused more on coming around.
I hated this feeling so much.
I felt stiff, and I took a sharp, deep breath in. It felt good to do that, like I hadn't done that in a long while, but my heart pounded too hard. Not fast like it would in fear, but like it was trying too hard.
I was disoriented, though. How long had I been sleeping for? I tried to remember the last time I saw the time while searching lazily for the current time in the darkness. I didn't find any, so my eyes closed again briefly.
My eyes burned with tiredness, so I knew if I tried, I'd still be able to sleep. My stomach rolled with nausea, though, so I couldn't let myself stay paralyzed for too long. It was what had woken me up.
The longer I laid there awake, the faster that nausea got worse, and I knew I only had a short time before I would throw up whether I was ready for it or not. Even warm under the thin, scratchy blanket, I shivered coldly.
With a deep whimper, I sat up and forced myself out from under the blanket. I couldn't see too well, but a deeper piece of darkness across the room looked a lot like the door to the bathroom.
I had to be careful in my quest, as I felt extremely unsteady on my feet, but I still hurried. Thankfully not running into anything as I searched for the doorway. My hand searched frantically for the light switch, finding it almost easily in the normal light switch place. I didn't have time to close the door before I fell forward, hurting both my wrists as my hands caught my fall on the cold bathroom floor.
Unfortunately, I missed the toilet on the first wave. Solid crimson landed sharply against the white tile of the floor, and I slid a bit in my attempt to scramble closer.
It really scared me to see how much blood I was losing this time. I knew it was because it'd had hours to build up in there, but it still wasn't a welcome sight or taste. It was darker in color now, a dark crimson red, and the pain was worse now. It still literally felt like someone was stabbing me in the stomach, but worse. I'd never felt this amount of internal pain before.
I had no choice but to cry. I couldn't hold it back. I could feel the heaviness of the blood on my lips as I sat back, more dizzy than I had been yet. I felt so cold, and I wasn't entirely sure if it was caused by how tired I was. I trembled on my knees, my arms folded across my stomach as I tried to hold back the pain and to warm myself up.
"Shut up, please." Jack snapped from the bed, "Some people like to sleep."
"Jack.." I couldn't help calling him. As scared as I was, it was a slight relief to hear him growl as he sat up. Moments later, I looked over at him in the doorway as he sighed hard. Shirtless, but his jeans still in place. I didn't particularly like seeing him shirtless, because it made it obvious how strong he was and somehow intimidated me even more than usual, but I didn't exactly care right then.
"Goddammit." He took in the scene, for a moment before he shook his head, "Fucking really?" He gestured to the floor, "Could you have made it look any more like I murdered a fucking hooker in here? Fucking hell, it's everywhere."
I had no idea what he wanted me to say to that. Looking down at the pure bloody mess I'd made, I wasn't sure what to do. I waited for his irritation to fly head-on into anger, biting my lip.
However, it didn't do that. Instead, he sighed hard.
"Well?" He barked lightly, "Don't just sit there. Clean yourself up." I nodded and forced myself to stand up. I must have moved too fast, as a strong wave of dizziness had me nearly fall over. To my surprise, Jack caught my arm tightly, keeping me from hitting the wall but hurting my arm a little in the process.
Instead of complaining, though, I just looked up at him. Without a word, he let me go and left the room. I braced myself on the sink instead, shaking off my surprise as I turned on the cold water.
He came back in without a word, leaning around me to grab a towel from the rack behind the door. He threw the towel onto the bloody mess, before he turned to me and shook out a thin, clear plastic bag.
"Clothes." He snapped his fingers at me, and I looked down at myself. Though my sweater was black, I could still tell it was coated in a layer of blood. Just down the front. My jeans were more noticeably coated, from the knees down and a bit on the left thigh.
I took the hint. As quickly as I could, pulling off my shirt and jeans and placing them in the bag myself, just so he wouldn't have to. They left a decent bloody streak on the inside of the bag, but I looked away from that.
He seemed satisfied with that, bunching up the bag and setting it to the side for the moment while he used his foot to mop up the floor with the towel.
I went on with my task, rinsing out my mouth first. I was no stranger to the taste of blood, but tasting this much all at once almost made me sick all over again. Thankfully, I didn't get it anywhere else. Just on my clothes, and a little bit around my mouth.
I watched Jack behind me in the mirror. I honestly couldn't tell what he was feeling. I couldn't read him, and that made me nervous. I wasn't sure if I should apologize, or if I should just leave it. My nervousness kept me silent, so I just left it.
He soaked another towel in the bathtub, wringing it out before going over the floor again with it. Before long at all, he'd mopped up any hint of blood on the floor.
"Get dressed." He told me as he left the room, the large plastic bag filled with my clothes and both towels in his hand. With the bag being clear, it was obvious that the items inside were bloody. I wasn't sure what he was going to do with it, but I would let him figure that out.
I wasn't sure what we were going to do. Were we going to stay, or were we going to go? That answer made a difference in what I would choose to wear, so I looked to him to find out what he was wanting to do. It was easy enough to figure out, as he already had his shoes on and was in the process of pulling on a clean t-shirt.
I found my bag next to his, and got to picking out my clothes. I knew not to pick out anything too warm, but long sleeved. I had a few shirts like that in there, so I chose the dark blue and purple striped long-sleeved t-shirt. I'd almost forgotten that I'd gotten new clothes before this trip.
Jack came to my side just as I'd gotten my jeans on, and I looked up at him as he lifted his bag.
"Just.." He hesitated, frowning deeply as he gestured to the bathroom, "Don't fucking do that when we get there."
"I won't." I mumbled. He gave a tired nod, opened the door and left the room. I grabbed my bag and followed him outside. The cold night air made me feel even worse, stinging my clammy skin. I shivered hard, just letting the door close behind me.
Once we were back in the truck, things slowed down again. Continuing our journey at two in the morning. He was tired as hell, I could tell, but for some reason, he believed his sister could help me.
Truthfully, I was terrified. I was no stranger to bleeding, but that had been a whole lot of blood all at once. Of course, it almost made sense that this would be happening now, as I'd experienced this before in the visions, but this was different. It looked like a lot in comparison to the sharp, white floor but truthfully, it wasn't too much. It was just a truly horrifying sight, and it scared the hell out of me.
I was losing hope by the moment that I'd ever make it home. Something in me was broken, obviously, and broken badly. It really didn't take long for me to start to cry. Not only was the pain intense, but the fear was very real as well. I was stuck. I really didn't want to die, but I'd already made it my responsibility to protect the ones I loved from knowing what kind of life waited for them if I stayed in their lives.
Right then, there was still a small chance that I could convince them to leave me behind, but if I were to give in, they would take the responsibility of protection right away from me, and I would wind up right back where I started.
"Quit crying." Jack told me firmly, "Lay down." I did as he said, sniffling deeply as I did so. I laid there in so much pain, physically and emotionally, but I did everything I could to be silent about my suffering. My eyes hurt with how hard I cried, so I left them closed.
I must have fallen back to sleep, because when I opened my eyes next, the sun was already up. I could tell, though, that it was very early morning. The truck was empty, and I realized that it was the door closing that woke me up. We were parked in the sun this time, so I knew Alice wouldn't come pressure me again.
I needed to sit up, though. Laying down was making that nausea worse. I blinked in the sunlight coming through the windows, looking around. Rubbing my eyes as they adjusted to the light and squinting a little.
We were parked right out front of a convenience store, close enough for me to see Jack inside talking to the cashier. Around the side of the building, the shady side, I could see Carlisle's car parked there. Of course. I knew with the tint, they could have parked right next to us, but that was way too conspicuous.
I stretched as much as I could without crying in pain, yawning. I ached in the worst way, and my head pounded. My eyes felt tired and puffy, but I knew that was just from crying myself to sleep a few hours ago.
I leaned my head against the window, watching the black car in nervousness.
I wanted to say something, but I really didn't know what to say that would make this any easier on them. I'd already told them all I could to get them to just move on, but a selfish part of me was grateful that they had stuck with me this far.
Nothing I could say would make any of this okay. I could feel the way I must have looked to them. I felt like complete crap, and I knew I looked the same way.
Jack came back outside about a minute later, carrying a huge cup in his hand as well as a small bag. He opened the door and handed me the bag. I took it for him as he stepped in.
"We'll be there in about thirty minutes." He told me, closing the door, "Just sit tight." I nodded, taking a breath and sighing, "Eat."
Frowning, I peered into the bag and spotted a chocolate bar among the packs of cigarettes and small box containing a bottle of pills sitting in there. He bought me these because I could suck on the pieces instead of having to eat them whole. I grabbed one, setting the bag on the floor as he started up the truck.
"Thank you." I told him and he nodded.
"Once you've had a few pieces," He said, "Take one of those pills. Just one."
"Will it make me tired?"
"Does it fucking matter at this point?" He snapped in reply, "Just fucking do it." I shut up then, and decided to just do what he said. I reached back into the bag and pulled out the box, looking it over. I had no idea what any of it meant, but I assumed it was something to make me stop complaining.
He pulled out his phone as soon as we left the parking lot, dialing a number as we sat at a red light. I almost gagged as soon as I heard Ken's voice faintly on the other end.
"Yeah." Jack spoke, "We're almost there. I know we're early."
I couldn't hear Ken's response, but the way Jack nodded told me it was fine.
"Please tell me Heather is there already." He waited for a few seconds, listening before he sighed heavily, "Good." Another, more brief pause until he spoke again, "Nothing. Yeah, I'll explain when I get there. Let's just say I might have fucked up even worse." Hearing him admit it like that surprised me, but I just looked out the window. I didn't see the black car at first, until we rounded a curve onto another busy street. They were there, three cars behind us.
"Yeah." Jack mumbled before hanging up. We were stopped at yet another red light, and I noticed he was really distracted. Especially considering that this was the turn he needed to make to get to Ken's house. He was still in the straight lane.
"What?" I asked quietly. He shook his head at first, his eyes on the rear view mirror.
"I swear to fucking god." He replied, "That damn car has been behind us since Oregon."
I hesitated for a moment, thinking fast.
"Which one?" I asked, turning a little to try to look but he faced me forward again. His grip on my arm a little tighter than was comfortable.
"The black one." He said, and instead of turning, I looked into the side mirror. Sure enough, spotting them in the other straight lane, two cars back.
"It's probably nothing." I mumbled. I couldn't see anything passed the top of their dashboard through the windshield, though, thankfully.
"Well, we'll see." He grumbled, replacing his hand on the wheel, gripping it as he glared into the rear view mirror. The light turned green, and as soon as the little gray car in front of us started moving, we did too. We went down the busy street a little ways, and he eventually sped up a bit to merge quickly into the right lane. Gaining a brief but irritated honk from the car we dove in front of, and making me fall over into the door beside me.
I hadn't the first clue about driving, but even I knew that that had been a very unsafe thing for him to do.
"Fuck off." Jack grumbled to himself, focusing on what he was doing while I righted myself in my seat. Glancing over at him.
He took the turn lane into a small shopping area, pulling into the parking lot. To my intense relief, Carlisle kept going. I watched his car continue on down the street before I looked down. That had been a close one. Too close. Carlisle had obviously heard him acknowledge them, and that wasn't a good thing. If Jack found out about them following us, he'd probably kill me himself.
"Shit." I didn't like the sound of Jack's tone, so I looked back up sharply. His focus was behind us, so I looked back. It wasn't the black car that had followed us in here, but a cop. Lights on and everything. Where in the fuck did he come from?
I watched intently out the window, hoping it wasn't us he was interested in, but it sure was. Cursing the entire time, Jack pulled to the emptier far side of the parking lot. Stopping against the curb outside a row of closed stores. His nervousness made me nervous, and I waited for instructions.
"Hide that shit." He told me, gesturing at the bag of bloody clothes sitting openly on the back seat. I moved faster than I should have, turning back and grabbing the heavy bag and stuffing it as far as I could underneath my seat. While I was doing that, Jack had taken the cup he'd gotten at the convenience store and dumped part of the contents on the seat between us before dumping a bit in my lap and shoving the cup at me the second I was upright enough to take it. It was coffee, and it was pretty warm, but cooling rapidly.
Taking a breath, I knew what he was getting at. Reaching down, I grabbed handfuls of thin napkins and scrubbed at the seat. Jack lifted up a bit so he could pull his wallet out of his back pocket with more cursing.
In the mean time, the cop had just gotten out of his car and was slowly walking over to us. Jack had his window down before the cop had even gotten to us, which it seemed he appreciated.
"Morning." The cop greeted him. Jack laughed warmly, and I knew he was about to charm his way out of trouble. I offered a small smile, hoping to help him do so.
"Morning." Jack replied, "I'm really sorry about that back there."
"Glad you know why I stopped you." The cop nodded a little, "Can I see your license and registration please?"
"Sure thing." Jack nodded, reaching over me and opening the glove box. He dug around a bit, pulling out a paper and handing it to the cop. He spoke again, nodding toward the cup in my hands, "My daughter here is a bit clumsy this morning."
The cops eyes landed on me, and I smiled again. As genuinely as I could, which seemed to be just enough as he returned it. Taking Jack's drivers license as he handed it over.
"I see." The cop nodded, looking over his license, "You know that doesn't excuse reckless driving."
"I'm fully aware." Jack agreed, "I wasn't thinking."
"Mind if I ask what she was just doing?" He asked, gesturing to me. He must have seen me dive into the back.
"Napkins." I answered, "They were back there." That seemed to answer his question, as he nodded.
"Well, Mr. Wallace," He said, "If you would just hang out here for a minute for me, I'll be right back."
"Of course." Jack laughed again, and with a nod, the cop turned and walked back to his car. Jack's smile faded the second the cop was gone and he growled in irritation, rubbing his face hard with his hand.
I stayed silent, biting my lip as I watched out the back window. Jack stayed silent as well, and didn't even notice when the black car pulled in across the lot. My heart sank, pounding hard until it parked on the far side of another car. I could barely see it, so I knew Jack wouldn't see it.
"You're doing good." Jack told me tightly, "Just keep it up." I nodded easily. I adjusted how I kneeled on the seat, biting my lip nervously. I knew Jack was nervous too, just by looking at him. The longer the cop took to come back, the more time Jack had to worry about whether or not someone had called something in.
As that thought crossed my mind, I looked out the window again. I wasn't sure how all that was supposed to work, but if he got caught here, I would definitely be going to Ken.
"I swear to fucking god, you little bitch." Jack muttered under his breath, "If anything happens because of this.." I knew then he had the same worry. I whimpered, looking out the window once more. It was clear that the cop was talking with someone. He was too far back for me to clearly see what kind of mood he was in.
"I didn't say anything." I whimpered, looking at Jack again.
"You wouldn't have fucking had to." He snapped through his teeth, looking over at me, "I fucking told you to stay home."
Before we both could get too worked up, the cop climbed back out of his car. I had to force back tears of fear before the cop could see them, looking down as I held my breath against the emotion of panic. My throat felt like it was closing.
"Well," The cop sighed as he got back to the window, "Everything here checks out, and I would hate to mark up your record for something so minor. Since you were so cooperative, I'm gonna leave this at a warning." I bit back the sob of relief. I was having a harder time controlling my trembling, so I held tighter to the cup of coffee still in my hands.
Jack sighed, "Thank you." With a nod, the cop handed him back his license and the piece of paper.
"Just be sure to be more careful in the future, Mr. Wallace." He replied, "And I might strongly suggest she gets a booster seat or rides in the back." He gestured to me, "She's still a bit small to be riding in the front seat without being properly secure. They might let that slide back in Washington, but around here, it's dangerous."
"Oh, of course." Jack replied with another chuckle, "We were just stopped for a minute, and my father's house is right here up the road, I thought it would be okay." I immediately turned over and scurried into the back seat.
"Well, I just want you folks to be safe." The cop said, "I know how kids are. I've got three of them myself. Just slow it down a bit, okay?"
"I will." Jack nodded, "Thank you again."
"You're welcome." The cop replied, "You guys have a great day."
"You too." Jack replied with another warm smile. With that, the cop walked away.
"He was nice." I commented shakily.
"Get your fucking seat belt on." Jack snapped, and I knew he was in a bad mood. I bit my lip again and immediately pulled the seat belt across me, snapping it into place with some effort. He replaced his license in his wallet, and the piece of paper into the glove box before slamming the door shut.
We got slowly got moving again, and I could tell he was being extra careful. After that close call, Jack seemed to have forgotten all about looking for that black car. Thankfully, because he would have seen it if he would have looked.
"That was way too fucking close." He grumbled, shaking his head as he got back on the road. Going back the way we'd come.
"I told you I didn't say anything."
"Shut the fuck up." He snapped again, so I bit my lip. I felt sick again, breathing deep and trying to calm down.
I sighed, looking back behind us. That seemed acceptable now. I didn't see them, which worried me a little as we came to the stop light we needed to turn at. They weren't following us this time.
He took the turn when he could, and I could suddenly see Ken's house at the end of the street. I really started getting nervous. I'd already run away from this place once. What would this time be like?
He pulled up to the curb, parking it immediately. I looked over at the house as the front door opened as soon as he turned the truck off. My heart dropped as I spotted Ken, and I immediately looked down. Jack climbed out as Ken started our direction, coming over to greet him.
"So." Ken's voice was quiet, but I could just hear him, "What's going on?" Jack sighed, reached over and opened my door for me.
"This." Jack gestured to me tucked away behind the front passenger seat, and I sat quietly, "This is what's going on."
"What about her?" Ken asked, immediately starting his act with a smile, "Well, hello there."
"Hi." I replied quietly, glancing over at him and feeling my stomach tumble.
"She doesn't look too good." Ken commented, "Almost no color in those cheeks." He reached back and lightly pinched my cheek.
"Is Heather up yet?" Jack asked.
"Come inside." Ken said, standing straighter, "We'll talk in there."
"Yeah." Jack agreed with a sigh, looking to me. I took the hint and started moving. Climbing out of the truck painfully. Wincing as I landed too hard on my feet with a whimper. As soon as I was on my feet, though, Ken seemed to understand.
"Oh." He said, having just watched me stand up, "Oh, I see."
"Yeah." Jack repeated, looking over at him flatly.
"Come on." Ken sighed, reaching down and taking my hand. I followed Ken, probably easier than I should have. I just didn't really have it in me to resist anymore. I did drag my feet a little bit, in hopes it left behind enough of a scent.
I stepped inside, keeping my eyes down. I didn't want to look around and see the place I remembered so clearly. Ken led me toward the kitchen, taking a right toward a hallway. Once in the hallway, he turned right again, into a room that looked like an office. Jack paused in the doorway as Ken looked back at him.
"Upstairs," Ken said, "In the second guest room. Heather is up there. Go get her." Jack looked to me, and I understood the look in his eyes. I nodded. Jack turned and Ken closed the door before looking to me. I kept my eyes down, trembling a little where I stood. I didn't think I'd be left alone with him this soon. I wasn't prepared for this.
I was terrified of this man, and I was sure it showed. For the first time since I really woke up, I actually hated the fact that I remembered so much.
With a sigh, Ken crouched down.
"What's your name, darling?" He asked.
"Leandra." I replied quietly, unable to make my voice very strong.
"How bad are you hurt?" He asked me, "Can you show me?" I hesitated just a moment before I reached down and lifted my shirt over my stomach. I glanced down as well, noting that almost my entire midsection was black now. Stretching in a horrific wave from my ribs to my hip, all across my stomach and almost reaching my other hip. Some bruising was lighter in places, though, creating dark purple patches instead of pure black.
"Wow." Thankfully, Ken controlled his voice, "That's pretty bad." I knew that. Just standing there, I felt so tired. I let my shirt fall back down, avoiding his gaze. I didn't want to look up and see how happy he was to see that. He spoke again, "Come here, sweetheart."
Instinct made me shake my head before I could stop it, but he just chuckled.
"Come on." He insisted, so before he could get mad, I hesitantly crossed the room. I strongly preferred his gentle tone to his angry one. He was being nice for now, but I knew that wouldn't last if I continued to refuse. Once I reached him, he reached up and pulled my shirt back up. Just to my stomach, just high enough to see. I bit my lip against a protest while he got a good look.
"And Jack did this?" He asked, but I wasn't sure how to answer. This was no doubt a test of his. He wanted to know whether or not I'd be willing to rat on him.
"No." I mumbled, "He'd never do that."
"Good." He offered a smile, but it was far from comforting. He looked at my stomach again, sighing and shaking his head, "This isn't good." I didn't bother replying. There wasn't much that could be said.
He brought his hand up and very lightly placed it against my stomach. I wasn't sure what he was doing, but I hated the feeling of his hand against my skin. He wasn't hurting me, but it took all the willpower I had in my body not to cringe away.
He looked up at me, and I looked at him. He knew how uncomfortable I was, yet he kept his hand there. He pulled it back just enough to press the back of his fingers against my stomach. That was a little more tolerable than his palm.
"You're warm." He pointed out, "Have you been running a fever?"
"I dunno." I mumbled in reply, and he sighed.
"That's not a good sign."
No shit. Nothing about this whole situation was good.
I could hear Heather's irritated voice coming closer to the room, so I knew Ken did too. He slowly removed his hand, standing up and letting my shirt fall just before the door flew open. Ken stepped to the side, allowing Heather to see me.
I swallowed in nervousness before looking up. Heather stood there, looking at me in what could be described as shock. Like she'd just seen a ghost.
I must have stared at her in much the same way. I wasn't sure what I was expecting before, but seeing her now was almost enough to distract me from where I currently stood. She had been the one that changed so much since the last time I saw her, during the vision. Jack had too, but this was different. I'd forgotten she used to have much longer hair.
"Leandra," Jack showed up behind her, "This is Heather."
She continued to study me, an unidentifiable expression in her eyes.
"What did you do?" She suddenly asked, rounding to look at Jack. He rolled his eyes and pushed her fully into the room. Stepping in behind her before he closed the door. She hadn't even really seen me yet, and she was already pissed?
If I remembered right, she'd known me as a baby. Before Jack even came along. She never even knew Jack had had me this whole time. She thought my dad had taken me in the divorce with my mom.
"Help her." Jack barked at her, pointing at me.
"With what, Jack?" She asked, "What am I supposed to do for her here? I don't even know what's wrong-"
"She's puking blood." Jack snapped, "That's what's fucking wrong with her."
"People don't just vomit blood, Jack." She argued, "What did you do?"
"He didn't do anything." I spoke up, and she rounded to look at me, "I didn't tell him about it until this morning." She forced the anger in her eyes to ease, crouching slowly to look at me.
"What happened, sweetheart?" She asked me, her tone a lot softer. Looking at her like this, it really made me realize how much I'd missed her, but I had to remember my story. I took a few breaths through emotion, nervousness trembling my voice.
"I was afraid he'd be mad at me for walking in the road again." I whimpered, "So I didn't tell him.. That.. Well, a couple days ago, I got hit by a car." Her eyes immediately grew a lot more concerned. The second I was done speaking, and the words had a chance to register.
"And why is she not at a hospital?" She demanded, looking over her shoulder at Jack.
"I can't afford that shit." Jack replied firmly, "Can you fix her or not?"
"No." She replied, "She needs a hospital. Like.. Now."
"I don't want to go to a hospital." I mumbled, "They're gonna blame me." That was partially true. As stupid as I knew it was, I really didn't want to face anything that would entail.
"No, they won't." She told me, but she sighed, "Let me see." I hesitated, my hand coming down to my shirt before I shook my head.
"I'm fine." I told her.
"Where did it hit you?" She asked instead.
"Um.." I murmured, "Here." I gestured to my side. I didn't exactly know how to answer that, so I was as vague as possible.
"And are you hurt anywhere else?"
"I'm not hurt." I replied, shaking my head again.
"Honey, if you're vomiting blood, I need to know how badly you're hurt." She told me gently, "Please-"
"I'm fine." I attempted to step around her to get to the door, but she stood up to follow me. I held my breath as she tried to grab my arm, flinching back away from her, "It was only a little bit."
That seemed to make her listen, "How much?"
"Barely any." I lied, "I-It was barely pink. I-It was right after.." I hesitated looking up at Jack beside me.
"Go ahead." He said, catching on, "Tell her what you got into."
"It was after I drank a beer." I looked down, and she sighed heavily.
"If it was that little," She said, "Then the lining of your stomach was probably just irritated. I am concerned, though, about you being hit by a car."
"I'm fine." I repeated, "It was more like a bump. I didn't even fall down." I knew by the way she pursed her lips that she didn't believe me, "If anything was wrong, I would have seen it right away, right?"
"Not always." She replied, "Honey, I really think-"
"No."
"Jack." She said, looking to him, "Any input?"
"Hey, if she doesn't want to go, then-"
"Then you make her go." Heather snapped, "You're the parent. You're supposed to be taking care of her."
"I do take care of her." Jack told her firmly.
"This isn't taking care of her." She countered, and I looked over as Ken came to my side.
"Care to take this into the other room?" He asked them, "It's pretty clear you two are making her nervous." Heather hesitated before she sighed and looked to me.
"I'll be right back." She said, and I didn't miss the glance she gave to Ken.
"Close the door behind you." Ken told her. I couldn't really tell the mix of emotion in her eyes as she narrowed them at him.
Jack rolled his eyes, taking her arm and tugging her out the door. I wanted to stick up for her, but I was in my own predicament as Jack shut the door. The sound of it shutting was loud to me, and my heart reacted. Part of my thoughts were stuck in here, but the other parts were stuck outside. Wondering if Alice and Carlisle had found me yet. I wondered if they were outside, listening to every word we said.
In a way, just thinking about that made me feel a little better. Despite knowing I couldn't have them as a fall-back plan.
"I wanted a word with you." Ken spoke up quietly, so I turned hesitantly to look at him, "Jack's told me about you." I knew right where this was going. For the most part, anyway. I let out the breath I hadn't realized I was holding. Taking in another breath in an attempt to calm myself down.
"I know he did." I mumbled, "And I know about you. I know what kinda person you are."
To my surprise, he smiled. He laughed a bit, seeming surprised but in a good way.
"Well, then." He replied, "Now that I know you know, we can both drop the false pretenses, can't we?"
"I guess." I shrugged a little, not understanding what that meant.
"I won't ask you how you know," He went on, "Because frankly, I don't care. What I do care about is how careless my stupid son was with you. I admire your ability to lie. I really do."
"I had a lot of practice." I muttered.
"And Jack was stupid for relying on that too much." He added with a simple nod, "He's never been known to be content with enough. He always has to have more, and it's come back to bite him in the ass."
"What do you mean?" I asked quietly.
"He never would have called on me for advice if he wasn't feeling in over his head."
I believed that.
"Now as I was saying," He continued, "I'm very impressed with how good you are at lying, but.." He trailed off, sighing as he leaned back against the desk, "Here's the problem I'm facing now. You and I both know that it's a lot worse than you're letting on. You and I both know that you can't be fixed at this point. Not without a hospital, and that's not happening. It's just out of the question."
I stayed quiet.
"See, people know you're alive." He said, "You have a name. When you die, who's going to take the fall? I'm not about to let my son take the fall for your ass. He was stupid, it's true, but you see, I have an opportunity here."
I really didn't like where this was going.
"A real opportunity." He repeated quietly, nodding a little to himself.
"What do you mean?" I asked stupidly, and he smiled again.
"I'm not about to let Jack leave here with you, only for you to die half way back to Washington and leave him with the clean up." He sighed, "I'm sorry, sweetheart. I really am. It's such a shame, because you're so gorgeous, but.. See, I take care of my own. I always have, and I always will. This is the cleanest, easiest way."
This was just like before, but somehow, it seemed even more final.
I shook my head, denying it, "I'm going home with Jack."
"Honey," He sighed again, "I'm sorry to be the one to tell you this, but you'll never see home again. To the rest of the world, you will have run away. Nobody will ever find you. You'll just.. Poof. Gone without a trace."
"You can't do that." I mumbled, unable to help the fearful tone.
"Jack will probably have an issue with it at first, but.." He shook his head, "In time, he'll see. So will you."
I rounded for the door, but he was faster. Grabbing me from behind in a tense sort of hug as he pinned me back against him. I gave a firm but brief struggle, as that only hurt me.
He kneeled behind me, snaking his hand up around my neck and holding me there so he could talk lightly into my ear. I was shaking so hard at that point, I knew he could feel it.
"Let go." I whimpered, resisting as much as I could, but I wasn't budging.
"Now, now." He purred into my ear, his breath warm, "Don't be afraid. I have plenty of experience dealing with girls like you. Don't you worry, honey. We'll have plenty of good times before you go."
Go. Like I'd be willingly leaving on a trip or something, but I knew exactly what he meant.
He lowered his voice to almost a whisper, "I can't wait." I shut my eyes, clenching my teeth as I resisted as hard as I could, but the second he placed a soft kiss on my ear, I started to fight. He chuckled, turning me in his arms as I started to cry. His hand left my neck only to grip my face tightly. Staring into my eyes. Just like Jack had always done, but this was scarier.
"And if you ever breathe a word of this to anyone.." He murmured gently, "Especially my daughter or her husband.."
There was something in his eyes that rooted me to the spot, killing every ounce of fight I had in me. I hadn't seen this before. It was absolutely terrifying.
I shook my head, letting him know he didn't have to finish that.
"Good." He whispered with a smile, "There might be hope for you yet. And you know.. If you're good.. And you behave yourself.. I won't have to hurt you too bad, and you might get to live a little longer. Okay?" With trembling breath, I nodded.
It wasn't until then that I even remembered about Carlisle and Alice. What if this was how everything was supposed to end? What if, by letting this happen, I could save them from spending the rest of their lives on the run? No Aro. No Jack. Nothing.
"Aw, come here.." He pulled me into a hug, much gentler than he'd previously handled me. He sensed my defeat. I knew it immediately.
"I don't see why Jack had to be so rough with you." He told me, cuddling me against him, "You're such a sweet little thing."
I didn't bother saying anything to that. Despite how very deeply uncomfortable I was, I didn't fight. I couldn't. My stomach was hurting me too badly to even think about fighting or running. He knew this. I whimpered, resisting just a bit as he breathed in at my neck.
Thankfully, he let me go after that. Allowing me to step back, and taking my hands in his.
"Remember our agreement." He murmured firmly, "Not a word." I nodded again. Sniffling deeply as he nodded as well, "Run along now."
I turned with another sniffle, opening the door and leaving the room. I found Jack and Heather arguing in the kitchen, so I went straight to Jack's side.
They both fell quiet as I came to stand next to him, both watching me.
Sure, I could have told everyone who would listen what Ken's plan was. I even wanted to. Heather would have helped me, and I knew Mike would have too, but there was something in his voice that paralyzed me. It kept me from being able to say the words.
"Jack." Ken called from the hallway, "A word." I glanced up at him, stepping back as he moved forward. He paused, pointing briefly to Heather.
"We're not done." He told her, and she shook her head as he walked away.
She sighed, looking down at me, but I kept my eyes down. I could see her give a brief glance around herself before she crouched slowly next to me.
"Leandra?" She spoke gently, and I couldn't help looking at her. I'd missed her so much without even realizing it. It was throwing me off, though, to be standing here, talking to a much younger-looking version of her from what I remembered.
Instead of answering her, I reached up and cleared a few tears from my eyes with my fingers.
"I know, okay?" She spoke just as gently, her voice quiet. Again, I looked at her, "I think I have a pretty good idea what's going on here. I see you, sweetheart."
At that last statement, I started to cry. She reached out to me, and I had to take her up on her offer. I turned and walked straight into her arms. I trembled hard with the sobs I managed to hold back, but it was painful. Both emotionally and physically as she hugged me. Despite how gentle she was being, her arm was right across several of the welts on my back at once. I handled it as long as I could, but I eventually had to back up with a small cry of pain.
Of course she seemed puzzled and concerned at first, but I looked down.
That pain reminded me forcefully of the fact that I couldn't have Heather in my life either. I wouldn't bring that kind of stress on her and her family. Accepting her help would only lead me to rely on her, just the same as it would have with Carlisle.
I couldn't do that either.
"Sweetie, please trust me." She said, "I'll believe you. Just tell me what really happened."
I turned away. I couldn't allow myself the slightest bit of comfort if I was going to pull this off. Literally anyone I counted on would face the same problems. Jack. Ken.
Heather had already had her share of pain and fear from both of those men. I really didn't want to responsible for adding more onto that.
"Leandra," She called, and I glanced back, "What happened to your face?" The bruise.
"Baseball." I mumbled before continuing on.
I walked over to the sliding glass door that led to the backyard. I wasn't sure why I stepped outside, but I knew I wasn't going anywhere, so they had no reason to worry. I just wanted a safe spot to hide away and cry. She let me walk away, probably watching my every stiffened move.
This was much harder than I thought it would be, considering I never really thought about the consequences of seeing Heather again. It never even occurred to me that it would mean so much to me.
If she truly knew what happened, then she should have known it wouldn't be that easy to get me to talk. I wasn't that stupid. She just didn't understand how badly I needed to protect her. She didn't understand just how badly I needed to protect myself.
I knew full well what was waiting for me, and I didn't blame her for not knowing, but I couldn't be the one to tell her. It was something she would have to find out some other way.
Along the house in the smaller back yard, I stepped carefully. Peering along the side of the house, to my surprise, I saw I could make it to the front. I was curious, so I walked along the shaded side of the house. Making it to the front yard and street without incident. I'd never thought to explore before, so this was new to me. It was sunny out here, the sun having had more time to rise higher in the sky. Casting the little row of houses in shadow.
I'd never really stopped to look around before, either. Every house on this street was different, but the neatly manicured front lawns or meticulously landscaped yards looked pretty identical. There was a decent space between them, but it still seemed cramped to me.
And there was a whole lot of palm trees.
The way Ken's house was situated, the last house in the row on the right side of the street, it was angled so the back yard was able to back right up to the beach, but still have a decent portion of the front and side of the house in shadow in the morning. A short, maybe three foot tall rock wall separated his front yard from the neighbors to the left.
It would have been a really nice place to live if it wasn't for Ken, and no doubt the price tag that came with it.
Back to the task at hand, I stepped a bit further out into the front yard.
I didn't dare move very far, just a few steps passed the edge of the house. I searched the street from where I was. I was nervous at first, thinking they couldn't find me, but I sighed in relief at finding the familiar black car parked just passed another driveway up the street. I wondered briefly if they could still hear me from way up there, but I also knew they couldn't get too close. Being this close was risky enough.
I hesitantly moved forward, just to get a better look. It was hard with how far away I was, but I knew it was them. I rested my hand on the wall, just looking at them.
I was relieved, until I really thought about it. If a card was temptation enough to send me running away, actually having them there would be ten times harder to resist.
"You shouldn't be here." I spoke quietly to myself, but I really couldn't deny that I appreciated that they were. I wasn't as alone as I thought, even if I couldn't accept their help.
"Leandra." I jumped, rounding sharply at Jack's loud shout from the back yard.
"Coming." I gasped out as I hurried back along the side of the house. The last thing I needed was for him to come looking for me out front, and have him see that same black car.
"Get over here." Jack snapped as soon as he saw me, "What were you doing?"
"I-I.." I whimpered, watching him step outside with me, "I saw a cat, and I-"
"Don't you ever do that again." He told me firmly, and I shut up, "Do you fucking understand me?"
"I'm sorry." I replied quietly, "I-I just-"
"Next time you follow a stupid fucking cat," He said, "I'll kill the fucking thing. You don't go anywhere without anyone telling you where to go. I thought you knew this!" He kept his shout quiet, growling it under his breath through clenched teeth. I'd pissed him off again.
"I-It was just a cat-"
"Get your ass in the house." I scooted around him without a second's hesitation. Walking inside easily with a quiet whimper to myself.
"There you are." Ken's cheerful voice had me stopping in my tracks, and I looked over at him in the kitchen. Just as surprising to see, were Josh and Zack. Much younger than they were when I last saw them. Zack was still my height, Josh just a bit taller.
They looked over at me, probably wondering about the way I stared at them.
"Leandra," Heather spoke up, "This is Zack, and this is Josh." She touched their respective heads, "My boys."
In my surprise, I flinched forward at sensing Jack coming up behind me, glancing back at him. The deep ice blue of his eyes held a hidden warning.
"Hi." I mumbled a second later, looking to them. They smiled in return, Zack clearly a bit more shy than Josh. I'd also missed them quite a bit, and it was really nice to see them, but I couldn't let myself show it.
The less they all knew me, the better. My small smile faded as I looked down.
"It looks like she's tired." Ken chuckled, "Boys, why don't you guys take Leandra and go on into the living room? Watch some TV until breakfast is ready."
Given the way Jack just walked around me, a sinking feeling started in my stomach. I swallowed my nervousness as Josh started forward first with a friendly gesture for to follow him. To stay somewhat sane, I had to believe that Jack didn't take his offer. I had to believe that Jack would never leave me here.
I had to.
I found the closest seat, carefully sitting down with a glance over at the boys. I couldn't help wanting to stare at them. It was so weird, realizing how much someone could change in such a few short years.
It was more weird than knowing how much I could change. It was just different, seeing it happen to someone else. With me, it wasn't as obvious because I lived with me. We were just kids now. Last I saw of Josh, he was almost eighteen. Zack was sixteen.
I shook my head hard, squeezing my eyes shut for a few seconds. I just needed to get my head straight. I needed to get a hold of myself. This was messing with me bad. Actually having those memories in my head, unlike before, was proving to be harder than I thought it would be. It was a good thing at first. Now, it was just.. Hard.
One way or another, I needed to get it together. And fast, before I blew it.
A/N: Also a little boring, but once again, I want to throw Ken off a cliff. Every time he shows up, I hate him more and more, but I'm kinda stuck with him at this point. ): Maybe I hate him so much because I know what's coming.
THANK YOU! To my REVIEWER of last chapter! You're awesome!
I'm trying to update as fast as possible, because starting next week, life's going to get busy for a few days. Until we get fully moved out of this God forsaken apartment, and into our new house, I won't have much free time on my hands. It shouldn't take much longer than a week to get packed, moved, and unpacked. I'm pretty efficient that way. (;
But.. For now.. Six should be out tomorrow. (:
Until Six, my friends!