Chapter 44
Shane had woken up early the next morning and quietly exited the house hoping not to wake up Jess. He still couldn't believe she was there. He had even checked on her a couple of times through the night to convince himself that this had all happened. He smiled at the sight of her lying peacefully on the bed. That fact that he had her handcuffed to it did nothing to change his happiness. It was only temporary; she'd be able to freely run around the house, just as soon as she proved herself.
He got into his car and took the road to the next town. He had waited to pick up groceries for the house because he didn't want them to spoil, but now he had to quickly pick some up and then get back. He wanted to be there when she woke up so they can have their first breakfast together. Shane ran into the supermarket and started chucking random items into the cart. When he had filled it up he went to the checkout counter. Glancing down at the local newspaper he saw the headline, TRAGEDY, with a picture of Jessica and Jeff on it. Shane quickly grabbed it and put it on the counter with the rest of his stuff. After loading the groceries in the car he thought about stopping to read the article but knew he still had one more stop before heading home, and he knew that Jessica would be scared if she woke up and he was not there.
He drove down another mile before pulling into a gas station, stopping the car by the pay phone. He looked around to make sure that it was not too busy then walked over. Dreading the phone call he picked up the phone and dialed his father. So far, he had only spoke with Stephanie, because he knew she was upset and wouldn't focus on specifics, but his father was different. Despite everything going on, he knew his father wouldn't be as easy to fool as his sister.
"Vincent McMahon." He answered the phone.
"Hey Dad. It's Shane."
"I was wondering when you were going to finally call. Where are you and why aren't you calling from your cell?"
"My battery died and I didn't have a charger. I'm going to pick one up around here somewhere." Shane thought quickly.
"Where exactly is somewhere?"
"Alexandria. I stopped and spent the night at a hotel here. I needed some rest before I started up again. It would just be easier if we had something to go on."
"I know." Vince said. "But hopefully we'll get something from Jeff."
"He's up?" Shane asked surprised.
"Not yet. I'm trying to convince Gil and the doctors to take him off of sedation."
"Is he ready for that?"
"They don't know, but at this rate we'll never locate Jessica. All the tip lines keep giving is false leads so this maybe our only option."
"Yea, but Dad, if Jeff's not ready, you really shouldn't force it."
"That's funny, I would have thought you'd be the first one to say wake him up."
"Normally I would." Shane said trying to recover. "But you got to think about what Jess would have wanted. She wouldn't want any harm to come to him."
"All of us doing what Jess wanted is what got her into this problem in the first place." Vince said angrily into the phone. "I wanted her to quit earlier but she wouldn't and you all stood behind her, leaving it up to me to fix this mess. So if I say wake him up, somebody better wake him up."
"All right, calm down." Shane told his father. "It's not going to do any good getting angry. What do the Hardy's have to say?"
"Gil was all for it at first, until the doctors advised against it. Now he doesn't want to do anything until they say so."
"Dad put yourself in his place. You wouldn't want to do anything if that was me or Steph. Maybe it's best to wait."
"Well, hopefully Jeff will be well enough today. I was about to head to the hospital anyway." Vince told him.
"Okay, just keep me informed. Take care." Shane hung up with him. He looked down at his watch and realized it was time to get back to Jess.
Jeff was going to make it, he thought to himself as he slammed his car door shut and took off. It was only a matter of time before he was well enough to talk and then everyone would know the truth. Shane sighed as he realized that might have been the last time he would speak to his father. From this point on, he would not be able to have anymore conversations with his family or friends. He couldn't chance anyone trying to trace his calls or track him down.
When he got back to the house he quickly unloaded the groceries before heading upstairs for Jessica. When he opened the door he was surprised to find her awake.
"Good morning." He told her coming over. He released the handcuff from her wrist and tried to massage the marks that now circled it. "I'm sorry. If you behave today, this won't be necessary. Are you ready for breakfast?"
She nodded and allowed him to lead her to the kitchen table. Shane went to the fridge and pulled out some yogurt and fruit that he had picked up for her. Preparing a bowl of cereal for himself, he joined her at the table and they ate in silence.
"You're quiet today." Shane told her after they had finished. "You didn't sleep well?" Jessica tried to cover the anger in her face. How did he think her sleep would be when she spent the whole night handcuffed to a bed? She wanted to scream at him but knew now was not the time to make him upset. At least she was free, for now.
"I slept fine." She finally told him. "What do we do now?"
"Well I thought that we could just talk for a little." He told her and she nodded, but she didn't say a word. "Come on, you can say anything. I won't get mad, promise." Jessica looked at him not quite sure what to do, but knew this might be her only chance to reason with him.
"Shane, have you really thought about what you're doing?" She asked him.
"Of course I have. Look at all I did; isn't it obvious? I put a lot of thought into all of it."
"No, I mean into what happens next."
"We live together." Shane said simply.
"Think deeper than that."
"Like what?"
"What about your life? Your family, where do they fit in all this? When the police discover that you are the one who's been doing all this, what happens to them?" She tried reasoning with him.
"When I originally built this place, I thought it would be perfect. I could go back and forth, besides Marissa knows I'm on the road so much; any absence on my part could be blamed on business."
"And if they're looking for you? What happens then? You wouldn't be able to get anywhere near your house. What about your kids?"
"I don't know." He said reluctantly.
"Are you really willing to give all that up and for what me? You have a family already there and waiting. They love you, no strings attached."
"But we could be like that." He said reaching for her hand.
"The Shane I know, the one that I loved, would never walk away from his family." She had hoped that everything she was saying would reach him, get him to fully understand the severity of what he was doing.
"So you admit you love me." He said and Jessica put her head down frustrated. "You just said it."
"I did, and I do but not in the way you want, not like that."
"But you'll grow to love me, really love me, in time. I know it."
"How can you be so sure? And why would you take that chance when there are no guarantees?" She asked. Shane stood up, finally getting upset with the conversation.
"You think I don't know what I'm giving up? Trust me, I know. I'm giving up on my entire life, my family, my friends but that should just show you how much you mean to me. You're worth it." His voice got louder with each sentence.
"No, I'm not. Not when you all ready have everything you need in front of you. I don't want to see you get hurt in all of this, and soon there won't be any way out. What will Marissa, or Stephanie, or even your father say about all this? Right now they don't know anything. We can still end it without anyone knowing." She pleaded.
"It's too late." He said walking away.
"No it's not." She said following him. He turned around and looked at her.
"After what I've done it's too late. Let's face it, there's no way to change things around even if I wanted to. My previous life? It's done and so is yours."
"It's not." She said thinking she might be reaching him.
"Who do you have, the Hardy's? Do you really think Matt and Gil will accept you back like nothing happen? Sure they might say they do, at first, but inside their heads, you'll always be the one responsible for Jeff's death. Every time they see you they'll be reminded of all that pain. Do you really want to do that to them?"
Jessica didn't answer him but she didn't have to. Shane knew he had already hit a nerve. She was thinking about it, he could tell by the look on her face. He had played on her insecurities. All those years of apologizing to everyone, he knew that she would feel responsible, that this was somehow her fault. She blamed herself for what happened to Jeff and the last thing she would want to do is cause more pain to the Hardy family, especially since all they were doing was trying to help her. As long as she continued thinking Jeff was dead, he had her.
"Face it," He told her. "It's just you and me now."
