AN/ Hi... I'm so sorry for taking so long to update. I'd meant for this chapter to be up much sooner, but one of my horses got really sick, so sick we thought we were gonna lose him. I'm pretty sure he saw the light before he decided to come back to us... He's much better now, but still pretty weak though... So I've spend a lot of time with him out in the barn these past few days...

This chapter is pretty long and it will reveal a lot of things and I hope that'll make it up for the long wait.

Thanks to datgirl1065, pinkrocker, taylorusmyidol12, ADayWithNoLaughterIsADayWast ed, September14Fall, Dreaming2BAWriter, Randomgirl111111, MrsCharlieAckles, StripedFuzzySocks, Kendra, hgirl, Guest, Anonymously Truthful, Bluedog270, AbberzZzCain, Guest, krc93, Jackkim, Penquinlover3333, Guest, XMusicIsMyReligionX, thunderrussian, 1379, sad-beautiful-tradgic, Guest, 10pandasrule10, Parisbabe224, 88Keys, TeddyBear98 and NaturallyWritten.

Your reviews means a lot:)

disclaimer: I do not own Kickin' it...

Chapter 23

Their Stories

Jack's pov.

I finally brought up the courage and opened my mouth.

"What happened to her, Mark?" He gave me a questioning look. "What happened to Tess?"

He shifted in his seat. I could tell that he was uncomfortable with the question being asked. That worried me. What if I'd crossed the line?

"What do you mean boy?" He said, taking a sip of his coffee.

"I mean…" I swallowed, unsure if I should continue. Maybe it was stupid to do that while being in this helpless position. But I really wanted to know, so I decided to take my chances. "…I've never seen her. Where is she?"

"She's right here." He said casually. "Can't you tell?" I shook my head barely noticeable, thinking he was nuts. Why did I even bother to try and talk to him?

"No…" I said quietly. Mark's face fell slightly as he studied me in silence for a while.

"You can't see or hear her, can you?" He said. There was a tone of disappointment and sadness in his voice.

"No I can't" I answered, looking up at him.

"Well that's a shame." He stated, staring out at nothing. "…umhum…maybe later Tess." He mumbled. I frowned, realizing that he- most likely- thought that he was talking to her. "What's she saying?" The sound of my voice made Mark turn his attention back to me.

"She wants us all to go down to the lake, like we used to…" He said. "She wants to show it to you Jack…That lake's her favourite place. She learned how to swim in it… We used to fish there too…One time Tess got a fish that weighed more than 6 pounds. She was so happy…" He smiled. "Her giggle… that's what use to make me smile…Once she starts you just can't help but laugh along with her. She reminds me so much of her mother…" I lay on the floor listening to his words. He was talking in a way I'd never heard before. His voice was full of warmth and… love? Whatever it was, it made me feel safer.

"Her mother?" I asked, trying to keep the conversation going. He's expression turned into a more serious one.

"Her name was Abigail…Wonderful woman…" He mumbled the last part. "I remember the first time I saw her. She was the most beautiful sight I'd ever seen…I loved her playfulness and kindness, both of them were pasted onto Tess… I would literally do anything for that woman…" He paused. I was lying on my back, looking up at the ceiling while listening to his story. My left arm was resting on my chest, still secured to the wall that was currently on my right side. Mark talking about his wife made me think of Kim. I'd come to realize that she had been my world and still was… I would have done anything for her… and yet I hadn't been able to save her…I should have died for her… The thought about everything that had happened during the last days was almost too much for me and I would have broken into tears if Mark hadn't continued. Pushing my thoughts away I forced myself to concentrate on what Mark had to say. I didn't want to cry any more, I've done too much of that already…

"When Abigail left us, we were crushed." Mark continued. "I don't know if I could've handled it if it hadn't been for Alan coming to my rescue." I glanced at him again, curious to hear what he had to say about the part of himself that I hated the most. "He showed up for the first time in years…and just at the right time. It's strange how he seems to know when I'm in need of him..." He smiled a little. "I used to spend a lot of time with Alan when I was a child and I thought he was so great. I mean he was everything that I ever wanted to be. He always stood up for himself and me. Sometimes I just wished that I was more like him…" He smiled at his memories.

"I like you better." I said quietly. Not that I was very fond of Mark either but I preferred him in front of Alan. "Alan's just mean to me." Mark gave me a smile.

"I know Alan can be pretty rough…" He said. "When I started high school I began to realize that he did stuff that I had no control of. He got into fights and he broke the window to the principal's office…and one time he even stole money from a teacher." He talked about Alan with a mixture of friendliness and bitterness in his voice. "Of course I was the one to take the blame for all of that even if I hadn't even been on the scene… I mean how could I've done something I didn't even remember?" He sighed, before continuing. "Alan is a pretty caring person though and when the pressure became too much for me, he always took my place. He did most of the detention and stuff like that over the years… But even if he took care of most of the consequences of the things he'd done, people around me started to treat me differently. At first I didn't know why, but over time it became clearer to me that Alan lived in me and used my body to do whatever he wanted to do and people thought that I was the one doing all of those things… During the high school years I was sent to different therapists and psychologists to get rid of him. Trust me I didn't want him to be a part of me and I tried everything to make him disappear, but as you probably can imagine Alan wasn't being cooperative with the treatment and every new thing we tried, just led us into another dead end…" I shifted a little, my back feeling stiff, still listening to him. I'd figured out long ago that Mark was mentally ill, but it never crossed my mind that he actually suffered… I mean really suffered from all of this.

"But then Abigail came along…" His expression turned into a friendlier one. "I was so happy around her that I didn't need Alan anymore and I saw and heard less and less from him until one day he had vanished from my life…It took almost ten years before I heard from him again. It was the same day Abigail left… At that point I was happy to see him though. He helped me through the crisis, along with Tess of course. But it didn't take long until he started to cause trouble again. Tess was the one to help me get rid of him that time…" He said proudly. "Tess's my everything. I don't know what to do without her." After a moment of thinking, he said, "The strange thing is that Alan came back about two weeks ago, after being gone for the last eight years. And he has already managed to get the police after me… I have no idea why he's back…" His voice died out as his mood changed, tears starting to form in his eyes. "I try and hold on to Tess, but it won't help to have her around…I don't know what t…" He sniffed, trying his best to keep it together.

"Maybe he's back because Tess's not really here." Stupid as I was, I didn't think of what I'd said before the words had already slipped out of my mouth. He threw me a glare as he jumped to his feet, dropping his cup of coffee to the floor and knocking the chair over. The sudden movement scared the heck out of me. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to…" I started to try and get up, which turned out to be impossible with the handcuffs attached to the wall, holding me down. His face was red and his eyes were glazed over as he stood there watching me for a brief moment, before rushing out the door and slamming it shut behind him. I jumped by the sound. Thank God he didn't go for me…

I sighed, resting my head, now filled with Mark's story, back against the wooden floor. If I had gotten it right Alan had been in Mark's life ever since he was a child. Only appearing when Mark's going through rough times and disappears again when Mark is happy… Does that mean Mark had a really bad childhood? I didn't know, but I was positive that he was going through a crisis right now… and I was pretty sure Tess was involved in that somehow. Had she left too or was she even dead? And what had all of that to do with me? Why had he done this to me?

The Tess that lived inside Mark obviously liked me…way too much… The way he/she had acted the night before was down right creepy and I didn't know how much further he/she would go… Tess had told me she loved me and that that was the reason why I was here. I shuddered, remembering very vivid the feeling of his lips pressed up against my cheek.

On the other hand Alan had wanted to take his revenge out on me…and still I had no clue why…

I rolled over to my side again, facing the wall. It was all so confusing…

My eyes fell upon the light green piece of clothing lying in a bundle in front of me. It was strange how that thing would fill me with both comfort and distress every time I looked at it. I moved closer to it so that I would be able to rest my cheek against it. It was the only thing I had left from her and by having it near; I felt a little closer to her.

"I miss you Kim." I whispered. "I miss you so much" Sometimes it felt like she still was alive and everything was like it used to be back home. And as soon as I got out of here everything would go back to normal. But I knew in the back of my mind that that would never happen…. I missed all back home…I missed them a lot…and it pained me to death to know that I would never see the one I missed the most again… I took a deep shaky breath to keep myself from crying.

"It's ok Jack." My eyes widened by the sudden sound of that voice. It chanted like sweet music to my ears.

"Kim…?" I glanced over my shoulder, believing for a second that she was sitting next to me. But of course she wasn't there. That would be impossible. She was dead.

"I've got you Jack." I swear I could hear her voice clearly. Turning onto my back again, I tried to get a better view of the room. It was against the law of nature for Kim to be standing there. I knew that…but I couldn't help but feel disappointment weighing down like a rock to my chest, when I found the cabin empty. A tear escaped my eye. I was certain I'd heard her. How could I've been so wrong? Was I going crazy?

It was almost lunch time when Mark returned. The sound of the door opening, sent shivers down my spine and I unconsciously inched closer to the wall.

There was something on my mind that I had needed to tell Mark for a while now. Not wanting to ask this of him, even though I knew I would have to sooner or later, I had postponed it for as long as possible, but things had started to get pretty urgent... I just had to be sure that he was Mark and not Alan or Tess, before I opened mouth. Either one of them would probably be pretty bad…

I rolled onto my back, to be able to watch him. My movements caught his attention. He didn't look mad or annoyed with me and I was almost sure that he wasn't Alan. Nor was there any childishness in his eyes…

"Mark…?" I said uncertain.

"Yeah?" He watched me, making me lower my gaze and break the eye contact.

"I…" I swallowed, I really didn't want to say this, but I had no choice. "I need to use the bathroom." I threw a quick glance at him to read his reaction. He almost immediately started to approach me, making me instinctively cringe. Digging his hands into every pocket on his outfit, thoroughly searching them, he soon found what he was looking for. He pulled a key out before bending down over me to unlock the padlock that attached the handcuffs to the hitching ring as I nervously watched him. To my disappointment he left the handcuffs and the chain tightly wrapt around my ankles on though, as he carelessly placed the padlock along with it's key on the window ledge above me.

Worry stirred inside me as Mark took hold of my arms and began to pull me towards the door. It was a pretty painful experience to have my bruised body dragged once again across the floor and out through the door. I didn't protest, although a few moans escaped my mouth. He finally dumped me on a clear spot behind the cabin.

"I'll be back in five minutes." He said and left to get back inside. I hesitantly sat up, looking at my surroundings, a little surprised that he just left me there. The chain trapping my feet was only fastened with a carabineer that would be easy for me to open. I fought back the temptation to free myself and run of in the forest, knowing that I was too weak to be able to make it very far. Alan would be out and after me in no time. Giving him another reason to beat me up again was the last thing that I needed.

I somehow managed to take care of my business with all the restrains still on me, before Mark showed up again and pulled me back inside.

He left me on the floor in the middle of the room and went over to the fridge. I sat up, grateful that he hadn't secured me to the wall again. Feeling slightly better since I got to do my needs, without too much drama, a plan started to take shape inside my head. Hope filled me again and I was so devoured in my thoughts that I didn't notice Mark moving around in the kitchen area, preparing lunch.

I figured that if Mark had left me alone outside one time, he would sooner or later do it again. And the more I behaved and the less I tried to get away the more he would trust me. That would hopefully lead to him leaving me alone for longer and longer periods of time with less security… All I had to do was to wait until the right time…and in the meantime I would have to recover as much as possible, meaning that I would have to be obedient and don't do or say anything that would trigger Alan to come out. I'll eat everything that will be given to me and I'll rest waiting for my injuries to heal... There was one more thing I would need to do though; exercise.

Lying down all day was weakening me and if I didn't do anything about it soon I would barely be able to walk… It wouldn't be easy though with all the restraints and Mark hanging around… but next time I was left alone I would try and see if there was any exercises that I could do in spite of the chains. I had to take every precaution that I could think of before making my escape. I just couldn't afford to fail one more time…

A sudden tug on my arm made me snap back to reality. I winced, not expecting Mark to just grab me and pull me over to the table. He put his arms under my arms and lifted me onto one of the chairs. Already starting to work my plan I didn't struggle against him, but instead making it easier for him by pushing myself up with my legs.

A deep plate filled with hot soup was placed on the table in front of me. I was a little confused, but I didn't say anything. If he meant for me to sit at the table and eat that, then I would do just that. Not that I was complaining. The soup smelled delicious and I was starving, besides it was a nice change to sit on the chair instead of the floor.

Mark went around the table and sat down on the same chair he used to sit on. Not willing to take any chances, I waited for him to give me a signal that it was ok to eat, before I grabbed the spoon and hesitantly started to slurp down the soup. It tasted so good, that I soon forgot everything else around me. That was until an unpleasant feeling of being watched filled me and I abruptly stopped eating. I looked up from my plate just to meet those green orbs that I hated. My heart almost skipped a beat as I saw the starry look in Marks eye. He was resting his head in his hands and his elbows on the table, a smile spread across his face as if he was mesmerized by watching me eat.

Feeling uncomfortable I broke the eye contact and slowly placed the spoon back on the table. I didn't know why he acted like that, but it was freaking me out, to feel his gaze burn on me like that. I swear he didn't even blink. Was it something wrong with the soup? He didn't seem to have touched his yet. What if he'd spiked it again and was now waiting for the drug to kick in? I started to panic slightly.

"Thank you." He said all of a sudden, almost making me jump.

"For what?" I wondered confused.

"For getting rid of that monster…" He said, receiving a weird look from me. It took me a moment to get what he was talking about. I realized; he was Tess again, and he was talking about the nightmare…

"That was nothing…" I said casually, careful not to let any emotions show that he/she might misread. "I didn't do anything. It was just a nightmare." He shook his head.

"The monster keeps following me. Every time I fall asleep I see those big yellow eyes coming towards me… but last night…" He looked down at the table, placing his hands in front of him. "…he didn't return after you'd comforted me and told me that you would protect me." His cheeks turned red. Was he blushing? This was so awkward in so many ways…

"Like I said; I didn't really have to do anything, because the monster's not real." I said quickly, not wanting Tess to see me as her saviour.

"Then why does he keep coming back?"

"He doesn't." I stated. "You're just imagining him…Now shouldn't you be eating that?" I nodded towards the soup. The little girl inside the man in front of me went silent for a moment, making me think that she might was upset at me for not taking her seriously. I bit my lip, trying to think of a way to get out of this situation.

"You're so cute when you bite your lip like that." He giggled. I instantly stopped biting down on it, while becoming more worried, last night still fresh in my mind. "But you're always cute… even now when you look so worried and…" He cocked his head to the side, studying me. "Are you scared?" There was pity in the deep voice. Tess was right though, I was scared – of her…or him…or frankly anything or anyone hiding in that body in front of me. "Do you want a hug?" He stood up.

"No please!" I exclaimed without thinking, holding my hands up to stop him. The green eyes showed a little hurt. "I…I wanna hear more about that monster." I quickly added trying to change the subject. He sat down again slowly, and I sighed in relief.

"What do you wanna know?"

"Tell me everything." I said. "Tell me about the nightmares…" I didn't really care about it, I just wanted her to talk and not be focused on me. As long as he/she would sit in the chair on the other side of the table, I was fine. Hopefully I could keep Tess busy letting her tell me her story until Mark returned.

"They all start the same way… Me and dad are driving home, late at night. We're talking about the place we've been to earlier that day." She began.

"What place?" I asked not interested, but trying to keep the conversation as long as possible.

"The dojo of the Green Vipers." My head shot up. That was the place where we had been during our last tournament… A.K.A the place where I had met both Tess and Mark for the first time. "We've been watching a big tournament there…" Seeing my slightly confused expression, Tess asked; "Don't you remember? You were there too. Actually you were one of the contestants and you…"

"…won the traditional over all forms boys 14-17 and the finals in the karate sparring boys 14-15." I filled in for her.

"So you do remember." He -or actually- she smiled at me. I did remember because it had actually happened. "You did great by the way." She said shyly, blushing once again.

"So you're in the car driving home." I said, not wanting Tess to start talking about me, but focus on the 'nightmare' instead.

"Yes we're heading home. It's really dark outside and it had started to rain, making it hard to see… We're laughing. Then Dad goes serious all of a sudden, when turning to look at the road again. And I…I always get really scared at that point…" She went quiet for a moment and I started to realize where this was going. I eagerly waited for her to continue though, curious to know the rest of her story. "It always goes so fast after that… All I get to see are two bright eyes coming towards me. The monster honks his horn, really loud… I always scream and wake up just before he reaches me…"

We sat there in silence for a while, my mind full of thoughts. The monster she'd described sounded a lot like another car crashing into them… I know that a part of the nightmare had actually happened. Was it possible that the rest of it also had? Was the nightmare actually a memory repeating itself over and over again? Did Mark have the same nightmares or was it only Tess? I looked up at the man sitting on the chair on the other side of the table. He was currently twirling one of his fingers into his hair, while humming a silly melody, staring at the table. I shook my head. This was all so confusing… and creepy.

"I have a picture from the tournament." Tess said, causing me to fall out of my thoughts. He/she sprung from the chair and ran over to the backpack Mark had brought with us from the house. After a few seconds he came skipping back to me, making me tense. He stopped right next to me. I leaned away from him slightly.

"Here." He said, holding out the photo for me to look at. I instantly recalled the moment when the photo was taken. On the picture I was smiling, totally unaware of how much impact these people would have on my life. My left arm was carelessly hanging around the shoulders of a ginger-haired girl. She looked a lot like Mark, but prettier… "That's us." The man next to me said, causing me to raise an eyebrow.

"Have you looked yourself in the mirror lately?" I asked.

"You're funny." He cracked up laughing, nudging me on the shoulder obviously not getting that I wasn't joking. I leaned if possible even further away from him after the touch, looking down at the table. "Why so grumpy?" He asked, placing his hand on my head, ruffling my hair. I grabbed his wrist and pulled his hand away from me, gently but assertive. Holding up my hands in front of my head in a defensive way, I said very clearly.

"Please. Do. Not. Touc…" Before I got to finish my sentence, he had practically launched himself at me, almost giving me a heart attack.

"Tickle war!" He squealed, digging his fingers into my sides, tickling me merciless. With the excitement of a little child but with the strength of a grown man, it was hard for me to free myself from him, especially with the handcuffs still on.

"Stop it!" I demanded flopping around underneath him. In an attempt to get away from it all I accidentally hit him in the face, just before trying to get up from the chair, totally forgetting about the chain trapping my legs… He looked shocked, holding his palm around his chin where I had just hit him, as he watched me fall to the floor. On my way down I'd instinctively grabbed a hold of the table cloth, bringing half of the dishes down with me. The porcelain smacked and shattered across the floor, soup spilling all around me. I looked up just in time to see the scared expression on his face transform into a furious one. Fear rushed through me and I sat up immediately. I couldn't think straight at that point. All I knew was that I needed to get away and I desperately tried to open the carabineer holding the chain firmly in place around my ankles. My tries abruptly came to a stop though, as pain exploded across the left side of my face. The fist had come with such force that it'd caused me to fall to the side.

"You thought you could get away, now didn't you?" Alan said bitterly.

"No…" I answered quietly, as I lay on the floor covering my face with my arms. My cheek was throbbing with pain and my heart racing.

"You thought you could fool us." He took hold of the chair I'd previously been sitting on and threw it out of his way, making me jump.

"No…I didn't." I whimpered, fighting back the tears as he walked up next to me.

"Oh but I think you did. Why aren't you still secured to the wall then?" He said, leaning over me. "Huh?"

"Mark let me loose." I answered trying to keep my voice from shaking.

"And you tricked him into doing it, didn't you?" It was more a statement than a question.

"No" I shook my head. He ignored me as expected.

"And now you tried to distract Tess so that you could take the chain off and run away." He was talking slowly making sure I heard every word he said. I was too scared to not pay attention though. "Can't believe you tried to ditch us after your promise and everything…"

"I didn't try to run away!" I raised my voice, in a desperate attempt to make him listen. Tears were burning in my eyes, knowing that the chances of him believing me were equal to none. He crouched down, leaning over me. I tried to stay calm, as I pressed my face deeper into my arms. He was so close I could almost feel his breath.

"You know what, Jack…" He hissed into my ear. "I think you're lying. And I really hate liars." Before I had the chance to say something in my defence, Alan stood up and placed a well aimed kick right to my stomach. I groaned, curling up by the impact. It felt like my guts where sent halfway up and out my mouth by the forceful kick, as a mixture of pain and nausea filled me. Panting I clutched my stomach, trying to make it all go away.

Alan watched me from above.

"I can't believe you dared to try and trick us…" He sounded angry, making me cringe. I didn't argue with him. What was the point? He would beat me up anyway. I closed my eyes, a tear slipping through my eyelids. I didn't wanna get beaten anymore. There was a limit to how much my body could take, and I feared that that limit would soon be crossed...

"Why do you hate me?" I asked, my voice barely louder than a whisper… Alan chuckled, sending shivers down my back.

"It still amazes me how utterly stupid you are." He said, his laugh dying out. Suddenly it felt like a thousand needles pierced through the skin at the top of my head, as Alan had grabbed a steady hold of my hair and pulled me up. I took a hold of his arm, trying to get him to let go of me.

"Let go!" I cried out. He ignored me and continued to pull on my hair until I was up on my knees facing the table. He then tilted my head forward while yanking my hands away from his arm. My hands fell down, giving me a clear view of the photo of me and Tess that was lying on the table in front of me.

"That girl…" He mumbled, pushing my head closer towards the picture. "That girl was everything to Mark. He loved her more than anything." I swallowed, just waiting for him to do something that would hurt me. "They did everything together…But then you came along and started to pull her away from him…" He was talking very quiet, which only added to the tension in the room. "Mark tried to keep their relationship the way it used to be, by driving her around all over the state, just to watch you fight. He didn't wanna lose her, but he did…" There was bitterness in his voice, making me feel uneasy. "On their way home from that tournament they collided with another car and just like that Tess was gone forever…" He paused for a few seconds. All the pieces started to fall in place at that moment… Tess was dead and that was the reason why Alan had returned to Mark… Tess had obviously liked me. I had kind of figured that out earlier though… What I didn't know was why Mark was acting like her… And why did Alan hate me? Was he accusing me for Tess's death? As if he could read my thoughts he said;

"And you killed her." He was still holding a tight grip of my hair.

"No…" I said, staring at the picture. "I didn't."

"Oh yes you did." He hissed in my ear. "If it wasn't for you Tess would still be alive….You KILLED HER!" He shouted out, while forcefully slamming my head down into the table, face first. I bit my lip as my chin hit the hard surface, causing it to bleed. He let go of me and I sank down to the floor, covering my face with my hands. My nose had taken quite a lot of the blow too and it had started to bleed again. Tears were welling up in my eyes as I carefully wiped some of the blood off my face with the back of my hand.

"And as if that's not bad enough, you've tried to ditch Mark several times, breaking stuff in the process." Alan was talking from behind me. I was still recovering from the hit to my face to be able to listen to him though. It hurt so bad. "What does it take for you to learn to behave?" He said, shaking his head deep in thoughts. "You don't deserve Mark's care…"

Alan suddenly grabbed me again, making me yelp. I was wondering what he was gonna do to me as he started to drag me outside. "In fact you don't deserve to sit at the table and eat…" He mumbled, just before throwing me down the two steps that led up to the small porch. I landed in the dirt, my bruises screaming when my body hit the ground. With a mixture of confusion and fear I looked up at Alan. "Throw it up." He said.

"What?"

"You heard me." He quickly made it down the steps and took a firm grip of the back of my neck, forcing me into a crawling position.

"Please." I begged. "Don't make me."

"Throw. It. Up." He demanded.

I shook my head 'no', looking in the direction of the path that was the only way to and from this place. Why wasn't anyone coming? For how much longer would he be allowed to torture me like this?

Alan's patience was running low and I could feel his grip of the back of my neck tightening. But I couldn't do it. I couldn't bring myself to reach inside my mouth and cause myself to vomit. Instead I dug my fingers into the dirt, wishing that I in some magical way wouldn't have to do it.

My thoughts were interrupted as Alan without any warning forced his fingers inside my mouth and down my throat. I retched and pulled back, trying to escape the disgusting feeling of his fingers in my mouth. Alan kept a steady hold of me though.

"Get it out…." He mumbled, pushing his fingers deeper down my throat. My body reacted instantly and I involuntarily heaved, emptying my stomach, my sore back and stomach aching. The acid vomit caused my bleeding lip to sting. I spat a few times trying to get rid of the awful taste. Shaking slightly I looked at the vomit on the ground beneath me, a tear trailing down my cheek. I'd needed that food.

"That's a good boy. That wasn't so hard now was it?" Alan said satisfied, before pulling me back inside.

Once inside he roughly dragged me towards the wall again. Realizing that he was gonna do, I started to pull against him, even though I knew I wouldn't stand a chance.

"Please, no." Of course he acted as if he didn't hear me. "Please don't put me back by the wall. Please" I continued to beg, desperation filling me as I got closer to the spot where I had spent most of my time in. "Please."

My heart fell as Alan took the padlock from the window ledge and used it to fasten the handcuffs to the hitching ring again. "No… please…" I hadn't really noticed that more tears had found their way down my face as I looked up at the man that I was completely at the mercy of. "Please…" He looked down at me and for a moment I almost thought that he would unlock the padlock again. "Please…"

Without saying a word he turned around though, leaving me there.

"No wait!" I exclaimed desperately, before Alan went outside slamming the door shut behind him. "Wait…" I pulled on the cuffs, trying to get free. All I wanted was to go home. Just minutes earlier I had been sure that I would find a way to escape this place… But now that felt like an impossibility…

I sniffed. So much for keeping myself from getting hurt by Alan… My face was bleeding and the taste of bile was still fresh in my mouth. I dug my face into Kim's cardigan that lay on the floor, just wanting to disappear from it all. When was this misery going to end?

That's all for now...

I'm really gonna try to be quicker at updating...can't make any promises though...

Oh and one more thing, I have an account on deviantart. I've only posted 2 pictures yet though... one of Kim and one of Jack... If you wanna check them out my username is PaintedWithJoy.

And please leave a review:) You'll get a sneak peek if you do...

/MJ