She Cried

Prologue

It had always been this way for as long as Caitlyn could remember. She had always been the one to cause the problems in her family so it was only natural that her parents would take it out on her. It began when she was six and her mother lost her job at the school where she had worked for almost ten years.

She had said that because Caitlyn was such a bad girl her mommy�s bosses had fired her and that Caitlyn would have to be punished for it. That time hadn�t been so bad. The only thing that had really happened was that she had to wear long sleeves for a few weeks to hide the hideous bruises on her arms.

As Caitlyn grew older the beatings became markedly worse. A broken arm here, a concussion there, nothing that wasn�t caused by the wretched stairs in her one story house. At least that�s what the hospital staff thought. Or had to think. They didn�t have any proof that Caitlyn�s parents were abusing her and had to let it go with every visit.

By the time Caitlyn was a freshman in high school she had learned several tactics to keep out of trouble whenever possible. She was a straight A student, never went outside except to go to school, did exactly what she was told when she was told, and in other words was a prisoner in her own home. But she only went to the hospital once a month now so it was, in her small opinion, wonderful.

The peace lasted until her senior year, when her parents began to realize that the control they had vented upon her would soon end when she left for college.

1

�Caitlyn Marie! Front and center!�

A petite girl with short, strawberry blond hair rushed into the small sitting room and stood quietly in front of her father. �Yes, Daddy?�

He stood up in front of his daughter, his temper barely held in check. He leveled his gaze at Caitlyn and stared with cold eyes. �Your mother says you didn�t do the laundry on Wednesday.�

Caitlyn stood quietly.

�She says you took a clean load that she herself had washed, dried, and folded and threw it into a basket so it would have to be washed again. �His right hand was by his side, itching with the urge to slap the calm look off of his daughter�s face. �Did you?�

Caitlyn stood in front of her father, looking up at his face with hidden fear. �No Daddy, I didn�t put clean clothes into a basket.�

Her father drew in a deep breath. �So the laundry walked into the basket itself?�

�No. Someone had to put it in the basket-�

Her sentence was cut off as her father�s hand made fierce contact with her cheek. She held it with her left hand, wanting to wince at the way it burned from the blow.

A heartless glance from her father was all she received before he spoke. �Do you want me to kill you? If you ever talk to me like that again I�ll knock your head into the wall. I�m not stupid. I know that someone put them there, and that person was you!�

�No Daddy, I didn�t do it.�

She was voiceless as he pulled his hand back as if to strike her again. �NEVER SPEAK WITHOUT MY PERMISSION!�

Caitlyn lowered her eyes to the ground and quietly whispered, �I�m sorry Daddy.�

She never had the chance to duck when her father hit her this time. His fist made contact, square in the side of her head just above her right ear, leaving a dull roar behind. The next blow was to her face, splitting her lip and letting loose a small cascade of red blood on to the light blue carpet.

Caitlyn gasped in pain, ready to cry out, but held it in from many years of practice. The screams only made it worse. She fell to the ground clutching her head, which was throbbing from the first blow, when suddenly her side was on fire.

As her body suffered another blow and out of the corner of her eye she could have sworn she saw her mother watching with a smile on her face. Another kick and she was unconscious.

When Caitlyn came to, she was lying in a small pool of blood. Her hair was matted to the side of her head and her right ear was numb. She got up and left the empty sitting room, praying she wouldn�t run into her mother or father as she stumbled to the bathroom.

When she got there, safe from her parents, she closed and locked the door. It wouldn�t make much difference if one of them really wanted in, but the flimsy lock made her feel better after it was thrown.

One look in the mirror and she knew it was back to telling her teachers she had fallen down the stairs. Again. Her lip was split so badly she was afraid she needed stitches, but she didn�t dare ask her parents to drive her to a doctor. Instead she took a small needle and put two small, neat stitches in her lip herself and covered them with a small Band-Aid.

It was awkward and painful but it would do.

Next up was cleansing the sticky and drying blood from her hair. She knew that it was no use trying to do it at the sink so, after a quick peek in the hall, she crept to her room, gathered clean clothes, and scurried back to the bathroom. After a quick shower she was confident the blood was gone and that the worst damage was her lip, since clothes could hide the other injuries.

She finished in the bathroom and walked silently into the kitchen expecting her mother or father or both to be waiting for her. They weren�t, but something worse was. A note:

We�ll be back by 9. Have the mess you made cleaned up by then.

Caitlyn sighed as she gathered a bucket and rags together. She happened to glance at the clock was and was shocked and dismayed to see that it was a quarter to nine. In a frantic rush she tried to scrub the blood out of the carpet.

She was still scrubbing when she heard her parents arrive home. Through the low reverberation that still echoed in her right ear she could hear them open the door and as they looked at the still red carpet, she knelt there letting her tears flow silently down her cheeks.

She waited for the inevitable beating but it didn�t come. Slowly her body began to relax though she kept her head lowered. Just when she was sure nothing would happen she was smacked in the side of her head, once again leaving her right ear numb.

She was gasping from the shock of it when her mother�s harsh words filtered into her left ear. �Clean this damn mess up and go to bed.�

They left the room, presumably for their own, and Caitlyn sat on the floor holding her head. After a time she began to scrub again. It was a long time before she was done. And she never slept that night.

She was awake the entire night, crying and wondering if she would ever hear in her right ear again.

2

Weeks later Caitlyn stood on the stage at her graduation waiting to give her valedictorian speech. The reward, she supposed, for being such a good student. But at such high cost. She sat in her chair, her head tilted at an odd angle so that she could hear what the dean of her high school said out of her good ear.

She sat and waited, her eyes flitting across the audience, finding the two empty chairs belonging to her parents, and then back to her lap knowing that she had been a bad girl and they couldn�t come because of something that she did.

She looked up startled as the dean shook her out of her thoughts and pushed her towards the podium. The crowd of graduating seniors clapped for her, who knew why? None of them knew her; she didn�t have any friends. Her heart was heavy as she looked at the empty seats once more and then turned to her speech.

�As the class of...�

Across the stadium a stranger peeked out from behind a set of heavy black curtains. He slipped his sunglasses down so that he could peer over the mat the young woman giving what had to be one of the most concise, and the most boring, graduation speech in the world. �Yo, Rok, come check this girl out. Can you believe that some one as beautiful as her could be so boring?�

Another stranger stepped out to the curtain�s edge. �You have to be kidding. What kind of school did Bob and Jane let B.J. go to? It�s awful!�

�Ha, ha Brian. Very damn funny.�

Brian attempted to ruffle the short black hair of the other but was too slow and as the other slipped back behind the curtains he called after him, �A.J. I was joking! Wait up man, come on!�

The two slipped behind the curtain unnoticed by the hundreds of people standing less than a hundred yards away, who were either enthralled by Caitlyn�s speech, or sleeping because of it.

Half an hour later the seniors were crowded around the same curtain that had so recently been used as a spy base. The girls screamed as the guys stood with exasperated looks on their faces wondering how five guys could so enthrall their girlfriends.

The curtains fluttered and the screaming reached ear-splitting level only to die once more as the dean of Armwood High stepped onto the cleared stage. �Students, please calm yourselves!� he called over a microphone.

Some one with an attitude yelled back. �We�re not students anymore!�

The entire graduate body snickered at that, joined even by a few teachers and parents.

�Thank God for that!� The dean replied in the microphone. �But seriously, if you want the special entertainment one of your fellow graduates arranged for you have to calm down. Do we have an understanding?�

There were a few residual screams from the girls, a few groans from the guys, and then the stage wasn�t as empty as it was before. The dean, the valedictorian, the salutatorian, the senior class president, and the student body president stood center stage.

The senior class president waved to the crowd of people before usurping the microphone from the dean. �So are you guys ready for my brother and his friends to �rock your bodies�?�

BJ Carter stood with a huge grin on her face as she let the answering the screams flow over her. �Alright then, let's get this show on the road. So we pulled the top four ranking seniors up here to introduce the guys-"

�They don�t need introducing B.J.! Get Howie out here now before I riot because of him!� a girl screamed from the audience.

B.J. rolled her eyes. �Get a grip Rhonda. He�s taken.� A few surprised murmurs swept over the crowd before letting her finish. �Alright guys, grab someone to introduce you and we�ll start.�

Out of nowhere five figures swept onto the stage and grabbed a person. Nick made a beeline for his sister, Brian made a dash for the salutatorian who was an attractive blond girl, A.J. made his bid for Caitlyn since he recognized her from her speech, which left Kevin and Howie to fight over the oh-so-attractive dean and the student body president who was a tall, gawky boy.

A few moments of small talk was made so each person knew whom he or she was introducing and then a quick line was made. As each guy was introduced he made a short & or long speech which allowed A.J. to talk to Caitlyn since he had maneuvered them so they were last in line.

�I�m A.J. McLean. What�s your name?� A.J. asked. When he received no response he asked again, this time tilting her face to his so she knew he was talking to her. �Too much noise?�

�Caitlyn,� she responded to his original question. �Noise doesn�t matter.� She replied nonchalantly to his other.

A.J. raised an eyebrow because she had lowered her eyes immediately and refused to look at his face. �Why doesn�t the noise matter?� He tried to look into her eyes but couldn�t.

�I�m deaf in my right ear.� She said softly, so soft that he almost missed it.

A.J. winced. He figured it was a sore spot for her. So instead he tried to joke. �I didn�t know I was so bad looking.�

Caitlyn�s head shot up. �What do you mean?�

�Well,� A.J. began, �You won�t look at me. Am I that ugly?�

�Oh no.� Caitlyn�s eyes were wide with fear. She was afraid that he would hit her for displeasing him. �You�re not ugly at all! Are you terribly mad?� she asked with her head lowered and her body setup to be able to withstand whatever blow he deemed worthy as her punishment.

A.J. looked at her, his eyes full of confusion. He wasn�t used to girls treating him like this. Usually they were screaming or talking a mile a minute. But this one was acting almost as if she were afraid of him. He reached out and touched her arm cautiously almost visibly flinching when she nearly jumped out of her skin.

He pulled his hand back as she cowered next to him. �I�m sorry. I shouldn�t have said anything about it.� He said softly.

Caitlyn was silent in fear and in shock that someone had actually apologized to her. No one had ever done that before. She didn�t say anything again till it was her turn to introduce him.

�This is A.J. McLean.� She all but whispered into the mike. She handed it to him almost dropping it as his hand brushed against hers. She ran off stage with her black robe swirling around her feet trying to trip her, and leaving A.J. McLean more confused than he�d ever been in his life.

3

The mini concert was over, the ceremonies done with, and almost all of the milling graduates had left. It was dark and the stadium was nearly empty. At the top of the stands sat a lonely figure, his sunglasses in one hand, the other rubbing his temples.

A.J. had never felt as awful as he did at that precise moment. He hated seeing people get hurt, especially if he was the one who did the hurting. After the concert had finished he had made his excuses to B.J. and the rest of the gang before finding his way up to the top of the bleachers and sitting there wondering what the hell was wrong with him.

He�d watched for Caitlyn in vane as he sang and danced and then again after it was over and he surveyed the flock of graduates and their families. But he never found her. So as he sat by himself in the silence the night brought, he was surprised to hear the sound of someone crying softly coming from behind him.

He turned and saw Caitlyn�s tear streaked face on one of the bleachers� seats. She didn�t see him, her eyes were too tightly shut and tear blurred.

�Caitlyn?� he called out softly. Then, remembering what she had said about her right ear, he touched her arm. She jerked up and sat cowering below him.

�Please don�t hit me! I�m sorry I said it, I really am!� Her arms were crossed in front of her body as she tried to protect herself from the blows she was sure would soon follow.

A.J. sat down with a sigh. �I�m not going to hit you Caitlyn.�

She looked at him with huge hazel eyes, still shedding tears. �You�re, you�re not?�

A.J. shook his head. �No, I�m not.�

He sighed again as she started crying again, wondering what he did this time. Not exactly knowing what he should do, he decided he needed to do something. He got up and sat beside her, letting her cry against this chest until she could cry no more. His arms held her loosely about her body and as she gradually stopped shaking he settled her into a firmer hold so that she wouldn�t run before explaining this time.

She moved to get out of his grasp after a few quiet moments but stopped suddenly, the air whistling from her lungs.

A.J. let go immediately thinking he had hurt her but she held a hand up as if to say �don�t move� to him. �It�s not you, I broke some ribs a few days ago.�

�How?� A.J. asked.

Caitlyn replied without hesitation, her answer ready from years of practice. �I fell down the stairs at home. When I was getting a drink of water in the middle of the night.�

A.J. nodded. �So you mind explaining to me what the scene earlier was all about?� he asked after resettling so his arms were no longer around her but in his lap.

Caitlyn didn�t say anything for a long moment. She felt compelled to tell this stranger the truth, since he had been so kind to her. But at the same time she dared not because if he knew how bad she was he would surely treat her like she really deserved to be treated. So instead she said the first thing that came to mind. �I had a fight with a friend.�

It was close enough. She�d had a fight with herself in a sense because of her parents not coming. Part of her blamed herself and another part blamed them.

�Oh,� was all he said.

They sat there for a while before A.J. said any thing else. �Are you busy tomorrow?�

She glanced over at him but couldn�t see anything in the dark. �No. Yes. I have to work but I have a two hour lunch break.�

A.J. smiled to himself. �Do you want to have lunch with me tomorrow? Maybe?�

Caitlyn was quiet again. She�d never been on a date, wait, was it a date? �Are you asking me on a date? Or as a friend?�

He closed his eyes. How could anyone wonder about that? �As a date.�

�Oh.� Caitlyn thought for a moment about what her parents would do if they found out she was going on a date. Probably beat her. But how could she say no to someone so sweet and nice? �I�d like that.�

�Really?� A.J. was practically giddy. �So I�ll pick you up?�

Caitlyn nodded and told him where she worked. She was about to give him directions when he laughed. �No need, Nick�s sister, B.J., works there on Sundays. I�ll see you at eleven then?�

She nodded. He got up and left, and after Caitlyn gave herself a few moments more of rest before getting up to follow him. As she was getting up her hand brushed across something cold and hard. She picked up a pair of sunglasses and smiling as she remembered how A.J. looked in them, tucked them in the pocket of her skirt.

�Time to go home.� She said to no one in particular and she left.

4

The sun was shining and the world was at peace. Caitlyn and A.J. were walking through a small park in downtown Tampa, hand in hand and smiling at each other.

For her first experience with dating Caitlyn was having more fun than she had ever remembered having before in her life. They talked about their lives, A.J. telling her about his band and some how knowing to omit the parts about women and sex, and Caitlyn would tell him what ever she could find without letting him know how bad she was.

They continued that way always just talking and holding hands over lunch and an afternoon stroll for most of the summer. It was their standing date. It made her so happy, but Caitlyn knew it wouldn�t last. She knew that she�d have to tell him about what a bad girl she was before he found out for himself. But every time she went to she never did.

Occasionally she�d come to work with hidden bruises underneath a long sleeved sweater, or a black eye carefully concealed with makeup and hair. But as the end of summer neared her father got worse. She supposed that somehow he knew she was seeing A.J. but since he never said so she didn�t stop.

How was she to know he was afraid that when she went off to college she�d tell people how he beat her? He didn�t realize that she thought anyone could and would do the same given the chance. Perhaps it was better that way.

The first day of August came and found A.J. waiting at Caitlyn�s desk, not knowing where she was, and scared out of his mind. She was never late and she never missed work so where was she? By the time he finally accepted she wasn�t coming it was nearly five in the afternoon. He was still waiting at her desk, fear gnawing at his heart.

He�d long since come to terms that he was in love with Caitlyn, his sweet mystery that he was trying to unwrap as slowly and carefully as possible so as not to hurt her. He was quite aware of the fact that she wasn�t like other women he�d known and dated or been with. She was almost a child, but that was one thing he loved about her.

Now he couldn�t imagine living without her. Without seeing her sweet, innocent smile. Which is what prompted him to ask one of her coworkers for her address. The elderly woman raised an eyebrow at the request thinking it strange for Caitlyn�s boyfriend not to know, but then everyone knew Caitlyn that had her quirks and secrets.

She gave A.J. the address and he was gone in a flash, speeding to where he hoped and prayed Caitlyn was. She wasn�t there. No one was. He knew that as he knocked for the sixth and the last time. So he did the only thing he knew to do. He called the police and asked them if they could find her.

They found her, admitted to the hospital.

Was she alone?

Not for long.

He went.

5

�Caitlyn, baby. What happened? Why didn�t you call me?� A.J. burst into her hospital room, his heart racing as he saw her.

She had IV�s running from her arms and white bandages swathed over her body. But that wasn�t what scared him the most. What scared him the most was that when he looked into her eyes, that had so shortly ago had been filled with happiness �was that only yesterday?� -Were now filled with fear.

His heart cried out as she looked at him and he watched her shrink into her hospital bed. He�d worked so hard to get over that, to get her to trust him. Now he was back at the beginning, only now he was in love with her instead of just interested.

Caitlyn opened her mouth to say something but closed it again almost immediately. A few moments later she opened it again and spoke. �A.J., you have to leave. You can�t stay here.�

A.J. ignored her insistent tone and came closer to her bed. �Caitlyn, what happened? How�d this happen?� he asked gesturing to her obvious bruises and carefully taking her hand in his.

�I fell down the stairs last night when I went to get a drink. That�s all. A.J., please go.�

Her eyes were wide with fear as she once again requested him to leave.

He stayed, an eerie finger of cold knowledge running up his spine. Hadn�t he just been to her house? Wasn�t it only one story? And cellars and basements aren�t used in Florida, are they? No, they weren�t and he knew it. Something was up and he was going to find out. Perhaps sooner than he thought.

No sooner had Caitlyn opened her mouth to speak than a booming voice filled the room. �Who are you? What are you doing in my daughters room?�

A.J. let go of her hand and extended it to her father. Caitlyn�s pale face went stark white with terror as she saw her father standing in the doorway. �Oh no,� was all she managed to whisper before A.J. spoke.

A.J. let go of her hand and extended it to her father. �I�m A.J. McLean.�

Caitlyn�s father didn�t take his hand. �And I care because? Get out of here. You have no business with my daughter.�

A.J. lowered his hand slowly, realizing that Caitlyn had never told her parents about their relationship. He turned to Caitlyn, his eyes sad behind his new sunglasses. �I�ll see you when you get back to work, okay baby?�

Without waiting for a reply he left the room. The door slammed shut behind him making him and nearly everyone within a hundred yards jump. He turned to stare at the closed door, wondering why she would do something like that. Suddenly angry he reached out to open the door when he heard the two arguing.

No, not arguing. It was far too one sided for that. A.J. was horrified to hear what was going on behind the closed door.

�Who was that Caitlyn? What did you tell him?�

�He�s a friend daddy. I didn�t tell him anything.�

�A friend, huh? Which is why he called you �baby�? You�re nothing but a little whore, sleeping around with all those boys from school. And you had to tell him something, for Christ�s sake, you�re in the god damn hospital!�

When Caitlyn replied A.J. could tell she was close to tears. �I swear he�s a friend. I didn�t sleep with him or anyone else! All I told him was that I fell down the stairs. I promise Daddy!�

There was a pause before her father spoke.

�I don�t want you near him or next time it�ll be worse.�

A.J. stood at the door frozen for a minute. Then, after regaining his senses, he walked out of the hospital and drove away, his heart filled with icy fear. Now he knew why she was a mystery. And now he knew how easily he could lose her.

6

It was a week later and A.J. had been avoiding Caitlyn, or was it the other way around? He stopped by her desk when he knew she�d be at lunch just to ask the other secretaries in the office if she was okay. Caitlyn would diligently avoid any place she and A.J. had ever gone to avoid the off chance that they might meet up.

It worked. They hadn�t seen each other in a week and Caitlyn was going crazy. She knew she loved him. And how impossible it would be for him to love her in return. But she did and she couldn�t change that.

Another week passed, and another. Finally they couldn�t take it anymore. A.J. was on his way to her office when his pager went off. It was Caitlyn. He pulled over and called her on his cellular.

�Hello?�

Her voice was sweeter than any music he had ever heard or sung.

�Caitlyn.�

�A.J.!� Her voice was breathy. �I need to see you. Now.�

A.J. closed his eyes. �I�m there.� He replied in a raspy voice, rough with his need for her and her love.

Five minutes later he was there. One minute after that she was in his arms, their joyful hug so close and warm that not even Caitlyn's supervisor wanted to stop them.

A.J. looked into her hazel eyes with his warm brown gaze. �Caitlyn, I love you.�

�No.� An unexpected response, but now he knew why.

He put a hand to her cheek and smiled. �Yes.�

Caitlyn�s eyes closed and a single tear slid down her cheek. �You can�t.�

His thumb gently brushed her tear away. �I can, I do. Caitlyn, I know.�

Her eyes flew open. �You know?�

A.J. nodded. He leaned closer and whispered to her. �I know your father does it.�

�I deserve it. I�m bad.�

A.J. held her close, his heart breaking because this beautiful woman had been abused so badly that she was still a frightened child inside. �NO, you don�t deserve it. Have I ever hit you? Or threatened you?�

She slowly shook her head. �Never.�

�And I love you.�

Her eyes closed and a smile slowly spread across her face. �I love you A.J., oh God how I love you!�

A.J. smiled, his heart soaring for finally having heard her say it. �Caitlyn, marry me.�

�Yes.� She didn�t even have to think about it.

A.J. kissed her forehead. �Caitlyn, may I kiss you?�

She never answered. She reached up and with some instinct, kissed him with more love and passion than he had ever felt before.

When they broke apart A.J. was stunned. He was thrilled. He was in love. But the joy didn�t last. He remembered that she had to go home to her father. Then a brilliant idea dawned on him. �Go home now and get your stuff. Come back here. I�m taking you to Nick�s and B.J.�s. You�re going to stay there till we�re married.�

Caitlyn nodded without hesitation, loving the newfound freedom that her love and his love gave her. She reached up and kissed him.

Neither of them saw the tall man standing outside the glass door, fury growing on his face with each passing second. And no one heard him leave, to go home and prepare.

7

Caitlyn was rushing around her room trying to gather all her stuff together before her mother or father came home. She wasn�t as worried about her mother as she was about her father. Her mother would only lock her in and wait for her father to come home so he could �deal with her� as they said. She�d have plenty of time to climb out her window.

She was just picking up the sunglasses that A.J. had left at the graduation and putting them in her pocket when she felt more than heard a presence behind her. She turned, sunglasses in hand.

�Daddy.�

One word said it all. Let out all the fear and anger and sorrow she had inside.

�Just a friend?� he asked his voice dangerously soft.

She stood defiant. �I love A.J. daddy. We�re getting married.�

He raised a hand. �I don�t think so.�

She stood strong and proud, never letting her fear show. He struck- the force of the blow throwing her roughly against the bed. She went down on her knees, her breath knocked out of her.

He hit her again, this time on the back. There was a loud crunch as she fell to the floor on her side. She lay there smiling at him, never once feeling the pain.

He stared at her with cold hatred in his eyes. �This time you die.�

He kicked her, again and again. Soon her eyes were closed, her smile was gone, and the pool of blood was spreading.

He left.

A.J. was waiting for her at her office when the first feeling of dread shot its way down his spine. Five minutes later it happened again and he knew she wasn�t coming.

He sped to Caitlyn�s house praying that he�d get there in time. He arrived, the front door wide open, a trail of bloody shoe prints leading out. His heart nearly stopped as he saw that. He followed them back to their source, back to Caitlyn.

The tears in his eyes spilled over as he picked her up, cradling her head in his arms. �No baby, no. Don�t do this to me.� He was frantic. �Help me! Someone help us!� he screamed.

He may have screamed for minutes or for hours before someone heard him. Within minutes an ambulance was there, taking his love and strapping her to a backboard, shoving needles into her arms and tubes into her throat.

He was left behind, sitting in a pool of her blood, holding a pair of sunglasses that had had to be wrenched from her grasp. Even as she was dying she refused to let go of her beloved, even if it was only his sunglasses.

8

For A.J., the next 18 hours were the worst of his life. He sat by and watched as Caitlyn slowly lost her grip on life and then let go. The news channel's swarmed over the story like vultures to a fresh kill, but then, that�s what it was, wasn�t it?

Their cover stories for the night were nothing but pain and torment for A.J. with their fake grief for him and, as he sat at home that night missing his love, they finally broke him. He watched and listened.

�Late yesterday afternoon, pop singing sensation A.J. McLean of the Backstreet Boys lost his fianc� as another statistic of abuse. Technically termed as �child-abuse�, Caitlyn Phillips, 18, was beaten to death by her father for the very reason she was leaving. It appears from police reports that Mr. Phillips was against the marriage of his daughter to McLean or any other marriage from inside interviews with neighbors. Phillips is still missing and is considered dangerous. It is not known if he is carrying a weapon but if this man is seen please don�t approach him and call the police.�

A.J. turned the television off. He slowly got up off the couch and went to his room. A few minutes later he came out empty handed but with some thing tucked into the back of his jeans. He left his house, leaving the door wide open, and sped away in his car.

Hour�s later A.J. was still cruising the streets, searching for the elusive killer of the love of his life. Or not. Out of the corner of his eye he spotted the familiar brawn of Caitlyn�s father. He stopped the car and got out, walking towards the man in a quiet rage.

When he was no more than ten yards away he stopped.

�You killed her.�

The murderer turned to face A.J. and smiled coldly.

�Then she is dead? Good.� His voice dripped with viciousness.

A.J. stared at the man, barely believing anyone would be happy about killing their own child. His heart turned to ice in those few seconds and he reached behind him. When his hand appeared a gun was in it, firm and unwavering.

The cold smile on his face was reflected by another cold smile that soon faded to a fearful one as Caitlyn�s father realized why A.J. had sought him out. Not to turn him in to the police like he had thought, but to kill him.

He raised his hands in surrender, hoping that A.J. would change his mind and give him to the police. At least there he�d have a chance of escape. No such luck. A.J. raised the gun and leveled it�s barrel with his head. Caitlyn�s father felt the cold finger of fear race up his spine.

�If you kill me you'll go to jail."

A.J. removed his sunglasses. His eyes were a frightful sight, cold and unfeeling. The eyes of a killer. �Does it matter? She�s dead. You should be.�

In that moment Caitlyn�s father knew he was going to die. �You�re going to hell.� He said in a voice of acceptance of his fate.

A.J. smiled coldly. �You first.�

He fired.

Epilogue

A.J. awoke with a lurch, waking the sleeping figure beside him.

�Are you okay baby?� the soft voice asked him.

A.J. smiled in relief and pressed a kiss against the girl�s forehead. �I�m fine.�

She smiled sympathetically. �It was another one wasn�t it?�

He lay back. �Yeah. You�d think it�d be you having them.�

She smiled and snuggled against him. �Yeah, but I was unconscious for most of it, remember?� Her arms lay loosely around him.

�I know Caitlyn. I was so afraid I�d lose you.� He grabbed her up in a tight hug.

�A.J.! Ow! Let go!� she cried out.

He let go immediately. �Sorry baby. I forgot.�

Caitlyn smiled at him and kissed him softly on the lips. �It�s okay. I know it�s easy to forget about it, but if you keep doing that my ribs will never heal. If they don�t heal I won�t be able to wear that dress at the wedding.� She settled herself carefully in his arms.

He held her gently. �Yeah, and we can�t have that, now can we?�

�No, we can�t. � she replied softly. �I love you A.J., forever.�

A.J. smiled in the dark. �I love you Caitlyn. Always.�

And as sleep took them both back into her gentle embrace the shadow of dreams left them and let them sleep peacefully.

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