�J-Josh? What-what are you doing here? You�re in jail.� Precious asked, shrinking back in fear.
�Not anymore, girls.� Josh laughed. �Where�s my baby?�
�My baby, Josh. You didn�t want it, remember? And her name is Jewel.�
�Jewel.� Josh remarked thoughtfully. �What a pretty name. Now let me see her.�
�No! I mean, she�s not here.� Precious whispered.
A faint crying was heard from the bedroom down the hall.
�Oh really?� Josh replied, glaring at her coldly. He took off toward the nursery.
Precious and Amanda raced after him worriedly. �Don�t touch her, Josh!� Precious begged.
The three of them reached the room. Josh ran in and looked down at the child. �Wow. She�s beautiful. Unlike her mother.� He added, sneering meanly.
Precious stepped back as if she had been slapped. But she instantly regained her composure. She scooped up the 1-year-old and ran down the hall, shutting herself into her room. After a few moments of complete silence, she decided to venture back outside her room.
�Amanda?� She called, her heart pounding in her chest. She gripped her baby tightly to her. �Amanda? Josh?�
But they were nowhere to be seen. Precious waited there timidly for a few minutes, but when the two didn�t return, she headed for the bedroom, where she found a small slip of wrinkled paper on the bed.
Precious,
Amanda and I have gone away. We are leaving the country. Don�t bother looking for us because we won�t be back.
~Josh
Precious picked up the note, crumpling it up in her already clenched fist. She stared at it once more in disgust before throwing it into the trash. She should have known. She hadn�t realized that after all this, it would end in this way. They had both betrayed her.
She set Jewel down in her crib, locked all the doors securely, and walked back into the living room to think. She was going to try to forget all of this. She was going to turn over a new leaf. She was going to start over.
* * *
Vanessa was finally beginning to get on with her life. No, she could never forget Justin, but she was starting to move on. Her best friend, Tawny, was helping her get back on track. In fact, Vanessa had even found a new boyfriend.
�Hey baby, are you ready?� Joey asked, entering the room.
�Yep, let�s go.� Vanessa replied, smiling.
They walked out the door, hand in hand, and were off on their date.
* * *
As for Lance and Sara, they were doing just fine.
Walking over to Sara, Lance put his hand on her belly. He began singing to their unborn baby softly.
Sara giggled.
The two swept into a lowing embrace before leaving to go to the hospital for Sara�s scheduled ultra-sound.
* * *
Josh smiled to himself as he looked over at Amanda�s still body. He checked for a pulse, smiling even wider when he didn�t find one.
He pulled the body up by the arms and dragged it over to the side of the cliff, staring at it for a moment before he let go.
The corpse fell down slowly, almost elegantly. Josh watched in intense concentration, as if wishing to take in every moment of its doomed journey, until it reached the dusty ground with a sickening plop.
He smiled once again. He had been doing a lot of smiling lately.
A clearly satisfied sigh escaped Josh�s lips, and he closed his eyes for a moment, glorifying his feeling of fulfillment. He walked once more to the cliff�s jagged edge, and peered down at the body once more.
�Goodbye, Amanda.� He called, waving a little, before smiling that same smile again. �Goodbye.�