Chapter Fifteen

Early the next morning, Jenny and Mike stopped off at Jenny's house before they were to go to school. Jenny needed to change into her uniform and grab her schoolbooks.

"I'll be right back," Jenny said and kissed him.

"Can't I go with you?"

"No. I don't want to make any noise. I don't want Liz to find out I'm here. I'll be just a minute." She kissed him again before quickly running to the house. It didn't matter if she was quiet or not because Liz was waiting for her on the stairs.

"Where the hell have you been?"

"It doesn't matter. I have to change or I'll be late for school."

"You're not going to school today. Your grandmother died last night; we have to go to Wisconsin for the funeral."

"She wasn't my grandmother, and you're not my mother. Don't act like you are. Now if you'll excuse me..."

"Jen, you--"

"My name is not Jen! My name is Jenny! I've been telling you that for seven fucking years now! I am sick of this 'family' and I'm sick of you. You've hated me since you found out who my parents are! I do not deserve to be treated like this."

"You'll deserve what I tell you to deserve. You are my responsibility, as much as I hate it at times. This state tells me to raise you until you are eighteen, and by God I will not keep you a day longer in this house than I have to. You are an ungrateful, selfish, spoiled little monster and you should be groveling at my feet for taking you in and giving you a good life. I buy you what you want, I send you to an expensive private school, and in return you complain. I'll have no more of it. Go to your room, and if I see your face for one second out of it, it'll be the back of my hand."

Jenny huffed and ran up the stairs, slamming the door behind her. Glancing around, she grabbed an empty tote bag, stuffed some clothes and necessities into it, then took her bookbag and threw them out the window to the ground below. She quickly changed into her uniform, then climbed out of the window. She ran back to the car where Mike was waiting.

"You ready?" Mike asked.

"Yeah. Let's go." Mike started the car and drove away.

"What's the other bag for?" he asked, looking at the random tote bag lying next to Jenny's backpack.

"Oh, I'm running away."

"What?!"

"I'm running away. Not for long. I'll come back maybe around the end of the week, but I need to get away for a little while. Don't look so surprised!"

"And where exactly do you plan on staying? I can tell you right now it won't be with me."

"Fine. I'll stay with Kris and Taylor. Don't be like that," she said. "I'm fine."

"You're crazy," he said. "Just don't burn yourself out." She rolled her eyes. "You worry me, you know? You're running away from home and act like it's nothing."

"That place isn't my home, Mike. Those people aren't my family. I have a family already."

"What do you think will happen when your father gets out of jail?" he asked.

"I'll move back in with him. I'm not sure where that'll be, but you'll be gone by then. He's not going to get out before the end of the year. They haven't even moved for an appeal yet. It's going to take some time." Mike paused.

"What do you mean I'll be gone by then?" he asked.

"You'll be in college. You said you wanted to leave New York."

"So you think we'll be broken up then?" he asked. "Is that what you mean?" Jenny sighed.

"Can we not talk about this now?" she asked.

"No!"

"I don't know, all right? It'd be different if we were the same age and we were planning to go to the same place for college, but we're not. When you leave you'll be gone for three years before I can join you, if I join you. Three years is a really long time. We haven't even known each other three months! How do you even know we'll make it until the end of the school year?" Jenny asked.

"Oh, so now we're not even making it until the end of the year?"

"Mike, all I'm saying is that I don't know what the future holds. Today we might get to school and there's a transfer student that's the girl of your dreams and you frolic into the sunset together. It's not likely, but it may happen. When I get home Liz might ship me off to miltary school or something and we'll never see each other again! I don't know and neither do you, so stop acting like I've already made up my mind. I just have a realistic view of the future. I love you now, yes, but you're not the 'one' or whatever. We will break up someday."

"That's a sad way to look at the future, Jenny."

"No, it's realistic."

"You don't know that! You don't know that we're going to break up. I look at the future and I see us together. There's none of that other bullshit that you speak of."

"It's not bullshit! I'm fifteen years old and you're my first boyfriend. It's amazing now but it's not going to last forever. Now instead of dwelling on that you can have fun like me. We're together now! That's all that matters."

"Whatever." His 'whatever' wasn't at all convincing but it was obvious he'd had enough. Jenny shook her head and looked out the window. Two fights and it wasn't even eight o'clock yet.

Taylor walked into the meeting room where Debbie already sat with Zac. A guard was at the door, but that was customary. Taylor already found it slightly amusing to see a guard, but in their eyes Zac was a murder felon.

As soon as Taylor sat down, Zac looked over at him. "So you actually saw Jenny?" he asked, his eyes bright in happiness. Taylor hadn't seen Zac happy since before Ginger died.

"Yeah."

"What does she look like now?"

"She looks like a fifteen-year-old Ginger," Taylor said. Zac smiled, remembering how Ginger looked when they first met. They were both fifteen. "I brought pictures."

"No way," Zac said. Taylor nodded and handed Zac a packet of pictures which had been, of course, thoroughly examined before Taylor was let in the building. Zac opened it and teared up immediately. "Oh my God. That's Ginger."

"I know."

"She's gotten so big," Zac said, and flipped through the photos slowly, admiring his daughter in every one. "Who's that?" Taylor looked at the photo.

"That's Mike, her boyfriend."

"He looks a little old."

"He's a senior," Taylor said. Zac raised an eyebrow. "He's a good kid, Zac. Don't worry about it! Jenny knows how to take care of herself." Zac made a face, not approving, but went on.

"Wow," he said. He continued to flip through the pictures when he came across a black and white photo of what looked like a uterus. "What the hell is this?" Taylor looked over and smiled.

"Oh, I didn't know that was in there. That's my baby," he said. Zac looked at the sonogram photo, then back at Taylor.

"Okay...oh! Kris is pregnant?" Taylor nodded. "Dude, why didn't you tell me?" Taylor could only shrug. "Well, congratulations, man. It's about time."

"So," Debbie said, interrupting. "Shall we begin?" Zac set the photos down, still within sight, and nodded. Debbie tossed her curly black hair behind her and began to speak about the latest development in the case--the date of the appeal.

"Whoa, so you mean we got an appeal?" Zac asked.

"That means they're willing to listen to us, and if all goes well, we can have another trial. No guarantees yet."

"Oh," Zac said. "It's still good news, though?"

"Yes," Debbie said. "Nw I've managed to take care of all aspects of our case except for Mr. Billet. He won't speak to me and with good reason. Everybody knows he was bribed and he doesn't want to get in trouble for perjury. For right now, since we have the hearing next week, we'll keep him on the back burner. If we get to trial, and I have no doubt we will, I know I can get him to crack. Just one side note; this is not going to be a quick thing. The initial trial--that was unheard of. Nobody solves a murder case in two months."

"I have a question about that," Zac said. "If we do go to trial, is our goal just to get me off?"

"Yes, Zac, we are aiming to prove your innocence," Debbie said.

"No, I mean, are we just geting me off or are we trying to find out who really did it?" Debbie sighed.

"It's going to take a lot more than I have to find out who really did it. We just want you out, Zac. Then we can work on who actually did it." Zac sat back, discontent. "We will find out, Zac."

"I know, I know. I just don't like waiting around in limbo like this," he said.

"Well who knows," Taylor said. "We might just find out who did it in the process." Zac made a face. That wasn't likely.

"Jenny, you shouldn't be here," Kris said after trapping Jenny in a hug. "If anybody finds out you're here, we're both in trouble, especially me."

"I know," Jenny said. "And I'm sorry. I just can't stay at home, well, 'home' any longer. I hate it. I promise it won't be long, a day or two, just until I cool off." Kris sighed, but nodded.

"Okay. Just for a day or two, but then you have to go back. You hear that?"

"Yes, yes...you know you're just like my mother." Kris smiled. "Can I ask you something?"

"Yeah."

"Where is my mother buried?" Kris paused. Ginger was still hard to talk about, even after seven years, because there was no real closure. Who actually killed her was still a mystery.

"She's here in New York." Jenny nodded. "Do you want to go visit her?" Jenny nodded again, tears in her eyes. "All right. Let's put your things down upstairs in the guest room and we'll go visit her." Jenny followed Kris upstairs to the guest room she'd briefly seen before. It was nice, but most of all it reminded Jenny of home--of what a real home should look like. "This would have been your room had you stayed with us."

"I would've liked it. I do like it." Kris nodded before she turned and left the room. Jenny spotted a wedding photo in the hallway as they worked their way back to the stairs. "When did you and Uncle Taylor get married?"

"Well, it was in February, February 15th, so almost six years ago. So, wow, when our anniversary comes around I'll be six months pregnant."

"You're pregnant?" Jenny asked. "No way! I'm going to have a cousin?" Kris nodded. "Wow! That's cool."

"Yeah. Taylor and I are excited. I'm only about two months right now," Kris said. "Obviously. No fat yet." Jenny smiled. She was pleased to discover she was getting a cousin, even if she was much older. "All right. Let's go."

Jenny's smile faded as she followed her aunt to the garage where the car sat. Jenny climbed into the front seat next to Kris. "Where is Uncle Taylor?"

"He's in LA with your father again. I swear that man's in LA more than he's with me. I'm starting to think he loves your father more than me." Jenny rolled her eyes. "They've got a hearing, which more than likely will be able to appeal. It looks good."

"Good," Jenny said. "Are we going far?" Kris shook her head. Jenny looked out the front window as the neighborhood went by. As much as she went out and for as long as she'd lived in the suburbs, she still didn't really know where Kris was headed.

The cemetery was small, and didn't seem like the final resting place for a major Hollywood starlet like Ginger Stevens, but then again what really was? Kris mentioned that Zac and Ginger had just begun to think about this sort of thing, and this was the place Ginger liked most.

"I'm not one hundred percent sure if I remember where it is. I've only been once or twice. I suppose I should come more often, but it's weird, you know? The whole thing freaks me out." Regardless, Kris parked the car and they got out.

Jenny, feeling a little awkward still in her Catholic school unfirom, followed Kris through the cemetery. Jenny had never been to one before, and had only seen one in movies. All the names were foreign and it was okay until Kris stopped.

"Here it is." Jenny looked over at her mother's tombstone. Tears immediately fell out of her eyes as she read the epitaph.

Next
Index