Chapter Twenty Six


Her first instinct was to scream but she was unable to make a sound. Her throat was incredibly dry and her breathing was now ragged and shallow. Her whole body was tensed with fear. She gasped for air as the whole room began to spin dizzily around her.

As he moved closer to her, she saw his eyes. They flashed at her indignantly. Her body quaked with fear as he drew closer to her. She lunged for the phone desperately groping it in her shaking fingers clumsily. She pressed it against her ear praying for the dial tone. Once again, she heard none. �It�s no use Jessica. It won�t work. I didn�t want us to be interrupted tonight,� he crowed craftily. The phone slipped clumsily from Jessica�s hands as a low moan escaped from her throat.

In a sudden motion, Justin extended an arm towards her. Jessica instinctively shrank back against her headboard praying that he wouldn�t touch her. Her prayers however were unfortunately unanswered. He leaned close to her, stroking her hair gently. His touch sent shivers up her spine and caused her stomach to churn. Tears coursed down the side of her face. She squeezed her eyes shut tightly silently pleading with him to stop.

Jessica�s eyes darted crazily around the room desperately seeking any means at all of escape. In a sudden burst of adrenaline her eyes fell upon the door. She had to get away from him. She couldn�t let him get to her again.

Using all her strength she managed to quickly move her body from beneath Justin�s touch. She cast a fear-induced stare at Justin before she sprinted quickly to the door. Sadly, she wasn�t quick enough. The second she laid her hand upon the doorknob, he yanked her back grabbing her arms roughly. He pinned her up against the wall grabbing her by the wrists.

�You shouldn�t have done that!� he screamed at her. Shooting her a steely glare, Jessica�s tears poured harder. His gaze softened slightly as her body began to shake vehemently. �Can�t you see I love you?� he whispered in her ear in a low growl. He pulled back from her slightly, roughly tracing the outline of her jaw.

A low cry emitted from deep in Jessica�s throat as she came to the realization that there was no escaping him now. No one would come to her rescue. No one at all.

* * *

Nick screeched out of the driveway quickly. In one hand he grasped his cell and the keys which Lila had pressed into his hand before he left. �Just in case,� she�d said solemnly. After a few minutes of persuasion, Lila had reluctantly agreed to stay home with Brian in case Jessica called.

With one hand on the wheel, he used his other free hand to dial Jessica�s number on his cell. As he waited for the call to go through, Nick couldn�t help being impatient. If anything had happened to Jessica he�d never forgive himself. He promised her he�d never let anyone or anything hurt her again. He wasn�t about to break his promise.

Strangely when the call finally went through, the line was busy. He listened intently to the repetitive beeping for a few seconds. Quickly he ended the call and immediately placed another thinking he�d accidentally dialled the wrong number. As the second call went through and he heard the same beeping, the sinking feeling in his stomach rose. He hadn�t dialled the wrong number after all.

In frustration, Nick threw his cell and the keys onto the adjacent seat. The car lurched forwards as he pressed his foot determinedly to the pedal. As the beach house came into view a strange feeling washed over him. Even from far away the beach house seemed to possess an uncharacteristic darkness about it.

Slowing the car, he eased it carefully into the driveway. Turning off the engine slowly, he gazed up at the house. It was shrouded in darkness and appeared to be completely deserted. Grabbing the keys roughly he carelessly left his cell lying on the seat. He opened the car door and quickly got out. Nick slammed the door loudly and quickly ran up the stairs.

As he climbed up the stairs, the inkling in his stomach told him that something wasn�t right. �Jessica!� he yelled pounding his fists against the door. �Jess!� Open the door!� he shouted again pounding harder and louder. He quieted down eventually hoping, waiting, praying for Jessica to answer the door.

Seconds of silence passed, but to Nick those seconds seemed like an eternity.

* * *

Directly across from the beach house, Tricia Blair watched worriedly from her porch. An attractive middle aged women she and her husband had spent the better part of their years together in the same house. Lovers of the water and the outdoors, they could almost always be found outside.

For the past few minutes she had been watching Nick secretively from her perch on her porch. Almost an hour earlier she had seen someone enter the house. She vaguely recognized him as one of the girls� boyfriends although she was almost certain she hadn�t seen him around for a long time. It struck her odd the fashion in which he had entered the beach house.

She�d watched his eyes dart furtively around before he�d entered using a key he�d retrieved from under a flower pot. Despite the oddness of the situation, she�d managed to set her qualms aside figuring it was all motherly concern. Ever since the girls had moved in, she had taken it upon herself to keep a watchful over them. The Blair�s were long time friends of Elizabeth�s parents and considered Elizabeth to be the daughter they never had.

Now however as she watched Nick pound furiously her concerns resurfaced. She looked on worriedly as he banged and yelled urgently. As she caught a glimpse of his face, she recognized him. Lately he�d been dropping by the house quite often.

Normally a familiar face was reassuring but today it just made her even more worried. No longer could she hold back her suspicions. Maybe it was motherly concern, maybe plain old intuition. Whatever it was, she was certain something was wrong. Marching determinedly towards the house. She decided it was definitely time to act upon her suspicions.

* * *

Mya tossed and turned restlessly in her bed. Although it was early she had convinced herself that sleep was the best way not to think about AJ. Unfortunately despite her efforts she was unable to fall asleep. How could she when she knew that AJ was still waiting for her after all these hours? Deep in her heart, Mya knew with AJ was really where she wanted to be.

She closed her eyes for what seemed like the millionth time. She tried desperately not to imagine what he would have told her if she�d allowed herself to go meet him. She tried excruciatingly hard but with no avail. All Mya saw were his eyes. His beautiful brown eyes, which she longed to look into.

Throwing back her covers quickly, she finally let her feelings overpower her. She couldn�t feel something so strong for a person and do nothing about it. In that second, she knew that if she simply walked away from AJ she�d never forgive herself.

She stumbled out of bed awkwardly. She quickly slipped out of her nightgown and donned a powder blue tank top and tight black jeans. She combed her fingers through her hair quickly not even bothering to look into the mirror.

Quietly she tiptoed out of her room. She carefully padded down the stairs making certain not to wake her grandparents who were already fast asleep. She made it successfully to the front door and eased it open without a sound. She left the door unlocked ensuring that she would be able to re-enter the house later without disturbing anyone.

As soon as her feet hit the ground she broke into a jog which quickly evolved into a sprint. Her feelings for AJ were so new and exhilarating yet at the same time a little intimidating. She�d never felt this way about anyone before. At this point, she was willing to push aside her feelings of intimidation. AJ made her feel alive; something no one had ever been able to do for her.

As the pier came into view Mya began to sprint as fast as her long legs would carry her. She couldn�t deny her feelings for AJ anymore. Whether or not he possessed the same type of feelings for her was an entirely different story. She was only certain that if she didn�t attempt to develop a relationship with him she�d never forgive herself. She already messed up her chance once with him, she wasn�t about the miss out on the second one.

Approaching the pier, she slowed to a jog. She saw the jagged rocks, and the crashing waves, but no AJ. Her heart beating furiously, she scanned the surrounding area praying that he hadn�t left. She wasn�t so sure she�d get another chance to tell him how she felt about him � not after the way she had treated him. She desperately prayed that he was still waiting for her somewhere.

She sighed dejectedly not wanting to give in to defeat so easily but realizing it was necessary. AJ was long gone. Ready to turn back home, miraculously her prayers were answered. A few feet away from her slouched on a bench she spotted AJ.

Running over to him she quickly pursed her lips to yell out his name. She stopped however noticing that AJ had fallen asleep while waiting for her.

Mya�s heart leapt as she saw him. She took in everything about him - the way he sat slightly slouched, the way his mouth hung open, and the way his eyelids fluttered as he slept. It was almost too overwhelming for her. Gingerly, she carefully sat down next to him. She watched him silently; her body aching to reach out and touch his. Somehow she managed to hold back, but not completely. She gently laid her head on his shoulder, her body tingling from the closeness of their bodies. Without moving, Mya closed her eyes still very much awake. She sat next to him simply enjoying the proximity his of body and the heat that permeated from it. She smiled to herself as she waited patiently for AJ to awake.

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