| ~ Chapter Forty ~ |
| Jeff had been in the studio for almost three hours and finished the song, so he decided to see what his fianc�e was up to, so he walked over to the house. He went inside, and called out her name, but she didn�t answer him. Jeff fist went into the bedroom, but she wasn�t there. He called out her name again, and again she did not answer. He went from room to room, until he walked into the kitchen. Her purse was still on the table, and the dishwasher was wide open. There was a broken plate on the floor, and the bread box had been knocked off the counter. Jeff was starting to panic, so he walked over to the door and looked outside. Ryann�s vehicle was still parked where it had been since her return from Aberdeen. Jeff picked up the phone and called his brother�s cell phone number. �Hello?� Matt answered. �Matt, it�s Jeff. Are you with Lexi?� �Yes, what�s wrong Jeff?� �Have either of you heard from Ryann in the past few hours?� �No, why?� �Because she�s not here, and she didn�t say she was going anywhere. Her purse is on the table, there is a broken plate on the floor, things are knocked off the counter, and her car is still in the driveway.� �Jeff, I am sure you are over reacting, have you checked the house?� �Yes you idiot, she�s not here.� �Did she go up to the pond?� �No, she wouldn�t go without taking one of the bikes, and they are all here. She wouldn�t go without telling me anyway, that�s not Ryann.� �Jeff, Lexi and I will be home in a few minutes. Take that time to try and calm down. She�s got to be somewhere. Will you be ok?� �Yeah, I�ll be fine.� Matt and Jeff both hung up the phones. Jeff dialed Ryann�s cellular phone, but he heard it ringing in her purse. He hung up, and was trying to calm down. Lexi was driving, and didn�t catch all of Matt�s conversation with Jeff, so she asked, �What�s going on?� �Jeff is flipping out because Ryann isn�t at the house. I am sure she�s somewhere, and it�s just his nerves getting the best of him. I told him we were on our way home and we�d be there in a few minutes.� �What do you mean she�s not there?� Matt explained to Lexi what Jeff had said, and he finished just as they were pulling into the driveway. Jeff was outside, pacing back and forth on the front porch. He turned and saw them, and as soon as they stepped out of the car, Jeff said, �Should I call the police or something?� Matt said, �Jeff, calm down. Let�s make sure she�s not here first.� Matt and Lexi checked all around the house, and when they saw the kitchen is when the two of them started to worry. �Ryann would never leave the house with the kitchen looking like this.� Jeff said. �Then where could she be Jeff?� Matt inquired. They both looked at Lexi, who was very deep in thought. Then all of a sudden she said, �Jeff call the police now, and report her gone.� Without a second thought, Jeff was on the phone. Matt gave Lexi an inquisitive look. �Matt,� Lexi whispered. �When Ryann came home from Aberdeen this morning, she told me that she had felt like someone had been following her. I told her it was just her nerves because of her pregnancy and the wedding, but what if someone had followed her? Do you think she could have been kidnapped by somebody?� �But who? That guy Chris is all the way up in Vermont.� Jeff came back into the room, and said, �The police are on their way over here.� �Good.� Lexi said. �Jeff, where were before you noticed that Ryann was gone?� �I was working on a song in my studio, and Ryann said she was going to pick up the house. I told her to come out and get me in a little while, but I finished the song so I went to find her. I came in and yelled her name, but she didn�t answer me.� �So you were wearing headphones, correct?� Lexi asked. �Yeah.� �So we don�t even know how long she has been gone�� Lexi said. The telephone rang, so Lexi picked it up. �Hello?� �Ryann?� �Uh no, this is Lexi.� �This is Jessica, Ryann�s sister. Can I talk to her?� �Hi Jessica. Actually, Ryann isn�t here. Can I ask you a question?� �Sure.� �Is her ex-boyfriend still in town up there?� �I�m not sure, I haven�t seen him. Why?� �Can you please find out if he is in town, and call me back right away?� �What is going on? where is my sister? Where is Jeff?� �I will fill you in when you call back. Please hurry.� Lexi hung up the phone, and she had noticed that the police were pulling in the driveway. Jeff ran out to greet them, and Matt followed his little brother. Jessica called back a few minutes later, and told Lexi that Chris� sister told her that Chris had left town right after Ryann did. He had said that he wasn�t coming back without her, and that if he couldn�t have her, nobody else could. Lexi explained to Jessica that Ryann was missing, and now they suspected that she was with Chris. They both agreed to call each other if they had any news, and they hung up. Lexi immediately went outside and told the police and Jeff what she had just found out. Jeff started flipping out, until Matt calmed him down and took him inside. The police went searching for Chris, and put out an APB on his vehicle. Lexi called Gilbert, and some of Ryann�s friends to let them know what was going on. There were still a few officers at the house, and they tapped Jeff�s phone in case Chris or Ryann tried to call. Jeff was going out of his mind not knowing whether or not Ryann was safe, or alive for that matter, and he just wanted to hold her in his arms. He kept blaming himself for her being gone, and everyone assured him that it wasn�t his fault. It was now eleven thirty at night, and nobody had seen or heard from Ryann. Matt and Lexi were still at the house with a couple of officers, and Jeff had locked himself in his bedroom. He was crying, and apologizing to Ryann for not being there to protect her. He hoped that somehow, she would hear him, and forgive him. Jeff ended up crying himself to sleep. The police left, and Lexi decided to go home in case Ryann called there. Matt stayed at the house with his brother, to make sure he was ok. Lexi left and Matt headed to check on Jeff. He opened the door to his brother�s room and saw that he was sleeping. Matt went to his room and went to sleep. Jeff woke up at one thirty in the morning to the phone ringing. He jumped up and picked it up. �Ryann?� He asked. �Yes Jeff, it�s me.� Ryann said softly. �Where are you babe? Are you with Chris?� �Yes, I am.� �Why are you with him? Has he done anything to you?� �Not yet.� �Is he there with you right now?� �Yes.� �So you can�t say much� Are you still in North Carolina?� �Yes.� �Are you in Sanford?� �No.� �Raleigh?� �Yes. Look Jeff, I know I should�ve done this in person, but I can�t be with you anymore. I am still in love with Chris, and we are going to be together.� �What?� Jeff exclaimed, and then Jeff heard Ryann repeat what Chris was saying in the background. �I never really loved you, and I used you to get to the top of the WWE.� �He�s telling you to say that, isn�t he?� Jeff asked. �Yes.� �So you do love me?� �Yes.� �And you want to be my wife?� �Yes.� �What is he saying?� Chris yelled in the background. �I�ve got to go Jeff, I�ll come get my things at some point.� �I am coming to get you Ryann, right now. I love you.� Ryann couldn�t respond, so she hung up the phone. She looked at Chris, and said, �There, are you happy? I broke up with him.� She was in tears. �Ryann, you know that you still love me, and we belong together.� �Chris, I am pregnant with Jeff�s baby.� �So you�ll get an abortion, that�s easy. You see, everything will be just fine when we get home.� �Chris, I am home. I live here now.� �You�re coming back to Vermont with me.� �No Chris, I am not. I can�t. I work for the WWE, and I will be on the road all the time. It will never work for us.� Chris walked over and grabbed Ryann by her throat and slammed her into the wall. He held her there, and yelled, �It will work God damn it! Because if I can�t have you, I�ll be damned if I�ll let that faggot have you instead!� Chris then punched Ryann in the face, and she fell onto the floor, holding her face, and crying. Chris paced the floor as Ryann sat there, crying her eyes out. All she wanted was to be in Jeff�s arms. She prayed that Jeff would find her before Chris took off with her, or killed her. She wasn�t sure what he would do. She had never seen Chris act so crazed in her life. |
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