How They Met

 

By Bethany Belt

 

Summary: (Complete! (Takes place before The Mummy.))  Evy is living with her fiancé, Jack and their wedding is planned.  But, they never get to the wedding because Evy finds someone else.  But Jack will go to the end of the world to make sure she doesn’t leave him.

Disclaimer: I only own Jack.  The rest is Stephen Summors’.  If I did own the rest, I wouldn’t be here.  I would be making The Mummy 6 by now…lol. No offence to Mr. Summors though!

Rating: PG-13 (R?) for violence, language and adult/sexual content.  It may be different, but it depends on how you think of it.

Author’s Note: Reviews are good!  Please be nice!  My e-mail is on the author’s note of my first story: “A Visit from an Old ‘Friend’”.  If you haven’t read it yet, you should!  It’s great!  Ok, I’ll shut my trap and let you get to reading.  ENJOY!

 

Chapter One: Evy and Jack

 

Evy was working at her library, waiting for Jack to meet her for lunch.  They were planning to go out to Madison’s Café together today.  While she waited, she played games on her computer.  She was in the middle of a Spider Solitaire game, when he walked into her office.  “Hello, sweetheart.” he said, in his beautiful American accent, as he walked over to her.

 

“You’re late.” she said, with a small smile on her face.  Jack knew that she was just teasing him, even though he really was late.  He knew how to get out of it though.

 

“You’re stunning.” he said, staring at her beautiful, hazel eyes.

 

“You’re forgiven.” she laughed.  She closed her game and they left for the café. 

 

When they arrived, they were the only one’s there.  But by now, everyone had already eaten, since it was an hour after the lunch rush.  While they ate, the talked about their wedding.  “I can’t believe that we’re getting married!  And in two months!  It’s got here so quick.”  Evy said, as she took a bite of her salad.

 

Jack was already eating his burger.  “I know.  It’s great, isn’t it?” he said, with his mouth full.

 

“You know, here in England, it’s considered rude to talk with your mouth full?  I don’t know if it is in America, but you really should get rid of that habit.”  She loved showing off her knowledge, even if it was just a small thing like this. 

 

“It’s considered rude there as well.  I just never had manners!”  He laughed, as did she.

 

“Well, maybe you should start using some.” she said, still smiling.

 

“Yeah, I probably should.  I wouldn’t want anyone to get the wrong impression.  I have quite well mannered behavior.” he said, trying to show off a little.

 

“That you do.  You are the kindest man I think I’ve ever met in my life.  I love you.” she said, leaning over to give him a kiss on the cheek.  But before she got to him, he turned his head, and passionately kissed her on her beautiful, luscious lips.

 

They left the café and he drove her back to the library.  “When are you going to be home tonight?” he asked, hoping that she could come home early.

 

“I have a lot of work to do.  I have to put an order of books up, and then order more.  I’ll probably be home around 9:00.” she replied, wishing that she didn’t have to do so much work.

 

“Well, I guess I’ll see you then.” he said, a little disappointed.

 

“I’ll go as fast as I can.”  She gave him a peck on the cheek and got out of the car.  She gave him one last smile and a small wave before she went inside. 

 

He drove home to wait for her to arrive.  He had a great night planned.  He was going to cook dinner, and have it done by the time she got home.  He would have candles on the table, the food already set out, and wine already poured.  Since they lived alone, he didn’t have to worry about anyone ruining their perfect night.  Evy had finally convinced Jonathan to move out.  Jack watched TV for a few hours and then rummaged in the kitchen for something to make for dinner.  He wanted everything to be perfect for his future wife.

 

Chapter Two: Their First Meet

 

It was almost 7:00 now and Evy was still filing the new books.  She wasn’t even close to being ready to order more.  Not many people had shown up today, so she had lots of time to get her work done. 

 

There was one man currently looking at a bookshelf near the bookshelf containing information on Egypt. 

 

Evy had a stack of 8 fairly big books about Egypt and was heading to put them away.  Just as she walked the corner to the bookshelf, her foot caught the edge of it and she dropped every book she was carrying.  She rolled her eyes at her own clumsiness. 

 

The man heard things tumbling nearby and decided to check it out.  When he saw her picking up books, he leaned down to help her.

 

She mumbled to herself as she picked up the books she had dropped.  A man handed her the last one.  “Thank you.” she said.  “I’m so clumsy lately!  I’ve been working so much, I can hardly stand up for 10 minutes.”  She chuckled a little.  “I’m sorry.”

 

“It’s ok,” he said, “Everyone has those times.”  He spoke so soft and gentle.  When Evy finally looked up to see the face of this man, she was stunned.  He was gorgeous!  His eyes were beautiful, his hair was beautiful, everything about him was beautiful!  She couldn’t believe her eyes.

 

As she stood up, he finally got to see her face clearly.  She was gorgeous!  Her whole face, her whole body!  She was incredible!  He couldn’t believe his eyes.

 

They both just stood there and stared for a moment.  Evy was the first to say something.  “I’m sorry; I have to get these books put away.  I still have 4 stacks as tall as me to put up, and then I have some paperwork to do, I’ll be here all night if I don’t keep working.”  She walked to the bookshelf and started filing books.

 

“Do you want me to help you out?  So you aren’t here so late.  Because if you plan on doing all that tonight, then you’ll be here until midnight.”

 

            “Well, if you don’t mind, I would appreciate it.”  She said, filing the last book she had held.

 

            “Well, I don’t have anything else to, so I might as well.”

 

“Thank you.  The books are in my office, follow me.”  She led him to her office and they carried books back and filed them.  It took an hour and they were done.  “Is there anything I can do to pay you back?” she asked, hoping there was a way she could repay him for his kind help.

 

“Well, I was interested in some of those books about Egypt.  How many can I check out?”

 

“As many as you want.  It’s the least I can do.”

 

“Ok, thanks.  I’ll go get ‘em.”  He walked to the shelf, and picked out 4 books.  He brought them back to her desk and set them down.  She took them from there and typed the bar code numbers into her computer. 

 

“There you go.  You can keep them as long as you want, free of charge.  As long as I eventually get them back.” She said, smiling.

 

“Thanks!  I should be done with them within the week.  So, I’ll see you soon.”

 

“Ok.  Thanks again.  Bye.” she said, as he walked out. 

 

She stared at the door for a minute or two, then remember that she still had paperwork to do.  It was now 8:10 and if she was lucky, she could be home by 8:45.  She pulled out a catalog, and started writing down numbers.

 

By 8:30 she was done.  She still had the drive home, so, as she predicted, she would be home at about 8:45.

 

Chapter Three: Jack Wants More

 

When she came home, she could smell food in the kitchen.  She figured that Jack just fixed himself a little something while he waited for her to get back.  When she walked into the kitchen however, the lights were out, and there were lit candles on the table.  The dinner was already on the table, and the wine was in the glasses.  Jack, however, was no where to be seen.  She went back to the door, and hung her coat on the coat hanger.  Then she sat her purse on the small table in the entryway.  When she turned around, Jack was standing in front of her.  They both smiled, and kissed.  Jack led her into the kitchen, and they had the romantic dinner that Jack had hoped on. 

 

After dinner was over, it was time to go to bed.  Even though they were not yet married, they slept in the same bed.  Although Evy had her rule: “nothing is to happen until after we are married.”  <<a/n: I think you know what I mean.  If not…think hard!  You’ll eventually figure it out.>> 

 

They laid down, and Evy started to fall asleep.  She did have a hard day, after all.  Although it would have been worse if that nice man hadn’t helped her.  She thought about him, and noticed that they hadn’t even gotten each others names.  She figured that they would do that when he returned his books, which he said should be sometime this week.  She smiled a little at the thought of seeing him again.  Wait, what was she thinking?  She couldn’t think like that about some guy that she didn’t even know!  Especially when she was getting married!  She forgot about it and started dozing off.  But she didn’t get to sleep, for she felt eyes on her.  She looked at Jack, who was leaning up on his arm, staring at her.  “What?” she asked, looking at him questioningly. 

 

“Nothing.  You’re just so beautiful.” he started rubbing his hand gently down her face.  She sat up a little and smiled.  Just staring at him.  “What, can I not look at my future wife?” he asked, joking around.

 

“Of course you can.  But I have one question.” she whispered.

 

“What?”

 

“Are you getting at anything?  I mean, the dinner, the staring.  Anything on your mind?” she asked sweetly.

 

“Well, I was hoping for a little something.” he said, as he lightly rubbed up and down her arm.

 

“And, what’s that?”  She was still smiling.

 

“I was hoping that, maybe, we could get a little closer tonight, ya know?” he was looking her over a little.

 

“Um, if you’re talking about what I think you’re talking about, then I don’t think it’s a good idea.  So soon anyway.  Remember my rule about sleeping in the same bed?” she wasn’t angry, but she got serious.

 

“Yeah, I know.  But I was just thinking that we could throw that rule out.  I mean, we’re getting married in less than two months.  Even if we just throw it out tonight, you can make it a rule again by tomorrow.”

 

“Jack!  You know that if you get rid of the rule, you won’t want to bring it back….No.  I can’t.  It’s just not right.  I’m sorry.”

 

“Please.  I’ve been waiting for this since the first day we met.”

 

“Ok, you’ve waited for 3 years; surly 2 months won’t kill you!”

 

“But that’s just it, I’ve waited so long that it’s going to burst out of me if this keeps up!  I mean, you are irresistible!  There’s no way that any guy would be able to stay away from you as long as I have, Evy.  I can’t take it anymore!  Please!  I know that you’re probably just scared because you’ve never done this before, but, neither have I.  So it’s fair!  It’s scary for both of us, but we handle it if we work through it together!” he was to the point where he was begging. 

 

“Jack,” she said sweetly, smiling as she talked, “I know that this is something that you want.  But please respect the fact that I was raised to never do that until after I got married…please.”

 

“Ok…ok,” he said, tossing his hands up in surrender, “I’ll respect that.”

 

“Thank you.” she gave him a small peck on the cheek, and then they both went to sleep.

 

Chapter Four: More Meetings

 

It was finally Friday, and Evy was hoping that this guy would still show up.  She had all night because she told Jack that she had to work late again, which wasn’t a total lie.  She figured that if the guy did show up, that would take up some time, and she also had the books that she had ordered at the beginning of the week to put away.  It was already 6:00pm and she had only half of the books put away, and she’d started first thing when she arrived.  She had had a lot of people in today though, and if she wasn’t busy tonight, then she should be done in a couple of hours.

 

She was right.  After those two hours had gone by, she had all of the books where they belonged.  The man still hadn’t showed up yet, but she decided to wait for him.  She got on her computer, and started playing games to pass the time. 

 

Since it was getting late, she locked the front door, for her own security, but she kept the “open” sign showing.  At 9:00 she was about to give up and head home, but she heard a soft knock on the glass of the front door.  She walked quickly to the door, knowing that it was the man she had met earlier that week.  She looked through the door and saw him standing there with his 4 books in hand.  She opened the door for him, and took some of the books so he didn’t have to carry so many.  “Thanks.” he said as he walked into the library.  She shut the door, not locking it, but she turned the “open” sign over. 

 

“No problem.  I’ve carried more than this before.  Well, you already knew that.”  She laughed a little, as did he.

 

“I’m sorry for getting here so late, but I figured that you’d still be here.”

 

“Yeah, I’m usually here until 9:00 every night.  It’s hard at sometimes, but you get used to it.”

 

“I can’t see how you do it.  It’d be too tiring for me.”

 

“Well, it’s probably more tiring for my fiancé because I’m hardly ever home.  Like I said, we get used to it.”  The man didn’t like hearing the word “fiancé”. 

 

‘Of course,’ he thought, ‘as soon as I meet a decent woman, she’s already taken.  Just my damn luck.’

 

“I’m sure it is.” he said.  She could tell that he was a little disappointed. 

 

“Um, I was thinking, the other night, and realized that I didn’t properly introduce myself, which is really not me, but,” she stuck her hand out, “I’m Evelyn.  You can call me Evy though.”  He didn’t take her hand.

 

“Richard.  People call me Rick.”  She still had her hand out, expecting that he would take it after he said who he was.  But he didn’t.  He kissed her straight on the mouth instead.  However, she didn’t resist.  She was in shock at first, but then started kissing him back.  ‘Wow,’ she thought, ‘he’s a good kisser!  Even better than Jack…wait, what am I doing?!?!’  She quickly pushed him away. 

 

“I’m so sorry; I don’t know what got into me!  Really, I’m sorry.”  Rick had realized what he’d done, and hadn’t planned on it.  It was one of those things that just happens.

 

“Um, it’s—it’s ok.” she said, still a little stunned.

 

“No, it’s not ok.  I don’t know why I did that.”

 

“I think I know why.  And I think it’s the same reason I kissed you back.”  There was a long moment of silence.  “I’m sorry; I don’t know what I’m doing.  I’m getting married in two months, I can’t do this.  I’m the one who should be sorry for even thinking anything could happen.  I’m so stupid!”

 

“No!  Don’t say that!  You are not stupid!!  Don’t think that for a second!  It was just a 10 second mistake, and it won’t happen again.”  There was another pause.  “Will it?”  They stared in each others eyes.  And then Rick kissed her again.  She kissed him back yet again, and they started stumbling toward her office.  They entered it, still kissing, and they shut the door.  Since they were too consumed in their kissing, they didn’t realize where they were going, and made quite a big mess in her office.  The papers on her desk spread all over the floor.  They still held the kiss and she accidentally backed into a wall.  It was good enough for them.  They were breathing heavily, and then he slid his tongue into her mouth. 

 

‘He tastes better than Jack too!’ she thought as she put her tongue onto his.  Just then, they heard the front door close. 

 

“What was that?” Rick asked, quickly.

 

“Oh no!  It’s Jack!  My fiancé!  You have to hide!  Follow me.”  She led him to the bathroom in the back of her office.  “There’s a window in there, go!”  He kissed her quickly once more, and fled.  She ran back into her office and quickly opened her window, making sure that Rick got out.  She saw him run to his car, which was luckily not where Jack could’ve seen it, and then he left.  Jack walked in as she had her head out the window.

 

“Uh, Hun?” he said, wondering why she was sticking halfway out the window.  She quickly came back in.

 

“Darling!  Hi.  What are you doing here?” she asked, acting as if nothing suspicious was going on.

 

“I didn’t want you to be here by yourself.  I heard on the news that three women were killed tonight, by the same guy, and they don’t know who he is, but it was around here.”

 

“Oh my God!  Are you serious?!” she asked, not expecting to hear something that terrible was going on in London.  Nothing like that had happened there in 34 years, before she was ever thought of, let alone alive!

 

“Yes.  So I figured that I’d come over here and stay with ya until you came home.”

 

“Thank you!  I’m glad you did!  If he would’ve come here, I wouldn’t have had a clue.”  She was still a little shocked, for she was talking a lot faster than she normally did.  Plus, Jack almost caught her and Rick.

 

“How come all your papers are on the floor?” he asked, just noticing that the floor was covered with papers.

 

“Oh, I opened my window to get some air as I was doing some paperwork.  I should’ve known better because I gust of wind came in and destroyed everything.  I was so mad!  I should’ve known better, but you know me, always doing something stupid.” 

 

“Well, that’s one thing I like about you.”  She chuckled, and then started picking up papers and stacking them back on her desk.  He bent down to help her.  “Is there any specific way these papers have to be stacked?”

 

“No.  I’ll just re-organize them tomorrow.  It’s getting too late and I’m getting tired.” she said, giving herself another excuse to stay late tomorrow night, hoping that Rick would show up again.

 

They finally got all the papers back on her desk and headed home.  When they got there the TV was still on because Jack left in a hurry to find his fiancé when he found out about the killer around her area.  The show that was currently on was interrupted by the news casters saying that the killer had been found and was in jail.  Jack had no reason to worry about Evy anymore, which was an advantage to her so he wouldn’t come walking in on her and Rick again.  They turned the TV off and headed to bed.

 

The next day went by slow for Evy.  She was very anxious to see Rick again, although she wasn’t even sure if he would show up again.  At about 6:00pm her phone in her office rang.  She was looking at some books and barely heard the phone.  She ran to it, hoping whoever it was wouldn’t hang up before she could get there.  She quickly picked it up.  “Hello?” she asked, a little out of breath.

 

“Hi, sweetheart.”  It was Jack.

 

“Hello Honey.  What did you need?”

 

“I just wanted to ask if you were going to work late because if you’re going to, then I can because my boss asked me to cover for someone tonight.”

 

“Yeah, I’m going to work late.  How long is the shift you’ll have to work?”

“It lasts until 10:00 tonight.”

 

“Ok.  I can work until then.  I still have all those papers to organize, and I have to do my book check tonight.”  It was only half of a lie.  She did have the papers to organize, but she didn’t have to do a book check.

 

Jack, not knowing that it was a lie, knew that the book check would take a long time because she had to go through and make sure all the books that were supposed to be in the library, were.  And that meant she had to check every, single book on every, single shelf.  “Ok, so, we should be home at the same time.  Well, I might get home before you, depending on how many books you have to go through.”

 

“A lot!”

 

“Ok. Well, I hate to, but I gotta get back to work.  Bye Hon!”

 

“Bye love.”  Evy hung up last, and as soon as she did, her phone rang almost immediately after she walked out of her office.  She ran back in and picked it up, thinking it was Jack again.  “Yes?”

 

“Evy?”  This time, it was Rick.

 

“Rick, oh.  I thought it was Jack again.  Sorry.”

 

“That’s ok.  Speaking of him though, I was wondering if he was going to be around tonight.”

 

“No, he just called saying that he had to cover for someone until 10:00 tonight, and then he’s going to meet me at home, so he won’t be here all night.”

 

“Ok.  Do you want me to come tonight?”

 

“Yes!  You can come right now if you like.”

 

“Ok.  I’ll be there in an hour.  I have to finish up cleaning and then I’ll be there.”

 

“Ok.  See you then!”  When she hung up, she was so excited!  She couldn’t wait!  Someone came in the door, and she heard them walking towards her office.  She went to meet them at the door so they didn’t come all the way into her office.  “Jack!  What are you doing here?  I thought you were working!”  ‘This is not good!’ she thought. 

 

“I’m just here for a little bit, I wanted to see you while I can tonight because I’ll probably be asleep before you get home.  I’ve worked a long day today and I’m already tired.”

 

“Oh, ok.  Well, I’m glad you came.”  It wasn’t a lie, she just hoped that he would be gone within the hour.  They visited, and they both lost track of time.  It had been an hour and they were still in her office talking.  When Evy heard the door open, she realized she was in trouble.  “I’ll be right back, I just heard someone come in, I’m going to go see if I can help them and get them out of here so we can keep visiting.”  Evy said, hoping that it wasn’t Rick.  ‘Even if it is,’ she thought, ‘I’ll just tell him to hide out here until I can get Jack out of here.’

 

“Ok.  I’ll be waiting.” he said.  She walked into the library, seeing Rick walking towards her. 

 

“Can I help you, sir?” she said, knowing that Jack could still hear them, although he couldn’t see them, so she waved at Rick, showing him that they needed to move farther away if they wanted to talk. 

 

“Yeah, I was wondering if you could find me some books on World War I.” he said, quickly covering.

 

“Ok, right this way.”  Luckily, he had chosen a subject that was on the opposite side of the library from her office.

 

“What’s going on?” he asked quietly, wondering why she was acting so weird.

 

“Jack’s here!  He wasn’t supposed to show up but he did.  He’s going to leave soon though, he has to get back to work for the cover shift.”  She remained quiet so Jack didn’t hear whispers and suspect something.

 

“Do you want me to come back in a few minutes?”

 

“No, just um…look around until he leaves.  If it takes too long, start getting my attention every time I try to talk to him and he’ll figure out that I’m busy and hopefully leave.”

 

“Ok.  See you soon.”  Evy walked back into her office, finding Jack standing in the corner looking at the wall, and he was reaching back from touching it.

 

“What are you doing?” she asked.

 

“Oh, I was just looking at the wall.  It looked like you had a leak, but I guess it was just the glare from the window or something.”

 

“Oh, ok.”

 

“Well, I’m gonna head back to work.  The shift starts in 10 minutes.”

 

“Ok.  Love you.  Bye.”

 

“Bye.”  He kissed her on his way out.  She followed him to the door, watching as he pulled out, and headed down the road.  She quickly went back to Rick, and as soon as she found him, they broke into a passionate kiss.  Again, they headed to her office, this time, they were a little more careful.  They didn’t happen to destroy anything this time.  Although, Evy had her desk totally cleaned off, besides the computer, of course.  They entered the office and Rick led Evy to her desk and laid her down on it, then he lay over her.  They still kissed and Rick’s hand started exploring.  Evy broke the kiss.

 

“Wait, wait.  I’m not sure if this is a good idea.” she said.  He could tell she was a little nervous.

 

“I don’t want to freak you out or anything but, why isn’t a good idea?”

 

”Because I’m getting married remember?”

 

“I know, I know.  But I don’t think that’s all that’s bothering you.  What else is on your mind?” he asked, knowing something else was going on.

 

“Nothing.” she quickly lied.

 

“Come on, Evy.  I know you’re thinking something.  Please tell me.”  She just laid there for a moment, thinking.  And then decided to tell him.

 

“I was raised never to ‘get close to a man’, in a manner of speaking, until I was married.”

 

“So you’ve never…?”

 

“No.”

 

“Not even with your fiancé…ever?”

 

“No.”

 

‘Wow,’ Rick thought, ‘this is good, and this is bad.  It’s good because she hasn’t gotten close to her fiancé yet.  And not any other man.  But it’s bad because she’s never done this, and was raised not to.  And I don’t think we’re gonna get married.  She’s already getting married to someone else.  Now what?!’  He couldn’t think of anything to do.  He wanted to be with her, but didn’t want to if she didn’t think it was ok.  He began to stand up off of her, but she pulled him back.

 

“It’s ok.  This is something that I want.” she said, still showing a little nervousness in her voice.

 

“But, your fiancé.  What about him?” he asked.

 

“He’ll never have to know.  I won’t tell him, if you don’t tell him.  Deal?”

 

“Deal.” he closed the deal, with a kiss.  Rick knew that since this was her first time ever, he would probably hurt her a little.  He hoped that it wasn’t going to be that bad. 

 

When they became one, he could see that indeed, it was very painful for her.  He was easy and they finally warmed up to each other.  And before the night was over, they ended up making love 3 times.

 

At 11:30, Evy went home, to find Jack already asleep.  She didn’t wake him as she slid into bed next to him. 

 

Rick coming in to Evy got to be an every night thing.  Evy knew that Jack didn’t know anything, so she never worried about it.  This went on for 2 weeks, every single night they met and made love at least once.  Evy still didn’t forget about Jack.  She acted as if everything was the same old, same old, so he wouldn’t expect anything.

 

On the 16th day that Rick and Evy met at her library, for the first time, they made love totally in the nude. 

 

Chapter Five: Uh-Oh!

 

When Evy went home that night, the first thing she saw was a whiskey bottle come flying at her head.  Luckily she ducked just in time for it to miss her and hit the door instead.  “What on earth?!  Jack, what was all that about?!” she asked, walking over to him.

 

“Stop!  Stop right there!!”  He put his finger up as he talked.  Obviously he was drunk because he couldn’t keep the finger in one place.  And when he stood up, it took him a while to catch himself.

 

“Jack, I thought you said you weren’t going to drink anymore!  What has happened to you?”

 

“Not you, that’s for sure!”  He slurred his words almost to where she couldn’t understand him.

 

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

 

“I think you know exactly what it means, Evy!” he yelled, as he walked closer to her.

 

”No, Jack.  I don’t.”  She was yelling right back.

 

“Oh, yes you do.  Unless you mean to tell me that you aren’t the one having sex with that guy.  Rick, is it?”  By now, he was right in her face.  She backed towards the door, knowing that she was caught, but she was going to play dumb anyway.

 

“Jack, I think you’ve had a little too much to drink, ok?  I don’t know of anyone named ‘Rick’, and I never have, I assure you!” She was now standing flat against the door, and he was still “thisclose” to her face.  <<a/n: the “thisclose” thing is explained in my first fanfic (a little)…if you’ve read it, then u already knew that.>>  He was staring her down, and she showed the fear in her eyes.

 

“Oh, what?  You don’t believe me?  Come here…I have something to show you.”  She didn’t move, for she was too afraid to.  So Jack grabbed her arm and drug her over to the couch and threw her down on it.  He then turned on the TV and turned it to “INPUT 2”.  It was her office.  It was black and white, and it was from the spot that Jack said he thought he “saw a leak”. 

 

“You put a camera in my office?!”  She was appalled.

 

“Yeah!  Of course I did.”

 

“When?”

 

“That day I said I thought I saw a leak, I had just put a camera on the wall.  It’s too small for you to notice unless you know exactly where it is.”

 

“WHY?”

 

“Because I suspected you were up to something.  And this just proved to me that I was right.”  He turned the TV to channel 3, then turned on the VCR and pressed play.  There was a tape that had recorded every session between Evy and Rick.  Every…single…one.  “At first, I couldn’t believe it was you.  That you would do something like that.  Then it kept happening, and tonight,” he fast forwarded to that night, showing her and Rick in the nude, “I just couldn’t take it anymore.  Why?  WHY would you do this to me?!” he turned the TV off and walked back toward her.

 

“I—I—I don’t know.  I don’t know!”

 

“Well, you had to have done it for a reason.  Come on now, Evy.  Don’t play dumb with me!  I’m getting to be an impatient man!  If you’re wise, you’d start talking, now!” he was standing right over her, yelling.

 

“Ok…ok.  I met him at the library, and he started coming in a lot.  And then every night.  I’m so, so, so sorry!  I don’t even know why I did it!” she was only yelling to try to hide her fear, but she didn’t do a very good job of it.

 

“Yeah, sure.”

 

“I really don’t!  Honestly!” 

 

“Evy!  Come on!  People do everything for a reason!  Now TELL ME!!”  He was now at the end of his rope.  If she didn’t start talking, he would have to force her to.

 

“It just happened, OK?” she shouted.

 

“Bullshit!!  That is total bullshit!  Obviously you wanted something because you let him sleep with you, but I can’t until we’re married.  You aren’t even going to marry him and your sleeping with him.  So WHY DID YOU DO IT?!”

 

“I told you, it just happened!  I don’t know!” she stood up as she talked.  She was now face to face with Jack.  She was almost in tears.  She never knew Jack to be mean but she could see in his eyes that he was going to do anything to get answers.  And she was right.  The second after she stopped talking, he slapped her.  She covered her face which was instantly red but not bruised. 

 

“Stop lying to me, Evy.”

 

“Ok.  Ok,” she said slowly, while she looked around in different directions, afraid to make direct eye contact.  “I did it because,---because I love him.”  Well, I don’t think there’s anything worse than that that she could’ve said to him.  He just stood there in shock for a little bit, then when he finally processed what she said to him, he hit her.  She cried out and fell back to the couch.  Her cheekbone was slightly bleeding, and now she was crying.  Though she tried to show that she was brave.  “I’m sorry.” she said, trying to tell him that she wouldn’t ever see Rick again. 

 

“You better be.  And you’d better not see Rick ever again.  Do you understand me?!”

 

“Yes.” she whispered.

 

“Good.”  And with that, Jack went to their bedroom and slammed the door.  Evy heard it lock and knew that she had to sleep on the couch that night, for the first time ever that she had been living with Jack.

 

Chapter Six: Getting away

 

The next day while Evy was working, she knew that Rick would show up tonight.  And the little fight with Jack last night left a mark on her cheekbone.  She knew that Rick would probably see it and freak out.  8:00pm rolled around and not many people had showed up.  Only 3.  However, Evy never found herself bored.  She kept looking off into space thinking about what was going on.  She didn’t know what to do.  9:00 came and Evy was just about to leave, when she heard the front door open.  She knew that it was Rick because she had already put the closed sign on.  She continued messing with the things on her desk and made sure that she wasn’t facing him and that her hair covered up most of her face.  This was the first time that she wore her hair down while she was at work.  Rick saw this, and wondered if it was even her.

 

“Evy?” he asked, coming around her desk to see her face.  He noticed that it was indeed her, but didn’t know why her hair was down.  “How come you don’t have your hair up?”  She continued to work, never looking up at him.

 

“It wasn’t cooperating this morning so I decided to leave it down.” she quickly lied.

 

“Ok.  But why is it in your face.  I’ve seen your hair down before and it doesn’t do that.”  He had the strange feeling that something wasn’t right.

 

“I just combed it and left this morning.  And I’ve been working over my desk all day and it tends to fall across my face when I do that.”  Rick came over to her and stopped her from working.  She was now facing him, but she wouldn’t uncover her face.  So Rick did that for her.  He gently took his hand and tucked her hair behind her ear.  When he saw the mark and the bruise, he went wide-eyed.  She wouldn’t look him in the eyes because she was too afraid to, yet she could still see that he was shocked, and angry at whoever did this.  And he had a pretty good idea of who it was.

 

“It was your fiancé wasn’t it?” he asked in a matter of fact tone.  She still hadn’t looked him in the eyes yet.  She wasn’t afraid anymore, just ashamed.  She slightly nodded her head in agreement to his question.  “Why?”

 

“He found out about us.” she said quietly.

 

“How?  I didn’t tell him…did you?”

 

“No.  He put a camera in my office.  He’s been watching us the entire time.”  He could tell that she was angry with Jack for doing that, but she was mostly ashamed.  Ashamed for ever being with Jack.  Ashamed for doing that to Rick.  He didn’t think anything of it though because it wasn’t her fault, and he knew that one way or another, Jack would pay for what he’d done.

 

“Evy, you have to get away from him.  Before something even worse happens.”  He was trying to hint them running off together but didn’t want to come out and say it.  He wanted her to come up with the idea.

 

“Look, I know that—that I should run.  But if I do, he’ll just be even more upset.  It may sound crazy but I have to go back.  For the safety of us both.  I’m sorry.  But if it gets to the point to where I can’t take it anymore, then I’ll leave him.”  She now had tears in her eyes, but she wasn’t crying…yet.

 

“I’m not going to try to change your mind.  I was just hoping that I could talk you out of getting hurt.  But, it’s not my decision.”  He was hurt that she wouldn’t come with him, but he understood.

 

Time passed, and Rick and Evy continued seeing each other, but they were a lot more careful.  Things with her and Jack weren’t getting any better though.  Jack had moved up the time of the wedding and of course Evy had no say in it.  She was forced to marry him.  And they were now husband, and wife.  However, that didn’t affect her and Rick’s relationship.

 

About a week after the wedding, Evy went home one night to find Jonathan on the couch and that was it.  Jack was out drinking again.  She hoped that he had been gone all day so he wouldn’t have seen her and Rick talking in her office, since she admitted that she would run away from him.  “Uh, Jonathan?  Where’s Jack?” she asked as she sat next to him.

 

“He’s at the bar.  He’s been there all day.  Haven’t seen him since 7:30 this morning.” He replied as he kept watching TV.

 

“You mean he’s been at the bar ALL day?”

 

“Evy, it’s not my job to keep track of your husband!”

 

“You’re not.  I was just asking!”  Evy walked back out the front door and headed to the bar she figured Jack would be at: The Bottom Of The Hill, the bar he usually we to when he and Evy were having problems. 

 

When she got there, she saw him immediately.  When she walked up to him, he grabbed another woman and started dancing with her.  Evy finally got him to talk to her.  After a few seconds of talking, she knew it was useless because he was drunk out of his mind.  She got him into the car, with some help.  By the time they got home, he was making a little more sense, but he wasn’t being very nice.

 

Jonathan was still watching TV.  When Evy and Jack came in, it startled him because they came bursting through the door, yelling at each other.

 

Jack yelled, “Evy!  For God’s sake, STOP LYING TO ME!!”

 

She yelled back, “I’m NOT!  And if you think that I am, then we have a dishonest relationship.  And that’s not going to work!”

 

“YOU’RE the one that’s lying, and you’re talking to ME about a dishonest relationship?!  I think you need to turn that finger around and take a look at yourself!”

 

“You are unbelievable!”  And with that she turned and started to walk away.  But before she could get away, Jack grabbed her arm and turned her towards him.

 

“When you decide to tell me the truth, then you come talk to me.  Until then, I’m not gonna have ANYTHING to do with you!”  And with that, Jack shoved her away, and walked upstairs to their bedroom, and slammed the door.

 

Evy just stood there, tears forming in her eyes.  Jonathan, who had just sat and listened to the whole thing, came up and have her a brotherly hug. 

 

“You really should get rid of that bloke, you know?” he said quietly, just in case Jack could’ve possible heard them.

 

“I’ve tried.” She said, quite sad.

 

“What?  When?” he asked, never knowing she’d already tried to leave him once.

 

“After the first week that he started acting like this.”

 

“Acting like what?  The fighting?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

“But, everyone does that, Evy.  I mean, all couples argue.”

 

“I didn’t say ‘argue’, Jonathan.  I said, ‘fighting’.  There’s a BIG difference.”

 

What?  He’s – He’s physically fighting you?!”

 

“Yes!  That’s why I’m always at the library.  I’m always away from him as much as possible.”

 

“Oh.  What happened?  You know, when you tried to leave?”

 

She just looked at him.  A single tear rolled down her cheek.  Jonathan wiped it away.  “Oh sis.  I’m so sorry.”  He gave her another hug.  And she buried herself in his shoulder, letting it all out. 

 

Jonathan walked her over to the couch and sat down with her, holding her, allowing her to unload on him.

 

About an hour later, Evy had stopped crying and was sleeping on Jonathan’s lap.  Jonathan heard the bedroom door open and close again upstairs.  Then he heard footsteps getting louder.  He knew Jack probably was coming to either go back to the bar, or take something up with Evy, which he wasn’t about to allow.

 

Jack was at the bottom of the stairs when Jonathan got up carefully, as not to wake up Evy.  He had a stern look on his face as he quickly walked towards Jack.  “You!!  You get the hell out of here and don’t EVER come within 50 miles of my sister!”  Jonathan growled.  He would be yelling up a storm but decided to let Evy sleep as long as possible.

 

“Jonathan, stay the hell out of my and my wife’s business.” said Jack, a little too calmly.  He went right past Jonathan and straight towards Evy.  But Jonathan jumped in front of him before he could reach her.

 

“Look, I’m here for one reason, and that’s my sister.”

 

“This isn’t your business!  Stay out of it!!  I’m warning you!”

 

“I’m her brother!  It’s my job to make it my business!”  By now, they were shouting, but Evy managed to stay asleep through it.

 

“Just because you’re a stubborn pain in the ass?!  I don’t think so.  Now MOVE!!”  And with that, Jack punched Jonathan square in the jaw when he didn’t move.  Jonathan fell to the ground, unconscious.  Jack went straight for Evy.  “Wake up!” he yelled as he leaned over her, and hand on the couch at both sides of her head.  She continued in a deep sleep.  But was abruptly awoken by a hand in contact wither cheek.  She squealed, raising a hand to comfort her cheek.  She turned to look at Jack, with a horrified look on her face.

 

“What is the matter with you?!” she yelled.

 

“YOU are!  You and that, man!”  Evy was now up on her elbows but Jack was still leaning over her.

 

“Look, Jack.  I already told you.  And I’ve told you a million times.  He’s gone.  I have nothing to do with him now!”  She was leaning into the back of the couch as much as she could, trying to stay as far away from him as possible.  Jack was fire red in the face.  Evy could almost see the steam coming out of his ears.  He was too angry to say anything.  He just stood up and back-handed her so hard, she flew off the couch, screaming.  She was now on her stomach.  She saw Jonathan laying across the room and crawled over to him, making sure Jack hadn’t killed him.  She lay beside him, seeing he was still breathing.  Before she could crawl to the phone, Jack grabbed her hair, and pulled her up to where she was in front of him, but not facing him.  She could feel his hot, sticky breath on her ear as he whispered, “You know, Evy, you are a really bad liar!”  With that he threw her to the ground and kicked her in the ribs.  She curled up to try to keep from getting hurt.  But it didn’t work as well as she’d hoped.  Jack wrapped his arm around her torso and picker her up, making her stand.  As soon as she was on her feet, he put one hand around her throat.  He then backed her against a wall, still choking her.  She put her hands on his wrist and hand, trying to pry it off her throat.  She started becoming weak from the loss of air, but had enough strength to knee him in the stomach.  He doubled over, then fell to the ground, crying out in pain.  She quickly caught her breath and took her chance.  She ran to the phone and dialed Rick’s number.  One ring…two rings…three rings…four rings.

 

‘Oh no.  He’s not gonna answer!’ she thought, getting quite worried.  She almost hung up, but was stopped.

 

“Ye-llo.” answered Rick.

 

“Oh Rick, thank God you answered.” she breathed, relieved.

 

“Evy, is everything ok?  You sound a little freaked out.” he asked, concerned by the fear in her voice.

 

“’Freaked’ is only the beginning.  Look, you have to get over here, Rick.  Jacks—“

 

“Evy?  Evy, you there?  Hello?!”  No one answered.  Nothing but a dial tone.  “Shit!”  He threw the phone down and ran out the door to his car.

 

*~*~Back to Evy~*~*

 

“’Freaked’ is only the beginning.  Look, you have to get over here, Rick.  Jacks—“  Jack came up behind her and grabbed the phone and hung it up.

 

“Calling for your boyfriend, are you?”

 

“He’s not my boyfriend!  But he’s the closest thing to a friend that I’ve got!”  Not a smart move on her part.  Jack shoved her against the wall, holding her hands against it, above her head, and pinning her legs still so she couldn’t hurt him again.  Their noses were practically touching.

 

Jack whispered, “Well, I’ve got news for you, Evy.  I’m not supposed to be your friend.  I’m your husband!”

 

“Husbands don’t treat their wives like this, Jack!”

 

“And why’s that?” he asked, as he put the pressure on her arms and legs.

 

“It’s still legal to beat your wife.”

 

“Maybe in your world, but not the real world!”  Jack was getting tired of this.  He took her by her hair and threw her across the room and she hit her head on the corner of  the coffee table.  She was now bleeding down the side of her face.  She wasn’t unconscious, but she lay on the floor a little disoriented.  He walked to her and stood over her.  A foot on each side of her.  He slowly reached behind him and pulled out a gun.  He aimed it at the back of her head.  She sensed this and slowly turned her head.  “Jack, what are you doing?” she asked, weakly.

 

“I’m making sure you never hurt another man again.”

 

 “What are you talking about?  I don’t see how you can say that considering the way you’ve treated me.”

 

“I’m treating you like anyone in my position would!”

 

“No, Jack!  I’m not talking about now!”  She slowly, carefully started to get up.  He kept the gun on her the whole time.  “I’m talking about the past 3 months!  I’ve tried to give you everything!  And you treated me like dirt!  And I’m tired of it.  That’s why I’ve done what I have.  I needed something more!  I needed to feel alive.  And Rick allows me to do that.  He loves me, and he treats me the way a loving husband should treat his wife.  I don’t know what your problem is, but I’m tired of being a part of it.  I’m not going to put up with it anymore.”  There was a long pause.  “So…now you know.  You drove me to do what I did!”  Jack didn’t know what to say.  He continued to stand there.  He slowly lowered the gun.  Evy started to feel a little better and started to move towards Jonathan, seeing if she could wake him up.  And in less than a second, it all turned bad.

 

*~*~Back to Rick~*~*

 

He knew it would take a bit to get to her house, but this was crazy.  ‘Of course.  I hit all he construction zones, and I get every single red light possible!’ he thought.  “Finally!” he said to himself.  He was now at Evelyn’s house.  He got out of the car and rushed to the front door.  But right before he reached it, he heard a horrible sound.

 

*~*~Back to Evy~*~*

 

She took her eyes off Jack to go to Jonathan and right before she leaned down to him, she heard a loud crashing sound and felt the most terrible pain in her side.  She fell to the ground, clutching her side.  She looked at her hand and it was covered in blood.  Then she looked and Jack and the gun was till pointed at her.  Now aimed at her face.  “Jack…please.  Think about…what you’re doing.”  She could barely speak.  And her sight was going fast.  She was trying hard to hold on, but felt herself slipping away very quickly.  The last thing she saw was Jack walking towards her.

 

*~*~Back to Rick~*~*

 

When he heard the shot, he froze.  All thoughts of Evelyn rushed through his mind.  He raced to the door and opened it.  He ran in and saw jack moving towards Evy with a gun at her head.  Luckily, he was behind him.  He quietly went up behind him and tackled him from behind.  The gun went flying under the couch and Rick started throwing punches.  He had Jack pinned to the ground and wasn’t letting up.  Jack got a couple of good hits it, but Rick didn’t seem affected by them.  Jack finally got a chance, and took it.  He kicked Rick hard in the chest, causing Rick to fall off of him and onto the floor.  Jack got up and ran out the front door, got in Rick’s car and peeled out of the driveway.  Rick quickly got up and glanced out the window to make sure that he was gone.  He didn’t care that he took his car.  What was important was that he was away from Evelyn….Evelyn!  He rushed to her and took her hand.  Her breathing was very shallow and her pulse practically non-existent.  He looked around for a phone that was close and noticed Jonathan.  Still unconscious but still in better condition than Evy.  He spotted a phone and sprinted to it.  Dialed 911 and got an ambulance on the way.  Then went back to Evelyn’s side.  He took her hand and felt her slipping further away every second.  “Evy, please hold on, help’s almost here.”  Next to them, Jonathan started to stir.  When he finally came to, he noticed Rick.  “I say, who are you and what are you doing here?!”

 

“Don’t worry, I’m a friend of Evelyn’s.  And I’m waiting for the ambulance to get here.”  Jonathan finally took notice of the condition of his sister.

 

“Oh my God!  Did – did Jack do this?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Where is he?”

 

“He left, after I beat him to a pulp of course.”

 

“Oh.”  Rick noticed Evy’s wound was still bleeding pretty bad and put his hand over the wound.

 

“They better get here soon.  She’s lost a lot of blood.  Any more and…”  He didn’t have to finish.  Jonathan knew it wouldn’t be good.  Just then, they heard the sirens of the ambulance.  They paramedics came in and quickly got Evelyn in the ambulance.  They tried to get Jonathan but he assured them he was fine and wanted to stay with his sister. Rick went in the ambulance with Evy to the emergency room and Jonathan drove Evy’s car.  But once they arrived, they were forced to wait in the waiting room.

 

An hour went by and still no word.  Jonathan stared at Rick as he paced the room.  “Honestly, chap you’re making me dizzy.”

 

“How can you not be worried?”

 

“I am.  I just try not to make other people sick because of it.”  Rick just kept pacing.

 

The doctor can in about 15 minutes later.  “Richard and Jonathan?”

 

“Yes?” they both answered, Jonathan now standing next to Rick.

 

“Well, she’s stable for now but it still doesn’t look good.  She’s lost so much blood.  She’s very weak.

 

“Will she be ok?” Rick asked.

 

“With time, it’s possible she’ll make it.  But the chance is slim.  I’m sorry.  You may go one at a time to see her.”  Rick looked at Jonathan and Jonathan could tell he needed to see her.

 

“Go ahead.”  Rick rushed to her room.  When he went in, what he saw made him hurt.  She was laying on the bed with her eyes closed and bandages from her belly button to just above her chest.  Blood already showing through where she was shot.  He went to the chair at the side of her bed and took her hand, causing her to open her eyes.

 

“Rick.” she said weakly.  “Oh, Rick.  I’m so sorry.  Are you alright?”

 

“I’m fine.  The question is are you alright?”

 

“Yeah,” she said, wanting to comfort him, “just tired, that’s all.  What happened to Jack?”

 

“He’s gone.  I ran him out of the house and he took my car and left.”

 

“Oh.  I’m sorry he took your car.”

 

“It’s ok.  The important thing is that he left.”

 

“Where’s Jonathan? She asked, suddenly remembering he was on the floor knocked out last time she saw him.

 

“He’s in the waiting room.  They only let one of us in at a time.  But he’s fine.  A nurse bandaged him up when we got here.”

 

“Rick?” she got a serious look on her face.  Then passed out.

 

“Evy?  Evy?!”  The machines next to her bed all started beeping and the heart monitor went to one continuous beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep.  “Oh no.  Somebody help!!”  He yelled out the door.  Doctors and nurses came rushing n and the forced Rick out and closed the curtain.  A nurse escorted him back to the waiting room.

 

“How is she?” Jonathan asked, concerned for his baby sister.

 

“She was fine…and then her heart stopped.”  Rick was started to choke up at the thought of losing her.

 

“What?!”  Jonathan was getting very worried and wanted to see his sister.  Now he was pacing along with Rick.  They finally got tired and took a seat.

 

When the doctor came in about 10 minutes later, they both jumped up to meet him at the doorway.

 

“She’s ok.  For now.  She seems to be holding on with everything she’s got.”

 

“Can we go see her?” Jonathan asked, reading Rick’s mind.

 

“She’s sleeping now.  And doesn’t need to be disturbed.”  He saw the worry and hurt in their eyes.  “But, your welcome to stay the night with her as long as you don’t wake her.”

 

“Oh thank you doc.” Rick said, as he and Jonathan went to her room and entered quietly.  They took a chair on each side of her bed and sat next to her.  Jonathan went to sleep quickly.  But Rick stayed up for about 3 hours, before getting tired.  He took her hand and drifted into sleep.

 

Chapter Seven: He Comes Back

 

Evelyn awoke the next morning to the bright, morning light that filled the room.  After a few moments she noticed someone holding her hand.  She looked over and found Rick asleep in the chair next to her.  And it looked as if it wasn’t very comfortable.  She smiled at seeing this, then look to her other side to fine Jonathan curled up in his little chair.  She couldn’t help but chuckle at this.  But soon found out that wasn’t all that smart.  Her side hurt immediately.  She winced out in pain, which made it hurt even more causing her to yelp, which woke Rick.

 

“Hey, you alright?” he immediately sat up, looking at her with concern. 

 

“I’m fine.”

 

“Are you sure?  Last time you said that we almost lost you.”

 

“I promise, I’m ok.  I feel better than yesterday.  Just sore.”

 

“Ok.  Just take it easy.  I don’t wanna risk losing you again.”  He kissed her hand.  She gave him a smile.

 

Just then, the doctor came in.  “Glad to see your awake and feeling well.”

 

“I’m actually feeling quite well actually.  But, even so, how long do I have to stay here?”  Evelyn was anxious to get home.  She was never really comfortable at hospitals.

 

“Well, if you continue to do well today, we can send you home this evening.”

 

“Wonderful.”  She was relieved.

 

All went well at the hospital and Evelyn was released to leave at 6:00pm.  Rick drove them home, of course.  When they pulled in the driveway, they all were horrified at what they saw.  Rick’s car was right in front of the house and the front door was wide open.

 

Rick parked the car away from his own.  “Jonathan, you stay here with Evy.  I’ll go see what’s goin’ on.”  Rick, always being prepared, grabbed a gun from the glove box.

 

“Rick, you shouldn’t go in there.  Especially alone.”  Evy grabbed his arm trying to convince him.  “We should just go to the police.  Don’t even try to mess with him, please!”

 

“It’ll be fine, Evy.  Just stay here and if he comes for you, get outta here as fast as you can!  Don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine, just leave.”

 

“Rick, I’m not going to leave you here with him!”

 

“You may have to.  But if he gets out here, get away from him!”  He gave her a reassuring look, a peck on the cheek and ran for the house, gun at the ready.

 

A few minutes went by and Evy was starting to get worried.  “Jonathan, do you think everything’s ok?  I mean, what if something happened and Jack’s in there just waiting for us to go in there?”

 

“You worry too much.  Rick can handle himself, I’m sure he’s fine.  He may not have even found Jack yet.  It is a big house you know.”

 

“Still, Jack’s pretty bad.  I’m just worried for Rick.  I’m going in to see what’s going on!”  Evy made a mad dash for the house.

 

“Evy, didn’t the man tell you to stay here?  Evy?!  Oh forget it.  I’m not going after her again!  Last time I did that I almost died.  And my drink was wasted!”  And with that, Jonathan sat contently in the car.

 

Evy cautiously entered the house looking for Rick but keeping a close eye for Jack.  She couldn’t find anyone and started to get worried.  After searching a couple of rooms she found Rick.  “Evy, what are you doing here?  I told you to wait in the car!”

 

“I wanted to check on you.  It’s been a long time you know.  I was just getting worried.”

 

“Wait…you left Jonathan alone?!  Oh boy.  Look, I haven’t found Jack yet.  So go back to the car where it’s safe.  I’ll come and get you when everything’s ok.”  He practically shoved her out the door towards the car.

 

After a couple minutes of sitting in the car, Jonathan decided he needed to go to the bathroom...really bad!  “Of course!” he said as he got out of the car and left to find a place to do his business.  No way was he going in that house right now, though. 

 

He walked back to the car and to his surprise, saw Evy sitting in the front seat again.  “Why are you back here?”

 

“Rick told me to come back and wait here because he hasn’t found Jack yet.”

 

“Oh.  Well, all for the better.  You shouldn’t be in there with that ass anyways.”

 

“Who, Rick?”

 

“No, Jack!”

 

“Oh.  Well, I just hope Rick takes care of it….Show Jack a thing or two….I just hope he doesn’t pull a number on Rick……”  Evy wondered why Jonathan was being so quiet.  “Jonathan?” she asked as she turned to face him in the back seat.  When she turned, she didn’t see Jonathan.  She saw Jack.  She screamed, and that make Jack a little mad because he didn’t want  Rick to find them.  He hit her and she hit her head on the window, but she wasn’t knocked out.  Jack moved to the drivers seat and started driving away, not letting her out of the car.  She looked out the window and saw Jonathan lying in the driveway with blood on the side of his head.  Then she looked at the house, and saw Rick running out.  She saw the gun in his hand and it reminded her that he always kept another one under the passenger seat.  She reached for it but it was gone.  “Rick!!!” she yelled for him.  Then she heard a click.  She slowly turned and saw a gun in her face.  Jack had grabbed the other gun.  She was then quiet and turned to face forward and heard a gunshot.

 

Chapter Eight: A Dangerous Ride

 

She had her eyes closed tight, thinking she’d been shot again.  But she opened her eyes and saw that the car was stopped.  Rick had shot the tire so Jack couldn’t go anywhere.  Jack was furious.  He opened his door, grabbed Evy and pulled her across the car and out his door.  He held her facing Rick with a gun to her.  He had his arm around her neck so she couldn’t get away, but nevertheless she put her hands on his arm trying to pull him off.  But let’s face it, Jack’s a lot stronger than her.  Jack yelled to Rick, “Don’t move!  You move one muscle and you’ll never see here again!”  Rick stood still, but his gun was still aimed at Jack’s head.  Jack slowly moved backwards down the rest of the driveway and into the street.  When the next car came by, they had to stop to avoid hitting them.  Jack turned his gun to the driver and ordered him out of the car.  He quickly got out and ran away down the street.  Jack threw Evy in the passenger seat and drove off.  He soon looked in the rear view mirror and saw Rick following them in his car.  He cursed himself for leaving the keys in it.  It quickly turned into a high speed chase.  As Rick was following them, he thought to himself, ‘Where are the damn cops when you need them?!’

 

The chase went on all the way through town.  They were now on a country road.  Jack took a curve at a high speed and ran off the road.  He then overcorrected going across the road and the car flipped.  It rolled down a giant hill, which led to a river.  Rick stopped on the road, got out of his car and ran after them hoping they would stop before hitting the river.  But, unfortunately he wasn’t that lucky.  The car plunged into the water and was totally submerged before Rick could get halfway down the hill.

 

Evy took one big breath before the water covered her head.  She quickly reached for the window and rolled it down.  She swam out but before she got out her foot got caught on something.  She looked down and saw that Jack had her by her ankle.  She struggled to get away which made her wound hurt terribly.  And she started running out of air fast.  She felt someone grab her hand, looked up and saw Rick trying to pull up to the surface.

 

He pulled at her but she didn’t come up.  She must’ve been stuck on something.  He swam down and found the problem.  Jack  was trying to pull her back into the car because he couldn’t get out.  He knew what Jack was thinking.  If he was gonna die here, so was she. 

 

Rick couldn’t shoot him underwater, so he reached down to his boot and pulled out a knife.  He brought it up and stabbed Jack straight through the wrist.  He quickly let go of Evy who started swimming for the surface, and the water was filled with blood.  Rick knew Jack wouldn’t be able to stop the bleeding or would run out of air and wound never get out of that river. 

 

Rick followed Evy to the surface and swam to her.  She was leaning on the shore, still catching her breath.  “Are you ok?” he asked, getting out of the water and reaching for her hand.  She reached for him but quickly pulled away, holding her wound and wincing in pain.  “What happened?” he asked, concerned.

 

“I think my wound opened again.  And the bandages are no good wet.”  That was soon confirmed as they both saw the water around her turn red.  Rick reached down, grabbed her under her arms and lifted her to shore.  She now lay on the ground, getting weak from the loss of blood and the pain.  Rick put his hand on the wound for pressure.  Then quickly took his shirt off and wrapped it around her, covering the wound.  She started to close her eyes.

 

“Evy?  Evy stay with me!  Come on!”  He shook her a little.  She opened her eyes again but not very much.  Rick picked her up and carried her to his car at the top of the hill.  He put her in and raced to the hospital.

 

Back at the river, a little downstream from the accident, the car finally hit bottom and was stuck there for good.  At the surface just above the car, Jack popped out of the water.  He slowly pulled himself onto the shore and staggered up the hill.

 

Chapter Nine: The End…Or Is It?

 

Evy wasn’t at the hospital long.  They fixed her up and sent her home within a couple of hours.  When they got home, Evy remembered Jonathan.  “Oh my God.  Jonathan!”

 

“He’s fine.  He went into the house after you left.  He went and cleaned himself up.  He wasn’t hurt at all.  He just had a little scrape and passed out at seeing his blood on his hand.”  Rick parked the car and Evy got out quickly, almost running for the house to find Jonathan.  “Evy!  Be careful!  You’re gonna hurt yourself again!!”  Rick ran after her.

 

She entered the house and saw Jonathan instantly.  He was sitting on the couch.  When he saw her, he ran to her.  “Sis!  You ok?  You’re soaked!”  Rick came running in.

 

“Evy, you gotta take it easy.  I don’t want you getting hurt again.”

 

“Rick, I’m fine, honestly.”  She turned to Jonathan.  “Everything’s fine.  And Jack…well, lets just say he’s taken care of.”  She smiled and Jonathan gave her a hug.  Then Rick turned her towards him and kissed her passionately.

 

“I guess that means we can get married then, huh?”  As he said this, he knelt down and pulled out a black velvet box and opened it.  Inside, was the most gorgeous ring she’d ever seen.  She smiled and started to cry. 

 

“Yes!”  Rick stood and put the ring on her finger.  They kissed again.  Jonathan interrupted.

 

“Ok.  As much as I love seeing this whole lovey dovey thing, I have to interrupt and ask, how can you get married when you’re already married?”

 

“Jonathan,” Evy replied, “try to keep up, will you?  My ‘husband’ if that’s what you want to call him, is dead, so I can legally get married to someone else.  It all works out fine, don’t worry about it.  We’ve worried enough lately.”  And with that, they all smiled, and Rick held Evy close, glad that everything was ok.  They lightly rubbed their noses together as Jonathan rolled his eyes and went back to the television.  Everything was going to be great.

 

But little did they know…Jack, was just getting started.

 

<<a/n: I was thinking about writing a sequel…but I don’t know if I will.  Your input will help my decision.  Let me know if you want one!>>