The Motif

Chapter 14

The next morning, Jennifer thought over everything that had happened over the last twenty-four hours, as she sat on the bus taking her back home to Connecticut.

Once she and Tim had regained their composure, they had fled the macabre basement and phoned the police from the house of Mr. Johnson – the neighbor Jennifer had spoken with upon her arrival at Kyrie's house.

The rest of the day was a blur of answering questions from the police and reporters, and watching. Watching as the police scoured over Kyrie's home, searching for evidence. Watching as the coroners wheeled out the two black body bags. Watching as the first snow of the season began to cover the yards on Washington Street with a thin layer of white beauty, as if the heavens were mocking the horror of what had been discovered that morning.

When at last the police said they were free to go, Jennifer and Tim were tired and hungry. They took a taxi back to Jennifer's motel, where Tim got himself a room next to Jennifer's. They ordered pizza delivery, which they ate while watching TV, but not really watching, as they sat on Jennifer's bed in silence. Neither of them really had the emotional energy to talk after everything that had happened – and they'd done more than enough talking with the police and press, anyway.

At the end of the night, as exhaustion threatened to claim both of them, Tim rose to return to his room. As she walked him to the door, he suddenly turned, took her in his arms, and pulled her into a kiss. The kiss came completely out of nowhere, and took her quite by surprise, but she returned it with all the passion and longing she had been holding in for all those years of being stuck in the dreaded 'friend zone.'

She couldn't help but feel a little frustrated when he pulled away from the kiss and said, tenderly caressing her cheek with the back of his hand, "Goodnight, Jen." He kissed her once more, before returning to his room.

That night, her sleep was peaceful and free of visions or dreams, and when she awoke in the morning, she was relieved to find the music box's lament was no longer running endlessly through her mind. It had started to dwindle away, ever since they had found the bodies of Chrissie and Kyrie, but now it was gone completely. She did not know whether this had to do with Tim finally reciprocating her feelings, or something far more spiritual relating to the discovery of Kyrie's body. But for the first time that week, she found she didn't need to know the answer. She was, at last, at peace.

Now, as she watched the snow-covered ground of the Connecticut woods fly by outside her window, Jennifer thought back to the kiss. She had spent the better part of the last three years imagining a first kiss with Tim, and while it was nothing like the way she'd dreamed it, in a way it was actually almost better, just for being the real thing. He had walked her to the bus terminal that morning, their hands interlocked, and they kissed again, as she reluctantly stepped onto the bus to return home for her sister's funeral. Tim had offered to come with her, but she declined his offer. As much as she wanted – and possibly needed – him by her side, she didn't think this would be the appropriate occasion to announce the commencement of their relationship. Besides, they could use some more time to figure out just exactly what the relationship was and meant to them.

Her father, along with Rachel, met Jennifer at the bus station. As they hugged, Rachel whispered in Jennifer's ear, "Is it over?"

"Yes," Jennifer whispered in return. Her heart warmed to see the relief spread across Rachel's young face. Had Rachel asked her for more information, she would have told her everything, but she was fairly certain that Rachel was content with just knowing it was over.

The discovery of Kyrie's and Chrissie's bodies quickly made national headlines – though the connection to the mysterious attacks that had been springing up throughout New England over the last month was not mentioned. Jennifer did her best to avoid watching most of the coverage on the news, but an interview with Kyrie's office assistant, Mary (whose name Jennifer recalled from reading Kyrie's journal), did manage to catch her attention.