Falling Apart

Chapter 26

Last night I ended up falling asleep in the bathroom. I wasn't mad or upset with David, I just needed to be alone for a while and maybe get some sleep for once. It worked, actually, but the price of sleep came with a pain in my lower back. I heard David snoring outside of the locked bathroom door all night, letting me know he stayed. I appreciate how much he is here for me after all that has happened, but I still feel like I'm just a waste of space in his life. I can't tell him that without him getting defensive or upset or knowing chairs to the ground.

I woke up to the loud thud of the door that David made when he left. I didn't expect him to stay all night so it's clear that he wouldn't want to stay all morning too. After downing some of the cereal that he bought last night, I take a shower and can't help but look down at my slightly swollen belly. In less than a year, my life will be much different. I still don't know what that means, and for now I don't want to think about it.

David's POV

After what Katherine told me last night, I can't hold it in any longer. I know where Ian is, I've known for a while and I still haven't told her. Now she's pregnant and this all this feels like my fault. I can't seem to stop this never-ending cycle up fuck ups and now her life is possibly ruined forever.

I had to get out of there, I couldn't stand to see Katherine so upset last night and if I saw her this morning I wouldn't know what to say. She was probably sleeping anyway and I'll meet up with her later. For now, I'm going find Ian and put his ass in jail.

Knowing he's on the move, I speed down the road to the house where I found Katherine a month ago. When I pull up to the dark brick house, I shudder as the memories flood through my mind. I'll never forget what I saw that night. I'm doing this for Katherine; she needs to be protected. I reach under the covered seat in my car and grab the gun I bought days ago. I flick the latch, loading it and tuck the weapon inside my jacket pocket.

To my advantage, I find the door unlocked and step inside. It's the same as before, except sunlight pours through the open windows. I look around my surroundings until I hear drapes being pushed together. I walk towards the sound and watch as a small girl with frizzy hair around her small frame walks around the living room, cleaning. As I watch her in quiet, she mutters to herself and looks slightly insane until she turns around. I watch as the familiar face in front of me wipes away at the dried tears stained on her face, still murmuring under her breath. "Jenna?"

She doesn't answer me, but panic enters her eyes and her whispers become louder. "You need to leave." she repeats at least seven times.

"What the hell are you doing here?" I scan her face and try to make sense of the situation. How is she here right now? And why isn't she leaving if I don't see Ian here? What the fuck is going on? She still hasn't answered. "Jenna!" I try to wake her from her state.

"You need to leave!" she screams, literally scream and I can hear her lungs collapse after the words leave her dry lips. "He'll be here any second..." she trails off and the whispers return.

My mind still can't wrap around the idea that she's even here but my thought turn to the worst possible scenario- Ian is somehow forcing Jenna to stay here and she's been trapped this whole time. I look around and out the window to check if he is here and notice that my car is the only one parked in the driveway. "Jenna, listen to me." I speak over her speaking to herself. "Can you hear me? Why are you here? Can you leave?"

She looks at me with shaking pupils and I notice the redness near her wrists as she clings to my arm, begging me to leave once again. "I'll leave if you come with me." I begin to wonder what she looked like when she went bowling with Katherine.

"I can't." she pushes me towards the door which I came from. "Go, now." she begs with a sob. I hear a roar come from the driveway and I debate my options.

"Stay right here." I watch her pupils dilate and I open the door to get a better look of Ian pulling in behind my car.

I walk down the driveway, tempted to pull out the gun from under my jacket and let my anger out. The man in front of me has been ruining my life and others for years, he shouldn't have the honor to be called a man. He's a criminal who needs to be punished for his actions. I once used to be like him, but now that I look at him and the lives of who he's wrecked, I'm filled with guilt and I'm suddenly unable to reach for the weapon.

"Why the fuck do you have Jenna?" I push him back as he walks from his car to me. "Is this where she's been this whole time?"

His smug grin irritates me to my soul and he continues to walk past me. "Jenna, I told you no company." he speaks to the worried eyes looking through the window and turns back to me. "You have five seconds to get the fuck out of my driveway."

"Or what? You'll call the cops? Because I'm pretty sure they'd want you, not me." I remind him and steal his grin away. Suddenly I hear sharp footsteps beside me and the noise follows in front of me until I have a clear view.

Kelly stands behind Ian while trying to hold her familiar gun steadily. Her fingers tremble and I remember the last time I saw her, in this very same position. Jenna ended up saving me from being killed and now she has to pay for it by being stuck inside this house. I find myself looking between the eye of the gun and Jenna through the window. She's gone mentally insane since being here for weeks and that doesn't even include what Ian must be doing to her. "Why do you even have her here?"

"She insisted, and I couldn't refuse." he playfully waves to Jenna and she begins to weep again. I know he's lying; clearly she wouldn't be staying here voluntarily.

"I'll leave if she can come with me." I offer, completely forgetting what I came here initially to do.

He laughs and Kelly still watches me with careful eyes. I'm still not sure if I'm certain she'd pull the trigger, but I wouldn't push it with Ian standing beside her. Jenna has disappeared from the window and the only noise in the air is the hum of insects in the woods behind the house. Now would be a really good time for Will to pop out of the trees and shoot both of them, since I somehow am physically unable to move from the place my feet have been glued to for ten minutes.

"Leave now and I won't kill you." he offers instead.

"You know, I really don't understand what you're getting out of all of this. You're just ruining lives and now kidnapping? Do you really want to add a death to that mess? Plus with Katherine pregnant you'll just---"

"Pregnant?" his words come falling from his grin and it's the first time I've seen him in shock. I look around as if I wasn't the one who just said it until I realize I've once again ruined it all. "That right there is the point of all this." he smiles again and I almost see a flicker of excitement flash in Kelly's eyes.

Somehow no matter how many horrible acts he commits, I feel the guilt and I make the situation worse than it already is. Katherine may see him as the monster, but maybe it's me. And if I'm the monster, I'd be worse than Ian. But what I'm worried about most of all is that I now know what he's wanted this entire time; the baby.