Free: A Jc Caylen Sequel

Chapter Fourteen

I laid on the bed staring at the faded floral printed curtains covering the window. I debated in my mind how much trouble I would truly get in if I was to peek through them and see the daylight. Today was a day of silence, I had yet to hear a peep out of any of Mel's assistants. There were two of them keeping me safe this morning, a man and a woman. The man was tall, pale, and young looking for being someone in charge. He hadn't looked much older than I, he had a mustard stain on his red tie so I could only assume that he was unaware of how to eat properly or do laundry. The woman was shorter long blonde hair that she kept in a tight braid, her pant suit made me think of Hilary Clinton and I was slightly tempted to ask her about how her campaign was going, yet something told me she wouldn't find humor in my joke.

We sat in the crusty motel room waiting for Mel to arrive for two hours. The only orders given were to stay put and stay safe. So we did, silently. Every squeak of the springs in the mattress breaking the silence as I scooted myself off the edge to head to the bathroom. I felt as if I was being burnt alive by their stares as I shuffled across the carpet. I quietly closed the door behind me and flipped on the light. Looking at myself in the mirror I couldn't help but feel pathetic. My hair was a mess, I attempted to adjust the bun on top of my head but knew it was no use. Jc's hoodie engulfing me and covering my shorts almost all the way up, as if I were wearing a dress. My skin though it still held my hispanic color was paler than I had ever seen. I looked up again at my face, the dark circles under my eyes and permanent frown. I stared into my eyes for only a moment before I noticed the tears streaming down my cheeks.

How did I end up here, why did this have to happen to me, I was free for a moment such a tease, only to be sucked back into this hell. I wiped away the tears from my face as I heard a knock on the door, I cleared my throat before quietly croaking out, "Yes?"

"I just wanted to make sure you were ok, do you need anything?" I heard the woman's cheery voice for the first time and was somewhat surprised by the fact that she didn't sound like a presidential candidate.

"I'm fine," I said swinging open the door and pushing past her in hopes of going back to my warm spot on the bed.

"Mike left, he had orders. I will be caring for you for a while. Until Melman returns." she spoke calmly though I heard her voice shake as she said Melman. I sat silently, ignoring the comment she had made. "I'm Gabi, by the way." I sat silent again, realizing that though all morning I had missed the sounds of conversation, I wanted the silence to return. "So ummm, how old are you?"

I paused a moment smiling to myself before replying, "Gabi?" I said smirking as she shook her head yes. "I have been in this program a long time. And I am assuming that you have not been working for the program much longer than a year or two tops" She looked down at her sensible flats, looking up for a moment before shaking her head yes once more. "Right, so Gabi I know that you know every little detail about my life and what has happened to me or you wouldn't be here right now. My guess is you had my story memorized before you even looked at my attached picture because you take your job seriously. You want everyone else to take you seriously too, so you wear sensible shoes and nuetral colored pant suits in hopes that the men will treat you with a little more respect than the woman in heels and short skirts." I paused watching as she pulled at her suit jacket, I could tell I was making her uncomfortable. "But Gabi, there is more to a person than what is in their file. And perhaps instead of asking people things you already know the answers to, you should ask them what their hobbies are or if they like cheese on their sandwichs. Things that might surprise you because if you're going to make it around here you can't treat people like case numbers. This isn't an episode of CSI, Cold Case, or whatever crime shows you watched growing up, this is realitty."

I turned over facing the window again, I didn't want to look at her anymore. I knew that I had been a bit over the top and a bit rude but I was so sick of being told the same things over and over and kept in the dark about what was going on that I was ready to explode. "Do you like cheese on your sandwichs?" Gabi said her voice cracking with a mixture of nerves and sadness.

"That was the first question Mel asked me when I was put in his protection." I said with a smile my back still facing her. "Only Swiss on turkey."

Silence took over the room again and I was somewhat comforted by the fact that I no longer had to discuss anything with Gabi, she sat silently in a chair across the room, though I could feel her stares burning holes in my back.

"What do you want to do when this is all over?" Gabi said her voice strong, breaking the silence.

"Excuse me?" I said turning to face her.

"When this is all over, what is it you want to do?" she said walking over and sitting on the bed next to mine. "Do you want to get on a reality TV show, travel to another country, be famous, write a book, get a dog? What do you want to do with your life Skylar Carson?"

I sat for a moment thinking about what I truly did want in life, "I want life to be good to me. I want to live in the moment and be free to live without restrictions."

"Ok, but what is the one thing you want to go do once you're allowed to live without restrictions?"

"I...." I sat for a moment smiling to myself as I thought about the first time I surprised Jc by coming back to LA after the trial, the look on his face as I jumped onto the lawn with him and the warm hug I was welcomed with. "I want to go home."

"To Tennessee?" Gabi said with a confused look on her face.

"No," I smiled sitting up and looking her in the eyes. "Home for me is Jc Caylen, where ever he is is my home. That's what I will do, I will live a happy life, I will be free to run around with him and do whatever I want. One day I'll be free to run back to him and happily ever after."

"Skylar?" Gabi said with a sad look on her face. "I do believe that everyone is entitled to their own happy ending, whatever it may be. After everything you have been through you deserve the happiest of afters. But I can't help but want to tell you a bit of advice that I have learned in my own life. Don't put your happiness in someone else's hands. If you base your happiness solely on the fact that you're with Jc, what will happen if he goes away and takes your happiness with him?"

I sat for a moment in disgust, I had shared something with her and she had told me that it wasn't good enough. I felt as if she was calling me stupid. "Well Gabi, when you've found the one, you've found the one. His happiness is my happiness, that's love. When we are able to be back together nothing will tear us apart because I know right at this very moment he is probably counting the stars waiting for me to come home. Because I am his happiness as well."

"Possibly that is true and in your case I hope that it is. But please don't think that just because he is your happiness that you are his. Sometimes things change, people change. And I don't want to see anything happen to you."

"You know nothing about love." I said strongly before rolling back over and wrapping myself tighter in Jc's hoodie.