Jason

Forever is an Awfully Long Time

Meghan

Over an hour later and Lucas has picked me up in his Range Rover Sport, I should have been a lawyer as this is like driving in a high tech bubble. He's got a built in Sat Nav system with surround sound, heated leather seats and a sunroof.
"So, we have a team on their way to Joanne's house, they should be there within the hour. When you left he was down, right?" Lucas asks as he takes a sharp turn back onto the highway. "Well, I chucked a whole bottle of chloroform over his face before I kicked him and his tiny dick. So, hopefully he should still be out for the count and still dreaming of running away with me to Philadelphia," I snigger to myself. Lucas frowns at me, he is a young guy from Brooklyn with neat brown combed back hair and he always dresses in a navy suit. He stayed in touch with Jason after he helped prove his innocence last year, he is a nice person and when it comes to the law he knows it inside out. If anyone can help get Jason acquitted of all these charges it will be him, and I have every faith that once Ricky's been detained Jason will be released. "Meg, this is no time for you to be laughing. This is serious, you must have made a real impression on this guy for him to want to go running off with you into the sunset," he says whilst glancing at his phone. "Is that meant to be an insult, Lucas?" I ask him playfully, if I don't laugh I'll cry. My life has been a complete nightmare for the past couple of months, now that Ricky has confessed to everything and the cops are going to be all over his arse within an hour, hopefully my life will start to go back to normal and I'll be able to pick up the shards of glass from my relationship with Jason and make it up to him. He now knows that the baby he thought was his was actually Ricky's, he must be so angry at me now. But I hope that he will have it in his heart to forgive me. "Not at all, sweetheart. But Meg, all this so called evidence on Jason is really damaging. How did this guy get access to all your details?" I shrug, "He broke into my apartment on numerous occasions, God knows how he tampered with my medication." Lucas's phone rings and he picks up almost immediately, "Burton," he replies confidently. His face quickly changes to a horrified expression and he turns to look at me and then back at his phone in disbelief. "The house is in flames? Are the Fire crew there attending the scene?" My heart sinks as it races so hard, what the actual fuck? It was him, he must have started it as a ploy to escape and make me look like a liar. Lucas hangs up, he is the breathless one now. "That house is up in flames, no one can get in as it's way too fierce. Ricky is dead," he says to me looking shocked. I don't know what to think or say, how can they be sure that he's dead. How did the fire start in the first place? "They don't know that for sure, what if he got out and set the house alight to destroy any evidence?" I say hyperventilating. Lucas gently touches my hand, "You're safe now, don't worry about a thing. He's gone forever and he won't ever be able to hurt you again. Concentrate on seeing your man again." He beams, trying to distract my mind from Ricky. "Once they've put out the fire please can you find out if they found his remains, I won't be able to rest until I find out for sure," I cry. "Got it all under control, what do you say we go and see Jason?" He asks gently. "That's the best suggestion I've heard all day," I reply smiling.

I sit impatiently in the waiting room, my nails are bitten right down to the skin and I am still reeling and anxious after today's events. Lucas has tried to push for me to get checked over at the hospital, but all I want to do is see Jason and get back home. I'm trying to take Lucas's advice on board, as far as we are both aware the fire has been put out, the house is completely obliterated and demolished. Joanne and her father have been notified, they are both on their way to come and survey the damage. They could come and see their innocent son and brother who is incarcerated for a crime he didn't commit, I think to myself. That said, they've never really cared or bothered with him before so why should this situation be any different? Joanne only uses him for her own gain and their father is poisonous, I would be happy if I never saw either of them again. "She's right over there," I hear Lucas's voice from the distance, as I look up I see Jason step around Lucas and he makes his way towards me. His hair is a mop on the top of his head, and he is wearing a grey sweater with matching jogging bottoms and trainers, prison attire. More than anything I notice the beaten down look on his face, they must have really pushed him for a confession and to get off lightly he took it. I get up from my seat, not knowing whether to run into his arms or stay put and wait for his reaction. My feet stay stuck to the floor and I sway gently side to side still shaking from my earlier ordeal. "Are you hurt?" He mumbles as he stands in front of me. "I'm fine, Jason I am so sorry. I had no idea, deep down I knew that you could never do what they accused you of, but once they found the evidence and took you away I didn't know what to believe," I stutter through my sobs. "Shhhh, none of that matters now. Lucas has sorted everything out, I've been exonerated of all charges. Meghan, I'm the one who is sorry, I didn't keep you safe. I failed you. About the baby, I'm sorry you felt that you had to go through with an abortion. If you told me the truth I would have loved him or her as if they were my own," he says as he starts to cry himself. "I know that now, you're going to make an amazing daddy one day. You did everything you could, babe," I say genuinely. "Moving forward I'm going to do everything I can to help you get better and for you to be off this medication for good. I want us to have a happy future together. No one is ever going to come between us again, okay?" He says as he places both hands on my shoulders, he might have been in prison for a day and a half but he still has that fresh clean out of the shower scent. "I just want you to know that I love you and that if you still want to marry me then is tomorrow too soon?" I ask looking deep into his gorgeous, warm chocolate eyes. He grabs the back of my head, running his fingers through my hair and finds my mouth with his. His soft plump lips are like velvet against my own, I feel complete again, it's like coming back home. The guy who I thought was my nerdy IT friend turned out to be the greatest love of my life. "A thousand times yes. Although, forever is an awfully long time," he smirks mid kiss. We are so lucky to have found each other, I will never take Jason for granted ever again.

***********

Ricky

The way it was reported. I have to sit back and laugh when I think about it, which isn't often just when I hear the name Meghan the memories come flooding back to me. The house burnt to the ground without a single trinket left to salvage, as far as everyone is concerned I perished in the fire too. No evidence, no proof, and with no last name to go on the cops and even Meghan herself will never truly know my real identity. I don't even know where she got the name Ricky from, she must have been so wasted that night and didn't really pay any attention. It has worked in my favour though, as she will never be able to track me down. I had to lay really low for a few months and when I knew the coast was clear I finally made my way back to the city and my old life resumed. The last I heard was that Jason and Meghan got married, sold their apartment together and moved out of Manhattan and out of New York. I didn't bother looking them up, what's the point? She thinks I'm dead for real now and a relationship with her is never going to happen. I knew all about her pregnancy, I had to watch from afar as she went and had an abortion. My baby was gone, in all honesty I wasn't ready to become a dad and maybe it was a good thing that she went through with it. I still wonder who that baby would have become, but I try not to dwell on it too much. It killed me when I knew that I was never going to see Meghan again, but that was then and this is now. I've got new opportunities coming my way, one of which is a brunch date this afternoon with a girl I met when I was riding the subway on my way to work. We bonded over our love of heavy metal bands and she seemed really impressed when she found out what I do for a living. She is a dead ringer for Meghan, same dark features and similar good time girl attitude with a slutty personality. I start to wonder whether I should have gone and got a fresh haircut, I really want to impress this girl and look good for her. Oh well, it's too late for that now and she's probably there waiting for me already. I don't want to be late and make a bad impression on her. Packing up from my early morning shift I grab my coat, scarf and log out of my computer. I always feel anxious when I leave for the day as all my other colleagues do not have the same attention to detail and the dedication that I have for the work I do. "Hey Robby, when do these rats need to be fed again?" My colleague Alex asks me from across the way. He's a cocky son of a bitch, a grad student who is getting married next summer. Sometimes I have to hold myself back from punching him in the face, he thinks he is better than me like Jason Roberts did, neither of them are better than me. Quite simply they are nothing. "There is a schedule on the calendar over there, just make sure you stick to it or they'll get sick." I nod at him as I leave for my exciting date, who knows I might get lucky this evening.

The End