Chapter 6
Jen looked around the room she was staying in at the gifts she had been
given
earlier that afternoon. The softball glove, the new CD's, the art set,
the
coupon book that Zac had made for her and her favorite gift, the angel.
She
sighed, feeling loved. She heard a knock on the door, and knew it must
be Zac
because the kids had gone to bed.
"Come in." Zac opened the door and smiled.
"You doing okay?" Jen nodded.
"Yeah, I'm fine." She patted the bed beside her and Zac sat down. He
leaned
in and kissed her softly. He scooted closer and their lips touched so
slightly, like a whisper. She deepened the kiss and moved her hand to
his
back to being him closer. His hand rested on her hip and he brought his
tongue into her mouth. She answered him back by massaging his tongue
with
hers. His hand began to move to the back of her shirt and up under it,
his
fingertips softly touching her bare skin. She laid back on the bed,
bringing
him with her, still kissing him deeply. Jen still clung to his back,
bringing
his shirt up to feel his tanned, smooth skin. He broke the kiss,
putting his
lips to her neck and then to her stomach. He brought the fabric of her
shirt
up just a little bit to kiss her stomach, around her belly button. Jen
wanted
him. But she knew she couldn't do that. She had to wait. Her mind was
flashing and she knew she had to stop.
"Zac...we can't do this." She ran her fingers through his hair, which
was
still by her stomach.
"Mmm...sure we can." Zac said, still kissing her stomach, slowly coming
up to
her breasts.
"Zac. I mean it. We can't do this." Jen took his hand in hers and
looked at
him when his head rose. His eyes fell.
"You're right Jen. I know we can't." Zac came back up to her face and
kissed
her once. Softly. And laid his head on the pillow beside hers,
smoothing her
hair away from her face with his hand."I love you Jen."
"I love you too Zac." She turned over, laying on her stomach and fell
asleep
with her head resting on Zacs chest, hearing him breathe and feeling
his arm
gently around her shoulder.
Zac woke up the next morning feeling rested and happy, he turned over
to Jen,
but she wasn't there. He got up and walked into the bathroom, looking
for
her. She wasn't there.
"Mom? Is Jen down there?" Zac yelled down the steps. She heard his
mother
moving around in the kitchen, so he knew she was up.
"No, honey. I haven't seen her yet. Is she still in bed?"
"No, I can't find her." Zac went back upstairs to her room and saw a
small
piece of crumpled paper on the bed. He felt shivers shoot up through
his
spine and knew that something wasn't right. He walked over and picked
up the
paper, unfolded it and read it silently.
Jen is with me. Want to see her alive?
Come down to the dock by your lake
when you get this. No police.
Zac crumpled the note up in his hand, shoved it in his pocket, ran down
the
stairs and out the door. Still in his bare feet, he ran through the
woods
behind their house. The thorns cut through his feet, leaving them dirty
and
bleeding. He kept running. It was already hot, and the sweat poured off
of
his face and down his shirt, drenching him. He kept running. The only
thing
he could think of was Jen and the way he saw her that day at the
hospital,
crumpled up on the grass and bloody. He kept running. He could see the
dock
in view, but no one was there. He stopped when he got to the edge of
it,
looking out over the lake. He stepped up on it and walked to the edge,
waiting. A splintering of wood and the ring of sharp metal tore through
the
serene quietness of the woods. Zac looked down and saw the knife come
up
right between his feet. He gasped and ran for the grass, the knife
still
aiming for his feet the whole way. He yelled and fell onto the grass
when he
felt the hot sting of the blade slice his ankle. His hand went down to
the
wound, and he could see the blood pouring from it, onto his hand.
Suddenly, a
figure rose out of the water and he stood up.
"Where is Jen?" Zac demanded. The figure just laughed, removing his
mask. Zac
looked at his face, shocked at who he saw.
"Jared. Why...?" Zac was confused. What did Savanna's boyfriend have to
do
with this?
"Thats right. I've been busy. And so has Jen." Zac clenched his fists.
"What did you do with her you bastard?" Jared laughed again, still
clutching
the knife in his hand. Zac could see it was dripping with watery blood.
He
could only hope that it was his blood.
"Well Zac, it seems to me that you haven't been very nice to Charles.
You
should have more respect for your girlfriends father. You never know
what
kind of connections he has." He kept walking closer to Zac, as Zac took
more
steps back.
"Jared, don't play games with me. Where is she?" He asked fiercely.
Jared
just shook his head and laughed.
"You don't catch on too quick, do you Zac?" Zac was silent.
"Go look back where you came from. Hope you can find her before it's
too
late..." That was all it took for Zac to turn around and run straight
back
for the house. The smell of smoke made him panic. He sprinted as fast
as he
could go back to the house. He could hear Zoe crying as he got closer.