Whispers of Redemption Pt. 03

***

November 14th 2000

12:00 am

Sacred Haven: Valet Waiting Area

Kayla hurried outside as soon as the valet worker informed her that her ride was waiting and she saw Jeremy drive up to the pick-up area outside of the restaurant. Her feet were sore and her eyes burned as her lids threatened to cover them completely. The passenger door was already opened and as she slipped into the car the valet worker shut it. She quickly glanced in Jeremy's direction, shamefully eager to see him once more. Before her gaze could catch his he reached for the jacket on the back of his car seat and easily worked it around her shoulders, he then turned on the heat, expertly gauging the hot air flow with the back of his long fingers. She watched him closely, content to do just that.

"Good?" He murmured

"Yeah, thanks" She whispered tiredly, habitually she kicked off the cheap black flats she wore and wiggled her toes against the hot air blowing from the floor of the car...a small whimper left her lips at the immediate comfort. His head sailed in her direction at the sweet sound that escaped her; surprised at how fast his heart beat grew in pace...he was losing his cool. He quirked a brow at her with a deceivingly placid look on his face.

"My toes were cold" she smiled slightly. He took a look at her small feet and saw several blisters on them.

"You need new shoes" He said as he put the car in drive and pulled out of the valet area. She quickly slipped her feet back into her shoes drawing them closer to herself.

"These ones are just fine." She said defensively. Jeremy ignored the comment. She would have new shoes by tomorrow and he would see to it she wore them.

"Are you not cold?" Her hands subconsciously reached for the jacket to remove it...it smelled of him and she was worried he would catch her sniffing it. How embarrassing would that be? He placed a hand on hers stopping her from taking it off.

"No, I'm fine" He said. "I should've met you inside with a jacket...You're shivering"

"Am not" She gasped disbelievingly...it was only then she realized her teeth were slightly chattering.

"You're too busy shivering to realize" He smirked.

"Was that a joke, Jeremy?" She said sarcastically

"Was that an attempt at sarcasm, Kayla?" He was smiling now.

"If you noticed it was sarcasm then it was a successful attempt." She huffed smugly.

"I never said it wasn't"

"Then why the need to ask?"

"Why the need to ask me what you already know?"

"Okay, Mr. Riddles"

Jeremy smiled widely at that and Kayla stared at the way his lips curved triumphantly over his white teeth and his cheek made way for an adorable dimple. She had never seen him smile like that...it was mesmerizing, really. She wished he would smile like that always.

"Stop staring" He quipped

"You have dimples" she teased appreciatively. He caught a red light.

"So do you" He said softly, his green eyes boring into her in an unmistakably intimate way. She looked away to stare straight ahead and when she realized it wasn't enough to ease her sudden blush she diverted her gaze to nothing particular outside of her side window. He let her escape the moment.

In no more than a few minutes her head was pressed up against the window, her lids shut and her lips parted. Her chest rose and fell with the rhythm of deep sleep. Jeremy took every chance he got to stare at her sleeping form. Memories from the other night came back to him full force with a weight he hadn't anticipated...although he had anticipated vivid reoccurrences. He first pictured Bruce above her; she had been staring at the ceiling when he had barged in...almost as if she had given up. Her lips were moving but no sound escaped them. Tears had streamed down her eyes in unhealthy waves. He then remembered the way she curled up on the bathroom floor when he had finally pulled Bruce off of her. She wouldn't look at him and her eyes were painfully empty. He pictured Bruce's mangled body as the sound of several shots sounded off in his head and suddenly she was clinging to him with all the strength she had in her battered body whispering his name repetitively as if doing so would keep him from leaving her...the tears and distress in her voice molding the sound of his name on her lips. Jeremy blinked away the overwhelming memories as his hand tightened around the steering wheel. He stole another glance in her direction against his better judgment. In a sense he knew she would have to leave soon...before he lost control with the way he handled her...before she realized he was helping her because he was intrigued, enthralled, infatuated, obsessed with the very thought of her. There was no room in fate's timeline for them to be more than what they were now; and it would be unbelievably stupid and selfish of him to even nurture the thought. Did he even want more than what they were now? He stole another glance at her absent-mindedly. He did. She represented everything he could never be or claim to be... innocent, pure, refreshingly naïve, strong, innately beautiful and the most unnerving part was that she didn't even know it. If he kept her, if he claimed her, it would be like putting her in chains and willing her to hide who she was and who she ought to be...asking her to give up her own dreams to fulfill his, be his.

If he let her go the world would fight over her and she would eventually belong to someone who could give her what she really needed, normality and unguarded love. He was capable of neither of the two. Ironically she was out of his league, light years beyond him in so many ways. He turned into his drive way and before he put the car in park he closed his eyes. Some other man would get to tell her what he couldn't; that she was beautiful and she was his. This man would get to hold her the way he couldn't; get to show her that making love wasn't an act of male indulgence but mutual expression of love and feeling...get to earn her love and her smiles, her undying trust and loyalty. Jeremy shoved the car into park and ran his hand through his hair haggardly. How had this happened? When had he fallen so hard for the eighteen year-old beside him? Her presence made weeks feel like months or even years, her touch made uncertainty and formalities feel like they had shared a million intimate moments together, her trust made the optimism buried deep within him tamper with his reality...thrusting him periodically into a world full of delusions of grandeur, illusions of a life with her in it. She had the potential to break through his hard façade, tear down the layers of confusion that made him who he was to everyone else...make him what Rocco referred to as a 'pussy'. And if she was to discover the potential before he let her go...he wouldn't be able to give her up. And who was to say at that point when she probably found out who he really was and what his entire family was about, that she would want him...who says that at his very point of no return when he realized he wouldn't, couldn't, let her go...who says she would be willing to keep him?

"Kayla" He whispered her name. She didn't as much as budge. He nudged her shoulder softly.

"Kayla" He called again this time a little louder. She whimpered as if he had disturbed her, her brows plummeting downward but her eyes remaining closed. He reached around her tiny waist to unbuckle her seat belt and as he did so, her hazel eyes fluttered open, locking the moment in place. Confusion entered her expression and her lips parted as a result. Jeremy's green gaze drifted towards her lips and immediately her chest undulated just a little quicker. He studied the perfect curve of the soft looking flesh, her sweet breath covered his face rhythmically and her hair threatened to engulf both of them. Jeremy clenched his jaw concurrently trampling the need to capture her lips. He unbuckled her seatbelt and the audible click had him pulling away and clearing his throat. Her eyes followed him. He stepped out of the car and walked around to open her door. She would have to leave very soon.

***

November 14th

12:00am

Pelosi Residence

Troy Pelosi had a smug smile plastered across his gorgeous lips as he was ushered out of his father's Maybach and into the home he had grown up in. Besides a change in the color of the walls and new crown molding the place hadn't changed much. A wide smile broke out on his face as his older sister ran towards him. He opened his arms and she jumped into them enthusiastically. He hadn't seen Angela in five full years since he moved in with his father's aunt at the age of fifteen.

"Troy!" she exclaimed

"Peanut head!" He laughed. Angela wrapped her long arms around her baby brother's neck tightly. He was about the only person in the world she was ever so happy to see after so long. His shaggy auburn hair and chestnut eyes made her heart melt.

"How ya been kid?" he chuckled as she slipped out of his arms reluctantly.

"Kid? I'm older than you!" she said, her voice still full of excitement.

"I'm taller" He quipped whilst pinching her cheek. She had grown since he had last seen her taller and even more beautiful; her brown hair fell to her waist and her clothing had become less...modest; but it was Angela so he expected the change he saw.

"Where's ma?" he asked

"Coming" she almost sang still smiling light beams.

"You've grown so much" She said disbelievingly "You're so tall and brawny" She laughed.

"The last time you saw me I was a teenager, Angela."

"I know, I know...I just can't believe it."

"I hear you're getting married to Gianni Alessi. Paul's kid" he said soberly. She flicked her hair off of her shoulder and folded her arms.

"Yeah" She said haughtily "Something like that." Troy smiled at his conceited sister. She might have changed somewhat outwardly but inside she hadn't changed one bit.

"Wasn't a challenge, kid" He said shrewdly "Just a question" An irritated look spread across her doll-like face and he laughed, ruffling her hair; she smacked his hand away.

"Troy" His father's voice gave him an odd sense of relief. He peered past his sister to see his father standing in the grand hall looking not a day older than he had five years ago. Troy straightened his suit jacket as he sauntered over to his father and grasped the older man's hand tightly. Mauricio smiled a small smile as his son humbled himself.

"Nice to see you son" He said briskly. Troy smiled back. Mauricio had asked him to visit. Something was going on and past his father's genial greeting and Angela's warm welcome...he could sense it.

***

November 14th

3:00am

Jeremy's Residence: Guest Room: REM Sleep

Her hair was pulled back into a tight pony tail and she danced around the empty room in her mother's summer dress. The white and lavender fabric floated around her like a light cloud. She hummed a chorus-less song as she allowed her arms and legs to guide her around the room. Although she couldn't see her mother she felt her presence. She smiled absent-mindedly and continued to aimlessly dance through-out the entire room. No one could bother her here; no one could reach her here. This room was her own nowhere, her own paradise. A white rose appeared in her hand...her favorite kind of flower. A violin materialized in one corner of the room...her favorite instrument. Jeremy materialized in the middle of the room his dimple-filled smile intoxicating her...her favorite person. She walked towards him only to have him begin to fade with each step she took closer. Reluctantly she slowed to a full stop before she could reach him...she'd rather admire him from afar then not have him at all. But he still continued to fade...so she ran to him and unknowingly sped up the process of his physical demise; and as Jeremy faded so did her violin and the healthy rose in her hand. A tear ran down her cheek and she touched the small droplet of water in wonder.

Suddenly she was no longer in her 'nowhere' but in a bathroom...the bathroom of the motel she had stayed in before Jeremy had taken her in. Her heartbeat sped up and she clumsily skittered into a corner. She could feel his presence; his aura. Her throat began to dry as her dress slowly rose past her bruise-less shins and knees and unto her thighs. She fought to push the dress down her legs, uncomfortable with the exposure. But the harder she fought for modesty that harder it became to retain it. For some reason her palms began to sweat and her eyes began to burn...the way they burned when Bruce insulted her or attacked her. On cue he appeared before her; a smug smile on his thin lips and an evil look in his black eyes. He stalked towards her like a lion stalks its prey. Kayla's lips trembled.

"Please" she murmured before he could close in on her. He brushed the back of his calloused hand against her cheek wiping away a tear but providing no comfort with the empty gesture.

"Please, what?" He whispered sinisterly. He closed in on her, his lips millimeters from her neck and his arms around her waist. She kept her head high as her tears hit his unforgiving shoulders. Her hands shook violently and her chest ached...because she knew what was next.

"You thought he would wantyou?" Bruce sneered, his breath on her neck. "You're used and broken...dirty."

"Why would he ever wantyou?" He chuckled. Tears poured down her face at his words though she knew she shouldn't believe him. He pushed her violently back into the wall and she let out a small cry.

"No one wants you, Kayla" He barked. "I don't even want you" He finished in a sick coo.

Her ribs were shaking now with the cries that left her body. Before she could take a breath he ripped her dress apart, ruining the only thing she had left of her mother. It was then that she grabbed his shirt not caring how agitated he got or what the consequences would be. He slapped her across the face and reached around her bra-clad chest to rip apart the flimsy fabric. She screamed then, putting up a fight; her legs kicked and her arms flailed.

"Jeremy!!!!" She bawled

"Let go of me!!!" She cried. Bruce slugged her in the stomach to keep her from fighting and watched the skin bruise almost immediately. He grabbed her around the neck seeking to drain the life from her eyes before he took her. And as the life drained he released her motionless body and dragged her to the dirty tiled floor.

"Stop crying or I'll make it worse" He growled. She turned her head from him and he grabbed her jaw roughly forcing her to look into his eyes. "Stop crying"

"Jeremy" she breathed with each frantic exhale. "Jeremy"

Bruce tugged her legs apart and when she screamed out in pain he tugged them even wider satisfied to have her writhe in utter anguish underneath him. Soon she wouldn't be callinghisname...she would be begging.

Kayla stared up at the ceiling to see Jeremy's face through the blur in her eyes. She cried out to him and her arms locked down by Bruce's thick hands fought to reach out to him.

"Please no!!!!!" She screamed when she felt the intrusion Bruce promised. She struggled to close her thighs in vain. And just as she sought to call out for Jeremy once more an unearthly wail ripped its way past her lips and she clenched her fists...drawing blood from her palms as Bruce forced his way into her, he didn't hesitate to withdraw and plunge once more into her unwelcoming body. The tears had stopped and it was as if she could hear everything that was happening around her except for what she didn't want to hear. She heard the drops of blood fall from her palm but not her screams as Bruce tore her open. She heard the fan of the bathroom but not his grunts. She heard the silence but not his demeaning words.

That solace did not last more than a few seconds. Almost immediately after the unnatural calm she could hear her cries full force and the sounds of his grunts made her stomach churn. The burning sensation in her nether regions brought the tears back to her eyes and just because it meant she hadn't given up she began to screamhisname once more.

"Jereeeemmmmyyyyy!" The cry was hoarse and painful.

She was being shaken. Each time she was shook she could no longer feel Bruce inside of her or the blood that trickled from her thighs and her palms. The shaking became more insistent and soon enough she began to hearhisvoice. Each timehecalled her name Bruce would shake her.

"Kayla" she heard him yell frantically. It sounded as if he were miles away.

"Kayla" Jeremy cried and Bruce shook her once more. She grabbed Bruce's arms with a new found strength and fought back.

"Kayla, it's me" Jeremy hollered. "Wake up, it's me"

Bruce kept shaking her so she kept fighting until she realized that her eyes were closed. She opened them and the bathroom turned into the guest room and the floor morphed into a soft queen sized bed. She was no longer naked and Bruce was nowhere to be found. Jeremy sat on the bed beside her, his hands around her forearms and a look of total frenzy in his eyes. She looked around herself, for a moment completely perplexed. Only to gasp when she realized she had been dreaming the entire time. She clenched her thighs and folded her arms across her chest protectively; that's when the tears started....real tears that she understood. She had dreamt Bruce had been raping her and not only had she dreamt this but she had dreamt this in Jeremy's home. She had been screaming all those embarrassing things out loud and fighting Jeremy the entire time; she had been calling his name the entire time.

"Hey" She heard him whisper in a concerned voice. "Don't cry"

In that moment Kayla wanted to die from the mortification she felt. She wrapped her small arms around her legs and buried her head in her knees. She could hear Doris' and Serena's voices in the far distance but Jeremy told them to stay outside. She felt his hands on her legs and she jerked away immediately expecting pain to surge through her entire stomach like it did after the first and second time Bruce had raped her but it didn't. She was crying so hard she could barely see Jeremy's face.

"Don't touch me" she growled; Angry that he had come instead of somebody else. Angry he knew what she had been dreaming. Angry that she couldn't hide. He took hold of her arms and immediately she tried to pry them out of his hands.

"Look at me" He demanded, a sob escaped her lips as she twisted away from his gaze...the shame running through her and consuming her was suffocating.

"Look at me!" He tugged her in his direction and she unwillingly looked into his face...her cries a little louder now that she could see his eyes and the sympathy that burned there.

"Don't" She cried softly. He pulled her onto his bare rock-hard chest and she didn't protest; so he lifted her onto his lap and wrapped his arms around her commoving body.

"I'm here" He whispered in her hair "I'm not going anywhere"

Eventually her arms snaked around the lean and muscular expanse of his torso and onto his back, her head buried in his neck and her legs wrapped tightly around his waist. He was shirtless but she couldn't care less. He rocked her back and forth the way a brother would his baby sister or a mother would her daughter...or a husband would his mourning wife.

"Sssh" He whispered lovingly to her "Don't cry"

"Don't leave me" She cried into his neck afraid of the feeling she felt in the pit of her stomach as she thought of what it would be like for him to desert her like everyone else in her life had.

"Please" She cried softly. His arms tightened around her. "Promise me"

"I won't leave you...I promise" He said vehemently. "I'm right here."

"It was so real" She trembled "So real" she murmured

"It's over, Kayla" He ran his hand through her hair and down the perfect curvature of her back.