“Hey,” she croaked, her voice sounding dry and scratchy, but completely amazing.
“Hey,” I replied, giving her the biggest smile. “You’re going to be fine. I’ve got you.”
“Is Jacob…” she said, and her eyes glistened with unshed tears.
“He’s gone, Ally,” I confirmed, giving her hand a tight squeeze.
“So, it’s over?” She asked as tears spilled down her face.
“It’s over,” I replied as I reached up and softly brushed away her tears. “Your folks are on their way here. Everything is going to be okay.”
She smiled at me, and she leaned her face into my touch as she smiled. But then her smile faded as she turned and gave me a worried look.
“Travis?” She said simply.
“He’s fine,” I assured her. “Just a bump on the head. It was all I could do to keep him in his bed. He wanted to come down here to see you himself. Also, Teddy is going to be okay. The swelling on her brain has gone down, and they hope to stop the sedation tomorrow, and hopefully, she will wake up then and be back to herself in no time.”
“That’s good,” she replied, giving me a relieved smile. “And Thatcher?”
“He’s doing fine too,” I laughed, knowing she was going to ask about everyone before she even thought about herself. “He wanted to come down here to see you too, but the doctors told him he needed to wait a day or two. And before you ask, the officers he attacked are all going to be okay too. Everyone is going to be just fine, especially you.”
She smiled, but there was a look of sadness in her eyes.
I leaned forward and kissed her once more before I softly caressed her face.
“You know, I thought I was going to lose you,” I whispered as suddenly I became overcome with emotion. Tears pooled in my eyes, then spilled down my face. This time Ally was the one who wiped away my tears. “Promise me you’ll never scare me like that again. It’s becoming a habit now.”
“I promise,” she smiled. “From now on, it’s a simple life for us.”
“Well,” I said, giving her a cheeky smile. “Not too simple, I hope. I was kind of hoping for a few kids to make life a little more fun.”
“A few,” she giggled, but I could see she was getting sleepy again.
“Well,” I said, giving her another smile. “I was thinking, a boy, then a girl just like her mom, and of course, there has to be a little brother.”
“We’ll see,” Ally laughed weakly, then gave me a warm smile.
“That’s good enough for me,” I said softly, kissing her forehead. “But for now, I want you to rest. We have our whole future ahead of us to make plans.”
“I can’t wait,” she yawned before her eyes closed, and she was fast asleep again in no time.
As I sat there and watched her sleep, I realised that I had finally found my place in this world. I was meant to spend my life with this girl. I knew once I had her beside me, I would always be home.
Maybe now I could finally let go of the ghost of my past and look to a future with Ally.
Ally
Three months later
“I can’t believe you sold this house,” Teddy said as she stood in the now empty living room of Jacob’s house.
“There was no way I could have ever stayed here,” I replied as the movers came in and picked up the last few boxes of the few things I was taking with me. “Too many bad memories. Besides, it was never my home, not really.”
“I suppose I get that,” Teddy said as she gave me a broad smile. “But you’re happy now, right?”
“I couldn’t be happier,” I replied honestly.
“And leaving DC?” She said, and there was a tiny hint of sadness in her voice. She sat down on the window ledge and gave me a sad smile. “Are you sure that’s what you want to do?”
“I can’t stay here, Teddy,” I said as I walked across the room and sat down next to her. “There are just too many memories, and not many of them are good ones. Besides, moving to New York puts me closer to Mom and Dad. Because we’re outside the city, we’re less than an hour from my parents. I guess I’m ready to go home.”
“I get it,” Teddy sighed, leaning against me as she rested her head on my shoulder. “I wouldn’t want to stay here either if I were you. But it doesn’t mean I won’t miss the hell out of you.”
We both sat in silence for a few moments, each lost in our own thoughts.
I thought about the first day I moved in here. I was so happy. I thought I would love Jacob forever. I had no idea then, of course, that he would turn into such a monster.
On the day of his funeral, I went with my mom and dad. I asked Jaxson not to come with me. I thought it would be better for his parents that way. It turned out that there were just five of us there. It turns out, most people in DC don’t want to be seen grieving for a psychopath.
His parents both hugged me tightly and said that they loved me, and they were sorry for everything that Jacob had done to me. They asked me to keep in touch, and while I agreed, I knew that the likelihood of that happening was very small.
After the service, Mom and Dad dropped me back to Jaxson’s apartment, where he was waiting for me.
When I walked into the apartment, I burst into tears the moment I saw Jaxson. I didn’t know why, but I just felt sad. Sad to say goodbye to the life I once believed I was supposed to have. Sad that the man I thought I once loved was gone; though if I was brutally honest, he never really existed. It was all a lie.
And now it was over, and I was relieved more than anything else, but even that made me feel sad.
Jaxson never questioned why I cried. Instead, he just held me and allowed me to cry for as long as I wanted to.
“So, just how rich are you now?” Teddy asked, pulling me back to the present. “Like talking on a scale of one to ten. One being comfortable to ten being OMG!”
“I think we should finish the packing,” I said, pushing up from the window ledge.
If I was honest, I wasn’t comfortable talking about the money I’d inherited from Jacob when he died. The truth was I had no clue who I was really married to. I knew Jacob was wealthy; I just didn’t know how wealthy he was.
The house sold for four and a half million dollars, even after Jacob had killed himself in there, but that was nothing compared to his personal wealth. But I wanted no part of it.
I told his parents that I didn’t want it; that they should have it instead, but his mother insisted that it was rightfully mine, and I should use it to live the life I deserved to live.
Jaxson said it was my money to do whatever I wanted with. I could give it all to charity, spend it on shoes, whatever I wanted, as long as I didn’t give the power back to Jacob.
So, I decided I would take my time and think about what was best for Jaxson and me.
“You know it’s okay to be happy,” Teddy said, clearly sensing my discomfort with the whole issue. “You were his wife, so everything he had belongs to you now. Don’t feel guilty for what he has done, Al.”
“I won’t,” I said, giving her a grateful smile. “I promise.”
“Is anyone here?” Jaxson called from the hallway. Moments later, he appeared in the doorway to the living room, giving me a big smile. I thought back to the first day I met him; how handsome I thought he was the moment I saw him. Little did I know that day, just how important he would become to me.
And now even more so. I had news I needed to tell him, just not here, in front of Teddy.
“Are you all packed?” He asked, as he crossed the room to where I was sitting, then pulled me up into his arms.
“We’re all good to go,” I replied, giving him a broad smile. “We were just about to leave.”
“Good,” Jaxson said before he kissed me softly. “I brought Travis with me in case you needed anything taken back to his place before we hit the road.”
The one thing I had done with Jacob’s money was pay off the mortgage on Jaxson’s place; then, he signed it over to Travis
so he would always have somewhere to live.
I wanted Jaxson to know Travis was taken care of when we left for New York. Also, I figured it was the least Travis deserved after Jacob had given him a concussion. I also gave a generous sum of money to Teddy, Thatcher, and all the officers that were hurt. I figured that if I had this money, they deserved some too.
“I think we’re good to go,” I said, smiling at him. “But, at least Travis can be here with us to say goodbye one last time.”
“Only until the weekend,” Jaxson laughed as he released me and took hold of my hand. “He had some time off owed to him, so he’s coming up next weekend to help up paint the kitchen.”
I laughed, knowing that no matter how far apart Jaxson and Travis was, they would always be close; they would always be there for each other.
“Sounds good to me,” I said as I let Jaxson lead me to the front door of the house. I stopped as Teddy walked out into the afternoon sun, followed by Jaxson. I hesitated for a moment, turning to take one last look of the house that had been my home, but also my prison.
I smiled to myself and released a long, contented breath. I was free now. The monster was dead.
“Are you okay?” Jaxson asked from beside me, as he reached for my hand once more.
“I’ve never been better,” I replied, giving him a genuine smile before I leaned up and softly kissed his lips. “Let’s get on the road. I want to get home before it’s too late.”
“Certainly, Mrs. Stone,” Jaxson said, kissing me back before he led me out the door, closing it behind me.
I looked up at Jaxson and smiled at his words. It had been almost a month since we had a small ceremony in City Hall, with just my parents, Travis, Teddy and Thatcher there as our witnesses. We thought after everything that had happened with Jacob, keeping things low key was the best way to go. Still, it had been the happiest day of my life.
“Are you sure you have to go today?” Teddy said as she hugged me for the hundredth time.
“I’m sure,” I replied, giving her a tight squeeze. “But you know Trav is coming up this weekend; you could come with him. We’re going to paint the kitchen.”
“I think I’ll pass,” she laughed as she released me finally. “But I will drive down in a couple of weeks. You know, once you have my room ready.”
I laughed out loud. That was such a Teddy thing to say.
Next, I turned to Travis and hugged him tightly, hating we were leaving him behind.
“Take care of him,” he whispered in my ear as he held me tightly. “He thinks he’s a tough guy, but deep down, he isn’t.”
“I promise,” I replied in a whisper. “I give you my word.”
“Thank you,” he sighed, and I knew he was trying to hold back his tears.
“I am the one who should be thanking you,” I replied, releasing him enough to I could look up into his eyes. “For everything little thing, you’ve done for me. I can never thank you enough.”
“It was truly my pleasure, Sis,” he said, giving me a big smile.
“I like how that sounds,” I replied, smiling once more.
“And I’ll take care of her,” he said, glancing over my shoulder at Teddy. “Well, I’ll try, but she still scares me a little.”
I laughed at his comment.
“Her bark is worse than her bite,” I assured him as I stepped back from him, smiling once more.
Finally, it was Jaxson’s turn to say goodbye to Travis.
“You know you deserve to be happy, Jax,” Travis said, looking his brother in the eye. “You’re a good man. I never want you to forget that.”
“I love you, little Brother,” Jaxson said, wrapping his arms around Travis and holding him tightly.
When we finally climbed into the car, Jaxson looked over and me and gave me a warm smile.
“Are you ready to go?” Jaxson asked as he started the car. I glanced out the window towards the house once more and smiled.
“I’m ready,” I replied, as my gaze shifted to Teddy and Travis. I lifted my hand and waved at them as Jaxson eased the car down the driveway.
It was almost eight o’clock when we arrived at the new house. The truck with our furniture had been and gone, and our new house was now filled with dozens of packing boxes and furniture that needed to be sorted into their proper rooms.
“Why did we think that it was a good idea to stay here tonight?” I asked with a groan as I looked at Jaxson.
“Don’t worry about the boxes tonight,” he smiled as he reached for my hand and led me into the living room. He picked up the remote control for the gas fire and turned it on. Then he disappeared from the living room and returned a few moments later, pulling the mattress from our bed, dropping it in front of the huge fireplace. Finally, he disappeared one more time, then returned a few minutes later, carrying a bottle of champagne and two champagne flutes.
“I thought we could toast to our new home,” he said as he handed me the glasses before he opened the champagne. “Then we can spend the night here, on this mattress, in front of the fire. Tomorrow, we can worry about unpacking.”
“Sounds like a good plan,” I replied, giving him a huge smile before I walked to the mattress and sat down on it.
Jaxson joined me before he poured out two glasses of champagne then set the bottle down on the floor. He took one of the glasses from me, then gave me a big smile.
“Here’s to forever,” he said, holding up his glass to me, and I met it with mine.
“To forever,” I repeated, bringing the glass to my lips, but I didn’t drink it.
“What’s wrong?” Jaxson asked, giving me a worried look. “Don’t you like champagne?”
“I do,” I replied with a nervous laugh, and I could feel my face flush with embarrassment. “It’s lovely. It’s just…”
“Just?” He asked, his eyes held mine as he took the glass from my hand, setting them both down on the hearth of the fireplace. “What’s wrong?”
“I don’t think I should really be drinking it,” I said, reaching behind me to the back pocket of my jeans, then handing Jaxson the little surprise I had for him.
“This… this is a pregnancy test,” he said, taking it from my hand, looking down at the tiny little windows on the front. “Does this mean…”
“I took the test this morning,” I said, unable to hold back any longer, then pointed to the window on the front. “It says I’m four weeks along.”
“We… we’re pregnant!” Jaxson exclaimed as the biggest smile instantly spread across his face. “WE’RE PREGNANT!”
He jumped up from the mattress, practically jumping in the air with excitement before he dropped back down to the mattress a few moments later and hugged me tightly.
“Does this mean you’re happy?” I asked with a laugh as he held me so close to him.
“Happier than I’ve ever been,” he replied as he pulled back. “I love you, Ally Stone.”
“And we love you,” I said, placing my hand over my stomach. “Daddy.”
“Daddy,” he repeated and smiled once more. “I love the sound of that.”
“Me too,” I replied, never imagining I could ever feel this happy.
“Well then,” he said as he leaned forward and kissed me once more, this time carefully pushing me back down onto the mattress. “If we can’t celebrate with Champagne, then we’ll have to think of something else.”
He claimed my lips with his, and slowly my husband made love to me, knowing all our monsters were gone forever.
The End
are
Monster Page 28