Remember When....

by R. A. Krauszer

  “We are going to be spending a lot of time together, you and I,” he explained as he began to lay down next to her on the bed. Again, she tried to get away from him, but couldn’t move far due to the restraints. Looking over, she noticed that the masked figure was sitting in a chair just watching the events unfold. Nothing was said, just watching in almost a trans like state, like he was enamored with the situation. Next thing she knew she was being injected in the neck with something and it became extremely difficult to hold her eyes open.

  CHAPTER 5

  Kiplyn began coming to, unsure how much time had passed. She felt sore, stiff, and terrified. As she was coming to, she felt another pinch in her neck and was swallowed up by darkness again. When she started coming around again, it was to the sounds of shouting, banging, screaming, and finally the feeling of being lifted off the bed she had been handcuffed to.

  Kiplyn was loaded into the back of an ambulance and was again taken over by the need for sleep. The darkness had become her friend. She came to sometime later to bright lights and beeping. Confused and disoriented, she looked around the room, realizing she was in a hospital. Trying to get her eyes to focus, she looked around the room more. Kiplyn saw Patrick asleep in the chair next to her bed. She slowly tried to sit up, but realized it hurt way too much to move. Her movements must have startled him because he was at her side instantly.

  “I’m so glad we found you! I am so sorry I couldn’t find you sooner, sweetheart,” he said, looking ashamed. “It isn’t your fault,” she rasped out, realizing her throat felt like it was on fire. “Don’t try and talk, baby. I don’t want you to hurt yourself!” he said quietly. Leaning over, he pushed the call button. “Kiplyn is awake,” is all he said before sitting back down in the seat.

  Doctors and nurses started entering her room at an alarming rate, bombarding her with questions, she didn’t have the answers to. Why had he taken her, what did he want, how long had they been in a relationship? That question shocked her and disgusted her. “I am not in a relationship!” she yelled as loud as she could, which wasn’t very loud. “I don’t what you are talking about,” she explained, starting to cry.

  The next couple of hours drug on with her talking to the police. Kiplyn learned through them that she had been gone a week. They were able to find her because of a g.p.s that was installed in her car. She didn’t even know it had one. She never needed it since she stayed so close to home, and only went places she was familiar with.

  The police were able to apprehend Mr. Williams and the masked figure, who turned out to a fellow student she had a few classes with. Mr. Williams had told the police that the entire situation was a misunderstanding. That she had known what he was going to do, because it was something that she had wanted to experience. He also stated that they had been in a relationship for the past year and a half! Kiplyn was in total shock at everything she was hearing.

  Finally, everyone left, she had answered questions for hours. She felt violated all over again. Patrick never left her alone. “How are you feeling, sweetheart?” Patrick asked as the doctor entered her room. Looking up she realized that the doctor had a concerned look on her face. “Can we speak in private?” the doctor asked, glancing between Patrick and her. “If you think she is leaving my sight again, you have another thing coming, doc!” Patrick stated. “I can have you removed by force if I need to Mr. McDonnell,” she explained, not backing down from his steely gaze. Looking up at Patrick, “I will be alright, go get some coffee or something to eat. I know you haven’t eaten much since I have been here,” she said. “The most difficult three days of my life, watching you lay in that bed and not wake up, baby,” he said leaning down and placing a gentle kiss to her lips. “I will be right outside that door if you need me,” he explained, gently kissing her again before walking toward the door without another glance at the doctor.

  “What did he mean by three days? The police said I had been missing a week! I’m confused!” The doctor sat down in the chair that Patrick had been sitting in. “Yes, you were found after a week, but you have been here in the hospital for three days. We have run every test on you under the sun.” she explained calmly. “I wanted to discuss some of those tests, which is why I wanted to speak to you in private. One of your tests came back positive,” she explained unable to meet my gaze. “Ok, I don’t understand,” she said. Taking in a deep breath and slowly letting it out, she wrecked my world with the next sentence that came out of her mouth. “The test that came back positive, was for pregnancy,” she explained. Kiplyn sat and stared at her in disbelief and shock. There was no way it was true because I was a virgin. “You have to do the test again,” she screamed at her. The doctor quietly left the room without saying another word.

  Patrick entered the room a few minutes later, quietly sitting down in the chair next to her. “What did the doctor say that upset you so bad, baby?” he asked. “She said, she said, she said that I’m pregnant,” she stuttered out in between sobs. “It isn’t possible,” she tried to explain to him, hoping he would believe her. “I haven’t had sex, ever!” she sobbed. Patrick carefully scooted her over and climbed into the bed with her, holding her while she cried for what seemed like hours. She eventually fell asleep.

  Kiplyn woke up a few hours later to hushed voices around her. Once her eyes finally focused, she realized Patrick and Donovan were having a very serious conversation. Patrick realized she was awake and was at her side instantly. “Are you feeling any better, baby?” he asked as he leaned down gently kissing her on the lips. “A little bit,” she said, glancing over at a smirking Donovan. “Hey beautiful, glad you are home safe,” Donovan said, gently placing a kiss on her forehead. What is with the McDowell men and kissing my forehead? I didn’t know what to say to all the attention. I had never been the center of attention before and didn’t want to start now.

  CHAPTER 6

  Kiplyn was released from the hospital a few days later, with the knowledge that she was indeed pregnant. She didn’t know how to accept the fact that she was carrying the child of a man who had violated her in so many ways. He was supposed to be a trusted man in her life, and he completely took advantage of that trust.

  She spent the next few days in bed, with Bear never leaving her side. It was hard for Patrick to even get close to her without Bear growling at him. He seemed overprotective and didn’t want any men near her. Unlike Bear she didn’t mind Patrick being near her, he calmed me and made me feel safe, which she wasn’t sure would ever happen considering the situation. It did though, and that scared her. Kiplyn knew how she felt about Patrick, but she didn’t truly know how he felt about her. She knew he felt a sense of guilt at what happened, but she didn’t want to be a charity case for him.

  All of those thoughts changed the next day when there was a knock at her door. She opened the door to a very sheepish looking Donovan. “Hi, Donovan. Come on in,” she said, moving to the side to let him in. “Hi, beautiful. How are you today?” he asked, kissing her on the cheek as he entered. “I’m doing ok. Still in shock at the entire situation,” she explained. Donovan nodded as he entered the kitchen to grab drinks for them. The McDonnell boys had made themselves very comfortable at her house over the last week or so. One of them was always around.

  Donovan spent the next hour explaining to her how much Patrick had changed since he had met her. How he had become a man determined to make her happy, no matter the cost. She also learned that before he met her, he was a man whore. He didn’t keep a woman around for more than a few days at most. Donovan went on to explain that he wasn’t telling her any of it to upset her but hoping she would see how much Patrick actually cared. Kiplyn knew without a doubt in her mind that Donovan was telling the truth, even if Patrick hadn’t voiced his feelings toward her. She still had her doubts about getting into a relationship with him, knowing that she was carrying another man’s baby. She didn’t want to tie him down, especially with something that was not his doing! He didn’t deserve that.

  Kiplyn
realized as they sat there talking that the day was creeping toward evening. She jumped up from the chair she was sitting in across from Donovan and started pulling food out of the fridge so she could start preparing dinner. She started browning meat for spaghetti as she was dicing up vegetables. They continued to talk as she was cooking dinner. She asked Donovan where Patrick was, he explained that he was at the shop working for a while since he hadn’t been there much lately.

  By the time dinner was being served, Patrick came into the kitchen. He looked absolutely exhausted. “Hi, sweetheart. How are you feeling?” he asked as he planted a kiss on her forehead. “I’m feeling okay. Donovan has kept me company,” she explained. Patrick looked from her to Donovan and chuckled. “How many of my dirty secrets has he spilled?” he asked. She laughed and so did Donovan. “He only told me stuff that I already had suspected, but didn’t want to admit,” she said with a shy smile. Nothing else was said on the subject as they sat down to eat.

  After dinner was finished, she started cleaning the kitchen up. As she was washing the dishes, she could see into the dining room and watched Patrick and Donovan talk quietly. Kiplyn couldn’t hear what they were saying but could tell by the looks on their faces that it wasn’t good. She decided it was best to busy myself with the kitchen, because she didn’t want to worry herself with what they were discussing.

  As she was leaving the kitchen, the house phone rang. Which was odd that she even still had one because she had her cell phone. “Hello,” she said as she answered. There was no answer on the other end, just breathing. “Hello,” she said again, with no response. Kiplyn hung up the phone and went into the dining room where Donovan and Patrick were still sitting and talking. “Who was on the phone?” Patrick asked. “No one,” she said and sat down in the chair, feeling all her muscles relax.

  “Dinner was great, sweetheart,” Patrick said as he leaned down and kissed her forehead. She found herself leaning into him with a contented sigh. She didn’t know what it was about this man that put her at such ease, but she wasn’t going to question it. Donovan sat quietly watching the interaction between them with a twinkle in his eye.

  “I got it,” Patrick said as he headed for the phone that was ringing again. “Hello,” he said as he answered. “Hello!” he said a second time, a little more impatient this time. He hung up when there was no response on the other end. “How many times has that happened?” Patrick asked as he sat next to her at the table. “That is the second call like that today,” she responded. Without another word, Donovan stood and excused himself. “I will stop by tomorrow, sweetheart,” placing a kiss on her forehead and he left.

  “I am going to head up and take a shower,” Patrick said, placing another kiss on her forehead. “There are clean towels in the hall closet,” she said as he was walking toward the bathroom. She heard the water start a minute later.

  Kiplyn went to make a cup of tea in the kitchen when the phone rang again. “Hello,” she said hesitantly into the receiver. “I see you are finally alone,” Mr. Williams said on the other end of the line, with a low chuckle. “He won’t be able to guard you forever!” Sucking in a deep breath, “what do you want?” she asked. “You, of course!” he said in the same matter of fact tone he had the last time he gave her that answer. Without another thought she slammed the phone down, slid down the wall, and began to sob.

  A few minutes later, she felt Patrick’s strong arms around her lifting her toward his chest. He silently carried her to her bedroom and gently put her in bed. He went around the other side of the bed and crawled in next to her and gently placed his arm around her waist. “What happened, sweetheart?” he asked. It took several minutes for her to catch her breath to answer him. “The phone rang again so I answered it. I shouldn’t have answered it!” she cried. “It was Mr. Williams, he said he was glad I was alone and that you wouldn’t always be there to protect me.” she felt Patrick stiffen in response. “I’m here and I’m not going anywhere,” he soothed.

  A few minutes later, there was shouting from outside. Patrick jumped out of the bed, “stay here,” he said as he was running for the front door. Kiplyn sat there for only a few seconds, she had to know what was going on. She wandered outside to see both Patrick and Donovan with guns drawn and pointed at the head of Mr. Williams. He was face down on the ground with his hands bound behind his back. Patrick was on the phone; she assumed calling the police.

  A few minutes later a patrol car pulls up. Officer O’Neill saunters over to see what is going on. “Mr. McDonnell, both of you, please put the weapons away. You are lucky I know you have permits, or I would be arresting the both of you, along with him!” he says sternly. Kiplyn slowly walked over toward Patrick. Patrick slowly wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her into his side, glaring at the man still on the ground. “Baby, I need you to go back in the house where it’s safe, please,” Patrick begged her. He kissed her gently on the lips and nudged her back toward the house.

  “Get your filthy lips off her!” Mr. Williams screamed. Officer O’Neill pulled him off the ground and placed him in handcuffs. “You, Mr. Williams, are under arrest! I suggest you take this time to shut your mouth and stop making things worse for you,” he said sternly as he was leading him to the patrol car. “Go inside with Kiplyn and I will be in shortly,” Officer O’Neill said over his shoulder to Patrick and Donovan.

  As Patrick entered the house, he found her leaving the bathroom. “You alright, sweetheart?” he asked, concern written all over his face. “Yeah, just got sick, but I will be alright,” she said shyly. Before another word could be said, Donovan headed to the kitchen and started making her a cup of tea to settle her stomach. Patrick gently ushered her to the nearest seat and covered her with a blanket.

  Donovan brought the steaming cup of tea to her a few minutes later. Kiplyn was finding it difficult to hold her eyes open. It had been a long day, and she was starting to feel the effects of it. She was very confused and exhausted over the events. She couldn’t wrap her mind around Mr. Williams actions. What she did know though, is that she didn’t feel the same for him as he did for her. She had feelings, very deep feelings, for Patrick. That scared her too!

  An hour later, Officer O’Neill was gone, having finished collecting his statement. Donovan was seated in a chair blankly staring at the television but not truly watching it. Patrick was sitting next to Kiplyn on the couch. “You ready to go to bed, sweetheart?” he asked quietly. She was so tired she could barely nod in response. He stood, and gently lifted her to his chest. She found herself, melting into him and soaking in the heat he radiated. She felt the muscles in his chest ripple as he moved. He gently placed her in bed, and climbed in beside her, placing his arm over her waist and pulling her into his chest. Tiredness quickly took over and she was fast asleep, breathing in the scent that was distinctly Patrick.

  CHAPTER 7

  Kiplyn awoke the next morning to the sounds of Bear snoring in her ear. Bear had replaced Patrick at some point. She giggled at the giant dog and made her way into the bathroom to freshen up. She made her way downstairs and into the kitchen, where she found Donovan sitting at the dining room table. Patrick was nowhere to be seen.

  “Where is Patrick?” she asked Donovan. He looked up from his cup of coffee with a smile. “He went into the shop for a bit, sweetheart, he will be back soon,” he explained. She nodded and made her way into the kitchen to make some tea. She didn’t feel the greatest this morning and was hoping that the tea would help.

  Before she could even take a sip of the steaming cup of goodness, she was in the bathroom hugging the porcelain throne, ridding her body of what little was still left in her system from the previous night. She couldn’t make it stop. It was the worst feeling in the world. Her body just kept heaving, her muscles ached, her eyes watered, and she hurt everywhere. Something was off, she just wished she could figure out what it was.

  She finally decided to just lay on the bathroom floor. Kiplyn was afraid to leave the bathroom in fear
of having to return. She just laid on the floor with her face against the cool tile of the floor. She must have fallen asleep, because she woke up some time later to Patrick lifting her up and hugging her to his chest. He kissed her forehead and walked into the living room, placing her gently on the couch, covering her with a blanket. Donovan brought her over a fresh cup of tea and placed it on the table.

  “How long was she in the bathroom?” she heard Patrick ask Donovan as he walked into the kitchen where Patrick was making himself a cup of coffee. “She was in there for about half an hour getting sick, but then she quieted down. When I checked on her, she was sleeping soundly, so I just let her rest,” he explained. “There is something wrong with her. I just don’t know what it is, but that doesn’t seem like normal morning sickness to me,” Patrick explained to Donovan. “Morning sickness?!” Donovan asked, unaware of the entire situation. Patrick looked Donovan in the eye, “It wasn’t my place to say anything, I wanted her to be the one to tell it,” he explained.

  Kiplyn sat thinking about the conversation between Patrick and Donovan and knew instantly that he was right. There was something wrong, she just didn’t know what it was. Before she could put any more thought into it, she found herself running across the room and heading for the bathroom again. Her body just heaved, nothing else would come out. She had nothing in her system to expel. She hurt so bad.

  Next thing she knew, paramedics were entering the small bathroom. So much was going on, but she didn’t have the energy to pay attention to any of it. Kiplyn was back out before she could witness anything else.

  She came to unsure how much time had passed to bright lights and beeping. She blinked a few times and found Patrick in the chair next to her. I was in the hospital again! “What happened?” she asked him. “You are dehydrated, baby,” he explained, concern etched in his face. “I was so worried about you,” he said, gently kissing her cheek.