Kim sipped her coffee taking time to gather her thoughts. “Jenna, we’re different. Yes, we look the same and maybe act similar, but we’re different people with different experiences. I assume your life has been good. Kris is great. This house is nice. You have a wonderful career. I don’t want you comparing your life to mine. Let me spare you the details.”
Jenna didn’t want Kim to hold anything back from her. “Please tell me, Kim. What happened? Where did they take you? Where have you been? How did you find me? Do you remember that day?”
Kim tapped her nails against her coffee cup. The memory of her stolen childhood was something she tried to push down and forget, but she could never forget it. That one day that had started out so boring and typical had changed her life forever. “I remember playing in the field with you by the Russell’s farm. You had turned your back just for a few seconds, and I remember the two of them grabbing me. I screamed for you. You screamed my name and ran towards me, but it was too late.”
Kim stopped and stared down at the table. This was the first time she had told her story to anyone. She wiped the corners of her eyes with the back of her hand and continued with a brittle voice. “They forced me into their car. The woman got into the back with me and the man drove. He threw a bandana at the woman and told her to blindfold me. I kicked and punched and screamed. Then, she tied my hands and feet with rope. I wouldn’t stop screaming so she put tape over my mouth. They drove for a long, long time stopping only to get gas.”
Jenna moved her chair closer to Kim and put her arm around her. “Is it too painful for you to talk about?”
Kim shook her head and continued, but she didn’t look at Jenna. “Finally, they stopped driving. I could tell we were on a long gravel road or driveway. I could hear the rocks crunching and popping beneath the tires. After what seemed like an eternity, they stopped and they took me inside their house. They sat me down on a bed and took my blindfold off and removed the tape from my mouth. The harsh light hurt my eyes from being in the dark so long. After my eyes adjusted I saw the two of them standing over me. I screamed as loud as I could and they let me. They told me no one could hear me. They said no one would ever find me. They said Mom and Dad sold me to them because they didn’t want me any more. They had you, and you were the good one. I didn’t believe them. I got up to run, but I didn’t get too far. They had my leg chained to the bed and I couldn’t reach the door. There were no windows. They left me in the room and locked the door behind them.”
Kim closed her eyes and grimaced shaking her head. “Their names were Paul and Cindy. Paul was older than Dad. He looked skinny, but he had a huge belly, which I later found out was from drinking too much beer. He wore a baseball hat to cover his balding head. His fingernails were filthy and long. They were thick and yellow from chain smoking. He had a shaggy, splotchy beard. Cindy didn’t take care of herself and looked unhealthy. She had rotted teeth that were brown and stained. Her dark hair was thin and brittle. She did everything Paul ordered even if she didn’t want to. They would bring my meals into the room and only allowed me to leave to use the bathroom. The bathroom didn’t have windows either. They would lock me in there and then take me back to my room after I had finished.” Kim reached for a napkin to wipe her eyes.
Jenna hugged Kim and squeezed her tight. “I’m so sorry you had to go through that Kim. How long did they keep you chained to the bed?”
Kim continued, “I had no concept of time. I had no idea what day it was or whether it was night or day. After a while, their brainwashing worked. I believed they were my new parents. No one ever came to the house looking for me. They called me Evelyn Roth. After years of keeping me locked up, they allowed me more and more freedom.”
Jenna cleared her throat and wiped the tears that trickled down her cheeks. “It was all lies Kim. We looked for you. You have to know that. It was mental abuse. They brainwashed you like a cult. Did they physically hurt you?”
Kim nodded. “Yes. After a few years of breaking me down, Paul started touching me. When I was older, he began sleeping with me after Cindy went to work. She worked the night shift. He threatened to kill me and Cindy if I told anyone. To be honest, at the time I didn’t care if he did kill me. What kind of life did I have anyway? It was Cindy I was worried about. How twisted is that? I could tell she was a good person before meeting Paul. I suppose he manipulated her also when they met. She snuck extra food to me when he passed out from drinking or while he was at work. A few times I thought she might set me free, but she couldn’t. She was so afraid of Paul and what he would do to her. I tried to convince her we could run away together and get help, but she was either too afraid or too in love or a little of both to take action.”
Jenna doubled over. She felt like she was going to be sick. “I’m so sorry, Kim. I don’t know what to say. No one should ever be in that situation. Why did they kidnap you?”
“I don’t know. I think Cindy wanted a kid. I think Paul just wanted a girl he could manipulate.”
Jenna clenched her jaw trying not to break down. “How did you get away?”
Kim reached for another napkin and balled the previous one up. “By the time I was eighteen, they let me leave the house for the first time to take the GED using the fake identity they had purchased for me. They found some used books for me to study so I could pass the test. Paul got me a job at the local factory. He was the supervisor and watched me like a hawk. I wasn’t allowed to speak to anyone. It didn’t matter if I had tried. He made sure the only people I worked with spoke Spanish. The plant paid me and some of the hard laborers cash only, so it was never reported to the government. It was illegal but they got away with paying us pennies on the dollar. The area was poor and people took what they could get. Paul took my cash so I never saw any of it. He moved me around a lot at work so that I didn’t get too close to anyone. I had odd jobs, but usually he had me doing the jobs no one else would do. Sometimes, he made me clean the bathrooms. Other times, I would have to do dangerous jobs that involved cleaning the machinery.”
Kim’s eyes shifted down to the table. She didn’t look at Jenna. “My daily routine consisted of going to work with Paul and going back home with him at the end of the workday. Then, after Cindy would leave he would force himself on me or force me to do things to him. They still locked me in my room if no one was around to watch me. It continued for years.
“One day, Cindy had won a raffle at work. She brought home some steaks and a charcoal grill they gave her for winning. Cindy and Paul were so drunk that they thought it was okay to cook the steaks on the grill in the living room. I had fallen asleep in the chair. I knew they weren’t going to share the steaks with me. I don’t know if they tipped the grill over or there was a grease fire, but I woke up choking and gasping for air. The entire house was on fire around me. I couldn’t see anything through the flames and smoke. I covered my nose and mouth with my shirt and felt my way through the thick smoke towards where I thought the door was. I found it, but the key was missing from the locked deadbolt. I crawled along the floor to the window in the kitchen that Paul boarded up to keep me from escaping. I kicked at the boards using all the energy I had left. Finally, I heard one of the boards crack. The fire was getting closer. I shut my eyes and ran full force into the boards and the window, which gave free and I fell onto the ground below. I ran until I knew I was a safe distance away. I watched as the house burned down to the ground. Paul and Cindy never came out.”
Jenna didn’t know what to say. All she could do was hug Kim and hold her tight. Kim smiled as Jenna hugged her. She felt she was pretty convincing. Jenna had taken in everything she said and didn’t ask any questions that she hadn’t already thought of beforehand.
***
Kris returned home for lunch. She still felt conflicted about Kim. She was sharing her house with a stranger. On the other hand, Jenna was ecstatic to have her sister back, which softened Kim’s feelings about the situation. After lunch Kim went upstairs to take a nap leaving Jen
na an opportunity to tell Kris what she had learned so far.
Jenna’s emotions overwhelmed her while repeating what Kim told her earlier. She tried to stay strong for Kim, but she let herself go in the warm embrace of Kris. “I feel so bad Kris. I hate they did those things to her.”
Kris stroked Jenna’s hair. “Who were these people?”
“All Kim said was that their names were Paul and Cindy. They kept her locked up. They brainwashed her making her think her family no longer wanted her, and…” Jenna wiped her tears on the sleeve of her shirt “…and he raped her.”
“I’m so sorry, Jenna. That is so horrible. How did she get away? I hope those assholes are rotting away in jail.”
“She will never have justice. They died when their house burned down with them in it, which is how she was able to get away. They had given her a fake identity, which is what she has been using. She was so damaged, she didn’t remember who she was any more. She knew they kidnapped her and that she had another family before.”
Kris swallowed hard and wiped away her own tears. She felt bad for feeling apprehensive about Kim before. “Did she go to the police when she got away to try and find her real family?”
Jenna shook her head. “She felt ashamed of what she had been through and didn’t trust anyone. She still has a hard time trusting people. Even Mom and Dad don’t know yet. She ran away to another town and was homeless for a while. She started working odd jobs, usually two or three at a time. She saved up enough money for an old car that could only make it a few miles before breaking down on her. She slept in her car outside of her workplaces.”
“I would’ve never known she had been through so much by looking at her now. How did she overcome all of that?”
“Well, her turning point came when she landed a job as a waitress in a restaurant where a lot of successful businessmen went for lunch. After working there a few months, one of her regular customers offered her a job as his secretary. He saw potential in her, something she never saw in herself. By that time, she already had a cheap apartment. The guy who had hired her worked his way up to become the CFO of his division. He kept her on as his secretary through all the promotions with steady pay increases along the way.”
Kris raised a quizzical eyebrow. Kim’s story was beginning to sound a little to much like a rags-to-riches movie. “If she didn’t remember anything about her family, how did she find you?”
“She saw me on the national news after the car accident thanks to Amelia Davies’ notoriety. She saw my picture, which of course looked just like her. Kim said that triggered something in her subconsciousness and memories of her childhood before the kidnapping came flooding back to her. She remembered having a twin sister.”
“That was four months ago,” Kris blurted out trying to hide the doubt creeping back up in her mind.
Jenna nodded, “It took her a while to process everything and piece together her memories. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to reach out to me. She was afraid nobody in her family wanted her. Cindy and Paul had worked hard to make sure she believed that was the truth. Can you blame her?”
Kris frowned and shook her head without speaking.
“Kim found my bio on the hospital website. After months of debating, she decided to take a chance on reaching out to me. She turned in her notice at the office, sold everything she could, quit her job, and walked out of her apartment in Kentucky. She rented a car and drove straight through to the hospital. She was afraid if she stopped at a hotel along the way, she would change her mind and turn around.”
Kris was sympathetic to Kim, but she couldn’t help but feel parts of her story sounded odd.
Jenna could see the worry lines deep in Kris's face. “I know this is a lot for you to deal with. I’m lucky to have you in my life, and now I have my sister back too.” Jenna lowered her head feeling shamed. “I feel guilty. My life seems like a fairytale compared to the hellish nightmare she experienced.”
Kim put a soothing arm around Jenna. “It isn’t your fault Jenna. None of it was your fault. You can’t blame yourself.”
Unbeknownst to either of them, Kim closed the guest room door without making a sound. She tiptoed across the room and sat on the edge of the bed with a devious smile stretched wide across her lips. She was the only one who knew how the fire that killed Paul and Cindy really started.
***
That evening, Jenna had coaxed Kim into calling their parents. She sat by Kim’s side providing support and being the rock Kim needed. Kim remained calm as she told them brief parts of her story while leaving out the details of abuse.
Jenna hugged Kim. “I’m proud of you. I know how hard that must have been.”
Kim refilled the wine glass that had been her crutch through the phone conversation with her parents. “Thanks, but I still have mixed feelings about them. Maybe I’ll change my mind after this weekend.”
Jenna stood up and yawned. “I don’t have the best relationship with them, but I don’t want that affecting how you feel about them. Give them a chance. I know for a fact how much they love you and how empty their lives have been without you.” Jenna bent down and gave Jax a kiss on the top of his head. “I think Jax is starting to warm up to you. Goodnight, Kim.”
When Jenna entered the bedroom, she found Kris propped up in bed with her laptop working on a contract. “How did the phone call go?”
Jenna sighed. “As well as one could expect. Kim held up pretty good.”
Kris shut the laptop and moved it to the side. “I’m sure they were excited to hear the news. How are your parents?”
Jenna shrugged her shoulders. “I wouldn’t know. I think the only time I heard my name mentioned was when Kim told them where she was staying.” Jenna walked into the bathroom and then turned quick popping her head back out around the corner. “You’ll get to ask them yourself this weekend.”
Kris bolted out of bed almost tripping over the cover wrapped around her feet. “What? They’re coming here?”
Jenna stared at the mirror watching as Kris marched towards the bathroom. “Yep.”
“They haven’t come to visit, let alone call, in the past year and a half. Did you invite them to come this weekend?”
“Nope.”
Kris stood in the doorway with her hands on her hips. “Are they staying here? Should we cook or take them to a restaurant? I have to clean the house. It has to be spotless. Do they know about us? Do they know we are,” she cringed as she said the words, “more than just friends?” Her voice rose an octave with each question.
Jenna couldn’t help but laugh at how worked up Kris was getting. She turned around and put her hands on Kris's shoulders. “Shh, Kim will hear you. Take a deep breath and calm down. It’s just my parents. I sent them a letter thanking them for the card they sent after the accident, and I told them about us.”
Kris made her way to the countertop and hopped up on it trying to recover from the news. “What was their response?”
Jenna wedged herself between Kris's legs and placed her hands on Kris's thighs. “I didn’t receive a response, but I don’t care what they think. I love you. I don’t need their approval. Hell, I don’t think I have ever had their approval for anything in the past.”
Kris's heart melted. She knew Jenna wanted her parents to acknowledge her, even if she wouldn’t admit it to herself. “Well, my mother adores you. She brags to all her friends about how her daughter snagged a beautiful, brilliant surgeon.”
Jenna’s smile widened, but she looked down at the floor. She wasn’t comfortable receiving compliments. “Well, we will have to go down to visit her after Kim gets settled in. Maybe we could take our time and drive down along the coastline.”
Kris placed her hand beneath Jenna’s chin and with a gentle touch raised it until their eyes met. “That sounds great. She would love that.” Kris wrapped her powerful legs around Jenna and drew her closer. “Do you know what I would love right now?”
“What?” Jenna questioned as she leaned he
r forehead into Kris's cheek.
Kris wrapped her arms around Jenna’s neck and brushed her lips against her ear. “I would love to kiss you and….” Jenna’s hands gliding up her thighs beneath her shorts distracted her.
Jenna pulled Kris hard against her. “And what?” Kris began unbuttoning Jenna’s shirt. Jenna’s nipples stiffened pushing against the fabric of her bra.
Kris pushed the shirt off of Jenna’s shoulders until it caught at her elbows. She unfastened Jenna’s pants. “And have my way with you right here.” She kissed Jenna’s neck.
Goosebumps dotted Jenna’s skin beneath Kris's light touch as Kris traced her fingertips over Jenna’s imprisoned breasts. She lifted Kris's shirt up over her head. Her fingertips found the delicate flesh of Kris's erect nipples. “Maybe I want to do you on the countertop instead,” Jenna said.
Kris placed her hands behind her and leaned back thrusting her breasts upwards towards Jenna. She moaned when she felt Jenna’s tongue against her nipples.
Jenna leaned forward wrapping one arm around the back of Kris and slid her other hand down the waistband of Kris shorts. She slid her palm down between Kris's legs.
Kris's legs opened even further, but she still had them wrapped around Jenna’s waist like a strong python. “Jenna, mmm.”
Jenna continued to tease Kris beneath her shorts. She raised her eyebrows, “Should I stop?”
Kris shook her head and pulled Jenna in for a hard kiss. She gasped as she felt Jenna’s fingers parting her.
“Now, this is what I had in mind.” Jenna slid her fingers up and down while applying pressure with her palm against Kris's clitoris. Kris breathing heavy in her ear didn’t help ease the familiar throb of her own clitoris aching for a release.
“Oh, don’t stop. Oh, that’s it. Right there,” Kris said between moans. Just as she was about to climax, there was a knock on the bedroom door. They both jumped. Kris's head hit the mirror, but not hard enough to cause any damage to herself or the mirror. Jenna pulled her hand out from behind Kris and knocked a bottle of perfume to the floor, which broke into several small pieces.
Jenna's Closure (Dr. Jenna Harper Series Book 2) Page 6