~Part 11~ "It's so weird to see my mom like that." Hamilton said. "What do you mean?" Jake asked, snuggling closer to him. Hamilton wrapped his arm around her. "Well, it's like I'm the only kid she ever had so I never thought about her being a mother to others. Like, the thought never occurred to me but maybe she'd want a daughter. I mean, I've never seen this part of her and she seems to love it." Jake smiled. "Jealous that your mommy likes me more?" she teased. Hamilton nudged her. "No…" Jake kissed him, "I'm messing with your head, dude." They started to kiss more. For the first time since Finn had laid a finger on her, Jake actually felt comfortable getting physical with Hamilton again. Maybe that was a good sign. Suddenly Hamilton stopped. "Come see my room." he suggested, standing up. He pulled Jake up and towards the front hall where there was a staircase, leading her up it. At the end of the hall, on the second floor was his room. He opened it and waited for Jake to enter first. "Ta-da!" he said. Jake looked around. It was a typical guy's room: a messy bed with plaid blankets and pillow cases in the middle surrounded by clothes on the floor (which Hamilton quickly tried to stuff under his bed.). There was a desk against the wall to the right of the bed and a dresser, with his mind-blowing stereo on it, against the wall to the left. On the walls were music and sports posters. Resting on the floor by his bed was his guitar. "So, you have no sexy women on your walls?" she asked him slyly. "Why should I when I have a real life sexy woman?" he replied, smiling. "Good answer Ham, I'm impressed…So this is your room." she sighed. "Okay, so it's not that great. But it's nice to have a change of scenery." he offered, walking over to his desk and sitting in the swivel chair. Jake went over to him and sat on his lap. He wrapped his arms around her waist while she turned her head to kiss him. They kissed lovingly and passionately for a few minutes, then Jake broke the moment. "Ham, I'm sorry if I've been a pain in the ass lately." she said, starring into his intense blue eyes. "God, Jake, please don't say that. You could never be a pain in the ass and even if you were, you have a good excuse." "Thank you, I really couldn't get through all this without you." she replied, genuinely. "I love you." he answered. "Me too…I mean, I love you too." she said, correcting herself and kissed him again. This time, the kiss was interrupted by Kate coming in through the front door. "I'm home!" she called. Jake and Hamilton quickly pulled apart, laughing and Jake moved to his bed. Kate opened the door with a bag of movies in her hand. "Hey guys. Okay, Jake, I wasn't sure what you liked so I just got some basics." she said, handing her the bag of videos and a pint of mint-chocolate chip ice cream with two spoons plunged into it. "Thank you so much." Jake replied, staring into Kate's caring eyes. "My pleasure. So, you kids can go watch in the den, I'm going to sleep now. It's been a long day, for all of us." With that Kate disappeared behind the door. Hamilton raised his eyebrows at Jake. "Okay, so you really want to watch these movies?" he asked. Jake smiled sheepishly. "Fine. Let's go." he laughed and got up. They made their way to the cozy, homey den. Hamilton took the bag from her and dumped its contents onto the couch. He groaned when he saw what his mother had chosen. "Ugh! Pretty Woman? Ten Things I Hate About You? Gone With The Wind? What the hell?" he grunted. Jake giggled. "Your mom has good taste. I'll watch Ten Things." she said excitedly as she popped it into the VCR. Hamilton smiled at her joy, even though he knew he'd be in for hours of feminist, chick-flicki-ness. 'Jake's going to be happy. Jake's going to be happy. Jake's going to be happy.' he kept reminding himself. Jake sat on the couch Indian-style and started on the ice cream. "Ham, your mom is the coolest." she stated. Hamilton just shrugged, "Right…" then he looked down at the appealing ice cream. "Hey, does this wallowing involve sharing?" "Poor Hammie never gets to wallow? Next break-up I'll be sure and give you lessons." "Who's breaking up?" Hamilton asked, quickly getting serious. Jake smiled and shoved her ice cream-filled spoon into his mouth. "Mmmm..." he moaned. Jake smiled. 'He is too cute.' she thought to herself. 'God, how would I live without him?' Jake started to get goose bumps from the cold. Hamilton noticed right away and grabbed a knitted blanket from behind them and wrapped them in it. "Better?" he asked. Just then, the 'feature presentation' came on. "Shh…" Jake hushed him. Hamilton rolled his eyes and sat, listening to Jake quote all of the lines. One movie and another pint of ice cream later, Jake lay against Hamilton sleeping peacefully as he watched her. He was so content to just have her with him, that she was okay and that his mother knew. After a few minutes Hamilton drifted off to sleep as well. Kate entered the den to clean up the next morning. She was very surprised to find the two of them sleeping lovingly next to each other. "Wow, I still can't believe my son is in love." she said, watching him sleep. Then she looked at Jake. 'Poor girl. Gosh, this is horrible. I'm going to speak to Finn right now. I don't really know how to confront him about this but I have to. He can't get away with this.' she thought. As she was about to leave Hamilton woke up. "Morning mom." he whispered, so as not to wake up his sleeping beauty. "Morning Munchie. You can go back to sleep, I'm going to talk to Finn now." "What?" Hamilton asked, jumping off of the couch. Jake stirred a little but rested again. "Mom, you can't go! I won't let you. He's dangerous! What he did to Jake, he could do it to you. Mom, you can't go." Hamilton said in a yelling whisper. "Hamilton please, I can take care of myself." Kate replied, knowing that she had a way with Finn. "Mom. Listen to me…" Hamilton pleaded, leading his mother back out into the kitchen. "He…he did stuff to Jake. There might even be more to it than she's able to talk about. I can't even imagine that happening to another person I love, I feel too helpless. Please, let me at least come with you." Hamilton begged. Kate hugged Hamilton. "I promise I'll be okay sweetie. Thank you for caring though. Now, go back to the girl you love, she's going to wake up soon. I love you." Kate walked out of the kitchen. Hamilton just stood there watching and praying that she would be spared what Jake wasn't. Just then, Jake walked in groggily with tousled hair. Hamilton gave her a hug. "Morning." he said, kissing the top of her head. Jake smiled. It felt so good there, it made everything go away. She realized she hadn't thought about Finn since last night. "Jake, my mom just went to talk to Finn…" Hamilton said searching her eyes for a response. Jake sat on a chair. "God, Hamilton, if anything happens to her I'll never ever forgive myself." Jake replied, quietly. Hamilton hugged her. "It'll be okay, I promise." was all he could say. *** ~Part 12~ Kate knocked on Finn's door and immediately let herself in. He was sitting at his desk on his computer. "Finn. This is urgent, I must have a word with you immediately." Kate stated, officially. "Sure, what's wrong Kate? You never sound this tense. Is something wrong?" Finn asked, sounding genuinely concerned. Kate recognized his tone of voice. It was the same one he had used on her earlier in the summer. The same one that led to… no, she wouldn't let it happen again. He really had mental problems. She had to deal with this. Kate shook herself out of her trance. "Don't get all sweet with me Finn. You are in serious trouble. I can't even comprehend what the hell was going through your mind when you decided to lay a hand on a student of this institution." "I am appalled and I have nothing else to tell you other than expect to hear from my husband as soon as he gets back! ...and forget about your job this semester, or ever!!" Kate finished, almost yelling. She turned to walk back to where she had come from. "I wouldn't leave so fast if I were you." Finn said, this time his voice sounding unfamiliar to her. "Excuse me?" she asked, shouting now. "You seem to be forgetting about our little- should I say- episode this past summer. I'll have you know that I certainly have not forgotten. Although I wish I could do that to you again, maybe more, I see your lovely dedication to your shitty family." Finn spat out. Kate's mouth hung open. "I am not going to stand here and take this from you. You are out of line! You stepped out of line when you kissed me, and you stepped WAY out of line when you started anything with Jacqueline. Don't think for a second that you can speak to me like this!" "Oh, but I can Katie, I can. You see, if you tell the Dean about this ordeal, I'm afraid I'll have to share another with him. I can't imagine how he'd feel if he knew that you were cheating on him with his most prized member of the faculty." "Don't flatter yourself." Kate muttered. She was in disbelief. How on earth had Finn managed to turn the tables on her like that?! Now, he had her where he wanted her. Thoughts were swarming around in her head. What would she do? She loved her family so much. She couldn't ever let her husband down like that. But Finn was a pervert: she could not let him stay here. Kate just backed out of the apartment in silence, refusing to make eye contact with the twisted, confusing and misleading man before her. *** ~Part 13~ Jake and Hamilton were just sitting down to some breakfast when Kate hurried in through the kitchen door in silence. She smiled slightly at them but remained quiet. "Mom, what happened?" Hamilton asked, getting an uneasy feeling about his mother's response. "Um, nothing really, Munchie, we'll talk later." She said avoiding the confrontation. "Mom. Are you okay? Did he try to hurt you?" Hamilton asked suddenly rising form his seat. Jake sat in silence looking into her bowl. 'How could I have done this? Not only did I have to experience that torment, but now I've dragged her into this too. God, I'll never be able to live with myself again, I can't believe I hurt her like that'. "Hamilton, he didn't touch me, I promise." Kate assured her son. But he wasn't so easily fooled. He knew his mother too well for that. "Mom, it's okay, you can tell me, whatever it is, I can handle it." "Nothing constructive whatsoever came out of our meeting, all right? Now finish your breakfast" Kate said and left the room. Hamilton just stood there in bewilderment, not knowing what to say. ~~~ The Dean sat in his lavish car on the train. He was doing some paper work and thinking. 'David Anskin, member of the Model Congress team, B student, transferring out of Rawley. Unfortunate, but no major loss.' He thought as he reviewed the student's file. 'Jake Pratt, coxswain of the crew team, A student, remaining in Rawley for fall semester. Nice. He's also Hamilton best friend I believe. Quite an interesting boy, I must say. There's something about him that I can't seem to put my finger on, it seems to me like the kid has some secret. But Hamilton seems very fond of him. I'll have to ask him when I get home. I'm glad I opted to return early, we haven't spent any quality time together lately.' He thought as he put down his papers and looked out the window to see the New Rawley countryside in the distance. ~~~ As Jake finished her cereal, Hamilton was just pouring himself seconds. She smiled at him. He nodded back with an attempted smile. "Hamilton, I don't know what's going on either, but I'm so sorry you have to be affected by this too. God, it kills me to think that something horrible could have happened to her because of me. I'm so sorry." She said finishing in a whisper. "Jake. God, please don't say that. You shouldn't even imagine having to go through this alone. Yes, you dragged me into it, but I'm so glad you did, you need me and I swear, I'm standing by you, I'm right here. The situation sucks but I'm still here for you. I just don't know what happened with my mom." Jake got up and gave him a hug. "This is so unfair. We shouldn't have to spend our summer going through this." She said kissing him. At That moment, the dean entered his house in silence. His gaze immediately fell upon his son in an embrace with a girl. 'What the hell?' he thought. He walked closer to them to see who it was. He nearly gasped when he saw Jake Pratt, looking much different then usual consoling her son. 'Going through what?' the dean thought to himself? What could be going on that was so serious? 'My god, Jake is a girl! I knew it! I knew it had to be that! How could I have been so blind?' he thought, slightly amused. Jake was a lovely looking girl, he could see why his son had been so fond of 'him' all along. Not wanting to scare them, he walked back to the door and re-entered, calling out to his household. "Kate, Hamilton? I'm home early!" he shouted. Kate ran down the stairs and threw her arms around her husband. It was such a relief to have him home. She was scared about confronting him about the situation she was faced with but she trusted their love and family. Hamilton quickly jumped up and Jake ran to the den and put on her corset while Hamilton approached his father. "Hi dad, welcome home, weren't you supposed to be gone all week?" The dean smiled knowingly and responded, "Yes, well I wanted to come home and spend some time with my family, it's been a while." Kate and Hamilton looked at each other, not knowing how, or if at all to bring up their serious problem and fear. The Dean understood that something was wrong, and the conversation he had overheard between his son and his girlfriend (he presumed) was even more troubling. "Okay guys, I'm getting the feeling that there's something you're not telling me. Jake, you can come out here, I know you're here," he said gently, not wanting to scare her. Perhaps it was his sudden wave of compassion or maybe it was his fear but suddenly, Hamilton wanted nothing more then to tell his father everything. But he knew that it rested in Jake's hands, it was her problem and it was up to her. Hamilton gave Jake a reassuring look as she came out of the den and kitchen into the large hallway where the reunion was taking place. "Hi Mr. Flemming." She said meekly, in as manly a voice she could muster. "Why don't we sit in the living room and talk?" He said slowly, now fully confused about his family's reaction to his arrival. Kate looked at Hamilton, unsure of what to do. Hamilton looked at Jake for some sign of approval or disapproval. She just stood there, helpless, scared of what lay before her if she told the dean the truth, but even more scared of what lay before her if she didn't. *** ~Part 14~ The Dean stood and watched as his family glanced from one to the other in silence. "Okay then, why don't I begin? Perhaps that would lighten this extremely tense mood. Jake, I'm pretty sure I know the truth about you." He said flatly. Jake swallowed hard and looked at Hamilton; afraid she might break down right there and then. Kate came to her rescue. "Steve. Please, let's talk about this, okay? As I'm sure you have guessed, we're facing a problem right now, and it's pretty major. I think you should hear Jake and Hamilton's story first." Jake smiled at Kate and took a seat beside Hamilton who had just sat down on the loveseat. She looked up at Hamilton with fear in her eyes and nodded at him to begin. "Dad, I want you to meet my best friend, my girlfriend, and my soul mate. Her name Is Jacqueline Pratt." Hamilton said confidently. Jake grinned form ear-to-ear at his introduction. Shockingly, the Dean didn't look quite so surprised. "Nice to meet you miss Pratt." The dean said. Jake and Hamilton then proceeded in telling their lengthy story to Hamilton's father. He nodded and smiled at some of the sweeter, mushier parts and frowned sternly at some of the less law-abiding parts. When Jake and Hamilton finished the first chapter of their 'tale', Kate cut in. "So that explains it, Steve, that is why Hamilton has been so amazingly happy lately, he has found her." "It is lovely. Of course there is the matter of the fact that she broke about every rule recorded in the Rawley handbook. However, we will get to that later. I have a feeling that's not the main focus of this discussion. Isn't there something more you needed to tell me?" he asked extremely perplexed about how this story could get even more confusing then it already was. Jake gulped, ashamed and embarrassed of what was about to be told to the dean. She knew she had no need to be embarrassed; she hadn't done anything at all. Nevertheless, she was mortified about what had been done to her, it seemed to her like it should be a secret, no matter how painful it was to keep it bottled up. And worst of all, now the dean would know. Hamilton looked at Jake, hoping that she would start. It was an odd place for a son to tell his father an account like the one they had in store. Upon looking at her, he noticed her uneasiness and squeezed her hand assumingly. Once again, Kate found it her position to begin. She cleared her throat. "On the last day of summer session, Jake had reason to believe that Finn found out her secret. Apparently, he walked in on her in the showers. She basically ran out of the school, too afraid to rationalize with Finn and find out what he saw, if anything at all." She paused. The dean had grown slightly uncomfortable; he didn't like the direction in which the story was headed. Kate continued, "When she returned to New York, she found an e-mail from him assuring her that while he knew the truth, nothing would happen to her. His only instructions were to see him immediately upon her return. So, naturally, she was thrilled to come back to Hamilton and their friends." She paused and searched her husband for a reaction. His face was blank. "As soon as she came back, she went to see him in his dorm-" Kate continued. But he stopped short as Jake ran out of the room, red in the face. Hamilton looked at his mother briefly and then ran out after Jake. She was sitting on the bottom of the stairs, crying softly and extremely flushed. "Jake." He said, squeezing next to her and throwing an arm around her shoulders. "I'm so sorry, this is just so hard. I didn't think I would care if your father knew but… I'm embarrassed, god it's just too hard. I can't keep talking about it and re-living it." she said, crying freely now. "It's too hard" she repeated. Hamilton consoled her as best as his innocent teenage ability would allow. All the while, Kate was filling the dean in on what had happened to Jake. "My God." Was all the dean could manage to say. "But wait, there's more." Kate said. "I couldn't stand to see Jake so hurt like that and none of us could do a thing. So I went to Finn to talk to him." Suddenly, the Dean's head shot up. "What? Why would you do that? Why would you go see him-alone- after that happened? My god, did he touch you?" "No. Steve, I'm fine. But something else happened. Steve, There's something important I have to tell you. I know you're going to be outraged and you have every right to be. In fact, I don't know how on earth you're going to react and I'm scared, but I have to tell you." She said, without stopping. Steve just sat in silence. "This past summer, Finn and I, we had a moment. It was just once, we were discussing classes and for some reason, he kissed me. I don't know what to say, I'm ashamed to tell you that for a minute, I kissed him back. I don't know what could have been running through my head but immediately afterward, I went to him and told him that I had a family and that whatever he had in mind for us, it just would not work. I hate myself for it, Steve, I might not ever forgive myself, but you have to know that I do, and always have, loved you." Kate finished, crying calmly and still, staring into her husband's eyes. "Kate, I don't know what to say." "I'm sorry" she managed to let out in a whisper. "I appreciate you telling me. This is… um, a stumbling block in our marriage. That's all I can say/ but my love for you and my dedication to this family still exists, no matter how busy I am and how much I show it. We'll work through it. I believe you that you love me because I feel it. Love like our's doesn’t usually dwindle. I love you, Kate. We can talk about what possessed you to turn top another man but know that I'm still here and I'm not leaving you over this, okay?" "God, Steve, I love you. I'm so, so sorry." She said, crying fully now. Steve gave her a hug. "Kate. Shhh." He said, rubbing her back as if she were a small child in pain. "I want to know why you decided to tell me this now." He said after a while. Kate looked up and began to talk again. "When I went to him today, and confronted him about his horrible, unforgivable actions, I obviously threatened to tell you or the police. But he somehow twisted it and told me that if I told about him, he'd tell you about our- uh- incident. Basically, he threatened me. But I'm hoping that our relationship and my attempt at honesty will overcome him. We have to do it, for the kids. It kills me to see Jake hurting like that. I've never experienced anything like that before and it's just so sick." She said, looking down and shaking her head in dismay. "I can't believe him. He actually had the nerve to threaten my wife? After all of that?! That bastard! Who the hell does he think he is?" he said, rising to his feet. He began to pace. Hamilton had run to the doorway upon hearing his father's yell. 'He threatened mom?' he thought to himself. He leaned against the wall and sighed. He had never been in a situation so screwed up in his entire life. He felt so helpless and yet he knew he had the responsibility of being strong. Jake could only get through it if he could. But Hamilton wasn't sure that he could, it would take more then just him to get her through it, something much stronger then just a teenager, love. *** ~Part 15~ Hamilton forced himself up and walked back to where Jake was quickly drying her tears. Together, they walked back to the living room where Hamilton's parents were talking quietly. Hamilton cleared his throat as they entered. "I'm sorry for running out like that, Sir." Jake told the dean. "I guess I was just, embarrassed… or something. I don't know." "Really, you have no reason to be. I'm so sorry that one of my faculty members has inflicted so much hurt and discomfort to you. I am planning on dealing with that right away." Hamilton and Jake stood there, waiting for him to continue with some master plan that would solve all their problems. "Hamilton, your mom and I feel that it would be best for the two of you to go to New York- of course, only if that's alright with your mother, Jacqueline- until I have this worked out. I just want you out of any more danger. Besides, you both could use a break from all this, enjoy the rest of your summer." Hamilton looked at Jake. She was smiling slightly. "That sounds great to me, Dad. Thank you." Hamilton said. Jake looked up at the Dean. "Sir, I hate to bring this up, but what about me and…uh…breaking certain rules?" she asked quietly. "Yes, well, that is a big deal. However, your safety comes first so we'll deal with that later, okay? Jake nodded. "Thank you both so much. I can't even imagine how I could have ever survived this without you." "It's my job." The dean said plainly while Kate just smiled lovingly. "Okay, well, I guess I'll go call my mom, if that's alright?" she asked politely. "Of course it'd okay" Hamilton said, taking her hand and leading her up to his room. As soon as they were out of hearing range, Hamilton gave her a huge, enthusiastic hug, trying not to scream with joy. "AH! Jake! We're going to New York together! It's all gonna be okay, my parents are taking care of all this and you can put it behind you. It's gonna be just like we wanted it to be, okay?" Jake just smiled and hugged him back. She had an uneasy feeling about the situation. The solution seemed too easy to be true. 'What exactly happened when Kate went to see Finn this morning?' She wondered. 'I better not butt in and let them deal with it like they wanted to.' "Jake, it's going to be so amazing. You, me, an entire city just for the two of us to be together, it'll be so romantic." Jake kissed him on the cheek. "Don't get too wild, Hammie boy. I gotta ask my mom." Hamilton rolled his eyes and tossed her the cordless phone. After five minutes of persuading Consuela to let Hamilton stay with them, Jake finally hung up. "You're going to the big apple!" Hamilton looked up at her as he zipped up his already packed suitcase. Jake smiled. "You are so cute!" she said. ~~~ That evening, Jake and Hamilton stood at the bus stop, waiting for the bus to pick them up. Kate had driven them while the Dean had stayed home making phone calls to a number of social worker's for advice. As the bus pulled up, Kate turned to her son. "Be good, Munchie, behave. Don't worry about things here, your father is taking care of it." "Please let us know if anything happens. And thank you so much, Kate. I am so grateful to you." Jake said seriously. Kate pulled Jake in for a strong hug. "Just call if you need me again." "I will." Jake said. The bus driver shouted out, "Boarding is now!" Hamilton gave his mother a kiss and picked up both his and Jake's bags. "Take care of her." Kate whispered to her son. Hamilton winked and went onto the bus. Ten minutes later, Jake and Hamilton were settled into their seats on the bus. They looked out the window at the long winding road ahead of them, which, in a way, would lead them to freedom. Freedom from their fears, freedom from their secrets, freedom to be in love like any other couple. Hamilton looked at the people around them. Most of the seats were empty and the ones that were inhabited were filled with sleeping people. Seeing this as his chance to make out with Jake in public for the first time, he turned to her and began to kiss her, moving constantly between her lips, cheeks, chin and neck. But after a minute, Jake froze up. Hamilton knew she wasn't deeply or passionately into it but for just this moment, he wanted to be like a regular teenage boy. He wanted her. Jake put her hands up to stop Hamilton. "What is it?" he whispered. "I'm sorry." She replied and turned to look out the window, hiding the pain and discomfort in her eyes. Hamilton leaned back in his seat, collecting himself. He took a deep breath. "Jake…" he began. "Look Hamilton, I'm sorry, I really am. It's just every time I get into something with you, he pops into my mind and I just can't… I can't go on like this." She paused, thinking. "I hate doing this to you, you've had to be so much stronger than necessary lately and I know all you want to do right now is be with me." Hamilton took a deep breath. He had to find a way to get Jake's mind off Finn. Otherwise their vacation wouldn't be enjoyable. They might even end up fighting. He loved her too much to do that to her. She needed him so much now. As much as he wanted to kiss her and touch her, he knew he should put her before him. But it was getting harder and harder. Why couldn’t they have one day of normalcy? He looked over at her. She was staring into his eyes, waiting to see his reaction. At that moment, she saw his eyes ice over. Instantaneously, her heart broke. It split in two. She was ruining this. Ruining him, ruining their relationship. How could this have happened? How did things get so screwed up? She loved him too much to keep doing this to him. Since she came to Rawley she had been throwing him into situations where he was left with no choice. His love had done all the deciding. He constantly put their relationship before himself and his reputation. And now she was doing it again. Without intention or consent, she had been thrust down into a world of pain and darkness and had dragged him with her. It just wasn't fair anymore. She broke her stare and looked out the window shortly. She knew what she had to do. She smiled sweetly at Hamilton. "I love you, you know." She whispered. He looked at her, not fully understanding what she was doing. Jake leaned in and kissed him. She kissed him deeply, with fervor and lust. She moved him wildly, running her hands through his hair. He had to struggle to silence his pleasure. Her eyes began to tear as she felt the pain inside building up, her brain telling her to stop before she got hurt, her heart forcing her to keep going, this is what he deserved. *** |
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| Parts 11-15 |
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