~Part 16~ Hamilton couldn't take it anymore. She made him so crazy. He let out a slight purr of pleasure and appreciation. Suddenly, the woman in front of them switched on her reading light, turned around and, giving them a disgusted look, let out a nasty, "Shhh!" Jake and Hamilton quickly separated. As soon as the woman had turned back around and shut off the bright light, both Jake and Hamilton erupted into silent fits of laughter. Hamilton squeezed her hand as another sleeping passenger began to stir. As they calmed down he looked over at Jake, who, without knowing she was being watched, took a deep breath, wiped the artificial grin off her face and sat thinking. Suddenly Hamilton knew. One look into those beautiful, mesmerizing eyes of hers and he knew what she had just done for him. "Thank you, Jake," was all he said. Right then they exchanged a deep, mutual understanding for each other. He understood all the hell she was going through and how she had pushed that aside for him. She knew how much she was loved and that no matter how hard it would be on Hamilton to get through this, he wouldn't give up on her. She snuggled up to his shoulder, not letting go of his hand and drifted off to sleep. Hamilton just sat quietly and watched her sleep. ~~~ At the first sign of New York Hamilton became giddy with excitement. He tapped Jake repeatedly to wake her. "Jake!" he said, as soon as she opened her peaceful eyes. "Good morning to you too, Ham." "Right…that too," he smiled, laughing a little. "Oh my God! The buildings are so tall! Way taller than in the pictures! Look…over there, it's the empire state building...and whoa...the twin towers!" he stated, pointing to skyscrapers shining glittery from the sunlight. Jake gave him a huge smile. "You cute little tourist! If you want, later we can go up to the top of that and see the rest of New York." Hamilton nodded his head like an eager child and continued to glue his eyes to the windowpane, taking in the enormous surroundings. "I thought you said you'd been to New York already," Jake stated. "Um…I have. But I was sort of…two at the time," he smiled sheepishly. Jake giggled. "Dude, you suck," she said, clasping his face in her hands and looking him straight in the eye. "Uh huh. Real convincing 'you suck'," Hamilton replied and moved in to kiss her lightly on the lips. Jake kissed him back lovingly until she felt Hamilton's end of the kiss slowing down. She followed his glare out the window until she saw him gazing at the Statue of Liberty in patriotic awe. She chuckled, "Dude, you suck." Jake climbed over him and let him slide into her seat, not breaking his gaze from the sites. Hamilton was so captivated by the huge city that before he knew it the bus driver had begun to announce the stops. "Next stop, Lexington and 56th," the rowdy driver shouted into the microphone. Jake was thinking out loud, "I guess we should get out there. Let's think ... yeah that should work, I live an avenue over and three blocks down." "Whatever," Hamilton shrugged. "You're so adorable!" she said, tempted to squeeze his cheeks He just blushed and put his arm around her shoulders, claiming to the world that she was actually his. ~~~ Kate had hardly spoken to her husband since she'd dropped off the kids. She was ashamed. What she had done tortured her soul, haunted her night and day, especially now that Finn had drudged it up. She went out the back door and sat down on the bench on the porch. Steve and Hamilton had built the bench together seven years ago. It was a birthday present for her because they knew how much she liked to sit and gaze at the lake. She was so genuinely sorry, but how could he know? How could he ever understand what had gone on in her head if she didn't even understand it herself? It was too much to bear. How could she have brought her own selfishness upon her family? She started to cry, covering her face to try and stifle her sobs, but it was too hard. It was so painful to watch someone her son loved so much be hurt, and to have it thrown back at her entire family because of her. "I'm so sorry," she cried. "I'm so so sorry," she repeated over and over again to no one in particular. Suddenly, she felt someone else sit down next to her. At first she thought it must have been Steve. But when she looked up through blurred vision, she jumped at the site of Finn. A site which had, at one point actually been a comfort to her. And now, he was a terror. Her lips started to quiver. "Get out of my house," she whispered. "Kate," he tried to reach out to her but she pulled away. "Don't you dare touch me, you bastard! What we had, was shallow and insignificant it was a week of confusion that passed through my life. I love my family, I am devoted to them, and I will never give that up, especially to an animal like you. You have nothing left going for you, my relationship with my husband is based around honesty, he knows everything." Suddenly, Finn's demeanor changed completely. He no longer looked intimidating and frightening, but rather, he looked like a child who had just lost his last cookie, his last resort. But Kate's heart was not softened. "Get the hell out of New Rawley, go as far as you can get. I can and will send you to the police if I must. Don't touch another girl for the rest of your life. Don't come near me, my family, any student from this school. Get out of my house and my life forever!" she said, now shouting. "But-" Finn started. Kate turned around and faced the lake. Finn turned to leave. Kate glanced behind her and saw her husband right by the back door. He had heard everything. He knew how she felt, he knew of her bravery. Just as Finn had almost gone out of site, Steve shouted, "Oh, and Mr. Finn, someone is waiting for you outside." As Finn got to the front lawn he came eye-to-eye with the stern, serious looking sheriff standing, arms crossed, in front of a police vehicle. ~~~ Hamilton burst into a fit of booming laughter as Jake spit her soda out all over the kitchen table. "I told you not to make me laugh when I'm eating!" she shreiked, soaking up the spilled liquid with a rag. "I'm sorry, I couldn't help it. You're too easy to make fun of." It was their second day in New York. The day before they had made their way to Jake's luxurious, upscale apartment. It was a duplex, with two stories and a winding staircase. One their first day there they had simply hung out in Jake's room and played every single video game she owned. All day on their second day they had seen a few sites and now, they were back in the apartment. The phone rang and Jake answered it still laughing. "Hello?" "Hi sweety, is this Jake?" "Yes it is, who's speaking?" "It's Kate Flemming. I just wanted to let you know that Finn has been taken by the police. Justice will be served and you will never have to think about him again." Jake paused, "Oh, thank you for telling me. Do you want us to come back to Rawley?" "No, it's all right. You can stay and enjoy yourselves a bit more. I don't know what my husband has decided on doing yet." "Okay, thank you for calling." She hung up and filled Hamilton in. They breathed a deep sigh of relief together and embraced, with a knowledge that things were finally going to be cleared up. "So where do you wanna go for dinner?" Jake asked him, when the emotions had died down. "Why are you asking me? I'm the out of towner. The Rawley hick," he said, chuckling. "And a sexy Rawley hick at that," she stated, smiling. "I know just the place. Now, run along and live up to that sexy-hick title of yours." Hamilton rolled his eyes a little, "You better become a sexy-city slicker after all this hick talk." She put the glasses in the sink and followed him downstairs to where both her room and the guest room were; they parted at their respective doors. Just as Jake had slipped on her tight, dark denim jeans the phone rang. "Hello?" she answered, happily. "Hey, Jake?" "This is she, who's speaking?" she responded cautiously, yet cool. "It's Finn. I'm in town and I was wondering if we could talk. Meet at a coffee place or something." From across the hall, Hamilton heard a slight cry and a thump. *** ~Part 17 Coming Soon~ |
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| Parts 16-17 |
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