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                       The Past is But a Prologue:
                      Can You Handle the Truth? (2)
                              By Amy McGraw
                                  © 2001

	Jimmy stood transfixed, staring into the face of his supposedly 
dead ex-girlfriend.  He felt his eyes begin to burn with unspent tears 
as he softly whispered her name again.  
	"Callie?"
	She wouldn't say anything.  She wouldn't even look him in the 
face.  He tried a third time, praying for some reaction.
	"Callie.  Please, Callie, say something.  Look at me."
	She finally met his eyes.  "Jimmy," she whispered before she fell 
into his arms.
	He pulled her close, holding her as tightly as he could.  Finally 
he pulled slightly away and looked at her closely.
	"Why aren't you dead?"
	He paused and closed his eyes briefly.  "That came out wrong.  
I…everyone… thought you were dead."
	Callie looked around them.  "You shouldn't be here," she finally 
whispered.
	"What?"
	"It's not safe.  You need to leave."
	"Not without you.  I'm not going anywhere without you, and I'm 
especially not going to leave without you telling me where you've been 
and why you're back."
	Callie glanced around them with uncertainty.  "Ok," she 
whispered, "but not here."

	Twenty minutes later Jimmy and Callie were standing in the middle 
of her room at the Nest Egg Inn.  It was a small, ran-down motel off of 
highway 280, on the outskirts of town.
	Jimmy looked around the room with distaste.  "Ok, first question, 
before any others…why are you staying here?  This place is like some 
seedy B-Movie.  Why not the Swans Place?"
	Callie looked at him quietly.  "I'm kinda trying to keep a low 
profile.  I would be noticed there…No one would think to look for me 
here."  She paused when she noticed Jimmy was looking at her strangely.
	He began slowly.  "Why did you…", he paused and looked away.  
"I mean, what made you decide to…How in the Hell could you do that to 
us?"
	"Jimmy-"
	"I mean you were supposed to be strong.  We all thought that you 
were stronger than any of us.  Do you know what it did to us?  Did you 
even care?  You just abandoned us, all of us, without a moments thought?  
And you couldn't even leave normally…you had to act like you were going 
to kill yourself?  What the Hell is wrong with you?"
	Callie was standing up in a flash.  "You think I tried to kill 
myself?  You actually think that I would do something like that.  My 
God, Jimmy, you never knew me at all did you?"
	Jimmy was confused.  "But you left the note.  It said-."
	"There was a note?  Of course…there had to have been a note, 
because no one would possibly believe that I would just leave.  You 
know, its all starting to make sense now…what did the note say?"
	"Well, I didn't really get to see it…it was passed on to the 
police before I got a chance to…wait a minute, shouldn't you know what 
it said?"
	"You would think that, wouldn't you?  But I never wrote any 
note, because I would never have tried to commit suicide.  You should 
know that Jimmy, above anyone else."
	"Then where were you?  And if you didn't write the note, then 
who did?  And why?"
	"Who else?"  Callie gave a diminutive laugh.  "Of course he 
would write a note…he would have to hide the truth…after all, hiding the 
truth is what he does best."
	"Who is he?" Jimmy asked confused.  "And what truth?"
	Callie paused and looked a Jimmy for what seemed like an 
eternity.  "He is Barek.  And the truth is he tried to kill me."

************************************************************************
	Of course it would be Barek…who else would it be?  Those of you 
who know me know I have a sort of love/hate relationship with that 
character.  And I always thought he had some kinda beef with Callie…
we'll find out much later what it really is.  Oh, and FYI, I kinda 
modeled the Eggs Nest Inn after the Pinecone Inn on AMC…those of you who 
watch the show now know what kind of a dive Callie is staying in…a far 
cry for a girl from one of the richest families in the USA…
	Ok, email me and tell me what you think of this chapter at 
amymcgraw@hotmail.com .  I am an attention junkie, so please please 
please give me some feedback on my story so far.