Monday August 12, 2002
4247 Maplewood Drive
1:30 AM
"Can't sleep?" Amanda asked as she came downstairs into the family room. Lee was sitting on the couch, going through a photo album.
"No, I guess not," Lee said with a sigh. Amanda curled beside him on the couch.
"Me either," she said. Lee put one arm around her, pulling her close.
"I was just looking at these baby pictures of Jenna," he said. "I swear the first week that we brought her home from the hospital we must've gone through about three rolls of film. We have pictures of her sleeping, having a bath, pictures of everyone holding her-look even Beaman's in a photo." The expression on Lee's face was wistful. "Things were so simple back then."
"I know," Amanda said. "The older they get the more complicated it is."
"Speaking of complicated, how is Jenna?"
"Sleeping last time I checked," Amanda said. "Before that I don't know-she wasn't exactly talkative."
"That's an understatement," Lee said. "I think she's said maybe two words to us since Saturday night. And she still hasn't told us where she went when she snuck out."
"Well why should she when we haven't exactly been forthcoming with her?"
"That's different and you know it," Lee said. "Amanda the sneaking out-this could involve her safety. I still want to know where she went and who she saw."
"But why haven't we told her about us?" Amanda said. "It's not like we haven't had opportunities."
"I know," Lee said.
"We started to tell her that one time after she was shot."
"Yeah but then there was the bone infection-all those tests-" Lee rubbed his hand over his face. "And then after all that Dr. Pfaff thought we should just wait awhile-and I guess we just kept on waiting."
"-and putting it off." Amanda said. "Afraid of the risk, her reaction- Let's face it, we're chicken."
"All right then, let's do this," Lee said. "Tomorrow evening after dinner we'll sit Jenna down and tell her the whole truth."
"Right," Amanda said.
"This time nothing is going to stop us," Lee said. "No interruptions-nothing."
They looked at each other for a moment.
"We'll pencil it in," they said in unison.
9:30 AM
Of all the mornings for this to happen, she thought. Amanda held the basket brimming with dirty clothes and stared in dismay at the semi-flooded utility room. Just then the phone rang. Amanda put the basket on the countertop and went to answer it.
"Hello Lee," she said.
"Amanda can you get down to the office right away?" Lee said. "We might have a lead on the location of those stolen chemicals."
"It might take a while," Amanda said. "The washing machine's backed up and the utility room is flooded."
"Flooded?" Lee said. "How flooded are we talking about here?"
"Oh it's not bad, just a thin layer of water," Amanda said. "The thing is that I'm going to have to take the rest of the clothes to a Laundromat."
"Is it vital?"
"Well if you want to have towels to shower with tonight I think so. It'll only take me an hour."
"Okay," Lee said. "Well meet me here when you get through with that. What are you going to do about Jenna?"
"Not sure," Amanda said. "Mother called me earlier-she has a salon appointment and then she's meeting a friend for lunch. Don't worry, I'll think of something."
"See you in an hour," Lee said. "I love you."
"Love you too," Amanda said.
SMK SMK SMK SMK
"Jenna?" Amanda knocked on her daughter's closed door. "Sweetheart?"
"Come in," Jenna called out. Amanda opened the door. Jenna was curled up on her bed, clutching a pillow to her chest. Her eyes were red-rimmed and slightly puffy-a sign that she'd been crying recently. Amanda sat down on the bed.
"That was your father on the phone," she said. "There's a little emergency at work so I need to go into the office-"
"Mom it's okay," Jenna said. "Really. I'm not going to run off or anything-it's not like I have anywhere to run to."
"Oh sweetheart," Amanda said, smoothing Jenna's hair.
"What's the emergency at work?" Jenna asked.
"Well it's kind of complicated."
Jenna sighed. "I guess I didn't really expect an answer- just thought I'd ask."
"Is there anything you'd like to tell me?"
"It's not about not liking too," Jenna said, looking at Amanda and then looking away again. "I just-I don't think that I can."
Amanda kissed the top of Jenna's head. "Jenna there isn't anything you can't tell me-whatever it is I can handle it."
"Not this," Jenna said. She looked on the verge of tears again. Amanda decided to let the matter drop for now.
"Jenna we'll talk about this later." she said. "I'm going to the Laundromat before work-the washing machine's backed up again." Amanda eyed the pile on the floor. "Are these your clothes? You know you do have a hamper."
"I know I do," Jenna said. "I just keep forgetting about it. Is the utility room under water again?"
"Sort of," Amanda said, picking up Jenna's clothes. "It's not too bad-just stay out of there and I'll call the plumber later on. Take care, sweetheart-I love you."
"Love you too," Jenna said.
SMK SMK SMK SMK
"It's just strange, Mother." Amanda used her shoulder to hold the cell phone to her ear as she sorted through the clothes in the basket, laying them out on the table. "I think she wants to tell us, but she's afraid."
"I bet she'll tell you when she's ready," Dotty said. "She's like you, Amanda-and you could never keep a secret very long."
"I don't know about that," Amanda said. "I think she's more like Lee in that respect-I just wish I knew how to break through to her."
"Something's definitely bothering her," Dotty said. "She was over here Saturday asking me about gangsters and the mafia-she even asked me how I would know if someone was a gangster."
"Gangsters?" Amanda repeated the word. As she picked up a pair of Jenna's jeans a notebook fell out. Must be one of her school notebooks, she thought, idly leafing through it-must have picked it up by accident. Most of it was empty except for the first few pages, which were covered in Jenna's distinctive purple-pen script.
"Well we were watching some ridiculous TV movie," Dotty said. "That's probably where Jenna got the idea-the thing was she seemed to be so serious about it. Then when I asked her what was wrong she told me some story about a friend of hers whose parents were doing some strange things."
"Hmmm?" Amanda said as she started to read the notebook. Her mother continued to talk but she tuned her out. As Amanda turned past the first page and looked at the second, it suddenly felt as though it was very hard to breathe. The world seemed to spin for a moment and she clutched the notebook so hard her fingers grew numb.
"Oh my gosh," she whispered.
"Amanda are you listening to me?" Dotty said.
"Mother I've got to let you go," Amanda said, hurriedly stuffing the clothes back into the basket. "Something just came up- I have to call Lee right way. Talk to you later."
SMK SMK SMK SMK
"She did what?"
"She followed you, Lee." Amanda sped down Glebe Road towards Maplewood. She never usually used her cell phone when driving, but this was an exception. Her heart was pounding loudly in her ears and the hand that gripped the steering wheel was trembling.
Please let me get there in time, she prayed silently.
"And she saw Augie give me the plans," Lee said. "No wonder she's been so-poor kid, what she must have thought-"
"Believe me, she thought the worst," Amanda said.
"I can imagine. Amanda, if she was watching me and Franco Necci was watching Augie, then he might have seen her too. That means she might be a target."
"I know," Amanda said. "That's why I'm going back there right now. We have to bring her inside-it's not safe."
"I'm right behind you."
SMK SMK SMK SMK
Lee hung up the phone as he got into the Corvette and gunned the engine, tires screeching as he drove out of the parking lot. He was praying the same silent prayer that Amanda was-that he wouldn't be too late.
If anything happens to Jenna, he thought, it will be all my fault.
SMK SMK SMK SMK
Jenna was lying on the couch downstairs, trying to focus on some old game show about newlyweds. One of the wives seemed to hate her husbands' answers-it seemed like he couldn't do anything right.
"NEXT TIME WE DO IT MY WAY," the woman told her husband after they lost the third round. Her husband's face was red as a cherry and Jenna felt sorry for him.
Suddenly she heard a thumping noise, coming from upstairs. That thump was followed by a slightly louder thump-it sounded like something was being knocked over-the house almost seemed to shake.
"Oscar is that you?" Jenna called out to her cat as she went up the stairway. She thought that he'd been sleeping, but maybe he'd woken up and decided to play. Last time his play had broken a vase that had belonged to Grandma. Mom hadn't been at all happy about that.
"Did you break something else, little kitty?" She said. The thump came again-it was her bedroom. Jenna got a sinking feeling, wondering if Oscar had broken the unicorn statue. She'd made it for summer camp three years ago-the only time that her artwork had ever turned out right.
"Oscar just please calm-" Suddenly a thick hand wrapped around her shoulders and grabbed her from behind. Jenna screamed, struggling violently but it did no good. She was pulled backwards and lifted off the ground like a rag doll.
"Ready to play, little girl?" a voice murmured into her ear.
Story Notes:
Instructions:
1. You must use the above line in your story
2. You can use the line more than once - But you MUST use it at LEAST ONCE
3. The line must be used EXACTLY as noted in the challenge. Please no changing tenses, adding prefixes or suffixes, or pluralizations.
4. The line must be CAPITALIZED, in order to make it stand out
5. Your submission can be of any length, from line to a full-length story - and it can be SMK, B5 or anything else as long as it has a link to either SMK or B5.
1. You must use the above line in your story
2. You can use the line more than once - But you MUST use it at LEAST ONCE
3. The line must be used EXACTLY as noted in the challenge. Please no changing tenses, adding prefixes or suffixes, or pluralizations.
4. The line must be CAPITALIZED, in order to make it stand out
5. Your submission can be of any length, from line to a full-length story - and it can be SMK, B5 or anything else as long as it has a link to either SMK or B5.
Author's Chapter Notes:
*Standard disclaimers apply-don't own them, just write about them for fun. Hope you enjoy this story-let me know what you think*