Chapter 14

Ninety-nine times out of 100, a visitor at the front door is an innocuous event: a friend over to visit, a salesperson, a politician, a wrong address. But every now and then that visit means so much more. Abigail could point to monumental moments in her life that began with a seemingly harmless knock on the door. Jack opened her parents' door that fateful fall day to be surprised by Analise's visit, a visit which led to the discovery of his affair with Allison. Her mother knocked on her door to confront her about the rumors of Jack and Allison and her and Allison. They'd knocked on Gimel Juarez' door to confront him, too, about his spying on them. Jack's knock on her parents' door to fight for Allison was probably the most monumental knock of their lives. Of course, Analise surprised them again once they'd moved to Washington, when she showed up on their doorstep without a husband, but with a new baby and a mess of a life in tow.

The real challenge is knowing when a knock on the door is anything but ordinary. To Abigail, the knock that came this drizzly, February Sunday seemed like thousands of others. Jack was at the table working on school work. Allison had just finished hers. Analise and Abigail were chatting about the major step Analise took in her relationship with Marcus two days before. Life was ... tranquil. When Allison answered the door and invited a stranger into their house, things suddenly changed.

The youngest Garner girl came back into the dining room, followed by a petite brunette cradling a baby in her arms. She was cute, but looked haggard.

"Um, Jack?" Allison said, "You have a visitor."

He stretched, turned to look at her and did a double take.

"Natasha?" He said as he stood up, surprise evident on his face.

"Hi, Jack."

Allison cocked her head. "So you really DO know each other?"

Jack nodded, then motioned towards the living room. "Um, won't you come in and have a seat?"

Natasha fidgeted uncomfortably, but didn't move.

Abigail's curiosity got the best of her and she popped up from her seat. "Jack? How about you introduce us to your friend?" She smiled, trying to make the woman more comfortable.

Jack looked from Abigail to Natasha and back again. The surprise and confusion were still evident on his face.

"Yeah, OK. Um, girls, this is Natasha, a friend of mine from high school. Natasha, this is my wife, Abigail, and her sisters, Analise and Allison."

"It's nice to meet you, Natasha." Abigail reached out her hand in greeting, but Natasha made no move to take it. Abigail's smile faltered and she let her hand drop. Natasha turned back to Jack.

"Why did you disappear, Jack?" she asked. Her voice had a hard edge to it.

Abigail had thought Jack looked confused before. The confusion on his face now was almost humorous had the situation been different.

"Uh, what are you talking about, Natasha?" he asked.

"I've been looking for you for months."

"Excuse me?"

Abigail took another step forward. "Why have you been looking for Jack?"

Natasha pulled up tall and angled her baby so Abigail could see its face. "It's time for him to take care of his responsibilities." She turned back to Jack. "You can't run away from your mistakes, Jack."

The implications weren't lost on anyone. Allison's gasp mimicked Abigail's. Analise's eyes went wide.

"What are you saying?" Analise said, "That Jack is your baby's father?"

Natasha ignored Analise's question.

"You're last e-mail said something about the University of Washington," she said to Jack. "So when I didn't hear from you for four months, and you ignored all my e-mails, I decided I had to do whatever I could. I sold everything I had, bummed money from some friends, and decided to find you, make you take care of your son."

Abigail was reeling. Hadn't they already been through this once with Analise? Surely this strange woman was insane.

"You're mistaken," Abigail said, suddenly angry.

"I'm not mistaken. I haven't been with anyone else but Jack."

"Then you're baby is a miracle birth, because Jack hasn't been with you."

Analise stepped past Abigail and positioned herself between her sister and Natasha. She crossed her arms defensively.

"She's not mistaken," Analise said, heatedly. "She's lying."

Natasha took a small step back, momentarily surprised by Analise's sudden aggressiveness. She most likely hadn't been expecting to confront Jack AND three women.

"I'm not lying," Natasha said, but with less edge than before.

"Prove it."

"I will," she answered defiantly, "I have proof."

Allison stepped between Jack and Natasha, mimicking Analise's action. She crossed her arms.

"Jack never slept with you."

A smirk crossed Natasha's face. "Tell her, Jack."

Jack was obviously still reeling, because he didn't immediately respond, though a blush crept across his face. Abigail's heart stuttered; her anger was quickly diffused by Jack's reaction. Surely he didn't...

"Jack?" she said, with a wavering voice. 'Not again, ' she told herself, 'Oh, please, not again.'

He shook his head as he looked at Abigail. "We were teenagers. We dated for a short while. That's it, though. I haven't seen her since I was in high school."

Natasha let out a rueful laugh. "Come on, Jack. You might as well end the lies. Like I said, I've got proof." She reached into her purse and pulled out a sheaf of papers. "I printed every e-mail. I used to reread them and dream about the times we were together. Then when you started trying to dodge responsibility, they became my proof."

Analise snatched them from her hand and quickly began to go through them. At first Natasha looked like she wanted to snatch them back, but instead, she explained them.

"It's all in there. All the flirty e-mails, the teasing, the suggestive comments, the declarations of love. Then his invitation and all the planning to get together two Christmases ago."

Abigail quickly thought back. She'd gone out to visit Analise and Allison ... as a gift from Jack. He later said he sent her in hopes of stopping Analise's blackmail of Allison. Natasha must have realized Abigail was mentally calculating the timing.

"He said you were going out of town and..."

"This is bullshit," Jack finally spoke up, though he still looked confused. "Why are you doing this? What do you want?"

"I want you to take care of your obligations. It takes two to make a baby. I shouldn't be faced with everything all by myself." She looked back at Abigail. "Afterwards, he said he was going to leave you, but then when I told him about the baby..."

"This is ridiculous!" Jack said, shaking his head in frustration.

Abigail's head was spinning. She didn't know what to think. Jack seemed genuinely shocked at Natasha's presence, and at her allegations. Abigail felt in her heart that Jack was telling the truth, but hadn't she thought that before? She looked at Analise, as if hoping for help, but her sister was searching intently through the printouts.

Natasha continued. "I decided when you stopped replying to my e-mails and calls that I needed to see you face-to-face. You moved, so I started asking around. It took me a while, but obviously I found you."

"I don't believe you!" Allison said, angrily. Her posture was tense and her stare defiant.

"What's this?" Analise said suddenly.

All eyes turned on the blonde. She had pulled a sheet of paper from the stack. Numbly, Abigail looked over her sister's shoulder to read the document, and her heart sank. Abigail's eyes never made it past the letterhead, which identified the sender: the Greater Nashville Women's Health Clinic. Abigail felt a wave of nausea. She kept telling herself that this was all a farce, a scam, kept telling herself that Jack wouldn't do this, not again. But the distrusting part of her brain, the part she'd work so hard to bury, seemed to be gaining strength.

"That's an invoice for the clinic where I was getting my prenatal checkups. Jack was paying for them at first, but then he just stopped." She waited until Abigail's eyes were on her again, then a smile stole across her face. "He knew he was my baby's daddy all along."

"Get out," Abigail said quietly.

Natasha's smile froze. "What?"

Abigail felt her body begin to shake in anger. "I said get out. You aren't welcome here, you lying bitch." Abigail took a step forward, her fists trembling at her sides. Jack caught her arm and pulled her back.

"I have proof," Natasha said again, but her voice wasn't as confident as before.

"Get.Out." Abigail glanced at Allison. "Allison, call the police."

Natasha pulled her baby tight against her chest and slipped her bag over her shoulder. Her face was still hard, but her nervous eyes belied her confidence.

"Fine," she said, finally, "But this isn't over." She indicated the papers in Analise's hands. "Those are copies; you can keep them. I wouldn't want there to be any surprises when I see you in court."

She turned on her heel and stormed from the room. A moment later, the door slammed behind her, leaving everyone else frozen in silence. Suddenly Josh began to cry from his bedroom, breaking Analise out of her trance. She tossed the papers on the table and looked at her sisters and brother-in-law. Abigail noted the sadness in her sister's eyes, almost a combination of sympathy and guilt. She ducked her head and left to console her child.

"Abbie," Jack said, quietly.

Abigail looked down at Jack's hand, still holding fast to her arm, then back up into Jack's eyes. She wanted to believe him, desperately she did, but wasn't there a history here? Was this a pattern of behavior? Who else would come forward? Another from his past, like Mariah or Natasha? Or someone new, some girl from one of his classes? She pulled her arm free from his grasp.

"How could this happen again?" she asked, evenly. Her tone was accusatory, and for that Abigail was sorry, but she couldn't bury the hurt she was feeling.

"Abigail, nothing happened," Jack pleaded, the look on his face almost begging her to believe him. "She's lying."

"I know that, Jack," Abigail shot back. She sighed, and her tone softened, "I know she is."

Allison stepped forward. "Abbie..."

Abigail held her hand up as she closed her eyes. "Whatever, I'm just ... tired. I need a nap."

She turned towards her bedroom, but before she went inside she turned back to Jack. "Deal with this, OK? Figure out what's going on and deal with it. I'm not sure I can."

As she stepped into their bedroom and closed the door, tears started to fall. The woman was lying. Of that there was no doubt. Jack would figure out why and deal with it. Of that there was no doubt. The hurt she felt was caused by something entirely different, and it was a hurt that Jack couldn't fix, a hurt that was magnified when this woman—and Analise before her—used lies and deceit to remind Abigail of the ONE thing she could never give Jack.

The doors were closing on her chances of having a baby, and of that, there was ALSO no doubt.

"Why didn't you tell me, Brianna?" Bobby asked.

Brianna looked at the distraught boy sitting beside her. There was no heat in his voice and he wasn't looking at her, instead seemingly focused on some invisible thing on the other side of the waiting room. It had only been a few days since Melissa's attempt to take her life, and Brianna's emotions were still raw. Even as exhausted as she was, she hadn't slept well at all since she found Melissa lying unconscious in her bathroom. Images of the girl flashed through Brianna's mind whenever she closed her eyes. Nightmares haunted her sleep—in her dreams, they didn't reach Melissa in time.

When Brianna received a call that morning from Melissa's mother saying that the Melissa wanted to talk to Brianna, Brianna knew she couldn't go alone. So she brought Merrigan. The pair had been waiting only a few minutes after announcing their arrival when Melissa's mother led Bobby back into the waiting room and invited Brianna back. Seeing Bobby surprised Brianna, and his despondent, troubled expression made her hesitate. Her surprise only increased when Merrigan stood up and introduced herself to Mrs. Turner and asked if she could see Melissa for a few minutes. The older woman was hesitant, but after Merrigan persisted, she left to ask her daughter if she was up to an unexpected visitor.

Now Brianna waited with Bobby while Merrigan talked with Melissa.

"She asked me not to say anything, Bobby. What could I do?"

"I should have never broken up with her. Then she would have never been with that asshole, and he and his friends wouldn't have done this shit and she wouldn't have gotten..."

He stopped himself, scrunching his eyes shut as if trying to block out the image.

"You don't know that she wouldn't have broken up with you, anyway. She was flirting with Tyson pretty heavily before you broke it off."

Bobby took a deep shuddering breath as he leaned back in his chair. He was quiet for a few minutes, and Brianna turned her thoughts to Merrigan and Melissa. Bobby thumped his head hard against the wall behind him, causing Brianna to jump in surprise.

"It's my fault," he moaned.

"Bobby, don't do this to yourself. You didn't do anything—"

"I knew about Tyson."

Brianna stopped. "What do you mean?"

"Not that night specifically, but I knew what he was capable of, what he'd done ... in the past."

A mixture of emotions filled Brianna. She was a little suspicious about HOW he knew about Tyson. However, if Bobby knew something, he could be EXACTLY what they needed to bring Tyson down, and that excited her. The question was, how much did he know?

"How do you know?" she probed.

"Come on, Brianna. I started hanging out with the son of a bitch in fifth grade. It's not like he doesn't brag. He's the only guy who has the influence to keep the other guys from talking about it outside his little crew, and those guys are the only ones in school that are ... persuasive enough to keep the girls quiet."

"So you've never actually SEEN Tyson or anybody else do ... what they do."

Brianna caught the twitch in Bobby's face.

"You HAVE seen him!"

Bobby hung his head, but didn't acknowledge her statement, and that was acknowledgement enough for Brianna. He knew! He was a witness! His statement could be the smoking gun!

Brianna leaned forward excitedly. "Bobby, you have to come forward with what you know."

Bobby froze, fear suddenly filling his eyes. Before Brianna could press him on it, the door opened and Merrigan stepped out. Her eyes and nose were red.

"Brianna?" Mrs. Turner said, tiredly "She's ready for you."

Brianna looked back at Bobby before rising. She reached out and squeezed Merrigan's hand as they passed each other, but Merrigan held on, causing Brianna to pause.

"She's ready, Bri," the redhead whispered. Brianna knew the comment meant more than just right now. Brianna nodded and locked eyes momentarily with her friend, gathering some strength from her. Then she followed Mrs. Turner back.

They stopped in front of a door and Brianna took a deep breath, preparing herself. Mrs. Turner took Brianna gently by the arm.

"I never really had a chance to thank you, Brianna," the woman said, her voice heavy with the weight and strain of the last few days. "Melissa said you were just being a good friend and coming to check on her after she broke up with her boyfriend, but in my mind, you were a miracle."

Brianna blushed at the thanks, uncomfortable and unsure what to say. Not that she could say it anyway, given the size of the lump in her throat. Brianna just nodded and Mrs. Turner pushed the room door open.

Brianna was surprised at how good Melissa looked. The bags under her eyes and the pale countenance made her look like she was just recovering from a common illness. Just looking at her, one wouldn't know that only days before, she had almost ended her life. She smiled sadly at Brianna.

Still at a loss for words, Brianna slowly sat in the chair next to the bed. She tried to think of something—anything—to say, but her mind was just a mess of thoughts, none of which came through clearly. She decided to just let Melissa speak first. The two girls sat in silence for what seemed like eternity, unable to make eye contact for longer than a moment. Finally, Brianna had to say something.

"How are you?" "I'm sorry."

Brianna blinked as Melissa spoke at the same time. When the other girl smiled, Brianna felt some of the tension flow from her body.

"I'm OK," Melissa said, "And I'm sorry."

"Sorry for what?"

"For putting you through this. For you having to see ... all of this."

Brianna shrugged. "You don't need to apologize. I'm just glad we got there in time."

Melissa nodded. "Me, too," she whispered, a tear slipping down her cheek.

Brianna leaned forward. "Why, Melissa?"

Melissa was quiet for a long time.

"I don't know. I didn't really want to ... you know ... not be alive, but I didn't know what to do. I couldn't tell Mom and Dad I was pregnant. It would have destroyed them, and even though I said I would talk to YOU, by then I was feeling too hopeless." She released a trembling sigh. "I don't know. Maybe subconsciously, I thought if you showed up in time, then you really WERE my friend and that you wanted to truly help."

"And if I didn't?"

Melissa shuddered, but didn't respond.

"I wouldn't have made a difference if Bobby hadn't been there," Brianna said, quietly. "I was ready to leave, but he just walked into the house and went looking for you."

Another tear slipped down Melissa's face.

"I told him what happened," she said, quietly. "Everything. The party, getting pregnant, everything. Pushing Bobby away was the biggest mistake of my life," her face crumpled, "And now he won't want to have anything to do with me!"

Brianna leaned forward, ready to comfort if Melissa lost it, but the brunette caught hold of her emotions just in time. She took a slow, deep breath and looked over at Brianna.

"I'll tell you anything you want to know about what happened, but I can't yet. I'm not ready. When I'm out of here, maybe. I want to stop Tyson from hurting people like he hurt me and Merrigan."

Brianna nodded. "Can I come to see you again? Not to talk about this. We can talk about whatever you want."

Melissa smiled sadly. "I'd like that, but I'm leaving here tomorrow or the next day and I'm going to a place for teens who are struggling like me. I'm going to be there a while. If it's OK to have visitors, I'll have my mom call you."

Brianna smiled reassuringly and stood. She took Melissa's hand and squeezed it gently. She turned to leave, but as she reached for the door, she turned back to Melissa.

"What are you going to do about the baby?"

Melissa bit her lip and looked out the window.

"I'm sorry, Melissa. That's not any of my business. I shouldn't have asked."

"It's OK," Melissa quietly said. She took another big breath and kept looking out the window. "There isn't a baby anymore."

Brianna waited another few seconds to see if Melissa was going to say any more, but when she didn't, Brianna quietly said, "I'm sorry." She turned again to the door.

"Brianna?"

"Yes?"

"Tell Bobby 'thank you' for me. Tell him I'm sorry, for everything. He left the room before I could tell him."

Brianna nodded, and left the room. When Mrs. Turner opened the door to let Brianna into the waiting room, the teen turned to her.

"Can you wait for just a second?"

Not waiting for an answer, Brianna stepped into the waiting room and over to Bobby. He looked up at her with a look so sad and haunted, that she wanted to cry. Melissa was afraid she'd lost Bobby for good, but it was clear that Bobby felt too strongly about the girl to let that happen. Melissa wanted Brianna to thank Bobby for her, but Brianna had a better idea.

"Melissa wants to see you again," she told him simply. Melissa could thank him herself.

A light suddenly filled his eyes and he quickly scrambled up. If Mrs. Turner was surprised, she didn't show it, holding the door wider for him as he quickly disappeared through it. Then she smiled at Brianna before shutting the door.

Merrigan swung the door of her room open and Brianna followed her in. The blonde flopped back onto Merrigan's bed with a sigh.

"I'm emotionally drained," she said.

"I know what you mean." Merrigan dropped her keys onto her dresser and slipped into her desk chair. She moved the computer's mouse, bring the machine to life.

Brianna rose up on her elbows to look at her friend. "What are you doing?"

"Just checking my e-mail." She typed a bit, waited, typed some more, and then waited again. A broad smile crossed her face. "Yes! She wrote."

"Who wrote?" Brianna asked. She sat up so she could see the screen.

Merrigan clicked again and began to read to herself. Unable to see, Brianna stood up to read over Merrigan's shoulder.

"Who's Rachel?" she asked the redhead.

"Sherri Gardner's older sister. She's in college in Michigan."

Brianna's eyes opened wide as she read. "Oh my God! Her, too?" She read some more. "And she knows of three or four others?"

"A goldmine," Merrigan said, with a sigh. It was clear from her expression that she viewed the information with mixed emotions.

Brianna's head was suddenly spinning, so she sat back on the edge of the bed. "Wait, wait, wait. Hold on for a second. I'm kind of lost."

"Rachel Gardner was raped, too."

"I see that," Brianna said, rolling her eyes, "How did you find out about her?"

"From Sherri."

"I thought Sherri refused to admit anything even happened to her."

Merrigan swung her chair around. "Sherri called me this morning. Said she finally told her sister the other day about being raped, and about us—well, me specifically—how I was a victim, too, and Rachel convinced her to talk to me. So this morning when she called, Sherri admitted she was raped, though in her case, it was AT Tyson's house by some older guy she didn't know. Anyway, she said the thing that finally pushed her over the line to call me was because her sister said it had happened to her, too. I asked if her sister would be willing to talk to me, and she said she'd find out. I gave her my e-mail address and told her to call or e-mail if she was interested in talking. And here we are." She gestured at her computer screen.

Brianna felt even more exhausted than before as the weight of their cause bore down on her. She lay back on the bed again, her legs dangling over the edge. This news made things more complex. They wanted to bring Tyson down, and hopefully his friends, but when you added Rachel's testimony and the story about Isabel Ramirez, the victim Jack and Allison told her about, suddenly the issue became much more than just bringing down one teenaged monster. This was bigger, much bigger. How had things never come to light, even after all these years? The few times rumors surfaced, they always disappeared quickly. Someone was protecting these assholes, someone who had some serious clout. A sex crime spree cover-up ... the implications were staggering.

"You realize what this means?" Brianna finally asked.

Merrigan moved to sit beside Brianna. "Yeah, we have more work to do. This isn't just about Tyson and his sycophants anymore."

"This is too big for us, Merrigan." Brianna suddenly felt panicky. "We need help. This many girls and for at least a decade, and the only thing we have are rumors?"

"And the testimonies of the victims," Merrigan said, firmly.

"But no eye witnesses, at least none that have come forward. Someone is covering this up for these guys, and if the story about Isabel is true, these people have money and power."

Isabel Ramirez had allegedly been raped about 10 years before, but just as quickly as the accusations came to light, they vanished, and all that was left behind was a smeared reputation of the girl. Her family moved away without so much as a squawk. Jack had uncovered the story in his effort to get Allison away from Ted, whom Jack thought might be involved in some way in the cover-up. It was just a small bit in his confrontation with his father-in-law, so Allison passed the rumor to Brianna when she learned what Brianna and Merrigan were doing. It hadn't really fit in with their cause, given that it happened so many years earlier. But now, in light of Rachel's e-mail...

"Let me do a little digging on this," Merrigan pleaded. "If nothing turns up quickly, we can just forget about it."

Brianna was frustrated. She felt like they were never going to get to the end of this. Merrigan was right to want to dig a little deeper. They needed to know who they'd be up against when they went to the authorities, not to mention WHICH authorities they should avoid. But how long could they wait? What might Tyson do BEFORE they finally acted? IF they even acted at all.

Brianna felt defeated. "You're right, Merrigan. We need to at least see where this goes."

The girls were both quiet, lost in their thoughts. Brianna was thinking about how to go about investigating this newest incident when a light touch on her arm broke through her concentration. Merrigan had laid down facing Brianna, her head held up by one hand, and was absently caressing Brianna's arm with the other. Merrigan's fingers seemed to burn into Brianna's skin, a heat that radiated outward until she felt it all over. A quiver filled her belly. Her heart fluttered and her breathing deepened. Merrigan must have noticed the change in her friend, because her caresses became more purposeful.

Brianna closed her eyes. She was suddenly nervous, just like every time she and Merrigan were intimate. Since New Year's Eve, when they made love for the first time, they'd had so few opportunities to be together alone long enough to do much of anything, and never to move beyond passionate kissing and intimate touching. If she was being honest with herself, Brianna had to admit that she was partly the reason why. Her internal struggle with being with another girl kept her from fully enjoying Merrigan, regardless of how much she loved the redhead.

If she was still being honest with herself, she had to admit she was already desperately aroused. Here they were, alone in Merrigan's bedroom, with her parents off to who knew where.

Finally, Brianna opened her eyes and looked into Merrigan's. The hunger and fire in Merrigan's eyes made Brianna shiver. Without a word, Merrigan leaned over and pressed her soft lips to Brianna's. It took only a moment for Brianna to accept the kiss, letting her love and desire flood her reservations away. She wrapped her arm around Merrigan's neck and pulled her until the redhead rolled onto her, draping her leg over Brianna's.

Brianna allowed herself to be swept up in her feelings, both physical and emotional, as she and Merrigan made love. They kissed passionately as their hands really began to explore. Their clothes were abandoned, and the kissing expanded to cover the soft skin of their bodies. Merrigan covered Brianna's neck, shoulders and chest with kisses and little nibbles, cooing as she went. Brianna alternated between moaning and gasping, arching her back to push her chest into Merrigan's face. The redhead quickly found a tiny nipple, sucking and chewing, making Brianna whimper in pleasure. She moved to the other one, leaving it just as hard, wet and throbbing.

Brianna continued to caress Merrigan, and when the smaller girl looked up at her with fire in her eyes, Brianna began to tug on her arms, coaxing Merrigan back up her body. As Merrigan slid up, Brianna tasted with her mouth, turning the focus back on her lover. Her tongue bathed Merrigan's nipples, memorizing the taste and texture of the crinkled tips, before she pulled Merrigan up further. When Merrigan's legs spread wide to accommodate Brianna's shoulders between them, Brianna let out a low moan. Merrigan's beautiful little pussy, her soft, pink folds, quivered inches from Brianna's face, ready for her to explore. Brianna breathed in slowly, savoring Merrigan's scent. She looked up to see Merrigan leaning against the headboard and looking down between her heaving breasts.

Their eyes connected and remained locked until Brianna moved Merrigan's hips to block the view. She lifted her head and covered Merrigan's hot pussy with her mouth. One swipe of her tongue between Merrigan's greasy lips made them both moan. Brianna closed her eyes, losing herself in her pleasure, knowing she was truly pleasing the girl she loved more than life itself.

Soon Merrigan's moans became pants. She was gyrated her hips, dragging her pussy across Brianna's mouth and nose. Brianna gave everything she had, committing herself completely to bringing her lover pleasure. When Merrigan's hand dropped and pulled Brianna's head tighter against her pussy, Brianna gave even more, digging her tongue and nose into Merrigan's humid furrow. Her nose battered Merrigan's swollen clit, and her tongue carved into the soft walls of her cunt, pulling as much nectar as possible into her mouth. Merrigan began to whimper and Brianna moved her head just a bit, finding and pulling Merrigan's clit into her hot mouth. Merrigan's keening wail began slowly as Brianna sucked hard and lashed the pink nub with her tongue.