Chapter 11: Preston

I heard the screaming and ran towards the stairs. I heard a piece of metal banging repeatedly against the walls and ran towards the sound. When I got to the second floor, I could see the doorway to the roof was open. I ran up the stairs and saw Amanda and Charlotte wrestling by the railing. Suddenly Amanda jerked away from the railing and Charlotte tried to jerk them back towards it. Then I realized what was about to happen. I ran as fast as I could and jumped over the railing. I grabbed the railing with my left hand and grabbed Amanda's left arm with my right hand.

Seconds later I felt the pain of my shoulder muscles nearly torn as the weight of not only my body, but Amanda's dangled over the edge of the roof.

Below us, I heard the sound of the pipe clattering on the ground, a loud thump, as something larger and softer struck, and then just quiet. I pulled Amanda up. Once we were both stable, we looked down and saw the twisted form on the concrete below us.

We were horrified as Anna's twisted body looked up at us, and tried to talk. Somehow, as improbable as it seemed, the words, barely above a whisper, carried up to us. Neither of us, ever told anyone what she'd said, and we've never even spoke of it between us. Charlotte's last words were, "I'll be back." Then her head dropped back to the concrete and the body was still.

"Amanda, Grab my belt," I said quietly. "Don't look down. It's going to be okay."

"Shut up, Preston," snapped Amanda.

She grabbed my belt. I let go of her arm and grabbed her around the waist. I scooted her up so she could grab the railing and pull herself up. I stayed there hanging on the railing until she was over it and safe. Then I gingerly pulled myself over it as well, favoring my injured left shoulder. As soon as I was over the railing and safe, Amanda started hitting me and screaming at me.

"Amanda, you're safe," I said. "You weren't supposed to be here anyway."

"God Damn it Preston," she screamed. "This is supposed to be us, together. You don't get to run off and try and sacrifice your life, to save me from my psychopathic daughter. You're all I have left. I wouldn't have wanted to live without you."

I just wrapped my arms around her and kissed her. She relaxed and kissed me back, her body molding its self to mine. I cupped the cheeks of her ass and pulled her agasint me harder.

"Press, stop that, you'll make me have nasty thoughts again," smiled Amanda. "Besides, what if someone came in and saw us? How would we explain it?"

"We don't explain anything Amanda," I said. "I love you and you love me. Nuff said."

"Do you mean, we sneak around together?" she asked.

"Hell no, as soon as we take care of all of the details about the company and Anna, and Charlotte, we're fixing up the house and getting married. We're both single and adults and we want to be together. So we aren't the same age. Who cares? There's no law against it. Anyone who doesn't like it, doesn't have to work for us, or be around us. Fuck them." I said.

Epilogue

Three months later, Amanda and I are happier than we've ever been. All of the damage at the plant has been repaired and forgotten. We're back to the business of making parts. There have been a few changes made though. I never made Alan sign his stock over to me. We sat down and had a long talk. We actually came to terms. There was no need for Alan, and I to argue, or to hate each other. He had never been interested in Charlotte romantically and had never had sex with her. Though Amanda hated him, he never bore her any ill will. The only thing Alan ever wanted, was his father's approval and to be a part of his father's life. Sam was dead, but I gave him the next best thing.