uninvited (Audrey)

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He sat in class, staring at her. Audrey was too happy, too relaxed for someone he had tried to kill. tried. He felt the blow of his failure, even though it had been a while. He had delivered to her the head of her mother. How was it, then, that she could smile and talk care-free with Tara? He didn't understand it. And becaise he didn't understand it, it made him angry. He wished he could have a second chance to kill her. He would make her write the letter that informed Detective Garrett that Tara was next. Then he would slice off her flesh, little by little, allowing her to bleed to death. Then, he would place a dagger in her hands, and use it to kill the girl he had locked in his attic at home. Audrey would die a murderer.

But, he couldn't risk it. Going after her a second time increased the chances of getting caught. He didn't want to take that risk. Never again would he be going after Audrey; never again would he be using her as one of his countless toys.

But she didn't know that. And while he would be delivering empty threats, Jack decided that it was time to instill some more fear in her.

As he sat, waiting for the bell to ring, he caught the attention of Tara, who seemed to be under the impression that he had been looking at her. Quickly flashing a smile, Jack gave her a nod and wave. The teenager pressed her lips together, trying to conceal her growing smile. Her head bowed slightly, while her eyes stayed in place. Once more, Jack found himself flirting with a girl that he would muich rather have naked and strapped to his table. As he sent looks in her direction, he had a chance to gaze upon her. She was the daughter of the man Detective Garrett was throwing herself at. He had already sent one warning, but she hadn't heeded it. It would be time to take action soon.

The bell rang, startling Jack. Standing, he swung his backpack over his shoulder, and stepped out of the classroom, making sure to get ahead of Audrey. He nodded to a couple of kids as they passed him, keeping a casual and cool appearance. Inwardly, though, he was impatient and anxious.

It was Tara who stepped out of the classroom, walking backwards as she talked with Audrey. "Did you see the way he looked at me?" She asked her friend, swooning over Jack.

Taking a step forward, he approached the girls. "Hello."

Tara could have melted. She just loved his accent when he said hello! "Hi." She was smiling uncontrollably. Looking at Audrey, she cleared her throat. "Hey, don't you have to go see Mr. Simpson about that,uhm, thing?" God, how obvious could she be? She might as well have just asked Audrey to leave her alone with him.

"Actually," he interrupted. He didn't want Audrey to leave. She was who he wanted, not Tara. "I was wondering if I might borrow Audrey for a smidge? I'd appreciate it."

"Au-au-audrey?" Tara fought to hide her disappointment. She looked at her friend. She knew it wasn't Audrey's fault. She couldn't control who he wanted. Still, she felt a twinge of jealousy. "Uhm. Sure, I guess."

[Audrey Yorke]

Whenever she was in class, Audrey purposely did all that she could to ignore Jack. She kept her eyes on anyone but him and pretended that he didn't exist at all. It was in denying that he was there at all that kept her able to continue to socialize with her friends and to be as casual as she could be. As long as he left her alone, she would be okay. When Tara gushed over him, she wanted to tell her to stop. She wanted to warn her, but she couldn't tell her the truth. She felt like her words were caught in her throat and as they walked out, she didn't expect the approach. Immediately, her eyes snapped on Jack and she felt herself freeze completely. Then, as Tara tried to get her to go, she looked right at her, about to counter it, because there was no way she could leave her alone, even if her friend didn't get it. But, when Jack addressed her, she closed her mouth and looked back at him.

She swallowed hard and felt that internal desire to take off running. It wasn't untrue that he terrified her. The bastard had killed her mother! In addition to what he did to her, she wanted to be far, far from him. She suddenly wanted to be home, wished that J.T was somehow there to save her from the freak in front of them. At Tara's answer, Audrey still hadn't spoken up and she suddenly stepped closer to her friend and grabbed onto her arm, trying to seem casual, but in reality, she felt like she was about to jump right out of her skin. "Uhm, no, you don't have to do that." She said and looked back at Jack, having a hard time with the eye contact right now, but she forced it. "Anything you have to say, you can say it right here." And she said that, in hopes that he would just leave her alone.

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Tara stared at her friend. Something was wrong. Tara hadn't known Audrey that long, but she did notice that her mannerisms had changed. "Ok." she said, nodding to her. She smiled, trying to be reassuring. If Audrey didn't want her to leave, then she wouldn't. Honestly, her mind thought that perhaps the two were exes. Maybe they had ended badly. It would have made perfect sense. She didn't pull her arm away, in case Audrey wanted to hold onto it. Instead, she looked to Jack.

Jack was annoyed. Did she really think it would be that easy. He gave her a look, but by the time Tara was looking at him, he nodded. "All right," he said and took a step closer. He had to find a way to get the message across without scaring Tara. After all, he didn't want her to suspect anything when she was targeted. Biting his lip, he leaned in, kissing her neck. As he lifted his lips off of it, his voice dropped, barely a whisper.

"Don't get too comfortable. Remember, you're here because I'm letting you be. A slip of the tongue, and you'll end up just like your mother." Pulling away, he gave a smug grin, since the jealous look in Tara's eyes proved that she hadn't heard a word he said. And that was exactly what he wanted. Cupping Audrey's cheek, he smirked. "I'll see you tonight," he told her. And he intended to. She just might not see him. She might end up with another gift on her doorstep.

[Audrey Yorke]

Why couldn't he go away? She thought that by refusing to let Tara leave her side that he would just stalk off and bother someone else. It wasn't that he wanted someone to be bothered by him-- not really. She just didn't want him anywhere near her. She wanted to go back to the moment previous when she was in a fairly good mood and didn't feel like her heart was either going to slam out of her chest full speed or drop to her stomach and stop completely. All that she wanted was for him to disappear. Or hey, she would even disappear and it would be okay. What she didn't want was to be anywhere near him. She had this sudden urge to be at home, to be safe and far away from the twisted bastard. And as he stepped closer, she swallowed unintentionally. She could have caused a scene; could have pushed him away and yelled, but she didn't. She froze there, froze and felt the chill run straight through her when his lips touched her neck.

She had to stop her hand from tightening on Tara and as soon as the whisper came, Audrey could almost feel herself pale. Finally, when he pulled away, she stared back at him. There was a fear that settled deep in her when he said that he'd see her. She shook her head, "No, just leave me alone." She tried to sound firm, but then gripping Tara's arm a little tighter, she started to attempt at tugging her away. "Come on, let's go." She wanted to get far away from Jack as quickly as possible.

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Jack nodded to Tara, as she was being dragged off. "Bye," she said softly before looking at Audrey. "You have a date with him tonight?" she asked her. She tried hard not to sound jealous, but she knew that she was failing miserably. It didn't seem fair. The first guy that Tara ever really liked that way, and he was dating Audrey. Though, she told herself she shouldn't be too surprised. Why would a guy like that ever be interested in a girl like her?

"I wish you told me that you two...you know," she said sadly. She wished she hadn't invested all of her feelings that she had into him. She reminded herself that she would find someone who was right. It just sucked that he wasn't. She had a major crush on him ever since the post-game party she went to her first week. Back then, she hadn't known Audrey. Though, she didn't remember seeing him with her. Of course, she hadn't known anyone there except Neveah, so it was possible that she just didn't remember seeing her.

[Audrey Yorke]

Audrey had no direction when she walked away. The one thought on her mind was to get far away from Jack. She just wanted distance between her and that moment. At first, she didn't answer Tara at all. Her stomach twisted and jumped at the idea of having a date with him. She contemplated going to the office, maybe she could fake sick and go home. But, on second thought, she turned into the washroom, tugging Tara along with her. Finally, she turned to her, dropping her arm from her hand. "No, we don't. We don't have a date, we'll never-- never have a date." She replied, and shook her head. "We're not. I would never..." She stepped back and turned. It would have been easy if she could tell her what was happening, but she couldn't. She couldn't risk anything happening to her or to Tara or anyone else that might be close to her.

She felt trapped and moved to the sink, turning the water on. "Just... Stay away from him. You don't want him." And how did she explain to her why? Audrey didn't know. The truth was too dangerous, although she wanted so badly to say it, to make sure that she knew not to go anywhere near him. Shakily, she cupped her hands under the water before splashing it against her face, to try to fight how she felt now. She had no idea how she was going to face the rest of her classes; not at this point. But, she knew she would have to. She'd done so well at keeping him from running her life, from scaring her to the point that she couldn't function, but this time, he got under her skin.

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Tara wondered where they were going. She knew that they had their next class together, but they were going in the wrong direction. When they were suddenly inside the washroom, Tara eyed her. She was worried about her. "Audrey?" she spoke, softly. She seemed upset by the very idea of having a date with Jack. "Ok, sorry." she put up her hands. Hey, she didn't want to launch into a catfight over some jock who would probably never be interested in her, anyways.

But when she continued, Tara frowned. "What did he do to you?" she asked, folding her arms. Something had obviously gone very wrong between Jack and Audrey. Maybe he had cheated on her. Maybe he was abusive. She didn't know. "I can keep a secret, you know," she said, and she could. Hey, she was keeping Brayden's secret, and he didn't even know it. And there were plenty of secrets she kept for Neveah. Tara looked at her friend, searching for an answer. She had no intention of leaving the bathroom until she knew what was wrong.

[Audrey Yorke]

Audrey stared down at her hands in the sink and then clenched them to try to guise the sudden shake added in. As she inhaled a few shallow breaths, she reached for the paper towel dispenser and dried her hands and her face before she turned to Tara. She couldn't tell her. And there was a look that was fearful and apologetic at the same time on her face. "I'm sorry, I can't tell you." She said and she wished that she could. Because, she needed to tell someone else. She felt like it was a burden and it only made it worse to have to keep it to herself consistently. She wanted to be able to share it and to let it go, because right now she felt like her nervous system had gone into overdrive and she was ready to fly into fight or flight. With a look to the ground, she was quiet and then readdressed Tara.

"I wish I could. I want to, I just... He could hurt you, or me, I can't." She said, though she knew that it helped speak for itself a little. It meant very clearly that he was dangerous and that he had done something. But, the details? She didn't know if she was ready to go that far. Sure, part of her wanted to. She wanted to tell her in hopes that Tara would be safe and also to get it off her chest just enough. Especially now when she thought that her heart was going to race out of her chest.

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Tara watched her, concerned and confused at the same time "Audrey--" she broke off, looking at her new friend. "God," she whispered, pulling her into a hug. "I am so sorry. I had no idea." She apologized, keeping her in a hug. Tara had the impression that Jack was abusive. After all, what else could it be if he hurt her? She had never known anyone like that. But, this school was introducing her to a lot of things she had never known. Transgenders, cutters, abusive jerks. God. Maybe this school wasn't such a great idea.

"Hey, at least you got out of the relationship. Some girls who get beat up by their boyfriends--they keep going back. But not you. You're really strong, Audrey. And don't worry. No matter what he did to you, I won't tell him I know. I won't tell anyone." Because, it wasn't her business to tell. Tara had always been really good at keeping secrets, no matter how extreme. She just had no idea how extreme this one really was.