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Janet prays Sean thinks she is sleeping, in her moment of weakness. She had lost her sexual desire. Nothing Sean has done, her in general. He was so moody as of late, she knows it’s her, but she can’t help her feelings. You are going to lose him, Janet. Not sure if that’s her Mother or Dawn in her brain. All Janet knows she needs to snap out of the shit, either move on without Sean or find a way to love him. Janet does love Sean O’Malley, but not the way he deserves.
A silent tear escapes her eye as Sean leaves her side. A slam of the door, she knows in her heart she is the reason. As more tears threaten to fall, Janet recoils further in the blankets. Only if she could get over her planned murder. Her thoughts fall to Gary Anderson, the man who tried to kill her. She had been completely in love with him. She daydreamed about the perfect existence with this man. Sean had forbidden her to visit him in prison, but she must see him. She needs answers.
As she ponders on defying Sean, she tries to figure out a way to see him. This makes her jump out of bed and retrieve the scrapbook from its hiding place. Straining to hear, the water still running. Janet opens the book, newspaper articles ranging to ones she had written about the murders. Ending with his trial and conviction. As she is shuffling through the clippings, she notices the name of his lawyer. Derrek J. Zimmerman, she recognizes this name. If her memory serves her correct, he was a few years ahead of her in high school. She plans to contact Derrek, maybe he can get her into the prison to see him.
The water ceases and Janet hurriedly shoves the scrapbook back between her nightstand and bed, she prays Sean never finds this book. She also prays he never realizes she is planning on writing a book about her ordeal. Janet pulls the duvet over her head praying Sean thinks she is sleeping as he walks back in the room.
The bed divots due to the weight of Sean sitting on the edge. Janet peeks out from under the blanket, deep blue eyes meet her brown eyes. A smile spreads across her face, not fully reaching her eyes.
“Why hello there Mr. O’Malley.” Trying to sound upbeat.
Sean leans over strumming her cheek he kisses her forehead, “Do you feel better?”
Stretching Janet nods, “Yes that was wonderful. You’re home early. Everything alright with you?”
Sean’s mind is in a jumble, but he manages to reply, “Yeah, a long day didn’t feel like dealing with everything at work.”
Janet doesn’t reply to this, Sean has been distant and distracted for a long while, she hopes it’s her depression the cause. She had noticed he doesn’t want to spend time in the garage like he used to. Once upon a time he practically lived in that smelly and dirty place. However, now he loathes to stay there for a whole day. This seems odd to Janet but dismisses it due to her putting her life on hold and refusing to move forward.
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SITTING IN HER OFFICE, Nancy Jasper ponders over her encounter with Sean. He hasn’t looked her way since that night while his girlfriend was fighting for her life. She smiles and remembers the way he touched her that fateful night. He had been so gentle and understanding. Never had he promised her anything she assumed that night would be one of many. Hurt she had been used in the vilest manner by someone she trusted. The venom boils to the surface, she can’t contain anything and decides she is going to ruin his life. He will rule the day he ever messed with Nancy Jasper. She slams out her office door, strutting through the garage on her way out. No one even notices her leaving, thoughts rage in her brain, her long black hair flowing behind her. She will not be someone who they ignore anymore. Sean is going to pay.
Nancy Jasper sits outside the small home; she is hoping to catch a glimpse of her target. The curtains in the front of the cottage are open. She can see right into what she believes is Sean’s and Janet’s living room. She can see rustic décor through the window. She sits there like she is holding a vigil, desperate to lay eyes on her target. After a few more minutes, Nancy can see no movement, this strikes her as odd.
Nancy needs to take a closer look; she leaves her car and sidles through the grass to the side of the house. Deathly quiet are her surroundings, her senses highly on alert for any movement or sound. Suddenly she hears familiar noises from the house. She crouches down and walks under the window. Slowly rising she peers inside the glass pane. Her eyes cannot believe what she is seeing. Sean and his woman in bed together in the heat of passion. Her vision falters, she has a burning shooting through her chest.
Nancy clenches her fists, blood trickles down her palms from her fingernails digging in her flesh. As she turns away from the window and heads back to her car, she focuses on her true enemy Janet Reynolds.
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SEAN LEAVES THE BEDROOM and heads out to the living room, he notices movement out the corner of his eye through the window. A car speeds by outside and he thinks he recognizes the car. He shrugs it off due to the fact he has spent more time than enough working on the whole towns automobiles. He continues through the living room heading into the kitchen, his mind far from the car, he is determined to make things work with Janet. Shoving his one-night of weakness far from his mind, he can’t continue and he determined never let Janet find out. She would leave him for sure. Only if she would move on and snap out of her funk. It is getting old and more and more he’s finding Nancy’s advances at work harder to resist. Conflicting thoughts ravage his mind. This is not about him; everything is about Janet and he will help her move forward if it’s the last thing he does.
“Janet lunch,” he bellows, slamming a pot in the sink.
“Coming,” a distant reply barely noticeable to his ears from the bedroom.
A few minutes of silence, Sean sits at the table waiting for Janet to emerge from the bedroom. Once again he finds the courage to suppress his anger because Janet is acting like a fool. He knows she can’t help her feelings.
While Sean is lost in his own thoughts Janet walks to the kitchen and sits at the table.
“Sean,"
He looks up from staring at his empty plate, “yeah. We need to talk.”
Janet is silent, “Janet this has to stop. You need help, I no longer know what to say or do to help you.”
A pregnant pause Janet bows her head defeated, “Sean, please I told you I am fine. In fact, I am going tomorrow to see an old friend from high school.”
Sean looks over the table to Janet, “oh really. Wow. OK. What’s her name?”
“Her name...” of course he assumes it’s a woman. “Her name is Denise Zembra.”
Sean smiles at this tremendous news about Janet’s lunch date, “Well then I hope this means you’re almost back to normal then.”
Janet nods her head. Sean lips spread across his face in the widest smile he had in a long time. A genuine smile reaching to his ice-blue eyes. They start eating their lunch, Sean in a much better mood as of hearing about her lunch tomorrow.
Janet searches Sean’s face for any reason of him not believing her story about an old friend. She called Dereck’s law firm and asked to come in and talk to him about Gary. Deceiving Sean was the furthest from her mind, but it can’t be helped. He has forbidden her to even speak Gary’s name in his presence. How could she bring up she was going to visit his lawyer?
She had never kept a secret from Sean before, she feels a bit liberated about having something he knows nothing about. Does this mean their relationship is doomed?
After their awful quiet lunch, Janet rises from her seat. Sean looks up from staring at his plate, “Where are you heading?”
Janet smiles at him, “I am going to pick up something for dinner, and visit Dawn, as well.”
Sean nods but doesn’t say anything in response. Her plans are at least the truth; she needs to fill Dawn in on her plan. She hears Sean’s phone ring and him grumble. Janet swiftly dresses and heads out the cottage door to her car. With a new plan and spring in her step, she hopes her car starts it’s been awhile since she has even tried to turn the engine over. The automobile starts and Janet drives towards Derby, straight to Patty’s Pub, which her best friend Dawn is currently the manager.