Kiss Me Slowly

Chapter 34: The Change

Pic above is Denny

Chapter 34: The Change

We waited an awkward 20 minutes on the couch till Denny finally walked in the door. He walked past us, but did a double take when he saw us sitting.

"Hey, what's up?" He asked, walking toward us and taking his jacket off.

"Ethan has something he'd like to say." Kenny said. I glanced at Kenny, then at Denny. He sat across from us with a concerned look on his face.

"What? You're not breaking up with us, are you?" He asked panicking.

I shook my head. "No, I'm not." At least, not yet.

"Then...what?" He asked, his eyes searching my face, occasionally looking over at Kenny for and explanation. Kenny just shrugged.

I sighed and rubbed my temples. "It's a long story."

"I have a lot of time." Kenny said.

I paused. "Where...where do you want me to start?"

"Start what? Ethan, you're starting to worry me." Denny said.

I took a deep breath. "You know how I told you that Carter took me to his house?" I asked. Denny nodded, but Kenny scoffed.

"More like kidnapped." He mumbled. I glared at him before continuing.

"I don't know why he took me, but something happened." Then I laughed nervously. "A lot of things happened, actually."

"Just say it." Kenny pushed.

I sighed. "Well, first, when I slept over, he lent me a guest room, and when I was asleep, he got in with me." Kenny's eyes widened, then turned to anger. Before he could say anything, I continued. "Then the next day, I met his family. H-his mother and...father." I breathed in another deep breath so I wouldn't start panicking at the thought of him. "I'd never seen his mother before, but his father..."

"You have?" Denny put in. I swallowed and nodded.

Then I started at the beginning: August 13th. I told them about the men that broke into my house looking for my mother. I told them what I remembered about the next 5 days, making sure not to leave out the unfamiliar second voice. Then the day Jeremy took me in.

During my talk, Denny moved and sat next to me, and they both placed a comforting arm around my shoulders. They encouraged me to continue, so I told them about Carter's father, and then the threats and lies Carter told me.

I could tell Kenny was furious, while Denny was thinking.

"We need to go to the police about this." Kenny said.

"I agree we should, but there isn't enough evidence to suddenly march to the Jones's home and arrest Mr. Jones." Denny reasoned. "It'll just seem like Ethan's making the whole thing up. He runs one of the biggest companies in the state. We get a lot of complaints about him, but none of them are true. They won't believe Ethan."

"Why not?" Kenny asked, frustrated. "I think trauma is enough. He can't even say his name! He's terrified of him!"

"They'll think he's making the whole thing up." Denny said. Then he turned to me. "You said that your mother was involved with him, right?" I nodded. "Then all we have to do is find her and have her vouch for you."

"I've been trying for years to find her. Either she's dead or doesn't want to be found." I told him. After remembering past the 13th, I wasn't sure I wanted to find her anymore. She was just a dead weight. She meant nothing, especially after that day.