There's No Turning Back

"Lianne..." he started slowly, hesitating and I waited for him to continue, dreading to find out why he was acting weird out of nowhere. He opened his mouth with an intake of air and struggled, seeming to be unable to continue on. He closed his mouth once again and looked out beyond where our closet was.

I frowned and got up, supporting the weight of my upper body on my elbow. I stared down at him, my tears now dried and my hair a mess that hung over my face. "What is it?" I questioned him with concern. I could tell that he didn't want to tell me, but it's too bad; his strange behavior only triggered my curiosity. "Tell me." I demanded him sternly.

"I don't think it's best." he finally said and I threw him a look.

"I'm thinking that it concerns me, and I demand to know." I told him; he pulled me back down against his chest and held me there, his nose buried deep in my hair. "That wasn't necessarily a dream." he said after a moment of silence and I tilted my head to look up at him.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that, your dream... part of it was real." he spoke softly, looking down at me. His eyes held concern and what I was sure, was worry.

My eyebrows furrowed together in confusion. "What do you mean 'partly real'?" I questioned, alarmed. What could he have meant by part of it was real? Which part was real; and was everything okay? "Tell me." I urged him on, now in a sitting position with my legs crossed Indian style.

"Well, that did happen... the girls were kidnapped, but it happened after we were married," he spoke softly, taking my hand in his where he played with the marriage ring that was on my ring finger. I held my breath; I've never realized that it was there until now. The thought of me being married was never even there. He chuckled lightly, "It happened two years ago, after Cheyenne helped me propose to you. Remember that night?" he looked up at me with sorrow-filled eyes and I nodded.

I remembered the night at the beach and the park when he popped the question; I had only then realized why Cheyenne was beyond excited that night, before David came to get me. I thought it couldn't have been anymore obvious if I wasn't so stupid and ignored their behaviors.

"A few weeks after the wedding, Bud came and kidnapped them - held them hostage at an abandoned warehouse until you got there. We found the place and I told you not to call the police yet but you did anyways, but I don't think it would've mattered when we'd call them - someone would've gotten hurt anyways." my heart rate sped up.

Would've gotten hurt anyways. Someone did get hurt.

"Who got hurt?" I asked, concerned at where the story was headed.

He smiled gloomily up at me, "You seriously don't remember?" he questioned and I nodded. He shook his head, "That dream really had you convinced." I heard him murmur before he glanced back up at me, "When we got there, I remembered that you ran out of the car before it even came to a stop. I ran out after you and I remember standing a few feet away from the girls and him. You two were having some sort of an argument.

"I can hear the police coming from far away and I was sure that Bud could've heard it too over your argument. They came and the look on his face was peer panic when the cars came to a stop around us." he paused again and his fingers played around with mines as I waited patiently, listening intently to the memory - or rather, his memory. He laid his head back down on his pillow and stared at the ceiling above us.

"I can just tell that he was aiming to get a shot at you before he ran," his voice was low and I could hear a faint hint of quivering in them, "But you could tell he panicked, and pulled the trigger a bit too early. The shot had hit Cheyenne-" my heart jumped, "-before he threw the gun down and ran away. A few police ran after him while the others called immediately for the paramedics to come."

My voice couldn't go any higher than a whisper, for fear that it would quiver from the tears I tried to hold in. Fright took over me, "Then what happened?" I questioned in a whisper and he glanced back over me, before pulling himself over and holding me around the waist. I leaned back a little ways and straightened my head to allow him to rest his head against me properly.

"It wasn't me that got hurt like in your dream. It was Cheyenne..." he paused, "She fell into a month long coma."

"She made it out okay, right?" I was finally able to find my voice and it was filled with hope. But my intuition told me that the hope would soon be shattered; by David's gloomy expression, how can this ever turn out for the better?

I felt him shake his head by my side, as I stared ahead of me into the mirror that hung above my vanity desk. "She didn't make it - she wasn't strong enough." he whispered, "You were so broken, it almost tore our marriage apart." he pushed himself up into a sitting position next to me, leaning against the head board like I was.

I felt his warm hand cup the outer side of my neck and jaw line, pulling me head towards him before he planted a soft kiss at the hollow place near my ear, before planting one on my temple. It was all so much for me to take in; the knowledge that Cheyenne was gone - probably for about a year now - forever, and the use of the word 'marriage' in the whole story, only added onto it.

I was uncertain of what to feel, what I should be doing, what I should even be thinking. Did anything else happen around here that I should know of?

"I'm sorry." I heard David mumble, before he laid his cheek against my shoulder, "It wasn't supposed to be like this. I pictured us all being just one big, happy family --"

"Annie's alright though, right?" I interrupted him, not wanting to hear the rest.

He nodded, "But don't let this get to you-" I was almost in an outrage if it wasn't for him quickly continuing. How could I not let this get to me? "Cheyenne left peacefully when she was at her happiest, and Bud's locked up in prison for years. He can't hurt anyone else anymore. And you were finally ready to move on, agreeing the she's happy now. And that's how we ended up where we are today." I felt his hand move to my stomach and start to rub it.

My heart fluttered again as a thought raced through my mind. Was I having another child? That would explain a few things.

"Just relax and be happy," he whispered before kissing my ear, "Don't put stress on yourself or else there's a possibility of losing this baby since it's still so early."

"I'll relax when you take me to visit her and show that this is all real." I bluntly said, referring to a visit to the cemetery. I knew he understood what I meant and he nodded. He got up and went to the bathroom, leaving me to sit there alone, lifeless and comprehending everything that flowed through my mind.