In the Dark

[bay girl]

Here’s a new chapter. Sorry it took so long to update.

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

It was the next morning and Jack sat at the breakfast table drinking a coffee. He looked down at the local newspaper in his hands, and shook his head in disgust. Martha, Irene and Corey’s faces were plastered across the front page; accompanied by the story of what had happened. There was even a picture of him and Martha leaving the hospital the night before. Martha’s injuries to her face could be seen clearly.

Jack wasn’t happy that his and Martha’s private life had now been made public knowledge. Anyone who read the damned newspaper would now know that Martha had cheated on Corey, with him; and that’s why Corey had tried to kill her.

Jack didn’t understand how the newspaper had found out the exact story; McGrath had promised him that the newspapers would only get the short version. They were never supposed to find out about his and Martha’s ‘affair’. They were only supposed to be told that there was hostage situation involving Martha and Irene, and that Corey had been the one to do it.

Jack wouldn’t be surprised that if the person who blabbed was someone who knew Colleen Smart. She was probably on the phone all night telling her Bowls buddies the ‘juicy gossip’. And then one of them probably rang the newspaper.

People were going to have a field day with this. The townsfolk of Summer Bay loved a good scandal; especially if it involved the cops. Or even better, one of the members of the famous ‘Stewart’ family.

Jack thought that maybe he should get rid of the newspaper before Martha seen it. She was upset enough as it is; he didn’t want this making it worse.

“Hey Jack,” a voice said from behind him.

Jack swivelled around in his chair and saw his father walking through the front door. “Morning,” Jack said. “It’s nearly 9:00 am. Don’t you have students to teach?” he asked, looking at his watch.

“Yeah, but not for another half hour,” Tony replied, sitting across from Jack. “So, you’ve read the paper by the looks of it,” he then said.

“Yep,” Jack replied. “Martha and I are just going to love being the centre of attention,” he said sarcastically.

“This is a small town Jack, and you and Martha are going to be the talk of it for awhile. Just don’t let it get to you too much, okay,” Tony stated. “Has Martha seen it yet?” he then asked.

“No,” Jack answered, shaking his head. “I might get rid of it before she gets up,” he added.

“What’s the point in hiding it from her? She’s going to see it eventually,” Tony told Jack.

Jack sighed. “Yeah, I know”.

“Speaking of Martha; how is she doing?” Tony asked. “She seemed very quiet last night”.

“She got a bit upset last night before we went to bed. We had a talk about what happened; and she cried for a bit. But after a while she was fine,” Jack started. Of course he left out the intimate part of the story. His dad didn’t really need to know about his sex life.

“But then during the night she woke up, crying and shaking. She had a bad dream. She was pretty restless for the remainder of the night. When I woke up this morning, she was already awake. She was just sitting there on the bed staring off into space. Didn’t even notice me saying her name,” Jack finished explaining. “I’m worried about her”.

“Well, it’s understandable. She’s been through a pretty traumatic experience. It may take her a while to get over it,” Tony explained. “You just need to make sure that she knows you will be there to help her through it”.

“She knows I will be,” Jack nodded. “Last night I told her that I loved her,” he then suddenly said.

“Really? And how did she take it?” Tony asked; a big grin appearing on his face.

“Actually, she said it first. She got in before I got the chance too,” Jack said truthfully.

“Well, I’m happy for you Jack. It’s about time things picked up for you,” Tony told him.

“Thanks dad,” Jack smiled.

“So, how does it feel?” Tony questioned.

“What?” Jack asked confused.

“How does it feel to be in love?” Tony teased.

“That’s enough. This conversation is starting to make me feel a bit uncomfortable,” Jack laughed as he walked over to the sink.

“Yeah, alright mate,” Tony smiled. “I gotta go anyway. I’ll be late for work”.

“Seeya dad,” Jack called as Tony walked out the door.

Jack picked up the newspaper and made his way to his room. May aswell show Martha. Besides, who gives a stuff what people say about us? As long as I have Martha; then everything will be fine.

****************

Martha stood in front of the mirror in Jack’s room. She looked at herself intently; running her fingers across the bruises on her face and neck. She looked like total crap.

She’d hardly slept at all during the night. And she had woken up from a terrible dream about Corey, and had trouble getting back to sleep. She was just glad that she had Jack beside her, comforting her.

From behind her she heard the door opening; and watched in the mirror as Jack entered the room.

“What are you doing?” Jack asked, walking up behind her.

“I look disgusting,” Martha replied, still looking at herself in the mirror.

“What? Don’t be stupid. You look fine,” Jack reassured her; wrapping his arms around her waist, and placing a kiss on her neck. He then took her hand and pulled her towards the bed, where they sat down.

“We made the front page of the paper,” Jack told Martha.

“What?” she growled, snatching the newspaper from his hands. “McGrath said they wouldn’t find out all the details,” she cried, as her eyes roved over the front page.

“He did say that. But somehow they found out anyway,” Jack said.

“Great. Now the whole of Summer Bay will think that I’m a tart who sleeps around,” Martha yelled.

“No they won’t,” Jack sighed.

“Yes, they will Jack, They won’t be able to help themselves,” Martha snapped.

“Does it really matter what people say? Because frankly, I don’t care what they think of us. It’s none of their business anyway,” Jack told her.

Martha sighed. “You’re right. I don’t care what they say about me,” she stated.

“And like my dad said yesterday; who could resist the Holden charm. I mean, it’s not your fault that I’m so damn hot. It’s only natural that you would want my body,” Jack started to joke.

“I never said that you were hot,” Martha giggled.

“You didn’t have too. The fact that you’re sitting here in only my shirt says it all,” Jack teased.

“I have to do something about the size of your ego. It’s way to big,” Martha laughed.

“Yeah, but you still love me,” Jack said.

Martha smiled and leaned forward. “That I do,” she whispered before kissing him hungrily.

Jack kissed back; getting lost in the feel and smell of Martha. They continued with the exploration for a few more minutes, before Jack eventually pulled away.

“Sorry to stop the festivities, but I need to take a shower. I have something important to do this morning, and I want to get it over and done with,” Jack explained. He wanted to go and see Corey. But he didn’t want to tell Martha that he was going there.

“Where are you going?” she asked him.

“Um, no where important,” he stammered, looking away from her.

Martha could tell that Jack was lying to her, and she didn’t like it. “Don’t lie to me Jack. Lies are what broke us up the first time, remember. And I don’t want that happening again,” she said softly.

Jack sighed. Martha was right. Lying was not the way to go. “I’m going to see Corey,” he told her truthfully.

“I’m coming with you,” Martha shot out. Martha had been thinking that maybe she should confront Corey. It might give her some closure.

“Are you sure you want to see him?” Jack asked, sounding worried.

“Yes, I’m sure,” Martha answered.

“Okay,” Jack nodded.

“Good. But can we stop and see Irene on the way? I want to see how she is doing,” Martha asked Jack.

“Sure. But lets get ready and go now,” Jack replied.

Martha smiled and stood up; taking Jack’s hand. “Let’s take our shower together,” she suggested.

“I won’t say no to that,” Jack grinned, and happily followed her down the hallway towards the bathroom.

***************

NEXT CHAPTER- Martha and Jack confront Corey.

[bay girl]

Here’s a new chapter.

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

“I’m going to go in by myself first, okay,” Jack told Martha when they were standing out the front of Corey’s hospital room.

“Okay,” Martha agreed.

“I’ll call you in soon,” Jack said, kissing her on the cheek.

Jack opened the door to Corey’s room and looked in. It was quiet; the only sounds that could be heard were Corey’s shallow breathing and the beeping of the machines that he was hooked up too. Jack quietly closed the door behind him and slowly moved towards the bed. At first Jack thought that he was asleep, but then he saw Corey’s eyes flick open; landing on him.

“Jack,” Corey croaked. “What have I done to deserve the pleasure of your company,” he smirked.

“Just shut up you stupid fool,” Jack spat out.

“Aw, come on Jack. That’s no way to speak to the injured,” Corey laughed lightly.

“You are so lucky that you are already injured. Because if you were in one piece; I’d be smashing your face in right now,” Jack said.

“It seems Jacky’s in a bad mood coz I hurt his precious Martha,” Corey rasped.

“Just shut your face okay? I didn’t come here to play games,” Jack snapped at him.

“Well, what did you come here for then?” Corey asked.

“To tell you that you lost. You’ve lost your freedom, and let’s not forget that you’ve lost Martha,” Jack began. “Well, you didn’t really lose Martha, because you never really had her in the first place; did you? She was too busy thinking about me” he added smartly.

“I never thought that you’d be the kind of person to gloat,” Corey said.

“I’m not usually. But I have Martha now; so why not?” Jack said sarcastically.

“Anything else you want to tell me?” Corey asked, clearly sounding bored.

Jack smiled. “Yeah, actually there is,” he said, moving his face down close to Corey’s. “I hope you rot in hell for what you’ve done. Because that’s what prison is going to be like for you. You’re getting what you deserve,” Jack whispered.

Jack then stood up and turned and walked to the door. “Goodbye Corey,” he called. Jack reached for the door handle, but then stopped. He turned back towards Corey and smiled. “Oh, and don’t worry about Martha. I’ll take real good care of her, and that’s a promise,” he smirked.

***************

Martha sat on a chair facing the door to Corey’s room. There was a police officer guarding his room; Just incase he tried to escape. But Martha guessed Corey wouldn’t be going anywhere in too much of a hurry. According to Flynn, he wasn’t completely out of the woods yet. The bullet had done a lot of damage to his insides, and there was still a chance that Corey could die.

Martha heard a noise and when she looked up, Jack was coming out of the room.

“Are you sure you want to talk to him?” Jack asked her again.

Martha nodded. “Yeah, I need too. And I need to do it alone,” she told him.

“Alright. But I’ll be waiting right out here if you need me,” Jack assured her.

Martha gave him a small smile and slowly turned, making her way towards his room. She opened the door and peered in. She walked in quickly and closed the door. She didn’t move towards the bed; just stood on the spot near the door.

“Well, well, well. Look what the cats dragged in,” Corey said smartly.

“Nice hand-cuffs,” Martha said sarcastically, pointing towards his hand that had been cuffed to the bed. “Although, I doubt you really need them. It’s not like you can move; not after me shooting you and all,” Martha smirked.

“I can’t believe that you shot me,” Corey said to her. “I didn’t think you had it in you”.

“You tried to kill me,” Martha cried. “I didn’t have any other choice,” she continued.

Corey didn’t say anything; he just looked at her. So Martha kept on talking.

“I’m just glad that you’re going to prison. At least you’ll never be able to hurt anybody else,” she told him.

“I don’t belong there,” Corey said. “I haven’t done anything wrong,” he exclaimed. Martha couldn’t believe that this moron had the nerve to lay there and say he didn’t do anything wrong. She was appalled.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” she scoffed. “Corey, you killed your mother in cold blood, and you don’t even feel any remorse for it. Of course you belong there,” she finished.

Corey laughed. “My mother got what she deserved. Just like you got what you deserved,” he said in a cruel voice.

Martha was angry. He was completely sick. And at that moment Martha found that she wasn’t scared of him. She decided that she wasn’t going to live her life in fear of him coming after her. She was strong, and would get over it.

“You know what? Right now I wish that you had died. I wish that I had killed you. I wish that I could’ve rid the world of a pathetic excuse for a human,” she spat out. “The world would be a better place without you; that’s for sure,” she finished.

“Be careful what you wish for,” Corey whispered to her, with a smirk on his face.

“I’m not going to stand here and waste anymore of my precious time. Especially when I could be spending that time with Jack,” Martha smiled; having one last dig at him.

“Have a nice life Corey,” she spoke her last words to him sarcastically. She took one last look at him; then opened the door and walked out.

She threw her arms around Jack when she reached him. “Are you okay?” he asked her.

Martha smiled at him. “I am now. Let’s go home”.

*******************

Martha and Jack sat on the couch curled up against each other. Tony and Lucas bustled behind them, getting dinner ready.

“So, you’re going to stay again tonight?” Jack asked.

Martha nodded. “Yeah. If it’s alright with you,” she replied.

“Of course it is. I already told you that you can stay whenever you want,” Jack told her.

“Thanks,” Martha smiled.

“Oh, McGrath called this afternoon. He said I can have the next few days off. We can spend some extra time together,” Jack said.

“That will be nice,” Martha exclaimed.

At that moment the phone started ringing. “I’ll get it,” Tony called out.

Martha, Jack and Lucas watched as Tony spoke in a hushed voice and after about a minute he hung up. Jack noticed that his dad had a bit of a strange look on his face.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“Ah, that was McGrath. He’s at the hospital,” Tony started to say as he walked towards them.

“What’s happened,” Martha questioned.

Tony’s answer was simple.

“Corey’s dead”.

*************************

One more chapter to go...................

[bay girl]

Well guys, this is it. The last chapter is finally here. I hope it's a good enough ending for you all. Enjoy.

CHAPTER TWENTY THREE

"He's dead?" Martha asked Tony; wanting to make sure that she had just heard right.

"Yeah," Tony nodded.

"I can't believe it. He seemed okay when we were there this morning. Did Flynn tell you how he died?" Jack questioned his father.

"All Flynn said was that he got a blood clot or something. And it killed him. I'm sure we'll find out more tomorrow," Tony answered..

Martha didn't know what to think or to feel. She didn't even know what to say. So she jumped up quickly and rushed off to Jack's room. She sat down on his bed and a few seconds later Jack walked in and shut the door behind him so that they could have some privacy.

"Are you okay?" he asked her.

Martha shrugged. "I guess so," she said.

Jack took her hand in his and squeezed it. "Are you sure?" he asked again.

"I don't really know how i feel about it," Martha told him. "I don't really feel anything".

Martha and Jack sat in silence for a while longer before Martha started speaking again.

"When i spoke to him at the hospital this morning, i told him that i wished he was dead. My wish came true," she spoke softly.

"I don't won't you to beat yourself up about this," Jack exclaimed. "It's not your fault".

"I'm glad he's dead. I don't even feel bad about it," she said honestly. "Is it wrong of me to be glad about it?" she then asked him.

Jack shook his head. "No, i don't think it's wrong. He tried to kill you," he told her. "I'm sure there are plenty of people out there who are happy when the person who hurt them dies. It's only natural," he reassured her.

"I killed him Jack. I'm a murderer. And i don't even feel bad about it," Martha started crying. "What kind of person does that make me?" she sobbed.

"Hey, it's okay. Stop crying," Jack soothed as he held her tight against his body. "You were just protecting yourself. You done the right thing. If you hadn't; you'd be dead, and we wouldn't be together right now," he said in a hushed voice.

"I'm glad we're together," Martha whispered.

"Me too," Jack whispered back. "Now, we're going to get through this. I'm going to be there for you when ever you need me, okay," he said as he kissed her for-head.

Martha nodded. She knew Jack would be there to help her. He'd been through this sort of thing before himself; so he knew how she was feeling.

"I'm so tired," Martha said softly through her sobs.

Jack lay onto his back, and pulled Martha down with him. "Go to sleep. I'll be right here," he told her as he pulled a blanket up over their bodies.

Martha nestled her face into the hollow of Jack's neck, and she wrapped her arms around him tight. "Don't leave me," she whispered.

"Never," Jack promised.

******************

ONE WEEK LATER

The next week flew by quite quickly. Martha had spent most of her time inside; hiding away from all the gossipers. When she did go out, it was only to Noah's Bar or the Diner. And even then she hated it. People were always looking at her, and talking about her behind her back.

She had spent most of her nights sleeping at Jack's. She couldn't stand being alone of a night. And on the one night that she had decided to stay at her own place; she'd ended up calling Jack at one o'clock in the morning, asking him to come around. She always seemed to feel safer when Jack was sleeping beside her.

She knew she was safe; especially now that Corey was dead. But she still couldn't help but feel a little paranoid. But things were getting better. Jack was always there when she needed him. And all the gossipers in the town were slowly starting to find other things to talk about. She was starting to feel comfortable in her home town again.

Her face was also healing quite well. She still had light bruises on her face and around her neck; but they were quickly fading. And she knew she'd probably have a slight scar on her fore-head when that eventually healed. But other than that; she was feeling great.

******************

Jack held onto Martha's hand tightly as they strolled along the beach. It had been just over a week since the Corey ordeal; and things were finally starting to get back to normal. Jack had noticed that Martha's nightmares had died down a lot, and she was smiling again. He and Martha had spent most of their waking minutes together; but Jack wouldn't have it any other way.

He never wanted her out of his sight. That way, she would be safe and nobody could take her away from him. A few nights ago, Martha was adament about spending a night alone in her own bed. Jack hated the idea. He wanted Martha next to him. He wanted her close; where he could keep an eye on her. He'd been extremely happy when she had finally called at one o'clock in the morning; asking him to come stay because she was scared. He was there within 5 minutes.

"Earth to Jack," Martha called; waving a hand in front of his face.

"Huh," Jack said, finally snapping out of his private thoughts.

"Someone's off with the fairies," Martha laughed.

"Sorry," Jack smiled at her. "I was just thinking about the last week," he admitted.

"Hmmmm. I have been too," Martha told Jack. "Finally people are starting to grow bored of us," she said.

"Yeah, i'm pretty sure i heard Colleen telling Madge Wilkins this morning, about some women who'd just had a baby. Apparently the women was having an affair with her husbands brother, and had now just had his baby," Jack explained. "So now the whole towns too busy gossiping about her".

"So you were ear-wigging in on Colleen's conversation," Martha teased him. "Maybe you and Colleen would make a good pair," she giggled.

"Very funny," Jack said as he swung Martha around and into his arms.

"It's good to see you happy and smiling again," Jack exclaimed.

"I'm happy because i'm with you," Martha said truthfully as she looked up into his face.

"I love you," Jack told her.

"I love you too," Martha smiled up at him.

Martha wrapped her arms around Jack's neck and pulled him down for a kiss. His warm mouth closed over hers, and she met him in a deep, lingering kiss.

"This feels nice," Martha sighed against Jack's lips.

"Not for much longer," Jack teased, as he pulled away from her.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Martha asked, looking at him curiously.

"It means that you, lady love, are going into the drink," Jack exclaimed in a fake southern drawl. And before Martha could even register what he meant; he had scooped her up and was heading towards the water.

"Don't you dare Jack Holden," Martha half screamed, half laughed as Jack threw himself and Martha into the waves.

Martha laughed and wrapped her legs around Jack's waist and quickly pulled him in for another passionate kiss. They didn't care who saw them; all they cared about was each other. All that mattered was that they were together. Forever.

TH END

*************************

Well that's it. That was the last chapter. Hope you enjoyed it.

Thanks to everyone who read and reviewed. I really appreciate it. Now i'll be able to put all my attention onto my other fic. So that one will probably start getting updated a lot more from now on.

comments