Just a Click Away

Chapter 31

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Jack was leaning over Leslie with the knife to her throat. One hand was caressing her cheek, and to her surprise he took the sock out of her mouth. "Is he starting to trust me?" She wondered. "Maybe he will untie me, so I can start to figure out a plan to get out of here."

The frightening look had returned to his eyes, and she wanted with every fiber of her body to scream at the top of her lungs. "If I fight him, he'll kill Greg and Alice." The remembrance of his threat forced her to swallow the cry that was eager to climb out of her throat. "Oh God, please help me. Please keep me safe from this wicked man." She continued to pray silently.

Jack broke the silence between them. "You know Leslie, I think this should count as our second date. Do you remember what that means?"

Leslie shook her head even though she knew full well where his mind was headed.

"You told me that you never kiss on the first date, well, since this is our second date, I'd say you owe me a kiss." A sinister gleam flashed in his eye.

Closing her eyes and attempting to separate herself from what happening, Leslie felt him lean close. When his lips captured hers, she felt bile rise into her mouth. As his hand began to slide up her thigh she prayed for deliverance, and at this point she realized that death would be a deliverance from what this vile man had in store for her.

Her prayers were answered when a loud knock was heard at the door. Quickly, Jack tore his lips from hers, and held the knife menacingly to her throat. "I hate interruptions," he spat as Leslie breathed a prayer of thanks for God's protection.

"Leslie! I know you're in there, and I really need to talk to you." Greg's familiar voice caused her heart to quicken it's pace for more than one reason; as much as she loved him, she feared for his safety.

"Is that your beloved, Greg?" Jack whispered into her ear sarcastically.

She nodded her head to confirm it. "I won't answer, I'll be quiet...I promise."

Surprise filled her as she felt her captor cutting the zip ties from around her wrists and ankles. "No, I want you to answer the door. Get rid of him once and for all, or I will."

Grabbing her by the arm, he guided her to the door. "If you so much as drop a hint that I'm here, I'll kill him like I killed Fido over there. End it now...I want there to be no question in his mind that it is over between you two."

As Leslie answered the door, Jack stood out of sight. She could feel the sharp tip of the knife against the back of her neck. When she saw Greg standing on the porch, she wanted more than anything to run into his arms and feel safe.

"Leslie, I'm so glad you answered the door. I need to tell you right now that I am in love with you. I know you said that you have met someone else, but I can't give you up without a fight. There is no plan I have for the future that doesn't include you, and I want to beg you to give me another chance."

She felt tears sting her eyes as the knife pressed into her neck as a not-so-subtle reminder that she had to break Greg's heart in order to keep him from being killed. "Greg, I need you to know that it's over between us." Tears began to fall from her eyes as she saw the effect her words had on him. It was as if each word was stab every bit as real as a stab from the knife held to her neck would be. "I have met someone else, and that's final. Please do not come back again."

Tying to silently mouth the word 'Help', she saw that his eyes were cast down to the floor. The only opportunity she had to alert him was over, as she felt the monster pull her inside and shut the door.

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Once the door had been shut in his face, Greg fell to his knees on the porch. Tears welled up in his eyes. He wanted to succumb to the pain that was sweeping like a hurricane through his heart and mind, but something in him gave him the strength to stand to his feet, and make the lonely walk back to the apartment.

One look at him, and Jenna knew that things had not transpired as they had all hoped. "Oh, Greg, I'm sorry."

"Well, it's official now. She told me there is someone else in her life, and she doesn't want to see me again. She could not have been clearer." Longing for solitude, he went into his room and shut the door behind him.

Sitting on his bed, he prayed that God would heal his broken heart. For some reason there was this heavy feeling in his chest, not caused by the emotional anguish he was feeling. This ache was very nagging, and gave him this deep seated feeling that something was terribly wrong. The look he had beheld in Leslie's beautiful eyes was not a look of hate, or anger, or even sadness; it was a look of sheer terror.

"Why would she look so afraid?" he wondered. Try as he might to shake this terrible feeling; there was no getting it out of his mind.

Finally, he decided to open his Bible and try and find comfort in the familiar words. Surely he was just imagining things in order to keep his hope alive.

The verses he read encouraged his heart. "This I recall to my mind, therefore I have hope. It is of the LORDs mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. The LORD is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him."

As he let the words sink into his soul, he felt sure that they had been put there by God just for him. His heavenly Father's compassion had not failed; He had always been faithful, and He would be faithful still. God had known from the beginning of time what he was going through right now, and He had a plan. After praying again that God would give him the grace he needed, Greg did his best to get some sleep.

There was a peace from the Lord in his heart, and he knew that even if things didn't work out his way, God was still on the throne and His compassion would never fail. That peace would have helped him sleep, but there was something that kept him awake most of the night. A nagging feeling in the pit of his stomach was still telling him that something was very wrong, and he couldn't shake that feeling no matter how hard he tried.

Finally he fell into a fitful sleep just as dawn was breaking, and somewhere between dreamland and reality he saw Leslie standing in her doorway and him on the porch. Tears were pooling in her lovely eyes, and he did his best to keep his eyes downcast as she tore all hope of happiness from his grasp. His eyes quickly darted upward to see the haunting expression of fear on her face. She was mouthing something to him, but he couldn't quite make out what it was. For some reason, that part of the dream was on a loop in his mind, and finally, he made out the word on her lips..."HELP".