Jada had just walked out of the library. He had yelled at her several times but she had not once looked up as if he was yelling the wrong name. He ran to catch up to her and tapped her lightly on the shoulder. "What's wrong?"

She jumped when he touched her. "Sorry, I'm in la-la land I guess."

"Really I was practically screaming your name, several times." He reached for her hand; "You acted like you didn't hear me at all, as if that's not even your name."

"What?"

"Jada!.....Is that really your name?" He stood in front of her digging deeper into her thoughts, "Things just don't add up Jada. You have scars on you wrist, your ankles and you refuse to let me see you or even get close enough to you. Hell, Gabby thinks I'm her father. Austin has a hand full of secrets and Hannah....." he paused for a second, "Hannah seems to like me but is still very cautious to be around me by herself."

Jada kept walking and he strolled right behind her. She just wanted to get away, for she was not ready for this conversation to take place. He pulled on her arm. "Damn it Jada everywhere we go you are constantly looking over your shoulder as if a ghost or someone is stalking you." He demanded, "If I am going to be with you I have to know."

She starred back as water filled her eyes, "What? What do you need to know?"

"Who are you?" His voice begged for an answer. "Who are you? I called your name over five times and you not once flinched.

"Let go of me." She jerked away.

"I need to know Jada. I deserve to know. Why are you keeping this dark secret inside?"

"What if I am? It just doesn't concern you Derrick." She struck a nerve. She saw his eyes tear up as he looked away. She took a deep breath and for that moment she seemed so delicate. She didn't mean to hurt him, suddenly she broke down. "Fine! You want to know who I am, come with me." She turned to walk back towards the library. Without waiting on him she entered the room where they kept the articles from the newspapers. She pulled out film from several drawers without even looking them up. Flicked on the machine and found the right page, the page that she really did not want him to see but now he needed to. "Here, this is me, or should I say was me." Tapping on the screen.

There was a beautiful young girl in her late teens or early twenties. Her hair was long and curled with big locks. It had been her so long ago. "When you're done reading," she held up the other films and while she was writing down the pages to look up she finished, "read these. You want to know who I am, well here it is." She had read the articles a thousand times already.

She was about to leave him when he reached for her. "Please don't go." She obeyed and sat in the chair next to him while he read:

"Local Tennessee girl missing after a month," he read to himself. He skimmed over the article and then got out the next. He did not look at her for he was overwhelmed with the information. The last article was about her death; it had been over twelve years ago. He was confused. The pictures were of her but the name was not hers. The articles never mentioned anything about the kids and why would they have, her death was before Austin was born. When he was finished he switched off the machine and just sat there in dumfounded.

"Now you know.....now leave me alone." Tearfully she darted out of the door, and past the main library door. She ran through the parking lot and found her car. Searching for her keys and just as she was fixing to unlock the door his hand came around her.

"Stop!" Forcing herself away from him he yelled, "Damn it, would you just wait a damn minute." He pulled her closer to him. A few college students stopped and stared for a few seconds. "Mind your own business, this is just between us," he yelled. When he looked back at her he starred directly into her eyes, "Get in, I'm driving."

His tone had been so authoritative that she done what he told her. She sat in the passenger seat, refusing to look at him as he backed out and drove down the road. The music blared from her favorite CD. Fifteen minutes later he pulled into a gravel driveway. Trees overlapped the road to a rather new brick house. The landscape was well taken care of and along the sidewalk flowers bloomed. "Where are we?"

"This is my place." Turning off the ignition he got out and walked to the other side to open the door for her. "Kinda funny that we have been together for a good year and not once have you been here."

She felt nervous about getting out; "The kids will be home shortly."

"We have a good two hours. I will have you home before they get there. I promise."

Entering the house her eyes lit up, it was so not like him. The living room had marble tables and the furniture was suede. In the middle of one wall was a sixty inch plasma TV and movies were stacked on one side and books on the other. There were paintings by famous artist and on the side table a cobalt blue vase filled with lilies. The kitchen was visible from the living room. All the appliances were stainless steel and through the glass door cabinets were cobalt blue dishes. There was a wine rack and a bar with two stools. "Very nice taste you have."

"My sister's an interior designer. She helped me fix up the place a few years ago."

"Well then she has good taste, maybe I should get her to come to my house."

"Maybe." He gestured for her to sit. "Go on sit down let me fix you a drink."

"I think I would rather stand."

"Will you just sit down."

"Will you please stop telling me what to do?" she demanded.

"Sorry." He turned and took down a bottle of wine and two crystal glasses. After pouring he reached over and turned the radio on. "How about some music?"

"Whatever."

He turned on CD and Jewel started to sing Deep Water.

"You like Jewel?"

"Yeah, she's got a nice voice." After taking a sip he gave her a perplexed look, "What's going on Jada or should I say Addison." He reached for her hand, placing it into his.

"Addison is dead. Would you like me to show you her grave?" her voice was somewhat uneasy.

"So tell me about her?"

"What is there to tell, she died over a decade ago."

"Damn it will you just tell me. No one is here but the two of us and what ever you tell me stays here."

As the music played she had to turn away from him, the tears streamed silently down her cheeks. A huge lump formed in her throat. "Addison was a young naive girl although she was very intellectual. She had a doctor's degree in Physiology and even opened up her own office in Atlanta. She was loved by many, had everything that anyone could have asked for and all of that disappeared in a blink of an eye."

He handed her some tissue. "What happened?"

"She fell for a knight in shinning armor. He put her on the highest pedestal and whatever she wanted he made sure she had it. Then one night, he snapped and everything diminished. He shaved his head, quit his life long dream career and his beliefs in God." She licked her upper lip. "Joined a cult of some kind that he found on the Internet."

He sat speechlessly as she told the story.

"One night she woke up and walked into the living room to find his laptop opened and there it was, the web site that he was involved in. She heard him in the bathroom, as she walked back to the room she saw him slouching next to the toilet. He saw her too. She tried to leave that night, but he was too strong and over powered her."

Covering her mouth she stood up to walk over to the window. Chills ran down her spine for she could see a perfect image of him now coming after her in the darkness of the room. She tensed of the sound of her nails digging into the floor and the base of the doorway that had led to the bedroom. "That night he broke a few ribs and crushed the bones in my hand." She held her hand up to the window, looking at the reflection. "I was only able to see through one eye and I could feel the blood pumping into my face as my nose and lips were starting to swell from the hit." Shaking her head no, she dug deeper into her memories of that night. "I woke up to darkness; I couldn't move. Then there was a bright light, the sun. He pulled me out....no...no he carried me out because my hands and feet were tied with a rope."

"Where did he take you?"

"The mountains, between here and Atlanta, to an old rustic cabin. It would have not done me any good to scream because we were in the middle of nowhere." She opened the back door and walked over to the swing on the porch. Sitting down she looked at her ankle; "The scar was from a chain. He was so afraid that I was going to run and you know what, I would have. He chained me to the bed and when I walked to far it would jerk me back causing it to cut into my skin." She brought her knees up and dug her face into her lap. "I can't...."

"Yes you can." He sat down beside her and placed both arms around her. One hand stroked her back. And as he went back down this time he raised her shirt to have a look.

"Stop!" she said tearfully. "You don't want to see." She started to pull away but he held onto her.

"Yes, I do. I want to be here for you. I love you."

She stood and jerked away then as she turned to him with shock. "Love, how can you love me, look at me I'm like a freak of nature. You only see the outside of me. You have no idea who I am, underneath these clothes hides the true me. You do not know me...."

"I don't care what you look like because I love who you are on the inside. Damn it will you just look at me. Give me a chance to love you." He tried to kiss her but she had turned to fast from him walking back inside.

"Look I'm not supposed to say anything I promised that I wouldn't but Austin told me that you were the one who saved his life. The beating that night was meant for him not you."

She turned and tried to smile. "Austin is a good boy; he did not deserve to be punished so harshly. He was only seven, eight years old then. I knew it would have killed him. And the beatings were always for me."

Derrick touched her delicately, so gentle-hearted that the hairs on her back stood as a chill went down her backside. He lifted her shirt and pulled it over her head. The scars were so real and so deep of torturous memories. He traced one with his finger and then up towards her neckline. Kissing the back of her neck and next to her ear. He turned her to face him, looking into her timid eyes. "Do you want me to stop?"

The words did not come but on the tip of her tongue she was begging for him to keep going. A second later she shook her head no. She couldn't remember the last time she had felt so passionate. As she stood weak in the knees, he walked around her to admire her beauty. His hand continued to glide over the deep scars, the deep tones of red. The slashes dug deep into her skin. He could feel her breathing. He wanted to cry for her; he wanted to take the memories away and even he could not visualize or really feel the true agony.

She felt his lips touch and kiss every inch of her back. His breath, cool on her back and back up along her neck. It had been so long, her legs started to tremble even more, begging to go limp on her.

"Are you all right?"

"uh...mmmmm." That was all that she could muster.

"Can I have you? I want to make love to you." he whispered.

"I'm terrified," she whispered back.

"I promise I will not hurt you."

Shaking her head yes, he whisked her off of her feet and carried her to his bed. They could still hear the music form the living room, Jewel's voice singing, Absence of Fear. He laid her softly on the bed then lay next to her. He stroked her breast, moved the loose strands of her hair from her face. His lips were warm as they touched hers, tasting sweet and yet a little salty. His hand traced her cleavage and unsnapped her bra in the front. Her breast fell into his hand and he massaged ever so gently. As she closed her eyes he placed his mouth over her nipple, just enough to taste her. His hands glided down to her waist and unbuttoned, unzipped her pants. He pulled them down right along with her panties. She licked her lips and inhaled. She watched as he took his shirt off, muscles stacked. His body was so magnificent, muscles curved here and there. As his fingers traced along her body she craved for more of him. He continued to kiss her making her heart melt. She moaned every time the wetness from his tongue touched hers. He did not dare go inside of her not until she requested him to. He made his way back to her lips. His fingers glided over them and then he went in for the kiss.

"I want you," she begged.

And that's all it took and he was inside of her. The warm sensation overwhelmed her body. She had forgotten how it all felt and honestly she couldn't remember ever feeling this way. He was so cultivated, so passionate. Her body began to quiver and as they both came together her nails dug into his back. He kept going and when all was done he slid off to lay back next to her. They held hands and laughed.

She had thought, dreamed of this moment with him and it was more, much more than she thought it would be. The tears came. He looked deep into her hazy eyes that glistened of pleasure. She never knew she could feel this way. Below her waist was numb but was now tingling back to life.

His fingers wiped the stranded tears and he kissed her again. "God! I love you." Showing his dimples as he smiled back at her. His eyes confirmed that he was truly, madly in love with her. "Did I hurt you?"

"You didn't." Kissing him back with a smile. "And I love you too."

No sooner than he kissed her he stood up and walked to the bathroom. From the other room he seemed so serious all of a sudden. "We need to talk."

"O.K." As he walked back into the room she couldn't resist to notice his expression. "What is it?"

He looked away to grab his pants, after pulling them back on he looked at her again but something in his eyes told her something was definitely wrong. "I'm not who you think I am."