Chapter 93

Hi everyone,

I'm sorry about the delay of posting, but I was in the hospital for surgery and my recovery wasn't going as fast as I had it in mind from five years ago. Be assured that there'll be more chapters to come. I hope to post every sunday from now on again.

~ Kris ~

“You have reached your destination.” The stoic voice of the navigation system told them when they turned into the driveway of a house at the beach in New Jersey.

“Wow, this really looks nice.” Kim said and let her gaze wander over the two story building which was built in a Mediterranean-style with extensive loggias and balconies framing the warm yellow colored house.

“Well, did you think Rich would invite us to a little hut somewhere?” Jon asked laughing and was glad she smiled lightly at his comment. The last two days were tough. Of course, the incident with Nigel hit the fan and soon their phone wouldn’t stop ringing. Jon only answered the calls from family and close friends.

Dorothea was still very concerned when she dropped off the kids at their place this morning, but Kim assured her that only the training she had done with her probably saved her. She would have never been able to move without Dot’s voice in her head.

The kids were extremely sweet. Steph hugged her and asked if there was anything, she could do for her and Jake and Romeo gave her their two toy walkie-talkies. Telling her, she could call for help if someone tried to hurt her again. Even though they didn’t know the whole reason for the attack, Dot made sure they understood that someone tried to hurt Kim.

Jesse was very reserved though. He wouldn’t look at her or hug her. Actually, he barely talked to her on their drive to Richie’s rented beach house. Jon sighed when he glanced in the rear mirror and saw his oldest son staring out of the window. He sure needed to talk to him later.

“Daddy, look…Hector is already there…hurry.” Romeo yelled excited while Jake pointed out of the window. Tico and his family as well as David with Lexi and his kids were just leaving their cars.

“Ok, ok…stay in your seat and don’t open the door before the car stops.” Jon ordered his sons who were about to loosen their seatbelts.

As soon as the car came to a halt, the two boys were out of the car. Kim smiled and shook her head. All the kids really loved to spend time together.

“Are you ok, honey?” Jon wanted to know and pulled her into his arms before they would walk towards the rest of the group.

“I’m fine, Jon. Don’t worry.” She didn’t meet his eyes though. Carefully he lifted her chin and looked at her concerned.

“Ok, I’m not…” Tears shimmered in her eyes. “…but I know I’m save here with my friends and my lover and his kids. Maybe some family time at an outlying waterfront house is exactly what I need. And as long as you are with me and keep me from thinking about it too much…I’ll be ok.”

“I love you.” He kissed her softly and she melted against him. She felt very save when he was holding her in his arms.

His band mates watched the couple worried. Jon assured them on the phone that Kim was all right, but they could see now that she was really trying to keep it together. Kim only talked to Fran the last two days, revealed everything about the attempt rape now, and back ten years ago. Fran listened and tried to support her. She was the first now who pulled Kim in her embrace and just held her for a while.

The men watched worried and fascinated how their four women and Joan were standing together in a huddle talking quietly and giving Kim a feeling of protection as well as understanding. When Richie’s mother pulled Kim close for a hug Kim started to sob.

Jon wanted to walk over to her, but Lexi and Alejandra shaking their heads no stopped him.

He sighed deeply. Maybe all this wasn’t a bad idea. Maybe talking with other women about it was just what his girl needed. He was there for her, no doubt about it, but he knew he would never really understand the fear and feelings she went through two nights ago.

“Where is that bastard now?” David asked angrily. Seeing Kim like this was nearly too much for him.

                                                     

“He’s in prison and they’ll keep him there until the trial. He could easily leave the country because of his parent’s money.” Jon told him in a low voice.

“What a shame.” Tico growled and fisted his hands a couple times. If that guy wouldn’t be in jail, he would happily pay him a visit. Rich nodded agreeing before taking a deep breath.

“Ok, where is everybody.” he clapped his hands together and tried to get everybody’s attention. It was time to lift the dark cloud that was hanging over them.

“The little boys are outside.” Steph informed him only looking up shortly from her conversation with Gabby and Ava.

“Jason too?” Fran wanted to know and walked towards the huge patio doors. Steph nodded.

“See, I told you they would be fine.” Rich told her and wrapped his arms carefully around her waist. Fran had been worried how Jake, Romeo and Hector would react on Jason. They had never met before, but it seemed they connected immediately.

“Can we tell them now, Dad?” Ava asked him excited when everybody was situated in the huge open living room. He laughed and looked at Fran.

“Shall we?” she nodded and smiled about Jason grinning from ear to ear and Ava jumping anxious from one foot to the other. Joan just sat there and watched her son lovingly.

“Well, you probably wonder why we asked you to come out here.” Rich started and got nods from everybody. “I mean, I love you all dearly, but the times where we were spending out precious free time together are long over.”

“Hear, hear…” Jon chuckled.

“Nevertheless…we wanted to have you with us…” he paused dramatically and David rolled his eyes. “… when we get married tomorrow afternoon.”

There was dead silence in the room for about ten seconds. Kim stared at Fran who was very calmly holding up her hand and let her diamond engagement ring blink in the sunlight.

“Oh, my God!” Kim, Lexi and Ali nearly screamed at the same time and rushed over to Fran followed by Steph, Gabby and Lily. The men laughed and walked over to Rich.

“I already wondered if you gonna ask her before the baby would arrive.” Jon told him and gave him a short hug and slap on the back.

“Well, we needed to talk to Ava and Jason first.” Rich said and watched how the boy looked at the excited giggling group of women and girls confused. He had never seen his mother like this before.

“Jason, buddy…why don’t you come over here?” Richie called. The boy nodded and pressed himself close to Richie. He still was a little shy with all those new faces around.

“Will they stay this crazy?” he asked confused. The men laughed.

“Nah, don’t worry buddy. They’ll calm down after the wedding.” Rich assured him and hugged him shortly.

“Ok, can we go outside again, Rich?” he looked at him with his big brown eyes.

“Sure, just don’t go to the pool, ok?” Jason nodded. Jon and David looked up at him when he mentioned the pool. Tico was already on his way to the patio checking on his son.

“It’s fenced. They can’t fall in there.” He answered the unspoken question and stopped the drummer’s motion. Slowly he walked over to his future wife.

“And you are sure everything is done? Dress, flowers, music, food, priest, hair and make-up?” Kim asked her best friend disbelieving.

“Yeah, don’t worry. Everything will be delivered tomorrow morning, they’ll set everything up outside, my dress is…” She stopped when she saw Rich sneaking towards her.

“Why do you stop, darling? Where is your dress?” he asked all innocently.

“None of your business. You gotta wait till tomorrow.” She told him, laughing about his pout. He tried to figure out how it looked like for days.

“Oh, come on…” he begged, giving her puppy dog eyes.

Joan shook her head and gave him a light slap on the back of his head.

“Ouch! Mom!” he rubbed the spot. It always amazed him how she was able to reach that high.

“Behave yourself Richard!” she told him. His band mates laughed out loud.

“Sorry, Momma S., but that will never happen.” Jon said and gave her a hug. Rich only rolled his eyes.

Chapter 92

As quiet as possible Jon entered Kim’s office. She was lying on the small couch and her two furry friends were sitting in front of her watching her restless sleep.

She took a long shower after the police officers and Lloyd had left. Jon managed to get her to eat at least half of a sandwich before she sought shelter in her office. He sighed and carefully stepped closer to her.

When he grabbed the blanket that lie at her feet to cover her, she jerked away and her eyes flew open. In a split of a second she was sitting and pulling away from him.

“Shhh, honey….it’s only me.” He tried to calm her.

“Yeah.” She whispered and grabbed the blanket to clutch it nervously to her chest. Jon slowly sat down on the couch without moving too close to her.

“How about we go to bed. It’s already late.” He suggested softly. She shook her head no.

“Why not Kimi?”

“I….I don’t feel like going upstairs.” She couldn’t find a real excuse.

“Kimi,…” Jon wanted to start, but she stopped him.

“Jon, please…” he could barely hear her shaky voice and when tears slid down her pale cheeks, he had to use all his control to not punch something. He wished he could get close to this bastard and beat the shit out of him.

Jon took a deep breath and glided of the couch to kneel in front of her. Slowly he reached for her hand, but stopped inches before grabbing it. He looked up and searched her eyes. Kim exhaled deeply before putting her hand in his.

She had no idea why she wasn’t able to let him close to her. Hours ago, she threw herself sobbing into his arms and let him carry her, but now she needed distance.

He let out a breath, he didn’t know he was holding when she reluctantly put her small hand in his. It was shaking lightly and felt cold.

“Kimi, you know I could never hurt you.”

She nodded and started to sob lightly.

“I know that Jon,…I know that,…but I’m scared, the more I think about it…I get more scared…” her body started to shake uncontrollable and she pulled her hands to her face. Jon swallowed the lump that was forming in his throat and carefully wrapped his arms around her shoulders and pulled her close.

At first she stiffed, but after a few seconds and some reassuring words from Jon later, she started to relax a little.

“How about the dogs come upstairs with us?” Jon asked after Kim had calmed down again and was getting heavy in his arms.

“But they ain’t allowed upstairs.” She said in a small voice. Jon smiled softly. His little control freak.

“I think today calls for an exception.”

“Yeah, maybe you are right.” Kim whispered and tried to get to her feet unsuccessfully.

“Come here, honey. I’ll carry you upstairs.” Jon offered and opened his arms. Kim only nodded and tried not to freak out when he was picking her up and started his way to the stairs. Deep in the back of her mind she knew that it would only get worse if she would push him away right now. She needed to trust him or she would never be able to trust a man again.

When they reached the stairs her dogs stopped and watched Jon carefully walking upstairs with Kim in his arms.

“Come on boys, Kidd, Sambo…come here.” Jon called them from the upper level. The dogs cocked their heads confused.

“It’s ok…come here…she needs you tonight. Come on boys.” He tried to lure them upstairs, but they only took one step and stopped.

“Kidd, Sambo…COME HERE!” Kim’s voice echoed through the apartment and without any kinda hesitation the dogs rushed upstairs straight into the bedroom.

“And I thought they were finally listening to me.” Jon mumbled to himself and entered the bedroom.

“Could you get me an extra blanket?” Kim asked and pointed at the closet.

“Sure, honey.” Jon grabbed the blanket and covered her with it before rounding the bed. After stripping off his clothes, he slipped under the covers and turned off the lights.

Slowly he moved closer to Kim, who seemed to be lying right on the edge of their huge bed. He slipped his arms around her and pulled her softly against his body. Her breathing sped up.

“Ok, Kimi?” he asked into the darkness.

“Yeah.” She whispered, but he wasn’t convinced.

“You are not, Kim.” He said and released her to turn on the lights again. She sat up in the bed.

“Well, I’m sorry Jon. It’s not that easy for me right now.” She told him with anger in her voice. He looked at her surprised.

“I’m sorry.” He stuttered. She sighed.

“No, I’m sorry…I didn’t mean to snap at you.” She ran her hand frustrated through her blond hair a couple times.

“I can’t explain it, Jon. On the one hand I want you to hold me, because it comforts me, but on the other hand any kinda physical contact scares me right now…and I know you won’t do anything….God, I’m a mess and nothing really happened.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa…nothing happened? ….Kimi,….you got attacked in the darkness, that guy pulled a knife on you and tried to rape you, there was shooting and police cars…a lot happened tonight. Yeah, you are a mess right now…and you are totally entitled to be one. But honey…”

Jon softly let his hand touch her face to make sure she would look at him.

“…don’t let him haunt you. It was scary, it was a nightmare…but you won! You fought, you hurt him and you won! Don’t hide in fear! Be proud of yourself that you managed to fight your biggest fear and move when it was necessary!”

Kim nodded and started sobbing again, but this time she didn’t pull back or stiffened when Jon wrapped his arms around her. He sighed relieved, but knew at the same time that it would take quite a while before things would be back to normal.

Chapter 91

“Kimi? Are you alright, honey?” Jon rushed to her as soon as she stepped out of the elevator together with Lloyd and two police officers. Lloyd had called ahead and told him about the incident.

“Jon.” She sobbed and threw herself into his arms.

“Shhh, honey. It’s over. You are save here.” He carefully picked her up and carried her into the apartment.

“Kidd? Sambo?” she looked around confused.

“I locked them into your office, honey. I had no idea how they would react towards the police officers.” Jon told her softly. She nodded.

“Who are those people?” One of the officers asked.

“They are my dogs. They trained to protect me and would probably not let you get close to me.” Kim voice still trembled while she talked.

“I see. Could you tell us what happened tonight Miss Anderson?”

“Can’t that wait? Don’t you see that she needs to rest now?” Jon asked angrily. She put her hand soothingly on his arm.

“It’s ok, Jon. If I talk about it now, I will hopefully not dream about it again.” He nodded and grabbed her hand supportively. She smiled softly at him and started to tell them about the events of the night as well as of the events ten years ago.

“And you never pressed charges?”

“No, I guess I was just too ashamed and scared. I was only 16 years old.” Kim answered calmly. The officer nodded understanding.

“Mr. Cooper, could you tell us what you saw tonight.” Jon looked up confused. Who was Mr. Cooper?

“Of course, sir.” Lloyd said. Kim grinned about Jon’s dumfounded face.

“I waited for Miss Anderson to drive her home. Unfortunately I didn’t see her coming out of the building, but when she didn’t call after several minutes, I started to worry and got out of the car to look for her.”

“She normally calls you?”

“Yes, sir. She calls me when she can’t make to the appointed time.”

“And she didn’t call?”

“No, sir. But when I was just out of the car I heard her scream, so I rushed over to her and saw Mr. Thompson holding a knife to her throat. His intention was clear. So I pulled out my gun and told him to let her go.”

“You have a license for this weapon, right?”

“Of course, sir. Miss Anderson’s father asked me to do a training after she was nearly kidnapped twice as a child. He wanted her and his wife to be safe when I would drive them around. I shot once a week on a range.”

“Daddy, told you to carry a weapon?” Kim was surprised. Lloyd smiled gently at her.

“Yes, Miss Anderson. He was worried someone would try again to get to you with weapon force.”

“Totally understandable.” Jon agreed. Kim looked at him surprised. He shrugged his shoulder. It was true he wasn’t a huge fan of her father, but being a dad, he could completely understand his motives.

“Did you know about the events ten years ago, Mr. Cooper?”

“Yes, I did. Or let’s say I suspected it.” Lloyd said and glanced at Kim shortly.

“What do you mean?”

“Ten years ago, I was driving Miss Anderson and Mr. Thompson home. When I parked the car I saw that Miss Anderson had left her handbag in the backseat.” Kim looked up at Lloyd’s words.

“Oh, my God…” her eyes grew wide when she remembered.

“You are the reason he stopped. He heard you knock at the door.” She whispered.

“Yes, Miss Anderson. When I knocked I heard commotion behind the door and when Mr. Thompson opened the door and rushed away, I saw you stumbling to your feet with your dress all messed up. I first thought that I…well, let’s say…interrupted you two in a romantic moment, but later I realised that he must have forced you.”

“How did you know?” Jon wanted to know.

“Miss Anderson was very quiet, withdrawn and didn’t let any man come closer to her, not even her father. That was unusual. She was a very happy teenager, never had problems talking to someone. She was used to it, because of her parents social life.”

“It’s true.” Kim nodded. “I completely isolated myself in the first months at college. It didn’t go to any party, only to the lectures. Most people probably thought I’m doing it to learn all the time and keep my good grades.”

“But you were only looking for a way to protect yourself and process the trauma.” Jon finished her thought and pulled her into a hug. She nodded at his words.

“Well, I can tell you this time he will get charged for it.” The officer said and prepared to leave.

“Uhm, I have one request.” Jon said and made everyone look at him irritated.

“Is it possible that you keep my name out of the statement? I wasn’t a witness or anything, so this shouldn’t be a problem, right?”

“May I ask why Mr. Bongiovi?” the officer asked.

“Because when the press finds out that my girlfriend nearly got raped twice, photographers will follow her everywhere. Believe me they don’t show any mercy. And I don’t think that’s something Kim needs right now.”

“They ain’t that bad, Jon. Not when you are with me.” Kim told him from her spot on the couch.

“And what happens when I leave for Europe in two weeks?”

“I’ll make sure, she won’t be bothered Mr. Bongiovi.” Lloyd interjected calmly.  Jon nodded.

“I appreciate it, Lloyd.”