-15 years later-

I prepared dinner by chopping tomatoes to make my own sauce, the pasta currently cooking. I could hear the tv softly in the background, glancing up every now and then to watch from the kitchen.

I heard the door open and I stopped what I was doing to quickly looking over. "Something smells good," Zack smiled at me, closing the door behind him.

I sighed with a small grin, "The only thing cooking right now is pasta, I haven't even started the sauce yet," I informed him, catching his lie.

"Well, maybe I'm just a psychic and can already smell how good your sauce will be," he bent down to kiss me.

I pulled away, chuckling. "Or maybe you're just failing to give me a compliment," I looked back down at my tomato and continued to chop.

"So what is it? Spaghetti?" he asked, examining the mess I had started to make.

"Yeah, although I was thinking of adding some more things to the sauce, like mushrooms zucchini?" I phrased as more of a question to make sure he was alright with it.

Zack shrugged, "Sure, you're the chef. If you're cooking, you choose what you do with it. AS long as it's not poison," he joked, making me playfully roll my eyes but let out a small laugh.

"I wouldn't tell you if I did," I pointed out. Zack playfully grabbed his neck, making me laugh. His jokes were dumb, but that's why I loved them.

My laughter died down once the tv caught my attention. "There was an explosion at what was believed to be a building owned by the infamous Jason McCann. The cause is said to be the manufacturing of drugs gone wrong. 4 bodies have already been found so far..."

"I'll turn it off," Zack spoke up, walking to the tv.

"It's just news," I said, although I felt as if I was in some sort of trance. My lips were moving, but my body could not.

"You know it's not," he turned it off before walking back to me. "We don't need the tv on anyway." I slowly nodded, looking down at the tomato but unable to move my hands. All I could think about was the explosion. Was Jason there? "Are you okay?" Zack asked.

I nodded, "Yeah...I'm fine." I jumped at the sound of my timer going off, letting me know the pasta was down. I took a deep breath, setting the knife down.

"Katie..." Zack called, but I just walked to the stove. I grabbed the pot that was suddenly a lot heavier than it was earlier, making my hands shake until I dropped it. I jumped back, the hot water hitting my feet. I squeezed my eyes shut in pain as I heard Zack yell. "Get away from there," he lifted me and carried me to one of the chairs. "Are you okay?" he asked.

I was breathing heavily, trying to calm down from the scare. "Yeah, it just burned my feet a bit. I'm okay though," I assured.

"How about you take a break form here," Zack suggested.

"I have to clean up the noodles," I stood up, but Zack put his arm in front of me.

"I've got it, don't worry," he said.

"But..."

"You should go put your feet in the bath," he interrupted.

"It's not that bad..."

"Just in case. I'll take care of things down here, okay?" he placed his hand on my shoulder, looking me in the eyes. I sighed, finally nodding. Zack then picked me up, to my surprise, and carried me over to the bathroom in our bedroom.

"Zack, I'm fine! You don't have to carry me!" I told him, but he only set me down once we were in the bathroom. I sat on the edge of the bathtub, raising an eyebrow.

"You're only saying that because you didn't walk to feel how much it would really hurt."

"Well, I think I got it from here," I told him, turning on the water and placing my feet under. I winced a bit at first, but soon got use to the water.

I gave Zack a look, in which he just gave a nod in response. "Just yell if you need help, I'll finish dinner," he said.

"Don't poison it," I teased, making him grin before he left.

I sat there, staring at the water as my mind went back to the news. I couldn't help but wonder if Jason was okay, and where he was now. The explosion was actually pretty close to me...does that mean he's nearby? I shook my head, needing to stop thinking about him. Jason was bad, and I don't need bad thoughts. I repeated it a couple times to remind myself, just like Dr. Tay told me to do.

My thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the window. I jumped, quickly turning my head. I then froze, for real this time. I couldn't move, I couldn't speak, I could barely even think. The knocking repeated, and I blinked a few times but nothing had changed. I looked around the corner to see if Zack had heard, but our bedroom door was closed. I swung my legs around, stepping on a towel before slowly making my way to the window. My breathing was nearly nonexistent as my hands moved to the locks. My hands hovered there for a moment, but they then moved on their own to unlock and open the window. He climbed through, making me move aside and just stare.

"Katie..." he said softly.

"Jason..." I breathed, unsure if I was even audible. Was this real? Was he real?

"You look beautiful," he took a step towards me, causing me tow take two back. His eyes moved to the side, "You're water is running," he said. I continued to just stare at him, overwhelmed with emotions, mostly shock. "Katie?" he said when I didn't respond.

I opened my mouth, catching air but letting out a whisper, "You're here."

"I'm here," he repeated.

Before I knew it I was embracing him, and he didn't hesitate to wrap his arms around me. He was alive. It felt nice to feel the familiar warmth, it had been so long. I then realized what I was doing and pushed him back. I reminded myself what he did, the kidnapping, the control, the manipulation I was still unsure about to this day. "What are you doing here?" I finally asked.

"I came to see you," he reached out, but I moved my hand away.

"What are you doing here?" I repeated.

"You don't believe me?" he questioned. I remained silent, looking down and avoiding his eyes. I didn't know what to believe. "I...I thought you were happy to see me, I mean you just hugged me..."

"That's because I thought you might have died," I cut him off to defend myself. "And no matter what you did to me...I don't want you dead."

"You know, there was a time when you were happy about what I did."

I shook my head. "I was only trying to make the best of the situation you put me in."

"Is that what Dr. Tay told you?" My eyes widened. How did he know I was seeing Dr. Tay? How long has he known? "What, you think I would just drop you off at another institution and not keep an eye on you?" he answered my thoughts.

"You've been spying on me? For 15 years?" I questioned, feeling...violated.

"Not consistently, just check in on you every now and then. See how you're doing," he explained. And although it was a little better, it was still awful.

"You can't do that Jason." I told him.

"I won't be any longer. I'm leaving...for real this time. I'm leaving the country," he said.

I stared at him, a bit surprised. "You're leaving? Where?"

"Canada, I have more bases and gang members up there, and I can't risk being here any longer since the explosion along with other things," he explained. I didn't know what to say, it was honestly shocking, yet made sense. "I came here for my final check in...to really say goodbye."

I looked back at the ground. "You shouldn't have," I murmured.

"I had to," he said, and I believe him. "Are you...happy?"

A small grin tugged at my lips. "I am," I nodded.

"And him?" he asked, referring to Zack.

My grin widened a bit, thinking about Zack. "I love him...and he loves me."

"So did I," he said.

I looked down. It was a question I thought about from time to time, if he really did love me. Sometimes I thought about when he was kind to me, but then thought about his motives. Was it just to fill is own needs? Or was it truly selfless? Was he capable of selflessness? I'll never know. "You were toxic," I finally replied, agreeing with that statement either way.

"Maybe...but that doesn't mean it wasn't real," he pointed out, stepping towards me. I didn't back away this time though. "I wanted you to know that before I left...that I really did love you," his voice was soft now. I stared up at him, our eyes locking. He then bent down and kissed my cheek. There was that same tingle, and he then slipped back out the window."

I stood there for a few minutes, slowly bringing my hand up to where his lips were. I almost wondered if it was all in my head, if I was just dreaming. The bedroom door then opened, Zack standing there. "Hey, dinner is ready," he said, then looking behind me. "Why is the window open?" he asked.

I turned around, not thinking about it before. I faced Zack again, replying, "I wanted some fresh air." I then looked back to the bathroom, hearing the water still running. "I'll turn that off," I said before he could mention it. I quickly turned off the faucet and made my way to the kitchen table where a plate of spaghetti was set. I walked over to Zack, going up on my toes and kissing him. "I love you," I told him.

"I love you too," he chuckled, probably confused but not questioning it. "Does that mean I did a good job?" he asked.

"Let's taste it first," I laughed, sitting down. He sat across from me, starting a story about how he struggled to make the sauce. It was simple, it had his dumb jokes, and I loved every second of it. I was happy.

This is what would have happened if Katie got on the helicopter but decided to not go with Jason, and he dropped her off at another institution to get treated. Do you like it? Which ending do you prefer?