Episode 361
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
“Leave it alone Blake. It doesn’t matter,” Sarah pushed Blake’s
hand away from her once again as Blake attempted to keep Sarah from making
a huge mistake.
“Yes it does matter. Sarah you have a life growing inside of you and
for you to be so selfish right now, it’s just not happening,” Blake
tugged on her friend’s arm once again trying to lead her towards the
bar’s exit. “Why would you do this to your child?”
“The child already is going to be screwed up considering his or her father
wants nothing to do with us,” Sarah let out a small laugh shaking her
head, “No one does Blake in case you haven’t noticed.”
“Well I do. You’re my friend and you know how important children
are to me,” Blake argued with her still disapproving of her friend’s
actions.
“Look just because you are trying everything you can to get knocked up
and you have some kind of faulty plumbing doesn’t mean that I have to
sit back and let my life be screwed up by all of this,” Sarah snapped
back at her seeing the hurt that crossed over Blake’s features. Her face
softened and regret filled her, “Blake, I’m sorry I didn’t
mean that. I know how hard you’ve been trying and…”
“You’re right,” Blake snapped back at her, “I’ve
been trying with all that I am to have a baby, and I’ll be damned if
I just sit back and let you destroy yours. I don’t care what you think
of me or whatever nasty remarks you can think up inside of that drunk mind
of yours because the fact to the matter is that I care what happens to your
child. Hell, I care what happens to you even if you are acting like a complete
bitch right now and I won’t just sit back and let you do this to yourself.”
“Why bother Blake? Kyle ran out on me. Diego hates me, so what do I have
left?” Sarah mouthed feeling sorry for herself all over again.
“You have me and you have Seth. We are still your friends and we don’t
want you to make a mistake that will cost you everything,” Blake pleaded
with her softening her tone a bit, “Please Sarah just listen to me on
this one. Let us take you home.”
“Blake you are either the stupidest person I know or the nicest,”
Sarah let out a tired sigh finally giving up the fight as Blake pulled Sarah’s
arm around her shoulders.
“I’ve honestly never been accused of either, but considering the
circumstances I would like to think that nicest is more fitting,” Blake
couldn’t help but smile hoping to get her friend out of the dangerous
situation she’d put herself in, “Now how about we get you home and
ready to sober up so that you don’t hurt anyone else anymore than you
already have?”
“You really think that I’m that bad, don’t you?” Sarah
frowned back at her. “You think I’m a horrible person, don’t
you?”
“I don’t agree with your choices Sarah and I’ll be the first
to tell you that you screwed up big time,” Blake paused seeing how upset
Sarah truly was, “but you’ve always been a friend to me and now
it’s my turn to do the same for you. Please let me help you.”
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
“Wow, I don’t believe this. You may actually be on to something,”
Valerie mused seeing the way that Seth’s gaze kept drifting over to her
and Andy on the dance floor, “He might actually really be getting jealous.”
“I told you. Nothing looks as sweet as the woman in another man’s
arms,” Andy laughed lightly dipping her in his arms before pulling her
up again, “Seth will be eating out of the palm of your hand in no time.”
“No time better than the present,” Valerie started to pull away
from Andy in an attempt to go and speak with Seth.
“Not so fast killer,” Andy pulled her back to him again, “You
wouldn’t want to ruin the progress that you’ve made tonight, now
would you?”
“Well, no but…” she frowned seeing that Seth was turning his
attention back to Blake, “Wait he’s leaving…”
“So let him go,” Andy shrugged his shoulders at her, “You’ve
done enough for tonight and besides we had a deal.”
“Oh please,” she rolled her eyes at him, “You don’t honestly
expect me to pay up considering that the reward was minimal.”
“I most certainly expect you to pay up especially considering that it’s
clear you’ll be needing my services in the future,” he curled his
fingers around the back of her neck urging her in closer to him. “Besides,
you can’t tell me that you aren’t the kind to have a little fun
on the side while focusing on your goals.”
“No I’m not against it, but I just like to stress where my goal
is so that anyone around me is clear on that,” Valerie sucked in a small
breath, her eyes fixing on his mouth. “I wouldn’t want anyone to
have any wrong ideas.”
“Honey all I want to do is take you home and have my way with you,”
Andy blurted out bluntly another smirk rising over his features, “I’m
not looking for anything more than that. I figure tonight we can get out our
sexual frustrations with one another and leave it at that.”
“Who said I had any frustrations?” she curled her lips in a frown
feeling his palms press her in against him in one, swift motion.
“Oh baby, believe me I know frustration when I see it and tonight,”
he reached for her hand leading her off of the dance floor and over towards
the bar, “I’ll give you a whole new reason to think about what it
is you really want from the world around you.”
“I already know the answer to that,” she offered up in response,
“It’s Seth.”
“Keep telling yourself that sweetheart,” he glanced over his shoulder
at her before smirking, “Tell me do you have a jacket?”
“No, I don’t have one since it wasn’t that cold when we…”
she saw his gaze sweep past her and over towards the bar. Waving her hand
in front of his face she couldn’t help but frown, “Um hello I’m
over here.”
“What?” he blinked back at her before his gaze returned to the television
once again. He released her hand before pushing his way over to the bar. He
tapped on the bar and motioned to the bartender. “Hey man can you turn
this up?”
“What?” the bartender questioned giving him strange look.
“The television. Can you turn it up? Never mind,” Andy frowned pushing
his way through the crowd and climbing up on a bar stool to turn up the news
report to hear about what was happening between Cameron, Brant and Angela
at the Stone mansion. An image flashed onscreen of Angela as news crews seemed
to be surrounding the hospital eagerly awaiting word on Brant Ashford’s
latest flame.
“Hey, are you still with me or are we calling this thing off,” Valerie
tugged on his arm impatiently before tapping her foot, “because I can
find other things to do tonight if you lost interest…”
Andy blinked a couple of times before turning to look at her as if he’d
just remembered she was with him. He got off of the bar stool before stepping
in beside her.
“Sugar as sweet as tonight would be,” he eased his finger over the
side of her face, his gaze dropping to her lips before he met her eyes again,
“I’m going to have to make this a rain check for us. Something just
came up and I have to get to work.”
“What?” she scowled at him, “You have to be kidding me, right?”
“Unfortunately it’s in my line of work,” he explained pulling
his pager out of his pocket to show her, “When the hospital calls, I
must answer.”
“But I thought you were just a plastic surgeon,” she noted thinking
about their conversation on the way over to the bar.
“That’s right, but when there’s an emergency I’m still
on call,” he leaned in to kiss her forehead quickly, “But don’t
think I’m forgetting about you. I’ll be back and you had better
be ready the day I call on you.”
“I’m not going to just sit around and wait for something that I…”
she started, but he didn’t bother to stick around and hear what she had
to say. He was out the door before she’d finished and she threw her hands
in the air with a huff. “Well this is just wonderful.”
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
“Oh JT, this was incredible,” Evie sighed feeling the last of the
fireworks dying down around them. She snuggled into JT’s chest thinking
about all he’d gone and done to make things perfect for them tonight
after their less than savory encounter with Valerie. She felt the warmth of
him beneath her and knew this had to be what heaven was like. “Did you
really do all of this just for me?”
“Well, you know I have a friend who owed me a few favors and,” he
laughed lightly unable to keep a straight face any longer, “Okay so I
sort of knew they were having the fireworks display tonight, but rather than
going with the rest of the town, I thought we could have our own private showing.”
“I’m so glad you thought it up because I like this private setting,”
Evie admitted pulling herself up enough to see the way his eyes were fixed
on her. She smiled reaching out to tease her finger over the center of his
chest lazily, “It was really nice.”
“Nice huh?” he arched a curious brow, “So that’s really
all you thought about it?”
“Well, what can I say? It was beautiful and explosive and untamed,”
she added with a thoughtful expression sliding up and over him, “kind
of like I feel when I’m with you.”
“Kind of dangerous, yet inviting,” he laughed lightly feeling her
trace his jaw line. His laughter died down as her dark eyes met his.
“I feel that way all the time when we’re together. Of course I can’t
help but wonder how many other women have been up here with you,” she
searched his eyes for information, doubt lingering in her own gaze as it was
clear she was still upset with what Valerie had said to her earlier.
“Counting you,” JT eased his arm around her waist savoring the feel
of her over him, “well I would have to say it’s only been, well
one.”
“Wait you mean you brought one other girl up here,” she blinked
down at him, confusion registering behind her eyes as he reached out to push
her long, dark hair behind her shoulder again.
“No silly the one and only is you,” he tipped up to steal a kiss
from her soft, pouting lips. As their mouths parted he couldn’t help
but smile, “This place is special--something that I have kept for me
and only me. It’s not exactly where I would take the kind of dates I
had before I met you.”
“You mean the cheap and easy kind,” she arched a curious brow catching
the way his gaze was fixed on her.
“The kind that weren’t worth all of this,” he confessed sliding
his finger out over her cheekbone before tracing her lower lip with his thumb,
“None of them were as special as you are. I can’t quite put my finger
on it, but when I’m with you all the rules change for me. It sounds stupid
doesn’t it?”
“No, not at all,” she shook her head adamantly, her hand flattening
out over his chest, “because I feel that way about you too. No one has
ever given me a second thought JT, yet even when you should have had me busted
for being a real bitch to you, you gave me a second chance--many of them and
even now, I don’t understand how someone like you would even want to
be around someone like me.”
“I’d have to say it’s because you’re mysterious, interesting,
brilliant, dangerous, oh and did I mention beautiful,” JT turned her
in his arms so that they were laying side by side. A smile curled over the
corners of his mouth as he gazed into her dark eyes, “When I’m with
you it’s the first time in my life I feel like I’m in control of
things. Before I met you I was killing myself trying to hold onto something
that was only tearing me apart, but now…Evie, when I’m with you
it’s hard to imagine what life was like before I had you around me.”
“Oh JT,” she leaned forward seeking out his lips once again. She
slid her fingers through his dark hair before curling her arm around his waist,
“I love you.”
“I love you too,” he confessed with a small hint of laughter, “As
insane as it sounds, you’ve gotten to me. The more time I’m with
you, the more I’m wanting to have you around Evie. It’s crazy I
know, but…”
“I feel it too,” she replied lavishing his lips again in another
desperate kiss.
She tangled her fingers through his hair, feeling his mouth over hers in an
intimate caress. Slowly she curled back onto the blanket pulling him in over
her as her leg wrapped around his hip. He didn’t resist as he normally
had in the past, but rather he leaned over her, the warmth of his body hovering
over hers. Their lips parted and gazes locked as she felt his finger tips
trail over her side, pressing gently over her ribs as it seemed they were
both breathless from the kiss.
“Evie, I just wanted to surprise you with the fireworks,” he began
apologetically thinking about how things had started to intensify between
them.
“And I’m ready to show you a whole new world of explosions,”
she countered reaching out to him and pulling him in over her. Their lips
met in another heated union, her leg squeezing his body against hers and she
let out a small cry of anticipation.
“Evie, I just don’t want to push things,” he stated cautiously
feeling her slide his t-shirt up over his torso, the heat of her soft caress
dusting over his skin and causing a whole new fire to simmer inside of him.
“You aren’t,” she breathed urging his t-shirt up further until
he pulled back enough to discard it before moving in over her again and kissing
her as if he’d never stop. She scratched her nails lightly over his back
before his lips tapered off over her neck kissing her with tiny, butterfly
kisses. She let out a soft moan, her body arching up to his heat as she felt
him slide his hand up underneath her t-shirt. “I want you.”
“I want you too,” he openly admitted knowing full well that this
wasn’t at all what he’d planned on when he’d taken her up to
the lighthouse. He pulled back ever so slightly reading her eyes before watching
her sit up. She took in a shallow breath before pushing him aside and reaching
out to the bottom of her blue t-shirt.
“Let me,” she offered pulling her shirt over her head to reveal
the first hints of her slender form to him underneath the moonlight.
A breath caught in her throat as he leaned forward, lips pressing in against
hers as they both fell back to the blanket again. She wrapped her arms around
him feeling his touch skim over her abdomen, his large hands teasing her,
tempting her with things to come between them. She felt his finger tip press
in against her bra strap, teasing beneath the material as he gently pushed
it down her shoulder ever so slightly.
“You’re so beautiful,” his words buzzed against her skin while
his lips tapered off over her shoulder, taking in each and every inch of exposed
skin to his greedy kisses. He felt her nails sink into his shoulder urging
him to continue with her soft cries and pants. He reached around back pulling
her up just enough to unclasp her bra. Their eyes met briefly before he started
to peel her bra further from her soft curves and reveal her fully to him,
but something made him stop dead in his tracks.
“What’s wrong?” she questioned breathlessly her dark eyes meeting
his worriedly.
“Do you smell something burning?” JT couldn’t help but ask
sitting up straighter and looking around.
“No, why?” she questioned seeing JT was now suddenly distracted
as he leapt off of her. Frowning she watched him rush across the stone floor
in front of her. “JT, what is it?”
“Damn it,” JT cursed under his breath a look of panic carrying over
him, “Evie get up. Get up right now!”
“Why?” she questioned doing as he instructed only to discover that
his shirt was on fire, going up in a blaze and it seemed the blanket they
were on started to follow.
“Damn it! One of the fireworks must’ve still been hot when it fell
down and,” he cautiously reached for his shirt seeing the flames that
licked over it. He swung around and threw it over the ledge as far as he could
into the water before reaching for the blanket, that was now soaked in flames.
He swung it out into the night seeing the soft glow until it splashed into
the water along with his shirt.
“So much for things being explosive,” Evie laughed lightly stepping
in to place her hand on his shoulder after she’d readjusted her bra again,
“That wasn’t exactly what I had in mind.”
“Neither did I,” he revealed turning around to cup her face in his
hands, “I’m really sorry about that. I should have been paying attention…”
“No it’s okay. I mean we could’ve really set this place on
fire and not in the way we were hoping for,” she attempted to make light
of the situation when suddenly thunder roared overhead and within a matter
of moments she found herself surrounded by the pouring rain.
“Gee, now it decides to rain,” JT groaned thinking about their fire
situation before letting out a laugh. “You know maybe this is a sign
that it’s time to leave. After all given how our night is going we might
get hit by lightning if we opted to stay.”
“Oh I don’t know. There is something romantic about the rain and…”
she started to protest only to hear another thunder cloud shake the ground
beneath them with it’s sound. “On second thought. Maybe you’re
right. Maybe now is a good time to get headed in a new direction.”
“I couldn’t agree more. Let me just grab the basket and we’ll
get out of here,” JT decided realizing that while tonight hadn’t
gone at all as he’d planned, perhaps it was a sign that they shouldn’t
rush into something physical just quite yet when there was still so much that
they had to learn about one another. He had vowed to take his time with Evie
and after the first hint of what they’d shared tonight, he feared that
his resolve may be slipping away harder than he’d anticipated. If he
wasn’t careful not only could he end up making love to her the next time
she’d asked, but he could also risk losing his heart to her forever it
seemed.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
“See this isn’t so bad,” Kipp offered up stretching out on
the sofa after he and Kellen had picked up take out Thai food. They settled
down in front of the television set and had watched a mystery that was on
one of the cable channels before having a moment of quiet between them. Now
as Kipp’s dark eyes focused on his lover, he couldn’t’ help
but notice the crease in Kellen’s brow. “What now?”
“I was just thinking about that movie,” Kellen admitted turning
to face Kipp fully, “You know that part in the movie where the man’s
secretary warned him that the new girl in the office was trouble?”
“What about it,” Kipp questioned almost knowing where Kellen was
about to take the direction of the conversation.
“Why didn’t he just listen? I mean it was clear from day one that
the woman had a crazy look on her face. You could just see it in her eyes
and then,” Kellen waved his arms around in the air emphatically, “I
don’t understand why he risked everything he had by putting his family
on the line for a cheap affair. I mean my God, did you see the split ends
on that woman?”
“Kellen please,” Kipp couldn’t help but laugh rolling his eyes
at his lover’s rant. “It was just a movie.”
“A movie where it showed how easy it was to get taken in by someone who
pretends to be something they aren’t,” Kellen noted with a frown,
“I mean you saw how a petite figure and those baby blue eyes got the
main character to fall to pieces like putty. He went from having everything
to sleeping with the little skank and putting everything in his life at risk.”
“He was an idiot,” Kipp offered up with a simple shrug of his shoulders,
“but it was only a program.”
“One that teaches life lessons. It’s a very important point to keep
in mind when dealing with crazy, obsessive office bitches,” Kellen continued
with a huff, “especially ones that follow you around like a puppy dog
practically panting for your attention.”
“Why do I get the feeling that we’re not talking about the movie
any longer?” Kipp frowned over at Kellen sensing his discontent. Reaching
for the empty bowl of popcorn they’d had, Kipp started to stand up. “Kellen,
maybe we shouldn’t have watched this because it’s clearly playing
with your head.”
“Or maybe you just shouldn’t have brought in Becca as your assistant
because she’s trouble,” Kellen huffed folding his arms in front
of his chest. “You’re so naïve that you can’t even see
the things she’s doing to capture your attention.”
“I’m not seeing them because they aren’t there,” Kipp
couldn’t help but laugh shaking his head at Kellen. “Becca isn’t
interested in me even if you can’t let go of that silly notion of yours.”
“It’s not a silly notion. I watch the way her eyes follow you, constantly
undressing you when she thinks you aren’t looking. She’s hoping
that you two can end up together in some intimate and undoubtedly naked position
with one another down the road,” Kellen curled his lip in a pout thinking
about Becca’s clear cut crush on Kipp.
“It’s not going to happen,” Kipp shook his head and groaned,
“Besides why would I even consider something like that when you give
me all the drama and excitement I need in my life and more?”
“Don’t make a joke of it,” Kellen huffed standing up and following
Kipp into the kitchen, “I’m being serious here.”
“And so am I,” Kipp set the bowl into the sink before turning around
to face Kellen again, “You have to believe me when I tell you that it’s
not like that. Becca Button isn’t even remotely close to being a problem
for us. She isn’t my type.”
“She doesn’t feel that way. In fact, I would say that she’s
brushing up on all she needs to know to become your type,” Kellen gave
Kipp a long once over, “I saw the way she was testing out the effects
of Heather’s perfume on you to see if it kicked up old emotions.”
“Kellen stop,” Kipp sighed with heavy exaggeration, “You’re
going to drive yourself crazy if you don’t let it go.”
“How can I let it go when that woman is trying to steal my man?”
Kellen threw his arms in the air with a huff, “You wouldn’t be finding
it so funny if you were feeling like I am right now.”
“Kellen, I love you,” Kipp stepped in closer to him. He reached
for Kellen’s hand before squeezing it gently, “I know full well
that there isn’t anything for me to worry about where you are concerned
because I trust you. I know that might sound like a foreign notion right about
now, but it’s true.”
“It’s not that I don’t trust you,” Kellen paused again
with a shake of his head, “It’s her that I don’t trust. I can
see she’s got the eye for you and…”
“And even if she has the eye, I know full well that you’re not going
to have to worry because I don’t have the eye for her,” Kipp paused
before a hint of a smile curled over his lips, “For starters I happen
to like my lover to be a bit taller and more muscular with amazing blue eyes.”
“Even so,” Kellen folded his arms in front of his chest stubbornly,
“It won’t stop her from trying to tempt you.”
“She can try all she likes, but there’s only one thing that tempts
me in this world,” Kipp reached out to press his fingers over the front
of Kellen’s shirt. “There’s only one person in this world that
can capture my complete attention.”
“I don’t care Kipp. She’s annoying and,” Kellen paused
feeling Kipp’s lips skim over the side of his neck. “Oh that’s
no fair you’re distracting me.”
“And hopefully it will start working,” Kipp noted popping open a
button on the front of Kellen’s shirt. “I wish you’d stop being
so worried all of the time.”
“And I wish you’d see that not everyone is a good person,”
Kellen pulled back enough to meet Kipp’s eyes again, “Becca is trouble.”
“You’re going to be in trouble if you don’t stop worrying about
her,” Kipp stepped up on his toes just enough to slide his fingers through
Kellen’s dark hair. He pulled Kellen in closer to him before meeting
his eyes again, “And I would hate to have to punish you for misbehaving.”
“Do you honestly think that dangling sex in my face is going to make
me forget about Becca?” Kellen curled his lip in a pout thinking about
the way that Becca followed Kipp around.
“I was hoping it would be a good start,” Kipp leaned forward and
kissed him seductively, “but if you’d rather I not…”
“No, no,” Kellen reached out to Kipp just as he started to pull
away, “I didn’t say I hated it. I just said it won’t be the
only thing that does the trick in this situation.”
“If you give me a chance to show you what I had in mind, it might be
more than what you need to let go of those silly worries of yours,” Kipp
promised with a mischievous grin leaving Kellen to wonder just what it was
that Kipp had in store for him now that Kipp had decided to banish each and
every thought of Becca from Kellen’s mind.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
“I’m going to guess that you are just being silent because you
are amazed with me,” Kyle broke the long silence between him and Heather
as his arm tightened around her shoulders feeling her head readjust on his
chest. “Or that you are feeling bad about Kellen. I think the Kellen
is what I’m leaning more toward.”
“No, I’m not upset about Kellen,” Heather replied caressing
her fingers in over the center of his chest seeing the way his hazel eyes
stared into hers. His fingers pressed in against the side of her cheek softly
before pressing back her long blonde hair. “I’m just thinking, that’s
all.”
“Yeah, but it’s obvious something is wrong,” he pointed out
seeing the way her green eyes stared out into his and he let out a long breath.
“If you were really going to get this upset about Kellen, I swear we
could have waited, but I just wanted to get married so bad and…,”
“No, I wanted to get married to you too. So bad Kyle, I have been counting
on it ever since I was little kid,” she explained pressing a small kiss
in over the center of his chest feeling his fingers caressing her shoulders
softly. “You know it’s just the guilt of if we should have invited
him or not.”
“You wanted to invite him?” Kyle questioned with a small laugh sitting
up slowly in the bed seeing her looking up at him before sitting up again.
“I’m being honest Heather, I don’t think it will be that bad.
We stay here for a while keeping it silent that we are married, only letting
Kipp know we are married, then pretend to have a second wedding. I think Kellen
will be just as happy with that kind of wedding. If we would have invited
him to this one, he would totally be upset with it. You know what I mean Heather,
he would have issues with it because he didn’t pick of the decorations,
there were no decorations and that would just kill him.”
“I know, I know,” Heather muttered feeling his arm curl around her
shoulders bringing her in to cuddle in closer to him and felt his finger slip
in underneath her chin to place a small kiss over her lips. “The second
one will be just as great and Kellen can do all the planning he wants for
that one.”
“Exactly, but this one was our own special wedding, it was ours. Something
that you will never forget for the rest of your life as long as you are with
me,” Kyle’s fingers tightened around hers seeing the way that Heather
gazed up at him and a smile spread out over his lips. “Heater, I love
you and I just wanted a perfect day with us. With our hopes and dreams finally
becoming a reality, I just wanted to be with you and that’s all. The
second wedding I promise I won’t interfere with Kellen as long as he
promises not to make a fool of me. There is no reason to feel guilty Heather,
we will just follow through like we planned.”
“Okay,” Heather nodded slowly seeing the smile that pressed in against
Kyle’s lips again as he moved forward to kiss her, gently nipping at
her bottom lip while her fingers pressed into the firm skin of his chest.
“So what now?”
“Well, I would suggest lying in bed with you all day, but I think that
wouldn’t work,” Kyle pointed out with a small nod seeing her frown
and he let out a small laugh. Carefully he moved out from under her and got
to his feet, reaching for his pants to pull them up quickly. “But I’m
hungry sweetheart and when a man is hungry, he has to eat.”
“I thought you had enough to eat,” she teased standing up slowly
seeing his eyebrows arch up in response as he snaked his arm around her waist
carefully. “I was sure that would be enough for you.”
“Well at this point, I keep asking myself one question,” Kyle smirked
with a small shake of his head before letting out a deep sigh. “After
a response like that, why can’t I have both?”
“Sounds good to me, I think I like that idea,” Heather bit down on her bottom lip feeling his thumb caressing the hollow of her cheek bone carefully, her fingers pressing in over the small of his back as he smiled down at her. “Let’s see what we can find you big boy.”
“I think I already have one thing picked out in my mind,” Kyle muttered with a small growl, moving down to kiss her again before feeling her slip out of his grasp and walk toward the hallway. “And I think it’s on the run.”
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Kevin took in a breath as he and Ria entered the elevators at the hospital.
He reached for her hand offering up a small squeeze before turning to look
at her. When Brant had called he was in a frantic state and Kevin wasn’t
quite sure what to expect when he arrived back in Coral Valley. Still he couldn’t
help but feel bad about the timing.
“Ria, I…” Kevin began apologetically feeling as if he and Ria
had still so much to talk about after their almost experience with parenthood.
“Kevin it’s okay,” she squeezed her hand in response, “I
know that this wasn’t something that we can control.”
“Even so, when I think about what we were discussing,” Kevin felt
a heavy heart knowing full well that he’d had his dreams right in front
of him only to feel them taken away in those few seconds when the pregnancy
test results hadn’t turned out as he’d been hoping for. Looking
to Ria he thought about what it would be like to be a father and sharing a
future with her and their child. It was a dream he wanted more than anything,
yet as he felt the pull Angela had on him returning again, guilt carried over
him.
“It just wasn’t the right time for us,” she replied in a small
tone as the elevator doors opened and she took in a breath, “They are
no doubt waiting for you out there.”
“I know,” he nodded hesitating as he still held her hand, “but
this doesn’t change anything with us. I need you to know that I love
you and that I don’t want for you to think this is a sign that something
is wrong between us Ria. I don’t want to lose you.”
“If I didn’t let you be the friend that I know you are right now,
then I would lose you,” she explained with a sad smile squeezing his
hand gently before coaxing him to go investigate the situation, “Go on.
I’ll be here when you need me.”
“Thank you,” he reached out to touch her cheek gently before exiting
the elevator and walking around the corner just in time to see Brant beating
the hell out of Cameron.
Immediately Kevin went into bodyguard mode and rushed into the scene pushing
his way between the security guards that had grouped around the two men. He
shoved his way into the crowd pushing people aside until he slipped into the
middle of the fight. He tossed Cameron back into one of the walls before reaching
out grab Brant’s arm before Brant unknowingly hit Kevin instead.
“Don’t let him get away!” Brant shouted as Kevin grasped his
arm refusing to let Brant go after Cameron again.
Kevin noticed one of the security guards approaching Brant and Kevin scowled
at him, “I’ve got him covered. Take care of the other guy.”
“Come on,” one of the security guards motioned to Cameron again
as Don stepped over to Kevin and Brant.
“That son of a bitch needs to pay for what he’s done to her! He
tried to kill her and our children!” Brant shouted not giving a damn
who was watching or hearing him. “He threw her down the stairs and…”
“What,” Kevin’s jaw flexed at Brant’s words.
“You are the reason this happened. If you would’ve just left her
alone then it wouldn’t have come to this,” Cameron argued seeing
Don step in between the two groups of people and shake his finger at Cameron.
“You shut your mouth right now or I’ll have you thrown out of here
for causing a scene,” Don warned sharply glaring over at Cameron.
“I’m not the one causing a scene. He tried to kill me and my sister
and,” Cameron huffed as Don stepped in closer to him.
“I said shut it,” Don warned waving his finger in Cameron’s
face before motioning to the security guard. “Why don’t you take
Mr. Stone for some air? We can deal with Mr. Ashford.”
“Whatever you say Dr. Leveski,” the security guards nodded guiding
Cameron along down the hallway.
“This isn’t the end of me,” Cameron shouted in a fury struggling
to get out of the hold that the security officers had on him, but it wasn’t
happening.
Don turned around to see Brant and Kevin with one another and he stepped up
to them clearing his throat uneasily, “I’ll just go see how Angela
is doing and keep you updated.”
“Please do,” Brant reached out to his friend, “Don please fix
this.”
“I’ll do what I can,” Don nodded before motioning to Cameron,
“They should keep him busy for a while, so don’t go hunting him
down and trying to murder him again because I might not be able to help you
then.”
“He deserves nothing less for what he did,” Brant snarled in response
thinking about what Cameron had done to Angela.
“Brant, talk to me. What’s going on,” Kevin snapped his fingers
in front of Brant’s face, “What happened to Angie?”
“Cameron pushed her down the stairs. He was trying to kill me and she
tried to stop him and then…” Brant’s words were broken as the
memory hit him harder than before. He sank down into one of the chairs behind
him exhaustion carrying over him as frustrated tears swelled behind his eyes,
“He pushed her down those stairs and now if I lose her…”
“Brant talk to me,” Kevin knelt before him seeing Brant lost in
his own little world. “Brant, what’s happened to Angie? Where is
she?”
“She’s with Don…she’s…she’s…” Brant
pulled his head up to meet Kevin’s concerned eyes, “She’s in
a coma.”
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
“This is just wonderful,” Ria muttered to herself pulling out the keys to her place after leaving Kevin alone with Brant at the hospital. Thinking of how close her and Kevin had been to them being ripped apart all over again made her realize how unfair the world was. “I can’t believe I actually came back.”
Opening her front door she opened the door and saw the way that a few things
were thrown around and the television was on in the corner of the room. Letting
out a small groan she threw her hands up in the air dropping her keys.
“Oh god,” Trisha blurted out letting out a small gasp as she stood
up quickly, her eyes covered as Ria glared out at her sister trying to make
it around the room without toppling over anything. “Okay, I know that
sound probably means you and Kevin are back ready to have sex-a-mania so I’m
just going to go in the other room…unless Kevin is naked then I might
second guess it.”
“There is no Kevin,” Ria grumbled seeing Trisha slowly moving the
fingers back away from her eyes folding her arms in front of her chest pouting.
“I’m sorry to disappoint you, but my fiancé is not here butt
naked for you to see.”
“Well that really is quite the disappointment considering I thought you
two would work things out,” Trisha frowned sitting back down on the couch
and reaching for the remote before throwing her hands up in the air. “I
mean I tried so hard to just get the two of you back together I really thought
it would happen.”
“It did happen for about an hour,” Ria answered truthfully seeing
the way her sister stared up at her and she shrugged her shoulders and Ria
sat down realizing something. “I really thought us making love would
take the cake, but with one word mentioned about Angie he was gone. I can’t
believe I forgave him.”
“So you did have sex,” Trisha smiled seeing the way that Ria glared
up at her as Trisha cleared her throat letting out a small laugh. “I
mean you made love, but what do you mean about Angie and leaving? He was with
you where is he now?”
“Angela is in the hospital,” Ria answered letting out a small laugh
before shaking her head slowly and letting out a long breath. “And I
was really mad about it and I should be mad about it, but I feel really bad
for Angela. I would never want to be in that position and I would never really
want her to be in that position, so I know it’s a good thing to have
her best friend there with her right now.”
“You are okay with Angela and Kevin being together right now?” Trisha’s
nose wrinkled as she questioned her sister’s words and her head tilted
to the side as she tried to take in what her sister said. “Well that’s
weird.”
“She needs him, I know he will be there for me, but right now she needs
him more than me,” Ria nodded slowly hating her own words but still felt
guilty for Angela at the same time. “Maybe him being there can help her
in some way now that she is in a coma. He is her best friend, I would want
Seth to be there for me. He’ll help her, I know he will. I just hope
that after he does, he doesn’t get too attached. I also just hope Angela
will be okay, but hopefully Kevin comes back.”
“Both things will happen sis,” Trisha moved up off the couch uneasily
before letting out a long breath and running her fingers through her hair
before sitting down next to Ria on the couch to wrap her arm around her. Resting
her head against her sister’s shoulder she smiled uneasily. “Angela
is a fighter and Kevin loves you. Two things I know will work perfectly. On
a brighter topic, what about my new little niece or nephew?”
“Neither,” Ria frowned reaching up to wipe at her eyes seeing the
way that Trisha looked up at her confused with the answer. “I’m
not pregnant Trisha and when Kevin found out, he flipped. He was so hurt,
I’ve never seen him that upset. He had gotten a ton of baby things and
I have no idea where he got it in the little time he had, but he did. He had
little Yankee clothes for a girl and a boy.”
“So typical of Kevin, he can’t let go of his baseball team,”
Trisha half laughed seeing Ria laugh in response before nodding slowly and
looking down toward the ground. “So he just bought something for the
baby you will be working at having.”
“If you put it that way,” Ria shrugged her shoulders before letting
out a long breath and shaking her head slowly thinking about the baby Kevin
was so ready to have that got ripped out of their hands. “I wish I was
pregnant, then I wouldn’t have broken his heart again.”
“His heart can’t be broken Ria,” Trisha pointed out seeing
the way that Ria looked out at her and she reached out to nudge her older
sister lightly. “His heart is fully in love with you there is no way
that his heart can be broken whenever I look into his eyes when he says your
name. Your name just makes him lighten up and around you I think his heart
is nothing but full.”
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
“Blake, you don’t have to baby-sit me. I’m sure that Seth
would be more than willing to forget that you wanted to bring me back here
to the hotel,” Sarah curled her lip in a pout thinking about the way
that Blake had pulled her from losing herself to her sorrows in alcohol.
“Trust me Seth understands what is important in reaching out to a friend,”
Blake explained walking over to the mini-fridge in Sarah’s room and pulling
all the small bottles of alcohol out of the shelves. “You won’t
be needing any of this I can tell you.”
“Blake, I can just call room service you know,” Sarah challenged
catching the glare that Blake threw out at her.
“You could, but then I would be highly disappointed in you and if I know
one thing about you Sarah, it’s that you don’t want to let your
friend down,” Blake tossed the bottles into the trash before placing
the trash can in front of the hotel room door. Standing up straighter she
faced Sarah again with a worried expression, “I really wish that you
would’ve just come home with us instead of making me bring you back here.”
“Blake, I would be a third wheel and I don’t want to do that,”
Sarah frowned thinking about Blake and Seth’s relationship, “You
two are happy together and the last thing you need is me screwing it up.”
“Sarah, we care about you,” Blake approached her taking a seat beside
Sarah on the bed. She wrapped her arm around her friend’s shoulders and
offered up a light squeeze, “I know you’ve made mistakes that hurt
a lot of people, but that doesn’t change the fact that you’re my
friend.”
“I don’t know why you would want to be my friend Blake. You see
the damage that I’ve done,” Sarah sighed closing her eyes and thinking
about how both Kyle and Diego wanted nothing to do with her.
“You might have screwed things up big time, but right now you need to
focus on what’s going on beyond all of that. You need to focus on staying
healthy and taking care of that baby you’re going to have,” Blake
informed her with a heavy sigh, “You and I both know that even if you
feel like the world is ending that there is another life growing inside of
you that is just beginning.”
“And what kind of life will my child have ahead of them?” Sarah
challenged knowing full well she’d backed herself into a corner in Coral
Valley, “No one is going to want to have anything to do with either one
of us. That’s been made painfully clear by this town.”
“Not everyone feels that way,” Blake frowned back at her.
“No, of course not. Diego’s already started spouting off about custody
of the child,” Sarah groaned thinking about her ex-lover. “He went
from caring about me to trying to condemn me.”
“Well you did kind of sleep with a few guys there, so it would be a blow
to any man’s ego when they were hoping to be the only one,” Blake
reminded her only to receive a glare from Sarah, “I’m just telling
it like it is.”
“Even so if Diego thinks that he can just write me out of his life and
then take this child, he’s dead wrong,” Sarah curled her fists into
balls at her sides. “I don’t work that way and neither does my baby.”
“Fine, then if you feel that passionate about the subject, then you need
to clean yourself up. You need to stop dwelling on what’s going wrong
and making it worse. If Diego is serious about going for custody, then you
need to clean yourself up enough for a judge to see that you’ll be a
responsible, capable parent. You need to get your life back together Sarah
if for no other reason, then for your child.” Blake pleaded with her
thinking about all that had gone down.
“I don’t even know what kind of life I could give my child Blake,”
Sarah let out an ironic laugh, “Though at this point I’m starting
to think that I’m no better than my mother was. Maybe Diego would be
the better parent.”
“No, don’t say that. Sarah, I saw you when you were at the hospital
with your mother. I watched you day in and day out with her doing your best
to ease her pain when the disease was taking her under. You were patient and
kind and loving…” Blake tried to appeal to her friend’s good
side. “You were willing to do anything that you could to make things
easier on her.”
“And what good did it do? She still died thinking that Heather was her
golden child,” Sarah rolled her eyes before letting out an ironic laugh,
“Sure, I pulled a lot of things against Heather, but it was only because
of that woman. She brought us up to hate one another--to despise one another
to the point that we had no other choice, but to destroy one another.”
“There is always a choice Sarah,” Blake reminded her firmly.
“I can’t even begin to tell you how awful it was growing up in that
house. Sure, my mother might’ve belittled Heather and hurt her feelings,
but she had no idea what I went through. She didn’t know what it was
like day in and day out dealing with that woman. When Heather ran away I wound
up receiving everything that was tossed on her and more,” Sarah let out
an ironic laugh, “I stayed in that place for so long sacrificing my own
happiness because she left and what did I really get for it? What did I end
up having in the end?”
“Sarah, you weren’t innocent in this situation with Heather. We
both know that,” Blake frowned over at her.
“Maybe not, but I sure as hell deserved to have Kyle. I deserved to have
that kind of happiness in my life because I was the one who took all of the
grief. I’m the one who had to live there and endure it for most of my
life,” Sarah shook her head firmly before standing up and pacing around
the room, “Even in my mother’s death I never found that relief because
I turned into exactly everything that she was and what I hated the most.”
“You can still change,” Blake followed her attempting to reason
with Sarah.
“And what is it going to give me? Is it going to make Kyle love me again?”
Sarah arched a curious brow watching the way that Blake’s innocent blue
eyes weren’t able to comprehend what she was trying to say. “Is
it going to make everyone feel sorry for me the way that they do for poor,
pitiful Heather? The answer my friend is no because I’m the one who dared
to be something more--to try to pull myself out of a slump…”
“Sarah, you slept with another man, well a few other men while you were
engaged to Kyle,” Blake reminded her simply, “That in itself is
undoubtedly the reason why you lost him. It had nothing to do with Heather.”
“It had everything to do with Heather. It always does,” Sarah paced
around the room again, “Did I tell you when our mother died, she left
everything to Heather? She hadn’t seen Heather in years, yet everything
that meant anything went to her. I didn’t get an inkling of an apology.
I was left with nothing more than the stress and built up frustrations that
living in that house threw on me. I dedicated my life trying to do what she
needed and my reward was being tossed aside for little miss princess.”
“Sarah stop,” Blake cut her off abruptly, “You can’t do
this now. You can’t go down this road when you need to start thinking
about changing things in the future. You can’t dwell on the past because
it will eat you alive.”
“It’s already taken me under Blake. You’re just the only person
who hasn’t given up on me yet,” Sarah let out an ironic laugh once
again, “I still can’t figure out why.”
“Because you’re my friend and friends don’t turn their backs
on other friends,” Blake informed her point blank, “When Caitlin
died I lost my best friend and I never thought that I would be able to find
someone else that I would be able to laugh with, share my secrets with or
even talk to about girl things or Seth. I felt so alone and even with my family
I knew that Brant and Kenny couldn’t listen like she did. Even Annie,
bless her heart, tried to be there for me, but it wasn’t the same. I
have spent most of my life isolated from the world wondering if people liked
me for me or if it was my money they were after, but with you that’s
not the case.”
“So you became my friend to replace Caitlin?” Sarah’s dark
eyes widened with curiosity. “Well that’s wonderful.”
“No Sarah, that’s not what I’m saying,” Blake shook her
head in response, “Yes, I mean Caitlin and I were roommates in college
and I loved her like the sister I never had, but it wasn’t the same kind
of the friendship I had with you. Sarah I was there when you went through
all of that at the hospital with your mother and you were here when I needed
a friend. You came into Coral Valley around a time when I felt like I didn’t
have anyone else to really talk to. So yes, while I was missing Caitlin I
always felt like I had only two people in this world who really were my friends
because they wanted to be. When she died I realized that I’d missed having
you around, yet somehow you must have sensed it. You came to town and we reconnected
as friends again.”
“Only because I came here to make Heather miserable like she’d made
me,” Sarah let out an ironic laugh, “Even Kyle was willing to help
me with that back then.”
“I think Kyle wanted you two to reconnect with one another. Look how
he pushed for you two to make up when Heather was in the hospital,” Blake
pointed out to her.
“Forget it. I don’t want to talk about Heather,” Sarah threw
her hands up in the air, “This is useless.”
“No it’s not Sarah because this isn’t about Heather. This is
about us and our being friends. Sarah, you are truly one of my best friends
in this world and I don’t want to lose you. I can’t watch you trying
to destroy yourself like this because I’ve already lost a best friend
and losing you too would kill me,” Blake explained with tears behind
her eyes, “I don’t want to see you hurt yourself because things
didn’t work out with Kyle.”
“Blake, it’s more than just Kyle…” Sarah started seeing
Blake about to cry, “Blake, hey it’s going to be okay. I mean I
know I’m a complete and total mess, but…”
“But nothing, you’re still my friend and I hate to see you hurting,”
Blake reached out to embrace her, “Sarah, I know things seem rough right
now, but they will get better.”
Sarah stood still for a moment before finally returning the hug. “I know
Blake. I’m just being stubborn and impossible right now. What I really
need to do is just go to bed and start fresh in the morning. Seriously I‘ll
be fine.”
“You don’t believe that,” Blake pulled back to search her eyes.
“Admit it, you aren’t feeling that way at all.”
“Not tonight no, but maybe in the morning,” Sarah looked around
the room again, “Blake I am really tired. I think all of the chaos has
caused me to overexert myself lately.”
“You really should rest,” Blake nodded in agreement, “In fact
why don’t you come home with Seth and I? You can stay in the guest room
and…”
“Right now I would much rather just stay here and sleep,” Sarah
replied with a sigh, “There is just something about your own bed and
blankets…well, I guess this isn’t really my own, but I’m getting
used to it at least until I find somewhere else to stay.”
“Sarah, I really don’t want to leave you like this…” Blake
began again.
“I’ll be fine,” Sarah reached out to squeeze her hand gently,
“I promise.”
“It’s just…” Blake opened her mouth to speak.
“Blake, I promise you that I’m not going to take another drink here
tonight,” Sarah offered up with a heavy sigh, “I think I’ve
already overdid it.”
“Sarah, I want to believe that, but…” Blake began doubtful.
“Blake, I swear on our friendship that I won’t take another drink
in this hotel room tonight,” Sarah crossed her fingers over her chest,
“You have my word on that.”
“And if you need me?” Blake searched Sarah’s dark eyes.
“I have your number and I’m not afraid to use it,” Sarah forced
a small smile, “I promise I’ll be fine. After I sleep it off I’ll
be good as new.”
“You swear?” Blake eyed her intently.
Sarah nodded, “Yeah I swear, now get out of here. I’m sure Seth
is wondering what happened to you downstairs.”
“He doesn’t mind waiting,” Blake replied with a small shrug,
“He knows how important your getting through this is to me.”
“He’s a good guy Blake. I’m glad you found him,” Sarah
added with a thoughtful expression, “You two are really perfect together.”
“You’ll find someone perfect for you one day too Sarah. I know you
will,” Blake offered up encouragingly.
“Hopefully that doesn’t mean he’s an alcoholic ex-convict,”
Sarah teased catching the look Blake offered up. “Blake, I’m kidding.”
“Right,” Blake looked around the hotel room once again, “Are
you sure I can’t get you anything?”
“I’m fine. Truly.” Sarah informed her with another smile, “Really
you don’t have to worry. I’ll call you later if you want.”
“I’ll hold you to that,” Blake gave her one last look before
going to the door.
“I will,” Sarah promised saying her good-byes before walking Blake
out. After Blake left Sarah closed the door thinking about the night she’d
had ahead of her. While she promised Blake she wouldn’t drink in the
hotel, she never said anything about going out. She looked around the room
for her key before stopping and knowing that it would upset Blake if she went
out and did something stupid.
“Fine, I’ll watch TV,” she grumbled moving over to the bed.
She plopped down wondering why she was going to let her promise hold her back.
Still as she realized Blake was really her only friend right now, she knew
she couldn’t afford to botch that up. Reaching for the remote she turned
the television on and spotted a news program about Cameron’s house. She
saw him, Brant and a woman on the screen. Turning the volume up she listened
to the story hearing about Cameron’s sister and she found herself suddenly
very interested in what was going on. Perhaps the evening wouldn’t be
so boring after all, she reasoned to herself with a smirk knowing full well
she may have just found her way in with Cameron.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Daniel stood outside Kipp’s place hoping that he could get a few words
in with his brother about what was on his mind. During a time like this Daniel
knew full well he couldn’t just ask his mother for advice on dating since
she would want to know all the details about the girl he was going out with.
While Daniel and his mother had a good relationship the last thing that he
wanted was to truly get into a whole discussion about Lindsay and everything
that she was about with his mom. He just hoped that Kipp would be able to
help offer up some insight onto what he should do to impress Lindsay without
going too far in his approach. He reached out to knock on the door once again
only to discover that it was opening.
“Hold your horses,” Kellen mouthed answering the door with wet hair
and a loose fitting white towel tied around his waist. His blue eyes widened
as he spotted Daniel standing before him. With an exaggerated smile Kellen
stood up taller and shook his head causing droplets of water to spray around
the foyer. “Danny, hey!”
“Um hi,” Daniel shifted on his feet nervously before clearing his
throat.
“What can I do for you,” Kellen questioned securing the towel around
his waist with his left hand.
“I was actually on my way over to see Kipp, but if it’s a bad time,”
Daniel started again not really quite sure if he’d picked the right moment
to reach out to his brother.
“No, not at all,” Kellen waved his hand dismissively before opening
up the front door further to invite him in. “Kipp is just in the shower
right now, but…”
Daniel watched as Kellen ran his fingers through his own damp hair. Kellen
cleared his throat before glancing over his shoulder at the hallway leading
to the master bedroom. Turning his attention to Daniel once again Kellen couldn’t
help but clear his throat.
“Well, um I can go get him and um…” Kellen tried to recover
from his moment of blankness.
“I can come back later if you two were busy,” Daniel explained with
a red face feeling his embarrassment overtake him. “I was just going
to ask him a few things since I have this date and…”
“A date,” Kellen perked up at the word. He couldn’t help but
smile, “Really?”
Daniel nodded sheepishly, “Yeah, I really like this girl and I thought
maybe Kipp could offer a few pointers and…”
“If it’s pointers that you are after, then I’m your man,”
Kellen puffed his chest out proudly, “I can give you all the knowledge
that you need to make this date the most memorable date in her life. I can
turn you into Prince Charming in the blink of an eye and…”
“I don’t know if that’s really what…” Daniel couldn’t
help but find himself distracted by the fact that his brother’s live
in boyfriend was standing in front of him practically naked.
“Oh honey I can help point you in the right direction since makeovers
are my life,” Kellen squealed excitedly rubbing his hands together for
a moment before almost losing his towel. He caught it at the last minute before
he wound up exposing far more to Daniel then he would have hoped. “Just
let me get dressed and tell Kipp that you’re here.”
“Okay,” Daniel finally decided taking in a breath, “I’m
really nervous about tonight. I mean I want everything to be perfect.”
“Trust me I can take you from this to stud muffin in the blink of an
eye. There won’t be a moment when she isn’t thinking about how hot
you are when I’m through with you,” Kellen boasted proudly, “I’m
sure your date will be asking for another date after this one and many more.”
“I really hope so,” Daniel couldn’t help but smile at the thought.
“Trust me sweetheart, if anyone can make it happen together you and I
can,” Kellen informed him brightly knowing full well that he was more
than up for the task at hand.
“Kellen, was someone at the door?” Kipp questioned emerging from
the bedroom in a pair of sweat pants and a blue t-shirt. Seeing his brother
he couldn’t help but smile at him, “Oh hey Daniel I didn’t
know that you were here.”
“I have a date,” Daniel blurted out feeling like a fool.
“And we’re going to give him a complete and total makeover,”
Kellen squealed before practically dancing back to the bedroom. “I’ll
be right back.”
“Should I be worried?” Daniel couldn’t help but ask him.
“Not in the least,” Kipp waved his hand dismissively, “because
Kellen is an expert at these things. It’s his job to make models look
fit for the cover of a magazine.”
“I just hope it’ll be enough to get me through tonight,” Daniel
divulged walking over to the sofa and taking a seat on it. “I really
like her and I’m really nervous about it.”
“She must be pretty special huh?” Kipp noted joining his brother
on the couch. “What’s her name?”
“Lindsay,” Daniel revealed with a small smile, “and she’s
beautiful, but it goes further than that. She’s smart and funny and she
just has this way about her. It’s hard to explain it, but she’s
so different than the other girls I’ve dated. She’s sweet and innocent
and she sees the world in a way that most don’t.”
“She sounds like a keeper,” Kipp noted with a small nod, “and
as for the date, well I’m sure Kellen will help with the superficial
stuff, but just remember to be yourself. If she’s as special as you say
she is, then you don’t have to worry about trying to be something you’re
not. You’re a great guy and I’m sure that she’ll see that.”
“I really hope so,” Daniel mouthed thinking about his date with
Lindsay and praying that he would find a way to get through it without doing
something stupid to screw things up with Lindsay.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
“So what’s up with you and Daniel?” Stacy questioned after
Lindsay had gotten Zane settled in by the television watching one of his favorite
cartoons. They’d dropped Kayla off back home before Stacy agreed to join
Lindsay at Deana’s place until Deana got off of work. Now as the two
girls stood in the center of Deana’s tiny kitchen Stacy couldn’t
help but let her curiosity get the best of her. “You really like him,
don’t you?”
“Yeah as a friend,” Lindsay replied feeling a heat rise over her
features. “He’s a cool guy.”
“He’s kind of a dork if you ask me, but then again I’ve known
him for far too long,” Stacy replied with an exaggerated tone reaching
into one of the cabinets and pulling out a bag of microwave popcorn. She inspected
it for a moment before turning around and holding it up towards Lindsay, “What’s
with this light stuff? Deana’s super thin and can totally afford to splurge
on the real deal.”
“I don’t know,” Lindsay shrugged her shoulders before swiping
the bag from Stacy’s hand and putting it back into place. “But you
don’t have to eat that. I know where the good stuff is stashed.”
“Good stuff?” Stacy arched an interested brow watching Lindsay walk
over to the bread box and open it up. Inside the bread box was a box of microwavable
caramel popcorn. She watched Lindsay tear open the package before pulling
out a bag of popcorn.
“See I told you I knew where the good stuff was,” Lindsay explained
proudly walking over to the microwave and putting the bag inside. She started
the microwave and turned to face her friend again, “Deana might be on
a health kick, but I know Jason loves to splurge.”
“Whose Jason?” Stacy arched a curious brow. “Her boyfriend?”
“Not even remotely close,” a voice piped in as Stacy practically
leapt out of her skin. Her eyes fixed on the source of the sound which was
a muscled man that stood over six feet tall. He was leaning in against the
archway, his blue eyes shifting between Lindsay and Stacy before he offered
up a teasing grin, “Lindsay you better not have been busting into my
secret stash.”
“To keep it a secret, you have to make sure that no one else knows where
it is,” Lindsay shook her head at him before turning her attention to
the time that was left on the microwave again.
“You weren’t supposed to be looking when I put it away,” Jason
stepped forward moving in to intersect with the microwave door before she
could pull out the popped snack. He grinned down at her before sticking his
tongue out at her teasingly, “You snooze, you lose.”
“No, I’ll just make another bag,” Lindsay wrinkled her nose
at him before reaching out to steal the baseball cap on his head.
“Hey, give me that back,” Jason reached for it only to feel her
pull it out of his reach.
“Too little, too late,” Lindsay mouthed with a tiny hint of laughter
in her tone, “Besides you look like a dork with the hat on.”
“I do not,” Jason reached for it once again before relenting. He
took a step back before shaking his head at her, “You’re trouble.
If I was in my right mind, I would pick you up and make you give me that hat
back.”
“Take your best shot buddy,” Lindsay’s blue eyes sparked with
the challenge, “but before you do I’ll have you know that I’ve
been working out in my dad’s gym lately. Plus Don has taught me a few
wrestling moves.”
“Don’s old school,” he waved his hand dismissively before taking
a small step towards her, “I’m not afraid of anything he’s
taught you. I’d like to think I’m a step up in that game.”
“So you’re saying that you’d wrestle a girl?” Lindsay
challenged with a flicker of mischief in her tone. “Oh Jason, what does
that say about your manners?”
“That I left them at the door especially now that you have my hat,”
Jason set the popcorn down on the countertop and reached for her. He squeezed
his arms around her waist before hoisting her up over his shoulder, “What
are you going to do now Lindsay?”
“Put me down Jason,” Lindsay warned keeping the hat out of his reach,
“I mean it.”
“Give me the hat,” Jason turned his attention to Stacy, who was
watching them with a muted interest. “Tell your friend here if she’s
smart she’ll give me the hat back.”
“Actually I think she’s probably in a better place right now if
she keeps it to herself,” Stacy mouthed giving him a very appreciative
once over. She paused realizing what she’d said. Embarrassed, she clasped
her hand over her mouth before speaking up again, “I mean Lindsay makes
up her own mind. I can’t influence her.”
“Okay, then I’ll have to do it,” Jason kept one arm firmly
around her waist before hoisting her up higher over his head. He began to
flex bringing her up and down in a curling motion as Lindsay couldn’t
help but laugh.
“Do you really think this phases me Jason? Don’s my brother, remember?”
Lindsay mouthed keeping his baseball hat tight in her grip. She pretended
not to be shaken by his attempts to sway her into submission. Finally he stopped
moving her up in the air and set her back down on her feet again.
“You’re a tough one to crack, aren’t you?” Jason couldn’t
help but laugh reaching out to touch her cheek lightly. “Can I please
have my hat back?”
“You look better without it,” she explained placing it on top of
her head before grinning up at him. “It looks better on me.”
“I won’t argue that, but still I want it back before you leave,”
Jason warned ready to say something more when Zane rushed into the room throwing
his arms around Jason’s legs excitedly.
“Uncle Jay, you’re back!” Zane greeted him loudly.
“I didn’t go far buddy,” Jason scooped Zane up into his arms,
“How was your day today?”
“It was awesome. I had a ton of fun and guess what,” Zane’s
eyes grew wide with enthusiasm, “Grady rented that game I wanted for
me. He made me swear not to play it in front of mom, but I have it. Want to
play?”
“Is that the game that your mom said that you couldn’t play under
any circumstances?” Jason asked searching his nephew’s guilty eyes.
“Yeah,” Zane replied quietly not really sure how Jason would react.
“In that case,” Jason paused for a moment before grinning, “I’m
so in. Get my controller ready.”
“Cool!” Zane wiggled out of his arms and rushed back into the living
room to set things up.
“I’ll be right there Zane,” Jason called out to his nephew
before turning to Lindsay again, “and I think I’ll take my lucky
hat with me.”
“Not this time you won’t,” Lindsay pushed it down further onto
her head.
Jason stepped forward before finally giving up. He looked over to the counter
top and snatched up the bag of popcorn he’d left there, “Fine, but
this is mine.”
“Go ahead, I’ll just make another one since it’s clear that
I need to keep babysitting,” Lindsay informed him with mock seriousness.
“I mean after all Zane needs one adult in the house with him.”
“Good, then you can have all of that responsibility because I’m
about to go help him break a few rules,” Jason winked at her before tearing
open the bag of popcorn and grabbing a handful. He motioned over to Stacy
before looking to Lindsay again, “You two should join us in a few.”
“We’ll think about it,” Lindsay decided moving to go get another
bag of popcorn for her and Stacy.
“Okay, forget about Daniel,” Stacy finally blurted out once Jason
had returned to the room with Zane, “Let’s talk about Jason.”
“What about him?” Lindsay questioned getting the popcorn ready.
“Lindsay, he’s like super hot,” Stacy confessed stepping over
to peer out of the archway to where Jason and Zane were seated in front of
the television. She eyed him for a long moment before turning to face Lindsay
again, “Please don’t tell me he has a girlfriend.”
“Not that I know of,” Lindsay shrugged before moving to get a bowl
for their popcorn. “He just got into town so I’m not sure, but he
hadn’t mentioned anything about a girlfriend to me.”
“Good, because I was hoping he was on the market,” Stacy divulged
with a wide grin, “Unless of course you’d like the first stab at
him.”
“Excuse me?” Lindsay blinked back at her.
“I mean I’m totally okay with that if you want to go for him. In
fact you should. I mean he’s so hot and not like those losers in high
school. He has an incredible body and…” Stacy began thinking about
what she’d observed.
“Okay first of all it’s Jason,” Lindsay wrinkled her nose at
the thought, “and second of all he’s too old for the both of us.”
“Not that old,” Stacy peered out into the other room once again,
“What is he? Like twenty?”
“He’s a bit older,” Lindsay shook her head at her friend, “but
it doesn’t matter because he’s not even in our league. Jason’s
well Jason.”
“Linds, Jason is hot and if you’re not going to do something with
that knowledge, you can bet that I sure as heck am,” Stacy decided walking
over to the refrigerator and pulling out a bottle of juice. She held it up
in the air before winking over at Lindsay, “Watch the master at work.”
“Stacy wait,” Lindsay started stepping over to see her friend walking
out into the living room to join Zane and Jason. With a shake of her head
she watched Stacy offer up the drink to a more than eager Jason. As he popped
the top off of the bottle, she could practically see the drool coming from
Stacy’s mouth.
“It’s going to be a long night,” Lindsay finally sighed shaking
her head one last time before going to join everyone in the living room for
a night of games that would prove to be nothing less than an adventure.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Cameron stood in the courtyard thinking about how he’d been escorted
outside for some air. Here it was his sister with her life on the line and
he was the one who was left out of the loop. It had been that way for far
too long and he wasn’t about to let some Ashford keep him even further
from Angela than he’d been already. He should be inside and with her
and nothing was going to stop him.
“If Brant wants a war, then I’ll give him a war,” Cameron decided
marching right back into the hospital ready to do what was necessary to take
care of business. He was halfway down the hall when he spotted Dr. Vaughn
in front of him. Adjusting his tie, Cameron stood up taller and approached
the man.
“Dr. Vaughn. Zack Vaughn,” Cameron cleared his throat seeing Zack
turn around to face him again.
“Yes?” Zack replied in a less than interested tone, “What can
I do for you…?”
“Cameron Stone,” Cameron held his hand out to greet him, “I
believe we’ve met before a few times.”
“I wouldn’t say we’ve officially met--at least not in this
kind of setting, but I know who you are,” Zack nodded reaching out to
him before looking around the room to see other people eyeing them curiously.
“What can I do for you?”
“I heard that you were the doctor working on my sister--Angela Meloni,”
Cameron began wondering how Zack would be able to help him get rid of Brant.
“I was until Dr. Leveski stepped in and took over,” Zack frowned
contempt in his tone, “If you have any questions about what’s happening
with her, I’m sure that he would be more than happy to fill you in on
what is going on and…”
“And as much as I’m sure that is what I should be doing in asking
him, he’s a bit biased in this particular situation,” Cameron blurted
out with a scowl, “He’s pampering his best friend and letting Brant
Ashford call all of the shots with my sister. Surely that kind of behavior
is unacceptable in this hospital. Even with Dr. Leveski pushing you off of
the case when you’re clearly the more talented one to take care of my
sister…”
“I won’t argue that point,” Zack nodded listening to Cameron,
“So what exactly is it that you would like me to do for you Mr. Stone?”
“For starters I was hoping you could find a way to help me get in and
see my sister because I’m worried about her,” Cameron paused before
another thought occurred to him, “and then I was hoping that perhaps
you could help me find a way to ensure the safety of her well being by helping
me get rid of Brant Ashford since clearly you’re not the kind of man
who is swayed by co-workers paying special favors to their friends.”
“Not in the least,” Zack nodded understanding where Cameron was
headed with his request, “Especially not when the co-worker in question
is Dr. Leveski. I’ll see what I can do.”
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
“Figures, nothing on again,” Mindy let out a small groan dropping
the remote on the couch before getting up quickly and walking over toward
the balcony again, hearing three gentle knocks at the door. Throwing her hands
up in the air she shook her head slowly before walking over to the door and
pulling it open, meeting the light eyes of the man before her. “Nate?
What are you doing here?”
“I wanted to talk to you,” Nate cleared his throat uneasily, seeing
the way her blue eyes stared into his while he held onto a big box, that her
eyes soon fell upon. His voice was cracking and low as he tried to keep his
emotions behind him. “I was looking around and found a few things that
belonged to Hunt. I figured you might want them.”
“Nate, I can’t take these from you,” she saw him stare out
at her before looking down toward the ground, his jaw tightening with some
type of emotions. “You’re his best friend, you need to keep all
of this.”
“Mindy, I have about five more boxes at home, these are just things I
think you would want,” Nate muttered looking into his best friend’s
girlfriend that he had met before Hunt had died, taking a step forward his
eyebrow arched up as he looked into her eyes. “Mindy please, I would
feel so much better if you would just let me give you these things.”
“Okay, come in,” Mindy agreed seeing his green eyes almost begging
her as she motioned him to step further into the room, seeing him nod slowly
before walking over to the couch and setting the box down. Watching him straighten
up and push back his dirty blonde hair, she moved forward glancing at the
box. “How are you?”
Seeing Nate fight to say something she saw the way he bit down on his bottom
lip, his jaw tightening when he thought about what to tell her. Moving forward
he reached out to wrap his arms around her tightly, feeling her hug him back.
“I’m so sorry about this sweetheart,” Nate bit down on his
bottom lip resting his chin against the top of her head as he felt her hand
press in against her chin so her blue eyes could look into his. Reaching out
his fingers caressed her cheek softly. “Hunt loved you so much, don’t
forget that.”
“I know,” she muttered feeling upset about having Hunt’s best
friend in the room with her and felt her own eyes start to tear over as he
gently pushed at the dampness on her skin. “I miss him Nate.”
“I’m never going to stop missing him, you know if I would not have run
off that day to go flirt with some stupid girl I would have had more time
with him,” Nate shook his head slowly before seeing the way she looked
up at him and took in a long breath. “Enough about me though, I brought
things for you.”
“Nate,” she went to talk to him more about the situation before
seeing him shake his head slowly and wipe at his eyes trying to take a moment
to not think about himself. “Okay.”
“I have a few of his things from back in the day,” Nate explained
sitting down on the couch and watching Mindy sit down next to him before he
reached for the box and opened up the top. “You know it’s nothing
great, but I tried. It’s a few of his old things like, I have his soccer
jersey. He left it at my house once and never remembered to come and get it.
When I came to town, I brought it with me just so the next time I saw him
I would give it back.”
“Thank you,” Mindy whispered seeing him nod slowly before pushing
at a few things inside while she stared out at him, reaching out to gently
squeeze his shoulder she shook her head slowly. “You can’t blame
yourself Nate.”
“Yeah, well, I have a few of his cd’s there is Rob Zombie, he really
liked him,” he set a few cd’s down on the coffee table before pulling
out a baseball jersey and a hockey jersey. “The blue Jays and the Maple
Leafs. We were a bit of Canada fans, I don’t know why, but we were and…,”
“Nate,” she whispered reaching out to grab the box from his hands
seeing how shaky his body was as she gently set the box down on the ground.
Watching him shakily reaching up to push back his hair again, she caught his
wrist, seeing the way his green eyes looked into hers. “He still loves
you too and he’s never going to blame you either. You were always his
best friend and that’s never going to change as long as you keep him
right here.”
“I know, it’s just hard,” Nate muttered with small shake of
his head seeing the way she stared out at him as his eyes started to tear
over. “You probably must think I’m pathetic, I’m a man and
I’m crying. You must really think I’m stupid.”
“No, I’d never think that,” Mindy whispered caressing his rough
cheek gently seeing the way he looked down as she moved in closer to him.
Feeling one of her own tears slide down her cheek she shook her head slowly.
“Nate, you should never feel bad about crying. It’s not a crime
to show someone you care.”
“I cared,” Nate corrected seeing the way she looked at him with a
frown and he shrugged his shoulders, biting down on his bottom lip and taking
in a deep breath. “I’m just going to miss him so much Mindy, I really
am.”
“Me too Nate,” Mindy moved forward wrapping her arms around him
tightly while they sat on the couch, feeling his head rest against her shoulder
while he cried and she pressed her hand against the back of his head softly.
“Me too.”
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
“A coma,” Kevin repeated the words sinking further into his mind
as he looked to Brant seeing the despair that carried over him. “No,
that can’t be possible. The last time I saw her she was fine and…”
“Kevin, I went over there today because I was tired of the lies. I was
tired of Cameron manipulating her into believing that we were the monsters
he made us out to be. I told her that I wasn’t leaving without her. He
had her locked up in this room and,” Brant paused running his fingers
through his dark hair, “What was I thinking? I should have been there
when Cameron was gone. I could’ve got her out of there when he wasn’t
around and…”
“Brant, tell me exactly what happened,” Kevin tried to get Brant
to focus as a new fear swept inside of Kevin, “What happened while you
were there?”
“Cameron attacked me, but I decked him,” Brant recounted the events
leading to the here and now, “I fought with him and then I located her.
He had her locked in that room and I busted the door down. He came in and
started fighting with me until she told him that she loved me. She said she
wanted to be with me and he didn’t like that. He tried to throw me over
the stairs, but then she tried to stop him. Oh God, she tried to save me and
now…”
“So Cameron was furious and he hurt her? Are you saying he did this intentionally?”
Kevin’s jaw flexed with anger thinking about Cameron hurting Angela.
“He was trying to destroy me, but she wouldn’t let him,” Brant’s
voice grew shaky as his hands followed, “She jumped on his back and then
the next thing I remember is her falling…the sound of her hitting the
ground and…Oh God…”
“Listen to me,” Kevin snapped his fingers again trying to get all
of the details of what was going on, “You have to tell me absolutely
everything that’s going on with Angie and the babies.”
“Don said that the babies are fine--that they weren’t touched by
the fall, but that Angela isn’t responding to anything. She is stable,
but in a coma. Though how the hell can someone be stable in a coma? I know
that can’t be right,” Brant’s voice rose with emotion.
“I’ll find out what’s happening and I’ll make it right,”
Kevin vowed thinking about Angela, “We’re not going to lose her
Brant. She’s stubborn as hell and she’ll come back to us.”
“Cameron doesn’t want that. He only wants to hurt her--to take away
her happiness because she loves me--because our children are a part of me,”
Brant continued in a mournful tone, “He said that the best thing that
could come out of this is if Angela lost the babies.”
“That son of a bitch,” Kevin’s jaw tightened again with a new
rage settling in over his stomach. “That’s not going to happen.
She’s not going to go through that again. I won’t let it happen.”
“I just…” Brant focused on the floor in front of him before
turning to the clock on the wall, “Why hasn’t Don told us anything
more? Why haven’t there been any changes?”
“Brant I…” Kevin started ready to say something more when he
spotted something out of the corner of his eye. “No way.”
“Kevin,” Brant saw Kevin rise up to his feet again, the color draining
from his face.
“No damn way,” Kevin shook his head blinking a few times as it seemed
as though Kevin had stepped into some kind of bad dream. First with Angela
falling down the stairs and now as he stood in the middle of the lobby worrying
about the woman he once loved he found himself face to face with a man he
never thought he’d see again in this lifetime. A man that he’d made
damn sure had been buried and away from their lives forever and that man was
none other than Cary Meloni!
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
...to be continued...