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Chapter 27
*Brian's
POV*
I watched Kris run out of the room as my heart dropped to the floor, and I wondered
how something so perfect could change so suddenly for the worst.
"Her
fiancée? A princess? Her fiancée? How? Why?" all ran through
my head, and so much more. I realized that none of my questions would be answered
until morning, but deep down inside, I wondered if it wasn't all over.
Hot tears trickled down my face as I got up and sat in my window seat, which
has a gorgeous view of the area. I've learned to appreciate the stars, thanks
to Kris, and they twinkled brightly in the deep azure sky, oblivious to my pain.
A flash of movement caught my eye, and I saw a shooting star gracefully cross
the sky. It made me think of Kris' theory of shooting stars, and prayed the
change was for the better. I never realized how wrong I could be or how bad
things really could get. *
*Kevin's POV*
Since Cora had moved in with Na and Kris, I dropped her off at the apartment
on my way home.
"Are you gonna be okay?" I asked, kissing her through the car window. I could see the fear in her green eyes, but her determination was stronger, and my heart melted when I saw how hard she was trying to not worry me.
"Of course, I never let the little things get me down!" Cora replied, kissing me one last time. I grinned, inwardly hoping nothing would happen.
"Okay,
see ya later, I'll call you!" I tried to ignore the slump in her shoulders
and how the sparkle died in her eyes as I glanced at her figure in my rearview
mirror, wondering if I'd imagined it. *
It was only quarter to ten when I got back, and I wasn't expecting Kris and
Brian up any time soon. I walked by the piano room, pausing and considering
waking the other two up to a gorgeous piano piece that I'd been working on.
Then, I remembered how much Kris drank last night and decided it'd be a bad
idea and continued upstairs. She was gonna have a killer hangover when she woke
up.
I whistled quietly, a grin on my face for no apparent reason, as I walked into
my room, then stopped. There was a huddled figure on my bed, almost hidden in
the dark green covers.
"Kris?" I called quietly, pulling back a heavy royal blue curtain designed to keep out the Florida sun. She groaned as a strip of sunlight hit her eyes, and I could see the tear tracks down her pale cheeks. I picked up her clothes, thrown carelessly on the plush, dark green carpet, and placed them on the end of the bed as Kris squinted up at me, rubbing her eyes. Her hair was disheveled, and she was wearing a black tank top and a pair of flannel BsB boxers. I could immediately tell she'd had a bad night.
"Kevin? When did you get back? Oh man, my head," Kris groaned, flopping back on the bed. I grinned, then handed her a cup of hot coffee.
"Hey, I figured you would need something strong, last night." She smiled halfheartedly, taking a sip of the black coffee and taking in the pleasant aroma.
"Mm, thanks, I needed that. Um, is Brian up yet?" she asked, and I wondered why she was so nervous as she threw back the covers and tried to stand. Tried being the key word. Her knees gave out from beneath her, and I caught her before she hit the floor, coffee still in her hand.
"Hey, are you okay? Want some help?" I offered, wrapping an arm around her thin waist to hold her steady as she laughed lightly.
"Thanks Train, it was a bad night!" I frowned, then decided to question her later.
"Kris, why don't you take a shower in my bathroom, then we'll talk, if you want." I could tell it was what she wanted, and she gave me a real smile.
"Thanks,
I would like that a lot, Kev!" I smiled, and gently guided her in the right
direction, wondering what happened and why she was sleeping in my room. *
Brian was still sleeping when I came back up 35 minutes later, so I let him
sleep and walked into my room. I heard the most awful sound, someone groaning
in absolute pain, and called, "Kris? Kris, are you okay?" I heard
a low groan from behind the door.
"Kevin? Oh gosh, help me!" I found Kris on the floor in a towel, her wet hair slicked back, hurling her guts out. I wasn't sure what I could really do to help, so I ran by her side and rubbed her back and murmured until she was done. All of a sudden, she just collapsed into my arms, like all the will had gone out of her muscular body. I picked her up and tried to avoid losing her towel as I placed her gently on the bed.
"Kris, talk to me babe. How much did you drink last night? Talk to me." I was trying to avoid her passing out, and was desperate. She slowly opened her eyes.
"Oh jeez, Dad, I don't remember! I just wanted to forget." I sighed, ignoring the dad comment and kissed her forehead lightly. I grabbed a fresh shirt, a red tank top she'd left here, and some of my black tear aways. I heard her moan, "Kevin, I feel like I'm dying, my head hurts like h*ll!"
"You'll live," I said, approaching the bed with her clothing. "Do you think you can get dressed without my help?" I asked, propping her up so she could sit. She only gave me a look, then laughed.
"I
should be okay, but I may need some help getting downstairs, I think!"
I left and let her change. *
I helped Kris get downstairs and into the kitchen. Kris said, with a sigh as
she sat on a stool, "Okay, I guess you want to know what happened?"
I took a stool across from her, a fresh cup of coffee in my hand.
"Yeah, if you feel like telling me." She took a deep breath and I wondered if this wasn't a bad idea.
"Well, for starters, I wasn't thinking straight last night, obviously, and I started a fight with Brian." Her cheeks turned pink, but I didn't push it, it was better than the pale white she'd been before.
"Well, the gist of it is we ended up yelling and I said he doesn't know how much pressure I'm under right now. He got angry and said so tell me. So, I did." Kris took a sip of her coffee, and I could see her hand trembling with emotion.
"Um, well, I told him what's going on. Like my parents want me to move back home, they're threatening to send my so called 'fiancée' after me, I have psycho ex-boyfriend after me and I'm a princess." I knew I was staring at her in total disbelief.
"Princess? What?? FIANCEE?! You're kidding me, right?" Kris shook her head, refusing to look me in the eyes. "Does Na know? Josh?"
"Na's known since we first met, almost ten years ago. I met her on my first trip to the U.S. and we've been friends ever since. Josh, he doesn't know. I never told him, anyway." I sighed with relief, then spotted Brian, standing in the doorway behind Kris. He looked just as bad as she had, his face pale and his curly hair a mess. He shook his head at me, so I ignored him and turned back to Kris, who was staring into space.
"What about your fiancée?" Kris snorted, her eyes blazing when she looked up at me.
"I told you, so called 'fiancée.' He, and my mom, are pressuring me and I never, ever said yes! The guy is 25 years older than me, fat ugly and attractive only to my mom because he's rich! Kevin, I love Brian with all my heart and soul. I told mom that, but she didn't care! She thinks I should marry for money, but the truth of it is, we don't need it." Kris sighed, begging me with her eyes to understand.
"And the worst part is, if I told her he was famous, she would probably approve! I couldn't do that to Brian, I'd feel awful!" Okay, I could see what she was trying to say, but I was still confused. To my immense relief, Brian was looking better already, and there was some sparkle back in his eyes. I could tell he wanted to comfort her, but he'd have to wait.
"So, why didn't you tell us from the start?" Kris gave me a look which said that was a stupid question.
"Kev, for the same reason you wouldn't tell me you were a Backstreet Boy- I want to make friends who like me for me. When I came to Orlando, I wasn't looking for a guy who wanted me because I was royalty and in for a ton of money in a couple years. I'd enough of them at home!" I glanced once more at Brian, who looked satisfied, but felt bad for Kris.
"Kev.. Kevin, are you listening?" Kris was waving at me, trying to get my attention.
"Would you, um, take me home? Please? I don't think I can drive, and I need some time to think. I hurt Brian so bad, unintentionally, but still.. We have so much against us Kevin, sometimes I wish I'd never left that party, stayed and worked it out with Josh. Then I remember how much I love Brian, and how much pain I've brought him.. It hurts." I hugged her, giving Brian a look.
"Talk to him, tell him what you just told me!" pushing her back so I could see her pretty face. She grinned at me, and I knew it was gonna be all right.
"Good advice, I think I will. But, do you think he'll understand? I just don't want him to get hurt!" I glanced at Brian, who was nodding his head as he backed up quietly, a smile on his face.
"I don't think it'll be a problem, hon," I said.
"Thanks Kevin, you are the best!" Kris cried, hugging me. All of a sudden, this weird look appeared on her face and the next second, Kris was gone, stumbling as she ran. I frowned, wondering what the heck she was doing, then heard the distinct sounds of her loosing her coffee.
"Oops, shouldn't have given her that much," I thought, cringing as I ran after her. *
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