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Chapter 30
It
was well past dark when Brian decided to stop waiting for Kris to call and threw
a pizza in the oven. Kevin and Cora had gone out for the evening and probably
wouldn't be back until early morning.
Brian paced the kitchen in bare feet, clad in black Adidas pants and a wife
beater, wondering where Kris was. AJ had called back, but that had been a while
ago. Brian's concerned blue eyes never left the phone, silently begging Kris
to call as he ate his pizza, not tasting it. Something inside of him screamed
something was wrong, but he didn't know what. Brian had never felt more relieved
than when he heard the door open.
"Brian? Are you home hon?" Brian let out a sigh of relief.
"Yeah, I think so! I'm in the kitchen!" Kris had a grin on her face as she stepped into the kitchen, wearing wide leg pants and a bright red tank top. Her hair was up in a messy bun, her eyes smiling as she tossed her keys on the table and gave Brian a light kiss on the lips.
"Pizza breath," Kris commented, taking a seat on his lap.
"Like you really care," Brian murmured, kissing her once more. Kris grinned.
"Nope, not when you kiss me like that. Have you heard from Na lately? I haven't talked to anyone for a while." Brian thought for a sec, trying to remember.
"Um, yes. Oh yeah, she's with Nick at the apartment and will probably be there all night. She said she'd talk to you tomorrow if you didn't go home." Kris smiled, the frown fading from her face as she relaxed against Brian.
"All right. I just had this weird feeling in the pit of my stomach, like something is wrong, but I can't put my finger one it." She shrugged, breathing in the mixed smell of his Gravity cologne and his body.
"Nope, it's all good. So, what happened with your parents? Did you call them?" Kris' eyes grew bright and she paused.
"Well, I called them earlier, after I talked to AJ. They sounded so happy to hear from me, I think Mom was crying! So, I asked if we could forgive and forget and if they would come tomorrow on such short notice." Kris paused, and Brian squeezed her hand, urging her to continue. Kris took a deep breath, then said slowly, "And..they would love to! I finally got through to mom and she got rid of Edward, too. They're catching a plane late tonight and should be in Orlando by 9 am tomorrow. And get this," she turned to Brian, her eyes sparkling as she wrapped her arms around his neck, her legs on either side of his. Brian had to smile at the childish happiness in Kris' face as he brushed a stray strand from her eyes.
"What?"
"They can't wait to meet you!" Brian's mouth dropped open, finding it hard to believe after all the things she'd told him.
"Yeah, exactly. We spent two hours on the phone and I told them all about you, except that you're a BsB. I figured I'd give you a chance to work some Southern charm on them before I let them know that." Kris grinned at the goofy look on Brian's face.
"Star, that is wonderful! I'm glad you did that, I don't think you'll regret it! How long are they staying?" He stood up, still holding Kris as she giggled and wrapped her legs around his waist.
"Not too long, there's too much they need to do at home, so maybe two days, max." Brian walked into the hall and suggested, "How would you like to go for a swim?"
"Cool, my suit is in my car," Kris said, unwrapping her legs and giving him a kiss on the cheek.
"Is that all I get?" Brian pouted, his eyes sparkling as Kris turned and gave him a look.
"If
you're a good boy, you'll get more in a few minutes," she promised, then
disappeared into the dark hallway. *
By the time Brian came out to join her, Kris had done several laps in the huge
inground pool already.
"Star!" Brian called, crouching at the edge of the pool. Kris swam up to him, a bright smile on her face.
"Now, about that kiss," Brian whispered, caressing her cheek lightly. Kris felt a shock of electricity at his touch, and could tell by the look in his ungodly blue eyes that he'd felt it, too. Kris leaned up to kiss him, placing a hand on the back of his neck, then suddenly grabbed Brian and pulled him into the water head first. Brian went in with a splash as Kris swam away as quickly as she could, laughing. Brian came up, sputtering water.
"That was so not fair!" Kris stopped and treaded water.
"Well, what are you gonna do about it!" Brian's curls were plastered to his head and he had the cutest mixture of anger and amusement on his face.
"Ya
know, you're pretty hot when you're mad and wet!" Kris took off towards
the shallow end as Brian started after her, then paused at the side, deciding
she wanted to be caught. Startled, Brian almost ran into Kris, wondering why
she'd stopped and deciding he honestly didn't care.
He looked Kris up and down, taking in her skimpy black bikini and liking what
he saw. Brian pulled her close, loving the feel of her silky soft skin and the
smile on her face that was only for him.
"You
don't look so bad yourself, Star." Kris blushed when she realized just
how little she had on, but forgot as Brian's lips claimed hers. Brian felt a
shock through his body when Kris' lips touched his, when he felt her body so
close. But even though his body burned with desire, he could feel how thin hers
had grown, as AJ had, and was surprised. He made a mental note to mention it
later, then focused his attention back on the woman he loved more than his life.
*
Cora and Kevin were walking up to her apartment door, but had problems keeping
their hands off each other. Cora kissed him deeply, running her hands through
Kevin's hair and down his biceps, loving the feel of his muscular arms.
"Kevin," she moaned between kisses, lightly pushing him away. "I need to get my stuff, then we can go to your house, okay! But I need to be able to keep my hands off you for five seconds! It's amazing that we even made it here," Cora laughed, turning to insert her key in the door when she realized it was unlocked. Immediately, it set off warning bells in her mind and she looked at Kevin with a worried look on her face.
"Kevin, the door is unlocked," she said, pushing it open to a dark apartment.
"Na? Nick? You two here?" Cora called, flipping on a light. No answer.
"Nina, Nickolas, if this is some kind of joke, it isn't funny! Guys?" Kevin called, going further into the apartment, glancing around. One of the kitchen chairs was gone, but nothing else seemed out of place. A bad feeling hit Kevin in the stomach as Cora whispered, "Kevin, he was here.."
"Who, Ra?" he asked, he asked, heading towards the bedroom.
"Josh, he was here," she whispered. At that moment, Kevin turned into Kris' room, flicking on the light.
"Oh my G*d! Cora, call an ambulance now!" Kevin yelled, running into the room. Cora unquestioningly ran for the phone, then back as she dialed. What she saw was enough to make her drop the phone.
"Oh
my G*d! Na, Nick!" Cora gasped, too shocked to scream at the grisly scene
before her. There was red, everywhere in the room. Nick was tied to a chair,
his blond hair streaked with blood, his head hanging limply to the side. There
was a wide gash on his forehead, bruises covering the rest of his face. But
what caused her gut to wrench was Nina, tied to the bed by her arms and legs
with rope. Her hair was also streaked red, her face swollen and bruised but
very pale under it all. The sheets around her were soaked red from cuts and
gashes all over her naked body.
Kevin threw a blanket over Nina.
"Na? Na babe, talk to me. If you just look at me, I'll never make another Nick joke again, just please!" as he gently untied her arms and legs. Her right arm was bent at a strange angle, immediately telling Kevin it was broken. Cora hung up the phone, then ran over to Nick.
"The ambulance will be here in about ten minutes. They said to see if we could wake them up and stop the bleeding if we could." Cora was going to untie Nick from the chair, but he would fall and there was no way she could handle him.
"Kaos? Nick, hon I need you to wake up. Na needs you. I know you're gonna be okay, but Na's pretty beat up. Nick?" She almost jumped up and down with happiness as a low groan emitted from his swollen lips and his eyes fluttered open. Kevin's head flew up and he questioned, "Nicky?" Slowly, Nick lifted up his head as Cora hurriedly untied him, and looked at Kevin through bruised and swollen eyes.
"Kevin.. Josh was here. Kris is in danger, he made Na tell where she is. Oh G*d, Na!" Nick gasped and almost fell over trying to stand up and Kevin ran over to help him.
"Nick, you should sit back down, you got hit on the head pretty badly," he warned, trying to make him take a seat. Nick glared at him through ice blue eyes and growled, "Kevin, don't you get it? I couldn't care less about my head! Na.. I can't live without her, man, and if you try to stop me and something happens to her, I'll never forgive you. Let me see her, d*mn it! Go call Kris! He was headed for Brian's house next!" They locked eyes for several tense seconds, but Nick looked away first. Kevin released him, a wave of pain going through him as he watched his friend, practically his brother, kneel by Nina, gently stroking her bloody face. The look of utter loss and fear etched on Nick's face as he forgot his own injuries and begged Na to wake up was enough to force Kevin into action. Cora untied the remaining ropes, an indescribable look of disgust and fear on her face as she thought of what Josh had done to Na, tears streaming down her cheeks. Kevin dialed Brian's phone number rapidly, his blue shirt covered in stains of red as he tried to stop some of Na's gashes from bleeding at the same time. He prayed silently as the phone rang, "God, please don't let us be too late!" *
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