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Chapter 31
Kris
woke up with a start, a cold sweat breaking out over her skin, along with an
uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach. She peered out into the darkness of
the family room but saw nothing unfamiliar and only heard the tick-tock of the
clock. "That's strange, I could've sworn I heard something," Kris
thought, feeling Brian's arm tighten around her under the blanket.
They were on the couch, where they had spent most of the night having a heart
to heart talk about what was going on and more importantly, where they were
going. Still, Kris couldn't shake the feeling, and jumped when she felt warm
lips on her neck.
"What's wrong, Star?" Brian whispered, rubbing his hand up and down her arm lightly, feeling the slick sweat there.
"I'm not sure, Brian. I was having this awful nightmare and something woke me up." Brian sat up and pulled her back against his chest, asking, "What happened in your nightmare?" Kris shivered and moved closer to his warm body, feeling the last of her fear disappear.
"Josh was there, and he was hurting Na. Nick was all bound and gagged and had a nasty cut on his face. Na was screaming my name," she whispered, almost scared to continue.
"Baby, it was only a dream, I promise. You don't have to tell me anymore," Brian murmured, trying his best to soothe her.
"No, I'll tell you. She said to get away from here, now. She said he was coming for me and I wanted to help her Brian, but I couldn't! Something was holding me back. I'm scared!" Kris was about to say more when the phone by her head suddenly started ringing and startling both of them. Brian frowned, feeling Kris jump, and picked it up.
"Hello?"
"Brian? Oh, thank goodness! You have to get outta there man, right now!" Kevin said urgently, giving Cora a thumbs up sign. She sighed with relief, glancing back at Na and Nick.
"Why? What's wrong? Where are you?" Brian asked, whispering to Kris, "Pull on your pants and shoes, we're going." Kris nodded, hearing the urgency in his voice.
"B-Rok, Josh was here. He beat the hell outta Nick, but he's awake. Na, well, an ambulance is on the way. He beat her too, and I think he raped her." Brian gasped, feeling anger grow in his heart, then fear for Kris, who was upstairs, alone.
"Nick said Josh made Na tell where she was. Get outta there man! Crap, the EMS is here. I'll meet you at St. Luke's, okay? I'll get a hold of the others, you just get the h*ll out of there. Bye." Brian felt numb, but managed to grab his pants from the floor and ran into the kitchen.
"Kris, we need to go, now!" he called, finding her upstairs.
"What's going on?" Brian saw her pulling on a black tank top, still in her underwear, her pj's all over his floor. He threw her a pair of his jeans and a belt, ignoring for the moment how good she looked.
"I'll
explain in the car," he said, grabbing her hand and his keys as they headed
outside and jumped in his Beemer. *
Brian breathed a sigh of relief as left the house behind in a cloud of dust.
Kris relaxed against the plush seat, and placed her hand in Brian's.
"B-Rok, what's going on?" Brian glanced at her tired, pale face, then said slowly, "Josh went to the apartment and he beat Na and Nick up pretty bad. Cora and Kevin found them and an ambulance was taking them to St. Luke's as we got off." Kris stared at him, feeling anger, guilt and pain grip her heart and squeeze until it felt like she couldn't breath.
"Oh my gosh! Are they okay? Oh my gosh, this is all my fault!" Kris exclaimed, feeling numb. Brian stopped the car, then turned and looked her square in the eyes.
"First
of all, this isn't your fault. By no way is this your fault. Second, Nick was
awake but Na wasn't when we talked." Kris felt a stab through her chest
and her anger increase, but her pale face showed no emotion, which scared Brian.
She wanted to know what Josh did to them, but was afraid to ask. *
Cora breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Kris and Brian step off the elevator.
Nick was running around the waiting room, driving everyone crazy because they
wouldn't let him be with Na while they examined and took care of her. AJ took
one look at Kris and walked over to the inwardly hurting girl, pulling her into
a tight hug as Kevin walked over to Brian.
"Talk
to him, Frick. You're the only one he'll listen to," Kevin said, pointing
to the pacing Nick. *
Kris whispered something to AJ, then walked over to Nick.
"Nick? What happened?" she asked softly, looking up into his swollen blue eyes. He had been looking past her, like she wasn't even there, but when he focused on her his eyes turned to ice.
"What happened Kris? Josh happened. Did they tell you what he did to Na?" Kris shook her head, taken aback a little but understanding his pain.
"No, nothing specific anyway. I'm sorry Nick, this wasn't supposed to happen." Nick gave her an incredulous look.
"This is all your fault. He was looking for you, not Na! Well, Kris, how does it feel to know he raped your best friend right in front of my eyes, and it was all your fault?" Nick's voice had gotten louder as he spoke, so he was yelling by the end. The guys were the only ones in the waiting room, and they gaped at Nick, not believing what they were hearing. Kris stared at him, hurt beyond words but infuriated. Her hand flew out like lightning and she slapped him hard.
"Don't ever say that to me again, Nickolas Gene Carter! Don't you think that hasn't already occurred to me? Do you think it makes me feel good to know I'm the reason my best friend is in ICU? Do you think I wanted her to get hurt? I'll never forgive myself for the rest of my life! If I had any idea how to stop him, I would! I would get him as far away as possible!" Nick ignored the sting of the slap, his blue eyes smoldering.
"Maybe
you should get away from Orlando as fast as possible. Ya know, she screamed
your name for help while he beat her, trying to find out where you were."
That was more than Kris could take and she turned on her heel and ran away down
the hospital hall, telling herself she had to be strong, that she wouldn't cry
anymore because of Josh. *
AJ was the first one to snap out of his shock, realizing what had just happened.
He locked eyes with Nick, his brown ones filled with disgust, then turned and
ran after Kris. *
Kevin walked up to Nick and looked him eye to eye, his face set and hard.
"Nickolas,
that was uncalled for and in completely bad taste! How could you blame something
she had no control over on her, especially when she was nowhere near you! That's
the same as me saying it was your fault you were tied up and unconscious and
that you should've been able to help Nina." Nick flinched under the quiet
fury in the older man's face and knew he had made more than a serious mistake.
He would've preferred yelling to Kevin's tightly controlled emotions and how
disgusted and disappointed he looked. Brian walked up and told Kevin with his
eyes that he'd said enough and the he'd take it from there. Kevin paused for
a moment, then nodded and backed up, walking down the hall towards the elevator
so he could cool off. *
AJ came back a couple minutes later, a frown on his face as he walked straight
past Nick and went to Brian.
"I
don't know where she is! She ran and took the elevator and was gone by the time
I got downstairs. Do you think she'll be okay?" AJ asked, his brown eyes
serious and a little scared. Brian sighed, pausing to give Nick a look, then
said, "I hope so, I don't know the first place to look for her!" He
glanced at his watch, which read 3:15 a.m. He wondered to himself, "Where
did she go?" *
Kris wandered around Orlando for a long time, ignoring the strange looks the
few passerby's were sending her, or just not seeing them. Her long black hair
was in a messy bun, with a tank top that was the same color, and wearing Brian's
baggy jeans, barely held up by a belt. Her eyes were red and swollen and if
she happened to glance up, anyone could see how glazed with pain they were.
Inwardly, she was tearing herself apart with guilt, hatred for herself and more
so for Josh, building up inside her, like a dam ready to burst. When her sandaled
feet refused to carry her anymore, Kris sat on a bench in a dimly lit area,
praying no one would notice her. She sat with her arms wrapped around her legs,
just thinking about what had happened and in a daze. Dark clouds crowded across
the night sky, soon followed by little drops of rain. Kris ignored the light
pitter-pattering of the rain until it started pouring out of the middle of nowhere.
Her head snapped up, startled out of her daze feeling exactly like someone had
poured a bucket of water over her head. Soaked in seconds, Kris slowly stood
up and headed back towards the hospital on foot, for she had no money. Suddenly,
a smile lit her face and her body straightened with determination. She knew
what she had to do, and a light seemed to shine from within her as she jogged
back to the hospital. *
Brian watched as a tall, thin man approached them, his face haggard and filled
with tired lines, but still managing a bright smile as he said, "Hi, my
name is Mark Santola. I helped examine and take care of Ms. Hauskom." Nick
ran over to him with pleading eyes and asked desperately, "Doctor, is she
going to be okay? Is she awake? When can we see her?" The doctor placed
a reassuring hand gently on Nick's shoulder. "Mr. Carter, Nina will be
all right." Everyone gave a sigh of relief as he continued, "Her right
arm is broken and we had to stitch several of her cuts, but she'll be all right.
She was raped, but thankfully doesn't seem to remember it. And yes, to answer
your question, she is awake Mr. Carter," he said, glancing at Nick. "But,
she was asking for a Kris? Is that one of you young men?" Given the situation,
the group couldn't help but smile, then everyone looked at Nick, who flushed
red as Brian said, "Well, she isn't-" "I'm here, doctor. Could
I see her now?" Kris stood in a puddle of water, shivering slightly as
everyone's eyes flew to her. The doctor, concerned, asked, "Would you like
some dry clothing first?" Kris shook her head as Brian caught her eyes,
a questioning look on his face. She smiled and Brian could practically feel
the difference in her, whatever it was. "All right, she's in room 69, down
the hall on the left," he said, frowning. Nick looked at Kris, after an
unseen punch in the back from AJ, and said quietly, "Kris, I'm sorry, I
didn't mean to say that stuff. I'm just worried about Na," and held out
his bruised arms. "It's okay, I'm sorry too, Nick!" she said, grinning
devilishly at the guys as she accepted his hug and held him tight. "Oh
ew! You're all wet!" Nick laughed, pulling back. There was a wet imprint
all down the front of his clean blue shirt and khakis. The guys laughter echoed
down the hall as she walked away. *
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