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Chapter 33
Nina
winced slightly as the tall, thin man pulled out her I.V., feeling the tape
rip the hair out of her skin.
"So, when can I go home?" she asked insistently. The man's warm brown
eyes looked up at her, filled with sympathy.
"Probably tomorrow-"
"Tomorrow!" Na cried, her mouth hanging open.
"Hey hon, trying to catch flies or something?" Nick walked in the
room, a huge smile on his bruised face and his arm behind his back. Unable to
help herself, Na smiled warmly at him, thinking how gorgeous he looked. His
freshly washed hair was still damp, and he wore a gorgeous red button down and
jeans.
"No, but the doc is trying to tell me I'm leaving tomorrow," Na stated.
"It isn't very appealing to hear you whine, Na. I think you've been around
me too long," Nick laughed, taking her hand in his. Na looked up at the
doctor and gave him her best puppy dog face, pleading.
"Please Mr. Doctor? I'll be good, won't do anything stupid!" Nick
muttered, "Yeah right!" but she ignored him and continued, "I
feel..okay, I feel like crap, but if I stay in this hospital bed one more minute
I'm gonna go crazy!" The doc held her gaze sternly, but soon his eyes softened.
"Okay, do you remember last night? Miss, you were raped and the police
want to talk to you two. Do you know who did this to you?" The perkiness
was wiped away from Nina's face, leaving her pale underneath her tan.
"I don't remember much, which I guess I should be thankful for. The guy
who did this to me," she paused, gripping Nick's hand for support, "-was
a guy by the name of Josh Rihnson. He's an ex of Kris', who the police were
looking for already for the murder of a close friend of hers." The doctor
took this information in stride, but realized this was beyond his authority.
"All right, I gave the police your phone number, so expect a call from
them. One of your friends brought you some clothes," he pointed to a duffel
bag in the chair, "..because, well, you didn't have any when you came in.
Good luck, Nina. Stay safe." Nina's grin grew wider as he shook her hand
firmly, then left. Nick smiled and brushed her lips with his, then pulled out
a single white rose, which he'd been hiding behind his back.
"Ready to go home? Well, to my house, anyway. It would probably be better
if you stayed at my house for a while, Na." Nina frowned, peering at him
over the plush petals of the rose.
"Why?" Nick shifted his position, having trouble looking into her
eyes.
"Well, at the moment.. it's a mess, and Kris' room, she's gonna need to
get a lot of stuff replaced."
Understanding crept into her eyes and she murmured, "Not the first time,
either."
"What was that?" Nick asked, carefully pulling her into his arms,
so as to avoid all her stitches and bruises.
Nina shook her head.
"Oh nothing, hon. How are you feeling?" She ran a finger lightly along
his bandaged forehead, "Are you gonna be okay?"
"Yup, not even a scar! The doctor said that I got smacked pretty hard,
but there didn't *seem* to be any brain damage or anything." Na looked
at his serious face and couldn't stop herself from laughing.
"What? I didn't say anything," Nick said, giving her a confused look.
"Well, I'm not sure I should say this out loud, but.. you've always been
a little lacking in the genius department, I figured a few smacks on the head
would probably help," Na said slowly, laughing as realization slowly dawned
on Nick's cherubic face. *
*Kris' POV*
The moment my father's steel gray eyes met mine, I felt this.. premonition.
I knew, somewhere deep inside, this was a new beginning, putting away the past
with my parents and starting over. But to start over, I had to finish with the
loose ends from my past. Josh. I still hadn't told Brian my secret, the one
that would scare him. Almost as much as it scared me. Though the greatest of
joys ran through me as I ran into my father's arms, I felt a cold tingle down
my spine. Josh was nearby, I wasn't going to put up with this b.s. anymore.
It was going to end, soon. This secret I was keeping was slowly tearing me apart
inside, and made sleep unbearable and food seem tasteless. I also knew the moment
AJ had hugged me earlier, he had known something was up. I didn't have much
time before questions were going to be asked. I was going to end it. Soon. *
I looked at my mother's thin, seemingly ageless face as she glanced over my
shoulder, at Brian, I knew. I looked at him for a moment and saw him through
her eyes. Despite the long night before, his bright blue eyes sparkled with
life and his curly, streaked light brown hair was freshly cut. His simple, but
expensive khakis and a blue shirt that brought out his eyes made him look successful
and older than he really was. My mother looked back at me with her piercing
eyes, the same striking blue as mine, then Brian. In her beautiful, low voice
that rang with quiet joy, she said, "Kristina, I've missed you. I'm sorry
about this whole predicament with Edward-" Kris nodded, not trusting herself
to speak.
"Is that young man there your.. boyfriend? He looks too old for you,"
my dad said, a wide grin on his handsome face.
"Dad! Yes, he is my boyfriend and his name is Brian. He's only a year older,
25," I replied, turning and beckoning him over. I could tell by his face
and body movements that he was nervous about this first meeting with my parents,
though I couldn't blame him. The love I felt in his eyes as he walked up to
me was amazing and left me breathless. I squeezed his hand reassuringly, took
a deep breath and turned back to my parents.
"Mom, dad, this is my boyfriend, Brian Littrell. Brian, this is my dad,
Richard and my mom, Anne." *
*Josh's POV*
Oh, how sweet! Her parents were in town. . . gag me! She knew I was there, I
could feel it and tell by the way she kept glancing around. Soon, very soon,
I will get my revenge. Soon. *
*Brian's POV*
We ended up planning on heading back to my house to meet up with everyone else,
including Nina. It turned out they decided we were still going to have Howie's
birthday party, at a nice restaurant in town, with all the families. Kris' parents
are the nicest people I've ever met, and I found it hard to believe they were
the monsters she had at times made them out to be. She looked exactly like her
mother, with the large blue eyes and flowing black hair, except that Kris was
much taller. I immediately liked her father, his gray eyes matching his hair.
*
As we walked out of the airport, I noticed Kris glancing over her shoulder,
like she was looking for someone. I leaned close, pausing as her perfume drifted
in the breeze, then whispered, "What are you looking for?" Kris must've
jumped three feet off the ground, and mumbled, "Oh, nobody."
"Huh?"
"Oh, I mean nothing, just a little distracted," she corrected, looking
at me through her darkly tinted sunglasses. I wasn't convinced, but now wasn't
the time to push it.
"Kristina, have you ever heard of a group called the Backstreet.. Boys?"
Anne asked. I shot Kris a look, but she was just as lost as me.
"Sure, um-why?" Kris questioned, tightening her grip on my hand.
"Because there is a crowd of girls behind us who are watching our every
move and holding up posters with their name on it." Anne pointed over her
petite shoulder, frowning.
"Oh boy," Kris murmured as I glanced over my shoulder. There was a
group of about 150 girls, and as I turned back quickly, I heard, "Oh my
gosh, that's Brian from the BsB!" followed by more screaming and a wild,
rumbling noise.
"Run! The car is right over there!" I yelled, glancing over my shoulder
as we sprinted across the parking lot, teeny boppers close behind. I'd borrowed
Kevin's Toyota 4-Runner, and we got into the car and out of the lot just as
the screaming girls arrived. I was almost blinded by the camera flashes as I
waved at the crowd and carefully backed out. The only sound that filled the
car was that of our ragged breathing and music from the radio. I smiled at Kris,
who started giggling, and then looked back at her parents, who's faces had bewildered
expressions. I grinned widely t them.
"Welcome to my life. You just took a first hand class on how to avoid the
screaming fans and managed to make it without being mobbed. Anne, Rick. . .
welcome to Orlando." *
We got back to my house and introduced her parents, and Kris, to everyone else's
families that she hadn't met before. While the adults were chatting, Kris appeared
at my side and pulled my into the kitchen, for some privacy.
"B-Rok, I need to go back to the apartment, for an outfit for tonight and
some other stuff."
"Kris, do you really think you should? The police didn't clean up, and
no one has been back since-" Kris nodded, her blue eyes blazing.
"I can't let that stop me, but my parents.." She glanced into the
other room, where they were talking with my parents and looked like they were
enjoying it.
"Kris, I'll go. You spend some time with your family. Tell me what you
need and I'll get it. It's probably better that way." I could tell she
was going to object, but she just sighed and wrapped her muscular arms around
my waist.
"Oh, all right. You're too good to me, Brian!" I pulled her closer,
enjoying the feel of her tight body next to mine, but couldn't avoid once more
noticing how thin she was.
"Anything for you, Star," I murmured, running my fingers through her
silky hair. *
I cringed as I walked into Kris' room in her Orlando apartment that she shared
with Cora and Na. The room was in shambles, not to mention the streaks of dark
red that covered the floor, bed and walls. I had to take a deep breath and swallow
hard as I stepped in the room, for it reminded me of another time, though less
bloody, just as scary.
*Flashback*
I flipped on Kris' bedroom light and started yelling, "Kevin, oh God, go
call for help! Oh my-" I rushed over to her, laying face up on her bed,
her shirt a bright, unnatural red and the phone on the ground, the handle red.
I gently turned her face up and brushed aside her sticky hair. I heard Kevin
gasp from behind me. Blood was pouring from cuts everywhere on her face and
there were bruises covering every inch of bared skin, her eyes swollen shut.
"Baby, don't leave me, I need you. Please God, let her live! I need her
more than anything else in the world," I prayed, and for the first time
in a long time, I started crying. ***
I shook off that memory, one that came to mind every time I thought of Josh.
God help him if I ever find him, I will kill him for everything he did to Na
and Kris. I shook my head and slowly made my way across the room to her closet
and opened it. I got the stuff she asked for and was about to go when my sandaled
foot smacked something hard and unyielding.
"Ouch, what the heck?" I muttered, bending to see what I'd kicked.
Pushing away some clothing, I found a shoebox size metal box at my feet, the
lid open. I was ready to close it and be on my way, but the contents caught
my eye. I picked it up, grunting at how heavy it was, and carefully made my
way back out to the family room. I laid her clothes on the couch and placed
the box on the table with trembling fingers. Inside were letters, all addressed
to Annette Kristina Tenom.
"Probably from her parents," I thought, feeling guilty for prying.
I was ready to put the envelope back in the box, but a yellow piece of paper
fluttered out of the envelope and onto my lap. I gasped as the bold black letters
on the page screamed the name b*tch. These were not from her parents. I became
more appalled as I slowly picked up the letter and read on.
"B*tch- Did you seriously think you could get away from me? He's treating
you like you're a whore.. well, I guess he's treating you right! If you don't
want to see any more of your friends hurt, I suggest you get the fuck away from
the him. If you don't, Nina and her blonde idiot boyfriend are next. I'll slowly
kill off all of your friends, until you have none left, just like I killed Christian,
and it'll be all your fault. You know, he didn't want to die. I told him to
say hi to the motherf*ckin' devil for me when he made it to h*ll. See ya soon."
My heart nearly stopped beating as I mechanically, slowly, placed the letter
back in the envelope and reached for another, all the while my fingers trembling.
I felt sick as I read more, some describing to the exact detail of what she
did from first getting up to going to bed, if she ever slept at all, others
threats that got worse and more graphic as time went on. I felt ready to throw
up as I picked up what must have been the last letter, one she hadn't seen because
it was still sealed shut. It described every detail of how he beat Nick and
raped Nina and how good she was.
Disgusted, I put the letters back in the box and placed it back in the closet.
Why hadn't Kris told me? I was scared for her not saying anything, but my anger
boiled at the thought of Josh writing those letters to my Star, the woman I
loved more than life itself. All of a sudden, everything clicked into place
and made sense. How tired she always looked, why she'd blamed herself for Christian's
death, for Na and Nick, how she looked over her shoulder all the time and how
thin she was. I grabbed her stuff off the couch, and ran out the door, my stomach
queasy and my world thrown upside down and shaken until I didn't recognize it
anymore. *
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