Chapter 1
Katarina Clark breathed in the sweet fresh air of the morning and sighed with
content. It was a sunny, pleasantly cool day in the Rocky Mountains of
Canada and she looked forward to exploring more of the lovely nature
surrounding her. Of course, she still missed the ocean air in
"Rina?" A sleepy voice interrupted her
tranquility. Billie, her sister, crawled out of her tent.
"What time is it?"
"It's
"How can
you be up so early girl? Vacation is all about getting up late and
bumming around, not rising at the crack of dawn and exercising!"
"Sis,
dawn was 3 hours ago and what's wrong with being at one with nature? It's
good for your health."
"So is
sleep."
Katarina laughed heartily. She loved Billie very much, even with her
moodiness. She couldn't have asked for a better sister. She was
always there for her, supporting her...protecting her. They had an
amazing bond considering that Billie was 8 years older than her. Katarina was only 19.
"Well
good morning ladies," another head popped out of Billie's tent.
This time Katarina was far less enthused.
"Mornin'
honey," Billie planted a gentle kiss on Kris's lips, "sleep
well?"
"Oh
yeah," Kris smiled wickedly, "I had lots of pleasant dreams," he
shot a quick, meaningful glance at Katarina.
Billie didn't even notice.
She looked
away in disgust. Would he ever leave her alone? "I'm going to
gather some firewood while you guys get dressed." Without waiting
for a yes or no, she took off into the trees, needing to get as far away from
Kris Reid as humanly possible. She sighed once she was out of earshot and
fought the urge to scream out her anguish. Kris had been a giant problem
in her life since she was 17 years old. Particularly because he couldn't
keep his hands to himself. There was a time when she didn't mind having
him plant long, deep kisses on her lips. After all, that's what couples
do.
Katarina had met him in Disney World when she was working there as a
cashier...and he swept her off her feet with his charming words and sweet
demeanor. That's how he always caught his victims. He played the
loving boyfriend for 6 months until one night he asked for something she
couldn't give.
Her body.
And that's
when he changed. They never had fun anymore after that night. It
was always about sex. Whether they went out to dinner in a fancy
restaurant, whether they were talking about school or the weather, it always
came down to sex. Why she didn't dump him after weeks of pressure, she
still didn't understand to this day.
And then came
the worst night of her entire life.
He'd told her
he was taking her to a movie. He'd told her he wanted to talk out their
problems. He'd told her a lot of things. What he didn't tell her
was that he also planned to take her as far away from home as possible after
the movie and force himself on her.
She shivered
with horror as those painful memories began to resurface. Those slimy
lips on her throat, the relentless hands on her skin, his vomit inducing voice
telling her that no one would be able to hear her scream.
Thankfully,
someone did.
Apparently,
Kris was too 'busy' to notice the car that had parked beside his. Another
couple had come for their own fun, but they knew that what was going on in the
car next to them was no where near fun. They rescued Katarina
before her so-called loving boyfriend could really do some damage, although
he'd come awfully close. He drove off like a madman before they could
catch him.
Her heroes had
taken her home after that. She refused to go to the police
station...because then her family would find out that she'd been seeing a man
almost 10 years older than her. She dealt with her demons in private, not
even telling Billie what had occurred between her and Kris. She
eventually got over it and moved on with her life, although she still carried a
tiny fear of men. She dated off and on, but she ran for her life the
moment a guy got too close. That's all they seem to want...to get into
her pants. Why couldn't anyone see her for who she was inside? Why
couldn't they see past her attractive exterior and get to know her? Was
chivalry really dead?
And then the
nightmare came back to haunt her one year later.
Billie had
told her that she'd found the love of her life and was engaged. Katarina had been thrilled...until they were introduced.
"Hi,
I'm Kris Reid. It's a pleasure to meet you Katarina."
God, she'd
never forget that ridiculously wide smile on his repulsive face.
Since then,
it's been day after day of threats that he would finish what he'd
started. And he'd been trying, the lousy son of a bitch. Luckily,
she'd taken self defense classes and that had definitely come in handy.
She came to a
little stream and sat down on the cool ground, bringing her knees to her
chest. Strangely, she still believed in love. In the kind of love
that seemed to only exist in romance novels and movies. She yearned to
find him. The handsome, gentle man who would look past her face and see
her true virtues. The one who would love her above all else and be tender
toward her. He'd make her laugh when she wanted to cry, smile when she
wanted to frown. To this man, she would give her heart...and once they
married, something greater.
Herself.
And something
told her that she would meet him soon enough.
***
"I know
he's alive! He has to be alive!!"
They were all
at his home in
"Bri..."
Kevin stared at him solemnly, "it's been almost a year since..." he
stopped, trying in vain to control his wavering voice.
"He's
been gone a long time," Howie murmured and took a seat next to Brian,
"and we haven't received a phone call...a letter..."
"But I
know he's out there somewhere," Brian countered, "I told you about
those strange phone calls--"
"Brian,
you haven't had one of those in months," Kevin replied tiredly and rubbed
his tearing eyes, "and those were probably pranks by some stupid
assholes..."
A.J removed
his sunglasses, revealing slightly red eyes. "It's just getting
harder to keep the faith Rok. I'm trying to stay positive but--"
"We can't
give up!" Brian cried out, "Nick is a part of us! He's our
little brother! We have to believe..." he broke down in sobs,
"we have...to..."
Kevin put his
arm around his emotional cousin, his own tears now freely streaming down his
chiseled face. "We have to let him go Brian."
A.J and Howie
kept their eyes on the ground, knowing full well that the time had come to face
their worst fear. Their little brother was dead...and BSB would no longer
be the same.
Without Nick,
they were not complete.
Their hearts
were heavy with overwhelming grief as Kevin's words sunk into their numb minds.
"We
have to let him go..."
***
"I'm so
tired!" Billie yawned and stretched out her long legs, "I think I'm
going to turn in."
"Me
too," Katarina agreed. The three of them
had been hiking for almost the entire day. It was grueling, but Katarina loved every moment of it...except the times when
Kris would 'accidentally' touch her ass. Disgusting creep, she
thought bitterly. She could even feel his unnerving eyes on her right
now. How could Billie not see this?! Sighing, she began to
put their belongings away. "You guys go ahead and sleep. I'll
clean up."
"I'll
help you," Kris volunteered a little too cheerily.
Katarina was about to object when Billie spoke. "Aww...isn't he a
sweetie?"
Kris grinned
and Katarina rolled her eyes in annoyance. That
wouldn't be the word that I would use to describe him... She looked
at him pointedly, but immediately wished she hadn't. There was hunger in
his eyes. She gulped as she averted her gaze to her backpack. Please
God, don't let him hurt me. Not again.
"Good
night Rina," Billie waved and smiled lovingly at
Kris before disappearing into their tent.
She busied
herself with collecting garbage, totally aware of his presence coming closer
and closer. Go away Kris! GO AWAY! His hands were
suddenly on her hips. She stiffened.
"Finally,
some alone time."
"Get your
paws off me," she hissed.
"When are
you going to stop resisting me Kat?" Kris whispered in her ear, "I
know you want this as much as I do."
His arms were
wrapped around her waist now, his body purposefully pressed against hers,
forcing her to feel things that repulsed her to the point of retching.
She closed her eyes summoning all the strength she could while Kris nibbled on
her neck. Then, she stomped on his foot and, leaving little time for him
to yelp, she elbowed him in the ribs sending him reeling into a tree.
And then she
ran.
She ran like
the wind, away from his revolting arms, away from her unsuspecting sister, away
from the emotions threatening to resurface. Run, she thought
wildly as she sped past the towering trees and the marked trails, I have to
run! It seemed like hours had passed when she finally
stopped. She wiped the stray tears on her red cheeks and took in the
fresh air in large gulps. Why? Why won't he stop? A tiny
breeze began to blow and she shivered. It wasn't a warm one.
Suddenly, she blinked and slowly turned around in a circle, gazing at all the
evergreens and bushes that surrounded her. Everything looked the
same. She frowned.
Where am I?
***
