Chapter 29
This was
hardly what he'd had in mind.
Nick gazed at
the portrait he'd painted, torn between tenderness and rage. He'd been
doing so well lately. No feeling sorry for himself, no thinking about her
24/7, no feelings. But now, here he was, a paintbrush in his hand,
staring at her beautiful face.
A face he'd
been seeing in his dreams every night.
He sighed
angrily. He'd made no progress at all.
"It
turned out beautifully, Nickolas," Caroline murmured and squeezed his
rigid hand that she'd taken a hold of a few seconds before.
All he wanted
to do was draw a dark picture...dreary images that would reflect the kind of
life he led. The life he yearned to leave behind. It was supposed
to be black as death... Instead, he'd managed to mix the yellow and white
until he'd gotten the golden hue of her hair, he used a rich brown that matched
the warmth of her eyes... Nick scowled. Why do I still care dammit? She's done nothing but make my life a living
hell and here I stand thinking about her...loving her more than anything...more
than words...
"Do you
want me to put it in your room while you wash up?"
"Keep
it," he said gruffly and wrenched his hand from Caroline's, not wanting to
acknowledge the realization that no matter what happened...no matter how badly
things ended between him and Katarina, he'd love her
'til the end of his days. "I have no use for it."
"But
darling..." her voice trailed off when Nick turned to face her.
After a moment, she conceded. "Very well."
He gave her a
curt nod and trudged back upstairs, wondering what had changed her mind.
Was it his overbearing silence? His glare?
Or maybe it
was the film of tears in his lifeless blue eyes that were threatening to
spill...
***
"So, have
you finally decided to mature?"
Billie rolled
her eyes at her "charming" fiancé as he stepped through the
doorway. "You could say that."
He gave her an
odd look and sat on her couch. "What's up baby?"
She didn't
bother to sit down. This wouldn't take long. "It's over."
He
yawned. "What do you mean?"
"Our engagement
Kris. It's over." She totally expected him to blow up at
her. Bombard her with questions. Beg her to change her mind.
But she never expected him to look so...amused.
"Really?"
She
frowned. "Yes really. You think I'd be kidding about something
this serious?"
"Serious
for you maybe. I personally couldn't care less."
Billie's jaw
dropped. "How dare you? After YEARS of being together, you can
sit there and tell me that YOU DON'T GIVE A DAMN?!"
"That's
right. I think you're finally growing a brain Billie."
It took all
her strength to not lunge at him and slap the toothpaste ad grin off his face.
"What?
You think I wasn't expecting this? I knew as soon as you met that
Backstreet Bastard, you'd leave me. You're that predictable, honey."
"Get
out!" she yelled and stormed to the door and opened it wide.
"Get THE FUCK out of my apartment."
Kris
laughed. "With pleasure, but you'll be seeing me around
anyway. Your sister and I have some unfinished business."
"What the
hell are you talking about?!"
"We're
sleeping together honey. Didn't she tell you?"
Her heart
stopped. Sleeping together?!?! Billie shook her head.
"I don't believe a word out of your mouth anymore Kris. Now I'd
appreciate it if you left--"
"Ask her
Billie. She'd never lie to her precious older sister...well, at
least not to her face..." he laughed again and stood.
"Just ask her."
"GET OUT
YOU SON OF A BITCH!"
Still
chuckling, he sauntered to the door. "Good riddance honey and thanks
for the sex."
"GO TO
HELL!!" She slammed the door in his face. As soon as she was certain
that he was gone, she slumped to the floor and sobbed, wondering how she
could've been so stupid.
***
What a way
to spend the weekend.
Kevin sighed
and clicked onto another Backstreet Boys Fan page. It was amazing that
months after their split, there were still thousands of sites dedicated to
them. But a lot of the sites held too many memories...pictures of him and
Kristin...when they were happy...
When they were
in love.
He still loved
her...
But he'd come
to the point where he doubted that she felt the same way. He hadn't seen
her in days...
Could it be
that their destined marriage had come to an end?
"I
thought I might find you here."
Startled, he
whirled around and blinked. "I...I was just thinking about
you."
Kristin gave a
tiny smile and nodded.
"How did
you get in?"
"I still
have the key."
For some
reason, that gave him hope. "Oh."
She stepped
closer and cleared her throat. "There's something I think you should
know."
He inched
toward her. "What?"
Kristin looked
up at him and their eyes locked in a gaze that stirred a lot of pent up
frustration. Kevin took yet another step forward making it easier to
reach out and take her in his arms. If only he had the courage...
"I was
talking to a friend of mine yesterday..." Kristin murmured, her eyes never
leaving his, "She went to a club last night with a friend of hers."
"Mmhmm..." Kevin stuck his hands in his pockets so
squelch the temptation to run his fingers through her hair.
"Her
friend met a guy and he offered her a few drinks. She disappeared after
that and wasn't found until this morning."
Now he was
frowning. "Is she okay?"
Kristin shook
her head. "She woke up in some apartment, naked...and alone."
"Oh
God..."
"Kevin...the
reason I'm telling you this is because when asked about what happened, she
couldn't remember... She had no recollection about what happened to her
after that jerk gave her a few drinks."
Suddenly the
situation seemed very familiar. His eyes widened.
"And..."
"The
police told her that she'd probably been drugged."
That's it! Kevin blinked
again as it dawned on him. "I can't believe this! Why didn't I
think of this sooner for crying out loud?!"
"You
don't know for sure Kevin..."
"The hell
I don't! I'm 100 percent sure that she drugged me...what other
explanation can there be?"
Kristin stared
at him warily.
"I didn't
sleep with her Kris...you have to believe that."
"I
think... I do."
For the first
time in ages, he broke into a genuine smile. "You do?"
"I
do." She took his hand, but her face remained serious, "but we
have to prove that Rachel used something to impair your judgment."
Kevin's eyes
held the glimmer of determination. "We will." He squeezed
her hand. "Together."
Kristin
smiled. "Together."
***
Caroline placed
the bag of red delicious apples into her cart and continued down the path until
she came across some vegetables that she would definitely need for dinner
tonight. Unfortunately, it would be yet another dinner that she would be
eating alone.
He hardly ate
a thing anymore. Even her cookies were often left untouched on his night
stand while he tossed and turned in his bed, calling out Rina's
name...begging her to come back. Of course, she never told him
that. He was already disgusted enough with his attitude. Caroline
sighed, not wanting to resign to the fact that the Nickolas she'd come to know
and love like a son was never going to come back.
But she had
the feeling it would take a miracle.
Luckily, she
believed in miracles.
"I was wonderin' if you could help me sir."
"What can
I do for ya sonny?"
"I'm
looking for someone. I heard you were the one who could give me
directions to her home."
Caroline
raised an eyebrow in curiosity. Obviously, he was from out of town.
She'd never heard anyone with an accent quite like that. Kinda cute
though.
"Who are
ya looking for?"
"Uh, I
think her name is Caroline...Parker? Yeah Parker."
She nearly
dropped the bushel of carrots. Me?!
"I guess
this is your lucky day sonny 'cos sweet ol' Caroline
is here right now, doin' her grocery shoppin'."
Letting the
curiosity get the better of her, she left her cart of groceries and walked
toward the front of the store. She turned the corner...
The stranger
turned and their eyes locked.
Dear God
Almighty! It couldn't be!
"Mrs.
Parker?"
It took her a
moment to react, but eventually she nodded. "...Caroline...call me
Caroline dear."
He smile
politely and extended his hand. "Pleased to meet you. I'm
Brian Littrell."
***
