Chapter 2

Kevin stared out his window. No matter what he tried, he couldn't get Elizabeth out of his mind. It was as if she had taken up residence in his mind, body, and should and he didn't know how to evict her. She was everything he ever dreamed of and more.

With a sigh, he walked back into the house. Looking at the clock, he grinned. Howie should be home any minute, and when he did, Kevin and him were going to go over to Nicks. This was going to be the first time since Elizabeth came that they were going to be at Nicks house.

Before he could make sure he had everything ready to go, the phone rang.

"Hello?" Kevin asked, picking it up.

"Hi, Kev. It's Nick."

"What's up little man?" Kevin grinned as he dropped on the sofa.

"Well..."

"Nick, what's wrong? Somethin's goin' on in that head of yours. Want to talk about it?"

"I guess."

"So? What is it?"

"You remember coming to Chris' funeral with me after he died?"

"Yea. Nick, are you thinking about that again? It's ok, I know how it feels..."

"No, Kev, it's not that. What you didn't know is that he was engaged."

"Oh God! The poor woman."

"Yea, that's what I thought, even though I didn't like her at the time. Well, I did but..."

"What are you trying to tell me, Little Man?"

"I need your help, Kevin. I don't know what to do anymore. I mean, I've prayed about it and everything abut the only thing that keeps going through my head is you. I don't know what to do anymore. She's my best friend and I don't know how to help, we even..."

"Whoa, Nick, slow down. Who's even saying she'll talk to me about it? It's not like she knows me or anything."

"But she does!"

"What do you mean? Nick, what are you talking about?"

"It's...it's...its..."

"It's who, Nicky?" Kevin asked trying not to get angry but to stay calm.

"It's Lizzy." Nick whispered, pain lacing his voice.

"Your kidding, right?" Kevin asked, shocked. The more he learned about Nicks house guest, the more mystified he became. The was definitely no ordinary woman.

"I wish I was. Kevin, she's really hurting. We were talking this morning and she cried for hours. I don't know what to do anymore. Please say you'll help. Please?"

Kevin sighed, "Alright, Nick, I'll help. But we're going to do thins slowly. I don't want her to run away from us and hate us for the rest of our lives."

"Thank you, thank you, thank you. You’re the best, Kev. Thank you, thank you, thank you..."

"Whoa, slow down there, Little Man. Did you just miss that I said 'us'?"

"Wait a minute, Kev, I..."

"You're going to help."

"But...but...but..."

"You're getting me in this disaster so you're going to help me fix it, or I don't do anything. Is it a deal?"

"Alright, alright, alright. I'll help.

"Ok, by the way, D, Bri, and I should be over there in about an hour. Is that cool with you?"

"Yea, J's already here working on the Bar-B-Que. Don't forget the food you promised to bring."

"We won't. See you when we get there."

"Alright. Bye, Kevin, and thanks."

"No problem."

As Kevin hung up the phone, he shook his head. Now no matter what he said to Nick, he was stuck helping Elizabeth deal with her grief. How do I get myself into these things? he asked to himself. Shrugging his shoulders, Kevin walked into the kitchen and finished getting everything ready to be brought to Nicks house.

~*~ At Nicks House ~*~

The wind rocked the trees as if they were leaves blowing in the breeze. The rain poured down, soaking everything it touched in an instant. She stood there, not noticing the warnings of a hurricane, as the coffin was lowered into the ground. Tears streamed down her face, making her look more angelic then she ever had before. He was gone from her forever, she was never going to see him again.

She wrapped her arms around herself and let the pain wash over her. No one could understand what she was going through, so why did they even try? Why did they try to tell her everything was going to be alright when she knew it wasn't going to be?

She looked up as a hand dropped gently on her shoulder. Nick was standing there, trying to hold an umbrella over her so she wouldn't get any more wet then she already was. "You going to be OK, Lizzy?"

She looked up at him, no emotion showing in her eyes. What was she suppose to say? If she said no, then he'd try to make her feel better. If she said yes, he'd treat her with contempt.

Slowly, she shook her head and started to walk away. She couldn't handle it, it was too much. Couldn't anyone see how much she was hurting?

"Fine, Lizzy, be that way!" Nick screamed after her. "You never deserved him in the first place!"

Elizabeth sat bolt upright in her bed, panting. Standing up, she walk into her bathroom and splashed water onto her tear-streaked face. "Crap! I thought I got rid of those nightmares!" Elizabeth said to herself.

Shaking her head she walked back into her bedroom and dropped on her bed. Burying her head in her hands she let the tears gently fall.

"God, Chris, I miss you. Why did you have to leave me?" she moaned. Straitening up, Elizabeth looked around.

"Well, if you're going to do something, you better do it right," she mumbled to herself.

Getting up, she dressed herself in one of her favorite outfits, and put a smile on her face. She was NOT going to let anyone know how much it still hurt. After all, it had been fours years since her fiancées funeral. After glancing in the mirror one last time to make sure she was presentable, Elizabeth headed downstairs to join the rest of the guys.

This is not going to be an easy night, she thought to herself.

~*~ Two Hours Later ~*~

Kevin watched Elizabeth tease Nick without mercy. Her appearance, even her actions screamed that she was having a good time, but he had looked into her eyes and knew she wasn't. Kevin shook his head, wishing he knew what to do for her. It was like she was avoiding him, but Kevin couldn't explain why. He didn't even know if it was something he'd done.

Howie walked over and dropped himself in the chair next to Kevin’s. "So, Train, what's up?"

Kevin grinned. No matter what, D would always be the peacemaker, even when he didn't know there was anything going on. "Nothing, D. Everything’s good."

"Yea, right. If everything’s fine then why are avoiding all of us, including Beth?" Howie asked, looking at Kevin like he'd believe him when fleas were as big as Godzilla.

"D, chill. I'm just admiring the atmosphere. Is there anything wrong with that?"

"There is if you're lying to me. Come on, Kev. Talk to me."

"D, will you lay off, please?" Kevin sighed. "There's nothing wrong unless you..."

"Kev, how long have we known each other? I mean, you can't work and live with someone without getting to know something about them. Give me a little credit, will ya? You know you can trust me."

"Yea, unless you're fast asleep," Kevin cracked.

"I know, I know, I know. It's a fault of mine," Howie grinned. "It's just, I hate to see you sitting here all alone. It's like you don't want anyone coming over here because you're determined to have a rotten time."

Kevin sighed. How was he going to explain to D what was going on in his mind? In his heart?

"It's just..." Kevin paused.

"Beth?" Howie supplied

"Yea, I guess you could say that. She's going through a rough time right now and I don't know what to do. Every time I look at her, I just want to wrap my arms around her and never let her go. I want to protect her from a hard and cruel world. You know what I mean?"

"Sound's like you got it bad, bro."

"I know, and there's nothing I can do about it."

Howie shook his head. "Tell Nick. If anyone, he'd be the one to know how to let her know."

Kevin sighed and dropped his head into his hands. "That's one of the problems. I did talk to Nick. She's sworn off all men since...well, since her heart was shattered a couple of years ago."

"That's tough. Maybe you're suppose to show her that it's ok to go on. I mean, if anyone can do it, you can. Especially since you're father left." All of a sudden, Howie’s eyes got big and he practically choked. "Oh my God, Kevin, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean..."

Kevin laid his hand on Howie’s arm. "It's ok, D. I'm over know. Yea, sometimes it  still hurts, but I've realized that it's going to be OK."

"Ok then. Say listen, I'm going in to get another drink, you want anything?"

Kevin rose and raised his hand. "I'll get it for you. It's the least I can do. What do you want?"

"Cherry Coke."

"Whoa, someone's getting adventurous." Kevin teased as he walked into the house.

As Kevin walked over to the cooler to get his and Howie’s drinks, as sweet sound drifted towards him. It sounded like chimes playing in the wind, but as soft as angel wings.

Walking quietly, he went to find where the music was coming from. What he found almost floored him. Standing in the living room, Beth stood looking out the picture window singing quietly to herself. Kevin never imagined such a sweet sound as the sound he was hearing from Beth.

Before he could retreat back to the kitchen, she turned around and stifled a scream. Kevin slowly stepped out of the shadows so he wouldn't frighten her more. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to frighten you."

Elizabeth let out a small sigh. "It's ok, Kevin. You just startled me is all. I'm fine, really."

Kevin looked into her tear filled eyes with concern. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

Elizabeth shook her head, "No, I'll be ok."

Kevin started to walk back to the kitchen, but something made him turn around. He watched as Beth dropped on the couch and burry her face in her hands.

Walking over, he sat on the couch next to her. "You want to talk about it, Beth?"

She shook her head. "It's just..."

Kevin looked at her in concern. "Yes?"

"I miss him so much. Chris wasn't perfect, but he was all I had," she sobbed.

Kevin wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. "Shh, it's ok. Cry all you want, I've got you. Cry all you want."

For what seemed like hours, Kevin sat there hold and comforting Elizabeth. His heart breaking for her.

~*~ Nicks House, One Month Later, Three AM ~*~

"How could you!? You know how important this is to me!"

"Will you calm down. It'll be worse if you look like you just survived a hurricane."

"Oh, so now I look like a slob do I?"

"That's not what I meant and you know it."

"Oh really? And what exactly did you mean?"

"Never mind, Chris." She started to walk away towards the kitchen.

He reached out and grabbed her arm, yanking her roughly towards him. "So now the whore has somewhere more important to go then be with me!"

"I'm going to make you're special dinner. Unless, of course, you want to make it yourself."

Before she knew what happened, he reached up and slapped her hard across the face. Dropping her arm in shock, he backed away from her. "I'm...I'm...I'm..."

"Leave," she stated quietly.

"Oh my God, Beth, I didn't mean to..."

"Just leave, Chris. We both need to calm down."

Grabbing his keys, he stalked out of the apartment. "Fine, but this all started because of you," he screamed before slamming the front door.

Elizabeth sat bolt upright, holding onto the sheets tightly. The flashbacks were getting worse and worse. It was like reliving everything all over again. Standing up, she walked over to the window and look out at the moon playing with the waves.

She sighed. What was she going to do? It just kept getting worse and worse. Looking over at the phone, she shook her head. Kevin had been a wonderful friend. He didn't make here feel bad, or ashamed because of the way she was feeling. He had given her his phone number so that anytime she needed to talk he would be there. But she couldn't tonight. It's too late, she thought to herself.

Wrapping the quilt around her tighter, she walked over and sat on the window seat, watching the Bay. She knew there was no hope of her going back to sleep again.

~*~ Nicks House, Downstairs ~*~

Kevin burst into the house, startling Nick and Brian who were sitting there making-out with some strange girls.

"Sorry, guys, no time to chat," he panted as he bolted for the staircase.

"Whoa, cuz. Where's the fire?" Brian asked.

"Apparently in your pants. Now if you'll excuse me," with out waiting for a reply, Kevin took the stairs two at a time, sliding to a stop outside Elizabeth’s bedroom door.

Taking a deep breath, he quietly knocked on her door, hoping she'd answer.

After the longest minute of Kevin’s life, the door finally opened and Elizabeth looked out. She looked like hell. Her hair was a matted mess, and the dark circles under her eyes made here look like a rabid raccoon.

"You look great," Kevin said smiling.

"Hi, Kevin, come on in. And no, I don't look that great. You don't have to lie to make me feel better you know," she said, walking over to her bed.

Kevin walked up behind her and wrapped her in his arms again. "I know I don't. True, you don't look like you normally do, but I still think you look great."

"You're so full of it, Richardson," she said, laughing softly.

"OH, BRIAN, PLEASE!" came screaming up the stairs before Kevin could respond.

Elizabeth chuckled. "For two guys who refuse to have sex before they're married, they sure have been getting plenty of it."

Kevin laughed. "Guess AJ has a bad affect on them, doesn't he, Miss McLean?"

"Yea, I guess. So," she said, changing the subject, "what brings you all the way up here at three in the morning? Or do I even what to know?"

"I came because of you."

Turning around, she looked up into his deep greens eyes. "Me? What did I do?"

Kevin tipped her head up, making sure she could see how serious he was. "Something just told me you were having another rough night. I had to come."

Turning away from him, Elizabeth wrapped her arms around herself and walked back towards the window. "Kevin, I'm fine, really. I've just got to learn how to deal with this myself."

He walked over and picked her up in his arms, taking her back to her bed. "And until then, I'm going to stay right here helping you learn."

"But, Kevin..."

"Shah," he whispered, placing his index finger over her lips to keep her from talking. "It's time for you to try and get some sleep. I'll be right here, making sure the memories won't be back tonight."

Without another word, he covered her up and started to gently rock her back and forth, singing.

Without either of them realizing what happened, the sun peaked into her window and kissed both sleeping figures on the bed.

***

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