Chapter 6
Kevin walked into Nick's house, barely
able to hide his excitement. Today he was planning on taking Elizabeth on a
tour of Orlando never seen before.
As he walked into the house, he
noticed it was unusually quiet. It was if everyone had disappeared leaving him
alone.
"Hello? Is anyone here? Can
anyone here me?" Kevin called out.
Nick walked into his house from
outside. "Oh, hi, Kevin. What brings you over here?"
Kevin grinned. "You have to
ask?"
"Damn, Train. I forgot. Let me
get my coat and I'll be ready," Nick teased.
"What are you talking about,
Carter?"
"You forgot about our plans
again? What's with you?"
"Kaos, I'm sorry, but I don't
know what you're talking about."
"Seriously, why are you here,
Kev?"
"To see Elizabeth, of
course!"
Nick looked at Kevin seriously. It was
if he was trying to read what was going on in Kevin's mind.
"Kevin, I think You'd better sit
down."
"Why what's going on?" Kevin
asked, trying to keep his panic level down.
"I have something for you. Elizabeth
wanted me to give it to you as soon as I saw you." As he spoke, Nick
handed Kevin a letter.
Slowly Kevin opened it and started to
read...
Dearest Kevin;
You know how in life there are some
things that come to you so unexpectedly you don't know what to do about it?
Well, it's happened to me again.
Someone dropped into my life that I care for
deeply. It's a feeling I've never felt before; even when I was with Chris. He's
sweet, kind, caring; in short, he's every girls dream come true. He's my best
friend, but at the same time he's so much more!
When I realized how close we had
gotten, I was scared. I don't want to live through the whole Chris nightmare
again. This man has taken my heart, and I don't want to see it broken again. I
care for him so much, I don't want to see him live through my nightmares with
me.
The reason I asked Nick to give you
this letter is because I don't know who else to turn to. He's the only one that
knows how I...What I'm trying to say is, when you get this letter, I
won't be here. I had to leave.
I promise you that someday I'll be
back, I just don't want to be there when my heart gives out because the man I
care about doesn't care about me the same way. It's safer to make a clean break
of this.
I'm safe; and yes, Nick does know
where I am. He's making sure I'm taking care of. Please don't worry about me,
Kevin. This is what's best for both of us. I haven't dropped out of your life
forever, even if it's just for a little while.
I Love You,
~Elizabeth~
Kevin looked up from the letter, tears
streaming down his face. For the first time in his life he was speechless.
Nick walked up and put his arm around
his big brother. "It's going to be ok, Kev. She just needs some
time."
"I know, Nicky," Kevin
whispered, "but it hurts. How could she just walk out of my life without
looking back? I thought I meant something to her. I thought we were getting
somewhere. I though..."
"Whoa, Kev, slow down! Don't you
get it? She loves you. She loves you more then she ever loved Chris, and that
scares her. Elizabeth doesn't want to get hurt again. can't you see that this
whole thing is eating her alive? She loves you some much, she's willing to give
up everything so you'll be happy."
"Being with her is what makes me
happy," Kevin whispered. "It's like there's a big hole in my life
where she use to be. I can't even look at another woman without comparing them
to her. What am I going to do with out her. She's my everything."
"My advise is to go tell her.
Elizabeth needs to know. If you don't tell her, who will. She needs to hear
what's in your heart and soul, or she'll die not knowing what she did to
you."
Kevin looked over at Nick, admiration
shining in his eyes. "When did you grow up, Nicky. It happened so
fast."
Nick laughed. "Go get her. She's
at my cabin in New York."
Kevin hugged Nick tightly before
bolting out the door in pursuit of his one true love.
At the Cabin
Elizabeth stared into the fireplace,
transfixed on the flames. Her thoughts a thousand miles away. her heart back in
Florida.
"God, Kevin, why do you have to
be so perfect," she said to herself. "Everything you do and say is
just right. You know what I need and you give it to me. What did I do to
deserve you?
"I don't want to hurt you, Kevin,
but what choice do I have left? I don't mean to do this! Really! But I'm lost,
I don't know what else to do."
Curling up deeper into her quilt,
Elizabeth laid her head on the arm of the couch and fell asleep watching the
fire dance in front of her.
The fire cracked and the heat
penetrated the room, but Elizabeth was oblivious to everything around her.
Elizabeth looked around her. She was
in Nick's cabin, but she knew she wasn't awake. 'What's going on here?' She
thought to herself.
"Hi, gorgeous."
Elizabeth spun around at the sound of someone
else’s voice. She had thought she was alone.
Standing in front of her was someone
she hadn't seen in a long time.
"What are you doing here?"
she asked
"I came to talk to you."
"Why? Haven't I ruined your life
enough? What more do you want?"
"Come here, please," the
stranger asked, reaching out his hand to her.
Slowing she took it and followed him
to the couch.
"You know what I miss the most?
Hold you like this. We use to be so happy, Elizabeth, what happened?"
"I think you know."
"You've got to stop kicking
yourself in the ass. What happened wasn't your fault."
"If we hadn't had gotten into
that argument, you won't have left in that awful storm; and you'd still
be..." breaking off, she started crying.
"Baby," he said, tilting her
head so he was looking into her eyes, "It was my time to go. And don't say
it was because of you, it wasn't. You're fighting a loosing battle here. If not
for me, then for yourself.
"You're killing yourself, love,
and I don't want to see you up here with me so soon. I've always dreamed of you
being happy, are you trying to destroy that?"
"I'm sorry, Chris,"
Elizabeth wept, "It just hurts so much. I can't be with anyone else like
you want me to. if I do, they'll leave me just like you did. I'm cursed
Christopher Alan, and there's nothing I can do about it."
"Listen to me, you are not
cursed! And I want you to stop think that way! You couldn’t have done anything
to stop me from dieing, Love. If I hadn't had died in that car crash, I might
have died in your arms. Personally, I'd prefer not doing that. Do you
understand what I'm saying?"
"Do you mean it?" she asked,
looking up into Chris' eyes.
"Yes I do. And if I'm not
mistaken, there's a young man waiting to take care and love you. Don't turn
away from him, Baby. You'll only be destroying yourself and him. Love him, like
you loved me. Promise me you will."
Slowly, Elizabeth nodded her head,
"If that's what you want."
"Good!" he smiled. "Now
go tell him. And be the happiest you can be. I don't want to have to come back
and lecture you again."
"Yes, sir," she giggled, a
smile crossing her face.
Elizabeth smiled and stretched. Chris
didn't blame her, Justin was getting the help he needed, and life was finally
looking up. All she had to do now was convince Kevin not to give up on her just
yet.
"Good morning, Sleeping Beauty.
How are you feeling this morning?"
Elizabeth opened her eyes in shock.
Kevin looked at her, a smile lighting his eyes.
"What are you doing here? How did
you find me? Where..."
"Shhh, it doesn't matter. What
matters is that I'm here with you now."
"Kevin, we need to talk."
"Before you say anything, there's
something that's been on my mind, and I have to get it out."
Elizabeth looked at him, feeling as if
her heart was going to heart. "Go ahead, I'm listening."
"When we meant at the beginning
of the summer at Nick's house, we became instant friends. I never expected
you'd do to me what you ended up doing. I mean, who would have thought me,
Kevin Scott Richardson would find the one he was suppose to be with.
"Here, maybe I can explain it
better. I never thought that we'd become anything more then friends. Somehow
you go into my head and into my heart. I don't know when or how, but I fell for
you, and I fell hard. If anything can describe how I feel it's the music I
sing.
"What did I say? What did you do? How did
I fall in love with you?" he sang.
Elizabeth wiped the tears from her
eyes, "Kevin," she whispered, "I thought you hated me after what
I did. I mean, I took off and left you nothing but a letter. I've been through
so much, I was afraid you didn't want me just because of that. You love me? I've
loved you since you reached your hand out and said you be there with me. I love
you, and I'm afraid I'm going to loose you, just like I lost Chris."
"But baby, don't you see? That's
why I'm here! I'm not going to leave you, I promise. Whenever you need me, I'm
going to be here taking care of you."
"Do you really mean it?"
"With all of my heart and
more."
Elizabeth smiled and wrapped her arms
around Kevin, smiling up at him.
Leaning down, Kevin gave her the
sweetest kiss she had ever experienced.
***
