Topic: We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together

Colt Daniels · Date: 2012-09-29 11:35 EST

Northeast of New Haven, RhyDin
September 28, 2012
19:32 local time

?Don?t start that Les Miles? luck shit again, man. LSU has got this thing called talent.?

Colt grinned at Ford?s response, wedging the phone between his ear and shoulder as he struggled with his ring of keys to find the right one to unlock the front door of the cabin while keeping the screen door ajar with the back of a heel. As the lock clicked open, he gave a rough laugh. ?I?m not a traitor to my state for rootin? for LSU. If the Bulldogs had recruited me maybe I wouldn?t be so bitter.?

Molly stopped on the porch abruptly as Colt passed through the doorway, failing to wiggle her way in first as she usually did. He huffed at the Labrador and motioned with his hand for her to follow but her haunches landed on the porch instead and she gave a plaintive whine.

He mouthed a ?whatever? her way, ignoring the continued round of whines as he stepped through the doorway. The screen door to snap shut behind him and a grin split his lips once again at his brother?s ranting over the phone line.

It was as he turned to toss his keys on the table beside the door that he felt the coldness and instantly his palms grew sweaty. The hard, hollow metal barrel pressed against the nape of neck tucked neatly between where his collar ended and his hair began. His stomach fell dramatically and he froze in place.

?Give Ford my love.? A familiar voice tickled his ear in a low purr. He hadn?t smelled her until just now and even now it was a dim, faint note. Almost too low to be recognized. Almost. She was using some sort of scent blocker.

?I?ve got to go. I?ll call you later.? Colt heard the weakness in his own voice but before Ford could question the tone, he pulled the phone away from his ear and hit the ?end? button.

Two slow breaths of silence and then he found his voice. ?Let me turn around and look at you.?

The only response he received was that the gun was lowered away from his neck. Black pumps gave her an extra couple of inches that the petite brunette desperately needed in the confrontation. A gray sweater was cinched around a waist that he had always found too thin. His eyes continued rising up her form until he found a set of hazel eyes meeting his unwaveringly.

?Lola.? The word came out in a breathless exhale.

The laugh that escaped Katharine Rhovnik was brittle, bitter, and humorless. ?Don?t you ever call me that again.?

?You never responded to my voice messages--?

This time it was her voice that wavered with carefully bottled up emotion. ?Where is Yaya?s diary, Colton??

?I blew it up with the fort. You know that, Lola.?

?Stop calling me that.? The gun remained hanging at her side. She couldn?t find it in her to lift it even if she had the desire. ?I know what you told everyone. But you lied. We both know you lied. I want her diary.?

Colt lifted a hand to rub the back of his neck, trying to battle off the gooseflesh that still occupied the space her gun had moments before. ?After all this time now you are gonna show up in my house accusin? me of keepin? Yaya?s diary??

Without waiting for a response, his hand dropped to his side and he inched closer, looming over the diminutive woman. A lick of anger broke free at the sparks of tension that flew between them causing fire to worm its way into his voice. ?Y?wanna know what I think? I think you heard about the building collapse and how I was stuck in there. I think your spoiled punk ass boyfriend told you to stay away from me. But I don?t think you could. And I think you?re back here right now ?cause you wanted to check on me.?

?You?re such an egotistical ass. The world doesn?t revolve around your overly large head,? Kat hissed in reply, closing the distance between them to thump a finger against his chest. ?I think there?s information in there that could help me with highly sensitive negotiations I?m working on. I?m trying to prevent a war, not worshipping at the altar of Colton Daniels. So why don?t you hand over the diary before I decide I?m tired of listening to your mouth??

He gave a gruff laugh, tilting his head and letting his gaze drift downward to take in what of her form he could see. ?You?ve never had a problem with my large head before.?

Kat gave an outraged shake of her head. A finger pointed in towards his chest, once again, and her finger thumped in time with her words. ?Listen carefully. We are never ever going to get back together.?

Her shoulder struck Colt?s as she brushed past him for the door. The door was left standing wide open in her wake as her heels clipped down the porch. He reached out, slamming the door shut with a great reverberating thunder.

Quick strides took him into his bedroom and he dropped to a crouch, yanking open the bottom dresser drawer. There. Beneath the long underwear. His hand wrapped around the leather binding but he didn?t dare drag it out into view. There were Yaya?s words and he?d be damned if they?d ever leave his possession.

((With thanks to the player behind Katharine Rhovnik.))

Colt Daniels · Date: 2012-10-04 08:39 EST

Chester, South Carolina
August 22, 2008
14:18 local time

?Do my toenails for me. It takes waaaay too much effort.?

The voice roused him enough to open a single heavy eyelid and though he wanted to be grumpy with her, he couldn?t help but allow a smile to worm its way not only on his face but into his voice as well. ?You have lost your damn mind, Yaya.?

?Maybe,? she replied in a singsong tone.

Shaking a bottle of pink polish in hand, Yaya smiled brightly across the elaborate tree fort at him. The canopy of rich green leaves that hung overhead from tall ancient oaks sheltered them from the harsh summer sun. Concealed here in the treetops and deep into the property, the fort would have been the perfect deer stand were Yaya the type of girl who hunted. She was not, though.

At least she never hunted animals.

Colt rolled over onto his side on a mat that had been spread out on the floor of the fort, settling the side of his head in his hand to take Yaya in. ?Why are we here??

His tone had been harsher than he had intended. He didn?t need the bond that hummed between them to notice the hurt that curled up in her from his question. It briefly dimmed the smile on her lips but she did not look up to meet his eyes as she twisted off the top of the nail polish bottle. ?Because I figured you?d prefer this to the house. Sophie?s at home, you know?

So adapt at the bond were they after so long that he didn?t need to speak his apology, he concentrated on his love, his adoration for her and pushed that through the bond instead. She lifted her eyes to let a smile of acknowledgement shine through.

?You know that?s not what I meant, Yaya. Why did you want me to come to Chester? Shouldn?t you be getting ready to head back to school? You told me that we wouldn?t be working again until fall break,? Colt responded as he watched her wield the brush from the nail polish bottle expertly.

?I just wanted to see you before I left next weekend,? she responded without looking up.

But there was more there. He felt the underlying discomfort through the bond and it caused his eyes to narrow as he sat up straight. ?What?s wrong??

She didn?t bother dismissing the feeling. There was no point in lying when he knew when she was. A sigh escaped her and her eyes lifted from her toenails to Colt. ?I don?t know. I just feel like something bad is going to happen.?

?To who? Is everything okay with Will??

?Yeah, yeah,? Yaya gave an absent wave of the hand with the brush in it before dipping it carefully back into the bottle. ?Will?s fine. Actually, Sophie just helped him pick out an engagement ring. She spilled to me. She says I?m going to love it.?

Joy shone through Yaya?s tone but, still, the sadness which tarnished it could not be denied no matter how badly he wished it. ?And you should take note of Will?s perfect procedure, Colt. Every girl wants the ring to be a surprise but it is going to be the most important piece of jewelry she ever receives so if she has a sister, you should definitely take her with you when the time comes for you to pick out an engagement ring.?

Fearing the bleakness that hung like a cloud between them, he seized onto the humor, giving a huff of a laugh at her. ?I really do not believe that will be an issue for me for a great many years. I don?t intend to limit myself to one woman until I?m too old to be able to walk into a bar and get a girl to go home with me.?

The brunette rolled her eyes at the comment, refusing to allow a smile even though he knew it was lurking. She focused on brushing perfect strokes across her toenails. The pale pink offset her dark summer tan, bringing out her healthy glow.

?You?re an idiot,? Yaya accused without any bite. ?One day some woman is going to come along that is just as much trouble as you and you?re going to fall and you?re going to fall hard. And, just you remember, that wherever I am, I will be mocking you.?

?What do you mean? Where else would you be? Of course you?ll be with me to see it.? Panic rose up in his chest and he felt Yaya battle it back, trying to calm him.

She twisted the top back into the bottle and heaved a heavy sigh, refusing to answer his questions. Her chin lifted as her eyes swept overhead to the sunlight slipping through the openings in the leaves. With waves of brown locks were piled up on her head in a messy bun, torn jean shorts, a strappy cami top, and bare feet, she looked like the quintessential uncomplicated southern girl worshipping the sun.

Looks could be so deceiving.

Why did it feel like she was saying goodbye? And not the type of goodbye that one says when they will see you in a couple months? His eyes lingered over her form, soaking in every inch of her but he couldn?t find it in himself to say anything.

?I love it here. In this fort. Doesn?t it feel safe? Like we?re in our own little world? Sometimes I come up here just to write. Did you know I keep a diary?? She shifted a sly, slightly self-conscious smile over to Colt but still he couldn?t find his voice.

When he failed to answer, her chin lifted once more and the dappled sunlight played across her face. ?Well, I do. You?re in it, of course. Because I love you. Nobody will ever understand our kind of love, will they? They?ll never understand how we can be so close yet not be related or romantically involved.?

Her eyes fell to him once more and the smile was so tender that it caused his heart to sink further. She didn?t wait for him to find his voice. Instead she pressed on as if there was something she had to say and she wasn?t sure she?d get another opportunity to say it. ?It?s unique. We?re unique. And I want to thank you for showing me this. It has been one of the best parts of my life.?

The cloud lifted as Yaya gave a shake of the bottle of polish and moved on to the other foot. ?So has Will said anything to you about how he?s going to ask me??

And just that quickly the moment passed. Colt was all too willing to deny that it ever happened so he seized upon the question with a laugh. ?There are some secrets you will never pry out of me.?

Colt Daniels · Date: 2012-10-18 06:30 EST

Atlanta, Georgia
June 20, 2009
00:39 local time

Somewhere far away from Colt, Yaya breathed out a tortured last exhale.

The bond severed and, in a tangle of sweat-soaked sheets, Colt cried out in brutal gut-wrenching pain. He turned his head into a pillow to choke back sobs but they came anyway. The end of the bond wasn?t a nice clean break. Instead, it was waves of fire and agony that crashed down over and over with no end in sight, gathering speed, momentum, and viciousness. There was no doubt that he would drown in them. The only question was how long and ugly his death would be.

?Yes, yes. I need medic.?

It took all the effort he had but at the sound of the voice he peeled open an eye enough to see a panicked blonde with a phone up to her ear. Right, right. He had been here with someone.

?There?s a guy in my apartment. Colt. He introduced himself as Colt. He?s screaming. In pain. I don?t know. I?ve asked him what?s wrong and where the pain is but he?s talking nonsense. He?s begging to die.?

His knees curled in against his stomach as his frame instinctively drew into a fetal position. It didn?t help the pain but there was a measure of comfort, of solace. At least he knew that he would die. Sooner or later the pain would end and he would be allowed death.

?Look, I don?t know if he has any medical conditions, okay? We only met tonight. At a bar. I know it wasn?t smart to bring him home but--?

Conscious thought fled as the physical torment exceeded his ability to withstand it and his mind began to shut down to it. Blackness flooded his view but, even here, the pain never left the void in him that his bond with Yaya had once occupied.

Colt Daniels · Date: 2012-10-22 18:54 EST

Atlanta Medical Center Emergency Room
Atlanta, Georgia
June 20, 2009
07:01 local time

?Stop fighting,? a voice in the light demanded. He must not have stopped fighting because they sedated him until the world was a cloudy haze of pain and semi consciousness. Tears burned at his eyes. His limbs clenched to brace for every new wave of pain and then numbly fell limp as it passed.

Voices passed through his fog. They were mere snippets of conversation but his mind latched onto them, desperate for something to concentrate on other than the unbearable hurt.

?--nothing physically wrong with him.?

?The woman at the scene said that he identified himself as ?Colt? but his ID is for a ?Paul Matthews?. Do you think--?

In his brief moment swimming in a sea of bearable ache, Colt tried to swallow down the dryness that took hold in his throat to explain to the nurse who he was, to apologize for the Rhovnik-issued fake ID, to beg for his family. He didn?t want to die alone. But before he could mount the sort of effort it would take to find his voice, another vicious swell dragged him back under and, once again, he was drowning in pain. It didn?t last long. Eventually, the drugs they had used to sedate him with dragged him back under.

Yaya was dead. He was alive. It was inherently wrong. If she was dead, he should be dead. He existed solely to protect her. It was only a matter of time, he reassured himself once more. Eventually this would kill him. Already he could hear the doctors and nurses expressing concern as his vitals dipped dangerously low for no apparent reason.

A familiar voice brought him to eventually. He tried to open his eyes but even that small movement brought agony so he gave in and left them closed. Through the pharmaceutical cloud it took a moment to recognize the voice but not much more than that moment. Peter Rhovnik.

?--apologize for any inconvenience.? He was saying.

The doctor sounded confused in reply and by the sound of the shuffling of papers, it was clear he was double checking whatever it was that Peter was selling. ?Well, you?re right. You were able to stabilize his vitals. But I don?t know if he?s really in a position to be moved. This whole situation is very--?

?Unsual,? Peter finished contritely. ?I understand. I will leave the information to send his bills so far. As you can see all of our paperwork on Mr. Matthews is in order. We will monitor him closely during transport but it is necessary that we move him immediately. There?s a great deal that--?

Were the Rhovniks saving him so they could kill him? It made no sense. What use to them was he like this? They must know by now of Yaya?s death. The mere thought of the brunette caused his entire form to radiate with pain once more. The new Rhovnik drugs in his system were harder to fight than had been the hospital?s c.ocktail. As pain flowed in, consciousness flowed out.

Colt Daniels · Date: 2012-10-23 08:12 EST

Undisclosed Location Somewhere In the Continental U.S.
August 6, 2009
12:30 local time

The clunk of a plastic tray against the plain plastic table in the corner of the room caused Colt to lift his head from his pillow. The noise had been the first indication he had that someone had stepped into the room. The heavy grab bag of drugs that the Rhovnik-run facility had him on kept his sense of smell dimmed to a mundane, ordinary level.

Nothing on the tray appeared appetizing. Then, again, nothing had in forty-six days and he was quite sure that nothing ever would again. Propping himself up on an elbow, his gaze lazily traveled up from the tray to the orderly delivering it.

Ash blond hair was pulled up in a messy bun and the locks that had fallen loose framed youthful features. She was too young for such a serious job but it seemed they kept her duties contained to the patients who were too drugged up to be of any threat. Denim and the standard staff issue white polo shirt were the staples of her wardrobe but her shoes were where her personality shone through. From boots to brightly colored sneakers, each day was a new surprise and he found himself looking forward to Melanie?s visits as a bright spot to his dreary existence.

?Look, Colt, if you would eat something, if you would show some sign of life, they would give you more privileges. Maybe you could get out of your room--?

?Cell,? Colt broke in an emotionless tone to correct her.

Her roll of her eyes was the only indication she had heard him because she continued on without pause. ?--and play cards or chess. Do you know that there is a library? I?m sure if you proved that--?

?That what?? He shoved himself up into a seated position as the blonde shifted uncomfortably. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the slight twitch of the security camera positioned above the door as it focused in on his face. They were watching. But he couldn?t find it in him to care. ?That I won?t try to kill myself??

A heavy exhale was released and she stepped closer, dipping her voice to a volume that the cameras could not pick up. ?I care about you, Colt. I really do. I want to see you out of this place. You?ve got to try. The doctors say that the ECT sessions work for so many people with severe depression.?

He didn?t want to hear what lurked in her tone. She wanted him to get better for her. It was a notion that would only lead to her hurt. Nobody could fix him. He was irreparably broken. ?Electroshock. Call it what it is. They shock me until I go into a seizure hoping it changes my brain patterns. But it doesn?t because I don't have depression. They don't know what I am, they don't know how my brain works. And they do it so often that I lose track of how long I?ve been here and I spend most of my days confused... or maybe that?s just the drugs. I don?t even know anymore.?

Melanie broke regulation and eased to a seat on the bed beside him. One of her hands landed on his knee. He wished he could reach over and remove it but he couldn?t even find the energy to accomplish that simple task. The seconds ticked away silently. There wasn?t even the soft tock of a clock in the room to mark them. They stared at his blank white wall in companionable silence.

The void the bond had left within him still felt like a hollow black hole swallowing up everything in its path. Pain still radiated in his nerve ends but the intensity of it had lessened to a manageable level. Unless he let his mind wander to Yaya. Even the thought of her name, the sound of it when he whispered it into the dark at night, a dream of her image could cause a horrific wave of physical agony. Yaya was dead. She was lost to him and he was lost forever.

If he could only fake normalcy for a while, they would release him and he could head off to the woods he called home to die a quiet, unrecognized death. But he couldn?t even find it in himself to fake it so he had to wait. Wait for an opportunity he knew would come. One day someone would get lax. One day a guard would feel sorry for him and give him a privilege he shouldn?t have.

?One day I will find a way to kill myself.? He broke the silence for a single determined sentence. It was loud enough for the camera to pick up, he was sure. But he didn?t care. He didn?t care about anything.

Melanie?s hand leapt off his leg as if she had been burned. There was hurt littered all over his expression but he was surprised to find it did nothing to him. There was none of his usual emotions when it came to women -- no guilt, no concern for her, no desire to protect her. He felt nothing.

The door swung open and one of the guards frowned impatiently at the young orderly. Colt turned his back but he could hear the slap of her sneakers against the tile as she left the cell. When the heavy metal door shut behind her and the lock was thrown back in place, he realized that he would probably never see her again. She would trade patients with one of the other orderlies, avoid his door, and try to forget about him completely. And he found himself unable to care about that either.

Colt Daniels · Date: 2012-10-24 21:08 EST

(( Content warning: suicidal theme ))

Undisclosed Location Somewhere In the Continental U.S.
August 22, 2009
09:48 local time

It had taken sixteen more days for Colt to find his opening.

With a blithe grin, he gave the full bottle of sleeping pills he?d pilfered off the nurse a quick satisfied shake as he plopped to a seat on the edge of his bed. There wasn?t much time before the missing pills were noticed and a room-by-room search was conducted. But, in the middle of lazy Saturday, he hoped it would be noticed too late.

The time frame didn?t give him a moment to consider his course of action but he?d dreamed about it ad nauseam. There was no real tepidness now that it had come to pass. In fact, he still felt nothing. Perhaps some shallow relief and contentment but nothing much deeper than that. His heart had died with the bond, with Yaya.

Water was poured from the flimsy plastic pitcher into an equally flimsy plastic cup. Pill after pill after pill was swallowed with aid occasionally from a gulp of water. When the bottle was nearly empty and he grew tired of swallowing, he leaned back against his the pillows propped up against the cinder block wall and frowned up at the ceiling he knew now by heart to wait for death.

* * * *

?Colt.?

?Colt.?

?Come on. Look! The sun is shining!?

He felt the warmth before opening his eyes to squint into the sunlight. How long had it been since he saw the sun? His eyes fluttered shut and for a moment he enjoyed the feeling of being flat on his back in the grass with the sun beaming down across his face.

?Open your eyes.? There was laughter hiding behind her words.

Her voice. It was so familiar. He forced his eyes open. A face appeared above him blocking out the sun which caused a halo effect around her head. An angel. It was the face of an angel. He tried to work his voice, he tried to ask where he was but all that came was a grunt.

A smile lit up the angel?s face. ?Colt, wake up. It?s Yaya.?

A sob was his instinctual response. It seized up his chest and wracked his entire frame. When he tried his voice again, this time it worked. ?Yaya? Am I...??

?Dead?? she questioned, her smile faltering. He confirmed her final word with a nod and her shoulders lifted in a shrug. ?That?s up to you, Colton. I hope not. You have so much more to live for.?

The grass was a soft warm cushion beneath him. Stone walls surrounded them on all sides. They were in some sort of walled garden. He tried to study Yaya?s features to soak them in but they were lost in shadows with the harsh summer sun hitting directly behind her head. A shaky exhale was released. ?I don?t want to. I?m in too much pain without you.?

He struggled with his heavy eyelids to watch her chin bob as she nodded sympathetically, leaning in to lay her head upon his chest. It took effort to fight through his fog but he was able to lift a hand to let it rest against the back of her head. Her whisper was soft but full of love and gentle kindness. ?You would have given anything for me, Colt. But I don?t need you anymore. I am free now. You still have much to do. I need you to keep fighting. I need you to never stop fighting. I will be looking out for you.?

The ability to speak was lost and his hand tightened within her locks of hair. Birds twittered in the distance as he breathed in the soft scent of orange that clung to her hair. He would have recognized Yaya?s shampoo anywhere. Beneath that lingered tiger orchids in the the perfume she always wore. He exhaled her out.

?Sleep. Go back to sleep, Colt,? she whispered softly, her lips almost brushing against his ear. ?When you wake up, you?ll be strong enough to fight. I will never leave you.?

He wanted to ignore the order. He wanted to fight for every moment he could get with her in this place. But his eyes drifted shut and sleep reclaimed him.

* * * *

Colt's prone body was loaded up onto a stretcher by a pair of orderlies with silent precision. He was thinner than the last time Kat had seen him. His stocky frame and professional athlete's build had diminished into something more normal in the months since Yaya's death. One orderly gave a nod to the other and they hoisted the stretcher to move him out of the walled courtyard garden and back into the institution where he'd be taken back to his underground cell.

Doctor Volsky approached Kat with clipboard in hand, lifting his eyes from Colt's file to shine a smile her way. "Excellent job, Miss Rhovnik. Really excellent job."

Kat nodded to the Doctor, feeling a little unsure about what she had just done. Regardless how badly Colt needed to believe Yaya had been talking to him, it just left her feeling uneasy. Suddenly feeling chilled, Kat rubbed her hands up and down her arms. "You're sure he won't know it was me? He will really believe it was Yaya? "

"Most people's most predominant sense -- sight. You wouldn't believe it was Yaya unless you saw Yaya. Colt wouldn't believe it was Yaya unless he smelled Yaya. And with you using her perfume and shampoo coupled with the drugs he took. They weren?t sleeping pills. Most were just placebos but the rest left him in a suggestive state. So, yes, it does appear that he believes it was Yaya. Or at least her spirit." There was a smugness to his tone as he waved his pen holding hand around through the explanation.

"He can never know it was me." The words were whispered in a strained voice as she looked towards the door.

His smile dimmed as she seemed less than impressed by what had just taken place. He gave a slow, careful nod. "Of course. If he ever knew it was you, it would ruin the effectiveness -- should there be any effectiveness -- of this method."

Kat just wanted a shower. Yaya?s distinctive perfume wafted around her and the eeriness of elongating her vowels into the sweet note of Yaya?s southern accent had left Kat feeling sick. She just wanted to be done with this and get out there. It was hard to think about Yaya and just as hard to see Colton in his current state."Are we done then?"

"Yes, yes. Of course. I understand the Rhovniks are anxious to get back to work. I will e-mail an update about the results as soon as we start seeing signs as to whether or not this was effective." And with a wave of his hand, he followed in the wake of the orderlies to check on his patient.

Bitter resentment rose up in Kat?s throat and had to be swallowed back. Sophie would have been better at this. But, unfortunately, Kat looked more like Yaya than did her own sister so she was pegged to manipulate Colt?s loss. And seeing him again, her heart broke for her friend, for the man who had no idea that her teenage heart still pounded a little heavier whenever she saw him.

?I don?t care if he works again. I just want him to live,? she whispered to the wind.

((Written with the help of the amazing player behind Katharine Rhovnik.))

Colt Daniels · Date: 2012-11-01 21:15 EST

Undisclosed Location Somewhere In the Continental U.S.
August 25, 2009
14:41 local time

?I?m ready to get better.?

At first glance an outsider would have thought he was any other patient sitting in an upscale therapist?s office. Built-in floor-to-ceiling bookshelves lined one wall while the rest were painted a rich burgundy giving the room the air of a businessman?s study. A mahogany desk sat before the windows overlooking the front drive but Dr. Volsky was seated on the leather love seat across a coffee table from Colt?s wingback chair.

?So I hear. Why the sudden change of heart?? Dr. Volksy asked casually, crossing one leg over the other.

It was on second glance that certain aspects of the scene would pop out to a bystander. For one, the love seat Dr. Volsky was seated on appeared the type that the patient should claim. A closer inspection of the patient might prove why. One of Colt?s wrists was handcuffed to a non upholstered arm of the chair that was bolted into the wall. The either didn?t trust his desire to live or didn?t trust him in general.

Colt lifted his left hand to run it down his face. It didn?t escape him that his non-dominant hand was the one that they had left free. ?I realized something.?

?You realized something after you tried to kill yourself??

Hearing the words aloud still caused his brows to furrow. Who back home would ever believe that he had downed a bottle of sleeping pills and had to have his stomach pumped? He drew in a deep breath, releasing it slowly and heavily. ?Yeah.?

Dr. Volsky tapped his pen on his notebook, watching Colt expectantly.

?I realized that I wouldn?t want King to die if I died.?

The statement caused a brow to lift. ?You do realize that your dog King died a month ago while you were in here, don?t you??

Nobody had told him but Colt had known. He?d felt the death of the old dog in the pit of him. The connection that he?d had to King had severed, not with the same overwhelming agony as the end of his connection to Yaya but with a sad ache. He felt himself stutter over the ache but eventually found his voice. ?Yeah, I know. But if I wouldn?t have wanted him to go with me just because I had. I don?t think Yaya feels the same way about me.?

The furry eyebrows positioned above the rims of Dr. Volsky?s glasses furrowed. ?Well, certainly not, Colton. I would have hoped you had realized that by now.?

Colt bounced a foot to release nervous energy. It kept him from tapping the fingers of his right hand against the chair and, thus, creating the soft ping of metal handcuffs on the wooden arm. He could do without the reminder that he was still a Rhovnik prisoner. ?Yeah, yeah. But maybe... maybe I now feel like there?s somethin? else.?

?Like what??

?Something more than being someone?s dog. I think Yaya wants that for me. I think maybe she wants me to keep fightin? for it,? he asserted, keeping his tone casual as he danced dangerously close to the truth. They would only believe him if he gave them some truth intermixed with what they wanted to hear.

Dr. Volsky?s eyes were on the pad of paper in hand as he jotted down a couple of notes. ?Maybe so, Colton.?

?So that is why I am ready to get better,? Colt stated with a note of finality to his tone. Because getting better would get him out of this facility and that would be the first step to getting off the Rhovnik leash.

Colt Daniels · Date: 2013-05-05 14:42 EST

Outside RhyDin
May 2, 2013
23:49 local time

By the time Colt and Ford wove their way out of the Stars End Bar to Colt?s jeep, it was late and they were both drunk. The radio on the jeep was tuned to a country station. It wasn't that it was all that Colt listened to but he had a tendency of gravitating towards it when things went wrong. It was a place of comfort, one of familiarity. The music filled the silence that Colt needed. He didn't say a word. He only drove.

His speed was probably excessive considering the alcohol in his system, the dark night with not a street light or a house light in sight, and the winding curvy roads he was taking. Outside of town, he took a sudden, hard right down a dirt road. The shocks on the old jeep bumped, cushioning the pothole marked road as much as they could.

Ford caught at the bottle of JD wedged between his legs with both hands at that sharp turn, the belt doing its job keeping him in his seat as his semi-boneless sprawl went airborne at the first pothole. He interrupted his crooning duet with the radio to shout a "Wooo!" out into the night.

Old trees towered on either side until they broke away suddenly and Colt braked. Just in time, it would seem as the ground had begun to decline rapidly towards a boat launch. When the jeep lurched to a stop, it jerked Ford back and forth in his seat and he peered out over the hood of the vehicle to the shimmer of black water beyond the windshield. Everything suddenly went quiet as Colt killed the engine, cutting Willie Nelson off mid-wail. The sound of water lapping against dirt, rock and the wood of the boat launch chuckled at them.

Colt yanked his door handle open and slammed the door shut behind him after spilling off the driver's seat onto his feet. A couple of purposeful steps were taken towards the water and then a harsh curse flew loose. It came on a swell of frustration and venom as he tried to push away the mood threatening to yank him into its grasp.

Ford watched him as he fumbled with the buckle of the seat belt. Finally, he wrested himself free and poured out of the jeep after him, still gripping the bottle of whiskey in one hand. The moons gave them enough light that neither of them ended in the water. He offered his brother the Jack when he fell in beside him.

Colt dropped to the grass with the bottle, tipping it up for a long draw before reaching it back out to Ford. "Rhett's no longer working for EXCOM."

Ford took it back, before falling on his butt beside him. A little of the liquor sloshed over his fingers and he sucked them while his inebriated mind struggled with that. "So he needs a job?"

"Wouldn't that be nice? Wouldn't it be nice if he would just get a job with ALWE and not worry us to death for a while?" Colt slung a rock into the water. He didn't sidearm it so it would skim the glossy surface in the moonlight. Instead, he threw it overhand. He opted for effort not grace. It flew in a high arc before plunking into the water, creating ripples across the previously serene water. "Son of a bitch took a job with the Rhovniks."

There was a flat moment of silence at that. The only Rhovnik he knew was Kat. He knew of the family - Colt had filled him in on enough of it that even Ford, in his drunken stupor, knew that this was not a good thing. It was like kissing your brother's girl. It didn't end well. He was living proof of that. "What?"

"He's killing for them. He's workin' under Lola." The anger was dying in Colt?s voice gradually, leaving only frustration and sadness in its place.

"Wha- Why?" Why the hell? He needed another drink. So he took one.

"He thinks my connections will only keep us safe outside of our world. The Rhovnik connections will keep us safe on Earth. Our Earth." Colt?s arms came to rest draped over his knees. He could at least breathe out here.

"Is he right? Can they do that?" Somehow, Ford was able to ask the question, slowly as his gears were turning. "And, Jesus -- I mean, Kat's still in school, right? What the hell does she need Rhett for?"

Colt gave a rough huff of a laugh. But there was nothing amused to it. "She'll finish up in Princeton in the next month or so, I assume. But that's what they do. She's started doing field work about the same time we got our driver's license. She'll be full-time as soon as she graduates. I assume that's why she's so eager to fill out her team. And, yeah, the Rhovniks will keep us safe. But Rhett..." He trailed off with a shrug and a shake of his head.

Ford offered the bottle back to him, with a grunt. "But Rhett...?"

"Will be in constant danger," he finished as he took the bottle. Going on seemed impossible without another swallow. So he took one for courage, wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, and handed it back over. "And will be asked to do the worst of the dirty work and will have no way out. It took me... it took everything I had, it took me destroying.... I had to give up a lot to find a way out. I was beyond lucky. It was a miracle."

Ford took the bottle back, balancing it on his knee as he stared out over the lake spreading out in front of them. "Christ. Rhett ain't never did anything he didn't just stick his whole wick in, has he? Now we gotta find a way to get him out without losin' it. Great."

"He doesn't want out. This is what he wants. He wants to work for her." Her. Her. Her. It was accusatory. As if Rhett was moving in on Colt?s girl. Lola was his mistake. His beautiful, screwed up mistake.

"Woah," Ford leaned back a little to look at him, Colt's head circling slowly in his swimming vision until it resolved again. "You still into her, man?"

"No. I just told her I loved her so she would screw me because at the time the only way I knew to keep from bonding with her was to do her."

"I'm not gettin' somethin' here," Ford scrubbed his hands over his mouth, whiskers rasping beneath his palms. "Rhett's workin' for buffet, basically? But somethin's up because it wouldn't bother you this much if there weren't."

"She's not buffet," Colt snapped suddenly as he shoved himself to his feet. A couple steps were taken away, further towards the water. The burst of anger had to be followed by a couple cleansing breaths. The alcohol was running freely in his system, his emotions were running high. This. This was when he was most like his father. This was when he was most capable of bad decisions and violence. The wide open space embraced him despite the venom and after a couple breaths he could continue without the weight of it all.

"She thinks I didn't love her,? Colt murmured more to the lake than to Ford. ?And the first time I told her, I didn't. But... but maybe... maybe I did fall in love with her."

"But you don't now?" It was half-question, half-statement. Ford was teetering on unfamiliar territory with Colt, now, and seeing a side of him he never had. Colt never loved the buffet. Never. He'd never heard him say he'd been in love with anyone, before Ten. And now he was standing there saying, back then, he'd been in love with Lola. Kat. Whatever she wanted to call herself.

"I don't know. A part of me always will." The words were rushed and mumbled as he dropped down beside his younger brother once more. The energy that had appeared rushed out of him just as fast. "But it's more than that. She's my mess. I broke her. I screwed her up. I just... I dunno."

"You feel guilty." How was it Ford could see these things in other people, even drunk, but he couldn't sort the mess inside his own head, sober? "And you want to protect her and you feel guilty because you can't. You can't because of what happened, and you can't because of Ten. And you're jealous of Rhett because he can."

"Isn't that what Ma always says?" The fight had drained out of Colt. His posture had dropped and his voice was slightly hoarse. "Ain't a big deal if you make a mess as long as you right it. I want to talk to her. I want to at least talk to her."

"You gonna tell her how you feel?" The alcohol still diluted his bloodstream, but Ford was feeling dismayingly sober all of a sudden. ""Seems to me, you gotta tell her the truth."

"Yeah." Colt inhaled a deep breath through his nose, his ribs expanding fully. "Yeah, I think I have to tell her the truth."

((With thanks to the player behind Ford Daniels.))

Colt Daniels · Date: 2013-05-06 11:51 EST

Undisclosed Location Somewhere in the Continental U.S.
September 24, 2009
14:23 local time

Standing on the base of the steps out front of the Rhovnik Institute of Medical Studies and Research was surreal. Although, Colt had been living in it for four months he?d never seen the front facade. It was a great monolith of Victorian architecture that had originally housed a hospital but when it had been abandoned in the 1970s in lieu of a more modern facility, the Rhovniks had purchased it and restored it for their own private use.

Colt wasn?t interested, though, in turning to study the architecture of the building he?d unwillingly been forced to consider home for the last several months. He was ready to be as far from here as he possibly could. The weight of the pack on his back was shifted as he stared down the U-shaped cobblestone drive, waiting for his ride out.

They hadn?t told him who was coming for him and he didn?t care who was coming for him. All he needed was a rental car and some money. He didn?t even know what state he was in but he knew he was north of where he needed to be. The woods of Georgia were calling and he wanted to go home. The compass of his heart would not lead him astray.

A late model black S-class Mercedes sedan swung into the drive and Colt breathed in a breath of freedom. He bounced off the bottom step and reached out for the door handle as the Mercedes came to a stop in front of him.

The brunette in the driver?s seat was not who he was expecting. Who had he been expecting? Some low level Rhovnik grunt to sedate him and put him on a plane home? Perhaps an upper level admin type to thank him for his service over the years, hand him some cash and a bus ticket? A Rhovnik hadn?t been expected. He landed a hand on the center pillar of the exterior of the sedan, bracing himself in his lean to get a better look at her. Long brown hair framed a warm heart-shaped face and intelligent hazel eyes. Beautiful. There was never any denying that even Katharine Rhovnik was stunning.

?Kat? What are you doing here??

"Well don't look so shocked to see me, stranger. Get in." Kat was leaning forward to peer through the car and out the door at Colt. "Where should we joyride to first? Burgers? Booze?" Her quiet laugh was playful as her eyes roamed over him. He really could use a burger.

The wide set of his shoulders was still the same. A loss of appetite couldn't impact the length of those bones but the broad chest was missing and his body sloped inward to a newly narrowed waist. He wasn't built like a linebacker anymore. His form was a hollowed out version of its former self.

Shocked. Yes, he was shocked. But lit by the halo of sunlight flooding from the open sunroof above Kat was his own personal angel sent to rescue him from the nightmare of the last several months. He hesitated no further. The bag was dropped onto the floorboards of the vehicle and he slid into a seat. "Burgers, you minor. You're... what? Four years from being able to drink legally in this country."

Despite her attempt at a light mood, there was concern in her eyes for him, but she relaxed when he got into the car and started in with teasing her. "You and me are cut from the same cloth, Colt. We're rebels." Kat was hardly a rebel and the mere thought caused Colt to huff out a laugh for the first time in what seemed like ages.

"Just rub it in, why don't you? I'm almost eighteen, about a month to go." The car was shifted out of park and Kat drove it away, happy to be taking Colt away from that awful place. "Burgers it is then." Reaching her arm out, she rested it behind his seat a moment, her fingers reaching through the headrest to lightly flick against his hair. "How are you?"

He leaned his head back against the headrest and smiled softly at her. "Better. The further we get away from that place, the better I am. Where are we, by the way?"

"Does it matter where we are, Colt? You're a free man." She pulled her arm out from behind him and put her hand back on the steering wheel as she looked over her shoulder to merge onto Interstate 75. "Knoxville. Almost."

They could take I-75 all the way to Georgia. Peace settled over his face. He was four and a half hours from sinking his hiking boots into his own woods. His hazel eyes caught hers briefly when she peeked his way once they had safely merged onto the interstate. "You are the most gorgeous woman in the world to me right now," he teased softly.

"Why because I rescued you from that dank hell hole? It's so... drab, isn't it? Of all the places they could have sent you. And I'm getting you food. You better be careful Colt, I know the way to your heart," teasing him softly. She tried to use humor to deflect her own feelings and the way her stomach had flopped and fluttered when he called her gorgeous.

"What are your plans? What's next for you?"

"I want to see where they buried King. They told me that my family thinks I'm playing football in Canada. I know Ford would have buried King in the woods near my house. I want to pay my respects."

"I'll take you," she blurted out a little too eagerly before amending it with a more nonchalant tone. "I mean, I know where he's buried. I've left one of those peanut butter treats that he loved so much on his grave once or twice."

?And then...? He trailed off, lifting his gaze to the swath of sky visible through the sunroof. "And then I want to hike the Appalachian Trail for a while."

"You'd better take it easy. Hiking sounds fun, but maybe you ought to do a little conditioning first." She reached out a finger and poked at his slimmer and softer midsection. "You could hang around with me for a while. I've got an assignment coming up soon. Elsie even said she thought you'd be perfect to team up with me."

With no warning at all, his heart thumped hard, blood rushing to his ears before his brain could catch up with his gut. The comment touched on a primal point of fear. His mind raced to reason it out. Elsie said they'd be a perfect team. Just like he and Yaya had been. Perfect because Colt was the obedient dog willing to lay down his life for his mistress at the drop of a hat. It would have all been immediately easy to read on his face but, thankfully, the view out the front windshield was keeping Kat busy.

"She did, huh? She wants us to work together? When?"

"Yeah. I was kind of surprised. This is my first big assignment, all me. I really shouldn't be surprised though when I think about it, she'd of course want me paired with the best." She smiled at him affectionately.

"Sure. Sure, she would,? he murmured under his breath. It was happening already. They were snapping the leash tight. They wouldn't let Colt go. Now that Yaya was gone, he would just be rebonded with another. Kat. They would have him bond to Kat.

"Hey. What's wrong? Don't worry. I know you're a bit out of shape, but it's not until December, we'll get you ready by then." Her eyebrows furrowed together as she looked back to the road, taking the next exit because it had a sign for food.

The smell wouldn't have been noticeable to the ordinary human nose but Colt could smell it. Gunpowder. Steel. She was a Rhovnik so it wasn't the least bit surprising that there was at least one gun in the car. With a flurry of movement, he reached out to snap open the glove compartment. The handgun was pulled out, the barrel poking into her ribs. A flick filled the air as the safety was turned off.

"Pull over."

She nearly jerked the car right off the road when the gun pressed into her ribs. "Shit, Colt. What are you doing?"

The question went unanswered. At least verbally. The gun was shoved harder into her side. All the training she had ever had was running through her head. Stay calm. Slowing down, she pulled over onto a side street. This had to be some kind of post traumatic stress thing, right? Colt wouldn't really pull a gun on her.

"Let's talk about this." She put the car into park and then lifted her hands from the steering wheel.

"Leave your cell phone on the dash and get out of the car." The words should have been tainted with sadness and guilt but all he felt was panic. He had to get away. He had to get away from her.

"Why? Why do you want me out of the car, Colt?" She was struggling to get her seatbelt unbuckled, her hands were shaking so bad. Finally it opened and she reached into her pocket, slowly, letting him watch as she extracted her cell and put it up on the dash. "Come on, we can talk about this, about whatever is going on. Colt?" She looked so hurt as she whispered his name, obviously she hadn't expected that reaction from him at all.

His free hand reached out to grab her wallet from her purse. Money, credit cards, her driver's license. The cash was taken. It would be enough to get him home. The rest was handed over. "When I'm a couple exits away I will text Nando and tell him you'll be in that diner down there. I hope for your sake they have good pie since it'll probably take him a couple hours to get here. I suggest you don't tell your grandmother or your brother that you were forced out of the car at gunpoint by me. It'll probably get you in more trouble than it will me. Don't go back to Georgia lookin' for me. I won't be there."

"What am I supposed to tell them?" yelled hysterically at him. She grabbed the keys out of the ignition then. He wouldn't shoot her, she knew he wouldn't, at least not yet. Opening the car door, she got out and threw the keys as far as she could into the grass. Although with his skills, that probably wouldn't hinder him, it was more or less just something she had to do to annoy him.

She stalked off then, heading down the road towards the diner as he cursed under his breath, heading into the underbrush for the keys. With his nose it wouldn?t take long for him to locate them by the lingering scent she had left on them. She didn?t wait to watch him drive off without her. She only muttered under her breath as she stepped into the roadside dive. "I can't believe this."

((With thanks, yet again, to the player behind Katharine Rhovnik.))

Katharine Rhovnik · Date: 2013-05-07 15:35 EST

The Hilton Seaside Resort
Seaside, RhyDin
May 3, 2013
14:01 local time

An alcove in the RhyDin shore, the Hilton Seaside Resort had been purposefully built in one of the areas in which the land sunk down to create a stretch of sandy beach rather than the rocky cliffs in other sections. It's high society clientele appreciated the option of sunning themselves in the pristine stretch. Colt didn't think that Kat was the type to care about laying out. Her vacations would have been taken on beaches far more beautiful than RhyDin's. Traveling in style was what was expected of her.

Just past where the path between the resort and the shore narrowed to slip between dunes, Colt stood with his back to the ocean. The waves roared in his ears as they crashed against the sand. The wind which was whipping the waves fiercer than normal had created enough of a chill for him to need his jacket. He stood waiting for her with his hands shoved into the pockets of his cargo jacket and, for once in his life, he ignored the pretty women who passed.

Kat stood watching him for a long moment before she headed down the beach to meet up with him. She had considered turning around and going back inside, texting him and telling him she was sick. But Kat wasn't a coward, she was going to face him and settle this once and for all. Seeing him standing on the beach, brought back a long forgotten memory, a memory from when she had still loved him. Pulling her jacket tighter around her, she clutched it's edges as she neared him.

"What do you want, Daniels?" There was a little extra gruff put into her voice in order to be heard over the waves and wind.

He breathed in a breath of her through his nose. The scent of vanilla in her hair. The sweet, soft notes of her perfume. And then the distinctly separate scent of gunpowder and steel. A flash of a smile settled on his face and he took a step in to meet her, his voice low enough that the surf would drown them out to anyone passing. "A gun? Really, Lola? Could you shoot me?"

She wanted to knock the smile right off of his face, but she instantly softened, something that annoyed her. Would she ever not be charmed by him? After everything he had done, she still could be suckered by him. She held her arms tighter around herself, trying to hold herself together and protect herself from him. Even though Colt was one of the few people who could see right through her, she still threw up the Rhovnik facade, if anything to try and convince herself that she could be tough around him.

"Without a second thought." there was no break in her voice as she answered him. Her jaw ticked a bit as she set her teeth together.

It was difficult to say if he bought the bluster or not. His hazel eyes studied her features for a moment. A sweet, open girl grown into a careful, closed off woman. Of course, he wasn't solely to blame. She was raised by Rhovniks. But he had been a part of her transformation. His hands slid out of his pockets, remaining low so not to attract attention but there was a subtle gesture of palms facing her to show that he was unarmed before his hands dropped to his sides.

"Yeah, because that's going to make me trust you. You don't need a gun to hurt me," she snapped at him.

There was a heavy dose of truth in the statement so instead of responding, he tilted his head in a silent invitation to walk. ?Why Rhett??

Kat fell into place at his side as they walked parallel with the sea on hard, wet sand. "Why Rhett? Why not? He needed me and my connections and I needed him. He's the best. I only want the best for my team. You know how we work, why are you so surprised that I wanted him? I need an expert marksman and a personal guard."

He dumped his hands back into his pockets. His eyes could never linger on her long. The guilt was too heavy a yoke to bear. "I am surprised that you would put your trust in a Daniels again."

A young couple was walking in the opposite direction, their wrists entangled and their fingers entwined. Their newlywed glow was palpable. Love and hope radiated from them. It stood in stark contrast to the hurt and mistrust that emanated from Colt and Kat. Had there ever been a chance that they could have been walking the opposite way? Had the certitude of their doom been written from the moment he first lied by telling her that he loved her? Or had it come sooner? Maybe even the day that he had pressed the barrel of a gun into her ribs and demanded that she get out of the car?

"I am too," she admitted to him. "Rhett strikes me as different from you though. He's honest. Loyal. We both know we're using one another. He hates me." There was a soft sigh that came with the confession.

"I don't know whether his loyalty comes from having his hands tied or because it's just who he is,? she continued. ?But I'll take it. When you weren't lying to me, you were good at what you did. One of the best I have ever seen. I've been watching Rhett for quite some time, I don't want him being snatched up by anyone else. You know I'll take care of him, don't you?"

With a huff of a laugh that rattled out of his chest, he slowed to a stop. His fingers reached out to wrap around the delicate bone of her wrist to draw her to a stop with him. The arm was immediate yanked away from him, as though it burned her.

"Lola. Oh, Lola,? he whispered. ?You are so smart. You can read anyone. Why do you still look at me and see only what you want to see? Before it was that I was your white knight and now.... now I'm a monster because it's too scary to open your eyes and see the truth."

"Don't call me that." stated softly as she stared out at the water. She held onto herself again and trying to put some space between herself and him. "I don't see what I want to see, I see what I know. That is all I know about you Colt. I don't want to see anything else in you because you don't deserve that. What other truth is there? You can't change what happened. I know what I went through and what it took to get over you."

Her eyes kept away from him but his landed fully on her, accepting the full wave of pain that came with it. So beautiful. So screwed up. So in need of someone to protect her. To protect her from him more than anything. "You're right that Rhett is a better man than I am. I cannot even begin to describe to you the many ways in which he is. He is honest. He is loyal. He will lay down his life for you. But I am not a monster out to destroy you. I never was. I just was never as strong as my brother."

"You can't honestly think that I believe you. What else am I supposed to think? I was a kid, Colt!" The sadness rang freely in her voice. "I know you gloat. The one that broke Kat Rhovnik. Well, lucky you."

"I loved you! I would never gloat about what happened." His voice was sharp and firm. The words slipped out before he could stop them, before he could figure out a way to deliver them in an easier way.

Once they were out, he drew in a breath and started again, letting his eyes soak her in. "Not at first. Not the first time I said it to you. Not before we made love. Not the second time I said it to you or the third. But at some point I fell in love with you."

"Oh yay! At some point the asshole actually sort of loved me. Why are you doing this? Why does it matter now? You told me what you thought I needed to hear in order to get what you wanted. I don't need that now, I don't need to know that you loved me. That is what I needed then and you couldn't give that to me. Why now? After all this time, why would you tell me that you really did love me? You're married for godsakes."

Both of his hands reached out and fingers wrapped themselves around her upper arms, gripping her tightly to force her to look him in the eyes. "To show you the truth. I'm not some monster. I'm just some asshole. I didn't love you enough to stay with the Rhovniks and you can't honestly tell me that you loved me enough to leave this life and run away with me. Can you, Lola? Can you look me in the eyes and tell me that you loved me enough to run away... from Soph and from Elsie and from your horrible mother and from Chase? Would you have chosen me over them? Because that's the choice we had to make. I couldn't live in that world. I couldn't live with what I had to do in the name of your family and you can't live without your family."

"You should have let me decide!" She raged at him, her small fists raising and pounding against his chest angrily. The rough waves drowned them out, his large solid frame blocked her from being seen. In the moment, she was safe to throw her anger at him fully without having to worry about rumors spreading over the Rhovnik heir?s sister causing a scene. "It wasn't your right to decide for me. It was my choice, at least if I had chosen I would have closure. I wouldn't have spent the last four years wondering why I wasn't good enough for you to love me. Sophie left. I could have too. You could have been enough, but now we'll never know."

The anger slowly left her voice and her hands rested flat against his chest. Breathing heavily, she was fighting back tears. To the outside world, they looked like lovers in an embrace. It made the truth of the moment far more tragic. "We are not monsters, Colt. We're not. You have to know that by now..."

He leaned forward, tilting his lips in close to her ear to whisper. "You're not a monster, Lola. You're not. Just do me a favor and don't forget that, yeah? Don't forget the girl you used to be. Don't forget the girl I fell in love with."

Sniffling softly, she nodded. "Rhett thinks I am. He calls me the sadistic bitch." Her bottom lip trembled. It killed her to think that someone on her team didn't love her. She really did work hard to earn the respect of her team and probably was the easiest of the Rhovniks to work for. "Maybe I am. Maybe that girl is already gone."

"Nope. That you care what Rhett calls you proves that she's not gone," he replied firmly, leaning back to use his thumbs to drag her dark hair back behind her ears. She looked up to him, forcing herself to look him in the eye. A small, confident smile had found its way to his lips but it quickly died as he began to speak again. "He's a good guy. He's a really good guy. I've spent my whole life hopin' that maybe... just maybe I'd end up being half the man he is but I'm not. He's put himself in harm's way for me more times than I can count. He wants to like you. It's easier to like someone you have to protect than to dislike them. Stop puttin' on your Sophie act 'cause you're scared that he's going to be me. He's not. Be Kat and he won't think you're a sadistic bitch anymore."

Colt worked to slowly peel away Kat's layers until she was exposed to the Kat he knew. Her hands reached up to wrap around his wrists on either side of her face. She scoffed softly, a slow smile spreading on her lips. "How did you know... What is it with you Daniels men? The damn southern charm, it has to be it. He terrifies me. Every time I look at him, I see you. The you that Yaya knew. I just keep waiting though, you know, for him to turn on me.

Breathing out softly, she tugged on his wrists, dragging both their arms back down. "You're right though. It's not fair to him. I have to look at him without seeing you."

"Yaya is dead and we're all just tryin' to figure out how to live without her, baby,? Colt whispered. The intimacy in his voice was palpable. He had worked to peel away her layers. She never had to work on his. It always came so naturally. It took time, it was gradual... but before he knew it he lay raw and exposed. ?Rhett never knew her. He is free of her memory. And all he knows about you is this front you've been showin' and even then he's completely loyal to you. I can't protect you. I can't be what you need me to be... but Rhett... he can protect you. So many of you Rhovniks die so young. Maybe he can make sure that you see thirty."

?I'll try. He deserves that much. I've already dragged him into this mess, the least I can do is spare him our ghosts." She wiped at her eyes and tilted her head as she stared up at him a hand raising to stroke his cheek. Her unsure smile grew. "She's changed you. I am happy for you. And I swear to you, I'm not doing this to hurt you. I will take good care of Rhett. I think, maybe he doesn't know it yet, but he needs this. Trust me."

He leaned forward to brush his lips against her forehead before pulling back once more to find her eyes. His fingers brushed against the inside of her wrist as he took a step away. "He is everythin' I have ever wanted to be and I'm not gonna fight this 'cause that's how much I care about you. I want you to remember that."

Kat?s lips broke into a sad smile and she nodded numbly as the contact between them broke. Her smile was briefly mirrored on his face before he turned. The waves roared, the wind kicked up the sand to pelt their shins, the newlyweds kissed further down the beach, and Colt turned to walk away, leaving Kat alone with both the weight and the freedom that the conversation left.

(With thanks to the talented player behind Colt Daniels)

Colt Daniels · Date: 2013-05-08 19:19 EST

Winston-Salem, North Carolina
October 1, 2009
11:28 local time

The knocking at the door of Will?s apartment had initially been ignored but it was insistent. With a weighty sigh, he shoved himself out of his armchair and stepped over Yaya?s cat, Patty, on his way to the door. The television droned on in the background, playing some informercial for a blender. It could evidently even grind oats. Even though his culinary expertise was limited to grilled cheese sandwiches and BLTs, after watching the infomercial for a half an hour, Will was seriously considering the blender.

The knocking continued. It was probably a friend checking in on him. They still did that every once in awhile even though it had been over a year since she went missing. They would ask if he had heard anything about the case. Sympathy and sadness would glimmer in their eyes. He would make the same old tired comments about how strong Yaya was and how he knew she?d keep on fighting.

But it was a lie. It was all a lie now. Will knew that now. Yaya was dead. Sophie had come only a week ago to tell him and he couldn?t tell anyone else because Yaya had died off world. There would never be closure for her case. She?d just be another of those missing faces that disappeared from this world with no explanation, no body to bury, no grave to visit. A new wave of bitterness filled him as he pulled open the door.

?Christ,? Will murmured beneath his breath as the haggard, unshaven face on the other side of the door was immediately recognized. ?Colt Goddamn Daniels. I assumed you were dead.?

The surprise of the appearance caused a bark of a laugh from Will. He took a step forward to solidly embrace Colt, thumping him twice on the back. The combined weight of their grief hit heavy in the room but there was relief too in sharing space with someone who was in as much pain as the other. Here, Colt would be safe.

?Come in, come in,? Will stated as he took a step back, opening the door wider.

Colt closed the door behind him and his nose quickly led his eyes to Patty. The cat sat back on its haunches, narrowing its eyes at Colt across the room. It was clear that the bird dog was not a welcome reminder of his mistress in Patty?s eyes. Colt huffed at the cat before falling onto the loveseat as Will dropped into his chair. ?Not that it isn?t great to see you but why are you here and where?ve you been??

?I?ve been locked up. The Rhovniks had me in their private research lab to try to fix me after...? After Yaya died. Those three words were nearly impossible for him to say and certainly impossible in Will?s presence. He shook off the three words that kept repeating inside his head to answer the other question. ?I got out a couple days ago. Kat came to pick me up.?

?You have to be careful there, man. That girl has always had a huge crush on you,? Will warned with an inkling of a concerned frown.

That was why Yaya had fallen in love with Will. Despite his current pain and the level of grief that had settled over his apartment, Will still took the time and energy to worry over his dead girlfriend?s seventeen year old cousin being hurt by an older man. It would make the rest of Colt?s plan difficult to tell but he had to tell someone. The panic continued rotting out his gut.

?I need a place to crash for a couple nights, Will. I can?t go home. They?re looking for me. It?ll just be a couple nights. I need to get my head on straight so I can face what I have to do next.?

Will nodded to indicate that Colt could stay before the request was even fully out of his mouth. He leaned forward, letting his forearms sink to his knees as bright blue eyes remained set on Colt. ?What?s going on??

?They want me to bond with Kat. I don?t even think she realizes. She just thinks they want us to work together. But evidently Mrs. Rhovnik is talkin? about how Kat and I would make the perfect team. I can?t do this again. Not right now. Maybe not ever. I can?t be someone?s dog. I?ve got to find a way out.? The desperation in his own voice caused Colt?s nerves to twist into further knots. He couldn?t stop the mounting wave of fear. He couldn?t go through this again.

Concern further colored Will?s expression as he leaned back to consider the weight of Colt?s problem. ?Why do I feel like you have a plan and I?m going to hate it??

Somewhere in the apartment, a clock ticked a bit too fast. A woman on television was talking about the benefits of a certain cream. An old pizza box sat on the counter in the kitchen. The light on the answering machine blinked for attention. Colt drew in a breath and released it before pushing forward with the plan he?d come up with after several days of aimless driving and sleeping in the Mercedes.

?I don?t want to bond with her. I have to find a way out of this. But you don?t just not show up for work with the Rhovniks. They will find me and they will make me pay. I?ve got to come up with a plan but I don?t have enough time. I need to make sure that I won?t bond with Kat and there?s only one way I know how to do that.?

Will groaned, shaking his head firmly at what was passing as Colt?s plan. ?She?s seventeen, Colt.?

?She?ll be eighteen next month,? Colt replied firmly.

?You can?t have sex with this girl if you don?t care about her.?

Colt huffed out a humorless laugh. ?I?ve had sex with a lot of girls that I couldn?t care less about. This is just one more girl and this one will keep me safe for a little while.?

Will reached up to rub the back of his neck, shaking his head slowly. ?This is Katharine Rhovnik. She?s a good girl.?

It was Colt?s turn to lean forward, locking eyes with Will and dropping his voice to an insistent pitch. ?I have no other choice. Don?t you see? I have no other choice.?

With another shake of his head unwilling to accept that as truth, Will let a hand drop onto the arm of the chair to shove himself to his feet. ?Look, just take some time and think about it, okay? Take a couple days here to rest. You look like shit. I?m going to get us some beer and some food.?

Colt gave a numb nod as he sunk back against the back of the loveseat. He reached out a hand to rub his face as he melted into the cushions. The posture of his shoulders eased and he breathed a sigh of relief. For a couple days he would be safe. For a couple days he wouldn?t be the asshole he was. And after he was rested, he would do what he needed to do to protect himself against the Rhovniks.

Colt Daniels · Date: 2013-05-11 00:20 EST

The Campus of Princeton University
Princeton, NJ
October 5, 2009
22:53 local time

Colt sat on a bench in the northwest corner of Princeton University's campus before the great Holder Hall, listening to the weather report for the ninth time this hour while studying the craftsmanship that went into the gray stone building before him. With its massive tower, slate roofs, leaded casement windows, and the strange bronze tiger-things that stood guard as finials, Holder Hall appeared to have been picked up out of the set of Harry Potter and dropped into New Jersey. It smelled of importance and history and it wasn't the least bit shocking to him that a Rhovnik called it home.

Beneath the great trees gilded by autumn in an array of yellows, golds, and oranges, Colt sighed heavily into the phone while a trio of students passed on the sidewalk before him. "But, Veronica, this long distance thing is difficult."

The ruse worked once again. The two female students didn't even break their stride and the male student shot him back a look of sympathy. He was dismissed as just another student looking for an ounce of privacy from his roommates by making a call to his girlfriend in the courtyard.

'Veronica' on the other end replied in her digitized voice. "The time is now 10:53 pm. The current temperature is 65 degrees. The low for tonight is..."

It was almost time to call it a night. This had been his third day of following Kat around waiting for an opportunity.... or an opening? He wasn't exactly sure what he was waiting or looking for. This was a new situation. Seducing someone that one had held at gunpoint only a couple weeks prior was tricky business.

Colt exhaled and rolled his free wrist over to glance at his watch even though 'Veronica' had just told him the time for the ninth time this hour.

"Gen, I don't think those jeans make you look fat at all. You should dump Matt just for telling you that. Who does he think he is anyway? He's the like the King of beer pong around here and it shows." Kat laughed softly as she comforted her friend. "Cheer up. We'll do an extra round of cardio in the morning and you'll feel great."

Gen was given a hug and the girls exchanged goodbyes. Kat clipped a small device onto her LuLuLemon running top, bounced in place a few times and then took off jogging down the path.

"Pain in the ass," Colt murmured under his breath. Rhovnik girls. They were all alike. They had a tendency of thinking they were invincible and they seemed to enjoy running without armed guards. What college coed didn't know better than to avoid jogging alone after dark? With another soft curse, Colt dropped his phone into the pocket of his jacket, slung a book bag over his shoulder, and jogged to catch up.

Her pace wasn't all that fast, just a light jog to get her heart rate up and blow off a little steam before she went to bed. She frequently ran this path alone, despite warnings from her friends that she should join one of the running groups on campus and carry her whistle that had been handed out the first week they all arrived. As soon as she was off campus, she slowed down to a brisk walk, heading for the juice bar that was a few blocks away.

Nassau Street was idyllic lit by the warm glow of streetlights which bounced off the crevices of the campus buildings on one side and the three story brick shops on the other. Both foot traffic and vehicular traffic was light this time of night. Colt slowed to a walk as Kat did, keeping a block behind her.

The revving engine of a speeding car coming from behind broke the quiet night. The black SUV sped past him at a high rate of speed before slamming on its brakes at the intersection Kat was approaching. Doors were swung open and the flash of gunfire lit up the night suddenly.

The sound of brakes slamming had Kat slowly down and turning to look just as the doors swung open. Instinct kicked in and she dodged as a bullet zoomed past her head and then took off running in a zig zag pattern, all of her training kicking in.

At the first sound of gunfire, Colt had broke into a run to close in on the location, pulling his gun free of its holster beneath his jacket. He hopped a retaining wall onto the campus grounds, extending his stride towards the top of a small hill, giving him the height advantage.

"Drop!" he called to Kat as he squeezed off a couple of rounds through the opened passenger doors of the black SUV.

His voice came to her clearly amidst all of the noise and commotion. She didn't even know it was his at first, she just knew that she had to listen. Kat instantly dropped down to the hard cement, gashing her knees and arms. Once down, she inched towards the grass in an effort to keep moving.

A shot -- maybe even two -- struck center mass of the shooter in the front passenger seat. The gunfire came to a hesitating end. They didn't seem to be expecting her to have a guard which was proof that Kat often went for walks without a guard. The surprise of someone shooting back seemed to catch them off guard.

Tires squealed as the gas pedal was jammed down towards the floorboards. The black SUV roared away as Colt found his way to his feet, memorizing make, model, tag number, and the numerous bullet holes down the side. They would dump the SUV quickly but the Rhovniks would move even faster.

Even as Colt traced his way towards Kat, he was dialing a phone number he could never seem to forget and lifting the phone to his ear. "This is Daniels. I'm with K-Rho. We need help. Pronto."

A split second was taken to look up and try to see who had followed her. Who had protected her? She heard him identify himself before she saw him. As the SUV sped off, Kat slowly pushed herself to her knees and then stood up. She couldn't believe it. Staring at him, she let out a soft sob. "What are you doing here?!"

An arm reached out to pull her in protectively against his body, shielding her against his body as his eyes scanned the area for a second attack. The Rhovnik security agent on the other end of the line was asking questions at a rapid pace but for the moment he only had a quiet whisper for Kat. "C'mon. Let's get you out of here."

Colt Daniels · Date: 2013-05-12 06:30 EST

Holder Hall, Princeton University
Princeton, NJ
October 6, 2009
00:42 local time

The hour that followed him wrapping his arm around Kat seemed to fly by but there was a certain order to it that he hadn?t realized he had missed. He knew what to do. He knew how to protect her. This was the part of the job he enjoyed. This was the part of the job he missed.

The thrum of energy in him caused his brows to furrow and he resisted. He would not bond with her. He would not bond with anyone.

Sitting on Kat?s bed in the small dorm room off the quad?s common room, he listened to the sounds of her everyday life. Several other girls from the quad were laughing at the television in the common room. Kat?s phone buzzed on the desk with every text message and missed call that came in. The shower ran as she tried to rinse away the evidence of what had just happened.

He leaned forward with his phone in his hands and took his first look at his Rhovnik e-mail account. His first look since Yaya?s death. Starting with the most recent, he quickly got a picture of what had happened since he had escorted Kat back to her dorm, leaving a Rhovnik crew to clean up the mess. The attackers were Columbian drug lords who wanted to make a point to Elsie after a couple of her grandchildren, including Kat, had firebombed one of their warehouses during the summer. The men had been found. Found and slaughtered to make a point in return. There was no longer a believed threat but just to be on the safe side a half dozen Rhovnik employees had descended on the campus to keep an eye on Kat through the night. A full debrief and review was scheduled in two days time to address a new plan for Kat?s college security. Colt had been invited to attend according to the e-mails.

The shower shut off and a few minutes later Kat came out of the bathroom, her hair in a knot on top of her head and clothed in her Princeton sweatshirt and pants. There was a look of surprise on her face as she saw Colt standing there, looking as though he were making himself more comfortable. "You're still here." Her eyes went back to his jacket. "You're staying until they send someone?" she asked cautiously as she approached him.

"I never got to say what I came here to say to you in the first place." He purposefully pitched his tone low as his hazel eyes came to rest on her fully.

"Okay then." Kat held her hand out and rolled it a bit to encourage him to go on. "Why are you here, Colt? The last time I saw you, you were carjacking me."

The criminal accusation caused a laugh to rumble out of him, surprising him once again. That was twice. He had now laughed twice in her presence. They weren't fully belly laughs but they were the only laughs he'd experienced in months. "Carjacked? Okay, okay. I suppose if you were to look the term 'carjack' up in the dictionary, it probably would have fit. But... I was scared, Kat. I was really scared."

"You were scared? You held me at gunpoint and stole my favorite car." She crossed her arms, trying to look angry, but she just couldn't find it in herself to feel that way, especially after he had just saved her life. "Why were you scared? Scared of me?"

It had been months since he'd worked his way into a woman's skirt but it came back easily. Yet, there was none of his usual joy in the game. Not this time. But, then again, he usually didn't have to lie. This time, the lies kept oozing out of him. He took a step forward, reaching out with a hand towards Kat's hip as his eyes fell to the pout on her lips. "Scared of how you made me feel."

"Could have fooled me." It came a bit flirtatiously as she looked down to his hand resting there on her hip. How long had she wanted him to embrace her, notice her? Now it was happening. Biting down on her lip, she looked back up to him. "How did I make you feel?"

"Like maybe I could feel again. I saw you and all my old feelings for you came rushin' back and I couldn't deal with it all at once. I just had to get away." The false confession hurt to utter but the hoarseness to his voice only colored the emotional 'revelation'.

"Old... feelings?" Her eyebrows tipped up with intrigue as she tried to puzzle together his story. "Colt, you never acted like you had any feelings for me. I spent a year following after you and nothing. Why now? You're here to tell me that you have feelings for me? Like, romantically?"

"I'm twenty-two years old. You're seventeen. Even if we were the same age your family wouldn't approve of any sort of relationship between us. I'm here to apologize and I'm here to tell you that the reason I did what I did is because I have feelings for you." His fingers tightened their hold for a firm grasp at her hip. A sly smile spread across his lips. "I'm not really sure if I'd define them as 'romantic' or 'sexual' in nature. I'm not much of a romantic sort of guy, y'know."

Hesitatingly, her hands settled against his chest, soaking up the newness of the moment. I don't really know what to say. I mean, thank you, for saving my life, obviously." Her eyes dropped to her hands as her fingers splayed out wide against the solidness of the muscles of his chest.

"Your security team has got this place pretty well surrounded. You're supposed to wear your panic button tonight but otherwise they're going to leave you alone to rest. The nosy blonde out there said your roommate is at her boyfriend's for the night." He released her hip and both hands reached up to tuck her hair back behind her ears, his smiled softened to a much gentler curve. "I'll leave you to get some sleep."

Two of her fingers caught his shirt and she pulled a bit, worry making her brow crease. It looked like there was something on her mind, something that she was fighting with. The way her bottom lip twitched, it was like she was holding back from saying something. Looking back up, she shook her head no, slowly. "Stay? I don't want to be alone."

Carefully, he watched the fight play across her expression. She wanted him to stay. She didn't want to want him to stay. He drew in a breath and took a step back to sink onto her bed. A pillow was grabbed and plopped into his lap as he leaned his back against the wall.

"C'mon," he encouraged softly, patting the pillow in invitation.

That was all the invitation she needed. Moving towards her bed, she crawled onto it and then laid her head down on the pillow in his lap. "Thank you again. For being here. I'm glad it was you out there today, saving my ass."

His fingers slid through the dark hair splayed across the pillow, releasing a heavy exhale. "Just close your eyes. I'll be here when you wake up. I promise."

((With thanks to the player behind Katharine Rhovnik.))

Colt Daniels · Date: 2013-05-13 17:05 EST

7103 Flint Rd.
Thomaston, GA
October 17, 2009
11:32 local time

From the nightstand in the master bedroom of Colt?s home on the banks of the Flint River, a cell phone rang. Well, it didn?t exactly ring. It was saying ?Get the phone, ***hole? in Ford?s voice. At the time it had been recorded they were a twelve pack into their night and it seemed like a great idea. Unfortunately, the novelty of it wore off rather quickly and Colt simply didn?t have the motivation to change it. In the grand scheme of things, it was a rather small irritation.

?Get the phone, ***hole,? Ford?s voice called again from the phone.

He forced his eyes open to thin slits. Vicious light poured in through the open curtains, making his aching head pound harder. How much booze had he had last night? Or this morning? Night blended into day. It was all just one big long repetitive cycle that he was sick to death of facing.

Get the phone, ***hole.

The woman lying on her stomach in bed beside Colt didn?t even stir with the noise. His eyes roamed the naked valleys and peaks of caramel skin. Her curves sloped downward and just before the rise of her backside the green down comforter blocked his view. Gorgeous. It was a shame that his memory of having her last night was so foggy.

Get the phone, ***hole.

?Yeah, yeah, yeah,? he murmured under his breath in response to the ringtone as he reached over the naked woman to grab his phone off the nightstand.

?Hello??

?Colt! Hey, it's Kat." Eight hundred and eighty-three miles away, Kat sat on her bed in her dorm room in Princeton, squeezing a pillow to her chest excitedly as Colt?s lazy drawl came across the line. "I hope I didn't wake you. I just hadn't talked to you in a while and I was thinking about you."

"Hey, baby. Yeah, I'm sorry. I've been tryin' to catch up on work e-mails and stuff from here." He shoved himself into a sitting position, lifting a hand to rub the back of his neck. It felt like his hangover had infected every muscle and every joint in his body. "I was going to call you tonight. How are you?"

She bounced up off of her bed at the term 'baby' and did a little spin on her way to her dressing mirror, checking her lipgloss as though he could see her. "No worries. I know how busy we can all get. I'm doing good, a little overwhelmed with a couple of my classes, they're a lot harder than I thought they'd be. And my mom is still being a bitch. Her lectures are more important than talking to her own daughter, I guess."

Sitting down on the stool before her vanity, she cradled her phone between her head and shoulder and then looked down to her nails and decided to take the polish off of them. "She's made it pretty clear that she won't be back in time for my birthday next month. So that's awesome." sighing softly, she grabbed an acetone soaked cotton pad and started to wipe at her nails.

Colt let a finger slide up the spine of the woman in bed beside him, lips twisting into a slight grin as she stirred beneath the touch. She smelled of stale cigarette smoke, hard liquor, and too much perfume but he didn't care. "Don't let her get to you, Kat," he replied gently. "You've got Chase comin' into town to take you out to dinner for your birthday or you know I would. I do have something planned, though. Turnin' 18 is a big deal. It should come tomorrow and you are allowed to open it as soon as you get it."

Pausing from removing her polish a moment, her head straightened and she grabbed the phone with her hand, giving her neck a break. "You already bought me a birthday present?! Coooolt! That is so sweet."

"Not so sure if sweet is an adjective I'd use to describe myself but I'll let it go this once," he teased her as the flat of his hand rolled against the naked back of another woman. The touch caused a soft moan into the pillow before she tilted her head to smile slyly up at him.

"You are! When you want to be anyway. I can't wait to see what you got me."

"Look, I'm worried about you,? Colt stated softly. ?Get your nose out of the family business and studying for a day, okay? It's Saturday. Take it easy. You just need to relax. You'll be able to breathe easier if you just relax."

With every moment that passed, the weight in Kat?s voice was easing. She sounded like a teenager again, not a heavily burdened woman. "I haven't gone out for a while,? she allowed. ?Maybe I'll put on something tight and short and go out dancing with the girls tonight. I still have my fake ID from my last field operation. It'd be better if you were here though. Just saying. My room mate thinks you're hot by the way."

The woman in bed beside Colt rolled over onto her back, exposing more of her body to him. The view he was enjoying caused a couple of hazy memories from the night before to float through his mind. Eleanor. Eleanor. That was her name.

Eleanor reached a hand up to curl over his shoulder, fingers wrapping themselves around the back of his neck to pull him in closer. Slowly, he inched forward while still speaking into his phone. "Your roommate's fascination with zebra print is not hot and will not get her a man. Make sure she knows that. Skype me when the package comes. I want to hear about your night out too."

"I will. It'll be nice to see your face, even if it's on video chat. You sound like you're gearing up for a goodbye. I'm sure you've got a busy day ahead of you, so I'll let you go. Thanks for listening, you're the best."

"And remember, the less you're wearin' when you Skype me, the better. Take care of yourself." The call was ended just before his lips met Eleanor's full pout. The phone was dropped onto the nightstand through the kiss so that one hand could continue propping him up and the other could slide up her side, fingers rolling over unblemished skin on their way to her chest.

"Mm," Eleanor sighed as their lips parted. Her eyes fluttered open to take in his face hovering above her. "Who was on the phone?"

"My girlfriend," Colt responded as he shifted his knee to nudge her legs apart. A coy smile was offered but she gave in to the unspoken demand, wrapping her legs around him as he repositioned himself. "Is that a problem for you?"

Her laugh was husky and hoarse from the after effects of the partying from the night before. "Hell no. You?re hot as sin and it actually makes me want you just a little bit more."

He tilted his head to bury his lips in against the curve of her neck as she pulled her head back to offer him more skin. Before lips met flesh, he whispered softly in her ear, "Well, let me reward you for strokin' my ego, you hussy."

((With thanks to the player behind Katharine Rhovnik.))

Katharine Rhovnik · Date: 2013-05-14 21:38 EST

Princeton University
Princeton, New Jersey
October 19, 2009

Classes were done for the day and to reward herself for a job well done, Kat stopped by her favorite Thai restaurant to pick up an order of chicken panang curry and a thai iced tea to go. Her guard safely delivered her to her room, going inside, Kat smiled at her roommate as she kicked the door shut with the toe of her shoe. "I've got thai, there is probably enough for two. Want some?"

Kayla McClure looked up from her laptop to shoot Kat a sunny grin across the room. "Of course! You are the best." The lid of the laptop was tapped shut and her blonde ponytail swung as she bounced up to clear the edge of her desk to give them a modicum of room to eat the meal. "Oh! A package came for you. It's on your desk."

The food was set down and Kat motioned for Kayla to dig in. "I think we've got some disposable plates on the shelf above the mini fridge. Help yourself."

Walking over to her desk, she picked up the FedEx envelope sitting in the center of the desk and ran her fingers over her name written in a scrawl across the center. Then turning it over, she began tearing the perforated lip of the envelope open. "I think maybe it's from Colt, he said that he'd be sending me something," she said over her shoulder to Kayla, unable to totally hide her excitement.

Kayla laughed cheerfully at the excitement in Kat's voice as she grabbed a pair of plates for them. Her green eyes shot across the room to take in Kat's expression. "It's totally adorable to see you all wrapped up in him. And you're just weeks from him not having the whole 'you're a minor' excuse." Her brief three-word impression of Colt's deep drawl was humorous only for being a poor attempt.

Kat was not the kind of girl who frequently gave into bouts of giggling, but she couldn't help herself, not when Kayla was imitating Colt's accent. "Southern boys are the cutest aren't they?"

Inside the thick envelope was a single plane ticket and an itinerary. A car service would pick her up from her dorm on Friday afternoon. A flight out of Newark would take her to the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport where another car would drive her to 7103 Flint Road in Thomaston. Colt's address. Her return flight left Sunday evening. The packet even included a weather report for the weekend. A post-it note in Colt's handwriting read, You won't even miss a class. No excuses.

Pulling out the ticket, itinerary, and weather report, she sighed softly. "And the sweetest."

Bouncing her way over to Kayla, she showed her what had been sent. "He's bringing me to him as an early birthday present! He's planned everything. He knew exactly what I needed. I just need a weekend away, no school, no thinking about things with my mom, just a weekend with him."

Kat's happiness was contagious and Kayla giggled along with her friend as Kat flopped into a chair. Kayla nudged the thai in her direction. "So... are you going to seal the deal?"

Taking the offered plate, Kat stared at it much more thoughtfully than what was reasonable. Scooping up a bite of food, she put it in her mouth and chewed while continuing to think over Kayla's question. After swallowing, she tugged her bottom lip between her teeth and then looked up to Kayla, nodding slowly. "Yeah. Yeah I think I am. I mean if he wants to."

Actually hearing the words spill out of Kat's mouth caused Kayla's smile to falter and concern crept in. "Are you sure? I mean, are you really sure that this is the guy that you want to give your V Card to?"

"Kayla. I've been in love with him since I was sixteen, he just didn't reciprocate because I was so young and my family and everything, but things are different now. We understand one another, we've been through so much together." Another bite of her food was taken but she kept nodding her head yes. "Yeah, I'm giving up my V card to Colton Daniels."

The confidence in Kat's voice eased Kayla's concern and she gave a laugh of delight. "Aw, my little Kat growing up into a woman! You know what this calls for, right?"

Kayla set her for down to dip down and pull a bottle out from under her bed with a mischievous grin, shaking it at Kat. "Celebratory wine!"