"Kellie," Tyler called out as he entered the room. No answer.
He ventured further into the room, checking the closets and the bathroom before heading out to the balcony. As stepped outside, he could hear muffled sounds to his left and saw the broken cell phone to his right. Tyler found Kellie huddled in the corner between the plant and the wall, her faced turned away from him.
Tyler knelt next to Kellie and gently attempted to turn her face towards him. Kellie responded by frantically shoving his hands away from her. Tyler backed off slightly and then proceeded to stroke his fingers through Kellie's hair.
"Let me help you, Kellie Girl," Tyler whispered.
When Kellie tried to curl up closer into the wall, away from Tyler, Tyler said, "You can push me away all you want. I'm not going anywhere. No matter how much you think I should. I'm not going anywhere." He tried to turn Kellie's face towards him again. She continued to fight against him, pushing Tyler away, and pulling herself more towards the wall if that was even possible.
Tyler stood up, grabbed Kellie's ankles, pulled her legs out from under her and dragged her to the middle of the balcony. She starred up at Tyler in shock, tears streaming down her face. As Tyler leaned down to grab her hand, Kellie bolted to her feet and attempted to make a run for it. As she went back inside, Tyler grabbed her by the hand and whirled Kellie around in a way that left her frontside against the inside wall with Tyler directly behind her using, one arm on either side of her, hands against the wall, blocking Kellie from escaping (without using physical force on him. )
Kellie tried to get out from Tyler's stance. But each tactic she tried, Tyler managed to thwart. She finally turned around to face Tyler, though kept her eyes averted. Tyler could almost swear Kellie was telling herself to breathe as she took several panicked deep breathes.
After several moments of this, Kellie muttered, "Oh, shit" and then the tears came harder and the sobbing started. Tyler wrapped his arms around Kellie as she learned her head into his shoulder, her tears soaking his shirt; her sobs coursing through her entire body.
Tyler picked Kellie up and positioned the two of them on the couch. Kellie buried her head in Tyler's chest and continued crying. Tyler just held her until she cried herself to sleep. When he was sure she was sound asleep, Tyler moved from the couch and laid Kellie back down, covering her with a blanket.
He then stepped outside the bedroom and proceeded to make a call.
"What the hell did you say to Kellie when she called to ream you out for sending me here," Tyler asked as soon as Lorenzo answered.
"I didn't really say anything," Lorenzo said, "I was already on the phone with her when you arrived. I hung up on her right after she slammed the door in your face."
"Lorenzo, when I found Kellie, she was huddled in the corner on the balcony, fighting tears," Tyler said, "She hasn't said a word to me really. For the better part of the last two hours, I held her while she just sobbed and cried to sleep. I assume she called someone to try and make a getaway. Her phone's shattered into pieces, lying on the balcony."
"I'll check her phone records," Lorenzo said, "Then I'll put a call into Lainey. Get her take on Kellie. "
"I'll let you know how she is in the morning," Tyler said, "When you hear from Lainey, let me know what she thinks."
The call ended and Tyler went left the room and went about setting the main areas of the house up for Christmas. A short while later, Lorenzo called back.
"I found out who Kellie called," Lorenzo said, "She tried to get in touch with that Slater guy."
"The guy who helped her play dead?" Tyler asked.
"The same," Lorenzo replied, "Only Slater's wife answered the phone. She told Kellie they weren't sending a plane to get her and that she needed to quit pulling this running crap from you and accept that you love her. She's not one to mince words. She gave me an earful about reigning Kellie in."
"I can imagine she didn't appreciate that sort of phone call on Christmas," Tyler said, "Did you speak to Lainey?"
"She says let her sleep and we'll see how Kellie is in the morning," Lorenzo said, "She said she'd call you and want to speak with Kellie. Lainey will assess what actions if any need to be taken at that point."
"What exactly does Lainey think we're dealing with?" Tyler asked.
"Depending on how you look at it," Lorenzo said, "One scenario is that she wakes and pretends tonight never happened and she continues bottling everything up inside like she always does. She'll probably run."
"And the other scenario?" Tyler asked.
"Lainey suggested making sure you clean the place of alcohol," Lorenzo said, "Kellie might be this way for awhile with a few temper tantrums thrown in."
"Damn" Tyler said, "This is not going to be pretty."
"Best case in that instance is she'll finally work through the damage Ethan, her father, the mob, Luis, the Cassadines, and Michael's shooting have done to her; the damage she tries to pretend isn't there," Lorenzo said, "She'll find a better normal, a happier one."
"The worst case?" Tyler asked.
"She never comes out of this," Lorenzo said, "Kellie will have to be institutionalized."
"And you thought sending me down here was a good idea why," Tyler asked.
"I didn't realize Kellie was this bad," Lorenzo said, "I didn't think you going after her would trigger this reaction. I thought with time and being away from Port Charles, Kellie would be more open to talking to you like a mature adult."
"You had no idea Kellie was a time bomb," Tyler said, "Even if Lainey wouldn't tell you.."
"I don't make a habit of prying into my niece's medical records and Dr. Winter doesn't report to me," Lorenzo said, "Though I would have if I had known Kellie stopped her therapy sessions completely when she left Port Charles. Besides you're her husband, you'd been living with the her…"
Tyler started to argue when a female voice took the phone away from Lorenzo.
"Look, Tyler," Alexis said, "The situation sucks. But you and Lorenzo aren't going to get anywhere by playing the "What If Blame Game." You can't change what's already happened. All you can do is step up and take care of Kellie now whether she wants it or not."
" Alexis?" Tyler asked.
"Yes, I'm on date with Lorenzo," she said, "Now go get some sleep because I'm sure you'll need it. No matter how Kellie wakes up. She's a spitfire on a good day."
Alexis hung up the phone. Leaving Tyler momentarily shocked. From there, he began searching the room for alcohol, chucking it over the balcony. He curled up next to the couch where Kellie was sleeping and fell asleep.
Port Charles
"You didn't have to do that," Lorenzo said to Alexis when she hung up the phone.
"Men," Alexis said, "Though I'm beginning to think that Kellie inherited the inability to let people take of her from the Alcazar side."
"I'm sorry. This wasn't how this evening was supposed to turn out," Lorenzo said.
"I know," Alexis said, putting her arms around Lorenzo, letting him lean against her, " I know."
