well, here's the next chapter! i tried to work something in for thekeeperoftime and i quite like it ^^ also, idk if ive said it before but id like to just point out again that this is FICTION people :P so don't hate me for what i do with the characters because i dunno how they'd really react, never met them. if i had, i probably wouldnt be writing these XD anyways, i hope everyone gets to wake up and find a notice in their inboxes telling them the new chapters up and enjoy ;)
Again, please dont hate me lol
...
Life was good.
I was happy, a new occurrence in the last few months. Some people would criticize me for not still being bedridden with grief but that's not who I am, not who or what Toni would've wanted. I missed him, of course I did, but I had to move on with my own life too.
After cooking for 30 people, Leland and I were closer than ever before. I even started to hope that he might like me back, though I didn't like to admit where my hope lay. What can I say, I am who I am.
I'd just recently found a place of my own a few blocks from the Chapman's house in Honolulu and Duane Lee and Leland were supposed to help me move in in a couple weeks. We'd already flown over to the Big Island to sell my old house and move my stuff between islands. It made my heart hurt some to be back and yet saying goodbye, but I had to start over some time.
On the flight home, I woke slowly to find my head resting on Leland's shoulder and his arm wrapped around me. I had no idea how I fell asleep, considering we were only in the air for about a half hour. I shifted a little, and felt his arm tighten around me. I heard a snicker and, turning my head, I saw Duane Lee looking at us across the aisle and grinning. I glared, making him laugh.
"Morning," I heard in my ear.
"Morning," I grumbled.
"Don't mind him brah," Leland said, "he just likes bugging me."
"Yaaa, I know the feeling," I told him. "How long do we have left?"
"Only a couple of minutes till touchdown and probably another 10 till we actually get off."
I sighed and snuggled in a bit. Duane Lee laughed and I flicked a hair elastic at him.
We drove home, the backs of both Leland's and Duane Lee's trucks full of boxes. I couldn't actually move into my new place for another few days so we piled my stuff in a corner of the Chapman's garage.
It was later that day that I found myself alone, again, with Leland, Duane Lee having gone to find food. We'd been moving the workout equipment around to make room for the boxes and then Duane Lee was gone and we were talking and it felt so nice and I felt so calm and peaceful...
"Anyone tell you you're amazing brah?" Leland asked me, kind of out of the blue.
"Umm," I replied, "not lately they haven't."
"Well, they shoulda more. You're such a strong person Kila," his voice softened. We were just sitting on a bench in the back of the garage and he stapes his arm around me and pulled me close.
"I've had to be," I told him. "My parents were killed in a car crash when I was 13 and I got put through the foster system till I turned 18. Then I had Leilani at 22, which isn't all that young, but it's still hard."
Leland nodded.
"I had my first kid at 18," he said. "Most of the family had kids even younger than that."
"And now Toni's gone too... I'm running out of people Leland." One tear leaked from my eye, it still hurt to say it.
"Kila, you'll always have someone there for u girl." He wiped the tear away with his thumb as he turned my face to look at him. "I'll always be here for you." He drew closer, closer: I could've counted his eyelashes if I'd wanted to. He was so close: he smiled a little shyly and leaned in to close the gap...
...when the garage door crashed open and, you guessed it, in walked Lyssa fucking Chapman.
"Leland," she called to him while glaring at the two of us, mostly me. "Beth said we have to go, right now."
"Really Lyssa? It had to be "Right. Now"?" Leland was glaring right back at his sister.
"Beth said right now," she replied a little snarkily, a little smugly.
"I think she could've waited another MINUTE Lyssa."
"Well you aren't doing anything now," she said, "let's go." I was SO close to strangling her at this point. I think I actually growled as she turned and left the room. Leland sighed next to me.
"I'm sorry Kila," he muttered. I shook my head.
"Not your fault." He pulled me close and gave me a quick kiss on the side of my head.
"I'd better go," he said before standing and walking out. I stood and followed him to the kitchen, where everyone was gearing up for some bounty hunting. Beth spotted as I sort-of snuck in behind Leland.
"Kila! There you are," she exclaimed. "Would you mind watching the kids while we're gone? Saren's not answering and we have to go now."
"Sure," I said with a half-hearted smile. "Who alls here?" It wasn't unusual for there to be anywhere from 2 to 6 kids in the house at any one time, depending on who had their kids with them that day.
"Bonnie and her friend Cassee and Gary Boy, and Cobie's supposed to be coming over later too."
"Kay, no problem."
She looked at me oddly, but smiled after a few seconds and gave me a hug.
"Sorry," she whispered in my ear, and I could tell if he was apologizing for my having to babysit or if she knew what Lyssa had interrupted. "I don't know when we'll be back, hopefully not too late but this could be our only shot at this guy."
"It's ok, just go," I said. "Good luck."
It was late, LATE, that night when the team got back. I wasn't asleep this time so no one woke me as they came in, although I'm sure they would have with all the noise they made.
As soon as I walked into the kitchen I could tell the bust hadn't gone well. No one was smiling, the guys looked a little worse for wear and Beth was carrying a pair of her stilettos, one of which had the heel broken off. Lyssa scowled at me as soon as I walked in and I sighed inwardly.
"I'm guessing things didn't go too well huh," I said. Duane Lee shook his head and plunked himself down on a kitchen chair.
Leland slammed his pepper ball gun down on the table and even Beth threw her broken shoes down the hall in anger/frustration.
"Shhh, guys," I tried to quiet them; "you'll wake everyone up."
"Whatever," Lyssa muttered. I turned to glare at her.
"YOUR kid was the hardest to get to bed thanks," I told her, "so don't go waking her up."
"Don't tell me how to parent my child," she snapped back.
"Calm down Lyssa," Leland said. "She wasn't telling you how to parent and besides brah, you know Abbie's hard to put to bed so why wake her up?"
"Don't you start too Leland," Lyssa snapped at him.
"Don't snap at me Lyssa!"
"Everyone just-" I started but too late: the sound of a door opening down the hall heralded the awakening of someone's kid.
Turned out it was mine; I'd put her to sleep in the bed instead of the playpen tonight and she'd gotten down and opened the door all by herself, so that I found her toddling down the hall towards the sound of voices, voices that were still getting louder.
I picked her up and carried her back to the kitchen, rocking her and hoping she'd go back to sleep.
We came back into the kitchen in time to see Dog smack both Lyssa and Leland upside the head.
"Everyone just calm down!" I said loudly, "Or it won't be just my kid who wakes up. Why are you two even fighting? You're siblings."
"Oh just shut up for once," Lyssa muttered. I blinked.
"Excuse me?"
"You heard me," she snapped, "just shut the fuck up!"
I was done with this. I passed Leilani to Duane Lee and walked towards her.
"What is your PROBLEM Lyssa? What have I ever done to you?"
"What have you done, are you fucking kidding me? You, you barge into our lives, worm your way into our family and string both of my brothers along for your own fucked up reasons!"
"Watch your mouth in front of my daughter," I growled
"Screw u."
"What the hell are you even TALKING about Lyssa?"
"You're sleeping with Duane Lee, pretending to be his friend, USING him and stringing him along while it's obvious to anyone with EYES that SHE," she pointed at Leilani, "is HIS!" She finished pointing at Leland. "You're just some lying, twisted, gold digging WHORE!"
She went to slap me but I caught her wrist, twisted her arm behind her and pushed her away across the room.
"You're insane Lyssa! If all I wanted was fame or money then why the hell would I have waited this long before showing up? I knew EXACTLY who my baby's father was, from the day she was born, and I never went looking for him! Even when I saw him on TV, I didn't look him up. When he showed up at the bar, when Toni introduced me to Duane Lee, not ONCE did I go looking for her father!"
The room was silent and all I cud hear was my heavy breathing and pounding heart. Then:
"She's mine?"
I turned towards Leland as he stared at me. I didn't say anything.
"She's mine," he repeated. "You've been living here for HOW long and couldn't be bothered to tell me that SHE'S MINE?"
He'd been walking towards me as he spoke and as his voice rose and he finished speaking he shoved me backwards, into the wall. I felt my head crack against the wood and I saw stars.
His hands were still on my shoulders and I could feel him tightening his grip. I was dizzy and I couldn't see properly and my fighting instinct kicked in: I dropped as I brought my arms up, pushing them outwards and twisting against his arms to break his hold. When he let go of me, I spun and kicked out blindly, connecting with flesh and bone as he let out a grunt I took to mean I'd caught him in the ribs.
I turned back around and took a step forward, trying to steady myself and get ready for Leland to rush me. I could hear him yelling as arms wrapped themselves around me and held me tight. I was ready to fight until I smelled Beth's perfume and heard her voice in my ear:
"Stop fighting girl."
I did, though my whole body was tense, ready for fight-or-flight, and knowing me, it'd be 'fight'. As my vision cleared I could see Duane Lee pinning Leland's arms behind his back while Dog had Leilani on one hip, and Lyssa staring/smirking/glaring at me from where she stood across the kitchen leaning against the fridge. Beth still had her arms wrapped around me and I could feel her heart pounding against my back.
With a final wrench and a cry of anger and frustration, Leland broke away from Duane Lee's hold and stopped in the middle if the room, just staring at me. I half expected him to come at me again but he just shot me a look to kill and stormed out of the kitchen; I heard the front door slam behind him and I felt the wind whip past me as Lyssa sauntered by down the hall.
...
soooooo, watcha thiiiink? :) lol i know its kind of a cliffie but dont worry people! i have the start of the next chapter actually written out and most of the rest written out in my head so hopefully within the next day or two ill have it up :) keep R&R-ing! i love to hear what you think :)
oh ya! for those of you who read this and go "huh?" when kila talks about her parents dying? ya, i changed it. in ch3 she mentions her parents dying 2 years ago (no you werent going insane), but i needed to change thta so i did and now its all fixed, you can even go back to ch3 and check if you dont believe me hehe but i fixed it so you wont find anything, i just took out the 2 :P bye!