Chapter Eleven
A loud bang woke her up, as she opened her deep brown eyes she looked into the sweet face resting so close to hers, and smiled. Then she heard more noises from outside and got scared. Slowly she got up, listening as she continued to hear movement near the door. When she looked around she saw them, slowly she moved over to them. "Reese, Reese wake up please." Reese woke up when she felt the little hand pulling at her and the small scared voice whispering in her ear. "Hey sweetie, what's.." That's when Reese heard the same noises out front, unlike Miranda though she knew it was a person. Keeping her voice low, she glanced at Gabrielle and saw she was still sleeping, turning slightly she couldn't help but smile as she took in Bianca sleeping, her face in total contentment. "Miranda, sweetie you stay here with Mommy and Gabby okay? I'm going to see who it is." Miranda just nodded as she watched Reese slip Bianca's arms away from her, slowly get up from the couch and move to the door. Reese turned around and gave Miranda a smile trying to reassure the little girl that everything was fine, inside though she was starting to freak out a little. Approaching the windows next to the door Reese tried to look out and see who it was but couldn't, all she could make out was a form moving around the bushes at the edge of the driveway. Looking back into the living room she saw that Miranda had gone back over to Gabrielle and was laying down holding the young baby. Well that did it, there was no way she was going to let someone scare them, or worse try to break in and hurt them.
Quietly she slid the chain lock into place so that the door would only open so far, once she turned the knob and had the door open a few inches she yelled out at the figure who was now starting to stand up. "I HAVE ALREADY CALLED 911, YOU HAVE FIVE SECONDS TO GET OFF THIS PROPERTY BEFORE I TAKE MATTERS INTO MY OWN HANDS AND COME OUT THERE WITH MY GUN!!" Her yelling had woken Bianca who was now up and rushing to her side, as Reese stared to count to five. "Do you really have a gun?" Reese shot a look at Bianca and whispered, "No, and I didn't really call 911 either."
Kendall was beyond furious, she had been so ready to barge in on whatever was going on between Bianca and Reese, walking up the driveway she had dropped her keys in the bushes, which only pissed her off more. She was determined to find them so she could just let herself in and surprise them, when she heard Reese shouting out, it was just the final straw of the night. "Oh shut the hell up Reese! You don't have a gun, and if you have called 911 well then they better hurry because you are going to need them! Five seconds my ass! Open the damn door and let me in!" Bianca and Reese looked at each other as they listened to Kendall, Reese quickly undoing the chain lock. "Kendall, why didn't you just come to the door and why are you talking to Reese like that?" Bianca was confused as her sister barged in past them turning on lights as she walked towards the living room. When she heard Bianca's question she turned, her eyes blazing as she glared at the two women standing side by side. "Why am I talking to Reese like that? Really Bianca? Why aren't you with Cassie tonight like you promised? Why haven't either of you answered your damn phones? What the hell is going on between you two? Damn it Bianca! Cassie has been upset for hours now, because she is desperate to believe there is nothing going on between her girlfriend and her loving cousin! Such a loving cousin that not only did she come into town and try to take you away from Cassie but she is also a cheating whore! Or did you both conveniently forget about Zach?" Reese and Bianca were frozen in place as they listened to Kendall, until Kendall's last comment. "Kendall, you can't talk that way about Reese, she has done nothing wrong, and for your information she is not with Zach, so I would appreciate it if you took that back, actually I demand it! You can come here and accuse me all you want, yes I didn't make it to see Cassie tonight. Yes, I am sorry about that, and I will make it up to her, but you will not come in here, in the middle of the night, and tear apart my company!"
Reese hadn't been concerned about what was being said about her, what was tearing at her heart was hearing how upset Cassie was. She let the two sisters continue their fight back and forth, trying to walk past Kendall and get to the living room. "Where the hell do you think your going? You are far from innocent, I don't care what my sister says!" It was at that point that Gabrielle began crying from all the yelling, Miranda had been quietly laying with her not understanding why her Mommy and Auntie were fighting, but when the baby got upset so did she. "Auntie Kendall, stop yelling, you are upsetting Gabby." Reese brushed by Kendall at that point and bent to Miranda, picking up Gabrielle with tears shining in her eyes, "Thank you Miranda, thank you for inviting us, and thank you for staying here with Gabby." Miranda saw the tears and threw her arms around Reese's neck, holding her and Gabrielle in place. "Please don't cry Reese, please. Please don't leave." The young girl looked over Reese's shoulder at her Aunt, "Why are you making Reese and Gabby cry? Why are you making them leave? I asked them to come so I could play with Gabby and you are making them leave." The words were soft and tearful coming from Miranda but they were full of emotion and the three adults felt every ounce of it.
"I'm sorry, I didn't know she was down here." Kendall tried to back peddle as Bianca pushed past her to get to Miranda. "Bianca, I didn't know, I thought, well I thought there was something going on between you two." Bianca ignored Kendall as she tried to pull Miranda away from Reese, allowing Reese to stand with Gabrielle while Bianca lifted a now softly crying Miranda into her arms. Reaching one hand out and wiping away the tears that fell from Reese's eyes, Bianca used her other hand to calm Miranda. Finally turning back to Kendall, this time she softened her own voice. "Kendall, I don't care why you came or what you thought, you had no right. I know how close you are to Cassie, especially now after what happened during the tornado. So I understand if she was upset it would upset you, but you were wrong to come here. Please leave Kendall, you have done enough damage tonight. I will go see Cassie in the morning, not that you need to know that." Walking towards the door with Miranda still in her arms, Bianca opened the door, "Please Kendall, go home." Kendall moved slowly to the door, turning once again to look at Reese, who was still trying to stop Gabrielle's cries. When she got to Bianca, she stopped, "I'm sorry Bianca, I'm really sorry. Then after reaching her hand out to Miranda, who backed away from her, Kendall left without another word.
As soon as the door was closed behind her Bianca was on her way back to Reese who just stood quietly holding Gabrielle. "Reese, I am so sorry, she shouldn't have come here, she shouldn't have said those things." Gabrielle slowly started to calm as Reese rocked her, finally able to put her into her carrier, Reese looked up and into Bianca's eyes for the first time since Kendall's outburst. "She was right Bianca, you don't have to apologize for that. She may not have been right about Zach, but that wasn't her fault, it was mine for not correcting everyone. But she was right about Cassie, and what this would do to her. If she is already upset over tonight and trying not to imagine us together, just think what it would do to her if she found out the truth." Bianca couldn't believe what she was hearing, Reese couldn't be saying what she thought she was. "Reese, please tell me you aren't walking away from this, from us, from what we could be?" Reaching her hand out and cupping Bianca's cheek, Reese moved forward and brushed a kiss across Miranda's head, taking in the scent of apple and imprinting it on her memory. Then she leaned in and captured Bianca's lips, letting her lips linger as they memorized the feel of satin against them, letting her body feel every fiber come to life before she pulled away and looked into the eyes she knew would haunt her. "I'm sorry Bianca, but yes, that is what I am saying. I can't do this to Cassie, I thought it would be okay as long as we kept it like tonight, but it won't. I want more than this, but I won't be involved in hurting Cassie. She has lost too much already, she needs you Bianca. I won't come in between that."
Bianca was speechless as she watched Reese pick up Gabrielle's carrier and walk towards the door. It wasn't until Reese was opening the door that she found her voice, "You can't do this Reese, please don't do this to us. I won't stay with Cassie, I won't. I want to be with you, please. I am in love with you Reese Williams." The pleading in Bianca's voice, the words she spoke, everything about her called out to Reese to just turn around and take her into her arms. Closing her eyes she saw Cassie, Cassie on a New York sidewalk after she learned that her family and Beth had been killed, she saw the months of anguish Cassie had been through. She heard the happiness that had come back into her voice as she spoke on the phone about the woman she was dating. Firming her resolve, and knowing what she needed to do, Reese opened her eyes and looked at Bianca. "Your not in love with me Bianca, you barely know me, and I, I am not in love with you. Whatever this is will pass, but you need to be with Cassie, you two were fine, you were happy, until I came into town. So from now on let's just try and keep our distance, things will get back to normal for you and Cassie, and one day you will thank me for this." Without another word Reese walked out, closing the door behind her. Her entire body was shaking with emotion after what she had just done, and as she briefly leaned against the door for support she heard Bianca crying through the wood. Leaning her forehead against the door she whispered, "I love you, please forgive me." before making her way to her car with Gabrielle and blindly driving away.
A short time later after she had dropped Gabrielle off at the suite with Maria, Reese found herself standing at Cassie's bedside, watching as her cousin slept. "I'm so sorry Cassie, I love you so much. Things will get better now I promise, I won't let you hurt anymore." Sitting down in the chair next to the bed, Reese reached out and took Cassie's hand into her own, "You have been hurt enough, you deserve happiness, you deserve this." Resting her head against their hands, Reese drifted off, her body exhausted from the emotional turmoil it was under. She hadn't heard Bianca come to the doorway before she had started speaking to Cassie, and she didn't hear Bianca's whisper before leaving, "You deserve it too Reese."