A/N: I'm sorry in advance; this is a bit of an intense chapter and my first real cliffhanger of the story. Enjoy; I promise I'll have an update soon.
Chapter Fourteen
Tyler was floored once again. It didn't matter how many times he visited the mothership, he never tired of it.
Or of the one person he enjoyed visiting it with. His new girlfriend was everything he could have ever asked for; he was the luckiest guy in the world.
Well, that is, if he could get away with tonight. Yeah, he was grounded, but his mother was never home to enforce it, and even Kaitlyn didn't know where he was. He could come up with a pretty good lie, he was sure. Hell, he might even be able to get away with telling them he was home the whole time, what, hadn't they noticed?
But he couldn't resist the urge to visit Lisa, how could he? She was the most gorgeous piece of work this side of Heaven, and she had eyes only for him. As if he was staying home tonight.
"Tyler, are you sure you're allowed to be here?" Lisa asked as he and Tyler strolled through the corridors on board. "I thought you said you were grounded."
"What my mother doesn't know can't hurt her." Tyler grinned. "There's nowhere I'd rather be than here."
Lisa's lips curled into that mischievous little smile he adored. "Well, I just don't want you getting in trouble on my behalf."
"The risk is worth it." Tyler shrugged. "Besides, I'm always in trouble."
"Such a rebel." Lisa giggled. "Anyway, I'm glad you could come tonight. I want you to meet my mother."
"Your mom?" Tyler immediately felt uncomfortable, tugging on his jacket. "Er, Lisa, I didn't know I'd have to, uh, meet the parents."
"Don't worry, Tyler. My mother is very excited about meeting you. I've already told her so much about you. You have nothing to worry about; my mother is a very kind person."
Before Tyler could protest, Tyler felt the presence of someone behind him. Judging by expression of recognition on Lisa's face as she gazed over his shoulder, he could only guess her mother was behind him.
He took a deep breath and turned around,
and found himself face to face with the woman he'd come to recognize over the past few weeks from the television, and all the V broadcasts.
Anna.
Tyler swallowed, as Lisa stepped beside him.
"Tyler, this is my mother," she said quietly. "Mother, this is Tyler."
Anna thrust her hand forward with a winning smile. "It is very nice to finally meet you, Tyler. Lisa has told me so many wonderful things about you."
Tyler grinned awkwardly.
"Uh, thanks." He stepped from foot to foot. "It's nice to meet you."
"And you." Anna motioned toward the corridor. "Why don't we all take a walk?"
Lisa shot Tyler a reassuring glance and Tyler's nerves began to settle. At least Lisa was with him.
The three toured the ship, as Anna showed Tyler things she hadn't even shown any other human being. She told him about their engines, and about something called Blue Energy, and about the joy she felt over being allowed to learn from the people of earth. She spoke with such confidence and a warm smile, Tyler couldn't help but feel at ease after even a few short moments. Anna was the bomb, and why shouldn't she be? She was Lisa's mother, after all.
"Tyler, I am so happy to know my daughter is with someone as strong-willed and kind as you." Anna smiled. "I want to know more about you, Tyler. Tell me about your family."
Ugh, Tyler thought. What a perfectly good way to ruin a perfecctly good night.
"Uh, well, my dad left a little while ago, so it's just me, my mom and my sister right now," Tyler explained, hoping that would be enough.
"What does your mother do?" Anna inquired.
"She's an FBI agent," Tyler replied.
"That sounds like a busy occupation."
Tyler rolled his eyes playfully. "You could say that."
"And you have a sister?" Anna stepped forward, seeming more interested. "Tell me about her."
"Kaitlyn? She's just a kid, well, I mean, she's 13. I guess I still think of her as a little kid, but she's growing up, I guess." Tyler couldn't help but smirk a little, thinking of Kaitlyn. "She's pretty cool, you know, for a kid. We get along alright."
"It sounds like you really care about her," Anna said warmly. "I bet you're very protective over her."
Tyler nodded. "Yeah, I guess."
Anna smiled, and before anything more could be said, Tyler felt a slight vibration in his pocket. His cell phone.
"Excuse me a sec," Tyler said politely as he yanked out his cell phone to read the incoming text. His stomach sank as he read Kaitlyn's message.
Where the heck R U? U were supposed 2 pick me up half hour ago! Still waiting church! Ur dead!
"Oh crap," Tyler said, forgetting who his company was for a slight moment. "Oh, I'm sorry. Look, thank you so much for everything, but I've got to go."
"Is everything alright?" Anna wanted to know.
"Yeah, I just-" Tyler gripped his hair; his mother was going to murder him. If she found out Kaitlyn had been waiting outside for more than half an hour at night by herself, she was going to skin him alive. "I forgot to pick up my little sister. I was supposed to get her half an hour ago."
"Oh dear, well, I suppose you'd better hurry." Anna shook his hand again. "It was very nice to meet you, Tyler. We'll connect again soon."
Tyler shot an apologetic look toward Lisa, and then took off.
Anna and Lisa watched Tyler go in a hurry, while Anna smiled after him in approval.
"Lisa, I believe your initial observations were correct," Anna said. "Tyler does seem to be the one."
Lisa smiled. "I thought it might take longer, but I believe he may be ready, even now."
"You might be right, daughter." Anna tilted her head. "And we will have to keep the little sister in mind. Tyler seems to have a connection to her, a close relationship. She may be important down the road. See if you can get close to her too."
Lisa gave a nod. "As you wish, Mother."
Kaitlyn sat on the top step at St. James Church, glancing at her watch for the sixth time in ten minutes. Still no Tyler. Father Travis had locked up the building more than twenty minutes ago now, asking Kaitlyn for the third time if she was sure she didn't need a ride.
No, she'd told him, her brother would be here.
But now, looking at her watch again, Tyler was 45 minutes late!
Tears stabbed at Kaitlyn's eyes. No, it wasn't just Tyler being late. Bible study was awful without Freddie; it was a small enough group as it was, and she and Freddie had always been the youngest members, but tonight, she had nothing to say to anyone in the group. Without Freddie, it just wasn't the same.
And now, Tyler was late, and Kaitlyn was angry! What the hell was he doing, anyway? There was no way he was just sitting at home; he wouldn't have been late if he was just sitting at home. If she knew her brother, and boy did she, he probably snuck out. It wasn't like their mother would be home; what did he have to lose?
Except now Kaitlyn knew, and her anger was pooling over. No, she wasn't covering for him anymore. Not this time!
Before she could check her watch again, she heard the roar of a motorcycle's engine drawing near. Crossing her arms, Kaitlyn watched with dagger eyes as Tyler slowed his bike down in front of the church's steps. He ripped his helmet off, took in Kaitlyn's demeanor and sighed loudly.
"Look, I'm sorry, okay? Get on, let's just go home before mom gets home," he said quickly.
Kaitlyn scoffed. "Yeah, you would like that, wouldn't you? You sneak out when you're grounded, and then forget to pick me up, and you expect me to, what, go home and cover for you again?"
"I didn't sneak out!" Tyler exclaimed.
"Oh really?" Kaitlyn raised an eyebrow. "So then you were just sitting at home and you conveniently forgot to pick me up? Come on, Tyler, I'm not stupid. You were with Lisa, weren't you?"
Even Tyler couldn't lie, not to Kaitlyn.
"Look, I'm here now, just don't say anything to mom." He revved his bike. "We can probably make it home before she gets home. Look, I've gotten into enough trouble, I don't need-"
"I don't give a damn what you need!" Kaitlyn stood, fists clenched. She wondered if she'd ever screamed at her brother like this. No, she couldn't recall it, but everything had reached it's limit. Freddie was gone, her mother was never home, her family was in pieces, and Tyler was late! She couldn't take it! "You're always thinking of yourself! Why can't you just respect the rules for once in your life?"
"Oh yeah! This coming from Little Miss Perfect! You know, it's no wonder mom hates me! How do I stand a chance when there's a prissy little saint living in the house!" Tyler retorted.
"Mom doesn't hate you, and you could try a little harder to be decent!" Kaitlyn's throat was starting to hurt, and she was glad it was late; any passerby's would definitely be shooting them odd looks right about now. "I don't get what your deal is, playing up this rebellious streak! Just because dad left, doesn't give you the right to play by your own rules all of a sudden!"
"Oh and what do you know? You just act like you don't even care he's gone!"
"I don't care that he's gone!" Kaitlyn lied. "We can't change it, face reality! Get off your V cloud, or whatever it is! Just because you think you have the most beautiful girlfriend in the world, doesn't mean you can forget what's really important, Tyler! Your family!" She was crying now, and she hated herself for it, but it was the truth. Tyler was letting the Visitors replace his own family, and Kaitlyn wanted to curse the Visitors because of it.
Tyler laughed sarcastically. "Seriously, Kaiti? You're just jealous because your little boyfriend dumped you!"
"He's not my boyfriend!"
"Well, how can you blame the poor idiot? Geez, Kaitlyn, listen to you! You're nothing but a little Know-It-All!"
Kaitlyn's insides turned to ice, her eyes burned with the fiery tears that threatened. She wanted to punch him, she wanted to yell until she was hoarse, but she was frozen. She hated him in that moment, and the last thing she wanted to do was get on his bike.
"I'm walking home," she announced, taking the steps calmly, keeping her voice steady.
"Hell no! Mom would kill me if I let you walk home alone!" Tyler shouted at her.
"Then let her kill you. Maybe if she's in a good mood, she'll let me watch," Kaitlyn spat as she stepped away from her brother, walked down the sidewalk.
Tyler jumped off his bike.
"Kaitlyn, cut it out, and just get on the bike!" He was walking after her.
"Go away!" Kaitlyn shrieked.
"Stop being a baby, and get on!" Tyler reached out and took her arm.
"Get off me!" Kaitlyn screamed as she yanked her arm away.
"Damn it, Kaitlyn, just listen to me!" He reached for her again.
"Leave me alone!" Wanting so desperately to get away from him, she ducked away from him, and darted across the street in a blind frenzy.
"Kaitlyn, stop!"
But there was only enough time to see a pair of blinding lights, and the sound of screeching brakes that pierced her ears.
"Kaitlyn stop!"
Tyler's heart plummeted to his stomach when his little sister ran into the road, and was hit dead on by a pick up truck.
Tyler felt all the blood drain from his face as his tiny little sister flew almost ten feet before landing hard on the concrete.
"Kaitlyn!" he shrieked, finally able to move. He darted into the street and dropped to his next to Kaitlyn, who no longer seemed like Kaitlyn. She was bleeding everywhere, her arm was bent all funny, and her eyes were closed.
Was she breathing?
Oh, you've got to be breathing!
Tyler carefully collected his sister in his arms, and circled the street, panicking.
Please wake up, Kaitlyn! He felt a tear roll down his cheek, and his heart clawing at his insides. You gotta wake up, Kaiti! I'm sorry, I'm so, so, sorry!