.:Chapter 21:.
Scorpio needs a partner who can prove to them they're in it for the long-haul and won't flee when times get hard. Hurt or deceived by a loved one, Virgos are not inclined to get over the incident quickly.
"And then Carlos's corn dogs…" Mrs. Knight read off of the list that was balancing on the handle of her grocery cart.
She hadn't thought about the Palm Woods School in weeks and now it was finals and she had been shoved out the door to load up on food. How had those last three weeks before exams snuck up on them so quickly? One day the boys were lying upside down on the couch playing a video game and screaming at each other, the next Logan was forcing them to sit at the kitchen table to get the rest of their homework done before starting to study.
She briefly glanced up from the list so she didn't run her cart over a worker's legs as he was kneeling on the ground, restocking a shelf. Maneuvering her cart around him, she turned a corner and started down the frozen food aisle. She walked down the aisle until she found the corn dogs and grabbed onto the freezer door, opening it with a sharp tug. The instant drop in temperature chilled her to her bones, reminding her of the many days she had spent in Minnesota. Even when she was going to school she liked to be able to walk along campus and watch the snow fall around her. It made the university campus look much more appealing to her, compared to her home of Roanoke, Virginia. I hardly snowed there and for years she wondered what it would be like to live in a place where it snowed all the time. Complaints be damned, she could deal with it just for the opportunity to live in a place like that. It was one of her reasons for choosing University of Minnesota as the school she would attend. The biggest reason…she would have chosen any school that would have had her out of Virginia. Even if she was accepted to a school in Hawaii, she would have gone there.
Her second reason for choosing the school was the opportunities they had for the subjects she was interested in, communications and creative writing. She really enjoyed talking to people as much as she enjoyed reading a good book, so why not have a chance to study and take the time when the snow was gently falling around to get some reading done? The snow was the last reason why she decided to go, it was a different atmosphere in general. When she had gone to visit the school before choosing out of the five she had applied to, it was the friendly nature of those around her had really drawn her in, the look of the city around them, the attractions nearby, the quaintness of the city. They weren't kidding when they said it was a hockey state, almost everywhere she turned there was someone sport in Minnesota Wild gear if not hockey gear in general. Football and basketball were pretty prevalent as well, but hockey was the most popular by far.
Then came when she was accepted. She packed up all her stuff, bade goodbye to her family and moved into the dorm building, running through orientation and fist classes in the blink of an eye. When it was time for her to go back to Roanoke the first chance she got, she found she missed Minnesota and everything that went on around there. Roanoke was a bubble compared to St. Paul and Minneapolis—as the campuses were set five miles apart—and she felt out of place being back there, though she missed her family and friends dearly. Then she was able to go back and the rest of the school year had gone by so smoothly. She was active and participant in all of her classes and typically got good grades unless it was a class which was considerably more difficult.
While in school she had made great friends and had a large group of girls she routinely spent time with. Dating wasn't a big priority to her as she spent more time on her studies and work, getting a job at a nearby diner as a waitress to have some extra money while also helping her parents pay for university. As the infamous story went, it was where she had met Kevin the first time. She had been working while he and his hockey teammates had come in for some dinner. She glanced up as he entered the diner, her eyes immediately landing on him as he was the first to enter the diner, holding the door open for his friends. He looked at her and she gave a friendly smile before turning back to the menus she was wiping down before gathering up rolls of forks, knives, and spoons to set up the other tables which had just been bussed. The hostess took the number of boys in their party and led them to one of their bigger tables in the back of the diner.
She had just finished setting up a stack of rolled up silverware when her co-worker, Maria, tapped her on the shoulder and pointed over to the large table. "Those boys are in your section. Good luck, taking a few of them at a time is fine, a whole team of them, it's going to take a miracle and a lot of patience."
Kacy rolled her eyes, turning to face Maria completely. She counted out eighteen menus and grabbed eighteen packs of silverware and walked over to the table, starting to pass them all out. "Hope you all are having a good day. My name's Kacy and I'll be your waitress today. What can I start you all out with?" She lifted her pad of paper and a pen, immediately focusing on the blank sheet in front of her. Having been a waitress for so long she had learned the ins and outs of keeping attention off of yourself. She had heard of other girls on the staff getting harassed by some guys that came in, so she practiced keeping her eyes on her pad of paper, only looking up when she had to, lest she be accused of giving someone special attention. She probably wouldn't be able to handle the fallout.
The meal went by perfectly fine, and she had managed to stay friendly and professionally, only catching a few guys' gazes each time. Curiously she didn't seem to catch Kevin's eye at all during dinner. He was focused either on his phone or on his friends, hockey terms coming out of his mouth left and right. She had seen him play from the times her friends had dragged her to see a game and she could admit he was really good. He appeared to be really passionate about it, which caught her attention even further. The other guys were talking about girls and whatever party they would be going to—he would jump into those conversations a few times—otherwise he would be all about hockey. It wasn't until the end of their meal when some of the guys started to get drunk and hit on her that she willed them to hurry up and leave.
"Hey, sweetie," one of the hockey players called over to her as she stood at the bar, helping an older gentleman that had just came in. "Come over here a minute, wouldja? We're getting' verrrrry lonely!"
"I'll be just a minute," Kacy called back. She handed the man a menu, recommended the special they were offering, and turned back to the large table, aware all eyes were on her. "Yes? What else can I help you with?" She had taken their plates away ages ago, they had finished their desert, and yet, there had been no indication she should give them their check or who would be paying for all of the food. She hoped they weren't going to attempt a dine n' dash.
"You can help us by answering this simple question," the guy continued.
"Dude," Kevin said in a warning tone.
The guy just held up his hand and grinned at Kacy, as his friends continued to egg him on. She could hear their little murmurings, see their smug smiles, and see the smacks they gave each other as she waited for the guy to continue. "Do you want to come party with us? There's one going on at the frat house on campus. Lots of fun, and we'd,"-his eyes dipped down, very obvious taking in her appearance with his bloodshot eyes-"love to have you there."
Kacy sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose, knowing where this was going. She was going to be stuck, no matter what answer she gave and she would be harassed even more. Taking in a deep breath she rolled back her shoulders—which probably didn't help matters much as she had seen some of the players' eyes light up—and gave the sternest expression she could muster. "I'll come back with your check, who's going to pay for it? Or do you want it all to be split up?"
"C'mon baby, we can meet you when you get off work. Why don't you-"The guy reached out and grabbed onto her right arm as the player directly to his left grabbed onto her left, both of them pinning her to her spot. Just by tensing the muscles in her wrists, she could feel how strongly they were holding onto her. Hopefully she wouldn't bruise. However, as soon as their hands touched her, Kevin stood up quickly, knocking his chair back on the ground and slapped the table with his large hand.
"Enough!" He snapped, all eyes turning to him. "Now apologize to her!" He pointed over at Kacy. His teammates looked at Kevin and while they respected him on the ice, and the large 'C' he had on the front of his jersey, in their drunken state they didn't take much stock into it as his teammates laughed and pushed back their chairs, tossing napkins onto the table and one-by-one, walked out of the diner. Kacy scanned the table for a tip and briefly glanced up at the ceiling, noticing the small amount of bills sitting under a glass of water. "Sorry about them." Kevin nodded his head towards the parking lot where his team were waiting for him. "They're really not that bad-"
"When they're sober?" Kacy broke in, starting to clean up the dishes. "Yeah, I hear that a lot. Don't know how much truth is in those words, though." She stacked a few plates and held her hands around them, watching as they teetered a bit, then reached for the empty glasses and beer bottles leftover.
"Still, I apologize for their behavior," Kevin continued. Kacy looked up as he started to gather some plates and dishes in a pile in front of him. "It really wasn't fair to you…or any people that works as wait staff in general. I bet you all get the most amount of crap from anyone."
Kacy placed a hand on her hip and stared at Kevin with a haughty smile. "I bet you think that line works on every girl who works in the food industry," she said. Kevin slowly smiled, his green eyes starting to twinkle. Lines appeared by his eyes, which made him appear older than his otherwise young face allowed others to perceive. "How much of a success rate do you have?"
"I'd like to think its high," Kevin said mysteriously. Kacy smiled and laughed. "Anyway, my friends are such lousy tippers." He pulled out his wallet and counted out a few dollars bills before dropping them down onto the table. Kacy's eyes widened as she looked at the money which totaled up to being over one hundred dollars. "That probably doesn't even come close to make what you put up with better."
"Either that or you're giving me the impression you robbed a bank," Kacy said. She stood up straight and studied Kevin as he laughed. He had a nice laugh, she realized. Low and cheerful sounding, just as a laugh should sound. He seemed relaxed around her, though they had never really talked to each other before. They were in some of the same classes, but he was always surrounded by girls and his friends. "You didn't rob this from a bank, did you?"
"No. I just know how to invest my money," Kevin said. His eyebrows ticked up. "Speaking of, how would you like to accompany me to a comedy show the show is putting on next weekend? I could invest my money in that, my friends won't be around, and we could have a good laugh while we're at it."
Kacy stared at him for a moment. Surprisingly, she did want to go with him. He had a sort of charm and charisma about him that made him see really magnetic. She now understood why he had people around him all the time. He was nice, police, funny, and if he wanted to go see a comedy show that meant he had a good sense of humor. "What makes you think I'm going to say yes?" Kacy baited him a little.
"You didn't immediately say 'no'," Kevin replied.
Kacy laughed, shaking her head at the gall of his confidence. She definitely found him to be interesting. For some reason she couldn't think of a good reason to say no his proposal, just as he said. The show seemed like it would be fun and he was keeping her in good company as she cleared off the table and he did have good manners while she waited on him. "Ok." She nodded. "That sounds like fun."
"Great." Kevin reached out a hand towards her and Kacy took it, shaking it firmly. "It was nice to meet you, Kacy."
"Actually, my name is Jennifer," Kacy replied with a half-smile. "My middle name is Kacy, sometimes I go by it, sometimes I go by Jen…it just depends on what people prefer to call me."
"Well, I think I like Kacy…it goes with my name."
And their relationship had been a whirlwind form there. She soon found herself waiting on him more and more at the diner and he had even moved to sit next to her in class more often. She got to know some of the players on the team, who were suddenly very polite to her, and she introduced him to her friends, who immediately liked him. The two then started to study together, even if they weren't in the same class, and had talked over each break they had when they were going to be going back home—him to Kansas and her to Virginia—which had caught their parents' attention, wondering who it was they were spending so much time conversing with. She didn't particularly remember him asking her to be his girlfriend, but one Valentine's Day where he surprised her with chocolate, flowers, and jewelry and they were practically attached at the hip afterwards.
Their graduation plans consisted of each other and they had brought each other home for their families to meet. Once the summer ended they took up residences in St. Paul, both agreeing it was the best place for them to be—it was a quick drive to get to Kansas and a short plane trip to get to Virginia—and they started their respective careers. Kacy continued to work at the diner while getting temp jobs and putting in applications where her major in communications would be better utilized. Kevin, on the other hand, was gathering sponsorships and a name for himself as he continued to rise in the ranks of hockey. Cameras were suddenly shoved in her face here and there and question were thrown her way, being 'Kevin Knight's girlfriend' caused their first massive fight as she thought he was too into the limelight and popularity and he thought she was too uptight. They managed to get through it and their lives went on from there to their marriage—her fairytale marriage—and the births of Kendall and Katie.
Then things fell apart to where they were in the present. He was using his major in law with a minor in political science as a big lawyer in Los Angeles and she was walking through a grocery store filled with a bunch of junk food for his son, daughter, and their friends for the all-nighter they were going to have for finals they were studying for. Great, he was making a lot of money and she worked with a man that berated her son as much as anyone could before he got punched. The bright side was she was the manager of a popular band and was able to tour, listen to new music, and watch as Kendall, Logan, Carlos and James had the time of their lives. But there was still parts of her past with Kevin that made her wonder what would have happened if she hadn't given him the ultimatum: take anger management classes or leave? She wouldn't have pushed him to get help if he hadn't started to crumble right before her eyes, turning into the man she didn't know.
If Kendall and Katie knew that…if they knew he left because he didn't want to deal with getting help for abusing his kids, she didn't know what they would do. Would they be mad at her? Would they want to live with their father? Would their whole family fall apart? She couldn't know for sure, though she knew she had to tell them soon. If they found out themselves, it would be worse. They wouldn't be able to recover.
"So you asked me to meet you at a grocery store, why?" Ronan asked as he walked into the aisle, moving a pair of sunglasses up to his forehead. Stopping at her side, he peered into her basket. "And what's up with all of the corn dogs? I mean, I know Carlos has a fixation with them, but even he can't eat all of these."
"Yeah, well, I figured I would give them as much food as they could eat so they would all shut up for once," Mrs. Knight said under her breath. Ronan's eyes widened as she slammed the door to the freezer and dropped every last box of corn dogs into her cart. Reaching out, she grabbed onto the handle and shoved the cart in front of her, starting to walk again.
"Oooh, what did the corn dogs ever do to you?" Ronan fell into step beside her, shoving his hands into his jeans pockets and tossing his tie over his shoulder. Mrs. Knight gave him a sharp look as she studied him. It was a little annoying, how he could be so relaxed and laid-back all the time, even with six adopted children who clearly seemed to drive him up the wall day in and day out. But he continued to go into work with the drive and seriousness as any music producer could, then went home and chilled, relaxed, and hung out with his kids for the rest of the day. Most times they would still be hyper over whatever scheme they had managed to get dragged into with Big Time Rush.
"Did I say something wrong? Cause things like that would have my kids rolling on the ground for ages."
Mrs. Knight laughed lightly. "Ronan, the Jacksons will be rolling on the ground like pills if you make a joke that aren't even funny," she pointed out. Ronan shrugged in an 'I'll-take-what-I-can-get' sort of way. "And the other half of the time it's an inside joke only they understand from their use of Australian slang or they're making fun of someone else, building a joke on top of each other." She reached out a hand and grabbed a couple of bags of chips off of a shelf, barely looking at the flavor it was.
Ronan, in turn, reached out and grabbed onto the front of her cart, stopping her in her tracks. He gave her a funny look, and Mrs. Knight turned her eyes away from him, knowing what he was about to ask her. She risked a glance at him through her auburn hair, landing on his green eyes. He had green eyes too, she had hazel eyes that were closer to green, Kendall had green eyes, and Katie's eyes were hazel. Why did his eyes have to be green? They reminded her too much of Kevin, though he and Ronan were completely different. Maybe she felt a little guilty from the attraction between the two of them since they had started working together, when she was still separated from Kevin. Being separated apart from divorced…at the time it was the better solution to their relationship, in case he decided to go back to their family, in case they could spark their love again.
Did she still love him?
She wasn't sure. There was a part of her that knew the things they had gone through together; getting their first apartment, getting their first house, getting engaged, getting married, having kids, even what they went through together while still in university—grades, friends, scheduling, financial aid, and graduation—she wouldn't have those experiences with anyone else. Just like she wouldn't have the experience of her first kiss with anyone else—which she still remembered having after her freshmen year homecoming. However, whoever said change was a bad thing?
"Kace, is something wrong?" Ronan pressed. He kept his hands on the front of her chart, to thwart her from being able to move left right or even through him if she wasn't able to answer the question. Or unwilling to answer the question. "You seem a little…off."
"Wouldn't you be if your ex-wife came back out nowhere wanting to spend time with your kids?" Mrs. Knight snorted. She batted her list back and forth in front of her, keeping her eyes on her squiggly writing. Anything to keep from seeing the concern in his face, it would have irritated her even more than she already was.
"Well, if I had an ex-wife maybe, and the thing is, she wouldn't be spending time with her kids, but the ones I've adopted and that's a problem in itself," Ronan corrected her. He took a deep breath, gently licking his lips. Here it comes, the doozy. The one thing he hadn't told a lot of people after it had gotten out of People magazine way back when. After his career had taken off with the Jackson and the other clients he had signed to Blazing Phoenix records…it was the first time in almost ten years he was going to say it out loud.
"And as it stands, it wouldn't be an ex-wife who would be coming to see me, it'd be an ex-fiancée."
Mrs. Knight's head shot up and she looked at her friend and sometimes co-worker with wide eyes. He stared back at her, his handsome face calm and waiting? Fiancée? He had almost been married before? She had never seen him out on a date let alone had any idea he had been engaged at some point. This was news to her.
"Ok, stunned silence wasn't particularly the response I was looking for, Kace."
Mrs. Knight was suddenly defensive. "What sort of reaction did you expect? Joy? If she's your ex, she's your ex for a reason. Nothing good ever comes out of it when an ex-fiancée would come back compared to an ex-husband."
"Technically, you're still married to him," Ronan pointed out. "The only way you wouldn't be is if you actually got divorced." Mrs. Knight rolled her eyes and tilted her head back, allowing her hair to fall out of her face. Ronan slowly smiled. "I hit the nail on the head, didn't I?" She didn't answer him.
Yeah, he was right. She was annoyed she was still married to Kevin and didn't know what was going to come out of it. He had expressed wanting to see Kendall and Katie, and have even been able to see Kendall. He didn't say anything about wanting to see her. Was he still mad at her for the choice she made him take? Did she really make him take the choice of leaving? She didn't know what to do other than want to protect Kendall and Katie from getting him again. She had seen Kendall's bruises and at first didn't want to believe he would do something like that, she was sure as hell she wouldn't allow him to lay a hand on their baby girl. He was the one who threw a tantrum and stormed out, he was the one who made the choice to leave the family, and he was the one who could have taken the classes and help the family get better. His pride got in the way.
Maybe that was the problem now, his pride was keeping him from seeing the woman he had loved, married, and cast aside. Maybe he knew she had moved on, emotionally.
"You're too smart for your own good, Ronan," Mrs. Knight said, finally lowering her chin to look at him. She looked at his forehead, not able to directly look him in the eye. "I don't know why it's still bothering me, the fact he wants to see Kendall and Katie. He should be able to, he has the right to. I…I don't know, I guess I'm scared."
And there it was.
All out on the line.
She was scared.
"I'm scared if he's back in our life he's going to take everything we've done over the years, how happy we've managed to become, and throw it all out the window." She tightened her grip on the handle, her hands shaking with effort. Ronan's eyes narrowed as he watched her slowly express all of the anger and frustration she had felt over the years. "I'm scared he's going to play with our feelings. And…I'm scared things will actually go well. How will we adjust to him being back in our lives in a good way? Will we get married again?" She now looked directly in his eyes, pointing the last question at him.
It was a good way to try and get an answer to what their relationship status was. They worked close together, he made her first couple of days in LA bearable compared to the culture shock. They went to each other for advice when it came to work, their lives, and families. They were able to talk about anything from movies to music to their lives growing up in their respective cities. It was just so easy to talk to him. She could admit she was attracted to him, he and Kelly were her closest friends out in Los Angeles. He was close to her age, he had a confident side that wasn't too overbearing, he knew how to laugh, he managed to keep Gustavo in check with his yelling and harsh words, and he had been on the Sexiest Man Alive list for the past couple of years—in a shallow way that was a bonus.
"To be honest, I hope you don't," Ronan said. He reached out a hand and placed it on top of hers. Butterflies. Instant butterflies as well as a sense of relaxation filled her body. "I think you deserve a lot better than what he can give you." He held up a finger on his free hand. "However, when it comes to Kendall and Katie, you have to let them make that decision."
Mrs. Knight threw her hands into the air. "I let them grow up and all of a sudden every decision that comes their way, they have to make. I mean, I'm their mother, I should be able to-"
"Protect them?" Ronan interrupted.
Mrs. Knight heaved a heavy sigh then rubbed her forehead. "I sound like such a psycho or something. I do want them to be able to make their own decision, but I want to be able to shelter them as much as I can."
"You're not being a psycho, you're being a mother," Ronan pressed. "And a damn good one. Like, you're letting them make their decision on whether or not they want to see Kevin and you're going to give Kendall the decision whether or not to play the hockey game against him. There are still some things about their wellbeing you have to decide for them." He shook his head, pressing his lips into a thin line. "Don't be so hard on yourself, Kace, you're really doing a good job."
Mrs. Knight finally gave a smile. "Thanks."
Ronan smiled back and walked over to her, gently wrapping his arms around her in a hug. Mrs. Knight accepted it, closing her eyes at the feeling of him wrapping his strong arms around her. She hadn't felt that safe in a long time.
A sniffing sound caused the two of them to look up and, still wrapped in each other's arm, turn to see the grocery store worker she had nearly run over earlier standing beside them, sniffing loudly. His eyes were red, the tip of his nose was red, and his nose was running despite how often he was running a hand under his nose. Once he noticed the two were looking at him, he placed a hand to his chest. "That was so beautiful," he said and took in a shuddering breath. "Letting her let out her insecurities and her…being there for her…you two are perfect. Please, don't let her go." He placed a hand on Ronan's shoulder and nodded at Mrs. Knight before leaving the aisle.
"Ok, that was weird," Ronan said.
"You'd think I'd be used to weird things like that by now," Mrs. Knight said. "Especially with what the boys can get into."
"Don't forget it only gets worse when my kids are involved," Ronan reminded her.
"Right." Mrs. Knight looked up at him. "Ronan, you can let go now." He gave her a charming smile and dropped his arms from around her, taking a step back away from her. He lowered his head and she could see a half smile on his face. "So, do you want to help me finish the rest of this shopping?" She picked up the list and waved it around his face.
"No, not really," Ronan said honestly. Mrs. Knight gave him a playful scowl and he held his hands up defensively, laughing. "Hey, I hated shopping when I was a kid, what makes you think that I want to do it now? Ow!" Mrs. Knight moved the cart forward, hitting him in the shin.
"Sorry, you were in my way," Mrs. Knight said and gave him a sweet smile.
Ronan gave a humorless laugh and snatched the pad of paper out of Mrs. Knight's hands. He took a step to the wide, watching Mrs. Knight warily as she walked by him with the cart, afraid she would turn it at the last second and hit his other knee. He had been suckered like that before, he had five kids that played that sort of game, and he knew when to be on edge. Mrs. Knight laughed and continued up and down the aisles with Ronan, talking, laughing, and grabbing whatever was needed on the list. They ran into the grocery store worker two more times and he seemed to start crying all over again each time they ran into him. They had been on the lookout afterwards, checking down each aisle before they went down it.
When they reached the cashier and Mrs. Knight was waiting to see what the total was going to be, the she got a text from Kevin. Mrs. Knight saw Ronan pull out his phone first with a look of anxiety—probably assuming his kids had managed to break something else—and hers buzzed a second later. Taking out her own phone she navigated into her messages and her eyebrows rose before her mouth dropped open in surprise.
Kevin: So, I wanted to be able to clear the air and see what's been going on and try to make some things make sense. I know my sudden coming back has made things sort of weird, so I thought we could go out for lunch. You me, Katie, and Kendall. Hey, if we're going to talk you may as well make me pay for it, right?
Mrs. Knight momentarily didn't know how to respond. So much for avoiding him as long as she needed to so she could figure some things out. Well, apparently Kevin needed to figure some things out too.
This was her once in a lifetime opportunity.
And she was going to take it.
Mrs. Knight: Ok. I'm not going to guarantee anything though. When and where do you want us to meet?
Kevin: I'll let you know. Thanks for giving me the opportunity.
The funny thing was while you usually weren't sure what anyone's intention or feeling was through texts or e-mails, Mrs. Knight could feel Kevin's relief through the phone. He really did want to see them. He really was happy he was getting the chance.