Hey guys, sorry for the delay. Real life has been rough. Hoping things get a little easier so I can update more often.
Chapter 17
Kylie and Logan continued meeting up on the roof of Amber's house. Every day, Logan would tell her a little bit about himself and Kylie would slowly open up to him. Revealing that she lives with her very large family. She didn't really give details, but that was enough for him.
Kylie pulled one of the yellow roses out of a drawer near her bed. It was starting to turn brown and wilt due to the lack of light and water. She couldn't let anyone else know about what was going on. Danielle and Xavier were enough.
Logan had started giving her little notes with the roses. She smiled as she read one. He was so sweet and patient. No matter how much Kylie tried to deter him or push him away, he just didn't give up. He wanted to continue seeing her. The more they talked, the more she actually trusted him, the more she believed that he really did care for her. The more she thought that maybe Amber was right. Kylie held the rose close to her and picked up her phone to call her best friend.
"Hey, girl." Amber answered.
"Hey." she took a deep breath before speaking. "So, remember when I said I promised I would tell you when I was ready to show myself to Logan."
"Yeah."
"Well... I think I'm ready."
Kylie had to pull the phone away as a high pitched squeal of excitement made its way through the phone. "Really? I'm so happy for you."
"Yeah, I'm sure, since you've been trying to get us together."
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
"Of course you don't." Kylie shook her head.
"Are you on your way? Logan is going to be here any minute."
"Yeah, yeah. I'm coming." she hung up.
As soon as she did, RJ opened the door to their room. Startled, Kylie quickly placed the rose in the drawer with the others and shut it before turning to her brother with an innocent smile. "Hi, Twin."
"Sup. Where are you heading off to?"
"Amber's." she stated simply.
"Again, you've been going there every night."
"Yeah, she's just a little rattled by what happened last week at school." she made up an excuse on the spot.
"Still?"
"Well, yeah, some guy basically tried to kidnap her, remember? And besides, she recently told me that she felt like someone was watching her everywhere she goes." Kylie mentioned.
"Seriously?" RJ ran a hand roughly through his hair. "Then... maybe I should go with you." he offered.
Kylie stiffened. "That won't be necessary."
"Why not?"
"Aren't you two still not speaking?"
"Well, I was hoping to fix that."
Kylie gave him a wide-eyed look. RJ never willingly wanted to apologize for anything. He would do it, but his pride and ego wouldn't let him do it in a nice way. "You want to apologize? Color me impressed."
RJ shrugged. "Yeah, whatever."
"Did you realize how much of an idiot you were being?" she snickered when RJ gave her a glare in response. "Anyway, I'll let her know that you want to talk, but Amber's going through a lot lately and she just needs her best friend right now."
RJ sighed. "Okay."
"I'll see you later." Kylie stepped out of the room.
As soon as he was sure that she left, he made a beeline for his sister's nightstand drawer. He opened it to reveal Kylie's stash of yellow roses. "What the hell?" he picked up one with a note attached. I know I don't know you very well, but I still think you're amazing. It read. Another one said. I want you to be able to trust me, so I'll wait until you are ready. You saved my life. It's the least I can do for you.
"Ready? Ready for what?" he wondered. He didn't like the looks of this. He didn't like the idea of his sister trusting anyone right now. He shouldn't worry, but the fact that she tried to hide it is what really bothered him. "What are you doing, Twin?" if there was a person who knew what was going on, it was Danielle. He placed the roses back where he found them and closed the drawer.
He then went to go search for his cousin. It was pretty easy to find her, she was having her daily extra training session with her family in the dojo. When he walked in, she had her kama locked with Takashi's katana. Takashi pulled his wakizashi out of its sheath to use as a distraction. Danielle saw this coming and noticed the uneasy movements from her younger brother. She used one of her kama to easily knock it away. With a swift kick by the eldest, Takashi was defeated.
"Very good, you two." Sierra praised.
Danielle offered a hand to her younger brother. He took it and was helped to his feet. "Yes, very good." Leo agreed. "Takashi, you still seem nervous when wielding your short sword."
Takashi sighed, visibly frustrated.
Leo walked up to him and ruffled his brown hair. "Don't worry, you'll get this." he looked up and saw RJ standing in the doorway. "Hey RJ, would you like to join us?" he asked.
"As tempting as that sounds, I'm gonna pass."
"Then what's up? Why are you just hanging around the doorway?" Sierra asked.
"I actually need to talk to Danielle for a second."
Danielle looked confused. "Um, can I ask why?"
"Sure, when you come with me." RJ said.
"Can it wait?" she asked.
RJ simply walked up to her and said "Nope." before hoisting her up on his shoulders and walking out. His uncle, aunt, and cousin were left very confused. RJ headed back toward his room, carrying a kicking and screaming Danielle.
He moved right by Xavier, who was getting ready to head out with his father, tools and other items in hand. Well, that can't be good. he thought.
"What was that about?" Don asked.
"Uhh... no idea. I'll go check it out. Then we can go." he shoved everything he was holding into his father's arms and ran off after his cousins.
"That wasn't suspicious at all." Don stated sarcastically. Despite his suspicions, he decided he would let it slide for now.
"RJ, would you put me down already." Danielle demanded.
RJ didn't until they made it to his room and he plopped her on Kylie's bed. "What are you and Kylie hiding?"
Danielle flinched just as Xavier walked in. "What are you guys doing?" the youngest asked.
"I'm finding out what Danielle knows about what Kylie's hiding," RJ said and turned back to Danielle. "so spill, Dani."
Danielle put on her best poker face. "Why do you think she's hiding something?" Danielle asked. "And if she is, what makes you think I know anything?"
"Oh please, she tells you everything." RJ rolled his eyes. "Everyone knows this."
Danielle shrugged and crossed her arms. "Doesn't mean she told me anything."
RJ growled and moved passed her. He opened the same drawer with the roses and notes and pulled one out. "You don't know what that is?"
"Well yeah, it's a rose." she said not giving in.
"Who's giving her roses? There's a whole bunch in there."
"How should I know?"
RJ glared at his cousin and she didn't falter. He soon gave up with his interrogation and just walked out in a huff. "Hey, where are you going?" Xavier asked, anxiously.
"To Amber's." he stated without looking back.
Danielle let out a breath she wasn't aware she was holding.
"I don't know how you did that." Xavier said.
"I'm not entirely sure myself." Danielle shrugged.
"Either way that was impressive."
"Compliment me later. Right now, you've gotta warn Kylie."
"I'm on it." Xavier pulled out his phone and sent a quick text to Kylie. "Done. Now, I gotta go. Dad's downstairs waiting on me."
"Have fun." she waved him off. Xavier left and Danielle picked up the rose that RJ left out. It had a note on it and Danielle read it. She shook her head and sighed. "I hope you know what you're doing, Ky." she said to herself. She put everything back where she found it and went back to continue training.
Meanwhile
Logan was already waiting at their usual spot with another yellow rose. He had gotten pretty used to showing up first, but luckily he never had to wait very long. He took this time to think about her. He couldn't help but think about what she might look like and why she was so afraid of showing herself. When Amber let him know that she was ready to reveal herself, those thoughts only seemed to escalate.
Maybe she just doesn't like the way she looks, maybe she's ashamed. Maybe she has a scar that she doesn't like. His mind continued to race as he waited. She does fight a lot so maybe that's it. The longer he waited, the further his mind strayed. Or maybe... he remembered a story that his parents told him a while ago. They had told him about an alien invasion that they lived through about twenty-five years ago. Maybe she isn't human at all. He stiffened at the thought. It was possible that some of the aliens ended up staying here. She doesn't seem like she wants to hurt anyone. I mean, she saved me and she's friends with Amber. But still, would I be okay with being with an alien? It would be different, but could I live with that? He was suddenly ripped from his thoughts at the sound of her voice.
"Hey."
All of his previous thoughts melted away as soon as he heard her. He smiled. "Hey, you're late."
Kylie let out a soft laugh. "I know, I'm sorry. My older brother stalled me. He was trying to come here with me and I couldn't let that happen."
"You haven't told him about me?"
Kylie snorted. "Of course not," she said. "my brother doesn't trust anybody. Mix that with a punch first, ask questions later type of attitude and you've got yourself a recipe for disaster."
"Well... he seems fun." Logan said sarcastically.
"You have no idea." she shrugged. "Anyway, am I not getting a rose today?" she joked.
"Yeah, you are." he looked at the flower in his hand. "But I was hoping I could personally hand this to you. Amber told me that you were ready." Logan waited with bated breath for a response and when he didn't get one, he continued to speak. "I know this is a tough thing for you to do, and if you've changed your mind..."
"No, I haven't." she interrupted softly.
Logan stood a little straighter. "Are you sure?" he said, barely containing his excitement. "I don't want you to do this because you think you have to."
"I know I don't have to, but I want to. I trust you, Logan."
He swallowed hard. "Okay, if you're sure."
"I'm sure. Just give me a second to mentally brace myself. And just try to understand that I am not in control of what I look like."
"Of course. None of us are."
"This is different," she stated firmly. "I don't want you to run off screaming or anything."
That wasn't the most reassuring thing to hear, but still, he wanted to know. He was more curious than scared and he would be lying to himself if he said he didn't like her. "I won't."
"Promise?"
"Promise."
Kylie took a deep breath, mentally bracing herself for whatever reaction he was going to give. She took one step and then another, slowly coming out of her hiding place. Logan gasped softly and his eyes widened. Without realizing it, he had dropped the rose.
"Well, you didn't scream and run, so that's good, but I can tell from the look on your face that you're still scared." she turned away from him. "I'll give you time to process this."
Logan snapped out of it and picked up the rose. "Wait!" without thinking, he grabbed her hand to stop her. "I'm sorry. It was just a shock to the system, that's all. I don't want you to think that I'm afraid of you."
"You're not?" she asked hopefully.
He shook his head. "No." he squeezed her hand a little tighter as if reassuring her. He handed her the yellow rose. "To me, you're still Kylie. The calm, cool, badass ninja that saved my life. You're still my angel."
The sudden compliments made her blush. As she looked into his cloudy gray eyes, she knew he was telling the truth. She gulped at the intensity of the look. "Thank you."
He gave her a smile, making her worries melt away. "So, I assume you have questions. Now would be a good time to ask."
"Well, I suppose the most obvious one would be, what, exactly..."
"Am I?" she finished.
He nodded sheepishly.
"I'm a mutant... a half mutant to be more specific."
"Half?"
"Yeah, half mutant turtle, half human."
"Whoa. So... not an alien?
Kylie laughed. "No, but to be fair, it was some alien ooze that mutated my father and his brothers in the first place." as she said this, she heard her phone ding in her belt. She opened it and read the message. Warning: RJ is on his way over. Whatever you're doing, wrap it up.
"Okay, you're gonna have to start from the beginning on this." Logan was fascinated by what he was hearing.
"I will, some other time."
"You're leaving already?" he asked, disappointed.
"Sorry, I have to."
"Well, can I call you?"
She looked up at him and smiled. "Sure, I'd like that."
They quickly exchanged numbers before she shooed him away. A few minutes later, Amber climbed up to the roof. "Hey, how did it go?"
"It went well. He took it really well."
"What happened then? He seemed to leave so quickly." Amber asked.
"I got a text from Xavier saying that RJ was on his way over here."
Amber tensed at hearing his name. "Oh, well, okay then."
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I just didn't think he would ever come back here after that argument."
"Well, I know for a fact that he's worried about you. I told him about you feeling like you were being watched. He seemed genuinely concerned. He also told me that he wanted to apologize."
Amber blinked. "Really?" she then crossed her arms. "Well, I guess we'll see when he gets here."
A few minutes later RJ landed on the roof they were standing on. "Hey bro, what are you doing here?" Kylie greeted nervously.
RJ scowled at his twin sister. "Don't give me that. What are you two hiding?"
"We're not hiding anything." Amber said.
"Then" RJ pointed to the flower in his sister's hand. "what's up with that? And what's up with the roses in your drawer back home?"
"You went through my stuff!?" Kylie exclaimed. "What the hell!?"
RJ shrugged. "Because you lied. You didn't come here just to see Amber. You came here for something... or someone else in this case."
"It's nothing you need to worry about." Kylie stated with a fierce amber glare.
RJ returned the glare. "When you lie to me, of course, I'll worry about it, so tell me what's going on."
Amber sighed and left the twins to argue. She climbed back down the fire escape and went back to her room.
"Fine, you want to know so badly. I've been coming here to talk to Amber's friend. The one that I saved weeks ago."
"What happened to that being a one-time thing?"
"I don't know." Kylie snapped. "It kind of just happened. He seemed like a genuinely good person. The more we talked, the more I felt like I could trust him." she admitted.
"Are you serious?"
"Yeah, I am." Kylie crossed her arms. "I trust Logan and I may even like him." she shocked him with another admission. "It's not a big deal. Everyone knows that you like Amber."
RJ blushed furiously. "That's different."
"How?"
"We've known Amber since we were kids. You've only known this guy a few weeks. Keep in mind, the guy is technically still a suspect in a serial killing."
"He doesn't have anything to do with that." she stated firmly.
"Fine, even if he isn't the killer. He's probably still pissed about his ex getting killed and is maybe, I don't know, using you."
"Why is it so hard to believe that someone might actually like me?"
RJ growled, frustrated that she wasn't seeing things his way. "You know what, fine. I'll leave you alone. You make your own decisions."
"Thank you, that's what I wanted in the first place. I'm not an idiot Raphie. I can take care of myself." she moved passed him and ran off.
It took a few seconds for him to cool off and realize what he just did. He ran a hand through his jaw length hair and sighed. "Just, be careful." he whispered to her retreating shell. He made his way down to Amber's room where she was waiting with her arms and legs crossed, giving him an intense glare. "If you have something to say then say it." RJ said.
She looked down at the floor and sighed. "What is with you? Why are you being this way with your sister?"
"You wouldn't understand. She doesn't know what she's getting herself into. Now, I'm willing to believe you when you say that he's not a killer, but I don't think this guy has any real interest in her."
"How do you know that?"
"The guy is grieving, he just lost his girlfriend not too long ago. Right after that, my sister shows up and saves him and now he's suddenly into her and wants to know everything about her. You don't find that weird? Don't you think he got over his last girlfriend a little too quickly?"
Amber thought for a second. Her glare softened before she spoke. "So you're saying that he's only trying to get to know her and be around her as a way of replacing Toni."
"In a way, yes. He had someone he cared for and suddenly she gets taken away from him. When Kylie came along, he found someone he could emotionally latch onto while he grieved. Kylie saving him probably helped. Just because he's taken an interest in her, doesn't mean he cares, it just means he needed something or someone to hold him over. At least until he got over the loss."
Amber uncrossed her arms. "You don't want her to get hurt."
"Exactly."
She stood up with a sigh. She had to admit that he had a point. Maybe Logan was only interested in her as a replacement for Toni. Someone to temporarily fill the void in his heart. She knew how much Logan loved Toni despite her treating him like garbage. Amber walked over to him and held his hand. He looked down at her. "Maybe you're right, but that still doesn't mean that you should make decisions for her. You can make suggestions, but that's really it. You don't want her to get hurt, but that's part of life." she felt his fingers intertwine with hers. "The more you try to force her, the more she'll pull away from you. You don't want that, do you?"
RJ sighed. "No, of course not."
"Then try to be a bit more gentle when explaining your side. Tell her how you feel, but don't force it. Less Raphael, more Melanie."
RJ nodded, understanding. "Yeah, I got you."
Amber giggled at his determined face. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you know what's going on from experience."
RJ's grip tightened a bit, but he didn't say anything. "I'll take that as a yes." she leaned her head against his shoulder. "Whatever she did to you. I'm sorry."
"Yeah, it's... whatever. I'm over it." he locked eyes with her again. "I don't want her to go through what I went through."
She gave him a teasing smile. "Look at you, you big softie."
RJ grinned at her. "Whatever." he suddenly remembered the other reason that brought him here. "I'm sorry about the way I acted toward you. I didn't mean for it to come out as aggressively as it did."
"Yeah, it's okay." she stood up on her tip toes to give him a quick peck on the cheek. "I forgive you."
RJ gave a sigh of relief. "Good, now that that's out of the way. Can we talk about you feeling like you're being followed."
Amber flinched. "Kylie told you?"
"Yeah... do you know who it could be?" he asked.
"Just one guess." she sighed and lead him to sit down on her bed. "It could also just be my imagination. My paranoia might be getting the best of me."
"Have you told anyone else?" he asked, growing more concerned.
"No, only you and Kylie know." she stared down at the floor. "And it's freaking me out."
"Don't worry, I'll take care of you." he stated firmly.
"I appreciate it." she gave his hand a gentle pat. "I really do, but there's only so much you can do."
"That won't stop me from trying."
Amber giggled and wrapped her arms around his neck in a tight hug. "Thank you." RJ slipped his arms around her waist. "I feel better already."
Finally, got this one out.
