A/N: This is a story in which Kay remembers her past so it might be a little confusing. When "Kayla" is talking it is the present and when "Kay" and "AJ" are talking it is the past.
Kay went to the back of the bus, trying to hide her face so no one saw her, her stomach was in knots, she couldn't believe she was actually running away and leaving Harmony behind for good. She wanted to get off the bus and run home but she couldn't, they didn't want her around so she wasn't going to go back. Pride was a very stubborn trait. She sat her backpack on her lap and looked across the aisle where a guy about her age with dark hair and blue eyes was wearing a heavy black coat. His coat made his skin look even paler. He looked as sick as she felt and she wondered if there was anything she could do to help.
"Are you alright?"
"I'm fine," he said smiling, and he had a beautiful smile. "My name is AJ," he said holding out his hand.
She shook it and smiled back. "I'm Kay-la," she said not wanting to use her real name.
"Are you going to Castleton?" he asked making conversation.
"Yeah," she said turning around and looking out the window.
"That's where I live, I was in Harmony for my step cousin's wedding but it was canceled."
"Step cousin?" Kay asked curiously as she turned back and looked at him, somehow talking to him didn't make her feel so alone in the world.
"Yeah, my mom married this guy, Edward Winthrop, who is Ivy Crane's brother which would make her son Ethan my step cousin. I was invited to Ethan's wedding because Ivy and I are really close. Anyway, her son Ethan broke up with his fiancée and canceled the wedding, so for the week I've just been at the Crane Mansion hanging out."
"I didn't know you were related to Mrs. Crane, she and my mother are friends, kind of any way."
"Small world, huh? What's your last name? Maybe she mentioned your mom or something," said AJ scooting over to the edge of his seat so he could hear her better over the growling motor of the old bus.
"Bennett," she said hesitantly, but a part of her felt that for some reason she could trust AJ.
"Are you related to Sam Bennett?" he asked curiously.
"Uh ..Yeah, he's my Dad," she said as a wave of guilt went over her, her Dad was going to be so upset when he found out that she had left, and the last thing she wanted to do was hurt him.
"And your Mother is still friends with Ivy even after what happened?"
"What do you mean?" Kay asked a little confused.
"You know, with Ivy being Mr. Bennett's high school sweetheart."
"You must have the wrong guy, my Dad never went out with Mrs. Crane," said Kay incredulously.
"He's the Police Chief right? Ivy always talks about this one great love and I found her locket and she told me it was Sam Bennett."
"That is so weird. It does explain why she comes over a lot. Does she still love him or something?"
"Yeah, but I guess I really shouldn't be talking about all of this since he's your father and everything. So why are you going to Castleton?"
"Business," Kay said from the top of her tongue.
"Business? You only look about seventeen."
"Yeah, well it's top secret," she instantly regretted her poor excuse and she felt her cheeks go red.
"Oh, okay," he said smiling.
Kayla sighed, she wished desperately that she could go back to that time in her life, meeting him had been the first step in her new life, her new beginning. Without him she wouldn't be where she was. She owed him so much and she never wanted to forget anything about him, she loved seeing him smile, he was such a beautiful person inside and out and she wished that he had never left her. His eyes were a beautiful shade of light blue, and he had a bright smile that made his dimples stand out and gave him the look of a mischievous boy. His hair was curly on top and she smiled, she had loved those little curls.
After about fifteen more minutes the bus stopped at the Castleton bus station. Kay nervously stood up and got off carrying her back pack, she had no idea where she was going to go or what she was going to do, suddenly her great plan to leave Harmony didn't seem so great after all, she didn't have much money and she needed a job, but she couldn't use any references from Harmony or they would no where she was. She felt like she was going to cry, she should have thought things through, but she had always been impulsive, never thinking her actions through, she was just about to get a bus ticket back to Harmony when she saw AJ heading towards her.
"Do you need a ride to your hotel? It's too cold to wait all day for a taxi," just as he said that it started to snow and Kay had to admit she was cold.
"I…uh...guess," she said nervously, maybe he could give her a ride back home.
"You do have a hotel, right?" he asked.
"I was just about to find one," she replied defensively, there was her pride coming out again, how could she admit to a total stranger how stupid she was?
"You can stay at my house, my mother wouldn't mind, she loves company."
"That's really okay, thanks though," she said but a part of her wanted to accept the offer, she really didn't want to go home, maybe if she stayed with AJ for a night she could go home tomorrow and everything would have cooled down.
"It's getting late, why don't you just stay there tonight and we'll find you a hotel first thing in the morning.
"Okay," she said hesitantly.
"There's our ride," he said, and to her surprise he led her to a black limo.
She nervously got in and sat down. "I've never been in a limo before."
"Neither had I until my mom got married. Do you want anything to drink?" he asked offering her a soda.
"Yeah, thanks."
"I have a question I'd like to ask, if you don't mind," he said with a roguish smile.
"Okay," said Kay slowly.
"Why are you wearing a wig and sunglasses?"
"Uh the light bouncing off the snow hurts my eyes," she said lamely.
"The sun hasn't been out for the last few hours," he countered suspiciously though his eyes were bright with humor.
"Well, yeah, I know I just uh forgot to take them off," she said slipping them off and putting them in her back-pack.
"What about the wig?" he asked trying to hold back his laughter, she could see he thought it was funny.
"My hair, I got this really horrible hair cut so I bought this," she said feeling embarrassed.
"Can I see it?"
"See what?" she asked forgetting what he was talking about.
"Your hair cut," he said laughing.
"N-no that's not a good idea."
He looked into her eyes and Kay turned around and looked out of the tinted windows. It was just weird the connection she felt with him. She had the insane urge to just start laughing and she did when, a moment later, he pulled the wig off of her head. She couldn't help herself but the whole situation was just hilarious, here she was, trying to be inconspicuous and he saw right through her. Kay hadn't laughed as hard as she did then in a while; it was like she had known him for a long time. She asked him why he took it off of her head and then he said.
"I wanted to see if you were really as beautiful as I thought you were," he said and with a smile he threw the wig out the window where it landed in the snow.
That one compliment tied Kay's stomach in knots and she didn't even know why.
Kay knew she shouldn't be staying at a total stranger's house but it somehow felt right. AJ took out a key and opened the door and that's when she met his mother, she had pretty red hair and she wore a smile but when she saw AJ it fell a little.
"AJ, honey you look a little pale, are you okay?" she asked concerned.
"I'm fine, Mom," he said smiling brushing her concern aside. "This is my friend, Kay, I met her while I was in Harmony, I was hoping she could stay with us for awhile."
"Of course, God knows we have enough space in this big old house," she said with a jolly laugh and Kay instantly liked her. "Stay as long as you like and you can call me Susan, we'll have so much fun while you stay, won't we?"
Kay smiled, she had heard of being welcomed with open arms but this woman's hospitality was amazing.
"I'll go make us some tea, AJ do you want any of your medicine?"
"No mom, I'm fine."
AJ put his coat on the coat rack and then lead Kay to the living room. There was something about Kay that called to him and he didn't quite no what it was, she was beautiful of course but she seemed so unsure of life and where she belonged, he had felt that way a lot himself. He sat down across from her.
"Your house is beautiful and your mother is very-," she searched for a word.
"Zealous?" Finished AJ.
"Yeah, exactly," she said smiling.
The living room was expensively designed but it had a homey feel to it, and she was surprised that her stomach ache had gone away, this was like a grand adventure and she realized that she was beginning to enjoy herself, she was glad that her despair had faded away, this was a new start and she was determined to make it a good one. Susan came back with the tea and she spent some time talking to AJ about Ivy and how things were in Harmony and Kay just sipped her tea and listened. After a while a maid brought out sandwiches and Kay dug in, she hadn't eaten all day and she was starving. After they were done eating AJ showed her upstairs to the guest room and Kay took that opportunity to tell him that she didn't randomly go home with stranger on a regular basis.
"Then let's not be strangers any more. My name is Andrew Johnson but you can call me AJ," she told him she was Kay Bennett it made no sense anymore to use a fake name when he already knew she was a Bennett. Kay walked into her new room and it was very beautiful, it had a large canopy bed and all the furniture looked brand new, when she had decided to run away she had never thought she would end up sleeping in the mansion. Fate must be looking out for me, she thought.
Kay looked out the window and there was a beautiful pond, it reminded her of Miguel, every winter they went ice-skating together and Kay remembered their long walks in the snow as they sipped hot-chocolate, that had been before Charity and now it was in the past and she was going to keep it that way.
AJ saw her looking wistfully at the pond, "If you want we can go skating sometime, the pond is frozen."
"Sure, I'd like that," she said turning around. "I have to find a job first," she muttered but AJ heard her.
"My mother is looking for a personal secretary, she owns a cosmetic company, I'll put in a good word for you."
"Thanks," she said with genuine gratefulness, he was being so nice to her, and for no reason at all. Normally she would have been suspicious but…she trusted him.
"You're welcome, well, I'll let you settle in, if you need anything my room is down the hall and to the right and the end of the hall."
Kay remembered his mother's persistence about his medication and how pale he had looked earlier.
"Are you okay? You look a little pale."
"No, I'm just getting over a little cold."
Kayla stretched out on the couch and yawned, water bottle in hand. That was the best thing that she ever did, going home with him. She got up and went to the phone book to order dinner for her and her room mate who was going to be home soon. She found the number of their favorite take out place and then sat back down in the dark letting her mind wander back into the past.
Kayla smiled to herself, when she had decided to run away she hadn't
really planned to go to California, too many runaways went there and she hadn't
wanted to be in a big city. So she went to neighboring town of Castleton,
thinking that the police would be to busy looking towards California to even
think that she was in the next town, and she'd been right. She'd even paid a
girl to say that she saw her on the bus to California. Kayla remembered the
disguise she'd worn, a red wig and sun glasses as she got on the nearly empty
bus to Castleton, that's when she had met him.
Kay went to the back of the bus, trying to hide her face so no one saw her, her stomach was in knots, she couldn't believe she was actually running away and leaving Harmony behind for good. She wanted to get off the bus and run home but she couldn't, they didn't want her around so she wasn't going to go back. Pride was a very stubborn trait. She sat her backpack on her lap and looked across the aisle where a guy about her age with dark hair and blue eyes was wearing a heavy black coat. His coat made his skin look even paler. He looked as sick as she felt and she wondered if there was anything she could do to help.
"Are you alright?"
"I'm fine," he said smiling, and he had a beautiful smile. "My name is AJ," he said holding out his hand.
She shook it and smiled back. "I'm Kay-la," she said not wanting to use her real name.
"Are you going to Castleton?" he asked making conversation.
"Yeah," she said turning around and looking out the window.
"That's where I live, I was in Harmony for my step cousin's wedding but it was canceled."
"Step cousin?" Kay asked curiously as she turned back and looked at him, somehow talking to him didn't make her feel so alone in the world.
"Yeah, my mom married this guy, Edward Winthrop, who is Ivy Crane's brother which would make her son Ethan my step cousin. I was invited to Ethan's wedding because Ivy and I are really close. Anyway, her son Ethan broke up with his fiancée and canceled the wedding, so for the week I've just been at the Crane Mansion hanging out."
"I didn't know you were related to Mrs. Crane, she and my mother are friends, kind of any way."
"Small world, huh? What's your last name? Maybe she mentioned your mom or something," said AJ scooting over to the edge of his seat so he could hear her better over the growling motor of the old bus.
"Bennett," she said hesitantly, but a part of her felt that for some reason she could trust AJ.
"Are you related to Sam Bennett?" he asked curiously.
"Uh ..Yeah, he's my Dad," she said as a wave of guilt went over her, her Dad was going to be so upset when he found out that she had left, and the last thing she wanted to do was hurt him.
"And your Mother is still friends with Ivy even after what happened?"
"What do you mean?" Kay asked a little confused.
"You know, with Ivy being Mr. Bennett's high school sweetheart."
"You must have the wrong guy, my Dad never went out with Mrs. Crane," said Kay incredulously.
"He's the Police Chief right? Ivy always talks about this one great love and I found her locket and she told me it was Sam Bennett."
"That is so weird. It does explain why she comes over a lot. Does she still love him or something?"
"Yeah, but I guess I really shouldn't be talking about all of this since he's your father and everything. So why are you going to Castleton?"
"Business," Kay said from the top of her tongue.
"Business? You only look about seventeen."
"Yeah, well it's top secret," she instantly regretted her poor excuse and she felt her cheeks go red.
"Oh, okay," he said smiling.
Kayla sighed, she wished desperately that she could go back to that time in her life, meeting him had been the first step in her new life, her new beginning. Without him she wouldn't be where she was. She owed him so much and she never wanted to forget anything about him, she loved seeing him smile, he was such a beautiful person inside and out and she wished that he had never left her. His eyes were a beautiful shade of light blue, and he had a bright smile that made his dimples stand out and gave him the look of a mischievous boy. His hair was curly on top and she smiled, she had loved those little curls.
After about fifteen more minutes the bus stopped at the Castleton bus station. Kay nervously stood up and got off carrying her back pack, she had no idea where she was going to go or what she was going to do, suddenly her great plan to leave Harmony didn't seem so great after all, she didn't have much money and she needed a job, but she couldn't use any references from Harmony or they would no where she was. She felt like she was going to cry, she should have thought things through, but she had always been impulsive, never thinking her actions through, she was just about to get a bus ticket back to Harmony when she saw AJ heading towards her.
"Do you need a ride to your hotel? It's too cold to wait all day for a taxi," just as he said that it started to snow and Kay had to admit she was cold.
"I…uh...guess," she said nervously, maybe he could give her a ride back home.
"You do have a hotel, right?" he asked.
"I was just about to find one," she replied defensively, there was her pride coming out again, how could she admit to a total stranger how stupid she was?
"You can stay at my house, my mother wouldn't mind, she loves company."
"That's really okay, thanks though," she said but a part of her wanted to accept the offer, she really didn't want to go home, maybe if she stayed with AJ for a night she could go home tomorrow and everything would have cooled down.
"It's getting late, why don't you just stay there tonight and we'll find you a hotel first thing in the morning.
"Okay," she said hesitantly.
"There's our ride," he said, and to her surprise he led her to a black limo.
She nervously got in and sat down. "I've never been in a limo before."
"Neither had I until my mom got married. Do you want anything to drink?" he asked offering her a soda.
"Yeah, thanks."
"I have a question I'd like to ask, if you don't mind," he said with a roguish smile.
"Okay," said Kay slowly.
"Why are you wearing a wig and sunglasses?"
"Uh the light bouncing off the snow hurts my eyes," she said lamely.
"The sun hasn't been out for the last few hours," he countered suspiciously though his eyes were bright with humor.
"Well, yeah, I know I just uh forgot to take them off," she said slipping them off and putting them in her back-pack.
"What about the wig?" he asked trying to hold back his laughter, she could see he thought it was funny.
"My hair, I got this really horrible hair cut so I bought this," she said feeling embarrassed.
"Can I see it?"
"See what?" she asked forgetting what he was talking about.
"Your hair cut," he said laughing.
"N-no that's not a good idea."
He looked into her eyes and Kay turned around and looked out of the tinted windows. It was just weird the connection she felt with him. She had the insane urge to just start laughing and she did when, a moment later, he pulled the wig off of her head. She couldn't help herself but the whole situation was just hilarious, here she was, trying to be inconspicuous and he saw right through her. Kay hadn't laughed as hard as she did then in a while; it was like she had known him for a long time. She asked him why he took it off of her head and then he said.
"I wanted to see if you were really as beautiful as I thought you were," he said and with a smile he threw the wig out the window where it landed in the snow.
That one compliment tied Kay's stomach in knots and she didn't even know why.
Kay knew she shouldn't be staying at a total stranger's house but it somehow felt right. AJ took out a key and opened the door and that's when she met his mother, she had pretty red hair and she wore a smile but when she saw AJ it fell a little.
"AJ, honey you look a little pale, are you okay?" she asked concerned.
"I'm fine, Mom," he said smiling brushing her concern aside. "This is my friend, Kay, I met her while I was in Harmony, I was hoping she could stay with us for awhile."
"Of course, God knows we have enough space in this big old house," she said with a jolly laugh and Kay instantly liked her. "Stay as long as you like and you can call me Susan, we'll have so much fun while you stay, won't we?"
Kay smiled, she had heard of being welcomed with open arms but this woman's hospitality was amazing.
"I'll go make us some tea, AJ do you want any of your medicine?"
"No mom, I'm fine."
AJ put his coat on the coat rack and then lead Kay to the living room. There was something about Kay that called to him and he didn't quite no what it was, she was beautiful of course but she seemed so unsure of life and where she belonged, he had felt that way a lot himself. He sat down across from her.
"Your house is beautiful and your mother is very-," she searched for a word.
"Zealous?" Finished AJ.
"Yeah, exactly," she said smiling.
The living room was expensively designed but it had a homey feel to it, and she was surprised that her stomach ache had gone away, this was like a grand adventure and she realized that she was beginning to enjoy herself, she was glad that her despair had faded away, this was a new start and she was determined to make it a good one. Susan came back with the tea and she spent some time talking to AJ about Ivy and how things were in Harmony and Kay just sipped her tea and listened. After a while a maid brought out sandwiches and Kay dug in, she hadn't eaten all day and she was starving. After they were done eating AJ showed her upstairs to the guest room and Kay took that opportunity to tell him that she didn't randomly go home with stranger on a regular basis.
"Then let's not be strangers any more. My name is Andrew Johnson but you can call me AJ," she told him she was Kay Bennett it made no sense anymore to use a fake name when he already knew she was a Bennett. Kay walked into her new room and it was very beautiful, it had a large canopy bed and all the furniture looked brand new, when she had decided to run away she had never thought she would end up sleeping in the mansion. Fate must be looking out for me, she thought.
Kay looked out the window and there was a beautiful pond, it reminded her of Miguel, every winter they went ice-skating together and Kay remembered their long walks in the snow as they sipped hot-chocolate, that had been before Charity and now it was in the past and she was going to keep it that way.
AJ saw her looking wistfully at the pond, "If you want we can go skating sometime, the pond is frozen."
"Sure, I'd like that," she said turning around. "I have to find a job first," she muttered but AJ heard her.
"My mother is looking for a personal secretary, she owns a cosmetic company, I'll put in a good word for you."
"Thanks," she said with genuine gratefulness, he was being so nice to her, and for no reason at all. Normally she would have been suspicious but…she trusted him.
"You're welcome, well, I'll let you settle in, if you need anything my room is down the hall and to the right and the end of the hall."
Kay remembered his mother's persistence about his medication and how pale he had looked earlier.
"Are you okay? You look a little pale."
"No, I'm just getting over a little cold."
Kayla stretched out on the couch and yawned, water bottle in hand. That was the best thing that she ever did, going home with him. She got up and went to the phone book to order dinner for her and her room mate who was going to be home soon. She found the number of their favorite take out place and then sat back down in the dark letting her mind wander back into the past.
