Brian stood, shocked as Kayla's fist made contact with Michael's face.
"You son of a bitch! You lied to me!!" She growled. Stepping back to allow Michael time to gather his senses, she rolled up her sleeve and quite expressionlessly put the cigarette out on her forearm.
"Holy shit!" Michael replied, his one working eye wide. "Kayla what has he done to you? I don't even know you and I swear you aren't really Justin's sister."
"None of your fucking business. At all. Ever."
Michael looked over at Brian, his hand covering his right eye, the left looking at him as though to ask- what now?
"It's none of my business, Mikey. You heard her." His sarcastic tone made Mikey grind his teeth as he followed the now retreating girl.
"And what do you think you're gonna tell Jennifer when I follow you home and let her know what is going on?"
Kayla stopped as though something had hit her from the back, and turned, tense. "If you tell her who I am affiliated with, you will die too."
Her eyes told the god-awful truth, and filled with tears as they did so.
Brian paled. For the first time in his life, something that could have been a meaningless threat scared him absolutely shitless. He walked toward her and grabbed her upper arm as she turned to go. "You had better not mean that." She jerked out of his grip and ran to the other side of the street where she hailed another taxi and headed for home.
"I can't wait any longer." Kayla decided. She got dressed, packed a bag with one of her most lovely black dresses, loaded her handgun and picked up her cell phone, dialing Chris. "Hi... Chris? I think we really need to talk."
"Yeah, we do." He replied, monotone.
"Meet me on the roof over Babylon." She requested, fidgeting with the gun's safety.
"Why Babylon? If I'm seen in buttfuck central, my reputation is shot!"
Kayla's vision blackened around the edges, her head beginning to throb. "Look, if you fucking feel anything for me, you will do it!"
"Fine- fine, what time?" He knew he had been defeated as he wrote down her reply.
"Seven-thirty. You will regret being late, so just don't."
"Hey- Kayla, are you okay?" Before Chris could get an answer, Kayla had already disconnected. He hung his head and let the phone slip from his hand and hit the floor. "She's going to break my heart."
Kayla rushed downstairs, her bag slung over her shoulder. The clock read 6:45.
"Kayla? Where do you think you're going in such a hurry?" Jennifer stopped her dead in her tracks, eyeing the bag.
"I'm going out. I promise you'll be able to see me tomorrow. I really love you, mama. Justin!"
As Justin was about to answer, Jennifer went into the kitchen, her eyes brimming with tears, the anxiety tightened around her heart, letting her know something wasn't right.
"Yeah?" He finally answered.
"Let's go to Babylon, baby brother." She said sweetly, however devoid of expression.
"Okay! Be back later, Mom."
From the kitchen, Jennifer called out. "Be careful. I love you."
At hearing the pain in her mother's voice, tears welled up in Kayla's eyes. "You too, mama."
Jennifer listened, stood silently and as soon as she heard the lock slide into place, she picked up the phone with trembling hands and dialed Debbie. "Please- please pick up? Shit! Please-Hello? Deb? Jesus, Deb, I need your help."
"What's wrong, honey?" Deb answered, unsure of who she was talking to at first.
"It's Kayla, something is wrong with her. Not five minutes ago, I heard her talking to Chris Hobbes. She was screaming at him- saying something like 'If I mean anything to you, you'll do it'- Something like that. Debbie my baby girl is with that monster!"
"Oh, Jennifer. Honey, don't be ridiculous-.."
"Deb, she and Justin just went to Babylon with her father's handgun in her bag."
Debbie pulled the phone away from her ear and stared at it in disbelief. "What the fuck would she need his handgun for? Jennifer? Hold on a second, I have call waiting. Hello?" "Ma, there is some serious shit going down with Justin's sister. She just threatened to kill me!" Michael exclaimed, pain in his voice from a throbbing headache.
"I have her mother on the other line. They both went to Babylon. Michael, is Kayla his girlfriend?"
"Justin's? Ma that's sick."
"No, you little asshole! Chris! Is Kayla Chris Hobbes' girlfriend?!"
"Yeah, ma. Brian and I are going to go to Babylon and make sure something bad doesn't happen."
Debbie's eyes widened, filling with tears, Vic standing on the sidelines, afraid and not even knowing. "Baby, you be so careful. She has a handgun with her. Keep Sunshine the fuck away from her." With that, she switched to the other line. "Jennifer, we need to go to Babylon. Now."
/
Kayla had blocked everything out on the ride to Babylon, even forgetting that Justin didn't know she had been packing heat.
"What the fuck is that thing?!" Justin squealed as she took it out to shine the barrel.
"It's a gun." She answered as though sedated.
"No SHIT! Why do you have the fucking thing?! Who is it for?!" Justin struggled to keep his eyes on the road. "Look, never mind. We're here, just put it away."
Kayla stared for a moment out the windshield, her eyes turned up toward Babylon's rooftop. "You go ahead and go inside, I'm gonna go up to the roof real quick and pull myself together."
"The roof? Goddammit, Kayla, you need to tell me what is going on- I'm worried sick!"
Kayla's vision blackened once again around the edges, her forehead misting with a thin layer of sweat. She pushed past him, replying: "Just dance, and don't look for me."
"Hi." Chris said softly.
"Hi." Kayla replied.
Chris paced, wringing his hands as Kayla set down her bag, having slipped the gun into an ankle holster on her way up the stairs. "What did you want to talk about?"
"I wasn't completely honest with you. There are things about me that I haven't told you."
"Those things couldn't be all that bad." He smiled, looking into her eyes.
"My name is Kayla Taylor."
"So?" Oblivious.
She stepped forward, her eyes red from lack of sleep, from crying, from fear. "As in Justin Taylor."
He froze, looking sickened. "I-"
"Say it."
"I- I can handle it. I fucking hate that-I hate him, but last names mean nothing.
"He's my baby brother." In a quick movement, Kayla bent over and pulled the gun just as he began to make his way toward her. "And I love him with every last breath in me."
"With work, I can handle that too, Kayla. You can make me better." He said, trembling as he focused in on the gun.
"Liar."
Despite Kayla's desperate advice, Justin refused to let her go through something, even if he didn't know what it was, all alone. He left the dance floor, unknowing that Brian and Michael were close behind, and Deb and Jennifer were at the front door of the club. He went out the door to the stairwell and took the steps two at a time, winded by the time he had reached the door. He watched through the window.
"Why, Kayla?" Chris said, nearly sobbing.
-Why is he here, and why has she made him cry like that?- Justin thought, now eyeing the gun in his sister's hand.
"Why what? Why-You have no room to ask why! Why did you try to kill someone I love more than life itself?! What was it about his display of pride, and how in love he was. what about that made you want to kill him?"
Chris stood, shocked, mouth agape. Momentarily, he had been rendered unable to answer.
"ANSWER ME!" Kayla sobbed, her entire body quaking with emotion, mostly anger.
"But it says in the Bib-.."
"FUCK what it says in the bible! I know why you hated him! I know what he did. I know he got you off! You tried to steal EVERYTHING from him because of an innocent mistake!" Her face went blank once again.
"Mistake?!" He spat back, infuriated, confused. "He reached into my pants and jerked me off! How the fuck is that a mistake!"
"Shut up! I don't want to hear it from you! Shut up!" She wiped the tears away, her hand pressed against her temple. For a moment she appeared very frail. She aimed the pistol at his head.
"Kayla! No!" Justin called from the doorway. He heard her pull back the hammer from where he stood. Chris came forward, Kayla's aim dropping. He pulled Kayla into a kiss, the gun barrel digging into his chest. He felt in his heart that she was bluffing. He pulled back suddenly, his face white as a sheet. He hadn't heard the shot.
Bang.
One pull of the trigger.
He looked down in shock, touching the wound gingerly. He looked into Kayla's eyes and dropped on the spot.
"Stay back Justin!" She screamed out. She was shivering, unaware of whether it was from the biting wind or the anger. "STAY BACK!"
She approached Chris as he lay there dying. His eyes searched the night sky, then slowly peered over at Justin. "Help?" He mouthed, reaching a bloodied hand out, beckoning Justin.
Justin stepped forward, knowing now that Michael and Brian stood in the doorway, both horrified and completely silent when suddenly she turned the gun up and toward her temple. "Sissy, no-" Justin plead, beginning to weep.
Kayla looked through lifeless eyes at her brother. She didn't see the hurt, the tears. She only saw the pity. "Why should I have to suffer for making the world a better place?" Her shoulders shook as she pulled back the hammer. Justin took another step forward.
"Justin, don't." Brian hissed.
"She needs him." Michael reassured. He turned to see Debbie and Jennifer barreling toward them. He turned, as well as Brian, and stopped them, Jennifer screaming when she caught sight of her baby girl over Brian's shoulder. She began to sob, burying her face in Brian's chest. Michael held onto Debbie and whispered to her: "Chris Hobbes is dead- D-don't look out there, ma. Please."
Normally, Brian would have pulled away, but as he turned to see how close Justin was to Kayla, to the pistol, he tensed, holding Jennifer close, his chin trembling as he tried to bite back the onslaught of tears.
"Justin- please let me do this? Please?" She whimpered, heaving breaths.
"I can't. I'll miss you." One last step brought him in contact with her, his fear weakening his knees. He kneeled there beside her, his arms wrapped around her legs, his head resting against her hips. "You're all I have left. You're the only one who really understands. Don't leave me this way."
"Let me through, Michael. Dammit, I want to see her." Debbie tried to push through, stopped also by Brian.
"Let Justin handle this." He peered over his shoulder, his eyes filled with horror as he sees her pull the trigger.
Click. Her eyes widened as she pulled once more. Click.
They held their collective breaths as she tried again. Click. A united sigh of relief filled the tiny hallway, and Jennifer pulled past Brian. Justin stood, about to pull Kayla into a hug when---
Bang.
"You son of a bitch! You lied to me!!" She growled. Stepping back to allow Michael time to gather his senses, she rolled up her sleeve and quite expressionlessly put the cigarette out on her forearm.
"Holy shit!" Michael replied, his one working eye wide. "Kayla what has he done to you? I don't even know you and I swear you aren't really Justin's sister."
"None of your fucking business. At all. Ever."
Michael looked over at Brian, his hand covering his right eye, the left looking at him as though to ask- what now?
"It's none of my business, Mikey. You heard her." His sarcastic tone made Mikey grind his teeth as he followed the now retreating girl.
"And what do you think you're gonna tell Jennifer when I follow you home and let her know what is going on?"
Kayla stopped as though something had hit her from the back, and turned, tense. "If you tell her who I am affiliated with, you will die too."
Her eyes told the god-awful truth, and filled with tears as they did so.
Brian paled. For the first time in his life, something that could have been a meaningless threat scared him absolutely shitless. He walked toward her and grabbed her upper arm as she turned to go. "You had better not mean that." She jerked out of his grip and ran to the other side of the street where she hailed another taxi and headed for home.
"I can't wait any longer." Kayla decided. She got dressed, packed a bag with one of her most lovely black dresses, loaded her handgun and picked up her cell phone, dialing Chris. "Hi... Chris? I think we really need to talk."
"Yeah, we do." He replied, monotone.
"Meet me on the roof over Babylon." She requested, fidgeting with the gun's safety.
"Why Babylon? If I'm seen in buttfuck central, my reputation is shot!"
Kayla's vision blackened around the edges, her head beginning to throb. "Look, if you fucking feel anything for me, you will do it!"
"Fine- fine, what time?" He knew he had been defeated as he wrote down her reply.
"Seven-thirty. You will regret being late, so just don't."
"Hey- Kayla, are you okay?" Before Chris could get an answer, Kayla had already disconnected. He hung his head and let the phone slip from his hand and hit the floor. "She's going to break my heart."
Kayla rushed downstairs, her bag slung over her shoulder. The clock read 6:45.
"Kayla? Where do you think you're going in such a hurry?" Jennifer stopped her dead in her tracks, eyeing the bag.
"I'm going out. I promise you'll be able to see me tomorrow. I really love you, mama. Justin!"
As Justin was about to answer, Jennifer went into the kitchen, her eyes brimming with tears, the anxiety tightened around her heart, letting her know something wasn't right.
"Yeah?" He finally answered.
"Let's go to Babylon, baby brother." She said sweetly, however devoid of expression.
"Okay! Be back later, Mom."
From the kitchen, Jennifer called out. "Be careful. I love you."
At hearing the pain in her mother's voice, tears welled up in Kayla's eyes. "You too, mama."
Jennifer listened, stood silently and as soon as she heard the lock slide into place, she picked up the phone with trembling hands and dialed Debbie. "Please- please pick up? Shit! Please-Hello? Deb? Jesus, Deb, I need your help."
"What's wrong, honey?" Deb answered, unsure of who she was talking to at first.
"It's Kayla, something is wrong with her. Not five minutes ago, I heard her talking to Chris Hobbes. She was screaming at him- saying something like 'If I mean anything to you, you'll do it'- Something like that. Debbie my baby girl is with that monster!"
"Oh, Jennifer. Honey, don't be ridiculous-.."
"Deb, she and Justin just went to Babylon with her father's handgun in her bag."
Debbie pulled the phone away from her ear and stared at it in disbelief. "What the fuck would she need his handgun for? Jennifer? Hold on a second, I have call waiting. Hello?" "Ma, there is some serious shit going down with Justin's sister. She just threatened to kill me!" Michael exclaimed, pain in his voice from a throbbing headache.
"I have her mother on the other line. They both went to Babylon. Michael, is Kayla his girlfriend?"
"Justin's? Ma that's sick."
"No, you little asshole! Chris! Is Kayla Chris Hobbes' girlfriend?!"
"Yeah, ma. Brian and I are going to go to Babylon and make sure something bad doesn't happen."
Debbie's eyes widened, filling with tears, Vic standing on the sidelines, afraid and not even knowing. "Baby, you be so careful. She has a handgun with her. Keep Sunshine the fuck away from her." With that, she switched to the other line. "Jennifer, we need to go to Babylon. Now."
/
Kayla had blocked everything out on the ride to Babylon, even forgetting that Justin didn't know she had been packing heat.
"What the fuck is that thing?!" Justin squealed as she took it out to shine the barrel.
"It's a gun." She answered as though sedated.
"No SHIT! Why do you have the fucking thing?! Who is it for?!" Justin struggled to keep his eyes on the road. "Look, never mind. We're here, just put it away."
Kayla stared for a moment out the windshield, her eyes turned up toward Babylon's rooftop. "You go ahead and go inside, I'm gonna go up to the roof real quick and pull myself together."
"The roof? Goddammit, Kayla, you need to tell me what is going on- I'm worried sick!"
Kayla's vision blackened once again around the edges, her forehead misting with a thin layer of sweat. She pushed past him, replying: "Just dance, and don't look for me."
"Hi." Chris said softly.
"Hi." Kayla replied.
Chris paced, wringing his hands as Kayla set down her bag, having slipped the gun into an ankle holster on her way up the stairs. "What did you want to talk about?"
"I wasn't completely honest with you. There are things about me that I haven't told you."
"Those things couldn't be all that bad." He smiled, looking into her eyes.
"My name is Kayla Taylor."
"So?" Oblivious.
She stepped forward, her eyes red from lack of sleep, from crying, from fear. "As in Justin Taylor."
He froze, looking sickened. "I-"
"Say it."
"I- I can handle it. I fucking hate that-I hate him, but last names mean nothing.
"He's my baby brother." In a quick movement, Kayla bent over and pulled the gun just as he began to make his way toward her. "And I love him with every last breath in me."
"With work, I can handle that too, Kayla. You can make me better." He said, trembling as he focused in on the gun.
"Liar."
Despite Kayla's desperate advice, Justin refused to let her go through something, even if he didn't know what it was, all alone. He left the dance floor, unknowing that Brian and Michael were close behind, and Deb and Jennifer were at the front door of the club. He went out the door to the stairwell and took the steps two at a time, winded by the time he had reached the door. He watched through the window.
"Why, Kayla?" Chris said, nearly sobbing.
-Why is he here, and why has she made him cry like that?- Justin thought, now eyeing the gun in his sister's hand.
"Why what? Why-You have no room to ask why! Why did you try to kill someone I love more than life itself?! What was it about his display of pride, and how in love he was. what about that made you want to kill him?"
Chris stood, shocked, mouth agape. Momentarily, he had been rendered unable to answer.
"ANSWER ME!" Kayla sobbed, her entire body quaking with emotion, mostly anger.
"But it says in the Bib-.."
"FUCK what it says in the bible! I know why you hated him! I know what he did. I know he got you off! You tried to steal EVERYTHING from him because of an innocent mistake!" Her face went blank once again.
"Mistake?!" He spat back, infuriated, confused. "He reached into my pants and jerked me off! How the fuck is that a mistake!"
"Shut up! I don't want to hear it from you! Shut up!" She wiped the tears away, her hand pressed against her temple. For a moment she appeared very frail. She aimed the pistol at his head.
"Kayla! No!" Justin called from the doorway. He heard her pull back the hammer from where he stood. Chris came forward, Kayla's aim dropping. He pulled Kayla into a kiss, the gun barrel digging into his chest. He felt in his heart that she was bluffing. He pulled back suddenly, his face white as a sheet. He hadn't heard the shot.
Bang.
One pull of the trigger.
He looked down in shock, touching the wound gingerly. He looked into Kayla's eyes and dropped on the spot.
"Stay back Justin!" She screamed out. She was shivering, unaware of whether it was from the biting wind or the anger. "STAY BACK!"
She approached Chris as he lay there dying. His eyes searched the night sky, then slowly peered over at Justin. "Help?" He mouthed, reaching a bloodied hand out, beckoning Justin.
Justin stepped forward, knowing now that Michael and Brian stood in the doorway, both horrified and completely silent when suddenly she turned the gun up and toward her temple. "Sissy, no-" Justin plead, beginning to weep.
Kayla looked through lifeless eyes at her brother. She didn't see the hurt, the tears. She only saw the pity. "Why should I have to suffer for making the world a better place?" Her shoulders shook as she pulled back the hammer. Justin took another step forward.
"Justin, don't." Brian hissed.
"She needs him." Michael reassured. He turned to see Debbie and Jennifer barreling toward them. He turned, as well as Brian, and stopped them, Jennifer screaming when she caught sight of her baby girl over Brian's shoulder. She began to sob, burying her face in Brian's chest. Michael held onto Debbie and whispered to her: "Chris Hobbes is dead- D-don't look out there, ma. Please."
Normally, Brian would have pulled away, but as he turned to see how close Justin was to Kayla, to the pistol, he tensed, holding Jennifer close, his chin trembling as he tried to bite back the onslaught of tears.
"Justin- please let me do this? Please?" She whimpered, heaving breaths.
"I can't. I'll miss you." One last step brought him in contact with her, his fear weakening his knees. He kneeled there beside her, his arms wrapped around her legs, his head resting against her hips. "You're all I have left. You're the only one who really understands. Don't leave me this way."
"Let me through, Michael. Dammit, I want to see her." Debbie tried to push through, stopped also by Brian.
"Let Justin handle this." He peered over his shoulder, his eyes filled with horror as he sees her pull the trigger.
Click. Her eyes widened as she pulled once more. Click.
They held their collective breaths as she tried again. Click. A united sigh of relief filled the tiny hallway, and Jennifer pulled past Brian. Justin stood, about to pull Kayla into a hug when---
Bang.