AN: Yes, I live. Sorry about the wait, but college and finals and working sucks. I did have this chapter planned from the beginning, though. It's the halfway point of the story… (hopefully. Haha.) so, we're halfway there! Only 17 more chapters to go! (Haha, just kidding.) After this though, I don't know where the story's headed. I mean, I know how it'll end, but I don't know what to do between now and then. Oh well. We'll get to that.

Two things I realized when I was writing this chapter. A) Kristina could have just gone to Kelly's and gotten a room there when she was kicked out of the Q's. B.) Loren still has his grandfather's sister alive (Bobbie) and could have just lived with her and Lucas. Augh. I didn't realize these two simple facts until this chapter. I really want to go back and fix the story to reflect these – it would be more realistic – but if I did I don't know if the actual plot could stay intact. I'll experiment. Also I'll probably go back and make the chapters longer so that there's less of them. Major reworking has to be done with this story. Major.

On a side note, it's been a year since the story's been up! Yay. :D And it's halfway done. Another year to go! Hahaha.

On another side note, this chapter has some… um… shall we say, content, in it? Nothing THAT bad though. Just some descriptions of heavy making out. Haha. You have been warned.

And the song's not mine. It's by Norah Jones, and it's called "Come Away With Me" (as you can probably guess from the song). The first time I heard it, I thought it was perfect for this scene. :D Yay.

Okay, that's all. Don't throw your shoes at me for not updating too much, okay? Life's keeping me busy. And you know they're not mine, so I'm not putting the disclaimer up anymore. It's up on the first chapter if you really want to read it.

Onto the story! Please review. I miss them. Sigh.

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Golden Child

Chapter Seventeen

"Kelly's," I said to myself as I stood in front of its glass windows. "Here goes nothing."

I was on my way back home to tell Loren the good news. Justus had come to explain to me the requirements needed to be an emancipated minor, and I satisfied all of them except for one: to be able to handle my own finances. "We'll open up a bank account for you," Skye had explained, "but after that, you'll be on your own. We'll also try and transfer some of your funds in there, but I can't guarantee we can get it all, but you'll have something to start with."

"But I can't live off of that forever, can I?"

Justus shook his head. "Of course not. Kristina, you're going to have to get a job."

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So that's why I was standing in front of Kelly's. It was the only place I could think of to get a job. Taking a deep breath, I walked inside, to find a young blonde wiping down the counter. "Um… hi."

She looked up at me. "Hello," she said politely. "How can I help you?"

"I was wondering… is there any way I can work here?"

The blonde had an expression of thought on her face, and then said, "Let me call Bobbie. She owns the restaurant. And by the way, my name's Maxie. Maxie Jones."

"Hi. I'm Kristina."

"Kristina…" She let my name trail, as if waiting for my last name.

"Just Kristina."

"Okay." She smiled warmly as she picked up the phone. "Don't worry, Bobbie's really nice. She almost always lets people work here, and if you really need it, like if you're new to town, she'll let you stay upstairs." Maxie motioned to the stairs. "There are rooms for rent up there."

I nodded as she dialed the number and waited. "Hello? Bobbie? Hi, it's Maxie Jones… there's someone here who wants to know if we have an opening… Yeah, she's here… I don't know, let me check." She covered the mouthpiece with her hand and asked, "Do you have anywhere to be right now? Bobbie's asking if you're going to be here."

I shrugged. "I don't have anything else to do right now."

"Okay." She then turned back to the phone conversation. "Yeah, she'll be here… Okay. Okay, thanks, Bobbie!" Maxie hung up the phone brightly. "She'll be here in about thirty minutes. Did you want to have a cookie or something to eat while you're waiting? If you get the job, it'll be on the house."

I smiled. "That'd be great."

---

After a great meal of a grilled chicken salad and a cookie (yes, that is a meal), I talked to Maxie a little bit – I found out that she was (is) Georgie's sister. I swear, I'm related to everyone in this town. I also peered up the stairwell half-hidden in the corner. If I had known about this place when I got kicked out, I would have come straight here.

But then again, you wouldn't get to live with Loren.

Before I could think of anything else, the bells on the door jingled, and an older lady with reddish-brown hair walked in. "Hello, I'm Bobbie Spencer. And who might you be?"

"My name's Kristina. I was wondering if you had a position available for me?" I was also wondering if she was related to Loren, because they had the same last name.

Bobbie smiled warmly. "Kristina… what did you say your last name was again?"

I shrugged. "I didn't."

She cocked her head to one side and studied me. "You're Sonny's daughter." It wasn't a question, it was a fact. I felt myself tense. How did she know?

I think she could feel my tension, because she reassured me, "Don't worry. I happen to know Sonny well. He is my son-in-law."

"So Carly's your daughter," I reasoned.

Bobbie nodded. "Yes. And I hope you realize this will have no bearing on my opinion of you. You personally have not done anything to offend her, even if she believes you have." She leaned in closer and told me, "My daughter can be very stubborn sometimes. Don't worry about it."

I smiled and relaxed. Maxie was right. Bobbie was wonderful.

"I believe we can accommodate more people on our staff. And you're not at school right now, right?"

Nodding, I replied, "No."

"Then you can start as soon as you'd like. Did you also need a room?"

"No. I already have living arrangements. But thank you, anyway. Thank you so much for all of this, Ms. Spencer."

"Please, call me Bobbie. All this 'Ms. Spencer' stuff makes me feel as old as I am." She smiled and winked at me.

"Okay, Ms…. Bobbie. Oh yes, I have one more question."

She stopped halfway through the act of standing up. "What's that, dear?"

"Do you happen to have a Loren somewhere in your family?"

"My brother's grandson, yes." Her brow furrowed. "But I haven't heard from him in ages. I don't know what's happened to him."

I smiled. "Then I shall make sure I say hello to him for you."

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On my way out of town, with extra food for Loren from Kelly's, I walked along happily. Finally being able to be free from everyone's custody… a steady job… I was totally independent and loving it. However, it bothered me that Loren still had a surviving member of his family still alive. Why didn't he live with her? But I assumed that it was risky to pry, and since he had been through enough already, I would ask him later.

Finally, as the sun's rays were leaving the twilight sky, I made it to the place I called home. As I drew nearer, I could hear the strains of a guitar being played. It wasn't a recording – it sounded live, because every now and then the person stopped and restarted.

I knocked on the door of the trailer and Loren opened it, and as I stepped inside, I saw a guitar sitting on the table, all previous thoughts escaping my brain as I stumbled across this new revelation.

"I didn't know you played! Why didn't you tell me?" More importantly, how did he manage to keep something as big as a guitar hidden in an RV?

"Hello to you, too, Kristina. Your day go well?"

I nodded serenely. "You didn't answer the question."

He shrugged, but I noticed the eye-roll. "You never asked," he replied, simply. Loren sat back down and ran his hand across the polished wood of the instrument. "My mom taught me how to play. It helps when I'm sad, or lonely; it helps me feel closer to her." He looked at it with melancholy, and then his gaze switched back to me. "Want to learn?"

"I… sure. Let me put my things away first, though." I set the brown bag of food down on the table next to the guitar. "That's your dinner."

Loren laughed. "Thanks, Mother."

"You're welcome," I smirked back, then threw the rest of my things on the bottom bunk, took off my shoes, and pulled my hair back. I wandered back over to the table. "Hey."

He smiled. "Hey. Come here." He motioned for me to sit next to him. When I proceeded to do so, Loren put the guitar in my hands. I looked at him, bewildered. "I… I have no clue how to play this thing," I said.

Loren smirked. "Here." He showed me where to put my hands. "You put your left hand up here," he instructed, guiding my hand to the fretboard. "And then you put your right hand here, to strum." His left hand was still on top of mine, so this had the effect of being encircled in his arms. I smiled. "Now what?" I asked, reveling in the proximity of our bodies.

"Okay, now take your fingers and put them here, like this." Loren took my fingers and pressed them on various strings on the guitar. "Now you have to push down hard, or else it won't sound right."

I nodded. "Okay." I pressed down, feeling the harsh metal strings underneath my fingers. I winced, and then Loren handed me a little plastic triangle.

"This is a pick. This is what you use to strum the guitar."

I rolled my eyes. "I know that."

"Sheesh, I'm just checking. Anyway," he continued on, "just take this between your thumb and your index and middle fingers, and rake it across the strings, top to bottom. Like this." He demonstrated, and the sound that ensued… didn't quite sound like a guitar. I guess, instead of long, ringing tones, they sounded kind of… clipped. I looked at Loren questioningly, and he gave me a sheepish smile. He then examined my left hand. "Um… that's not exactly how a guitar is supposed to sound. Your nails are too long. How about we switch?"

"Okay." I lowered my left hand, marveling at the lines imprinted on my fingertips. Loren noticed this and remarked, "It hurts, doesn't it?"

I nodded. "Yeah. I didn't think guitar playing would hurt that much."

"After a while, though, your body gets used to it. See, look." All of a sudden, I felt his fingertips gently brush my face, and a shiver ran down my spine as I closed my eyes. They didn't exactly feel smooth; instead, they had a roughness to them. "Guitar playing gives you calluses like no other," Loren explained.

I just nodded, still entranced by his touch. "Hey, let's play a song," he suggested, effectively breaking me out of my stupor.

"Okay," I agreed.

"I'll do the fingering, and you strum, okay? Just do it whenever I tell you. Okay… strum."

I did so, and the sound that came out of the guitar was a lot more beautiful than what I had done. "Strum."

Again I did so, and as Loren continued to lead me, I recognized the song—a slow, romantic melody—and began to sing it.

Come away with me in the night

Come away with me, and I will write you a song

Come away with me, only us

Come away where they can't taint us with their lies

How appropriate, I thought. It would be nice to have just him and me, together, away from scheming families and overprotectiveness and all kinds of stuff that we put up with every day.

And I wanna walk with you on a cloudy day

In fields where the yellow grass grows knee high

So won't you try to come

Just come away with me and we'll kiss on a mountaintop

At the word "kiss," I felt Loren's lips gently brush the back of my ear, and I felt the familiar tingle go down my back. However, he didn't stop there… he kept trailing kisses down my neck, as his right arm began to hold me tighter against him.

And as I launched into the last phrase of the verse, he sang it along in my ear, huskily, and melted my heart.

Come away with me and I'll never stop loving you

I was amazed that Loren could do all of this at once – the guitar playing and distracting me. Suddenly, I found that I couldn't do it anymore, and turned around in his embrace to face him. We stared at each other for just a split second, and then…

Everything happened so fast. Before I knew it, his lips were on top of mine, hungrily kissing me with every ounce of passion he had. I returned them just the same. Soon my lips parted more and I could feel the warmth of Loren's tongue entering my mouth, exploring everywhere. I heard, somewhere in the background, the thud of the guitar falling, and also in the back of my mind, concern for it, but it didn't seem to stop us. His hands were roaming all across my back and even up my shirt as I raked one hand through his dark locks. Taking the cue from him, I slipped my other hand up the front of his shirt, feeling the skin underneath. It wasn't overly toned, but it was still in shape, as I could feel running my fingertips along the contours of his chest. As he proceeded to kiss down my neck and pull me closer, I felt a low moan escape my lips.

Loren looked up and me and smiled. "You like that, huh?"

I nodded, breathlessly, and our passionate embrace continued. Soon it was all a tangle of arms, legs, and clothes, as articles of clothing started to come off. Before we could get any further, Loren looked me in the eye. "You sure you want to do this? Because if we don't stop now… I don't think I can."

"Don't stop," I begged him, unable to think, my body taking full control.

And he didn't stop. In our frenzy to get as close to each other as possible, we also tried to move somewhere more comfortable, which was awkward, but in the end, we managed to make it to Loren's little "room," where he pulled the curtain shut tight.

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I stirred in the middle of the night to find a light tap-tapping all over the RV; I listened a little bit more to find that it was just a summer storm sending light rain all over. I sleepily remembered that we never finished the song – singing it, that is, and with a smile, I stroked Loren's even more disheveled than normal hair, kissed his sleeping forehead softly, and went back to sleeping, fully content to have his arms holding me tight.

(And I want to wake up with the rain falling on the tin roof

while I'm safe there in your arms

so all I ask is for you to come away with me in the night

Come away with me…)

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Review!!! Please? Please? I haven't gotten reviews in such a long time... =(