Rimnerel: Hey everyone, welcome to the last chapter of Oleander Summer! We finally made it!
Kai: That's good.
Rimnerel: I want to thank everyone for reviewing and I have a special treat for you all at the end of this chapter. (grins) I'm sure it's going to be a really interesting surprise too.
Kai: You aren't really going to...
Rimnerel: You'll find out too Kai. Now, let's get on with this last chapter so I can tell everyone what happens.
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"Hey guys, I'm glad you could make it!" A girl with long blue hair up in a high ponytail waved the three boys over. Well the two boys, and the one that was literally being dragged by a certain blue haired teen. Kenny was still amused that Rei wasn't speaking to Kain for this little stunt he set up. All to see the movie, The Matrix, starring Keanu Reeves.
"Hello Miriam!" Kain waved a bit cheerfully, though he knew he was in hot water with Rei.
"And you brought Kenny along, I haven't seen you all summer, what have you been up too, K?" Miriam asked. This girl was a good friend of Kenny, Kain, and Rei's. Kenny meeting her back in 8th grade when she tried dating him, only to discover that they made better friends than a couple. Since that time, her eyes have wandered over to Rei.
"I went with my parents this summer. I spent most of my time with Tyson and his friends," Kenny said, a smile rising to his lips. Oh, but that wasn't all that he did, but he didn't think he should tell her just yet. "So, where's Salima hiding herself?"
"Oh, she's with Victoria, they had to go to the bathroom," Miriam said.
Salima Grayson has known Kenny since both were in first grade together. Before he met Rei, him and Salima use to play together a lot. In fourth grade Salima and her family moved to Cleveland when her father got transferred for a few years to his company's headquarters, Salima didn't come back to Massachusetts until sixth grade. Upon coming back and learning about Kain, she developed the hugest crush on him that was still in effect to this day.
"Great, I say we go ahead and head into the movie without them!" Kain said, come along Rei.
"Rei seems a little bit mad today, what did you do to him Kain?" Miriam said.
"What I did to him? What is it that when he's moody, everyone blames me," Kain exclaimed, though it was his fault this time for being stupid.
"It is your fault," Rei said, breaking from Kain's side to stand near Miriam. Kain sighed as he lifted his head to the sky.
"I'm sorry, okay Rei," Kain apologized again. "I promise that I won't pull another stunt like that again. Now will you just crack a smile?"
"How about I crack a smile in about another month," Rei smirked, as he put his arm around Miriam's shoulder. "Think I should make him suffer Miriam?"
"What did he do, and I can tell you whether or not to make him cry," Miriam giggled.
"He likes to play tricks on people, evil little nasty tricks. Oh, and he likes disregarding the feelings of those around him for his own personal benefits."
"I say make him suffer then!" Miriam chimed.
"All right, so it's been decided. No sweets for you for a month Kain," Rei said, giving the male a meaningful look that only Kenny and Kain caught.
"Too bad for you Kain," Kenny grinned.
"Shut up before I push you in front of a bus," Kain glowered at his other friend.
"You know that's not nice, Kain!" The blue haired teen groaned as something clamped to his arm. Looking down, he saw the girl with red hair down back in a group of tight braids going down her back smiling up at him. "How you been doing?"
"Fine..." Kain sighed. Salima continued to grin up at Kain before turning her eyes to Kenny who was smiling evilly at Kain.
"Kenny! How was your trip?"
"It was nice," Kenny smiled.
"Yeah, he lost his virginity after all, I'm sure it was nice for him," Kain voiced as he clasped his hands behind his head, giving Kenny an equally evil smirk. That would teach Kenny to poke fun at him while he was down. How the hell was he going to make this up to Rei? When the male wanted to be evil, he really went all out in doing so. No sex for a complete month was harsh.
Two pairs of eyes turned to Kenny with shocked expressions. Kenny flushed, knowing he was going to kill Kain later for this. "Really Kenny!" Salima gaped. "Oh, you're so bad! It must be Kain's influence, right?"
"I didn't think you would be so wild, way to go!" Miriam grinned.
"So, what's she like? What's her name? Did Tyson introduce you to her? How old is she? Older or younger than us?" Salima shot off question after question in Kenny's direction.
"Um...I'll fill you guys in later about things...so where is the other girl Miriam was mentioning?" Kenny said changing the subject a little bit flustered. He definitely wasn't ready to tell them that it was a he instead of a she.
"Victoria? Oh, here she comes." Salima pointed to a girl with short blonde hair that oddly, not to mention scarily enough, reminded him of Jordan. She was shyly eyeing him as she walked up. "Victoria, this is Kenny Shinoda, Kenny, this is Victoria Bennet."
"Hi, it's nice to meet you. I heard a lot of nice things about you," she said with a blush, staring down at her shoes.
"Hi," Kenny said with a smile. Well...he guessed it wasn't so bad. Even if she looked like Jordan, at least she didn't act like the girl. "It's nice to meet you too."
"All right then everyone, let's go see The Matrix!" Salima grinned, pulling out the tickets and handing them out to everyone. "It starts in ten minutes, that's enough time to get popcorn and soda and find good seats!"
"Okay, come on guys," Miriam pulled Rei towards the entrance of the movie theater, with Salima, Kain, Kenny, and Victoria following close behind. Kenny figured that it wouldn't be as bad as he thought. If Rei didn't stay mad with Kain as long as he was implying to and if he managed to keep the girls from finding out about him being gay. The group gave the ticket taker their tickets once they got inside.
Miriam, Rei, Kain, and Salima headed over to the concession stand to fill up on popcorn, drinks, and other little odds and ends. Meanwhile, Kenny stood with Victoria who continued to stare down at her feet. "Um...so, Victoria, what do you like to do?"
"Oh me? Well...I like painting and poetry. This is my first date...I don't really know what to do," she admitted.
"Don't worry, this is my first date also," Kenny smiled.
"But I heard that you..."
"That...well...it was different with that person," Kenny flushed.
"Were you in love with that person?" Victoria asked. "I can see it in the way you smile. It's really sweet, you know. To love someone that much, do they love you in return?"
"Last night, they told me," Kenny grinned. "That made me really happy when they said it. I really didn't think that when we first met, things would carry this far."
"That's really nice Kenny, I'm happy for you," Victoria smiled. "Because you know...I'm in love with someone too. I just haven't gotten up the courage to tell them yet. Do you think that they would like me?"
"You're a very nice girl with a nice personality. I'm certain that the person that you love the most will love you in return," Kenny said.
"I hope so."
"Hey guys! Come on! Let's get going into the movie!" Miriam waved the two over, Rei and Kain carrying two large tubs of popcorn, six drinks, candy, hot dogs, nachos, and a bunch of other little items.
Kenny observed that Rei was still giving Kain a hard time about dragging him off to the movies on a date with Miriam. It was like old times in a way, when he didn't have anything to think about, only there was a lot more to things now. Not too long from now, Kenny would be going to the movies with Tala. And not just the movies but anywhere they wanted.
'I wonder what everyone's doing right now?'
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Tyson hugged his pillow even more as he burrowed deeper under the cover to get away from the sun. He didn't know why he decided to hang out with Zeo, Johnny, and Max until five in the morning. He was tired, and the sun wasn't helping things any, along with the soft clicks against his window.
"What the hell is that?" Tyson muttered half asleep before turning away from the sun, sticking his head under the other pillow. "I swear I will kill that woodpecker tapping on my window." Trying to bury himself deeper into the comfort of the bed, he found that the noise was just to annoying to let go.
Irritated, Tyson pulled himself out of the bed. Stumbling over towards the window and pushing it open, opening his tired eyes, he looked around for that damn woodpecker that was tapping on his glass. Since of course woodpeckers only peck on wood, instead of glass, low and behold, there was no bird. Instead, he got a rock to the forehead.
"Sorry about that," came a voice from just under the window. "I didn't know you would open the window as I was tossing up another rock. Can I come up?"
Glaring down Tyson was surprised to see Kai standing just under his window with a huge grin on his face. "What time is it?"
"Ten forty-seven, why?" Kai said.
"Come back in four hours and screw me, good night," yawned Tyson, as he clambered back over to the bed and climbed in. Closing his eyes, he curled into a ball drifting back into the place he was where the sun and rocks weren't. That was until the weight on his bed went down.
"Unfortunately, I didn't come for the early morning special," whispered a low voice directly into Tyson's ear. "But if that's what you really want, then I can oblige." A cool hand snaked under the cover, trailing a path down Tyson's side. Tyson gasped, turning onto his back to stare up at Kai who was on the side of the bed staring down at him.
"How did you get up here?" Tyson mumbled sleepily.
"Climb, right any other person would," Kai said, leaning down to touch his lips with Tyson's. "I have to tell you something."
"You're going to let me go back to sleep?"
"What time did you get in this morning?" Kai said humorously as he moved his hand under Tyson's t-shirt, getting a moan from out of the younger teen. "You have to keep it down, your aunt and the others are downstairs. I don't think breaking and entering along with statutory rape would look good on my profile."
"You always gotta be so mean to me, don't you?" Tyson pouted.
"Sorry, I don't mean to be, you know that." Kai kissed Tyson, slipping his tongue into Tyson's mouth. Under him, Tyson sighed, letting the feeling take him away until he felt Kai pull back.
"Kai?"
"There's some things I want to tell you, Tyson, that I think you should know," Kai said softly. "I need you to hear me all the way out, okay Tyson?"
"Kai..." Tyson didn't know what to say about this, what was it that his boyfriend had to tell him. Finding the power to wake up, he gave the male his full attention. Noticing the seriousness in those red eyes he loved so much. Tyson hoped the last thing that Kai wouldn't tell him was that they had to go their separate ways. He didn't think he could ever give up Kai now. "Kai...what is it that..."
"Tyson, you know that I love you don't you?"
"Yes, but what..."
"I love you so much that I'm about to do something for your sake," Kai interrupted. "You know how I was telling you about my parents?"
"Yeah, they never wanted you to be around, but what are you about to do?" Tyson sat up, staring at Kai. "You aren't going to kill them or something?"
"No, I'm not. I plan to leave them the hell alone for good. You see, they never wanted me around and always sent me to live with other families. But I found that my other relatives hated me much the same as my parents, my grandfather use to hit me all the time, so I didn't want to stay with him. So, was sent to live with my uncle and aunt here. I hate him so much. He didn't want to deal with me either. But..."
"But?"
A soft smile came to his lips. "But it wasn't because of my Uncle Boris that made me keep wanting to come back. I found a kindred spirit in Tala. And his mother and father always took me on trips with them. They were like the parents I never had. I loved them so much."
"Tala's parents? I've never seen them before."
"That's not surprising. They died when Tala and I were six. They were coming back from Russia, discussing taking me in to live with Tala since my parents didn't want to deal with me. I think I cried when I found out," Kai said.
"I...never knew that..." Tyson admitted. Looking down at his hands, he felt a bit bad all those times in the past when he shouted that Tala's parents must think of him as a spoiled brat by the way he acted.
"The family kept it from everyone. They didn't approve of Aunt Alexial marrying Uncle Mikhail in the first place, so it was just not a big event. At least not to them, for Tala and I...it was very painful. I was with him all through the funeral. I couldn't stop crying. Tala sat there, stared at the caskets. He couldn't believe they were really gone. And then all those people talking about him and his parents like that, whispering and gossiping. Arguing over who wouldn't take in Tala."
"It must have hurt to hear that, but your uncle finally took him in right?" Tyson took Kai's hand in his own, giving it a little squeeze.
"Only because of our aunt Irene. She loved Tala like a son. Our uncle Boris hated Tala because Aunt Alexial was his sister and he didn't approve of her marriage. He only took in Tala because of Aunt Irene. Tala just went with things."
"That's sad. So, your uncle really is the bad one here?" Tyson asked.
"He hates us so much. He used to hit Tala a lot when he was younger. Me too, but I have too smart a mouth to learn my lesson. That and the fact I was shifted from one house to another so often. I never got it as worst as Tala did. I should have been there for him, when he stopped feeling, stopped smiling, stopped loving anyone." Kai felt the tears trickling down, only to have Tyson catch them.
"It seems that I really did judge you both wrong. I never knew you had so much pain in your hearts. I suppose that I can learn to like that idiot cousin of yours. He only acts tough so he won't feel the pain, but he will have to let Kenny in."
"I know," Kai smiled. "He told me that he called Kenny back last night and apologized to him about things. And...he told me that he told Kenny how he felt. Your cousin is probably the first person he's ever truly opened up to in a long time. That's made him smile like he's done."
"You can't really say that. There have been times watching you two that he seems at ease with you," Tyson stated. "I think that what he needed was someone who didn't know everything about him to fall in love with him for being just him. Telling Kenny was a choice that he eventually felt might close a gap between them. I wouldn't expect Kenny to just hate him for the truth. He's not like that at all."
"Which leads me to things," Kai sighed. "Tala and I plan to leave here soon for good. He wants to move up to Massachusetts so that when Kenny graduates, we can all live together. So, what do you say?"
"Kenny, you, Tala, and I live in the same house?" Tyson blinked. "You're kidding right?"
"Not unless you want us to have a separate apartment or something. I already called my parents demanding that they wire money into my bank account, so I can get out of their lives for good. They were more than happy to do so. So now...I just wait for Tala. He went back to our uncle's house to get the rest of his things."
"But...but he went by himself! If your uncle hates him so much, won't he try to hurt him?" Tyson exclaimed.
"That's a risk he's willing to take. I'm going to meet up with him soon to make sure that everything goes through okay. Tyson, I don't want you to worry okay," Kai kissed him again.
"But, your uncle might try to hurt you both. You can't be reckless."
"We aren't," Kai assured. "We plan to walk on glass," Kai winked. "What I need you to do is believe that I will come back to you. Okay. Everything will turn out fine, so don't worry, in no time we'll be together again."
"You promise?" Tyson asked.
"I promise," Kai murmured, pushing Tyson back on the bed and climbing over him. "Right now, he's talking with Mrs. Tate about things, so he'll be preoccupied for a bit. I think I have enough time to tend to you."
"Kai, don't get yourself hurt, okay," Tyson breathed into Kai's hair, feeling a pair of hands gathering his shirt at the ends and peeling it off. Arching up, he allowed the older teen to remove the shirt. "Don't you think we should lock the door?"
"True," Kai mumbled into Tyson's skin before he got up and enabled the lock. When he turned around he found the rest of Tyson's clothes on the floor. With a sly smirk, Kai began removing his own clothes as he headed back to the bed. "Make sure that you don't moan my name too loud."
"I promise," Tyson giggled as he opened his arms, drawing Kai to him when the dual haired teen was close enough. "I'll just have to kiss you as hard as I can to cover the sound."
"You certain have become a naughty boy," Kai teased, sucking on Tyson's neck.
"You made me that way," Tyson grinned.
"I suppose I did."
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Tala looked up at the old house, this would be the last time he had to see this god-forsaken place ever. He would finally be free to leave and go wherever he wanted without restriction. Not that he couldn't do it before, it was just that now he had a reason. At the thought of the brunette that changed his life, a smile came to his face. Who would have thought that one kid could give his life a complete 360?
"I guess...I have an angel that's been trying to watch out for me, after all."
Parking his bike near a tree, Tala snuck to the back of the house where his room was. Looking around to make sure that the housekeeping wasn't anywhere around, Tala hitched himself up on the side of the house like he was practically a spider, climbing up to his room. Pushing at the window, he found it was unlocked.
"Gotta thank Kai for keeping it open for me later." Hitching himself through the window, he landed softly on a pile of clothes that was strewed over the floor. Looking around the room, it was as if a tornado swept through the room.
The mattress of the bed was turned over and shredded into pieces, cotton littering the floor. The dresser was on its side, the drawers tossed here and there along with clothes. The table in the room was turned upside down, the drawers also taken out, the items scattered across the floor. The lamp that rested on the desk was smashed against the wall, or at least looked liked it was hurled at the wall, the nightstand that was near the bed rested on its side, the drawers taken out also.
Tala had a feeling that after that incident with his aunt a few weeks ago, his uncle flew into a rage trashing the room. If not, then he more than likely tore the room apart looking for where Tala hid the key to that safety box his parents entrusted to him. But of course, his uncle would never find where that key was. Walking towards the tilted nightstand, Tala knelt down beside it, feeling under it until he found a hollowed part that slid back.
Reaching inside, he felt the two objects that he had hoped would still be there. Pulling out the .45 caliber revolver, Tala studied the object for a long moment. This was the same gun he scared Judy Tate off with when he was younger. Kai had stolen it from one of their other relatives, bringing it to Tala saying he might need it for protection. Opening the chamber, he examining it, he nodded at the fully loaded piece in his hand, taking off the safety lock. Unlike that other time, this time it was loaded.
Carefully sliding it into his back pocket, he reached back into the secret compartment under the nightstand to pull out a small silver key. This was the key his uncle tore the room apart looking for. But Tala knew he was never going to find it. He had carefully made that compartment for such a scenario as this. He wasn't as dumb as the man thought of him. Sticking it in his shoe, Tala looked around the room to see did he want to take anything.
Picking his way through the mess, he found his traveling bag and pulled it out. Quietly going through the junk, he pulled out a few shirts and pants that he really liked and tossed them in the bag. If anything, he could always borrow, or buy some new underwear and socks, but decided to shove two pairs of his sneakers in the bag also. Once he was done with that chore, he began walking over to the window, when he heard something break downstairs followed by a scream.
"The fuck." Tossing the bag down into the bushes below, Tala went towards the door, creeping to the balcony to find out what was going on. Below he found Clover and his aunt backing up away from his uncle who looked like he was about to kill them both.
"And where do you two think you're going?" Boris glared at both women.
"She...she...she wanted to..." Clover stammered, tears shining in her eyes.
"She wanted to what, girl?" Boris sneered.
"She told me that she wanted to...she wanted to see Tala...I'm sorry, I didn't think that you would..." That was all she managed to get out as Boris backhanded her out of the way. The girl slipped away from the two, hitting the way with a slight thud.
"You're correct on that part, you didn't think, you absent minded bitch," Boris spat. Turning his attention to his wife, he watched her cringing against the wall. A malicious smirk rose to his lips. "And you...what am I going to do with you, Irene?"
"Leave me alone Boris, I want to see my son, you aren't going to stand in my way anymore," Irene whimpered. "What have I ever done to you? Why do you hate my son so much?"
"Your son, eh?" Boris walked up to the woman, pulling her up to his eye level. "Wake up you stupid whore. Tala will never be your son. As much as I hate to say it, he was Alexial's son, not yours."
"That's not true!" Irene screamed as she tried to swing at Boris, but he pinned her hands above her head, glaring deep into her distraught eyes. "It's all lies!"
"Lies? You wish. You just couldn't wake up after that bastard Mikhail died, could you? Not with Tala around. Tell me, all those times you raped him when he was just a boy, did you get any satisfactory in thinking it was his father? Tell me Irene, did it make you feel any better about losing Mikhail to my sister," Boris asked cruelly.
"No! Leave me alone!" Irene struggled to get away from the man, who was much stronger than her. "Someone help me! Someone please!"
"Oh, now you need help," Boris chuckled. "You want to know something though, Irene? The only reason that I married you was because I needed your father's business. I never loved you, so I won't have any hard feelings getting rid of you now. I don't need you anymore Irene."
"Leave her alone!" Tala made his way down the stairs, checking first on Clover who was curled up into a frightened ball whimpering, then turning his attention to his uncle who had released the woman.
"Ah, look who it is. Come to rescue your lover, boy?"
"Actually, I came to say good-bye," Tala smirked. Shifting his eyes to Clover for a minute, he found the girl getting up. "Clover, get out of here."
"But...Tala...what about..." Clover whimpered.
"Don't worry about me. Get everyone out of here, I have to talk with my uncle," Tala said. "I don't want any of you getting hurt, now go."
"Okay." The girl staggered to her feet and headed for the kitchen where the other maids were at the moment. Tala shifted his eyes back to his uncle, then his aunt. The woman stared at him with excited eyes.
"Tala! I've missed you so much! Where have you been?" she cried. "Why did you leave your mother alone so long? Why, Tala?"
"Stop it," Tala said. "Just stop it Aunt Irene! I'm not your son! You're not my mother, my mother and father are both dead, you know that! You were there the day of the funeral. I remember I could only sit there...I couldn't face it. I remember everyone there, you were crying so much."
"Ah, so the boy has gotten fed up with you also Irene," Boris chuckled.
"Tala..."
"I can't anymore, I'm sorry. I can't keep you happy," Tala said, lowering his head. "I have to live for myself, not for you. I finally...I finally found someone that accepts everything about me and loves me for me. Not because of someone else."
"Tala!" his aunt shouted. "Why are you saying so many horrible things? You're mine! No one else can have you!" The woman got up from the floor, pushing pass Boris and running up to Tala, wrapping her arms around him. "No one else will ever love you the way I do!"
"You're wrong about that Aunt Irene. What we had wasn't love," Tala said softly. "I can't be your puppet anymore. I can't dance at your every whim anymore. I've changed over the summer. The most amazing person has changed my view of this world. A world that I never thought I could feel in ever again. Stop living in this dream, I'm too tired to continue. I'm leaving, for good, just let me go now."
"You're leaving," Boris spoke up. "And where do you think you would live, with Kai? Have you forgotten that he's not welcomed within this family either? You have nowhere to go, boy."
"You're wrong about that uncle. As long as I remember that smile waiting for me, I will always have somewhere to go. So you don't have to worry about me, I'm going to make it on my own. I'm sure that Kai was able to get more than 3 grand off his parents for living expenses when he told them he would stay out of their hair for good now," Tala said, removing his aunt from his shirt.
"You can't leave me!" Irene screamed. "I won't let you!"
"Enough!" Tala smacked the woman soundly across her face. For a long minute, she blinked, while staring up at him. "Nothing you can say or do will make me stay here. Just give it up, it's hopeless." Tala turned away from the woman, hoping that she understood things finally. "Both of you, just let me leave in peace, I'm tired of this continuous circle of pain and hurt."
"I can't let you leave boy, not without that key," Boris said.
"I lost it," Tala stated. "It's probably somewhere in that mess you made in my room. Now can I go?"
"You think it's going to be that easy?" Tala only heard the click, not having enough time to turn around when the shot echoed off the old walls. Everything froze into slow motion, Tala turning around, only to feel the heavy object crash into him. Looking down, finding his aunt's body collapsing onto him. The thrust from the shot catching him off guard, both him and the body falling to the ground, blood pooling out around and under him, soaking his clothes.
Looking up, he found a pistol in his uncle's right hand. Smoke curling up from the barrel, a look of murder in the man's eyes. Tala found himself reaching slowly for the gun in his back pocket. "Why...why can't you just...why did you have to do that?"
"I have no use for her boy," Boris said, cocking back the hammer on the gun, pointing it at Tala. "I don't have any use for you either...except to know where that key is? I know you have it on you, but where?"
"Under my balls," Tala growled. "You kill me, and the police will haul your ass off to prison quicker than you would be able to blink. Just let me go, you have enough money already, I'll even look the other way about what you've done already."
"You think the police will find this out, with you dead, those stupid bitches won't say a word against me, and you know it," Boris said. "I could kill you right now, then search your body for the key, whether you're alive or not won't matter. I wanted to go the easy route with you and the key, but I don't have to have the key. I...know some people who owe me a favor or two."
"You won't get away with this," Tala said.
"And you're going to stop me?" Boris said, flicking his eyes to the slight motion that his nephew was making.
Without a word, he pointed the gun at Tala's left hand, and pulled the trigger. With little time to react, the bullet tore into Tala's arm, jolting him back as pain splintered up his arm and down into his fingers. The young man screamed, like a banshee as he curled into a ball, holding his wounded arm. Thousands of white lights danced in front of his eyes as he tried to clear his vision.
"Learned from Kai I see about those smart remarks," Boris said, walking up to the boy and kicking him over with his boot. Pained tears slid down Tala's face as his uncle stepped on his spot that the bullet went through. Tala released another agonizing scream, fighting to not blackout. "So, you still want to talk big, boy?"
Pointing the gun at Tala's shoulder, he cocked the hammer back once more, targeting another area in Tala's arm. Being that this shot was much closer than the previous one, Tala blacked out for a long minute, until a foot square into his ribcage brought him back. Blinded with pain, Tala tried to get away, only to have a boot to the face.
"You think I would just kill you so easily? Before I kill you, I'm going to make you suffer every year that you reminded alive in this world. For arriving in this world, and for your father taking away the most precious thing in this world to me," Boris said, cocking the hammer back again, this time targeting his shoulder. By now, Tala was already going numb, but it didn't help with the fact another wave of pain fired down his whole left side.
"Tala!" Clover's voice reached him somewhere in his haze, only to hear another shot ringing out within the house. Tala turned his eyes to her just in time to watch her body fly back, crumpling to the ground while a pool of blood fanning out under her.
"No!" Tala screamed, trying to rise up, but a foot stomped him in the chest, hammering him back to the ground. "Clover! You bastard, you didn't have to kill her!"
"What can I say? My finger slipped," Boris smirked as he cocked the hammer back again. "Where should I target next? Maybe your balls, since you like to be a comedian."
"Ta...la..." Irene pulled herself up, gripping Boris's leg. "Leave...him..."
"You aren't dead yet? What a waste," Boris sneered as he pointed the gun at her face and pulled the trigger. Cocking the hammer back again, he shot her in the head, making sure that she was nothing but a bloody mess on the floor. Kicking her hands off his legs, he found a gun pointed shakily at him. Half conscious of the action, the boy tried to cock the hammer back. "Oh, so that's what you were reaching for."
"Why...why must we...?" Tala said, tears streaking his face.
"I told you. I'm going to make you suffer every day you've lived." Boris kicked the gun from Tala's hands, the weapon clattering away from them while Boris aimed the nozzle of the gun at Tala's other shoulder. The explosion was much the same, drawing Tala back to the edge of unconsciousness before a sharp stomp to the ribcage brought him back. By now, Tala was halfway out of it anyway.
His mind was slowly shutting down. Where the hell was Kai? Why wasn't he there? Had something happened to him? What was going to happen to him if Kai didn't come? Who was going to tell Kenny what happened? Kenny...he wasn't going to see that smile again, he promised that he was going to wait for him to graduate. How was he supposed to see that now? Just when he thought that life was turning around for him, it threw him back in his cage.
'Kenny...Kenny...I made you a promise...but I can't keep it, I'm sorry...' Tala's eyes closed, being too tired to resist, and having lost too much blood. Hearing the click of the gun once more, Tala just waited for another rush of pain, but when the shot was fired, he heard a strangled cry, as warm rivets of liquid splattered over him. He didn't care he was way too tired to right now. He just hoped that...maybe...if Kenny found out...he wouldn't cry so much. 'Forgive me, please Kenny.'
"Tala! Tala, hang on!" Kai's voice floated above Tala's head somewhere. His eyes too heavy to open and see the male one last time, even if it was a look of grief in his best friend's eyes. "I'll call Judy and get help, hang on! Are you listening to me Tala, hang in there!"
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Rimnerel (grinning evilly): And that folks, is the end of this story! But before you start throwing things at me, I do have a great surprise and announcement to make.
Kai: Announcement is the story continues in a brand new story called Aster Fall, surprise is that everyone will be able to read it in a matter of three days.
Rimnerel: That's right! Story 2 of 4 in my Flower Season series! So, every sit back and prepare for more drama, action, and romance! Where the ending to this story will be cleared up, and we add in some new characters!!! Until then, later!!!
Kai: That's good.
Rimnerel: I want to thank everyone for reviewing and I have a special treat for you all at the end of this chapter. (grins) I'm sure it's going to be a really interesting surprise too.
Kai: You aren't really going to...
Rimnerel: You'll find out too Kai. Now, let's get on with this last chapter so I can tell everyone what happens.
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"Hey guys, I'm glad you could make it!" A girl with long blue hair up in a high ponytail waved the three boys over. Well the two boys, and the one that was literally being dragged by a certain blue haired teen. Kenny was still amused that Rei wasn't speaking to Kain for this little stunt he set up. All to see the movie, The Matrix, starring Keanu Reeves.
"Hello Miriam!" Kain waved a bit cheerfully, though he knew he was in hot water with Rei.
"And you brought Kenny along, I haven't seen you all summer, what have you been up too, K?" Miriam asked. This girl was a good friend of Kenny, Kain, and Rei's. Kenny meeting her back in 8th grade when she tried dating him, only to discover that they made better friends than a couple. Since that time, her eyes have wandered over to Rei.
"I went with my parents this summer. I spent most of my time with Tyson and his friends," Kenny said, a smile rising to his lips. Oh, but that wasn't all that he did, but he didn't think he should tell her just yet. "So, where's Salima hiding herself?"
"Oh, she's with Victoria, they had to go to the bathroom," Miriam said.
Salima Grayson has known Kenny since both were in first grade together. Before he met Rei, him and Salima use to play together a lot. In fourth grade Salima and her family moved to Cleveland when her father got transferred for a few years to his company's headquarters, Salima didn't come back to Massachusetts until sixth grade. Upon coming back and learning about Kain, she developed the hugest crush on him that was still in effect to this day.
"Great, I say we go ahead and head into the movie without them!" Kain said, come along Rei.
"Rei seems a little bit mad today, what did you do to him Kain?" Miriam said.
"What I did to him? What is it that when he's moody, everyone blames me," Kain exclaimed, though it was his fault this time for being stupid.
"It is your fault," Rei said, breaking from Kain's side to stand near Miriam. Kain sighed as he lifted his head to the sky.
"I'm sorry, okay Rei," Kain apologized again. "I promise that I won't pull another stunt like that again. Now will you just crack a smile?"
"How about I crack a smile in about another month," Rei smirked, as he put his arm around Miriam's shoulder. "Think I should make him suffer Miriam?"
"What did he do, and I can tell you whether or not to make him cry," Miriam giggled.
"He likes to play tricks on people, evil little nasty tricks. Oh, and he likes disregarding the feelings of those around him for his own personal benefits."
"I say make him suffer then!" Miriam chimed.
"All right, so it's been decided. No sweets for you for a month Kain," Rei said, giving the male a meaningful look that only Kenny and Kain caught.
"Too bad for you Kain," Kenny grinned.
"Shut up before I push you in front of a bus," Kain glowered at his other friend.
"You know that's not nice, Kain!" The blue haired teen groaned as something clamped to his arm. Looking down, he saw the girl with red hair down back in a group of tight braids going down her back smiling up at him. "How you been doing?"
"Fine..." Kain sighed. Salima continued to grin up at Kain before turning her eyes to Kenny who was smiling evilly at Kain.
"Kenny! How was your trip?"
"It was nice," Kenny smiled.
"Yeah, he lost his virginity after all, I'm sure it was nice for him," Kain voiced as he clasped his hands behind his head, giving Kenny an equally evil smirk. That would teach Kenny to poke fun at him while he was down. How the hell was he going to make this up to Rei? When the male wanted to be evil, he really went all out in doing so. No sex for a complete month was harsh.
Two pairs of eyes turned to Kenny with shocked expressions. Kenny flushed, knowing he was going to kill Kain later for this. "Really Kenny!" Salima gaped. "Oh, you're so bad! It must be Kain's influence, right?"
"I didn't think you would be so wild, way to go!" Miriam grinned.
"So, what's she like? What's her name? Did Tyson introduce you to her? How old is she? Older or younger than us?" Salima shot off question after question in Kenny's direction.
"Um...I'll fill you guys in later about things...so where is the other girl Miriam was mentioning?" Kenny said changing the subject a little bit flustered. He definitely wasn't ready to tell them that it was a he instead of a she.
"Victoria? Oh, here she comes." Salima pointed to a girl with short blonde hair that oddly, not to mention scarily enough, reminded him of Jordan. She was shyly eyeing him as she walked up. "Victoria, this is Kenny Shinoda, Kenny, this is Victoria Bennet."
"Hi, it's nice to meet you. I heard a lot of nice things about you," she said with a blush, staring down at her shoes.
"Hi," Kenny said with a smile. Well...he guessed it wasn't so bad. Even if she looked like Jordan, at least she didn't act like the girl. "It's nice to meet you too."
"All right then everyone, let's go see The Matrix!" Salima grinned, pulling out the tickets and handing them out to everyone. "It starts in ten minutes, that's enough time to get popcorn and soda and find good seats!"
"Okay, come on guys," Miriam pulled Rei towards the entrance of the movie theater, with Salima, Kain, Kenny, and Victoria following close behind. Kenny figured that it wouldn't be as bad as he thought. If Rei didn't stay mad with Kain as long as he was implying to and if he managed to keep the girls from finding out about him being gay. The group gave the ticket taker their tickets once they got inside.
Miriam, Rei, Kain, and Salima headed over to the concession stand to fill up on popcorn, drinks, and other little odds and ends. Meanwhile, Kenny stood with Victoria who continued to stare down at her feet. "Um...so, Victoria, what do you like to do?"
"Oh me? Well...I like painting and poetry. This is my first date...I don't really know what to do," she admitted.
"Don't worry, this is my first date also," Kenny smiled.
"But I heard that you..."
"That...well...it was different with that person," Kenny flushed.
"Were you in love with that person?" Victoria asked. "I can see it in the way you smile. It's really sweet, you know. To love someone that much, do they love you in return?"
"Last night, they told me," Kenny grinned. "That made me really happy when they said it. I really didn't think that when we first met, things would carry this far."
"That's really nice Kenny, I'm happy for you," Victoria smiled. "Because you know...I'm in love with someone too. I just haven't gotten up the courage to tell them yet. Do you think that they would like me?"
"You're a very nice girl with a nice personality. I'm certain that the person that you love the most will love you in return," Kenny said.
"I hope so."
"Hey guys! Come on! Let's get going into the movie!" Miriam waved the two over, Rei and Kain carrying two large tubs of popcorn, six drinks, candy, hot dogs, nachos, and a bunch of other little items.
Kenny observed that Rei was still giving Kain a hard time about dragging him off to the movies on a date with Miriam. It was like old times in a way, when he didn't have anything to think about, only there was a lot more to things now. Not too long from now, Kenny would be going to the movies with Tala. And not just the movies but anywhere they wanted.
'I wonder what everyone's doing right now?'
---------------
Tyson hugged his pillow even more as he burrowed deeper under the cover to get away from the sun. He didn't know why he decided to hang out with Zeo, Johnny, and Max until five in the morning. He was tired, and the sun wasn't helping things any, along with the soft clicks against his window.
"What the hell is that?" Tyson muttered half asleep before turning away from the sun, sticking his head under the other pillow. "I swear I will kill that woodpecker tapping on my window." Trying to bury himself deeper into the comfort of the bed, he found that the noise was just to annoying to let go.
Irritated, Tyson pulled himself out of the bed. Stumbling over towards the window and pushing it open, opening his tired eyes, he looked around for that damn woodpecker that was tapping on his glass. Since of course woodpeckers only peck on wood, instead of glass, low and behold, there was no bird. Instead, he got a rock to the forehead.
"Sorry about that," came a voice from just under the window. "I didn't know you would open the window as I was tossing up another rock. Can I come up?"
Glaring down Tyson was surprised to see Kai standing just under his window with a huge grin on his face. "What time is it?"
"Ten forty-seven, why?" Kai said.
"Come back in four hours and screw me, good night," yawned Tyson, as he clambered back over to the bed and climbed in. Closing his eyes, he curled into a ball drifting back into the place he was where the sun and rocks weren't. That was until the weight on his bed went down.
"Unfortunately, I didn't come for the early morning special," whispered a low voice directly into Tyson's ear. "But if that's what you really want, then I can oblige." A cool hand snaked under the cover, trailing a path down Tyson's side. Tyson gasped, turning onto his back to stare up at Kai who was on the side of the bed staring down at him.
"How did you get up here?" Tyson mumbled sleepily.
"Climb, right any other person would," Kai said, leaning down to touch his lips with Tyson's. "I have to tell you something."
"You're going to let me go back to sleep?"
"What time did you get in this morning?" Kai said humorously as he moved his hand under Tyson's t-shirt, getting a moan from out of the younger teen. "You have to keep it down, your aunt and the others are downstairs. I don't think breaking and entering along with statutory rape would look good on my profile."
"You always gotta be so mean to me, don't you?" Tyson pouted.
"Sorry, I don't mean to be, you know that." Kai kissed Tyson, slipping his tongue into Tyson's mouth. Under him, Tyson sighed, letting the feeling take him away until he felt Kai pull back.
"Kai?"
"There's some things I want to tell you, Tyson, that I think you should know," Kai said softly. "I need you to hear me all the way out, okay Tyson?"
"Kai..." Tyson didn't know what to say about this, what was it that his boyfriend had to tell him. Finding the power to wake up, he gave the male his full attention. Noticing the seriousness in those red eyes he loved so much. Tyson hoped the last thing that Kai wouldn't tell him was that they had to go their separate ways. He didn't think he could ever give up Kai now. "Kai...what is it that..."
"Tyson, you know that I love you don't you?"
"Yes, but what..."
"I love you so much that I'm about to do something for your sake," Kai interrupted. "You know how I was telling you about my parents?"
"Yeah, they never wanted you to be around, but what are you about to do?" Tyson sat up, staring at Kai. "You aren't going to kill them or something?"
"No, I'm not. I plan to leave them the hell alone for good. You see, they never wanted me around and always sent me to live with other families. But I found that my other relatives hated me much the same as my parents, my grandfather use to hit me all the time, so I didn't want to stay with him. So, was sent to live with my uncle and aunt here. I hate him so much. He didn't want to deal with me either. But..."
"But?"
A soft smile came to his lips. "But it wasn't because of my Uncle Boris that made me keep wanting to come back. I found a kindred spirit in Tala. And his mother and father always took me on trips with them. They were like the parents I never had. I loved them so much."
"Tala's parents? I've never seen them before."
"That's not surprising. They died when Tala and I were six. They were coming back from Russia, discussing taking me in to live with Tala since my parents didn't want to deal with me. I think I cried when I found out," Kai said.
"I...never knew that..." Tyson admitted. Looking down at his hands, he felt a bit bad all those times in the past when he shouted that Tala's parents must think of him as a spoiled brat by the way he acted.
"The family kept it from everyone. They didn't approve of Aunt Alexial marrying Uncle Mikhail in the first place, so it was just not a big event. At least not to them, for Tala and I...it was very painful. I was with him all through the funeral. I couldn't stop crying. Tala sat there, stared at the caskets. He couldn't believe they were really gone. And then all those people talking about him and his parents like that, whispering and gossiping. Arguing over who wouldn't take in Tala."
"It must have hurt to hear that, but your uncle finally took him in right?" Tyson took Kai's hand in his own, giving it a little squeeze.
"Only because of our aunt Irene. She loved Tala like a son. Our uncle Boris hated Tala because Aunt Alexial was his sister and he didn't approve of her marriage. He only took in Tala because of Aunt Irene. Tala just went with things."
"That's sad. So, your uncle really is the bad one here?" Tyson asked.
"He hates us so much. He used to hit Tala a lot when he was younger. Me too, but I have too smart a mouth to learn my lesson. That and the fact I was shifted from one house to another so often. I never got it as worst as Tala did. I should have been there for him, when he stopped feeling, stopped smiling, stopped loving anyone." Kai felt the tears trickling down, only to have Tyson catch them.
"It seems that I really did judge you both wrong. I never knew you had so much pain in your hearts. I suppose that I can learn to like that idiot cousin of yours. He only acts tough so he won't feel the pain, but he will have to let Kenny in."
"I know," Kai smiled. "He told me that he called Kenny back last night and apologized to him about things. And...he told me that he told Kenny how he felt. Your cousin is probably the first person he's ever truly opened up to in a long time. That's made him smile like he's done."
"You can't really say that. There have been times watching you two that he seems at ease with you," Tyson stated. "I think that what he needed was someone who didn't know everything about him to fall in love with him for being just him. Telling Kenny was a choice that he eventually felt might close a gap between them. I wouldn't expect Kenny to just hate him for the truth. He's not like that at all."
"Which leads me to things," Kai sighed. "Tala and I plan to leave here soon for good. He wants to move up to Massachusetts so that when Kenny graduates, we can all live together. So, what do you say?"
"Kenny, you, Tala, and I live in the same house?" Tyson blinked. "You're kidding right?"
"Not unless you want us to have a separate apartment or something. I already called my parents demanding that they wire money into my bank account, so I can get out of their lives for good. They were more than happy to do so. So now...I just wait for Tala. He went back to our uncle's house to get the rest of his things."
"But...but he went by himself! If your uncle hates him so much, won't he try to hurt him?" Tyson exclaimed.
"That's a risk he's willing to take. I'm going to meet up with him soon to make sure that everything goes through okay. Tyson, I don't want you to worry okay," Kai kissed him again.
"But, your uncle might try to hurt you both. You can't be reckless."
"We aren't," Kai assured. "We plan to walk on glass," Kai winked. "What I need you to do is believe that I will come back to you. Okay. Everything will turn out fine, so don't worry, in no time we'll be together again."
"You promise?" Tyson asked.
"I promise," Kai murmured, pushing Tyson back on the bed and climbing over him. "Right now, he's talking with Mrs. Tate about things, so he'll be preoccupied for a bit. I think I have enough time to tend to you."
"Kai, don't get yourself hurt, okay," Tyson breathed into Kai's hair, feeling a pair of hands gathering his shirt at the ends and peeling it off. Arching up, he allowed the older teen to remove the shirt. "Don't you think we should lock the door?"
"True," Kai mumbled into Tyson's skin before he got up and enabled the lock. When he turned around he found the rest of Tyson's clothes on the floor. With a sly smirk, Kai began removing his own clothes as he headed back to the bed. "Make sure that you don't moan my name too loud."
"I promise," Tyson giggled as he opened his arms, drawing Kai to him when the dual haired teen was close enough. "I'll just have to kiss you as hard as I can to cover the sound."
"You certain have become a naughty boy," Kai teased, sucking on Tyson's neck.
"You made me that way," Tyson grinned.
"I suppose I did."
-----------------
Tala looked up at the old house, this would be the last time he had to see this god-forsaken place ever. He would finally be free to leave and go wherever he wanted without restriction. Not that he couldn't do it before, it was just that now he had a reason. At the thought of the brunette that changed his life, a smile came to his face. Who would have thought that one kid could give his life a complete 360?
"I guess...I have an angel that's been trying to watch out for me, after all."
Parking his bike near a tree, Tala snuck to the back of the house where his room was. Looking around to make sure that the housekeeping wasn't anywhere around, Tala hitched himself up on the side of the house like he was practically a spider, climbing up to his room. Pushing at the window, he found it was unlocked.
"Gotta thank Kai for keeping it open for me later." Hitching himself through the window, he landed softly on a pile of clothes that was strewed over the floor. Looking around the room, it was as if a tornado swept through the room.
The mattress of the bed was turned over and shredded into pieces, cotton littering the floor. The dresser was on its side, the drawers tossed here and there along with clothes. The table in the room was turned upside down, the drawers also taken out, the items scattered across the floor. The lamp that rested on the desk was smashed against the wall, or at least looked liked it was hurled at the wall, the nightstand that was near the bed rested on its side, the drawers taken out also.
Tala had a feeling that after that incident with his aunt a few weeks ago, his uncle flew into a rage trashing the room. If not, then he more than likely tore the room apart looking for where Tala hid the key to that safety box his parents entrusted to him. But of course, his uncle would never find where that key was. Walking towards the tilted nightstand, Tala knelt down beside it, feeling under it until he found a hollowed part that slid back.
Reaching inside, he felt the two objects that he had hoped would still be there. Pulling out the .45 caliber revolver, Tala studied the object for a long moment. This was the same gun he scared Judy Tate off with when he was younger. Kai had stolen it from one of their other relatives, bringing it to Tala saying he might need it for protection. Opening the chamber, he examining it, he nodded at the fully loaded piece in his hand, taking off the safety lock. Unlike that other time, this time it was loaded.
Carefully sliding it into his back pocket, he reached back into the secret compartment under the nightstand to pull out a small silver key. This was the key his uncle tore the room apart looking for. But Tala knew he was never going to find it. He had carefully made that compartment for such a scenario as this. He wasn't as dumb as the man thought of him. Sticking it in his shoe, Tala looked around the room to see did he want to take anything.
Picking his way through the mess, he found his traveling bag and pulled it out. Quietly going through the junk, he pulled out a few shirts and pants that he really liked and tossed them in the bag. If anything, he could always borrow, or buy some new underwear and socks, but decided to shove two pairs of his sneakers in the bag also. Once he was done with that chore, he began walking over to the window, when he heard something break downstairs followed by a scream.
"The fuck." Tossing the bag down into the bushes below, Tala went towards the door, creeping to the balcony to find out what was going on. Below he found Clover and his aunt backing up away from his uncle who looked like he was about to kill them both.
"And where do you two think you're going?" Boris glared at both women.
"She...she...she wanted to..." Clover stammered, tears shining in her eyes.
"She wanted to what, girl?" Boris sneered.
"She told me that she wanted to...she wanted to see Tala...I'm sorry, I didn't think that you would..." That was all she managed to get out as Boris backhanded her out of the way. The girl slipped away from the two, hitting the way with a slight thud.
"You're correct on that part, you didn't think, you absent minded bitch," Boris spat. Turning his attention to his wife, he watched her cringing against the wall. A malicious smirk rose to his lips. "And you...what am I going to do with you, Irene?"
"Leave me alone Boris, I want to see my son, you aren't going to stand in my way anymore," Irene whimpered. "What have I ever done to you? Why do you hate my son so much?"
"Your son, eh?" Boris walked up to the woman, pulling her up to his eye level. "Wake up you stupid whore. Tala will never be your son. As much as I hate to say it, he was Alexial's son, not yours."
"That's not true!" Irene screamed as she tried to swing at Boris, but he pinned her hands above her head, glaring deep into her distraught eyes. "It's all lies!"
"Lies? You wish. You just couldn't wake up after that bastard Mikhail died, could you? Not with Tala around. Tell me, all those times you raped him when he was just a boy, did you get any satisfactory in thinking it was his father? Tell me Irene, did it make you feel any better about losing Mikhail to my sister," Boris asked cruelly.
"No! Leave me alone!" Irene struggled to get away from the man, who was much stronger than her. "Someone help me! Someone please!"
"Oh, now you need help," Boris chuckled. "You want to know something though, Irene? The only reason that I married you was because I needed your father's business. I never loved you, so I won't have any hard feelings getting rid of you now. I don't need you anymore Irene."
"Leave her alone!" Tala made his way down the stairs, checking first on Clover who was curled up into a frightened ball whimpering, then turning his attention to his uncle who had released the woman.
"Ah, look who it is. Come to rescue your lover, boy?"
"Actually, I came to say good-bye," Tala smirked. Shifting his eyes to Clover for a minute, he found the girl getting up. "Clover, get out of here."
"But...Tala...what about..." Clover whimpered.
"Don't worry about me. Get everyone out of here, I have to talk with my uncle," Tala said. "I don't want any of you getting hurt, now go."
"Okay." The girl staggered to her feet and headed for the kitchen where the other maids were at the moment. Tala shifted his eyes back to his uncle, then his aunt. The woman stared at him with excited eyes.
"Tala! I've missed you so much! Where have you been?" she cried. "Why did you leave your mother alone so long? Why, Tala?"
"Stop it," Tala said. "Just stop it Aunt Irene! I'm not your son! You're not my mother, my mother and father are both dead, you know that! You were there the day of the funeral. I remember I could only sit there...I couldn't face it. I remember everyone there, you were crying so much."
"Ah, so the boy has gotten fed up with you also Irene," Boris chuckled.
"Tala..."
"I can't anymore, I'm sorry. I can't keep you happy," Tala said, lowering his head. "I have to live for myself, not for you. I finally...I finally found someone that accepts everything about me and loves me for me. Not because of someone else."
"Tala!" his aunt shouted. "Why are you saying so many horrible things? You're mine! No one else can have you!" The woman got up from the floor, pushing pass Boris and running up to Tala, wrapping her arms around him. "No one else will ever love you the way I do!"
"You're wrong about that Aunt Irene. What we had wasn't love," Tala said softly. "I can't be your puppet anymore. I can't dance at your every whim anymore. I've changed over the summer. The most amazing person has changed my view of this world. A world that I never thought I could feel in ever again. Stop living in this dream, I'm too tired to continue. I'm leaving, for good, just let me go now."
"You're leaving," Boris spoke up. "And where do you think you would live, with Kai? Have you forgotten that he's not welcomed within this family either? You have nowhere to go, boy."
"You're wrong about that uncle. As long as I remember that smile waiting for me, I will always have somewhere to go. So you don't have to worry about me, I'm going to make it on my own. I'm sure that Kai was able to get more than 3 grand off his parents for living expenses when he told them he would stay out of their hair for good now," Tala said, removing his aunt from his shirt.
"You can't leave me!" Irene screamed. "I won't let you!"
"Enough!" Tala smacked the woman soundly across her face. For a long minute, she blinked, while staring up at him. "Nothing you can say or do will make me stay here. Just give it up, it's hopeless." Tala turned away from the woman, hoping that she understood things finally. "Both of you, just let me leave in peace, I'm tired of this continuous circle of pain and hurt."
"I can't let you leave boy, not without that key," Boris said.
"I lost it," Tala stated. "It's probably somewhere in that mess you made in my room. Now can I go?"
"You think it's going to be that easy?" Tala only heard the click, not having enough time to turn around when the shot echoed off the old walls. Everything froze into slow motion, Tala turning around, only to feel the heavy object crash into him. Looking down, finding his aunt's body collapsing onto him. The thrust from the shot catching him off guard, both him and the body falling to the ground, blood pooling out around and under him, soaking his clothes.
Looking up, he found a pistol in his uncle's right hand. Smoke curling up from the barrel, a look of murder in the man's eyes. Tala found himself reaching slowly for the gun in his back pocket. "Why...why can't you just...why did you have to do that?"
"I have no use for her boy," Boris said, cocking back the hammer on the gun, pointing it at Tala. "I don't have any use for you either...except to know where that key is? I know you have it on you, but where?"
"Under my balls," Tala growled. "You kill me, and the police will haul your ass off to prison quicker than you would be able to blink. Just let me go, you have enough money already, I'll even look the other way about what you've done already."
"You think the police will find this out, with you dead, those stupid bitches won't say a word against me, and you know it," Boris said. "I could kill you right now, then search your body for the key, whether you're alive or not won't matter. I wanted to go the easy route with you and the key, but I don't have to have the key. I...know some people who owe me a favor or two."
"You won't get away with this," Tala said.
"And you're going to stop me?" Boris said, flicking his eyes to the slight motion that his nephew was making.
Without a word, he pointed the gun at Tala's left hand, and pulled the trigger. With little time to react, the bullet tore into Tala's arm, jolting him back as pain splintered up his arm and down into his fingers. The young man screamed, like a banshee as he curled into a ball, holding his wounded arm. Thousands of white lights danced in front of his eyes as he tried to clear his vision.
"Learned from Kai I see about those smart remarks," Boris said, walking up to the boy and kicking him over with his boot. Pained tears slid down Tala's face as his uncle stepped on his spot that the bullet went through. Tala released another agonizing scream, fighting to not blackout. "So, you still want to talk big, boy?"
Pointing the gun at Tala's shoulder, he cocked the hammer back once more, targeting another area in Tala's arm. Being that this shot was much closer than the previous one, Tala blacked out for a long minute, until a foot square into his ribcage brought him back. Blinded with pain, Tala tried to get away, only to have a boot to the face.
"You think I would just kill you so easily? Before I kill you, I'm going to make you suffer every year that you reminded alive in this world. For arriving in this world, and for your father taking away the most precious thing in this world to me," Boris said, cocking the hammer back again, this time targeting his shoulder. By now, Tala was already going numb, but it didn't help with the fact another wave of pain fired down his whole left side.
"Tala!" Clover's voice reached him somewhere in his haze, only to hear another shot ringing out within the house. Tala turned his eyes to her just in time to watch her body fly back, crumpling to the ground while a pool of blood fanning out under her.
"No!" Tala screamed, trying to rise up, but a foot stomped him in the chest, hammering him back to the ground. "Clover! You bastard, you didn't have to kill her!"
"What can I say? My finger slipped," Boris smirked as he cocked the hammer back again. "Where should I target next? Maybe your balls, since you like to be a comedian."
"Ta...la..." Irene pulled herself up, gripping Boris's leg. "Leave...him..."
"You aren't dead yet? What a waste," Boris sneered as he pointed the gun at her face and pulled the trigger. Cocking the hammer back again, he shot her in the head, making sure that she was nothing but a bloody mess on the floor. Kicking her hands off his legs, he found a gun pointed shakily at him. Half conscious of the action, the boy tried to cock the hammer back. "Oh, so that's what you were reaching for."
"Why...why must we...?" Tala said, tears streaking his face.
"I told you. I'm going to make you suffer every day you've lived." Boris kicked the gun from Tala's hands, the weapon clattering away from them while Boris aimed the nozzle of the gun at Tala's other shoulder. The explosion was much the same, drawing Tala back to the edge of unconsciousness before a sharp stomp to the ribcage brought him back. By now, Tala was halfway out of it anyway.
His mind was slowly shutting down. Where the hell was Kai? Why wasn't he there? Had something happened to him? What was going to happen to him if Kai didn't come? Who was going to tell Kenny what happened? Kenny...he wasn't going to see that smile again, he promised that he was going to wait for him to graduate. How was he supposed to see that now? Just when he thought that life was turning around for him, it threw him back in his cage.
'Kenny...Kenny...I made you a promise...but I can't keep it, I'm sorry...' Tala's eyes closed, being too tired to resist, and having lost too much blood. Hearing the click of the gun once more, Tala just waited for another rush of pain, but when the shot was fired, he heard a strangled cry, as warm rivets of liquid splattered over him. He didn't care he was way too tired to right now. He just hoped that...maybe...if Kenny found out...he wouldn't cry so much. 'Forgive me, please Kenny.'
"Tala! Tala, hang on!" Kai's voice floated above Tala's head somewhere. His eyes too heavy to open and see the male one last time, even if it was a look of grief in his best friend's eyes. "I'll call Judy and get help, hang on! Are you listening to me Tala, hang in there!"
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Rimnerel (grinning evilly): And that folks, is the end of this story! But before you start throwing things at me, I do have a great surprise and announcement to make.
Kai: Announcement is the story continues in a brand new story called Aster Fall, surprise is that everyone will be able to read it in a matter of three days.
Rimnerel: That's right! Story 2 of 4 in my Flower Season series! So, every sit back and prepare for more drama, action, and romance! Where the ending to this story will be cleared up, and we add in some new characters!!! Until then, later!!!