Summary: Annette suggest a strange idea that will help Sebastian chose between his two great loves.
Authors Note: I've decided to start a new thanksgiving tradition. Every year I'll resurrect an old story I haven't worked on in some time. Last year it was Everything Comes Full Circle and this years it's Who Are You. I'm not sure when I'll update this again but hopefully soon. Let me know if you're still interested.
Chapter 17: Anything but Love
"My aunt Patrice died"
Sebastian sat speechless across from his girlfriend as she told him the news. He wasn't sure how to respond or what to make of the flat tone Annette was using. Her face was puffy from crying and her eyes red but he had a sinking feeling it was more on account of what she walked in on that morning rather than the death of her relative.
Upon finding him in Kathryn's bed, kissing Kathryn, Annette had ran out and Sebastian had spent the better part of the day looking for her. He eventually ended up waiting in his jag outside the Hardgrove house for her to come home. When she at last arrived he was surprised when instead of screaming at him she quietly and calmly asked him to come up to her bedroom. Now here they sat in her comfortable Laura Ashley inspired room with a heavy cloud above them so far unspoken of.
"I'm sorry Annette" Sebastian responded sincerely in regards to earlier events and her aunt.
She nodded gravely and explained "she had cancer, we knew this was coming but it's still a shock. When you lose someone you care for so much." Looking up at Annette's eyes met Sebastian's and she added "you have no idea how painful that is."
Reaching for her hand he pleaded "Annette I-"
"My father and I are going back to Kansas for the funeral"
"But you're not staying for good are you?"
She shook her head "no we'll be back next week."
"Well good because I want to talk to you about what happened ear-"
"I've come to a decision about that as well" Annette interrupted. "I spent most of the day in the park, just thinking about things. A few things became clear to me. One is that I love you Sebastian."
He smiled slightly as he reached over and lifted her chin so he was looking in her eyes. "I love you too."
Annette smiled sadly "but you also love Kathryn."
Sebastian pulled away from her and got to his feet. "I am not in love with her" he replied adamantly.
"Sebastian I have eyes and I know what I walked in on."
"It was a mistake!"
Taking a step back from him Annette shook her head sadly and asked "was it? I'm not an idiot Sebastian and I've been watching you these past few weeks. You may have regained your memory but you never lost your feelings for her no matter how much you deny it. You were in love with Kathryn! Do you honestly think that just goes away because you want it to?"
"You're wrong Annette" he continued stubbornly. "I might have...had feelings for Kathryn but they're in the past. You are the one I love. What happened this morning was-"
"Stop lying to me!" Annette screamed suddenly losing her cool. Tears started to come down her face and she whipped at them desperately. "I am sick of coming in second place to her all the time. I deserve better than that Sebastian and I deserve the truth. Now I want you to look me in the eye and tell me the truth. When you were kissing Kathryn did you feel something for her?"
Sebastian looked her straight in the eye and started "I felt..." Suddenly he broke eye contact and his nerve failed him. Normally it was so easy for him to lie, he would have no problem doing it if it was anyone else but he couldn't with Annette. He respected her far too much. He also couldn't bring himself to tell her his true feelings for Kathryn so like a coward he looked away and said nothing.
Inside Annette's heart was breaking and it showed all over her face. Choking back her tears she murmured "I see."
"Annette I'm sorry."
"I've come to a decision" she told him in a strong confident tone that betrayed the look on her face. "I'm going back to Kansas and while I'm gone I want you to consider your feelings for Kathryn. Spend time with her and figure out if you really want to be with her. When I come back next week I want your decision. If you want to get back together with her I'll let you go, no hard feelings. However if you realize that she really is just an infatuation and you want your life to be with me I'll be waiting, but I won't wait forever."
It seemed to Sebastian to be a bizarre request to say the least. Annette wanted him to hang out with Kathryn? In all honestly he wasn't sure if he could make a decision between the two of them let alone in only a week. But he realized Annette was offering him a last chance so he would take it. With a dull nod Sebastian complied "all right if that's what you want. I'll make a decision."
"Good"
Sebastian stepped forward to embrace her however Annette turned around and went to the bathroom. As she closed the door on him he was left wondering if the damage between the two of them could ever truly be mended. More importantly did he want it to be? Glumly Sebastian headed out of the house and back to his car. It was time the great experiment got under way.
* * * * * *
Kathryn was as pleased as she had been in quite some time. The events that transpired earlier that morning had gone just as she planned. Annette came rushing over just as she knew she would and caught her dear boyfriend in bed with another women. Oh the look on poor Annette's face had been everything Kathryn hoped it would be!
However as enjoyable as Annette's pain had been, Sebastian was her real target. In Kathryn's eyes it was him alone who was at fault for putting her in that wheel chair. Sure she might have lied to him about their past but in the long run how much lasting damage did she really do? Sebastian on the other hand had caused her to get hit by a car and possibly never walk again. Kathryn was determined to make him pay for that by taking away the one thing Valmont held dear, namely his pathetic relationship with Annette.
Her plan so far had seemed to be a raving success. Just as she suspected he would Sebastian ran out after Blondie and hadn't returned all day. Their relationship was as dead as could be. Kathryn was confident there was no way Annette would take Sebastian back after what she walked in on. Now Sebastian would be as miserable as her.
And misery loves company.
Kathryn shook the thought away as she wheeled her chair into her walk in closet. As pleased as she was over things she couldn't shake this nagging voice in the back on her head that said she made a mistake. All day her mind kept drifting back to when she fell asleep in Sebastian's arms the previous night and how nice it had felt. Waking up with him beside her had been even better. Now that the happy couple was likely broken up for good, perhaps Sebastian would try to get back together with her...
"Not likely" Kathryn muttered to herself. She knew the only reason Sebastian had been nice to her was so he could ease his guilty conscience. He didn't love her anymore, if he ever did to begin with. If by a small chance he still did he had ample opportunity to tell her but he never did. No he didn't care for her, he pitied her.
It didn't matter anyway. Earlier that evening Scott had called and invited her out for the evening. She made it clear she was still wheel chair bound but he didn't care and pleaded with her to go out with him. Normally Kathryn would have refused but she needed to nip her unresolved feelings for Sebastian and going out with another guy was the best possible way to achieve that.
Grabbing her black silk Calvin Klein dress, Kathryn wheeled herself out of the closet so she could get dressed. As she reentered her room the front doors suddenly flew open and Sebastian came storming in. Looking angry and quite worse for wear he charged over to her wheel chair and leaned over her "well done."
"Excuse me? What's your problem?"
"I'm referring to that scene you orchestrated this morning. Getting me into your bed, kissing me and then making sure Annette showed up just in time to find us."
Rolling away from him Kathryn smiled triumphantly "I don't recall you objecting at all. Don't blame me because you can't control yourself."
Sebastian tossed back his head and let out a frustrated groan "you just couldn't help yourself could you? You had to destroy this little bit of happiness Annette and I acquired."
"So I take it she didn't want to hear your pathetic excuses. Perhaps that girl is smarter that I gave her credit for."
"It didn't work Kathryn"
"What?"
He smiled "Annette didn't dump me like you hoped. She has however left for Kansas."
Kathryn suddenly brightened "oh?"
"Don't get too excited" he sneered. "It's only for the week. In the meantime I've decided to devote myself to my own cause concerning you."
She rolled her eyes as she turned around. "Don't tell me, you're going to pay me back. Well don't bother. Putting me in a wheelchair was enough vengeance to last a lifetime."
Coming up from behind her Sebastian spun her back around and leaned in close to her. "I'm going to help you walk again."
Kathryn could barely contain her surprise at his revelation. He should be swearing revenge right now or at the very least telling her to go to hell. Instead he was offering to help her which just made Kathryn's defenses come up even quicker than normal. "I don't want your help" she told him trying to get away.
"Well that too bad because you're going to get it" Sebastian explained arrogantly. "Starting tonight."
"No Sebastian!" she exclaimed as he started to roll her out of the room. "I have a date tonight and you are not interfering."
"Oh but I am princess. For the next seven days it's just you and me twenty four seven."
* * * * * *
And so it began. Sebastian spent all the time he could with Kathryn helping her with her physical therapy. For the first couple of days she had no problem projecting her problems with the situation. Sometimes she would even refuse to get out of bed but Sebastian wouldn't quit, he just tossed the covers back and pull her out. The odd thing was he rather enjoy the challenge she presented to him. Her nasty comments slid right off his back namely because he knew she didn't mean them. He knew she was grateful even if she didn't own up to it.
By the fourth day Kathryn's attitude started to thaw a bit. Sebastian awoke to find her already dressed and waiting to begin. "I thought I'd save you the trouble" she told him shortly as she sipped her orange juice.
"How uncharacteristically kind of you Kathryn" he quipped sarcastically.
She replied with a snide smile and explained causally "well we're going to have to quit early. I have a date with Scott."
Sebastian was far from pleased with this news. So far that week he had been able to keep Scott away from her and he thought he had been doing a pretty good but apparently not. In order to prove to Annette (and himself) that he didn't have feelings towards Kathryn he needed to make sure he spent every possible moment with her. Sebastian also had to make sure not to fall for Kathryn's bait, which he was sure what this sudden relationship with Scott was. Just another way to get under his skin.
Sebastian said nothing about her plans and hurried her out the door. Instead of doing there usual routine in the gym he decided to take her to the indoor swimming pool. Of course Kathryn had objected to this citing he didn't know what he was doing and she would likely end up drowning. "No way in hell I'm putting my life in your hands Valmont" she snipped.
"Quit being such a drama queen. I'm not going to let you drown" grinning mischievously he added "well probably not."
"No"
"Yes" he barked back. "Now go put a god damn swim suit on or else I'm going to toss you into the deep end and watch you try to tread water."
Kathryn responded by shrieking a couple of curses at him but finally succumbed to his orders and went to put her bathing suit on. When she emerged it was of course in the smallest suit she could find. Sebastian just looked her over trying to figure out how he was going to do this without getting an erection. Kathryn seemed to realize this and delighted in his problem. "Like my suit?" she purred coquettishly.
"It's fine" he grumbled under his breath as he picked her up out of her chair.
He walked her to the steps that led down into the shallow end of the pool. As they started to be engulfed by the warm water Kathryn asked "why are we doing this? Are you this desperate to cop a feel? Pathetic."
Sebastian having had enough of her mouth tossed her into the water and watched for a moment as she struggled to stay afloat. "Apologize" he ordered "and maybe I won't push you under."
Kathryn sputtered and coughed and finally called out "fine, fine I'm sorry. Now help me-" Sebastian reached out and pulled her to him.
"Do you think this is how I want to spend my time? Putting up with you and your colossal attitude" he griped.
"Then why ARE you doing this?"
Sebastian opened his mouth to answer her but quickly shut it. "Never mind" he sighed taking her to the edge of the pool.
Kathryn gripped the side and let her legs float out in front of her. "I think I can guess the reason."
"Knock yourself out" he muttered bending her knees for her like the therapist taught him.
"I'm guessing the virgin ordered you to help me. Sort of a way to ease both your consciences in one shot. How noble of her, have someone else do the dirty work."
"This would be so much easier if you didn't speak"
"I'm guessing it didn't involve us in bathing suits though. Wonder how she would react if she knew your method of physical therapy. I'll have to mention it the next time we speak."
Dropping her leg Sebastian moved over to her side and ordered "shut up Kathryn."
Glancing over at him, her green eyes glimmering in wicked delight she went on "oh Annette your boyfriend was ever so helpful when he ordered me to put on a bikini and-"
Desperate to shut her up Sebastian leaned down and kissed her. It did seem to effectively silence Kathryn not to mention stun her. He surprised himself with the move. This was not something he planned, more to the point it was something he had been working to avoid. Sebastian was trying to work through his feelings for Kathryn so he could prove without a shadow of a doubt it wasn't love. Unfortunately this was not the way to go around it.
Quickly he pulled away and they stared at each other for one long moment. Finally Kathryn looked away and asked "so what am I suppose to be working on today?"
For the rest of the day neither said anything about the kiss. Actually they didn't speak at all about Annette or Kathryn's date or anything except physical therapy. All of this pleased Sebastian greatly because he didn't want anything of a romantic nature occurring between himself and Kathryn.
However he did note with a certain delight that Kathryn did skip her date for that evening.
The topic of relationships and Annette wasn't spoken about until the next day. Following therapy Sebastian had taken Kathryn across the street to the park where they sat down by the reservoir. They were both quiet until Kathryn turned to him and asked "how did you know you loved Annette?"
Caught off guard by the question he replied "I don't know I just did." Sebastian tossed a rock into the water and as he did he could feel Kathryn's eyes on him. Looking at her out of the corner of his eye he could tell that wasn't a good enough answer. He sighed and explained "remember that night I had the opportunity to nail her and I didn't? Well I realized then I loved her. It was the first time in my life I didn't take advantage of someone."
"Huh" Kathryn muttered.
"What?"
She turned to him with a wry smile and replied "you never had a problem taking advantage of me."
"Of course I did"
Kathryn said nothing only gave him a rare, genuine smile. They sat in silence for a little while longer before he took her home.
The following day however any good mood Kathryn might have acquired vanished and she returned to being bitchy and unreasonable. They were working in the gym on the parallel bars. Sebastian was trying to get her to hold herself up and walk the bars using her hands. Kathryn however was having none of it "I'm tired Valmont, I'm not in the mood."
"I thought you wanted to walk again?" he goaded her. "Well it's going to take work and discipline. I know that's a hard concept for you to grasp."
"Fuck you!" she hissed back. "I'm exhausted and you're not suppose to be pushing me."
Kathryn started to wheel away but Sebastian pulled her back. "What's the matter princess, too hung over from last night?"
Her eyes narrowed dangerously at me as she yelled "of course not! Unlike you I haven't touched the stuff in days!"
"What are you talking about?"
"You!" she sneered. "I know you drink yourself to sleep every night."
Sebastian looked away from her knowing it was true. Ever since Annette left and he began working with Kathryn he would end each night by getting plastered in his room hoping it would help him forget about all his mixed up emotions. He thought he had been doing a good job of keeping it from Kathryn but apparently not.
Looking up at him with a gloating smile she teased "what no witty comeback? How disappointing. Well I think I'm going to retire early today and I'll let you get started on your drinking sooner."
Kathryn tried to leave but Sebastian gripped her wheels so she couldn't move. "No you're not. We're working out for at least a couple of hours longer so wheel yourself over to the bars and lets get going."
"You can't make me!"
"Sure I can" he sneered. "Or else I'll tell your mother you've been neglecting your home studies and she'll make you go back to school. Imagine it Kathryn, spending the rest of your senior year wheeling around campus. All those whispers and people talking about you behind your back. Oh how the mighty have fallen."
"Don't you blackmail me!"
"I'll do whatever I please sweetheart. I'm not the one in a wheel chair."
"I hate you!" she screamed back her whole body quivering in anger. "God I hate you so much! Get out of my face!"
"Make me" Sebastian taunted her.
Kathryn was so angry she rose up from her chair and pushed him away forcefully. "I hate you, you repulsive, egomaniacal, son of a-"
"Kathryn" he called to her interrupting her diatribe. "You're standing."
She looked down and realized for the first time that indeed she was standing on her own two legs. Sebastian smiled in awe not just that his plan to get her angry enough to act worked but at Kathryn herself. She had never looked more attractive to him as she did when she looked up at him with a blinding smile and exclaimed "oh my god I'm standing! I did it!"
Kathryn tried to walk but her legs weren't quite up to that yet. She stumbled but Sebastian caught her and whisked her into his arms. "You're almost there" he laughed as he picked her up and spun her around. "I'm so proud of you Kathryn. I told you, you could do it."
Kathryn laughed "I'm not walking yet."
"But you will!" Twirling her around Sebastian breathed in the scent of her hair and breathed "I love you."
At first he was sure he hadn't said it out loud but then Kathryn pulled her head away from him and gave him a questioning look. Sebastian wasn't sure why he said it or if he even meant it. The words just came out. He knew he couldn't explain himself but luckily he didn't have to because the next thing he knew Kathryn's mouth was on his.
This kiss was different from the one in the pool. In was deep and purposeful and as Sebastian kissed her back he didn't regret it. He wasn't thinking about Annette then, only Kathryn. In the back of his mind he knew he should be worried but he wasn't. Actually he was starting to feel better than he had in days. Things were finally starting to make sense again.
* * * * * *
"I have the most wonderful news darling" Tiffani chirped happily to her daughter as the limo barreled down fifth avenue. Her daughter however didn't seem to be paying any attention. "Kathryn? Kathryn are you listening to me?'
Forcing herself to pay attention to her nagging mother Kathryn pulled her eyes from the window and asked politely "yes what is it?"
"Where were you just now?"
Somewhere most definitely not here, she thought to herself. While her mother had been rattling on about charity benefits and other meaningless things Kathryn had been thinking about Sebastian and the events of the previous day. He told her he loved her. This wasn't the first time he said it but certainty the first time he told her since recovering his memories. The past week Kathryn had believed that he was only hanging around as a way to ease his conscience or because Annette ordered him to. But perhaps she was wrong, maybe Sebastian truly still loved her.
"I was just thinking about my legs. I can't believe I won't need the wheelchair anymore."
They had just gotten back from the doctors where she showed off her progress. Indeed he was very impressed she was able to stand on her own and as such he gave her some crutches to use instead of the chair. Kathryn was quite pleased and couldn't wait to get home to show Sebastian.
"I'm very proud of you dear" Tiffani cooed. "You're making such excellent progress and I think I know just the thing to help you even more."
"What's that?"
"Well I recently heard about this clinic in Greece. It's said to be one of the best in the world at helping people regain the ability to walk. It's also suppose to be beautiful, it's right on the beach and-"
"You want to send me away?" Kathryn asked incredulously.
"No of course not dear" Tiffani assured her. "It's completely your decision but I think it would help you immensely. If you don't want to go alone I'd be happy to go with you. I think it would be really good for you Kathryn."
It actually didn't sound all that bad and she was willing to do anything that might help her feel her legs again. However Kathryn didn't want to leave Sebastian, especially not now when everything was up in the air with them. "I'm not sure mother" she sighed. "Let me think about it okay."
"Well all right but don't wait too long. I'm not sure how long they'll hold our-" Tiffani's phone started to ring as the limo came to a stop outside the town house. "Hello? Oh hello Beatrice."
As her mother gabbed away Kathryn rolled her eyes and got out of the car. She was anxious to see Sebastian and too impatient to wait around for her mother. Using her crutches she entered the house and headed slowly towards her former step brothers room. As she neared she became aware that he wasn't alone.
"Oh god I missed you" Sebastian proclaimed.
"I missed you two."
Looking through the slightly open door Kathryn saw Sebastian was indeed in there with Annette. They were both smiling as he reached out and scooped her up into his arms. "I should have gone with you" he murmured softly to her.
"No it was best you stayed here" Annette assured him. Once again they smiled at one another and embraced. In that moment Kathryn's heart broke all over again.
Unable to stomach any more she quietly moved away from the door. She didn't want to see them together or listen to them proclaim their love to one another. As Kathryn made her way back out to the car she cursed herself for ever believing Sebastian could still love her. It was an insane idea. After everything they went through there was no way for him to still love her. It was Annette he wanted to be with and she should have realized that.
Heading back outside Kathryn got back in the limo. Tiffani was still inside and as her daughter sat back down she hung up her phone. "What's wrong darling?"
"I've decided I want to go to that clinic after all." Looking back at the house she muttered "as soon as possible."
- to be continued (Please Review)