Chapter 11: Bad News for Kirsty

The next morning Kane was at the beach early, waiting to see if Kirsty came down. He didn't have to wait long before she appeared, along with Jade and Lucy. He gave a low whistle and Kirsty glanced around. She smiled when she saw him and said something to her sister. Jade nodded, linked arms with Lucy and the two headed towards the sea. Kirsty turned and ran over to Kane, throwing her arms around his neck and kissing his cheek. In her excitement at seeing him again, the young girl didn't notice that her former boyfriend seemed tense.

"Kirsty, please listen," he said firmly, taking her hands and gently pushing her away. "I've come here because I need to talk to you."

"I've missed you so much," Kirsty told him. "When you left me, you nearly broke my heart. Still, at least you are back now. Perhaps we could get together later?"

"Kirsty…Kirsty listen to me," Kane said, feeling uncomfortable by the attention that she was giving him. "That's what I wanted to talk to you about. Us."

"What about us?" she looked up at him, slightly puzzled. "I know that I'm with Seb now, but that doesn't matter. Seb's all right, but he isn't you."

"Kirsty, I threw you out of the car that day because I knew deep down that our relationship was never going to work out," he told her. "There was too much against us and it never would have lasted."

"But we loved each other…"

"Did we?" he replied. "Yes I cared for you then and I still care for you now. But how do we know that our feelings for each other were the real thing and not just the excitement of early romance?"

"What are you saying, Kane?" Kirsty looked upset. "I love you. I've never stopped thinking about you."

"I'm sorry Kirsty," Kane shook his head. "I'll never stop caring about you and I hope that we can still be friends, but I've moved on now and you should do the same."

"Why?" a single tear leaked from the young girl's eye and ran down her cheek. "Is there someone else?"

"No," Kane shook his head and then looked guilty. "Well sort of," he admitted. "But I'm not doing this because of her, I made this decision just a few weeks after I left you. It's for the best."

"Yeah right." Kirsty looked at him for a long moment and then turned and ran across the sand sobbing.

"She didn't take it well then?" Emma asked, gently lacing her fingers through Kane's. It was evening and the two had met up on the beach as usual. While the dogs ran loose across the sand, they sat under the jetty and watched the stars.

"You could say that," Kane gave her a tired smile and ran his free hand through his dark hair. "And a part of me feels a little guilty, as though I've led her on, given her false hopes. But what could I do? I don't love her any more; in fact I'm beginning to wonder if I ever really loved her at all. It's just that…she was the first girl to ever say that she loved me. I guess that maybe I just got swept away with my emotions a little."

"I know what you mean." Emma said quietly, leaning her head against his shoulder. "My boyfriend, Damien, he was the first boy to ever say that he loved me and it just seemed so natural to say it back. But although I was fond of him and I cared for him, I don't think that I ever really loved him. I could never do things like this with him, just sit and talk and watch the stars. He wasn't that sort of person."

Kane appeared to be considering this and his hand tightened just a little around hers. Emma paused for a moment.

"I wouldn't worry about Kirsty," she continued finally. "I think the problem was that she couldn't move on because part of her was desperately hoping that you would come back and the two of you would continue on as if nothing had happened. But now that you have made it clear where she stands, hopefully she will be able to start getting over it. Either way, it's not your problem any more. You were honest with her and that was all that you could do."

"You're probably right," Kane smiled again and brushed his lips against her cheek. "As you usually are. So," he hesitated for a moment. "When are you going to tell your family about us?"

"I don't know." Emma shook her head and a small sigh escaped from her lips. "To be honest, I'd be happy putting it off as long as possible. They aren't going to like it, especially not my mum and Benny."

"Because of what happened?"

"Partly," she agreed. "They are very protective of me because of when I was…raped. But there's also the fact that I haven't been out with a guy for over two years and that my last boyfriend ended up turning into a very nasty jerk, which messed my head up for a while. And then there is Jordan; my mum will probably worry that it will be unsettling for him. I do want to tell them Kane, but I have to pick the right moment."

"It's okay, I completely understand," he reassured her. "There's no hurry, just take your time. And if you think it will help, I'll come with you when you tell them about us."

"That might help actually," Emma told him. "And it might be easier for me if I have you there with me. Only if you don't mind…"

"Of course not!" Kane laughed and pulled her against him so that he could gently kiss her. "I don't mind, whatever you want."

Emma smiled and reached up to run her fingers through his hair as they kissed again, quite a deep kiss that left both of them just a little breathless.

"Soon," she whispered as she wrapped her arms around him and rested her head on his shoulder. "I'll tell them soon."