Chapter Eighty-four
She heard the lock click open and lost her breath. Turning toward the sound, she smoothed out the wrinkles in the skirt of her dress and looked hopefully at the door.
It took him a few minutes to make his way over towards the door in the center of his room. It took even longer for him to get the courage to open it. He knew that once he did it would be next to impossible to do what he needed to do.
There she was. More beautiful then he remembered. Colin knew it would take everything he had to get her to leave him. She looked older to him somehow. Apparently his father was intending on making her watch his little ceremony unfold. It was typical of him to be so cruel. He couldn't let that happen. He needed her to leave. He could see that Kate had been crying and it made him angry. It was obvious that this was killing her.
He almost turned back and walked away but instead he said exactly what he was thinking at that precise moment. "I can't believe you're here." Colin said softly as he took a step into her room.
She wanted to run to him, but something made her hold herself back. He was standing right in the room with her but he was miles away. Kate looked at him sadly. "I can't believe you're here." She blinked back tears and whispered. "Colin. What are you doing?"
"I'm doing what I should have done a long time ago." He couldn't quite meet her eyes. "It was inevitable anyway, Katrina. You should just go. This isn't even about you."
His words took her aback. "Oh it's not?" Kate asked, her voice sounding a bit annoyed.
"No." Colin replied, hoping if he got her mad enough she'd leave. "It's not. It's about my family. It's about time I accepted my responsibility."
"What did he do to you?" Kate demanded as she moved closer to him. "You're not making any sense."
Colin began to back away. He couldn't get too close. If he did he knew he'd never let her go. Again he averted his eyes from hers. "I am. I finally am making sense for the first time in a long while. This is what I was born to do."
"Stop lying to me." She replied as she took another step towards him.
"I'm not." Colin insisted, but his voice betraying him. It shook as he added, "Katrina, just go. This doesn't concern you."
"I know what you're doing and I'm not going to let you." Kate said as she moved to stand in front of him. She had practically backed him up in a corner. "Do you love me, Colin?"
He looked away and whispered, "No." Even as the word came out of his mouth he couldn't believe he'd actually been able to say it.
Kate's face was full of disbelief. "No?" She repeated as she reached out to touch his arm.
He twisted away. "Katrina. It's over. Just go home."
She grabbed onto the jacket of his suit and held tight. "Not until you tell me to my face."
"Katrina…" Colin all but begged her to let him go.
"If you're determined to do this, then you tell me right now. You look in my eyes and you say it." She held his arms and shook him as she began to cry. "Say it Colin. Say "I don't love you Katrina. I never did." Her voice began to rise and tears streamed down her cheeks.
"Katrina…" He said again.
She continued to shake him, her voice racked with sobs. "I want you to say it to me and mean it. If you really want me to go, tell me you want to do this. And you tell me it's because it's what you want for you. Not to save me or my family, not for your father. You tell me this is what you want for you. That you honestly want to become a monster, a predator, someone who takes away other people's lives and relishes in it. You tell me that's who you are, Colin and I'll walk away." She tried to get herself under control and took a deep breath before she added. "I promise you. I won't even look back."
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Rafe tried not to grin as he looked over at Caleb. It was clear there was some doubt in his mind how the whole thing would end. For all his confidence, Rafe could see there was a part of him that doubted his son would actually go through with it.
"What's this about? Huh Caleb?" He asked as he gazed around the room, noting how elaborate and luxurious everything was. "Look at you here. You live like a king. Servants are everywhere. You have everything you need. Why must you destroy your son too?"
"I'm not going to say this again. It doesn't concern you." Caleb said, his voice full of anger.
"Ah, but it does. It concerns my daughter. I'm not leaving here without her."
"She's got a social obligation to attend this evening." Caleb replied.
Rafe ran a hand through his hair and sighed at him. "It's unbelievable. You actually enjoy this."
Caleb stood and looked at his watch. He gave Rafe an exasperated look. "You got me. That's why I keep coming back to Port Charles. I've never met anyone as hopelessly optimistic as you. It's the best entertainment in the world, watching your little mind spin ways to get the better of me."
Grinning to hide how shaken he actually was, Caleb made a move towards the door. "Now. My guests are about to arrive and sorry, but you two aren't invited." He walked past Rafe and to the door, standing in front of Grant. "Out of my way, Junior." He ordered, waving a hand to dismiss him.
Grant shook his head no and dug his heels. "Dad?" He asked, his voice unsure.
"He's not going anywhere." Rafe admitted as he watched Grant step aside and Caleb leave. He looked into his son's eyes and added. "The thing is, neither are we."
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"Katrina…" Colin said softly as he gazed into her eyes.
"You can't do it can you?" She asked him, her voice full of hope. "You can't because it's not true." She lifted her hand and ran it over his cheek.
Colin turned his head and pressed a kiss to her palm. His own hand moved to wipe away the last of her tears. "Please. Just go. Let me do this for you."
Kate shook her head at him. "No. You can't. If you do this, you'll resent me."
"Never." He vowed, his voice soft.
"Liar." She whispered back at him.
"I would never." Colin insisted.
"You will. You definitely will and it'll happen sooner than you think. It'll happen so fast you won't even believe it. The second you feel those fangs in your mouth…" She shivered at the mere thought of him looking like that. "The second you do, you'll know that they are only there because of me."
The realization washed over him. It disturbed him to know that what she said had some truth to it.
She noticed the look in his eyes. She knew he was still so determined. There had to be something to make him see. "Colin. There's a way you can walk away from this – OK? Please, listen to me."
"Katrina – no. Please. Just leave me alone." He couldn't bear this much longer. If he stayed this close to her for another minute he knew he wouldn't have the strength to go ahead with what he knew he had to do."
She didn't know where to begin. All she knew was that she needed to keep his attention for as long as she could. Time was running out. Kate realized it was getting late.
"Colin, I want to tell you a story. If you still feel the same way after you hear it then I promise you I'll go."
He started to protest but she cut him off. She moved to take him into her arms and held him still. "My mother kept two letters in a box up in the attic. I found them by accident when I was about fourteen. I was snooping around, trying to find my Christmas presents. One was a letter she wrote to my father at a time she was trying to give herself up to save him. The other was a letter to me."
Colin didn't know what her point was, but he was mesmerized by the sound of her voice. His arms tightened around her.
"She wrote it way before I was born. My parents had once planned an elaborate Christmas wedding, but your father tricked my mother into believing that their love might be something twisted and horrible. Don't you see? That's what he does, Colin. That's the kind of life you'd lead if you go through with this."
She could see she was getting through to him so she plodded on. "In the letter she told me how she and my father fell in love, she told me how they fought like hell to fulfill their destiny."
Kate stared into Colin's eyes and kept talking, "She found me up there crying and explained it all to me. She told me something that I'll never forget. She explained to me how meeting my father changed her, how strong his love had made her and how – no matter what – as long as she believes in that love nothing could ever truly tear them apart."
Kate framed Colin's face in her hands and sighed. "I've always believed that. You couldn't grow up in our house without seeing it right in front of your eyes every day. I know how rare it is but I also know that love like that absolutely exists."
She knew this was her last shot. She knew Colin loved her but she wanted to know exactly how much. "Colin, I'm asking you – I'm begging you to believe that I can do that for you. That no matter what your father tries to do to destroy us our love will be stronger than he will ever be." She moved her lips a breath away from his and whispered. "Come home with me, Colin, please."
Colin was stunned. He knew she loved him but he was overwhelmed at just how much. He wanted to trust in her words but part of him was terrified that if they really tried to do this, his father would hurt her in unimaginable ways. He couldn't let that happen. The other part couldn't quite believe he was worthy enough to deserve her in the first place.
Though all he wanted was to say was yes, he heard himself say. "I don't really have a home."
Shaken a bit at his response, Katrina stepped back and out of his arms. She looked up at him, her eyes full of grief.
Staring into his eyes she said softly, "If you truly believe that Colin then he's already won."