Till Death Do Us Part: Chapter 10
A/N: Lots of things are explained in this chapter, just thought I'd let you all know if you guys had any questions that weren't being answered. And you might want to refer back to chapter 9 for some slight changes that have been made.
And once again, I love all my reviewers out there! 73 reviews and we're only on chapter 10 ;)
Chapter 10: Twisted
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Ryan Kurtis' POV
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I felt a little sad as I watched her walk away, and knew upon that moment when she got out of my shiny new Mercedes that she was getting out of my life as well.
It hurt. I was actually disappointed to see her go.
But in my heart I knew that she couldn't have stayed, actually, I knew it right from the beginning. It couldn't possibly have worked out.
Or instead, I should say, Trunks would have rather had my throat slit open than see me with his new girlfriend.
I sighed to myself. I had recognized Pan Son the minute I got my first good look at her that night. She didn't remember me, of course, I thought with a wry grin. To her, I was merely Officer Ryan Kurtis, the generous cop who had given her a place to spend the night.
She had no idea that I had met her once before.
I didn't blame her for not remembering; our meeting had been short and brief. I had seen her with Trunks at the Pier not too long ago, had stopped to chat with Trunks for not more than a few minutes, and had immediately known there was a strong connection that existed between the two, although Pan at the time seemed to be denying it.
Trunks and I were good friends, although I was older than him by a couple of years. I had honestly brought her home with the intention of calling Trunks and letting him know soon after, but … somewhere along the way I screwed up big time when I started falling for her.
And I hadn't called Trunks. Not until I realized the seriousness of the situation, when Pan turned out to be pregnant with his kid. Trunks had been angry, to say the least, but I made up a lame excuse about not recognizing her sooner. So I told him that Pan was pregnant, that she was headed over his way.
And that's when Trunks had told me about his terrible plan. Something about how he couldn't be a father yet, wasn't ready to settle down with a single girl. Responsibilities. Said he would be 'prepared' when she came, and knew how to handle things quite well.
So now I was silently cursing myself for what I had just done to poor Pan. This girl that I had started to actually care about within such a short period of time. Had I unknowingly ruined her life?
I let myself imagine how things would have gone differently if her name wasn't Pan Son and I wasn't a friend of her boyfriend. But then again, if things had been different, I might never have fallen in love with her. I sighed, and my thoughts wandered back to reality.
Did I have the guts to go in there and confront Trunks myself? Tell Pan, right then and there, what a conniving jerk her boyfriend was?
No. I couldn't do it.
I knew I would regret it later. But I just couldn't bring myself to ruin years' of friendship in a matter of hours. No matter what kind of coward he was, Trunks still had a good heart. He just had his priorities confused.
Now only if I could convince myself of that.
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Pan's POV
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I don't remember how long I stood there after Trunks closed the door on my face, but I do know that the pain I felt was unlike anything I had ever felt before. How could this have happened? Trunks had changed. His edgy behavior and sudden hostile attitude was more than just unexplainable. It was absurd, really. It made me wonder if he had been planning this whole thing from the moment he heard that I was back in town.
Goddamnit, I thought. Once again, you break my heart, Trunks Briefs.
I sighed deeply. Now, the big question was, where to go? I rummaged around my purse and found a couple of crumpled up wads of money that would be just enough to spend the night in some hotel. But where would I go in the morning?
The only thing that came to mind was my Uncle, whom I knew I could give a call without thinking about it twice.
The sudden thought of Ryan Kurtis did cross my mind, but I dismissed it quickly. No point in giving him more trouble than he had already gone through, right? Besides, I hadn't seen my dear old Uncle in a while. Actually, I shouldn't say old. My Uncle is barely old enough to look like anyone's uncle.
I grinned. With the drizzling rain pouring over my shoulders, my heart broken and my pride hurt even more, just thinking about him made the situation seem a lot better.
Sorry to spoil your honeymoon, Uncle Goten.
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Goten's POV
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As I lay on the sunny, gorgeous beach in California, sipping my ice-cool margarita and my amazing new wife next to me, I thought: So this is what it feels like to be in heaven.
"Honey," my beautiful wife Bra looked at me from behind a magazine. "Weren't you supposed to take me to the city today?"
I frowned slightly. "Aww, shit, Bra. I totally forgot about that."
But instead of glaring at me angrily like when she usually did when I forgot something important, she just grinned. Her blue eyes twinkled in the sunlight.
"That's so like you, Goten." She inched closer to me, teasing me with her eyes. "It's what I love about you."
I closed the remaining distance between us and kissed her fully on the lips. I didn't care that people had turned around to watch us two lovebirds. If this hadn't been our honeymoon, I might have cared. But right now, I really didn't give a shit.
My hands found their way to her thin bikini, unbuttoning it with ease while our legs entwined. "Should we get back to the hotel?" I whispered in her ear.
She grinned playfully. "Nah. Let's give them something to watch."
I pulled her closer. "I think that lifeguard might get jealous."
She laughed, and at that moment I truly realized how much I loved Bra Briefs, who was now Bra Son. Meeting her had been the best thing that ever happened to me.
At that moment, my thoughts were disturbed when my phone started to ring abruptly.
"What in the hell …" I stared at the number on it. "It's Pan." I looked at Bra. "My neice."
Bra rolled her eyes. Now she was angry. "Go ahead, you might as well pick it up now. The moment's already ruined." She buttoned her bikini back up and left to take a walk by the shore.
Frustrated, I answered the phone. Pan better have a good reason for this…
"Hello? Uncle Goten?" Her sweet voice melted some of my anger away pretty fast. After all, I hadn't spoken to Panny in over three weeks.
"Yeah, hey, Pan. You know, if it had been anyone but you just now…"
"…You wouldn't have picked up." Pan finished my sentence, then laughed. "I probably interuppted you during something, didn't I?"
I glanced at Bra, who was sullenly sitting by the shore. "You have no idea. Really, this better be good, Pan."
"I don't know about good, Uncle Goten," her tone of voice changed suddenly. "But it's definitely important."
I knew it wasn't like Pan to call me up during something I specifically told her not to, and concern edged into my voice. I feared it was something about her condition with the cancer and all. "Is everything all right, Pan?"
"No, it's not," I heard light sniffles and realized that she was crying. "I don't even know where to begin telling you about this terrible mess I'm in."
"Look, Pan," I tried to calm down, but there was panic growing inside me. "Just tell me. You're going to give me a heart attack otherwise."
"I'm pregnant." She said flatly.
At first, I wasn't sure I heard her right. "You're what?" My head became dizzy while I tried to absorb what she had just told me.
"I'm pregnant," she said again, sounding somewhat annoyed. "I know how this sounds, but you've got to help me out, Uncle Goten."
I was silent for several seconds. "How," I finally said, "The fuck did you manage to do that?"
"I don't even know myself. It all happened so quickly.. Oh, God," She had started crying again.
A million thoughts began running through my mind. I knew I shouldn't have left Pan alone with that idiot Marron, no matter how good friends they were. I regretted it instantly.
"Panny, calm down and tell me everything right from the beginning. Did you tell the baby's father? Jesus, Pan, what the hell have you been doing down there?"
"He knows," she said. "And he won't admit it's his."
I felt the phone drop from my hand. Hastily, I kneeled down to pick it back up. "Oh, God, Panny. This is getting worse by the second. Is there anything else you haven't told me?"
She paused slightly. "Yeah. There's a lot more, but I'll tell you what's bothering me the most right now. I haven't got anywhere to go."
"What? What the hell happened to Marron's apartment?"
Pan paused, and I could tell she was debating whether she should tell me something or not. Finally, all she said was, "I don't want to go into details right now, Uncle Goten, but all I can say is I can't stay at Marron's place anymore. Staying there would be like throwing my remaining pride into dirt."
I held my head in my hands. Pan was my responsibility. I thought sadly back to the death of her parents in Japan, how I had vowed to be like a father to my young neice. I felt disgusted with myself, really. I couldn't even keep my promises to my dead brother.
"Have you got any money on you, Pan?" I asked her.
"Just enough to spend the night in some lousy hotel." I could hear the disdain in her voice.
Okay, think, Goten. Either you fly back there or she comes over here…
"Pan," I said. "You're coming to California on the very next flight."
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Bra's POV
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I sat on the corner of my beach towel, a good distance away from Goten, watching the deep blue ocean and feeling oddly peaceful, although my mind was someplace else entirely. Or rather, my ears, I should say.
They were fixed upon the conversation Goten was having with his neice.
Even though I stood a couple of feet away from him, it wasn't hard to tell from the expression on his face that something was bothering him. A lot.
What could be so important that his neice had to call us during the middle of our honeymoon? I shook my head in exasperation. I had never met my husband's neice because at the time I had met Goten, Pan had been visiting Japan upon the death of her parents. Goten had gone for only a day, and had returned after the funeral, but Pan had remained with her grandmother ChiChi. All this had happened nearly two months ago. When Pan returned, Goten arranged for her to stay with her friend Marron since we were already married and on our honeymoon by then.
I had heard her voice over the phone once, when Goten and I had gotten married and she called to say congratulations and said she was sorry she couldn't be present at the wedding herself.
From the way Goten spoke about her, I figured that she was not more than a couple of years younger than me. I had also assumed that Goten and Pan were very close, since he was always telling me he was trying to be a parent to her.
I watched him now, wondering what Pan was saying over the phone. There was something about the way he spoke to her, a certain softness that came over his face which almost made me a little jealous. I sighed, getting a little homesick myself. My parents, I hadn't seen them since I had gotten married. I promised myself I would call them today. I smiled to myself. Mom would be so glad to hear from me. Dear old Dad, the toughest guy I had ever known but with a soft spot that made me love him so much. And my brother, Trunks…
I found myself wondering what my older brother Trunks was doing back in Boston.
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Trunks's POV
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I watched her leave from one of Marron's apartment windows.
I told myself that I did not feel anything, but a part of me felt strangely empty. Lost. Like I could never be fully whole again.
I remembered how,only a day earlier I had been worried sick about Pan. Convinced myself that I was in love with her. And maybe I was, but I was running away from my priorities again.
Because you see, I had known that Pan was indeed pregnant with my child. That Ryan Kurtis fellow? I knew him pretty damn well too. The call I had received minutes earlier had been none other than his. And I had decided right then and there that this had to stop. Now. Before I ended up marrying her or something.
Why the hell was I doing this? I wondered. Why not just accept responsibilty for my actions if I claimed to love Pan as much as I said?
Because I was afraid.
I was not ready to settle down with some girl I had met for not even a week. And I was definitely not ready to be a father. My friends and colleagues would have laughed if they knew the truth. Trunks Briefs, you're going to be a father? You? The guy who changes girlfriends every week is ready to settle down? I shook my head. No.
Because I wasn't ready to 'settle down.' And this was getting out of hand. I had never expected it to go this far…I sighed. So I had ended it. For my own freedom.
Even if that meant giving up what I loved the most.
I shrugged. Pan was a nice girl. But there were bound to be more women in my life. Hell, I couldn't tie myself down with only one just yet. I was barely twenty two.
I'd forget about her soon enough, I supposed.
After all, what could be so special about Pan Son?
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A/N: Hope that cleared things up a little. Okay, not a little, maybe a lot. : ) And another thing, expect the fic to be written entirely in POVs starting now. I think they're much better than the regular way I've been writing before. Don't you agree? ;D Please review!