Kellie's Penthouse

Kellie walked in, slamming the door shut. Tyler walked out of the kitchen to see Kellie storming up the stairs. Tyler heard a door slam.

"I'm going to regret this," he said to himself and went upstairs.

He knocked on Kellie's bedroom door. "Are you okay?" Tyler asked.

No answer.

"I know you're in there, Kellie," Tyler said, "If you don't answer me, I'm coming in there." He opened the door to find Kellie scrambling to hide the signs that she'd been crying.

"I guess even ice melts," Tyler said.

"Is that why you came up here?" Kellie asked, "To get a good laugh? You can just forget it." She shoved him out the door and shut it. She got on her bed and buried her face in the pillow. Tyler came back in the room and sat on the bed next to Kellie.

"I probably could have been a little more tactful," he said.

"Go away," Kellie said, turning her back to him.

"I'm not going anywhere until you tell me what's wrong," Tyler said, "If I'm forced to stay here and endure the occasional mood swing, I want to know why."

"Make me," Kellie said.

"I'll cut to the chase and go for the obvious," Tyler said, "Your father."

Kellie didn't answer.

"You went to visit him which ended up with him demanding you leave," Tyler said, "And in between you both said things to each other which hurt to hear regardless of whether they were true or not."

Kellie still didn't answer, but she wasn't even bothering to try not to cry by this point.

Tyler leaned over and whispered, "You can try to ignore me, but I'll keep talking until you start venting. I know it's your father who got you upset."

"If I start talking will you go away, city boy?" Kellie said, sitting up and pushing Tyler away.

"Maybe," Tyler said, "Look you saved my life and as much as I hate to admit it I owe you. Now what did he say to you?"

"Same song and dance about me wanting to stick it to him by keeping him in jail," Kellie said.

"That wasn't the only thing," Tyler said.

"The short of it is I disowned him two years ago," Kellie said, "I'm only getting what I deserve; him disowning me this time around. I don't have any right to expect him to just start being my father because I decide I want him to be one all of the sudden."

"There's a difference between simply disowning someone and lashing out at them," Tyler said.

"I can't say I was innocent of lashing out either," Kellie said.

"But from what I can tell your father has no reason to lash out at you," Tyler said.

"Stop trying to make me feel better," Kellie said, "I don't know why I even bother with him much less try to save him."

"Because no matter how much you want to, you can't write him off," Tyler said, "He's still your father. However, if he can't see you're trying to help and how much you love him, then I feel sorry for him."

"He accused me of doing every thing I've done not to protect everyone else, but for myself," Kellie said, still crying, "I have to wonder if that's true."

"Do not let your father make you doubt yourself," Tyler said, reaching out to hug her.

"Listen to me," Kellie said, half-heartedly shrugging him off, "If I wasn't doing this, I don't know what I'd be doing. Ever since Ethan wrecked havoc on my life and even since he's been gone, I have lived and breathed this life to point where it's almost impossible for me to walk away. The only time my life has purpose any more is when I'm dodging bullets and trying to protect innocent people from the evils in this world."

"It's not that you don't care," Tyler said, "You care too much. If saving people is your only problem it's not a bad one to have. You're still making the world a better place."

"It always ends up costing me more than I could ever imagine going in," Kellie said.

"Knowing what you know now, would you still jump in and not look back?" Tyler asked.

"Yeah, I'd do it again in a heart beat," Kellie said, getting off the bed, wiping the tears from her eyes, "You know the last thing you want to be doing is listening to me have a pity party. It's the last thing I want to be doing."

Tyler grabbed her and pulled her towards him. "This probably sounds laughable considering how we've been at each others throats," Tyler said, stroking Kellie's hair, "I do care, I don't know why, but I do. And you're strong, but you're not unbreakable, Kellie. No one is."

Kellie made eye contact with Tyler for the first time since he walked in the room. She was instantly aware of how close to him, to his body, she was. Tyler went to wipe some of the tears off her face. When he touched her face, she snapped.

Kellie kissed him. Tyler kissed back and pulled her body against his. She didn't know how it happened, but the next thing Kellie knew she was on the bed, on her back, with Tyler on top of her. He started to kiss her neck as he pulled her shirt off. Then he worked his way across her shoulders with kisses.