Rick's POV
It had been two days since I had finally moved out of my old place, and into Kates. I was still adjusting and trying to convince myself that this wasn't just a sleepover at my girlfriends where we would go on a date, hang out, go to her place, make love, and then spend the night where I would go home the following day. No it wasn't like that at all. And even though I had accepted what happened, that didn't mean that I wasn't still upset about everything. But to me, adjusting was the biggest thing.
It wasn't hard though since Eve was so nice. Lilly was always checking up on me and we even had a few talks. But still, I missed my old home and the people I lived with. At least I got to wake up next to the love of my life. She was now my everything. And while I still had my family including Humphrey and them, Kate was and always would be my top priority. And waking up to see her beautiful face every morning, was the thing that heaven is made of.
I awoke in the comfy and cozy bed with Kate's muzzle still in my neck from last night's cuddling. I could feel her hot breath through her nose as she breathed comfortably. Still to this day I don't know how I got her. But I was more than thankful that I did. I smiled and gave her head a kiss, moving my neck just a tad bit too much and accidentally waking her up. She opened up her amazing eyes and looked at me, only opening them halfway as she was still waking up. Still she smiled at the sight of me.
"Hmm, hey… you okay?" she asked tiredly. I chuckled and gave her cute little black nose a small peck. She closed her eyes for a second and kept the smile as she accepted the kiss.
"Yeah… sorry about last night" I said, referring to her heat coming on. She had started taking the pills the day I got them but we hadn't had sex. Every time we tried I was simply too upset and couldn't get past a single kiss before stopping. Kate was understanding though and instead cuddled with me for the past couple of nights.
"Hey… it's okay. I'll be here when you're ready" Kate smiled.
"Won't be long" I replied, giving her nose another peck. She giggled as I sat up, untangling our legs and arms in the process. She sat up as I got out of the bed with adorable messy hair and watched as I put my sweatpants from last night back on.
"Where are you going?" she asked.
"Eh, probably gonna go in the basement, set up everything. I feel bad with all the clutter" I explained. Kate nodded and then stretched, pushing her chest out and showing off her perfect figure, although not on purpose. She smacked her cute lips and then took the covers off herself and joined me at the door.
"Come on, I'll keep ya company" she said. I was happy about that. After doing our morning routine we noticed that we were the only ones awake in the house. Even Lilly wasnt up. Checking the time it was eight o'clock so it was weird for Lilly not to be up, it was even weirder for me and Kate to be awake this early. As we passed the table I noticed Kate stop as she looked at the small table along the wall, across from the basement door. She walked over to it and picked up the letters from a couple of nights before. "Did you not open the rest of these?" she asked.
"Uh… no, I didn't" I answered. She kept them in her hand as she now walked over to the basement steps. Together we walked down there, and other than me and Humphrey lugging furniture down these steps, we hadn't been down here since our big sleep over with everyone. I sighed and began going through boxes as Kate sat on the couch, flicking on the lamp on one of the end tables and shifting through the mail.
For the most part I had situated everything upstairs. Kate had to sacrifice half of her closet to be able to fit even a quarter of my clothes. But she managed and apparently it gave her the opportunity to sort things out. I was glad to get that out of the way because Kate's room was always nice and neat. And then there I came with boxes cluttering up the place. As for everything else like my shelf for my collection and stuff, that was all down here in the basement. Nowhere else to put it but I didn't mind. I just took movies out of the boxes and put them up there, organizing them as I went along.
"Hey Rick?" Kate said, looking at one of the letters.
"Yeah?" I replied, stopping what I was doing, and taking a moment to look back at her.
"You have a letter from the bank, '' Kate said. I felt my face grow confused as I walked over and sat down next to her, taking the letter gently from her hand and reading the mailing address and name. Indeed it was for me, but what did the bank want? I opened the letter and began reading everything and my eyes widened as I read the fine print…
Everything… all the money my parents made, all the money they had in their accounts, me and Angel's college savings that they had put in… all of it was ported and transferred to my account since I was the only family member left in the name. Thousands of dollars that could ensure that not only could I go to college, but me and Kate could get our own place and live happily. I just kept reading the number over and over again as my heart raced, realizing just how much this was…
"Rick? What is it?" Kate asked, scared that it was something bad. I said nothing and handed her the paper. She took it and glossed over it, but then I noticed her eyes stop, and then move slower as she began to pay more attention. Her skeptical expression faded as her lip straightened and she was taken by surprise. She lowered the letter and looked over at me. Excitement started to rise within me.
"We're gonna have our life… you and me" I said. Kate stared at me only for one more second before she squealed with joy, wrapping her arms around me so tightly. I hugged her back and began laughing. Me and Kate squeezed each other for dear life as we cheered. Kate let go of me and read the paper through again.
"Rick I…" Kate began.
"Come here" I said. The next thing I knew we were kissing each other so passionately that I completely forgot where I was. Kate sucked hungrily at my tongue as mine tried to over power hers. We kissed and kissed and kissed until finally breaking it for a breather.
"We… we have to tell the others' ' Kate said excitedly. I agreed, that's exactly what we were gonna do. Our new life would start soon, and for the first time in a while. Things were starting to look up. Not that the price was worth it but… finally… there was a moment of happiness.
"Alright… but it's still early. Wanna have a bit of an early celebration?" I asked. Kate cocked her head to the side with a slight smile still on her cute face.
"What do you mean?" she asked. I chuckled before leaning in for another kiss. She closed her eyes and gladly accepted it with an adorable sigh. She began kissing me back, cupping my cheeks but before it could get intense I broke the kiss, still staying close.
"I think we're still the only ones awake you know" I mentioned. Kate giggled.
"What do you wanna take me upstairs?" she teased. I kissed her again and it wasn't long before we both got up and went back into her room for an early celebration.
Kate's POV
Rick and I woke up again around one o'clock. I awoke first, looking over and seeing a smile on his face as I was nuzzled into his neck. I giggled and gave it a light peck. It felt so good to finally have sex again. Not that it was that long since we last had it at his old place but still, with heat season now here I was gonna really need him around, and since we had only grown closer nothing would get in our way. I pulled out of the warm comfort of Rick's neck as some of my hair stuck to the pillow and gave his cheek a lick to wake him up. He smiled a bit more and opened his eyes.
"Hey" I said. He chuckled and closed his eyes again.
"What time is it?" he asked. I turned over and looked at my phone to see that the time had read one ten.
"It's one o'clock," I answered. Rick groaned and turned over on his back. He reached for my arm and began to rub it as he smiled.
"You okay?" he asked. I Giggled again.
"Yeah, that was great earlier. I really needed it" I said. Rick laughed again and sighed.
"I love you Kate" he smiled. I smiled back at him with love in my eyes.
"I love you too Rick" I said. I leaned my head down to lock his lips with mine again. He accepted it and kissed me back, wrapping his arms around my back and messaging it, making me want to go for another round. The kiss intensified so much, to where Rick turned both of us over to where he was on top. I laughed into the kiss as he did and moaned as he began a slight rhythm on my leg. It wasn't long though before he broke the kiss and looked down at me. "What?" I asked.
"Nothing… we should just really get a move on. We still have tonight though" Rick said. I giggled.
"We do," I said, giggling again. Rick kissed me one more time and then turned over to grab his phone.
"Let's call Humphrey and tell him the good news" Rick said, I said nothing and rested my head on his shoulder as he dialed Humphrey up. It rang about three times before he picked up.
"Hey Rick. what's up?" he asked as Rick put him on speaker.
"Hey Humphrey. You're not gonna believe this" Rick said as I began to laugh lightly in excitement.
"What's up?" Humphrey asked again.
"So I got a letter in the mail, and it states that all the money my parents had is getting transferred to my account. Can you believe that? It will help me and Kate start our lives together" Rick exclaimed. Humphrey laughed over the phone.
"Oh shit. That's great man. We gotta celebrate" Humphrey replied.
"My thoughts exactly. Any ideas?" I asked, looking up to meet Rick's gaze. It felt so good to finally see him happy again, even if it was just for a moment.
"Hm… how about… Texas roadhouse?" Rick suggested.
"That sounds great. Want to invite the others?" Humphrey asked. I hesitated at the thought. Who were the others? Lilly and Shaky… it just wouldn't feel right without Angel there… me and Rick looked at each other as I can only assume that the same thought crossed our minds.
"Um… sure… why don't you talk with Shaky though? I feel like you would get through to him" Rick said. Humphrey sighed.
"Alright. I was gonna go check up on him but my fucking car took a shit" Humphrey ranted making us both laugh.
"Do you need me to come and get you?" Rick asked.
"If you wouldn't mind. I'll have to get someone to look at this tomorrow. Hey, maybe Shaky will" Humphrey said.
"Maybe. Let me know I'll come pick you up now okay?" Rick said.
"Well they don't open until four so what are we gonna do in the meantime?" Humphrey asked. Me and Rick thought for a second.
"We'll just… come back to my place and hang out for a bit. Sound alright?" I asked.
"Sounds good," Humphrey answered.
"Rick?" I asked. He didn't reply and instead gave my lips a quick smooch. That was the best answer I could have gotten.
"I'm coming to get you now Humphrey" Rick said.
"Alright. I'll be here. In the meantime I'll give Shaky and Stephanie a call and see if they wanna come. Kate, can you ask Lilly?" Humphrey asked.
"Alright" I answered.
"So Stephanie called you?" Rick asked.
"Yeah. She said that Shaky gave her a hard time so I don't know if he'll want to come but I'll still ask. And she said she wanted to explain to everyone what happened at once so maybe we can do that at Kate's" Humphrey explained.
"Alright. Just give her my address" I said.
"Okay. see ya soon guys" Humphrey replied.
"See ya in a bit" RIck said before hanging up. Once he did he sighed. "Alright. I should go shower and get ready" he added, taking the covers off of him.
"Alright… I'll take one after you" I said as I laid down completely on his side, pulling the covers up to my chest while also watching him as he got up and spreading my legs across the whole bed. Rick turned back to me and smiled.
"You are so gorgeous," he said. I laughed.
"Go shower before someone smells us" I Laughed. Rick put his arms up and picked out some clothes. For now he was just gonna wear a white t-shirt and black jeans. He took them and then walked over to the door, slowly peeking around the corner to see if the coast was clear. I guess it was since he made a dash to the bathroom, shutting the door behind him. I laughed again and got comfy as I waited for him to get back.
Thank God we had this come to us. Not only did we get a head start on our lives but it also gave us an excuseto have sex again. I don't know if I was going to last any longer without feeling him inside me… warming me up as he shot everything he had into me… oh shit I was doing it again. Calm down Kate, you just had your fix for the day. Fuck heat sucked, but it was also great. Making orgasims so much better. I shifted my legs to feel the wet spot on my side where Rick had made love to me just hours earlier. It still felt wet. I smiled as I remembered the feeling of his orgasim shooting into me and then oozing out… stop Kate… holy shit. This is worse than that time in middle school when you bursted into mom's room crying because you were too wet and she had to keep you home. Oh God… at least I finally had someone to help me out though.
My phone began to ring, making me jump and snapping me out of my own thoughts. I looked over and reached for it. Looking at the caller ID I saw that it was Winter calling me. I answered it and put it to my ear.
"Hey Winter" I said.
"Kate holy shit did you hear what happened?" Winter asked. Again I grew confused but concerned due to the tone of her voice.
"No… what?" I asked.
"Garth… he apparently snapped and killed himself. He took his dad with him too. Apparently he did it a few days ago but he was just found not too long ago. Have you seen the news?" Winter asked. My face flushed as I heard the news.
"Garth's dead?" I asked.
"Yeah. Apparently he did it with a shotgun. Took his dad and himself. I don't know what happened but it's everywhere. I thought you would wanna know" Winter explained.
"Uh… yeah, yeah Winter… I uh… I'm gonna go" I said,
"Alright… is Rick okay?" she asked.
"Yeah yeah he's fine. I gotta go Winter, we'll talk later okay?" I said.
"Alright, bye" she said before hanging up. I heard the three beeps and then put my phone down, looking up at the ceiling as I thought about the news I just heard… Garth is dead? And he did what he did a dew days ago? But a few days ago was when he and I… was he telling the truth? Did Something happen? Was this my fault? I Kept Thinking it over, going through scenarios in my head again and again, thinking how it could have possibly been my fault… and how he did it… it gave me the shivers…
"Alright. Showers all yours Kate" Rick said as he stepped into my room fully clothed. He looked really handsome. He sat down on the edge of the bed and began putting on his shoes. "Why don't you shower and I go get him, and when we get back we can all chill out for a bit and…" he explained but stopped when he turned and saw my face. His smile faded. "Kate?... Kate, what's wrong?" he asked.
"Um… Garth… he uh… he's dead…" I answered. Rick's expression dropped a bit as I told him the news.
"He is?" Rick asked. I nodded.
"Him and his dad… it was a murder, suicide" I explained.
"Why do you look so… upset?" Rick asked. I shrugged.
"I… I don't know… I guess I Feel like it's my fault…" I answered. Rick seemed even more confused.
"How? How would it be your fault?" Rick asked.
"Because… because the day you and I were at your old place with Humphrey and I went to go get the picture he talked to me… he caught me outside at the school and told me that his dad was a horrible person, made him be the person he was and that he had gotten cut off… so he asked me to give him a chance and I said no, I told him off and that I had everything I wanted and then… I think he killed himself" I explained. Rick seemed to ponder what I had just told him.
"No one… and I mean no one would stab a guy and leave him for dead unless he wasn't right in the head. And that's why I'm not upset. Him and his dad were horrible people, and now they're gone… the world is rid of two more assholes… it wasn't your fault. Don't you worry about it Kate… are you alright?" Rick asked, cupping my cheek with his soft hands and making me relax. I closed my eyes and exhaled.
"Yeah… I'll be fine" I said.
"Alright… I'm gonna go get Humphrey and then we'll be right back okay? I love you" Rick told me. I offered a warm smile.
"I love you to Rick" I replied before giving him another smooch. Even after Rick held my cheek with one hand and brushed it with his thumb. He didn't say anything and after a few seconds stood up and walked out of the room. I heard him as he went down the stairs and then out the front door. I sighed and turned over as I prepared to get ready for our outing.
Rick's POV
As I pulled onto Humphrey's street I kept on thinking about what Kate had said. I think the worst part was that not only was I not sad about Garth's death, but I was actually really happy about it. We would have to tell Humphrey and the others but we could do that once we got to Kate's place… or would that be my place now? I wasn't sure. I know Kate and Eve would say its mine but it just felt wrong. I pulled up to Humphrey's house where he was waiting by his car and then hopped in.
"Alright I'll see ya soon. Bye" Humphrey said before hanging up the phone call.
"Who was that?" I asked as I pulled off again.
"Stephanie. She said she was gonna be there. I just had to give her Kate's address" Humphrey explained. I nodded and then army attention shifted as my gas light went on.
"Shit… hey Humphrey. Mind if we make a quick gas stop?" I asked.
"Not at all," Humphrey answered as he shook his head. I turned left where the nearest gas station was which was only a two minute drive from here and picked up the conversation.
"So how about Shaky?" I asked.
"No… honestly I think we should all go check up on him soon. He isn't doing to good" Humphrey said. I nodded.
"Alright. We'll do that tomorrow. If we do it now then we'll have to tell Stephanie and based on what you told me I don't think she should be there" I explained. Humphrey nodded.
"Yeah… but definitely… tomorrow" he added.
"Yes Humphrey tomorrow" I said as I pulled into the gas station where an ambulance sat in front. We packed by the side and got our attention pulled to it.
"What do you think happened?" Humphrey asked. I shrugged.
"Wanna go in and find out?" I asked.
"Sure… I'm nosey" he replied. I laughed as the worker approached my window. I told him to fill it, gave him my card and then stepped out as it was filling up. Humphrey walked over and together we went to the mini mart, noticing that the ambulance had no one inside it. We entered the store and from the looks of it, it was an elderly person who had a stroke or something. When we entered they were on the ground with two EMTs by his side. Me and Humphrey stared for a second before looking at each other and shrugging.
"Want anything?" I asked.
"Eh… sure, I could go for a snack," Humphrey said. I nodded.
"I'll be outside" I said, patting him on the back. I turned and walked back out of the store. Once outside I pulled my phone out and dialed Kate, putting the phone to my ear. I began walking around the small parking lot as I waited for Humphrey to come out, sticking to the walls as I walked away from the small shop. The phone rang about two times before picking up.
"Yeah?" Kate said.
"Hey Kate sorry I just… I had to stop for gas so we got held up" I said as I reached a wooden fence at the edge of the parking lot. I began walking along it now, walking closer to what I could only assume was a side road.
"It's okay. I'm just getting out of the shower now, I'll be nice and pretty when you get back" Kate explained. I laughed.
"You're always pretty Kate," I said. I heard her giggle.
"Alright stud I gotta get dressed. See you in a bit" Kate said. I laughed again.
"Okay… I love you" I replied.
"Love you too. Bye" Kate said.
"Bye" I told her before hanging up. Just then I noticed that I was at the edge of the fence and on the sidewalk of the road. I sighed and turned around back to the store to see if Humphrey was out. He wasn't. I groaned as I went to walk back when all of a sudden something hard struck me in the back of the head, almost knocking me over. Quickly I stumbled and tried to catch myself but was grabbed by someone and pulled around the fence and back to the sidewalk. I hit the ground in a daze and looked up to see someone wearing black pants and a black sweatshirt… with a ghost face mask on.
I went to get up but was still out of it when the person struck me right in the face with what I now saw was a rock. I hit the ground again, this time bleeding, and then tried to get up but was struck again in the back of the head… and again… and again… there was blood all of the sidewalk and just when I felt I was about to black out the person turned me round again and pulled me up by the shirt. I gritted my teeth, and tried everything I could to stand up and fight, but I only managed to stand up before I felt a sharp pain in my lower stomach. I yelled out and looked down to see a knife piercing me all the way to the hilt.
I yelled out again as the knife was turned vertically while still in my stomach. And then the person wrapped their arm around the back of my neck and held onto my shoulder as they sliced the knife all the way up to my upper stomach, making me finally yell out in pure agony as something in me exploded, and blood spurted onto the sidewalk while also pouring from my mouth. Finally the person brought me to my knees and then one more time hit me in the face with the rock to get me off the knife. I hit the ground, blood everywhere as I looked up at the person. I then watched as they walked away, leaving me there.
I panted heavily but every breath was a sharp pain. I was hemorrhaging, and losing so much blood. I laid there choking on it until I heard Humphrey's voice.
"RICK!" he screamed. He ran over to me and then knelt to my side as he looked around. "What the fuck… who… who did this to you?" he asked in a panic. I tried to speak but it came out as gargles. "Come on, we gotta get you to a hospital" he said as he tried to pick me up.
When he did though, I felt another sharp pain in my stomach which somehow made even more blood shoot out. I screamed as Humphrey lifted me, but he put me back down on the ground. After taking another look at me I watched the hope fade from his eyes as he realized that there was nothing he could do. He began shaking as he reached for me, and put a hand on my chest. Finally he looked up.
"SOMEBODY HELP!" he screamed before turning to me. But it was too late. I started shivering as I felt all the blood leave my body. Humphrey began to cry as I started to reach for my pocket. Not now… not when everything was starting to look right again. I couldn't leave… I couldn't leave my Kate… I was so scared… I was so scared that I was gonna never see her again… I had to come back… somehow I managed to get the necklace out of my pocket and try and hold it up, but I was too weak.
"Rick… hold on just…" Humphrey begged. Then he realized… I didn't have long. He looked around again and yelled out but nothing. In his attempts though he saw I was holding my necklace and took it from my hand, opening it and then showing it to me as he began crying.
"Rick I… they love you… I love you… there are so many people that love you… but if you're in pain… just let go… don't fight it… just go to sleep" Humphrey told me as he cried. My breathing became slower as I looked up at him with tears in my own eyes. I was so cold… and in so much pain… I just wanted to see Kate again… I didn't want to leave her. I looked up at the picture of her as my vision started to go.
"We love you Rick" I heard Humphrey say before the world went black.
