The next day, Kendall was lying in bed staring at his phone. He hadn't heard from Etta all day and he was worried he had scared her away. He didn't know if he was Keith or Kendra, but whatever he did, it must have been bad. When he called her again, she answered this time.
"Kendall…I'm sorry for not answering your calls or texts. I was doing a little research. Can I come over later to talk to you?"
"Sure. You can come over now, if you want…" Kendal said as he sat up and looked at the clock on the nightstand beside his bed. "That is…if you're not still busy with the research…"
"I can come, now. I'll be there in about an hour. Bye.." Etta said before she hung up and Kendall rose out of bed. He walked into the bathroom and stared at himself in the mirror. Where was Keith hiding all these years before he had emerged? Kendall looked into his own green eyes trying to find Keith somewhere inside him, but all he saw was himself. He turned away from the mirror and turned on the water for his shower.
An hour later, Etta was at his door with a folder in her arms. She was avoiding looking into his eyes and this hurt him a bit, but he was sure she had a good reason.
"What did I do last night?" Kendall asked in a small voice as Etta sat on the bed. He sat down next to her and was relieved she didn't shift away from him.
"It wasn't what you did. I was what I did. I'm not going to go into too much detail right now. Just know…I crossed a line that shouldn't have been crossed. I need to know something. Keith has been impersonating you. Very well, actually. How long do you think you can go without somebody finding out about him or Kendra?"
"I don't know. Why? Am I going to be like this forever? Etta…I don't know if I can do that. What if something bad happens and I can't just explain it away?"
"Kendall…if I tell you something…actually, I'm not sure I can. Every time I try to tell you the reason Keith and Kendra still exist, they show up. I'm just going to leave this folder here with you, but you can't see the contents, yet."
"What? What do you mean by that? I'm sure it won't be that bad if I look…" Kendall said, but the serious look on Etta's face let him know it would be bad if he looked right now.
"I can't tell you, but I think if I give you the tools, you can figure it out for yourself…." Etta said as she stared into his eyes. "Jeremiah approves of this method, but he warned me to be cautious of the consequences and I will be…"
"The consequences meaning Keith…" Kendall said and Etta nodded. "Will you be here when I read the contents or should I be alone?"
"I'll be here. Someone has to keep you in line in case Keith or Kendra emerges." Etta said with a chuckled and Kendall smiled. "Kendall…I just wanted you to know that no matter what happens…I care about you. I hope we could still be in touch and maybe continue a relationship." she said with a hopeful smile.
"I hope so, too." Kendall said as he stared at her and before he could stop himself, he kissed her. He was relieved she didn't pull away from him. The kiss started to grow more and more heated and pretty soon, Etta was underneath him moaning and whimpering.
"Kendall…" she moaned as she rolled her hips upward into his. He slid his hands to her jeans and unbuttoned and unzipped them before tugging them lower. She kicked off her shoes and her jeans followed. He slipped his hand under her shirt and cupped her breasts in his hands as he began kissing her neck. She pulled his shirt over his head and trailed her hands to his jeans.
"Are you sure?" Kendall asked her, but he was really asking himself. He knew every time he had sex with Etta, he would turn into Keith. He wanted to keep Keith away from Etta, but his need for her was so great, he couldn't take it.
"I'm sure…make love to me, Kendall…" Etta whispered as she felt Kendall's erection pressing against her. Kendall pushed aside her panties and plunged into her. He loved hearing her moan as he began to thrust in and out of her. He loved seeing her face in ecstasy.
"Etta…" Kendall groaned as she gripped his back tighter. She was digging her nails into his back as he fucked her, but he liked it. He could feel himself getting closer and closer to his orgasm. He reached in between them and began rubbing her clit in time with his thrusting.
"Kendall…fuck!" she screamed as she came and he followed after her. He took her in a passionate kiss as he eased himself out of her before laying down beside her. She didn't realize it until it was too late, but Kendall had knocked the folder onto the floor. She panicked because she thought he saw what was inside and inside that folder was several articles and photos of Jack Foster's philanthropist work. His company partnered with several charities to ensure the well-being of children in war-torn countries. He made it a personal mission to feed children suffering from starvation. He even had a small organization that helped children through their parents' divorce. He was a good guy and not the monster Kendall's mind had imagined. She hoped after seeing this, Keith wouldn't need a purpose to exist because he would see how amazing Jack is and what as good person he is. Perhaps, Kendall could start healing.
"Etta?" Kendall asked and Etta blinked as she came back to the present with Kendall lying next to her with a look of concern in his beautiful green eyes.
"I'm fine. I was just thinking about how much I'm going to miss you when you leave…" she lied. Well, sort of. She would miss Kendall like crazy when he was back in L.A. She hadn't planned on being involved with him. "When do you go back?"
"Less than a week. I could stay here longer if you want. I can maybe fit in some vacation time and spend more time with you. I've never felt like this with anyone else before. At least I think I didn't. There's no telling what Keith or Kendra might have done…"
"They don't strike me as the type to be in relationships…" Etta said as she cuddled against Kendall feeling like she needed his warmth. "I guess we should figure out how we're going to do this. I mean…we could try for a long distance relationship…"
"Yeah…we could." Kendall said feeling frustrated that the one person he felt truly connected to lives on the opposite side of the country.
"Are you ready? To look in the folder, I mean…?" Etta said as she sat up and rolled out of the bed to gather the articles and placed them back into the folder.
"I guess. I just want a few more minutes of you lying next to me. Maybe having you near me could stop me from turning into my alters…" Kendall said with a chuckle.
"Okay…" Etta said as she placed the folder on the nightstand and cuddled up against Kendall. She knew it was wrong, but she wanted to wallow in the amazing feeling of having his body next to hers. They weren't in love, at least not yet, but they were getting there.
Suddenly, there was a knock at the door and Kendall and Etta scrambled to get dressed. Kendall swore to murder whoever was at the door ruining his time with Etta. Once Etta was dressed, he opened the door to find Logan standing there.
"I hate to interrupt, but…well, we now only have two days here. Griffin's booked a last minute appearance and we can't cancel." Logan said with an apologetic face as Kendall turned to Etta with the same expression.
