Dr. G: Alvin, Brittany, Dave, Jeanette, Eleanor, and the song leader of the pack do not belong to Maureen
Something was wrong. Jeanette and Eleanor watched as Brittany moved around the school like a ghost. She was so happy just last Friday but she hadn't said a word since Friday night.
"Hey Brit," Eleanor said
"Oh hey Elle," Brittany replied
"I like your ring," Jeanette said "its Alvin's right?"
"Yeah," she said her eyes were watering
"Are you meeting him after school today?" Eleanor asked
"No..." a single tear fell
"So where did you meet him?" said Jeanette changing the subject.
"The candy store he kind of smiled at me, i got to the register and i was short paying for my strawberry soda about 50 cents and he slammed it down on the counter."
"The soda?" Eleanor asked half in shock
"No the money"
"So how come you're wearing his ring?"
"He gave it to me."
"Tell us about it"
"Oh alright," said Brittany and she sat down on the steps of the school.
"He followed me out of the shop and he grabbed my hand and turned me around to face him, i almost spilt my strawberry soda. He smiled at me. When i looked in his eyes it was like he knew me, and he loved me like he owed me for saving his life. He even knew my name..."
~~her voice faded it's time for a flash back to about two weeks ago ~~
"Brittany, please don't just walk away." Alvin said
"Do I know you?" she asked
"Not yet, but I know you." he said
"How? I've never seen you before in the whole of my life!"
"I can't explain it just yet, but you saved my life."
"I did nothing of the sort! I never met you before today!"
"Do you really want an explanation?"
"You'd better come up with something before i call my father!"
"Alright, but let's have a seat someplace, hmm?"
"Alright, here." she said pointing to the table just outside the candy shop
"Fine," he said "You stay there I'll be right back"
"Fine"
~~Flash pause~~
"I very nearly left him there."
"So why did you stay?" Jeanette asked
"He seemed crazy at first but he did pay for my soda, and he was so sincere. He came back with another strawberry soda and a root beer..."
~~flashbacks continue~~
"You love strawberry soda, mostly because you love the color pink but also your mother has a recipe she used to make where she cut the berries in half and added 4 equals and a half bottle of citrus soda. Then she would make that little cake things and pour the juice in a glass and give it to you your sisters didn't like strawberry drinks."
"How did you?"
"You told me,"
"I never told a soul that was my little secret with Mama... "
"There is no time to explain,"
"I think you had better make time before~~" she stopped suddenly and pushed him out of the way. She was hit on the shoulder by a bullet.
"See, you saved my life. Brittany I love you. Come on, I'll fix you up and no one will ever know."
~~pause~~
"Why didn't you call dad right then" Eleanor asked
"You know what he's like" Brittany started "if he had heard about that then he'd have flipped in public Well that's when i fell for the Leader of the Pack..."
~~continuing flashback~~
"Brittany, we have to talk" said Dave Miller that night after her sisters went to bed
"Yes Daddy?" everything she ever did wrong came to mind but on the very top of that list she knew he was going to talk about Alvin.
"Come on sweetheart, tell me what happened."
"I can't imagine what you mean."
Her father put his hand on her left shoulder and she flinched.
"That's what i mean, take off your jacket. Honey, you can tell me. What happened?"
"I was shot, it was just an accident, I was talking to someone outside the candy shop and I noticed a red laser dot on his chest, just there" she pointed to where her heart was "so I pushed him out of the way and the next thing i knew a bullet was in my shoulder"
"Oh my brave princess," her father said hugging her gently "why didn't you call me? Honey you need to tell me these things. You can't just go around saving people without telling me, you could have gotten yourself killed!" he suddenly held her at arm's length "wait a minute, who were you talking to?"
"Just a boy from the candy shop. He knew me and was just explaining how when i pushed him out of the way of the little red light."
"What's his name? Where is he from? Who are his parents? When were you going to tell me about him? What do you know about him?"
"Daddy! Am i a suspect or something?" she said. Dave gave her a stern look "His name is Alvin Seville, He is a biker, he has 2 brothers, and he is good at patching up bullet wounds" she said "I don't know the answers to any of the other questions."
"You~~He~~I~~" he was so angry his face was lit up like a Christmas tree. "Stay away from him Brittany, He is dangerous."
"Daddy how was i supposed to know that?" she said "He paid for my strawberry soda, he fixed my shoulder, and he brought me home straight afterwards."
"Princess trust me, he is dangerous!"
"Daddy he is sad, he has sad eyes, and he just wants to be loved. And anyway you haven't even met him!"
"I know the Seville family, they are dangerous, trust me on this!"
"At least meet him first he could be different."
"Oh alright" said Dave against his better judgment
"Good. He is coming over tomorrow for dinner."
"You can't do this to me! Just you me and him in one room, your sisters will be at a sleepover with their friends"
"I know daddy"
Dave sighed "oh alright then let's get it over with, but if he proves to be dangerous you are to stop seeing him immediately do i make myself clear young lady?"
"Good night Daddy." she kissed his forehead and headed up the stairs
He sighed again and knew that his oldest would be just like her mother "Good night Princess."
~~paused flashback~~
"So that's what got dad in such a mood that day" said Eleanor
"Alright, alright, I get it; maybe I shouldn't have invited Alvin over so soon. May i continue?" asked Brittany
"Please do" said Jeanette
~~Continued Flashback~~
The next day Brittany was in the kitchen she had just put a sponge cake in the oven and was starting on the lasagna when the doorbell rang.
"Daddy will you get that? My hands are all mucky at the moment!" she called.
The door was opened to reveal a youngish boy in a red plaid button up tucked into black slacks
"So your Alvin Seville," Dave said "how did you find this us then?"
"Brittany gave me directions, it's very nice to meet you sir." Alvin said and he extended a hand
Dave took it "You have a good handshake" he said skeptically
"Thank you, sir."
"Well won't you come in?"
"Thank you sir."
A scream came from the kitchen. Dave and Alvin ran to find Brittany.
"Brittany? Brittany!" Alvin and Dave said together quite by accident though...
"I'm here" She said. She was on the floor doubled over.
"Brittany what happened" Alvin asked
"I don't know,"
"Come on princess, let's get you up." Dave said
"alright." she said but just as she stood her white apron showed a crimson-burgundy stain.
Alvin took matters into his own hands. He tossed Dave the keys to his bike "come on!" he took hold of her and carried her out to his Harley and placed her in the sidecar. "My bike is 60 times faster than your old truck, now drive!" Dave got on and drove straight to the hospital. Alvin went back into the kitchen, and he turned off the stove, made sure there was nothing dangerous left on, and locked the house. Then he made a couple of phone calls from a pay phone around the corner.
~~paused~~
Her sisters were sitting in shock.
"Brittany, Dad was right, so far nothing has gone right since you met him" Eleanor said
"Eleanor! It isn't his fault! He was born into it" Brittany replied
"What happened next?" Jeanette asked
"Well we were at the hospital and Dad was telling me what a terrible idea it was to invite Alvin over, and then you guys got there. Well, after all of you left..."
~~continued~~
There was a knock at the hospital door.
"Miss, you have a visitor, a Mr. Alvin Seville."
Brittany sat up in the bed as Alvin entered.
"Hey," she said
"Hey yourself." he responded.
"It was a dart, from a dart gun..."
"I know"
"Dad says you're dangerous he says i shouldn't have invited you over."
"I know"
"He thinks you are a bad person..."
"I know,"
"Well if you know all this then why arn't you denying it?"
"Because i made a decision to stop caring about what other people think, a long time ago."
"What about what i think? "She asked
"You're not other people, you're Brittany"
"And that makes a difference?"
"Yes a fairly big difference,"
"I see."
"Brittany, i am the leader of a biking trio, we are at war with another pack of bikers at the moment, and they have unfortunately come to dislike you, most likely because you saved my life at the candy shop. I made a few phone calls and set them straight. They won't be bothering you again."
"How can you be sure?"
"I can't but if they do they will not only have my brothers after them but the CBI, FBI, CIA, NCIS, ANG, USM, USO and anyone else your father can get in on this, not that he hasn't got most of them in this matter already looking into my family."
"Oh i see... my father won't like it that you are here"
"Brittany i love you, I won't leave you alone. Now I'm going to step out into the hall and make a phone call"
"Ok, i think I'll take a nap."
"I'll be back in a minute or two."
And he left to the hall she heard part of the call just before she fell asleep. "Hello, Mother? ... I need help... it's this girl... no nothing like that... no mom, protection... and medical assistance... no mom... she's the one... yes of course I'm sure... yes mother i will... alright then ... yes... yes you too... bye"
~~paused flash back~~
"So that's why you called us and told us to stall dad for a bit" said Eleanor
"Well yes, I didn't want him to freak out or anything."
"How did you get rid of him?" Jeanette asked
"Oh i didn't he hid in the closet for a while then when you all went to lunch he came out and went to the cafeteria. Then he bought me a teddy bear from the gift shop,"
~~continued flash back~~
"You fit in that closet very well didn't you?" Brittany asked.
"Yes i think i did... why?"
"Well if you insist on staying here you will have to hide in there a lot. If you want to try sleeping in there i can ask for an extra blanket and pillow."
"No i much prefer wrenching my back and holding your hand."
This made Brittany laugh.
"I'll ask for a reclining chair then shall i? That way you can lean back and still hold my hand."
"Brittany there's something i need to talk to you about,"
"Oh dear" she said hugging the teddy bear Alvin had gotten for her
"What?" asked Alvin.
"You're going to say something serious art you?" she replied
"Well sort of serious... it's about that phone call i made the other night."
"The one to your mother?"
"Yes that one, my mother used to be a nurse and she recently became a doctor. She is also a member of a secret protection agency. She will be sending a few men around sometime today and she will be your new doctor if that's alright with you."
"That suits me fine, but what about my doctor?"
"They are friends you know, she will just ask him for a favor."
"What about my dad?"
"Mom will take care of that."
"How?"
"She has very winning ways."
Brittany laughed at that too. "Oh dear!" her laughter faded, "the sponge cakes! I forgot to turn off the stove!"
"No i did that after your father left"
"And what about your bike?"
"Oh i got it back"
"He didn't like your comment about his old beat up truck."
"Well he took the bike and it got you here in time. It wasn't just a dart it was a poisoned dart."
"How do you know that?"
"That's the other group's method of choice when murdering women."
"How do you know that?"
"They almost killed my mother but my father stepped in the way of it. That's when my mother became a nurse"
Brittany couldn't help but smile when she looked into those sad eyes of his again.
"What?"
"Nothing..."
"Well there's something else i have for you." Alvin said and he pulled something out of his pocket. "i know it isn't much, but it will have to do until I can buy a wedding band." And he slipped his high school ring on her left ring finger.
~~paused flash back~~
"And i said yes," Brittany said
"But what about dad? What is he going to say" asked Eleanor
"Well he won't say much about it now wills him?" Brittany was near tears again.
"Well tell us what happened to make you so sad since Friday, you have been locked in your room since Saturday"
"Well it was a week since he asked me to marry him..."
~~flash back continued~~
"Brittany we need to talk." Dave said.
"Oh no daddy we've done that already,"
"Well we need to do it again then, it's about Alvin. He has proven to be very dangerous. You can't go on seeing him."
"Dad, don't be like this," she said
"How do you want me to be? Do you want me to stop caring? Do you want me not to want you to be safe?" he stood up and walked towards her
"Daddy..."
"No i mean really how do you expect me to ask knowing that you're going out with a gangster? Why would you want me to stop caring?" he grabbed her shoulders and started shaking her
"Dad stops that"
"Do you want to end up like your mother? Do you want to be killed? Do you want to die?"
"DADDY! STOP! YOU'RE HURTING ME!"
He let her go suddenly and she ran away
"BRITTANY! BRITTANY WAIT! COME BACK! I'M SORRY! BRITTANY!" he cried out and fell to his knees. He looked up to the ceiling "Oh Beatrice what have I done?"
Brittany ran out into the rain storm and sat on the porch steps. Holding her aching shoulder, she could still hear her father crying. Then she saw Alvin's familiar form coming up the stone path.
"Come on let's get you dry, the kitchen i think." he said and he led her around to the side of the house.
"Daddy will throw a thousand fits..."
"It will be alright, i don't care if he shoots me with his .45 revolver" Alvin said picking the lock on the back door. "Your safety is my primary concern, and you shouldn't be outside like this just getting out of hospital and such."
"Alvin we need to talk." she said as he was bringing her into the kitchen.
"I know, i know, and don't worry I'll replace it"
"What?"
"The lock, I'll leave money to replace it"
"No Alvin I'm not talking about the lock"
"Oh well then we will talk as soon as you are dry. Your laundry room is attached to the kitchen yes?" he asked sitting her down in a chair. Then he walked off to the laundry room for some towels and he popped a blanket in the dryer.
"Yeah, but Alvin, we need to talk." she said.
Alvin came back with the towels and he handed her one and started drying Brittany's hair with the other.
"Now what is it you wanted to talk about?"
"Us. That's what my dad and i argued about just before you got here."
"Hold that thought." Alvin said and he went back into the laundry room and came back with the blanket from the dryer and he wrapped it around Brittany.
"Alvin i want you to know that i love you and if you ever stop being 'dangerous' as my dad puts it i will marry you in a heartbeat. But until then..." she couldn't finish what she was saying, she started crying
"You're saying it's over between us?" Alvin asked his eyes became very sad "but why?"
Brittany didn't answer she just couldn't stop crying. She was only doing it to keep him safe from her father. He was walking away she reached out and grabbed his hand. He turned and smiled at her but she saw the tears beginning to show.
"Alvin please try to understand, it's only because i love you and i need to keep you safe"
"Brittany it's okay, i understand, you want me to be safe from your father."
"Alvin..."
"I'll be alright, i love you and I'll see you soon." he kissed her lips gently and walked out the door. She followed him out to his bike and watched as he got on and started it up.
"Alvin please drive slow." she called as he drove away, but whether he heard she would never know. She saw a light. "ALVIN! LOOK OUT!" But it was too late. Then there was a screeching sound, then the sound of metal crashing against metal. She ran over to the crash site and saw Alvin.
"Alvin? Alvin! Stay with me!" she pulled him away from the motor bike and onto the grass nearby and she saw her dad come outside
"Brittany it isn't worth you catching cold for me, goes inside"
"No Alvin i won't leave you!"
"You have to, I'll be alright"
Suddenly there were red and blue lights, and an ambulance was there, taking Alvin away. She sat there crying for a long time. Dave ran out, knelt down next to her and lifted her up. He carried her inside, up to her room where she fell asleep crying.
~~end of flashback~~
"I felt so helpless not being able to do anything remembering all we had been through together." she started crying again
"Oh Brittany, I'm so sorry" said Jeanette.
"I never meant to hurt him, and now he's gone"
"Oh Brittany please don't cry what will the other seniors think?" said Eleanor
"I don't care what they think! I'll never forget him..."
Suddenly their father was outside the school and someone was in the car with him. Dave got out and went around to the other side. Brittany looked at her father and Dave smiled a warm knowing smile as he opened the passenger door. A tall boy in a red plaid shirt tucked into a pair of black slacks with a bandage around his head and right arm in a sling stepped out of the car.