It was a smaller miracle that Kim could finally leave the penthouse, but after their last conversation, Deucalion seemed to give her more freedom than before. For him it might have changed a lot about their current relationship, but she didn't feel the same way. Sure she said she loved him but what he had done to her comes with sharing emotions as well. Whatever she felt after he let her go were probably his feelings and not hers. Well, most of them were his.
The Argents' apartment was a place she could go without anyone following her so, when Chris called her saying Scott wanted to talk to her, they agreed she would go and meet him there. Apparently Peter advised the young werewolf to find her therefore it had to be something only she could tell him, something that probably involved Duke.
"I'll go now, but if I find anything, I'll call you," Chris announced from the door of his study.
Kim looked at him and nodded. She wanted to go with him but whatever it was Scott wanted to talk to her about seemed important. Peter had called her to Beacon Hills so she could help them so saying no to a little investigation was the least she could do. "Okay," she replied before adding, "and thanks for letting us stay here."
"You're welcome but behave."
"Oh, come on, you know me."
Rolling his blue eyes, he said, "That's why I'm warning you."
She had absolutely no idea what that meant. Did he believe she would hurt Scott? Or what was he thinking? Not to mention whatever this kid had with Allison was a lot like her own relationship with Deucalion - except for the age difference. Usually she loved Chris Argent, she really did. He was sort of an uncle she never had, one of the many people who had taken part in her training.
After the front door closed behind Chris, Scott cleared his throat and scratched the back of his neck. "Can you promise you won't tell Mr. Argent what we're talking about here?" he asked after a while.
"It depends on what we're going to talk about, Scott."
"I want to know what happened the last time Deucalion was here with the other Alphas."
Biting her lower lip, Kim took a deep breath through her nose then slowly let it out. She didn't want to talk about that time. She didn't even want to remember it. After all, she had come to Beacon Hills as a happy person, eager to learn new things and spend some time with Duke whenever her father worked with the other hunters. Things then got out of control and she lost everything; her father died, and the man she loved turned into a psychopathic monster.
"Why now?" she managed to ask. Her eyes hadn't left the wooden desk in front of her and she traced the Celtic symbols on it as she waited for the young werewolf to answer. He was probably listening to her heartbeat so there was no reason for her to make eye contact. Werewolves usually did when a conversation turned serious.
"Allison took me to Gerard Argent and he told us the story. Knowing him, I have a feeling he was telling his version of events. Peter said you could probably tell me the truth."
"Whoa, wait." Kim could help but look up at him, her eyes wide from shock. "Gerard Argent is alive?"
Scott's answer was genuine. She could tell it without being a werewolf. "You didn't know?"
"Apparently Chris forgot to mention that. Alright, sorry, go on," she said, forcing herself to remain calm until this conversation was over.
"According to him, Deucalion set them up and killed every hunter who attended the meeting."
Kim laughed. This was the only thing she could do without breaking something that wasn't hers. Of course she had heard this version of events before since it was the same one Gerard told her mother later on. And Chris, as it turned out. And as long as it was up to that psychopath probably that's the same story he told everybody else. "That's what he told you?" she asked after her eyes fell on Scott.
"Yeah," he replied with a shrug. "I guess it means you remember differently."
"Let me tell you one thing, Scott. My father was one of those hunters who died that day. He who had been working with Duke for a really long time and who trusted him enough to let him teach his daughter a few things."
"It sounds like he was a good guy back then."
"He was," Kim confirmed.
"It's pretty hard to believe now."
"Tell me about it. But it's true nonetheless and Duke did absolutely nothing wrong," she added with a sad smile.
There was a short silence before she took a deep breath and told him the story. Her version of the story, the truth Scott deserved to know. Word after word, sentence after sentence she went, and around the time she reached the middle of the entire story, Kim felt like having a drink. She couldn't take the idea of talking about the meeting without alcohol so, while she kept talking, she moved to the small cupboard next to the door where Chris hid a bottle of whisky.
She paused and drank. Minutes passed before she could talk again and eventually finished the story. The boy nodded but didn't say anything. "Scott, there's something I want in return for the story."
"What would that be?"
Kim walked back to the desk and grabbed a piece of paper and a pen. "Gerard's address," she replied before she put everything in front of him. "It's time to discuss what he did to my father."
"Do you want to hurt him?"
"Not necessarily. But maybe I can get something useful out of him."
After Scott gave her the address, he left to meet Allison somewhere else, so Kim took out her phone and dialed Peter's number on the way to the elevator. "Did you know that Gerard Argent is still alive?" she asked the moment he answered the call.
"Well, we didn't find his body, but I guess none of us thought he could survive for long. You found him?"
"Allison did and she and Scott visited him."
"What are you planning to do now?"
"I want to talk to him about my father."
"Do you want me to go with you?"
"Only if you're willing to take the risk of Duke finding out," she replied, her eyes looking for the button on the panel in the elevator that would take her to the penthouse. "I totally understand if you say no because of that and Derek."
"It's okay."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes."
"I'll tell him, Peter. He has the right to know."
"I understand. Just... make sure he won't kill me."
"I'll do my best."
Putting away the phone, Kim took a deep breath. All she had to do was talking to Duke. It wasn't such a big deal. Or maybe it was, as she thought about it, because Duke has lost just as much as she did. Her hand hovered above the handle while she hesitated. There was no turning back; he had probably known she was there anyway. So she opened the door and entered the apartment.
Just as she had expected, Duke was already waiting for her inside. "Back already?" he asked.
"We need to talk," she replied, carefully avoiding him. He tried to kiss her but she didn't want to let him believe everything was the same as before so she went straight to the kitchen for a glass of water. "Where are the others?"
Duke went after her but stayed at the other end of the counter. "They left."
"Good because this is something that doesn't concern them. Gerard Argent didn't die. He's alive."
"I know."
He had already known. At first she thought she misunderstood him but he looked absolutely serious. Even though she wanted to slap him, Kim resisted the urge and tried to keep her voice calm. "Excuse me? Am I the only one who had no idea he hadn't died? Why haven't you told me yet?"
"I know you, Kim." Suddenly Duke walked around the counter and stopped in front of her, placing his hands on her shoulder. "Once you find out you'll immediately go to talk to him and I tried to avoid that."
"Bullshit."
Duke shook his head at her answer before saying, "You're lying."
"Stop doing this!" she told him angrily, pushing him away. She needed space to breathe, to clear her mind and find out what to do now. "Why can't you at least pretend that you're just a normal guy without that fucking enhanced hearing of yours?"
"Calm down."
"I don't want to calm down, Duke! That son of a bitch killed my father!"
"I know because I was there," he informed her with a sigh.
Kim couldn't believe how calm he was. "I don't care what you say, I'll go there," she insisted.
"Alright, but not alone," he agreed.
"I won't be alone. Peter will be here to pick me up in a few minutes."
"Peter?"
"I don't want you to be there. My father is the only reason why I'm going to visit him, not you. Peter will make sure I'm safe."
"I don't have a problem with that, just call me if something goes wrong."
"What? Did you just say you had no problem with him coming with me?"
"I did. I trust you, Kim." She looked up at him before closing the gap between them and kissing him. "What is it?" he asked after she let him go.
"Nothing, just... We'll talk after I came back, okay?"
"How was your day with Chris?"
Kim shrugged before she sat on the back of the couch so Deucalion was sitting between her legs. "Surprisingly good, but you don't look very happy," the girl noted while she slowly started to massage his shoulders.
"It's impossible to reason with Ennis at the moment. And, to make things worse, Talia agrees with him on the revenge thing," Duke explained with closed eyes. He loved what she was doing to him but he couldn't let it go too far. Distance; he made this rule for a reason. She was too young, all he had to do was reminding himself over and over again.
"Are you serious? It's insane, it wouldn't solve anything."
"That's exactly what I told them but they didn't listen."
"I'm sorry," she said as she leaned down and buried her nose in his hair. "Is there anything I can do to help?"
It was such a simple, yet ridiculously intimate act from her that he didn't even know what to say at first. She cared, he could feel it. But things were bound to get out of control and, with all the packs in Beacon Hills she couldn't risk her getting in the middle of all that. "No, it's fine; we'll handle it," he finally replied.
"Sure?"
"Sure," he nodded.
"Okay," Kim noted with a small nod before placing a hand on his jaw and gently turning his head towards her. "But I know you, Duke, if anyone you can do it, it's you," she told him before placing a kiss on his cheek.
"I'm glad you're here."
"I wouldn't have missed it for the world."
Control, he reminded himself once again. Kim was acting like a little kitten that was looking for attention, using her irresistible cuteness to get what she wanted, but he couldn't let her win. Not now. He had to focus on the problem he came here for in the first place, and he could deal with whatever was between them later back at home.
There was one topic that would definitely make her stop right away. "Have you met Peter?"
Just as he expected, Kim let out a frustrated sight. "No, and hopefully I won't," she replied as she relocated herself and sat next to him with her head resting on his shoulder.
"Are you sure about this? Maybe you should talk to him."
"We've already discussed it, Duke," the girl replied. "We haven't talked since the breakup and I'm not planning to change this. That guy is a real creep. I don't even know why I went on that date with him. Oh, wait! You were the one who told me to give him a chance," she added, pointing a finger at him.
Duke rolled his eyes and let his eyes fall on a dirty spot on the wall. "And now everything is my fault."
"Don't be so dramatic because that's the truth," she informed him as she glanced up at him. "And I don't even want him anymore."
"Why's that?"
"Guess," she replied with a wicked smile as she tried to kiss him.
Duke shook his head and put a finger on her lips. "Will you stop this?"
"No, I won't, and you know exactly why," she explained desperately. "Come on, according to dad everybody believes I'm seeing Peter, they wouldn't suspect a thing."
"Why would they believe you're dating him again?"
She shrugged. "I have no idea but I don't even care."
I'm back! I know it's not a really good chapter, mostly because there are lots of dialogues (I'll fix that later), but I tried my best. Author's block is a bitch. Anyway, I want Duke and Kim to be together again, but after all that happened in the past, I don't think it could happen so easily. God, my own story confuses me.