| Chapter 21 Nick opened his eyes and looked around. He was immediately confused as to what was going on. All the guys were in his room, all asleep in various places, and Tara was asleep next to him on the bed. He thought for a moment, vaguely remembering waking up and trying to help her. He rolled over on his side and looked at her. She was somewhat pale and her breathing was erratic. He reached over and tucked a few strands of hair away from her face. When he touched her he felt the most intense emotions, and he knew she was dreaming. Nick stared at her for a moment, then looked around to make sure all the guys were still sleeping. He knew he probably shouldn't do this, but he wanted to make sure she was OK. When he was satisfied that he was the only one awake, he reached over and took Tara's hand in his, interlacing their fingers. The emotions hit him instantly, and he closed his eyes, stepping into her dream with her. He immediately knew he shouldn't be there, but the feelings that were coursing through him made him want to stay. He'd never felt anything like it, and wanted to experience as much of it as he could. He could see Tara, but she hadn't noticed him there. Even with the overwhelming emotions he was feeling, Nick started to feel awkward about being in someone else's dream, especially this one. He turned to leave, when Tara spotted him. Before Nick could open his eyes, Tara had pulled her hand away. Nick looked at her, seeing the anger and embarrassment in her eyes. "Why did you do that?" she asked. "I wanted to make sure you were OK. I couldn't remember what happened, I'm sorry," Nick said, begging her with his eyes to forgive him. Tara blinked away a tear, "Nick, I never wanted you to feel that. It's hard enough for me to deal with it, I never wanted you to know what it was like." "I'm so sorry," Nick said, "Please tell me what happened, I can't remember anything." Tara sighed, and pulled her hair around, playing with the ends, just so she wouldn't have to look at him. "Jered and Ephah showed up last night while you were asleep. All the guys stayed here with you, and we fought with them. Jered pinned me down on the bed and tried to force himself on me...." she started. Nick was shocked, "He did that in front of everyone?" She nodded her head, "Brian went nuts and tried to get to us. Ephah cut him really bad. Somehow I managed to get up and they left. I healed Brian and made sure the others were OK, but that's the last thing I remember." Nick stared at her, "Look at me, please." Tara slowly lifted her eyes to meet his. Nick's heart broke at the tears in them. "The dream I just walked in on, was that just a dream, or was that a memory?" he asked. "A memory. I can't believe that it's all coming back now. I fought so long to forget it, to forget the feeling of it, and now in one kiss it's all back. What am I gonna do?" she cried. "You have to fight it, just like you did before," Nick said. Tara shook her head, "I'm not sure if I can again. You felt it, you know how much it controls you. I...I know I have to fight it, but there's a part of me that wanted it. And I have no idea how I'm gonna explain it to Brian. He saw us, and I know as much as I fought him, that it looked like I was letting him do it." Nick shook his head, "I'm sure Bri will understand." Tara started playing with her hair again, as a fresh batch of tears surfaced. "Tara, please...you know you can tell me anything. What's going on?" Nick asked, concerned. She looked up at him, "I'm so ashamed of what I used to be, and now all the same feelings are coming back. I thought they were gone, that I would never have to deal with them again, but here they are, staring me in the face. And you feeling it too. Nick I never wanted you to feel that, ever. Now Jered is gonna use it against you." "How?" Nick asked. "You can't be tempted by it if you don't know what it feels like. Now that you know, he's gonna use it to his advantage. " she said, wiping away a tear. Nick moved closer to her and let her rest her head on his chest as she cried. He held her, mentally kicking himself for invading her dream. If he hadn't done that, she wouldn't be worried about him right now, instead of worrying about herself. She was right, the emotions were intoxicating, and as much as he knew it was forbidden, he did want to feel it again. He would have to stay strong for Jered not to be able to tempt him with it. Nick glanced down, Tara's sobs softened as she slowly cried herself to sleep. Nick closed his eyes and quickly fell back to sleep with Tara in his arms. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Kevin slowly woke up, lifting his head from the small couch he was curled up on to look around the room. He sat up and stretched as much as his sore muscles would let him, and stood up. All the guys were still asleep, and Nick and Tara were asleep in each others arms. Kevin stared at them for a moment, figuring that at some point in the night they both moved around and settled like that. He looked over at his cousin, curled up in the chair next to Tara's side of the bed. He hoped that Brian took it the same way. He knew seeing Tara being fondled by that asshole of a demon almost killed him, and hoped that he didn't think anything was happening with Nick and Tara. Kevin quietly walked over to the phone, picking it up and ordering breakfast for everyone. He figured by the time he got everyone halfway awake, it would be there. He walked around the bed and up to Brian. He nudged him, "Bri, wake up," he whispered. Brian opened his eyes and looked up at him, "Something wrong?" Kevin shook his head, "No, just that we need to be getting up and around. It's almost ten, and we have that radio spot at two." Brian sat up and rubbed his face, then looked over at Tara. Kevin watched him as he stared at the two, an unreadable expression on his face. "I think they both move around a lot in their sleep," Kevin offered. Brian looked up at his cousin and smiled, "Yeah they do. Should we wake them or just let them sleep?" "After the night they've had, let them sleep, but we need to get Howie and A.J. up," Kevin answered. Brian nodded and got up, looking down at the blood stained shirt he had on. He stuck his fingers through the slit in it, and looked back at his cousin. "I'm gonna go find something else to put on," he said. Kevin nodded and walked over to Howie, kicking his foot, "Hey man, get up." Howie moved a little and groaned, "It can't be morning yet." Kevin laughed at him, "Yes it can, get up. And wake Bone up while you're at it." "OK," Howie said, with a groan. Kevin started to walk out of the room and go wait on the room service, when he noticed Nick staring at him. He walked over to the bed and looked down, "You OK?" Nick nodded his head, "Where's Bri?" "He went to go put on a different shirt," Kevin answered, "Is she alright?" Nick glanced down at Tara still asleep in his arms, "She's pretty shaken about what he did to her, but I think she'll be OK." Kevin looked at him, "You know what happened?" "Yeah, we woke up a little while ago and talked," Nick said, not offering anything else. "I ordered breakfast, it should be here in a few," Kevin said. "Thanks, I'm starving," Nick said, smiling at him. "Nick, I'm really sorry about last night. We just thought we were helping, but we just made things worse," Kevin said. Nick looked up into his green eyes, "Kev, I know why you did it. But please promise me you won't do anything like that again. I have to do this on my own. Wether I succeed or fail, it has to be on my own." "I understand, and I promise we will never do anything like this again. After what almost happened to Tara, and Brian, I will never do this again, I assure you," Kevin said. Brian walked back into the room, seeing Nick awake. "Is she alright?" he asked, concerned. "She will be. Last night took a lot out of her, and brought back some unwanted memories," Nick answered. Brian's eyes flashed with anger at what had happened, and Nick caught it. "Bri, there was nothing you could've done. Fighting them isn't like fighting a normal person, they will always win," Nick said. "I know, but that asswipe had his hands all over her, kissing her. I wanted so much to ring his neck, to inflict as much pain on him, as he was on her," Brian said. Nick reached up and took hold of Brian's wrist, "Man, you can't be like this when she wakes up. She's ashamed of what happened, and you being angry about it won't help her to work through it." Brian looked down at his friend, "Work through it?" Nick nodded, "What happened last night brought a lot of unwanted stuff back to the surface. It's gonna take her a while to work through it all again." "But she'll be OK, right?" Brian asked. "Yes, I believe she will, it's just gonna take some time," Nick said. Just then someone knocked on the door. "That's probably room service," Kevin said, going to answer the door. Brain stared at Nick then at Tara, "I can't help it man. Every time I think about it I get angry." "I know, I do to," Nick said, "You want some help?" Brian looked at him somewhat skeptical, "Like what?" "I could help you get rid of some of the anger," he said. Brain thought for a moment, "Yeah, I guess." Nick squeezed Brian's wrist a little harder, and Brian could feel a peace come over him. Suddenly all his anger was gone, completely replaced with a contentment. Nick let go, looking at him, "OK?" Brian nodded, "Yeah, thanks." "Anytime," Nick said, slowly trying to ease out from under Tara without waking her up. Kevin came back in, "Food's here." Howie and A.J. walked over. They had been listening from where they sat in the room, not wanting to interrupt anything. "Dude I'm so hungry I could eat a horse," A.J. said a little to loud. Tara stirred and looked up, "I smell food." The guys laughed at her. "Honey, you want me to bring you something so you can rest some more?" Brian asked. She shook her head, "Naw, I need to get up." Brian and Kevin glanced at Nick. Tara stretched then grabbed her arm, "Ouch, I forgot about this," she said, looking at the bandage. "Oh here," Nick said, reaching over and placing his hand over her arm. A minute later he moved his hand away, and got up to go find something to eat. Tara unwrapped the bandage and threw it away, also getting up and following Nick's path. Everyone ate in silence. They weren't sure what to make of how Tara was acting. She acted like nothing had happened the night before, and that began to worry Brian. "Honey, are you really alright after what happened and all?" Brian asked. Tara looked up from her plate, feeling all the guys staring at her. "Yeah, I'm fine," she said. Brian glanced at Nick, then back to her, "Really?" Tara looked over at Nick, "What did you tell him?!" "Nothing, I swear. Just that what happened brought back some painful memories," he said. "That's all?" she asked, glaring at him. "That's all, I promise. I won't say anything about what I saw, you know that," Nick said. "Tara, I may not be able to understand what you're saying, but I know you aren't fine," Brian said. She looked back at him, "Bri, guys....what happened last night I want to forget. It brought back some pretty bad memories of what I used to be, and I'm gonna have to work my way through them. I really am alright though, I'm not about to break down or go ballistic on anyone, I just need some time to get things settled again, that's all." "Well, we're here anytime you need us," Kevin said. "Yeah, anytime," Howie agreed. "Girl you know I'm here for ya," A.J. said. Tara smiled at them, "I know that, thank you. Now can we drop this and get back to the food before it gets cold?" All the guys nodded and dropped the subject. Brian leaned over and whispered in her ear, "I love you so much. Whatever you want me to do, I'll do it." Tara smiled and looked at him, taking his hand in hers and leaving the table. She led Brian into their room and shut the door, turning and looking at him. He looked a little confused, "What is it?" "Bri, I know this sounds weird, and if you don't want to right now I'll understand, but I need you to make love to me," she said. "Right now? With the guys in the next room?" he asked, shocked. "Yes, right now. I can still feel him on me, and I want it to be you, please honey," she begged, reaching over and pulling him to her by his shirt. Brian took her in his arms and stared at her, "You're sure about this?" "Yes, now stop talking and kiss me," she said. Brian smiled and did as he was told. ~~~~~~~~~~ Nick stood up from the table and went into his room. He came out with his bag and looked at the guys. "We need to leave," he said. "We aren't done eating," Howie protested. "Take the cart with you," Nick said, "Kev, we can push it in your room." "Why do we need to leave?" Kevin asked. Nick looked back at the door to Brian and Tara's room, "Cause, we just do." The three looked at him, not getting what he was saying. Nick grabbed the cart and starting pushing it out the door, the three getting up and following him. When they reached Kevin's room across the hall, they turned to Nick. "OK what gives?" A.J. asked. "Trust me, in five minutes you would not want to be in there," he said, smiling. "Ohhhhhhhh snap," A.J. said, finally getting it. "What?" Howie asked. A.J. rolled his eyes, "Dude you are so dense. They are doing it." Howie blushed, "Oh." "Nick, how do you know?" Kevin asked, somewhat intrigued. "I can sense where they are in the room, and what they're doing," he answered. "Can you now?" A.J. asked. "I'm trying not to," Nick said, walking over to the game cube that was still set up, "Wanna play?" "I will," A.J. said, walking over. "Nick you want your coffee?" Kevin asked, holding up the cup. Nick looked at him and smiled a mischievous smile, "Did you do anything to it?" "No," Kevin said, then got the dig, "Damn you Carter." Nick laughed, taking the cup from him, "You know I love you, you old softy." Kevin just shook his head and laughed. Chapter 22 |