| Chapter 6 Brian woke up to the smell of food. He stumbled out of bed, and made his way into the living room. Everyone was up but him. Kevin and A.J. were watching the monitors, although nothing was really going on at the moment, and Lyn and Howie were in the kitchen making breakfast. Brian ran his hand through his hair and walked into the kitchen, pouring himself a cup of coffee and sitting down at the table. "Morning Bri," Howie said, not taking his eyes off the eggs he was cooking. "Morning," Brian said, tiredly. Lyn sat a plate of biscuits on the table and looked at him, "You alright? You look beat." "I'm just really tired for some reason, but I'm OK," he answered. She stared at him for a moment, searching his eyes. "Really, I'm OK," he whispered to her, seeing the worried look she was getting. She stared at him for another moment, then went back to helping Howie. "OK guys, foods on," Howie called. A.J. and Kevin got up and walked into the kitchen, taking a seat at the table. They had left the sound up so that if something happened they would hear. They all quietly fixed their plates and started eating. "I think that if things are going alright, and they don't need me, that I'm gonna go into town this afternoon," A.J. said. "Yeah, I need a break to," Kevin said. "Me to," Howie added, "It's not that we don't love ya Lyn, it's just that being cooped up here is reminding us to much of being on tour. You know, having to stay in the hotels and not being able to leave because of the fans and all." Lyn laughed, "No problem. I can't stay cooped up in any one place for to long myself." "Why don't we all go out then?" Kevin asked. "I'd love to, but I'm behind on my work again," Lyn said. "You work to much girl," A.J. said. "I know, I've got to many things going on. One of these days I'm gonna learn to delegate some of this stuff, but right now it needs to get done," Lyn stated. "Bri, what about you? You wanna come?" Howie asked. Brian was staring at his food, picking at it more than he was eating it, "Um no, I think I'm gonna rest, I'm really tired." "Yeah, I can tell by looking at you," Kevin said, staring at his cousin, "You sure that's all it is?" Brian nodded, "Yeah, I probably over did it yesterday. I'll just take it easy today, and I'm sure I'll be better tomorrow." Kevin started to say something when the sound from the monitors interrupted him. Everyone listened, hearing Tara ask to talk to Tracy, Jade and Gideon. They all stared at one another for a second, then grabbed their plates and coffee and headed into the living room. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Tara was standing in front of the windows, ringing her hands, while she waited. She knew this was going to be hard, but she needed to do it and get it over with. The three walked into her room, and she turned to face them, "I need to talk to you." "What about honey?" Tracy asked. "About what happened when I was gone," Tara answered, walking over and taking a seat on the bed. They all found a seat around her, waiting for her to go on. "Do you want to talk privately?" Jade asked, nodding towards the camera. Tara sighed, "No, I only want to say this once." "Alright," Gideon said. Tara sighed once more, looking down and playing with her ring. "From the beginning it was a trap. They had me leave the money in this little park, then drive out of town to some abandoned mission. When I walked in I couldn't believe what I was seeing. They had tied Nick to the cross at the head of the church. He was unconscious and not breathing. I cut him down, and revived him, but something kept telling me to get outta there. So I helped Nick up and we started heading towards the door. That's when Jered and Ephah showed up. We fought, and I seriously wounded Ephah before Jered pinned me against the wall. Nick yelled at him to stop, and he did. He even flinched, like he was scared of Nick. I looked over and Nick was helping Ephah up, after healing him, and was giving them both instructions. I just couldn't believe it. I couldn't believe that he'd turned," she said, wiping away a tear. Tracy put her hand on her shoulder for support, "Then what happened?" "They took me to this house. It's one of the sirens houses, out in the middle of nowhere. They chained me up and pretty much left me there for a while. Their plan was to turn me, make me a �sister' to those witches. Anyway, later that night, Nick came in and fed me, then he was going to leave me there with Jered, but I managed to get lose and fight him. I made my way through the house, until Nick caught me. He threatened to kill Brian if I tried to leave, then he took me back to the room and they drugged me," she said. Gideon, Jade and Tracy exchanged glances. "What else happened?" Jade asked. "When I woke up, Nick was there. We exchanged words, and he ended up bringing Jered back in. He left me there, knowing full well what Jered was going to do to me," Tara said, taking a deep breath, trying to calm herself. "Did he...?" Gideon started. Tara nodded her head, "Yes, he raped and beat me," she said in a whisper. "Oh honey," Tracy said, pulling her into a hug and holding her as she wept. "The next thing I knew, Nick had me in the bathtub, cleaning me up. I couldn't understand how he could be so caring one minute, and so cold and heartless the next," Tara cried. "You know he wasn't himself then," Jade said. "I know. I kept telling myself that, but you had to be there. He was so much like himself, then he would morph into this unpredictable lunatic. They were all afraid of him. Ephah told me that after he turned, he went completely wild. He paid them all back for what they had done to him, then healed them after he did it," she said. The three looked shocked, glad that they didn't see that side of Nick when he was still fighting them. "Tell us the rest," Gideon prompted. Tara took a deep breath, "Well, after the rape Nick was starting to be nice to me. He set up this dinner, then took me outside for a while. But later that night, Jered showed up with Brian's wedding ring, telling Nick that the job was done. Nick had told him to kill Brian! I couldn't believe it. That's when I snapped," she said. "Snapped how?" Jade asked. "I attacked them. All three of them. If Nick hadn't been there to heal them, Jered and Ephah would not be here right now. But I couldn't fight Nick, he was to strong. After that I don't really remember much. Nick told me that I kinda zoned out, and that while I was out he'd done some things to me that he regretted, but I don't know what it was. The next clear thing I remember was Nick telling me he was sorry. After that, I played the obedient prisoner and went on with the plan, until you guys showed up and got us," she finished. "Tara, I'm sorry you had to go through that," Gideon said. She shrugged her shoulders, "It was worth it if Nick is back with us." "He is," Jade said. "And he's having a hard time dealing with what he did," Tracy said. Tara sighed, "I knew he would once he came back. The hardest part is forgiving yourself." "That's what we've been telling him. We finally had to knock him out last night so he could rest," Gideon said. "Is he still sleeping?" Tara asked. "Yes, we're going to let him sleep most of the day, then start back with him tonight," Tracy answered. "OK," Tara said. "You sure you're alright?" Jade asked, feeling how mixed Tara was in her emotions. "I will be," she said. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Brian got up and left the room, heading into his bedroom. His heart was breaking at hearing what Tara had been through. He still loved her, and to hear her say that she'd been raped and beaten, was almost to much to bare. He crawled up in the bed and grabbed a pillow, hugging it tightly. He let all his emotions out, burring his face in the cushion to muffle his cries. Lyn quietly walked in, going over and sitting on the bed next to him. She didn't say anything, not knowing what to say. She placed her hand on Brian's shoulder, silently supporting him the only way she knew how. "She didn't deserve that," Brian said into the pillow, "No one deserves to have that happen to them." "I know," Lyn said, massaging the area between his shoulder blades as he continued to cry. Lyn heard the phone ring, but stayed with Brian. A moment later, Kevin came into the room with the phone in his hand, "It's Ted." Lyn wiped the tears she'd been shedding with Brian and took the phone from Kevin, getting up and walking over to the windows, as Kevin took her place trying to comfort Brian. "Hello," she said. "Hey, what's wrong?" Ted asked. "Um, we just heard what Tara had been through while she was gone," Lyn said. "Pretty bad huh?" Ted said. "Yes, they beat her and raped her," Lyn told him, barely in a whisper. "Oh my God," Ted said, "Is she alright?" "I think so," Lyn said, "They are helping her deal with it." "That's good. If I can do anything, you let me know," Ted said. "I will, thanks. So um did you get the results of Brian's tests back?" she asked. "Yeah, that's why I'm calling. They all look normal," he said. "Good, I'm sure he'll be happy to hear that," she said. "How's he feeling today?" Ted asked. "Well we're all pretty upset right now, but other than that, he's tired," she said. "How tired?" Ted asked. "Extremely. You can tell by looking at him that he's exhausted," she said. Ted was silent for a moment. "Is something wrong?" she asked. "I'm not sure. He should have gotten his strength back by now though. I'm starting to wonder if his exhaustion isn't caused by something else," Ted answered. Lyn glanced over at Brian, "Like what?" "I don't know. Just watch him OK? If he doesn't get any better in a couple days let me know," he said. "I will," Lyn said. "Alright honey, I've got to go do rounds, call if you need me," Ted said. "OK, we will," she said, hanging up the phone. Lyn walked back over, leaning down close to Brian. "That was Ted. He said you're tests were all OK," she said. Brian nodded, then sat up, wiping his eyes, "Thanks." Kevin looked at his cousin, "Bri, why don't you just stay in here and rest, you look awful." Brian laughed, "Thanks Kev." "Well you know what I mean," Kevin said, smiling. "Yeah, OK. Call me if they do anything else alright?" Brian said. "I will," Kevin said, getting up and leaving the room. Lyn sat down next to him, "You sure you're just tired? You don't feel anything else unusual?" she asked. "Naw, I'm just tired. I'll be alright in a little while," he answered. Lyn ran her fingers through his hair, looking deep into his eyes. They had lost their brightness, and Brian was fighting to keep them open. "Lyn, will you lay down with me until I fall asleep?" he asked, looking like a lost puppy. She smiled at him, "Of course, now move over." Brian moved towards the middle of the bed, letting her lay down next to him. Brian lay his head on her chest, and she wrapped her arms around him, holding him tight. "Thank you," he said through a yawn. She smiled and kissed him on the top of his head, "I love you." Brian closed his eyes, "I love you," he mumbled, just before drifting to sleep. Chapter 7 |