�There might not
Be another way to your heart
So I guess I�d better find a new way in
I shiver when I hear your name
Think about you but it�s not the same
I won�t be satisfied until I�m under your skin.�
This is boring.
Who cares about a color scheme or what types of flowers are going to be on the tables?
If you�re getting married, should any of that really even matter? Should anything matter besides the entire �getting married� thing? The guy? The girl?
Does anything else really matter?
�So Kara, how was your night with the Backstreet Boy?�
Shit, she�s being �nice.�
I shrugged, faking concentration on the discussion Angie was having with one of the so-called �specialists� about flower arraignments.
�I slept there. I saw him this morning. That�s about it.�
Just so happens I saw him this morning after he climbed out of the same bed I slept in.
But she doesn�t need to know that.
Brittney stared at me, suspicious malice seeping into her voice.
�Well, you were definitely late this morning. Sure it wasn�t because you became a little preoccupied? Or as you enjoy calling it, �being his assistant�?�
I turned to look her straight in the eye, my voice monotone.
�I went to sleep last night. Alone. When I woke up, I was still alone. I overslept and he didn�t know I was supposed to be anywhere.�
She rolled her eyes.
�Well, you�re a stupid slut then. I would have jumped that sexy bitch faster than our parents got married.�
I bet you would.
�If you want to sleep with him, Brittney��
My stomach lurched at the thought.
��go for it.�
Then maybe he�ll realize how stupid it�d be for him to be with me.
Tears welled up in my eyes and I had to fight to keep control of myself. Patting my shoulder, Brittney stood up with a condescending smile.
�Maybe you aren�t so bad after all, baby sister.�
*
�Dude, aren�t you supposed to be getting ready for Mike�s wedding or something?�
Over the hour-long drive to Orlando, my anger towards Mike had escalated past anything I�d ever felt as I thought about what had happened earlier.
�I�m going to kill him.�
Before I could stop myself, I punched the wooden support beam that kept up the porch roof.
�Damn, Nick. Chill. You�re going to break your hand again.�
Howie grabbed my arm and pulled me into his house as my anger slowly faded into frustration.
�What�s going on, man?�
Pushing me onto one of his couches, he looked down at me and I suddenly dissolved into tears.
�They�re trying to kill her.�
And I just left her with them!
�What?�
He backed away and carefully sat down in the chair across from me, his face contorted in a sign of confusion.
�Who is trying to kill who?�
I broke down, remembering the look on her face this morning when I started yelling at her and how she�d fallen apart in my arms late last night.
�Mike and all of Angie�s friends! They just won�t stop attacking her! Mike came in and physically pulled her out of bed before throwing her into the floor. She had a huge bruise on her arm half an hour later.�
I want to save her. I want to steal her away. I want to take her away from all of them. I want to protect her.
I want to fix her, so she�ll grin up at me and her face will light up and she�ll let me love her.
�Who is �her�?�
I looked up into his eyes, surprised I hadn�t already told him.
�Kara.�
He looked at me in amazed confusion, whistling under his breath.
�Dude, you�ve totally lost it, haven�t you? You do realize that what happens in your dreams at night doesn�t necessarily happen during real life, don�t you?�
What?
�No, she�s here! I� I touched her. I held her last night when she fell apart in my kitchen. I� she�s staying at my house!�
Staring at me, Howie refused to acknowledge what I said while I swept away the tears that had leaked out of my eyes, ashamed at my emotional breakdown.
�Kara? The girl from Dallas Kara?�
What other Kara is there?!
�Yes! Kara Macintosh, the girl I met last summer and at the concert last January. Short, brunette, beautiful, amazing��
Howie rolled his eyes when I trailed off, remembering how she looked breaking down in my kitchen last night.
�Why is she here? How� how did you find her again?�
Okay, we can cover this later. Right now I need someone to help me save her!
�She�s Angie�s cousin.�
His eyes grew wide as he considered my words.
�And she�s staying with you? At your house?�
My god, will you listen to what I say the first time around?
Even more frustrated than I had been when I�d gotten to Howie�s house, I stood up from the couch and headed back towards the front door. Howie stayed in his chair, staring into the empty space that was left after I�d gotten up.
�Wait a second, Nick. Someone is trying to kill her?�
I stopped mid-step, sighing as he tried to catch up in our conversation.
�Not physically per se��
I trailed off again, retracing my steps and lounging back on the couch. Howie looked at me expectantly, waiting for more.
�She doesn�t talk anymore. At all. Whenever she�s around Mike or Angie�s friends, they attack her� you know, insulting her and insinuating things that aren�t true. She�s afraid to say anything or do anything and even when she�s just with me, she can�t relax. It�s like she�s afraid I�m going to start yelling at her or something.�
I rubbed my face, hoping to erase all the problems with the simple gesture.
Didn�t work.
�And her clothes just� hang off of her. It�s like she�s self-destructing or something. I found her crying hysterically in the middle of my kitchen and when she saw me, she tried to pretend nothing was happening. Then the moment I touched her��
Images of last night wouldn�t leave my mind - how her shoulders were shaking so badly and she could barely breathe.
��it was like she broke.�
Howie leaned forward, rubbing his chin in thought.
�So Kara�s here with you, but� she�s acting weird? Like a robot, maybe?�
I perked up at the second question, surprised that Howie could put everything I�ve seen in the past day into one word.
�Yeah, like a robot she�s sorta stuck in� and I need to figure out how to break her out. The only time she ever seems real is when she�s crying, which� isn�t right.�
�Convince her that she�s not what these other people have made her out to be. Prove that you�re not one of them.�
We sat in silence for a few minutes as I considered what he�d said.
It�s weird how ideas you�ve had so many times sound better when someone else says them out loud.
�Give her a reason to let you in.�