Kara nearly jumped out of her skin when I made my presence known, her eyes immediately coming back to life and flashing over to me in panic.
Surprise!
It was weird, coming upstairs to hear music coming from the end of the hallway. She�d opened all the windows in my rehearsal room, letting in the summer breeze while she sat cross-legged in the middle of the floor. Completely oblivious to her surroundings though her eyes were wide open, I�d stood in the door, leaning against the wall while I watched her play a song I�d never heard, one of the straps of her tank top slipping down her arm with each stroke of the strings.
Her cheeks flamed as she stared up at me, biting her lip in that nervous way she had. Smirking slightly, I walked into the room and sat on the bench in front of the piano that I still have no clue to its origins. Leaning forward, we were almost on the same eye level, hers still a little lower than mine.
�I didn�t realize you were here. You� surprised me.�
Her voice was soft, but she�d just said the longest string of words to me since she�d gotten here that weren�t in anger, so I wasn�t too afraid of how to respond.
�Just got back.�
�How long have you� were you there?�
She returned her attention to the guitar, playing notes at random while her blush reached her ears.
�Not long.�
Long enough to hear everything you just played.
Look back up at me, Kara. Please?
�That�s my guitar.�
Three words and she freaked, her head snapping back up towards me.
�I�m sorry. I shouldn�t have come in here��
She rambled on and on through an unnecessary apology while she put my guitar back in its case and jumped to her tiny, silver toe nail polished, bare feet.
�I�m sorry� I��
She started to leave until I stuck my arm out and grabbed a hold of her waist.
Hitting bare skin.
Instantly, all I want to do is push her on to the floor and get on top of her so I can kiss that innocence out of her.
�Don�t leave. I�m not so paranoid about my guitars. They�re meant to be played.�
I looked up at her profile and ran my hand over her abdomen as she took in a sharp breath.
�Sit back down, Kara.�
She did as told, slow motion movements that seemed as though she was gauging whether it�d be wiser to run.
�Play with the guitar. I don�t mind.�
Looking up at me skeptically, she reached out beside her and opened the case. Never pulling her eyes away from me, she grabbed the guitar and returned it to her lap.
So she takes directions well when caught off guard. That�s good to know.
Now kiss me.
�Cause I�m going to kiss you really soon unless�
�Where did you go? You were supposed to meet us this afternoon to help decide on more music for the reception.�
Damn. A change in subject. I wanted to think more about that entire kissing thing.
I couldn�t go with you this afternoon or I would have hit Mike and broke his nose. Then Angie would hate me and so would you.
�I had some stuff I needed to do.�
Like finding out how to save you.
�Did Mike leave you alone?�
She went back to the guitar, playing the melody of that same song she�d been singing when I walked in.
�Yeah.�
Good. I don�t want to have to shoot him later.
�This morning� last night��
I could barely push the words out with her pretending to focus on her fingers.
�Why do you let them treat you that way?�
*
�Because I can�t stop them.�
It was out of my mouth before I could consider where the statement would turn the conversation.
�But you could��
I rolled my eyes, having heard this �advice� many times before, and changed the melody I�d been playing into an acoustic version of �Enter Sandman.�
�Defend myself? That�s what I was trying to do last night.�
I could feel his eyes burning a hole into the top of my head while the breeze blew strands of loose hair into my face.
This conversation is getting into dangerous territory very quickly. Really dangerous territory.
�That girl� Brittney. She�s a complete bitch. Why don�t you scream back at her? Insult her without apologizing afterwards? That might be more effective.�
I could hear the pleading tone in his voice, the desperate need he had to understand what was going on.
And the words came out in hopes of alleviating that need in his voice. I didn�t even consider the added questions or other effects they might cause.
�Because I have to be nice to her. She�s my stepsister, Nick. If I�m not, the next thing you know, she�s told �daddy� and I�m being bitch slapped down a flight of stairs.�
*
What?!!
Her sister?! Bitch slapped down a flight of stairs?!
I thought I�d imagined the words they�d been so quiet until she hit a nasty cord and stopped, turning back to me with a cold angry look in her eyes.
�I have no other option, Nick.�
Her voice broke and she set her jaw, scowling at me. It made me wonder if those circles I�d seen under her eyes last night were from lack of sleep or actually fading bruises from black eyes.
Sliding off of the bench, I landed on my knees in front of her and cupped her face in my hands. Confusion clouded my mind when she jerked away.
�Don�t, Nick.�
Don�t.
She keeps saying that to me.
But I can�t help it! I love you!
�Why not?�
Kara shook her head and sat the guitar on the floor next to her. When I reached for her again, she pulled away and stood up.
�I don�t want to spend the next week crying in front of you.�
But�
�It�s obvious you need to cry and talk to someone. I want it to be me. I don�t care��
�Well, I do!�
Whoa. She yelled at me.
Wrapping her arms around herself, perhaps to lend herself a false sense of security, she stepped to the other side of the room and stared at the ocean from one of the opened windows. Her entire body was shaking. Whether it was from anger, embarrassment, or fear, I wasn�t sure.
�Go take off your makeup.�