Isabella got to the airport and found Cassandra with no problems. They drove back in total silence. As Isabella pulled into the guys' driveway, Cassandra decided to speak.
"So have you talked to A.J. yet? Yourself?"
"Yeah." Isabella turned the car off and told Cassandra what had happened.
Isabella began crying and slammed her head on the steering wheel. The horn shrieked and Cassandra saw A.J. running out of the house so she slipped into the backseat so she wouldn't be seen.
"What's the problem?" A.J. asked trying hard to sound concerned. Isabella slowly lifted her head up. She looked at where Cassandra was hiding and sighed in relief.
"Nothing."
"Well then why are you crying?"
"Well, my ex-boyfriend cheated on me, twice. I wanted him back and I wanted to trust him, but I just couldn't. Without trust, there is nothing and I have no trust for him, so therefore, there is nothing between us."
"Well maybe if you tried believing him, you would see the truth."
"I did try, I tried very hard."
"No you didn't, otherwise you would be with him now."
"No I wouldn't. I would be alone, regretting that I ever left him, but to scared to take him back. I left with something to look forward to."
"Oh yeah, like what?"
"A new future and relationship." A.J. walked back inside and up to his room. "Cass?" Isabella whispered out to Cassandra.
"I'm here," Cassandra answered.
"Come on, let's go, before anyone else comes out to greet us or me."
"Okay, let's go."
Cassandra and Isabella got out of the car. So no one would suspect two people were in the car, they opened and closed their doors at the same time. They ran into the girls' house. Isabella brought Cassandra up to her room.
"You should stay with me in my room tonight."
"What about Nicole? And Emalia?"
"Oh Nicole will be at Jonathan's for a while, I'm sure. Emalia, well, you know the rest."
"What about my stuff in the car?"
"I'll get it," said Isabella. "I have to bring Kevin's car keys back to him anyway. Stay here, I will be right back." Isabella went back to the car and opened the trunk, got Cassandra's bag, and was about to run the keys into Kevin but she ran into Brian first. "Would you do me a big a favor and give these to Kevin?"
"Yeah sure. Do you know what's wrong with A.J.?"
"You will have to ask him, I'm in a hurry. Bye!" said Isabella dashing back into the house before Brian could ask her anymore questions. She ran Cassandra's stuff up to her room. "Honey, I'm home!"
"Have fun dear?" Cassandra said laughing. "Okay, let's be quiet now. All I need is someone finding me here before the time is right. It will mess everything up!"
"Oh yeah, sorry. I forgot."
"Well don't forget again."
The next morning, there was a knock at Isabella's bedroom door.
"Isabella! It's Mercedes, can I come in?" Cassandra bolted under the bed.
"Go right ahead." Mercedes walked in carrying the cordless phone in her hand.
"It's Austin, do you want to talk to him?" Mercedes asked, she wanted to make sure that she did.
"Ask him if it's important," Isabella demanded. Mercedes asked him what was requested.
"He said that he is on his cell phone and it's an extreme emergency," Mercedes repeated.
"Okay I'll talk to him, but if you don't mind, I would like to talk in privacy," Isabella said, trying to act like she really didn't want to talk to him, but inside she really did.
"Yeah, here is the phone. If you need me, I'll be downstairs making breakfast, all right?" Mercedes said cautiously.
"Okay, but I went to the guys' house early this morning and Brian was making breakfast for us so why don't you head on over and I'll meet you there," Isabella insisted. She had to get Mercedes as far away as possible.
"Oh, Brian is making breakfast for all of us? Oh how sweet, but Brian can't cook at all by himself. I better go quick before our breakfast, turns into blackfast!" Mercedes and Isabella giggled then Mercedes left her room, and ran out to the guys' house.
"Austin? Are you still there," Isabella checked. Since he was on a cell phone it was all fuzzy and was hard to hear him.
"Yeah I'm here. Is she gone yet?"
"Yes, she's gone."
"Is Cassandra there yet?"
"Maybe. Why?"
"I would like to talk to her."
"Um, hold on." Isabella put Austin on hold then looked under the bed and said, "He wants to talk to you."
"Me?" Cassandra said shocked.
"No the other sister under my bed."
"Ha ha, very funny." Cassandra got up and took the phone. "What do you want?"
"It's on hold genius," Isabella said.
"Shut up!" Cassandra took it off hold. "What do you want?" Isabella clapped in the background and Cassandra just gave her a look.
"Must you ask?" Austin replied.
"I don't like riddles."
"Yes I know that. I want Isabella as my bride. I know I can treat her with the love and respect she needs."
"Austin, what kind of drugs are you on? She just lost A.J.!"
"She didn't lose him, she gave him up. That's why I'm moving so fast. She needs someone by her side to hold her up."
"Yeah, but-"
"Tell me something. You got the soonest flight here, correct?"
"Yeah."
"Well, you didn't wait for her to get over A.J., did you? You wouldn't let anything get in your way, not even your husband. Well I am doing the same and I am not going to let A.J. get in the way."
"Hmm, I see what you mean."
"I have to go, this stupid phone is dying on me."
"Yeah, bye." Cassandra hung up the phone.
Once Nick woke up that morning, he went downstairs and had a glass of water. His mind began to drift.
"Hmm, I wonder what Julie is doing right now?" Nick stood still for a second, then smacked himself. "I can't go back to Julie, I love Cassie too much."
He forced himself to walk back up the stairs and crawl back into bed. He fell asleep for an hour or so, but then woke up in shock. He sat up in his bed and stared at the wall. He kicked off the covers and jumped out of bed. "Oh my God, I am still married!" he yelled. He looked down at his hands. "My ring! Where is my ring?" he yelled remembering when he threw it.
He jumped out of bed and flew down the stairs. When he reached the kitchen, he dropped to his hands and knees and searched the whole kitchen floor. "It must have rolled into another room!" He searched each room on the first floor. "Where did it go? This is all Cassandra's fault, if she hadn't left-" He paused.
He sat down on the floor and leaned against the wall of the living room. "What am I doing?" He sat there stuck in thought. "There must be something I am doing wrong with Cassandra or she would have had a ticket for me today."
Nick just couldn't see anything that he could have possibly done wrong. He got up and went upstairs and sat down on his bed. He glanced at Cassandra's side of the bed and saw a picture on her night stand.
He moved closer to see what it was of. "It's of Cassandra and me. She left it behind, why? It must be some kind of sign." He picked it up, kissed it and ran his fingertips across it. "This is all Lucy and Austin's fa-" He stopped. "I know what's wrong! I am blaming everyone else for my problems! I get it now! It is my fault any of this happened! If I had been a better friend to the guys, I could have talked A.J. out of going back with Lucy again. Then Isabella wouldn't be mad and need Cassandra to go help her. And I should have been a better husband by taking Cassandra home when she wanted to go and Cassie would of have bought me that ticket. And I would still have my wedding ring on my finger. It's all my fault!"
He started laughing, then ran downstairs. On his way out the front door, he stepped on something. "If I was being more careful, I wouldn't have stepped on this-" He looked down at what he had stepped on. "My ring!" Nick picked it up and placed it back on his finger and ran outside and screamed at the top of his lungs. "It's all my fault!"
Feeling better, he went back inside and sat down at the kitchen table. "I feel so much better! But, now what am I going to do?"
Isabella took the phone from Cassandra's hands.
"Remember when you said you were going to marry Austin but you were only saying it and didn't really mean it?" Isabella nodded her head. "Well you might really be getting married, soon."
"Oh yeah, to who?" Isabella asked while dialing a number on the phone.
"Austin-" Cassandra paused. "Who are you calling?"
"Brian, is that you cooking in the kitchen?" Mercedes called out to Brian as she walked through the door.
"Beautiful! Good morning, baby!" Brian answered. He walked over to her and settled his hands around her waist and pulled her close. He kissed her longingly. "Now that is what I call a good morning kiss!"
"Well, you need to rinse better. I could taste your toothpaste on my tongue."
"Oh yeah?" He kissed her again. "Will you finish rinsing for me?"
"Oh gosh, I don't think so." They rubbed their noses together. Brian inched his hands down past her waist. He pressed his forehead against Mercedes' forehead and kissed her quickly twice.
"Aw, how cute! Although, breakfast is burning," Kevin said laughing.
"Oh shoot!" Brian turned around and turned down the oven. Mercedes grabbed a piece of celery out of the fridge and dipped it in peanut butter. She took a bite. "Can I have a small bite?" Brian asked her after finishing the breakfast.
"Yep!" Kevin answered for Mercedes in a high pitched voice. Mercedes gave him the death look and Kevin just stick out his tongue at her, just like she always does.
"That's it! Prepare to die!" Mercedes said and shoved the celery in Brian's mouth. She walked over to Kevin. She tried smacking him, but he blocked every swing. They both started laughing, but Mercedes didn't give up. She kept on swinging, and Kevin kept on blocking.
Brian snuck up behind her and gently picked her up and carried her to the other end of the kitchen. At first Mercedes screamed, but it ended up in laughter.
"Let's get married!" Brian laughed.
"Again?" Mercedes yelled while continuing to laugh.
"Like, again and stuff? Whatever!" Kevin said trying to mock Mercedes.
"Who are you calling?" Cassandra repeated.
"Nick," Isabella replied.
"You are not!" Cassandra said.
"Quick hide! Someone is coming."
"Isabella, who are you talking to?" Emalia said opening the door to Isabella's room.
"Nick? Hold on a sec," Isabella looked up at Emalia. "Do you mind?"
"Sorry! Tell Cass and Nick I said hi."
"I will, breakfast is being served next door. Get everyone else over there, k?"
"Yeah, what about you?"
"I am on my way." Emalia left Isabella's room, and went downstairs to gather everyone over at the guys' house.
Cassandra came out from hiding. "Cass, Emalia says hi!" They both laughed.
"Is Nick really on the phone?" Cassandra asked, stopping laughing.
"Yes again!" Brian said.
"What drugs are you on today? Why?"
"I'm not sure what kind of drugs, I think they're the kind that make you forget, but I forget if they are or not. But why not?"
"We are already married, happily."
"It would be fun though."
"Yeah but we just got married, and we have a baby on the way. I think that we should wait a little bit before considering another marriage."
"Okay, I guess I can wait, as long as you will make me another one of those celery sticks while I put the food on the table?"
"Sounds good to me!" Mercedes said smiling, she kissed Brian once, and headed back to the fridge to get another piece of celery.
"Oh yeah, Nick? It's Isabella. I saw A.J. making out with Lucy and I wanted my sister here with me. Don't feel badly against her, it was my fault, and it was my decision to ask her to come. And it was her decision to come, and as I heard it, she asked you to come to. Are you coming home?"
"Home? No."
"Do you miss her at all?"
"Do I miss her? After Cass left, I went nuts! I miss her completely and I realize that everything is my fault, everything that happened was my fault. I let her walk out and I didn't go with her. Everything was my fault, and I want to make it up to her-"
"Well then genius, maybe you should come home!"
"But I can't face her. Not now, not yet."
"Maybe you should keep your vows. Vows are powerful stuff. I believe the refrain said, 'for better or worse, until death do us part.' Now my question is, which one of you died?" There was a pause of silence. "Do I have to draw you a picture? Get your ass home and retrieve your wife!"
Cassandra began to flip out and kept waving her arms telling Isabella to stop where she is. "Okay I'll be there, bye." Isabella hung up the phone. "He will be arriving tomorrow."
"I can't believe you just did that!" Isabella could tell Cassandra was really mad.
"Listen," said Isabella, pulling her sister down onto her bed. "He said he now realises that everything that has happened, was his fault, and he wants to make it up to you."
"Oh, how sweet," Cassandra said, wishing that she was with Nick.
Nick quickly called Cassandra's travel agent, and got lucky with the last reservation for that day. He called Isabella right back just before she and Cassandra walked out the door.
"Isabella it's me."
"Oh hey. What's up?"
"I got an earlier flight then I had expected and I'll be on my way home in just a few hours."
"Oh yeah?"
"Yeah, don't tell Cassandra when I'm coming, or that this is me calling right now, okay?"
"All right, good bye."
"Who was that?" Cassandra asked her.
"Oh it was just Austin."
"Oh, whatever." Isabella and Cassandra walked out of her room, down the stairs, and over to the guys' house.
When Isabella and Cassandra walked in, all of the conversation stopped. Mercedes gasped and ran over to Cassandra.
"Mercedes?"
"Cassandra?" They both shrieked and hugged each other and started laughing.
"What are you doing here, Mercedes?"
"We came to visit! What are you doing here?"
"I came here for Isabella!"
"Where's Nick?" Cassandra's smile faded. "What's wrong?"
"Oh nothing," said Cassandra. "Um, Nick will be on a plane coming here tomorrow."
"Why didn't he come with you?" Cassandra leaned over to Mercedes and whispered her response.
"I don't want to say the real reason so I'll tell you later. I don't want everyone to know." Mercedes barely nodded her head. "Oh, they didn't have enough reservations so Nick decided to come tomorrow instead."
"Oh, what do you mean for Isabella?"
Hearing that, A.J. stopped eating and left the room. Isabella watched him leave.
"Wait!" Isabella cried. A.J. turned around. Isabella said nothing, so he continued out of the kitchen. When he was out of sight Isabella put her head in her hands and started bawling her eyes out. Mercedes and Cassandra jumped by her side. "Why can't I trust him? Why?" Isabella screamed then ran out the front door.
"I'd better go," Cassandra announced. "I'll see you all later." She turned and chased after her sister.
"Excuse me, but what the hell just happened?" Mercedes questioned. Everyone stayed silent. "A.J. get over here right now!" Mercedes screamed. A.J. came running into the kitchen from the living room.
"What did I do?" A.J. asked.
"What the hell happened between you and Isabella?" Brian said standing up and walking up to Mercedes. He put his arms around her. A.J. sat down and explained his side and Isabella's side of the story.
When he finished, Emalia and Mercedes dashed out the door in search of Isabella and Cassandra.
"Where could they have gone to?" Emalia asked Mercedes.
"Who knows. Listen, you walk around this house, and I will walk around our house," Mercedes replied.
"Okay!"
"Oh and Emalia? If you stay all perky, I will shove a stick up your ass."
"Oh okay, whatever!"
Emalia headed around the other end other house. Mercedes ran to the girls' house. When she got towards the back of the house, she heard Isabella sobbing. When she got around the corner of the house, she saw Cassandra sitting down with Isabella's head on her lap.
"Hey, how is she doing?" Mercedes asked slowly walking over to them, and sitting down on the grass.
"Not good. Not good at all," Cassandra answered. "I think she has calmed down now though." Cassandra looked down at Isabella and noticed her eyes were closed. "Isabella?" Cassandra got no answer. "I think she's asleep."
"She is. I will go get Brian to put her in the house," Mercedes said and ran to got get Brian. She got in the house, and Kevin was sitting on the couch watching cartoons. "Where is everyone?"
"They took A.J. out to try to find some proof that he didn't cheat on Isabella. I think that Emalia went with them because she's not back yet."
"Then you will have to do," Mercedes said and grabbed Kevin's hand and dragged him out the door and over to where she left Cassandra with Isabella. "Can you bring Isabella into the house with out waking her up?"
"Sure." Kevin lifted Isabella off of Cassandra and carried her into the house. It made Cassandra think of the times that Nick carried her when she was asleep, but she snapped out of it quickly. Mercedes and Cassandra followed right behind Kevin. They opened the front door for him, and he carried her upstairs and delicately laid her on her bed. He stroked his fingers through Isabella's hair.
"She's so peaceful when she is sleeping, isn't she?"
"Yeah, she acts a little less blonde, and she's actually quiet!" said Cassandra. Her and Mercedes laughed and started to walk out of the room.
"Come on let's go," said Mercedes.
"You two go ahead, I am on my way," Kevin insisted.
Cassandra and Mercedes shrugged, and made their way back over to the guys' house.
"You are too good for the pain A.J. has put you through," said Kevin. He kissed the top of Isabella's head and gave her a slight hug. "Sweet dreams." Kevin tip-toed out of the room, took one last look at Isabella, then slowly closed the door. He ran as fast as he could to catch up with the girls. As he ran out of the house, the girls were just walking into the guys' house. Kevin got inside, and sat down with Cassandra and Mercedes to watch some more cartoons.
It was late, around seven o'clock. Storm clouds had covered the sky so it was dark out, and eerie. Still, Mercedes, Cassandra and Kevin were on the couch watching television. The rest of the group wasn't back yet.
Suddenly, the front door flew open and Emalia tumbled into the doorway. Her face was thrashed and she was bleeding from every point on her face. She fell to the ground and began to scream horrified.
"Help me, please! Oh God!" Emalia cried. "It was horrible! I turned the corner, and, a-a-and-and-boom!" Kevin rushed over to her and looked at her. Emalia began to whimper. "I guess that I just woke up o-or something-"
"I'll go see what it was," Kevin said.
"No!" Cassandra and Mercedes yelled together.
"No, you can't! Whatever did this to Emalia, can do this to you," Cassandra continued. She and Mercedes ran to Emalia and put her on the couch. Mercedes ran to get some tissues from the kitchen. She dampened them a little, and brought them back. She sat down next to Emalia, and started to gently blot her face.
"Oh no!" Kevin yelled.
"What?" Cassandra said worried.
"We left Isabella next door alone all day," Kevin said darting to the door. "I have to go get her. Lock all the doors and windows. No matter what happens, stay together. Remember that if nothing else. I will know on the door, three times. Open it then and only then, but you will have to be quick."
"I will open the door and make sure we stay together," said Cassandra sitting down next to Emalia and Mercedes.
"Okay, lock this door behind me," Kevin said. Cassandra got up and walked over next to the door.
"Be careful sweetie," Emalia called after him.
"I will. I love you Emalia," Kevin said and walked out. Cassandra quickly closed and locked the door. They heard something upstairs, but paid no attention to it.
"Emalia I know you probably don't want to talk about it, but what happened when you turned that corner?"
Kevin bolted into the girls' house.
"If anything has happened to her, I'll only blame myself." When he got inside he heard his heart beating very fast. He began to feel weak and realized that he was beginning to become horrified. "I must go get Isabella, I can't let her down." He ran to the stairs. Then he slowly walked up the stairs cautiously. He finally got to Isabella's bedroom door. He threw it open and ran in. He began to shake Isabella to wake her up. "Isabella? Get up!" She opened her eyes and glanced at Kevin.
"Kevin? What are you doing here?" Isabella whispered.
"You have to get up. Some really strange things are happening and we need to stay together." He picked up Isabella and began to carry her down the stairs. Isabella was so confused, she couldn't understand how she got in the house in the first place, and why Kevin was carrying her back out.
"Put me down, I can walk unless I broke my legs while sleeping, I am fine." Kevin put her down at the bottom of the stairs. The phone rang and they both stared at the phone as it continued to ring. "What time is it?"
"A little after seven, why?"
"Because if it isn't at least eight o'clock then no one should be calling."
"How do you know?"
"Because you know where everyone is, right?"
"Yeah, your point being?"
"Nick said that he would call me between eight and nine. No one else would call here because we are always at your house, unless-"
"Unless what?"
"Someone knew we were here."
"Well then, answer it." Isabella walked up to the phone and drew it up towards her ear.
"Hello?"
"Hello Isabella."
"Well," started Emalia, "I turned the corner and someone attacked me with a bat and a knife. It was so fast I couldn't see who it was." Mercedes continued to whip the blood off Emalia's face. "But it was still light out, so I must have been unconscience."
"How ever did you escape?" Mercedes asked.
"The person must have dropped something because I heard something hit the ground. So I got up and ran. I am glad they didn't chase me because I began to feel faint, and here I am now. A long time later." Emalia put on a face as if she had just seen a ghost. Cassandra and Mercedes turned around and on the wall was written: Prepare to Die!
"Quick, we have to get out of here!" Cassandra protested.
"We can't, what if Kevin comes back?" Emalia asked.
"We will just have to unlock the door then," Mercedes said.
"Good thinking Mercedes," Cassandra said walking up to the door. Right before she unlocked the door there was three slow knocks. "Kevin?" There was no answer.
"Don't open it! Don't do it Cass, don't do it!" Emalia got up and began to scream. "Cass, what ever you do, don't open the door!" All of a sudden, a knife went through the door, inches away from Cassandra's face.
Cassandra jumped back and screamed. She ran over to Mercedes and Emalia. They watched the blade pull out of the door. There was another slow three knocks on the door. "Leave us alone!" Emalia screamed, falling to the ground. Then she softly repeated, "Leave us alone."
"Who are you? What do you want?" Isabella said not noticing the voice.
"I want you and all your little friends dead."
"Who the hell is this?" Isabella repeated in a louder voice.
"I am the one who ripped open Emalia's face with a knife and beat her with a bat." Isabella looked at Kevin.
"You killed Emalia?"
"No, but I came close if the stupid bitch didn't escape-"
"Leave my friends out of this, you want me."
"No, I don't think I can do that."
"Leave us alone!"
"I will as soon as everyone you have ever loved, is dead. So you can live and suffer, and know what it feels like."
"No!"
"And you know what? I think I'll start with the closest person to you. I'll start with Cassie." Just then the power went out and the phone went dead. The sky was getting darker with storm clouds, though it was only seven o'clock in the evening.
"They are going to kill Cassandra!" Isabella said then gave out a loud continuous scream. "What are we going to do Kevin, what are we going to do?"
"I don't know Bell." He held her in his arms as she began to cry.
"Who all is next door in that house?"
"Just Cassie, Mercedes, and Emalia."
"Where is everyone else?"
"They went out, but now that I think about it A.J. might still be next door in his room."
"Oh my God! He can't be the one doing this, he just can't be!" Isabella didn't want to believe it, but she knew she put him at the top of her suspect list. "He is the one doing this in revenge."
"Now you can't just suspect A.J. because you think he cheated on you again."
"Well who else would it be? And I saw him cheat on me with Lucy with my own eyes."
"He explained what really happened, believe it or not, but it was the truth!"
"How would you know anyway?"
"I know A.J., I thought you did too."
"I thought the same way until he cheated on me, twice."
"I have to say the first time was a mistake, but do you really think he is stupid enough to do it twice?"
"Who knows." Isabella ran to the door. "Bye."
"No, wait!"
Isabella kept running. When she reached the door to the guys' house, she noticed the knife hole. She began to bang on the door. Cassandra jumped hearing the banging on the door.
"Who is doing this? Why us?" Cassandra cried.
"Cassie! Cassie let me in, quickly!" Isabella yelled.
"Isabella? Isabella, oh my God!" Cassandra ran to the door. "Isabella, is that you?"
"Yes, I am really scared, let me in." Isabella answered. Cassandra opened the door a little, seeing that it was really her sister, she opened the door the rest of the way. They hugged each other and Isabella turned and screamed. "Kevin, hurry up!" After noticing that Kevin was chasing after her. Kevin and Isabella walked in. "So how is Emalia?"
"Come see for yourself," Cassandra said pointing in to the living room. Isabella walked in and gasped.
"Oh Emalia!" Isabella ran over and sat down next to Emalia. Kevin joined Isabella's side. Suddenly they heard a car pull into the driveway. Kevin, Isabella, Mercedes and Cassandra all stood up at the sound, at the same time.
"I will go and see who it is, you all stay together," Kevin announced. Kevin walked over to the window. "It's the rest of the bunch."
"Oh thank God," Isabella said letting out a sigh of relief. Suddenly, A.J. came running down the stairs. He looked at Isabella then at the door.
"Wow, what happened here?" A.J. asked. Isabella stood up and walked outside to greet everyone else. "Did I say something wrong?"
"No A.J., she is just still a little guilty," Cassandra said. She walked over and gave A.J. a hug seeing his eyes filling up with tears. He hugged her back then pulled away and waddled back up the stairs. He stopped about half way up and turned around.
"I wish things were as they were before," A.J. added.
"Oh A.J. we all do," Cassandra said thinking about Nick. She watched him disappear upstairs.