A few days had passed. Mercedes had taken Charity back up to the beach house and told Brian to stay at his house while she cooled down. Brian and Cassandra hadn't seen each other at all and had avoided each other. Meanwhile, Isabella and A.J. had kept Nick well secluded and kept away from Cassandra for a while and were going to let him go today. Emalia still hadn't told Kevin about Everett so Cassandra decided that Kevin had been left in the dark long enough. She walked over to the guys' house and walked up the stairs. She knocked on Kevin's door and expected to find him with Emalia but instead, he was alone reading a book.
"Hey," Cassandra said.
"Hey," Kevin said.
"That book looks familiar."
He looked at the cover then looked down and blushed. "It should. I, uh, took it out of your room. Oh, I hope that you don't mind!"
She laughed. "Of course I don't mind, but I need to talk to you about something."
"Sure, anything. What is it?"
Cassandra walked over and sat down on the bed next to him. "There's no easy way to say this so I'm just going to say it."
"What?"
She took a deep breath. "Emalia has been seeing Everett. And I don't mean as friends. I caught them making out one night. You know, the one at the beach house? That's why I was so anxious to get you inside."
Kevin just stared at her blankly.
"I can't believe that she hasn't told you yet, so swear to me that you won't tell her that I told you!"
Kevin just continued to stare blankly.
"Promise me!"
"I promise," Kevin finally said.
"I think you need to be alone so I'm going to leave now. Please don't be mad at me!"
"Damn it, Cass! How could I be mad at you? You're the only one that's been truthful to me. I know now the people that I can really trust." He looked at her. "Thank you. Thank you." Kevin walked passed Cassandra and out of the room.
"Kevin, wait!" Cassandra called. "Where are you going?"
But Kevin didn't respond. He walked over to the girls' house and tried to find Emalia. He walked into the girls' living room and saw her watching television. He walked over and turned the television off.
"Kevin? What are you doing?" Emalia said.
He walked over to her, picked up her hand, and slid the ring off of her finger.
"What are you doing?"
He held the ring in front of his face. "If you want your ring back, tell me that it's not true."
"Tell you that what's not true?"
"Don't act like you don't know what I'm talking about. Everett."
Cassandra, she thought. "I-I was going to tell you."
"When? Huh? When we were fucking married? What is wrong with you?"
"I don't know."
"That's not a good enough answer for me." He put the ring in his pocket. "You want him so bad, you can have him. Good bye, Emalia." Kevin turned and began to walk towards the door.
"Kevin! No, you can't leave!"
"Oh yes I can. Just sit, Emalia. Sit down. Don't follow me." Kevin walked back over to his house and found Cassandra waiting for him in the door way.
"Where did you just go?" she asked.
Kevin held up the ring. "This is where."
Cassandra gasped. "Oh, no! You didn't! How could you?"
"How could I? How could she do this to me? What other choice did I have?" Kevin ran up the stairs and headed towards his room and she followed him. "Cassie, I can't handle this life anymore. I have to get out of here," Kevin yelled from his bedroom door.
"No! You have to be strong! You cannot let Emalia destroy your spirit like this," said Cassandra, running down the hall and into his room. "Please, Kevin, I need you now! You are all I have left. Please don't leave. I beg you!" Cassandra fell to the ground in tears. Kevin ran to her and lifted her up off the ground. "It's Nick. It's like he is all around me, but I-I can't see him!"
"He is dead, Cassie. He is dead. It's time to move on. He wouldn't want you living in his death." Kevin felt tears welling up in his eyes but fought them back for Cassandra's sake. "Cassie-"
"No, I will never let go. Never!" Cassandra screamed standing up and shaking Kevin off of her. "I wonder why A.J. drove that knife into his heart. Huh? To be with Isabella? Did it work? Maybe I will try, so I could be like A.J. with my body hidden in some closet somewhere. Oh yeah, that's cool!" Cassandra was screaming as loud as she could. She flung around and ran right through Nick on her way out of Kevin's bedroom. She ran into the living room and threw herself on the couch. Nick ran after her while Kevin continued to pack up his stuff. "I am sorry, A.J. I am so sorry," Cassandra whispered. "I didn't mean it, I just wish that Nick was still alive." Cassandra looked out the window into the sky.
Nick sat down next to her. "It's okay. I am here," Nick whispered back, brushing his fingers across her face.
"It's like I can feel you and hear you but I can't see you. Why?" Cassandra began to whimper. "Why? Wait, Ireland. Oh my God. I almost completely forgot. Kevin wants to get away? I have the perfect idea."
"Cassie? Honey, what are you planning?"
Kevin came down and put his suitcase on the floor. "I thought I would give you a second to calm down." Kevin sat next to her.
She looked at him then hugged him with all of her might. Not pulling away, Cassandra sat there and said, "Kevin, go on. Get out of here. You are right. Howie is sometimes around and I can take care of myself."
Kevin pulled her tighter. "Are you sure?"
Cassandra pulled away. "Yes, I am sure." She gave him a quick kiss and last hug then ran to the door. "Wait here." She ran over to her house, up to her room and to her nightstand. Nick was already up there waiting for her. "Shit, where is that other ticket?"
"I hid it," Nick said, but he made sure that she couldn't hear him. "You can't go with him. I know that you want to, but something is telling me that you shouldn't be going on this trip. I'm sorry, Sweetie."
But she still couldn't hear him. "Where is that damn ticket?" She shrugged and ran back over to the other house. "Here," she said to Kevin. "Here is a ticket to Ireland. Take it and get out of here. It was for Nick and I to go visit Izzy and A.J.'s house there, but we never got to it and I couldn't now. Strangely enough, I can't find both of the tickets, so you can have mine. Here are the keys to the house. Now promise me that as soon as you get your life back together, you will call me."
"But of course." Kevin took the tickets and the keys and grabbed his suitcase and walked to the door. He looked back at Cassandra. "Hey, thank you. And would you say good bye to Emalia and everyone for me? Also, don't tell them where I am until I call you."
"No problem. I sure am going to miss you, Kevin."
"Cass?"
"Yeah?"
"I can feel them all around us, too. Isabella, A.J. and Nick. All of them. They are watching over us." With that, Kevin turned and ran out to his car. He waved good bye and drove away.
Cassandra closed the door. "Wow, they really are watching us," Cassandra said out loud to herself. "Cool." After all of that yelling, Cassandra decided that she should try and get some sleep, so she headed upstairs.
Isabella and A.J. stood and watched in amazement. Isabella turned to A.J. "We should follow Kevin."
"What about Nick?"
"He can watch Cassandra and make sure that she stays out of trouble."
"But what about him? I thought you didn't want him around Cassandra?"
"I changed my mind and for some strange reason, I think we can trust him."
"I don't know-"
"Go," Nick said, walking up behind them. "Go, quickly."
"Okay, bye Nick. We will be back as soon as possible." Isabella gave Nick a hug and returned to A.J.'s side.
"I'll be fine," Nick said. "I am with Cassandra."
Isabella and A.J. disappeared onto the plane. They watched Kevin sit down all alone at a window seat. Suddenly, he broke down uncontrollably into tears. He quickly stopped himself and forced himself to go to sleep.
Kevin arrived in Ireland after his eight hour flight. He called for a cab on his cell phone then sat on a chair to relax. He thought of Cassandra and how she was supposed to come with him. Now he wished that she was there and suddenly he felt all alone with no one to turn to. Cassandra was the only one he could talk to after Isabella died. He could always talk to Isabella and she was always willing to listen. Kevin felt his tears coming back. He missed Isabella more than anything. You never really appreciate something until it's gone and then it's to late, Kevin thought to himself. I never got to thank her... Kevin felt his warm, salty tears began to slowly creep down the side of his face. He put his hands over his face and tried to fight the tears back, but they kept coming. My luggage! He shot up and ran to the baggage claim. He got his suitcase and ran to the front the doors of the airport where he met with a cab. The cab driver took his bag and Kevin got in. When they arrived, Kevin got out and found himself in front of what looked like a mansion.
"Umm...I said 167 Fire Road," Kevin said to the cab driver. "Umm...it's supposed to be a cottage.."
"Well, then you my friend, have a very big cottage because this is Fire Road," the cab driver said as he pulled Kevin's suitcase from the trunk.
"This isn't a road. There's no other houses within miles of here."
"Very good, sir. How do you want to address your house, in the middle of nowhere?"
"No!"
"Well then, welcome. This is 167 Fire Road. Have a nice day!" The cab driver got in his car and drove off.
"Oh, you too. Jerk off!" Kevin opened the doors and walked in. "Wow, this is really cool. Although it looks a lot bigger on the outside than it does on the inside." When Kevin had put his luggage in the master bedroom and had settled in, he decided that he was a little hungry. He walked into the kitchen and started to open the cabinets. He ended up with a box of spaghetti from the pantry and a bottle of sauce in the refrigerator. He made a small, but filling spaghetti dinner and had some ice cream for dessert. He was so overwhelmed from the trip, that as soon as he got into bed he was asleep.
That evening, Coreene walked out to the pool and saw Mercedes sitting on the edge. "What's wrong?" she asked.
"Oh...nothing," Mercedes said, quickly drying her tears.
"Is this about Brian?" Coreene asked, sitting down next to Mercedes.
"Maybe-"
"Why are you so upset? I thought you worked things out?"
"He said that he wouldn't!" Mercedes screamed. "He promised me that he would never make me cry or ever break my heart. This is what happened with Eric. All the reasons that I didn't want to get married, they've come back to bite me in the ass."
"He made a mistake. It happens. Why can't you just forgive him?"
"It's not that easy! My husband cheated on me with my best friend who just happens to be my cousin. That is just disgusting. I know that you're going to stick up for Cassie because she's your sister, but don't." Mercedes paused. "I hate being hurt. I don't know what to do."
"I do," said a voice from behind them. They turned around and saw Brian standing there. Mercedes rolled her eyes, stood up and started to walk away. "No! Don't go," Brian pleaded. "Come with me."
"Brian," Mercedes said, "I don't know."
"I do. Just come with me and then after, you can never talk to me again."
Mercedes thought for a moment, then sighed. "Fine." Brian gently took her arm, led her to his car and drove her to a park. When they finally arrived at the park, Brian helped Mercedes out of the car. "What is all of this?" she asked pointing to a table for two, set up in the middle of the park with two white candles set on the table.
"I thought that we would have dinner and talk," Brian said.
"Oh Brian. It's so romantic," Mercedes said and smiled. As soon as she realized that she was smiling at Brian, she stopped.
Brian noticed. "I know that it will take time to get things the way that they were and to have you trust me again."
"That's for sure."
"Sit down. We can order then talk." Mercedes nodded and Brian helped her down into her chair. As soon as he had sat down, he called, "Waiter?" Mercedes tried to cover her eyes so she wouldn't cry.
Coreene walked up to the table dressed in a black and white suit. "Good evening, I'll be your waitress tonight."
Mercedes burst out laughing. "So you were in on this too?"
"Of course!"
"Is he asleep?" Mariah asked as Bobby helped her out of the attic.
"Not for long if you don't shut up. Where is Cassandra?" Bobby whispered.
"I take that as a yes. Well she isn't going to sleep with Kevin, now is she?"
"If you don't shut up-"
"And if I don't what are you going to do?" Mariah said loudly.
Kevin sat up in his bed and paused for a second.
"Now look what you have done," Bobby whispered. "Quickly, to the attic." Quietly, they ran back up into the attic. They got up into the attic just before Kevin got up and saw them. "I hope you are happy, you..." Bobby paused. "Forget it."
"Sorry."
"Shut up, just shut up!" Bobby gave her a lethal look. "We will look for Cassandra tomorrow night since you ruined our chance tonight. Better yet, we should wait two nights just in case he gets suspicious. We can't take any chances. We have come too far now."
"Why can't we just go down in an hour? He will go back to sleep-"
"No. Not now. He has too much on his mind and he is scared of this house. He won't feel safe and comfortable for at least two nights. Let's go to a hotel. In the morning we can come back and follow them."
"When and how are we going to kill them? And why do we have to kill Kevin?"
"Wait and you'll see." Bobby began to pack up his stuff. Stupid Mariah, Bobby thought. She doesn't even suspect that we aren't here to kill Cassie, we are here so I can be with her once again. Will Cassie agree? Or course she will. She is so alone, she will date anyone. Even me. Bobby smiled and climbed out the window with Mariah by his side.
Kevin walked all around the house, finding no clue as to what could have made any kind of noise. He fixed himself a cup of hot chocolate and sat in the living room in silence. Maybe it's just me being paranoid, he thought. No one else is in the house but me. Who am I kidding? I wish Isabella was still here. Or Emalia was still with me and not Everett. Kevin started to think about Emalia and slowly fell asleep.
"What are the specials?" Mercedes asked Coreene, still laughing.
"Well, we have a wide variety of choices for you!" Coreene replied. "You can have a grilled cheese with either American or Cheddar cheese, or peanut butter and jelly."
"Um...peanut butter and jelly, please."
"All righty!" Coreene said, very cheerfully and walked away.
"Mercedes," Brian said, "we need to talk."
"I know."
"Let me go first."
"Oh-"
"I love you. I swear to God that I do. More than anything in the world. When all this stuff happened, it was just a classic case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. I was scared and upset that something was going wrong with us. I started to talk to Cassie. She was there. I thought that I might have fallen for her, but after we kissed, I felt so bad about it and all I could think about was you. We never did anything more than a kiss. Never. It's the truth, we never slept together. What I'm trying to say is, it took someone else to love, to say I don't love them and I love you."
"So you didn't love me when we were getting married? Were you just too afraid to lose me that I had to be yours? I don't understand."
"No, it came out wrong. I swear. I always loved you. Always. But when you went away with Eric, I thought that you were leaving me. I got nervous. I thought you gave up on us."
"I could never give up on us. Never. You cannot just run away everytime you have a rough spot. We are in this together, for better or worse. Remember? We may have made a few mistakes but we'll get over them. One thing I think we should have done is had an extended engagement. But we didn't. We will just work through this I guess."
Brian reached across the table and took her hands. "I love you so much. Thank you for giving me a second chance. I love you so much. Thank you, thank you, thank you!"
"I obviously cannot just let you go. I love you but things are not going to go back to normal right away. We need time."
"Of course."
Just then, Coreene walked back with their sandwiches. "Bon appetite!"
"Thanks, Coreene," Brian said.
"Yeah, thanks," Mercedes agreed.
"Aww. This is so romantic!" Coreene commented.
"Coreene!" Mercedes whined. Mercedes and Brian ate their sandwiches in silence until Mercedes stood up and took Brian's hand. "Let's go for a walk," Mercedes said.
"Okay," Brian agreed and stood up. "Where should we go?"
"Oh, I don't know."
"I have a few ideas."
"Yeah? Maybe I have a few of my own."
Brian turned and looked at Mercedes and she looked back at him. He put his hand on her face and turned it to him and placed his lips on hers. Mercedes didn't pull away because she wanted to kiss her husband. She had been waiting all night to.