Part 432
While Howie and Sarah were in the bathroom, Kevin and Lynne were just outside the door. Lynne was leaning against the wall watching as Kevin paced nervously. There had to be more to his relationship with Sarah for him to be this nervous but what? Becca had said they were just really good friends and he’d helped Howie and Sarah through some rough times but that couldn’t POSSIBLY be it.
Being bold, Lynne asked, "Kevin, is there something between you and Sarah that I should know about?"
Kevin stopped and looked at Lynne. "Why do you ask?"
"Well, last night, the way you two looked at each other. She seemed upset by something you said and now, you’re pacing like an expectant father."
Inside the bathroom, Howie and Sarah heard the conversation and stopped. Howie whispered, "We need to wait in here, ‘Angel’."
"What are we gonna do? They could be a while."
Howie grinned as he nuzzled her neck and wrapped his arms around her. Against her skin, he said, "You REALLY have to ask?"
Sarah smiled as she ran her hands across his arms. "You’re SO bad!"
"No, insatiable because I have a sexy wife."
Outside, Lynne waited for Kevin to answer. He looked at her, her jaw set determined to know the truth right here and now. Here it was, on the table. He had known it would eventually come up and he was prepared. He went to her now and took her hands in his.
"Lynne, there’s A LOT about Sarah and Howie’s relationship that I can’t tell you right now simply because we don’t have the time but last year, during the summer, they had some major problems."
"They had problems?" Lynne couldn’t imagine what Kevin was saying to be true. Was he lying to her? No, he couldn’t be because Becca had said the same thing.
Kevin smiled, "I know. It’s hard to imagine Howie and Sarah ever having problems but they did. Anyway, AJ and I were there for both of them. Sarah cried on my shoulder quite a bit and we became extremely close, best friends. Before they got things straight though, Sarah got pregnant."
"By you?"
This lie is to protect you, Lynne. I hope one day, when you know the truth that you’ll understand and forgive me, thought Kevin. He swallowed hard. "No, Sarah and I never had that kind of relationship. Oh, she slept with me but that’s all. I held her many nights as she cried herself to sleep."
Sarah trembled hearing Kevin. It wasn’t all a complete lie. She had cried herself to sleep, every night that she and Howie were apart, and many of those nights, Kevin had held her too.
Howie whispered, "Are you okay?"
Sarah nodded her head.
"Howie was the father."
"But you said…"
"They were still seeing each other, sorta…just not living together. She had moved out when they started having problems. When the trouble DID start, Sarah started purging."
"She was bulimic?"
"Yeah, and last October was a living hell for her…and Howie. She was my date for the surprise birthday party Howie threw for me at ‘Tabu’ and while we were there, the two of them got into it pretty bad, in front of all our friends. Howie had started drinking heavily when their trouble started and he was drunk that night. Sarah broke it off with him completely because he got into a fight with AJ and embarrassed her pretty bad. Two days later, I found her throwing up. That’s when she told me about the baby."
"WOW! It must have been hard for her."
"It was and it only got worse. She started hanging out with AJ pretty regularly and they partied hard."
"I remember seeing pictures on the internet of Sarah with AJ but I never put the two together. If she was pregnant, why was she partying so hard though?"
"Her way of trying to deal with what was going on with her and Howie. She blamed herself for their problems. About a week before Halloween though, I confronted her. She was losing weight, not sleeping, and she looked like hell. That’s when I found out about the bulimia. I had taken her home to fix her some dinner and afterwards, I caught her in the bathroom making herself throw up. I convinced her to get help and to tell Howie. I also agreed to stay with her until she could tell him everything."
"What about Becca? Did she know all this?"
"She knew Sarah was pregnant, but she couldn’t say anything because she found out by accident. Halloween night, Sarah was going to tell Howie everything after the party at the Youth Center only she never made it to the party. Becca went to find her at their house and found her in a pool of blood. When we got there, it was too late to save the baby and Sarah almost died that night. She would have if Becca hadn’t gone back to find her. It scared all of us."
"I can imagine," whispered Lynne seeing the fear in Kevin’s eyes as he remembered that night.
Kevin wiped a tear from his cheek. "It brought Howie and Sarah that much closer together and they worked things out. She told him everything once she had the D & C and had gotten some sleep. Howie wouldn’t leave her and they had to practically throw the rest of us out of the hospital. This pregnancy means a lot to all of us because of that. I wanted you to understand my relationship with Sarah, Lynne, and I don’t want you to feel threatened by it. She’s my best friend and yeah, I love her but it’s YOU I want to be with."
Lynne was at a loss for words as Kevin moved closer to her. He cupped her face in his hands as he dipped down to kiss her. Their lips met in a tender first kiss, so soft and loving. Lynne’s hands wound in his long hair to hold on.