Ang and Katelin knocked on the door of Nick's house on Sunday afternoon for the barbecue. "Hello,” Jane greeted, opening the front door. “You must be Angela and Katelin. Come on in. I've heard so much about you guys."
"All good, I'm assuming." Katelin said sarcastically. She was positive Nick had told his mother what a total bitch he thought she was.
Jane grabbed each of the hands and ushered them inside. "Don't worry about it. My son can be a real jerk sometimes."
"More like all the time," Katelin mumbled under her breath, earning an elbow in the gut from Ang as they followed Mrs. Carter out to the back deck. Brian spotted them and made his way over. "Well if it isn't my two favorite women."
"Hey Bri!" Kate greeted, rolling her eyes at his cheesiness. Brian kissed her on the cheek and then turned to his girlfriend. The two quickly became engrossed with each other so Katelin began to mingle.
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Brian wrapped his arms around Ang's waist and kissed her gently. She sighed. Brian pulled back and looked at her in the eye. "What's wrong? You seem kind of out of it."
Ang shrugged. "I'm just worried about Kate. It's Mother's Day and she really misses her mom. On top of that, I think she's starting to feel left out. She's the youngest and all of us girls have someone."
Brian rubbed her shoulders comfortingly. "Baby, you can’t always worry about her. She’s a big girl. She can take care of herself.”
“I know,” Ang sighed. “It’s just that…as much as her father tries to control her life, I know she really misses being there with him. She’s never really been away from home for so long. And I’m just worried about her."
Brian pulled her close again. "She's so lucky to have you as a friend, Ang."
She kissed the top of his nose. "And I'm very lucky to have you. Who knew Brian Littrell would be the sweetest guy in the world and he's all mine."
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Krista walked towards where Aj, Howie, and Christine were sitting. Aj reached out and pulled her onto his lap. "Where have you been all my life?"
"I was over there talking to Nick’s sister,” Krista giggled. “Why? Did you miss me?"
"You know it,” He whispered, quietly in her ear before snaking his tongue out and capturing her ear lobe.
Howie stood up, dragging Christine with him. "Well, that's our cue. See ya two later."
Aj and Krista waved distractedly as they walked away. "Why don't we blow this joint and go finish this at my place?" He suggested.
Krista giggled and lightly pushed him away. "As tempting as that sounds, McLean, we can't just leave. That would be rude to the Carters. You can keep your hormones in check for a few more hours."
"You're no fun, you know that?" AJ pulled away and crossed his arms over his chest, pouting.
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"Yo! Carter!" Ang called. All seven of them turned to look at her. She giggled and pointed to Nick. "That one." "What Perera?" Nick questioned, strolling over towards her.
"Do you know where Katelin is?" She asked.
"No,” He replied, rolling his eyes. “And I don't give a shit either."
"You're a real sweet guy, you know that Carter?" She scoffed at him. He could be a real prick sometimes.
"I try." He grinned, as she stomped away from him.
Aj walked up behind him. "With that attitude you'll be out two thousand bucks pretty fucking quick." He whispered, quiet enough so no one that wasn’t supposed to would hear them.
"Remind me again why I let you talk me into this?" Nick groaned. Aj laughed as he walked away. Nick turned around and looked out at the ocean. He spotted Katelin sitting down on the beach by herself. "Oh well. It's now or never."
Katelin didn't even flinch as she heard footsteps approaching. The tears silently rolled down her cheeks. Suddenly, she heard Nick's voice. "Are you okay?" She wiped her tears with the back of her hand. "Go away, Carter."
"Whatever!” He cried, expaserated, as he throws his hands up in the air. “I came down here to be nice. Next time I'll make sure I think twice before I do that." He went to walk away when he heard her speak softly "I'm sorry." He stopped suddenly. He could've sworn he had heard her apologize. "What?"
"I'm sorry,” she sighed. “I'm just not in the best of moods."
"Are you ever?" He mumbled.
Katelin ignored him and kept staring out at the ocean. They both remained quiet for a minute before Katelin spoke up. "Your family's really great." Nick was slightly taken aback. For the first time since he had met her she wasn't trying to pick a fight with him. She looked up at him. "You're really lucky, you know that?" Nick nodded and cautiously sat down next to her. He wasn't sure how to take her sudden mood swing. "I wish I had that," she sighed, regretfully.
"I'm sure your family is great too," he told her, glancing over towards her.
She laughed bitterly. "My family consists of my father, who works himself to death and spends more time with his lawyers than with his own daughter. I talk to his secretary more than I talk to him." Both were silent for a few minutes. Nick glanced at Katelin out of the corner of his eye. She had tears rolling down her already tear-stained cheeks. He tentatively scooted closer to her. "I miss my mom," she whispered, her voice shaking.
Nick felt himself moving even closer towards her. "Do you want to talk about it?”
"You know, I've never talked about it with anyone,” she told him. “Not even Ang."
"Why not?” He asked. “I bet you'd feel a lot better if you did."
"My father won't allow it,” Katelin shrugged. “No one's allowed to talk about her."
Nick's eyes widened. He couldn't believe Mr. Taylor wouldn't want to keep his wife's memory alive. At least for the sake of his daughter. He put his hand on her shoulder, genuinely concerned, not really even thinking about what he was about to do. "You can talk to me about it, if you want. I can be a good listener."
"My mom met my dad when she was seventeen.” She began telling her story, barely even hesitating. She didn’t even think about the fact that this was Nick and he was her sworn enemy. Yet there she went. Pouring her heart out. “She was dancing in The Nutcracker for the New York City Ballet. My father was twenty-five at the time and had just started working on Wall Street. They started dating and a year later, they got married. My grandparents weren't very excited about it because he was so much older but my parents really loved each other and everyone understood that." She paused for a second to stare out at the ocean. "I was born a year later. My mom had been told she'd never have kids but I was a miracle." She smiled slightly. "At least that's what they always told me. Anyway, I had a nanny but my mom was always a big part of raising me. She didn't want Isabelle, my nanny, to be more of a mother to me than she was." Katelin paused again and starting sifting the sand through her fingers.
Nick realized she was crying again and carefully put his arm around her. "What happened to her?" Nothing could've prepared him for her next statement. She spoke softly. So soft that Nick could barely hear her. "She was murdered."
His eyes widened in shock. "What?"
She nodded. "I was out with my dad. He had some benefit to go to and I went with him because my mom wasn't feeling well. They watched us leave and broke in through the service entrance. She was stabbed four times. They still haven't found him. Lucinda, our cook, found her laying on the kitchen floor." Katelin could barely speak now, she was sobbing so hard. Nick pulled her close and held her while she cried. Finally her sobs quieted down and she pulled away. She tossed a small, grateful smile in his direction while wiping her eyes. "Thanks Nick. You're right. I do feel a little better after talking about it.”
"Did Katelin Taylor just tell me that I was right?" He joked, attempting to lighten the mood.
She playfully punched him on the arm. "Don't get used to it, Carter. I'm feeling generous today."
Nick stood up and offered his hand to her. "Come on. Let's get back to the party before people start to wonder where we are." Katelin took his hand and allowed him to pull her up as they walked back up to the house, hand-in-hand.