Katie quickly showered and changed into a T-shirt and shorts. By the time she was done, she heard a knock on her door. Must be Brian, she thought, slightly upset about meeting his 'best friend'. Katie headed for the door, the feeling of dread weighing on her. Sure enough, it was Brian, beaming and cheerful. Katie couldn't help but smile. He brought her some flowers.

"Rise and shine!" Brian greeted her with a kiss. Katie laughed.

"What brought you here so early this morning?" Katie asked, wondering why Brian was so happy.

"Aw, nothing. Just wanted to know if you would like to have breakfast with me this morning." Brian looked at her, his eyes pleading to her.

"Well," Katie feigned a doubtful expression. "I guess it's Saturday and . .. . I don't really have anything more exciting to do," she said smiling. "I guess I'll go with you."

Brian laughed. "All right, the car's ready to go!"

"But Bri, you don't just give a girl a few minutes to change!" Katie pouted.

"All right, all right. Take your time," Brian said as Katie ran up the stairs. 'We've got lots of time,' Brian thought, determined to get to the bottom of things.

Brian decided that they would have a nice breakfast with a view of the ocean. "Oh Brian, it's beautiful here," Katie cried in awe. They were soon seated. They started their conversation lightly, with Brian asking Katie about her work and plans. Katie smiled through it all and answered him sweetly. But after he felt that he couldn't wait anymore, Brian began to question her about last night.

"Katie?"

"Uh huh?" Katie replied, sensing that things were starting to get intense.

"Could you tell me what was bothering you last night?"

Katie stared dumbly at Brian. She knew this would come up, but she still hadn't thought of anything to tell him, nothing that would be coherent, at least. "I guess . . . um . . . seeing Nick just brought back bad memories about a bad relationship," she fibbed. It wasn't entirely a lie.

"You mean he reminded you of a past boyfriend?" Brian asked, wanting to know more.

"I guess you could say that."

"So you don't know Nick from before. He just looks like someone you knew." Brian had to make sure. If Katie knew Nick, he wanted to know.

Katie didn't know how to answer this. What if Nick had already told Brian that he and Katie had known each other from before? If Katie told Brian that they didn't know each other, he might suspect that she was lying. But she didn't want Brian to know about her relationship with Nick. "Um . . . did he . . . was he uncomfortable with me kind of staring at him last night?" Katie couldn't answer Brian's question until she knew what was going on between him and Nick.

Not knowing that she was stalling, Brian answered, "Well, you did upset him a little. He couldn't sleep last night."

"I'm sorry. Was it my staring that was upsetting him?" Katie asked, wanting to know more.

"Well," Brian didn't know if Katie was stalling, but if he was going to get any answers, he might as well give some. "He said he saw images, disturbing images last night after we left, although he didn't know what they meant."

Things were becoming stranger and stranger, Katie thought. Why did
Nick tell Brian these things, making Brian suspicious and curious, yet not tell him what happened? Was Nick hiding something? Why would Nick want to keep this a secret? Oh well, she was going to have to tell Brian something. "I never knew Nick, but I did know this guy who had the same blond hair and beautiful features," Katie smiled sadly. "We hit it off really well, and I guess bad things started happening. He hurt me and I hurt him. It was a bad relationship and we broke up." Katie said, trying to make the story as believable as she could. "I hope you don't mind Brian."

Brian sort of knew that she was going to say something like that. The story had no loopholes, nothing that could point to anything suspicious. Still, Brian felt that Katie was not being truthful, that she was holding something back. But he felt that she would not reveal to him anything that day, so instead, he quit trying and changed the subject. Patience is a virtue, he thought to himself. He'll let time set its course. If they were going to have a relationship, he'll have enough time to figure her out later.

"Well Katie," Brian said sweetly at the end of the breakfast, "Wanna come with me to A.J.'s barbecue tonight?"

Katie smiled broadly. "Sure!" Anything beats staying at home with all those nightmares and flashbacks. "Just tell me the time."

"6 p.m. sharp," Brian immediately replied. With that, he dropped Katie back at her home and went to recruit Nick to come to the barbecue.

Katie eased up a bit after talking to Brian. From the way Brian was talking, she was sure that Nick pretty much did not tell Brian anything. She was slightly puzzled though, but decided to let it go. Maybe, Nick wanted to forget it as much as she did. With that thought in mind, she walked up her driveway and decided to do a few chores before Brian picked her up that evening.

As Katie stepped up to her door, she noticed that it was slightly ajar. She jumped back, remembering that she had locked the door before she left. Her heart began to pound. She reached out to push the door back and cautiously looked inside, but saw no one. All was disturbingly quiet. She was ready to walk over to her neighbors and seek help when she noticed a slip of paper on the floor.

Her curiosity got the best of her and she picked it up. The paper was hastily torn from a notebook and the writing was sloppy and messy. It read "Nice meeting ya again, MURDERER!" Katie yelped in fear. Her heart began to race even more. NICK! It had to be him. He still remembered. She knew that his silence about the whole ordeal was too weird. Katie immediately looked around the living room, and once she was sure that no one was actually around, she went to the bathroom to burn the piece of paper.

The rest of the day went by slowly as Katie thought about how she was going to confront Nick. He doesn't look that intimidating! Katie tried to convince herself as she remembered how he acted towards her the previous evening. Besides, she had Brian on her side. Brian wouldn't let Nick hurt her, would he?

As time passed, Katie became more jittery. She had to do something about this. Ever since last night . . . NO! ever since 6 years ago, she had not been able to sleep peacefully. She was constantly awoken in the middle of the night with images of Nick blood-strewn and furious. Maybe it was fate that drove her to once again meet him to resolve this issue, not with just him but with herself as well. She needed some peace of mind. She needed his forgiveness.

Finally, 6:00 p.m. was near and after calming her own fears, Katie got ready for the barbecue. She decided to wear a nice summer dress that was slightly revealing. Perhaps, she could seduce Nick out of seeking vengeance. Oh what was she thinking? She was starting to sound paranoid. But still, it wouldn't hurt, right?

At 6 o'clock sharp, Brian showed up at her home. Katie quickly opened the door and gave him a hug. He always made her feel safe and happy.

Brian laughed at her enthusiasm. "You're suffocating me, Katie. Geez, you make it seem like we haven't met for an eternity or somethin'."

Katie laughed too and let go. "Sorry, Bri. You're hard to live without!" She smiled brightly until she looked behind Brian and noticed Nick for the first time. He stood, quiet and reserved, his tall and lanky form seemed out of place. Instinctively, she jumped back while still holding onto Brian's hand.

Nick and Brian immediately noticed her surprise. "Katie?" Brian asked. Katie regained her composure and stepped closer to Brian. "Nothin'," she replied. She stared at Nick to let him know that she was not that easily scared.

Nick looked confused when he saw her hostility, but he was determined not to let her get to him. He smiled nervously at Katie. "Umm . . . Brian offered to give me a ride so I thought I'd just . . . well. . . hope you don't mind me invading your privacy."

Nice try, Nick, but your innocence routine won't deceive me. Katie smiled brightly, but she was angered at how good an actor Nick was. "Sorry, I just didn't expect anybody but Brian to be here."

"No problem," Nick replied. Then all was eerily silent.

Brian was the first to break the silence. "Katie, you look beautiful!"

"Thanks!" Katie replied and looked towards Nick. "You both look pretty handsome yourselves." She did notice that Nick was dressed very casually. The white T-shirt and jeans clung loosely to his tan and slender form.

"Geez, thanks," Brian answered uncertainly, realizing that Katie wasn't gazing at him when she said those words. Nick smiled uncertainly and nervously brushed his hand over the back of his head, looking elsewhere to avoid Katie's gaze.

"Well . . . " Brian said. "Shall we get going?"

"Yes!" Nick and Katie both exclaimed at the same time. They looked at each other strangely.

"Okay then, let's go." Brian didn't finish his line when all three started heading for Brian's car. Katie took the passenger's side while Nick slid in the back of the car. This freaked Katie a little because she could not see what he was doing in the back. To her relief, Nick didn't try anything weird on her. Soon enough, they arrived at AJ's house. Katie took a deep breath. She stepped out the car and casted a quick glance at Nick. He got out of the car easily, looking as if nothing was wrong. And the more innocent he looked, the more disturbed she became. She had to talk to him. .. . later, when he was alone.

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