"Go ahead, Katie," Roy said calmly. "Tell him the truth. You're a big girl. You should take responsibility for what you did to him . . . and to me!"

His words made Katie burn with hatred. "You had just as much responsibility as me. I wasn't the only one that hurt him," Katie shouted out fiercely.

Strangely, Nick laughed at the exchange. His voice sounded psychotic and out of control. His eyes looked like a madman's while his words became incoherent. Katie and Roy looked at him strangely.

"What you laughing at boy?" Roy raised his voice. When Nick didn't answer, Roy moved closer to him and grabbed both arms. His nails dug into Nick's flesh and he shook Nick violently. "I said, what's so funny?"

Nick drew his lips into a curl and gazed innocently at the man. Roy lifted his hand to slap the boy, but for some strange reason, he didn't. He let his hand dangle to his side. Roy could tell that Nick was losing his mind. He knew that Nick wouldn't take the past too well, but he didn't really expect the memories to be that trying on the boy's mentality. In one sweeping motion, Roy grabbed Nick's neck and squeezed it hard. How he hated the boy. Roy squeezed and squeezed, forcing the life out of Nick.

But Nick didn't try to struggle. He simply grabbed Roy's arms for support. Katie saw the Nick's pallor and immediately screamed for her father to stop. "You're killing him!"

Without weakening his grip on Nick, Roy turned to Katie. "So what's your point? Isn't this what you wanted 6 years ago?"

The words made Katie hysterical. She began to scream at the top of her lungs. Her piercing screams stopped Roy and he released his grip on Nick. Nick fell back, gasping for air. His mind cleared, but his head throbbed. He lifted his hand to massage his temples. The pain was searing and unbearable.

Roy took a final look at Nick before he stood up from the bed. He had to control himself. He shouldn't let Nick die too easily. He had already planned out how everything was going to happen. He must regain his composure. He straightened his shirt and walked out the room, locking the door behind him. Now, only Nick and Katie remained in the room.

Katie never once took her eyes off Nick. The shame began to give her cheeks a shade of red. She now knew that what she did was all wrong.

Nick returned Katie's gaze. This time, his eyes lost the hostile edge. They looked sad. "Why?" was the only word Nick could think to utter. "Why did you do that to me?"

Katie felt the tears forming in her eyes. "I'm sorry. I was young. I wasn't thinking too clearly. At that moment, the only thing that was on my mind was to get rid of my father. I didn't think about the consequences of my actions."

"So you were gonna sacrifice my life in order to get rid of your father." Nick's words were barely audible, but they carried with them the weight of conviction.

Katie didn't know how to reply to his accusation. He had said the truth. But she felt that she owed him an explanation. "Nick, I was 19 at the time. I was still a teenager, but I didn't have what most teenagers have-a family, a life. My mother died before I could remember her face. And my father, well, you know what he's like. He was an alcoholic, a criminal on the run. And whenever he was dissatisfied with his life, he always came back to torture me."

"But," Nick interrupted her, "You failed to mention that he's a child molester as well. You knew all along. You knew he was a child molester and you brought me home to him." Nick's voice was full of bitterness, but he remained calm, even cold. "Why?"

"I . . . I was afraid of him. I wanted to get rid of him, but every time he went to jail, he always seemed to get out a few months later. I wanted to get rid of him once and for all and. . . "

"And so you thought that if he were convicted of child molestation and murder, that would land him in prison for life." Nick finished her sentence. He stared at Katie. "Why did you choose me?"

"You . . . were attractive, young, and . . ."

"And naïve!" Nick cried out. "You thought I was just any other dumb blond.. I couldn't possibly have any emotions, any feelings. I'm not human, right?" Nick's anger started fueling again.

"No," Katie quickly defended. "I . . . " Katie began to explain. But what could she say? That she chose him because she was attracted to his looks? It was true though. She was so lonely at that time. She not only needed someone to lure her father into her trap, but also someone to keep her company as well. And Nick looked so innocent!

She had seen him so many times crossing her house as he walked to school each morning. He had caught her eye months before she was willing to admit that she had found him to her liking. She had fallen in love with his carefree attitude before she had even met him.

Every day, he would sit near the clear blue lake, reading and drawing. And every day, she would circle the lake just to sneak glances at him. She loved the way his hair dangled and covered his eyes. She loved the way he leaned back against the tree and daydreamed. She loved how he smiled while he napped on the grass.

And then, one beautiful sunny afternoon, she found her chance. He was studying peacefully under a willow tree, his eyes focused on his books. It had taken her quite a few hours to gather enough courage to go up to him and introduce herself. He was so focused on his book that he did not hear her footsteps. Only when she was inches from him did he notice her presence. He lifted his gaze to her and smiled so sweetly that she had forgotten her nervousness and introduced herself.

To her surprise, he was really easy to talk to. And his voice had been one of the most beautiful, gentle voices she could imagine.

"You didn't answer me!" Nick repeated, interrupting Katie's thoughts.

Katie collected her strength and crawled to where Nick lay on the bed, the sheets covering his near naked body. Seeing her move with such pain shamed Nick into silence. Instinctively, he reached his hand out to help Katie onto the bed. Katie was surprised at Nick's show of affection. She stared at his hand for a while, not knowing whether he would feel comfortable with her touch.

Nick sensed her reluctance and was about to draw back his hand when she grabbed it and eased herself up onto the bed, using his arm like a rope.

"Forgive me, Nick," Katie whispered. "I was so selfish then." The tears streamed down her face. Nick didn't offer to dry her tears though. Just those few words were not enough to erase the sense of loss that he had felt in the past 6 years.

His reservation hurt Katie so much. At one time, they had been so close, she thought bitterly.

Both of them sat there, relishing the silence. What more needed to be said? Nick had remembered it all already. Suddenly, Nick felt an overwhelming exhaustion coursing through his body. He leaned back against the wall and closed his eyes. The tears began falling again. The sadness seemed to never end. So many things had happened is so little time. He was shocked from Brian's lack of trust in him. Even more heart wrenching was Kevin's slap-and his acrid words-they just burnt a hole in his heart.

And the memories of Katie's betrayal had wiped the last ounce of love in him. The images were so vivid, as if everything had just happened yesterday. He remembered how the winds had sent ripples through the lake, Hurriedly, he placed his books into his backpack and got ready to walk home. Surprisingly, Katie did not show up that day.

He didn't know where she was. Every day, when school ended, he would come to the park and sit down under the same willow tree, and Katie would be there waiting for him. But on that day, she was no where in sight. Slightly disappointed, Nick simply took out his books and began reading. He lost track of the time and didn't pay attention as the winds began to pick up. Finally, after waiting for about an hour, he noticed the weather becoming grimmer so he packed up his things and got ready to go home.

It was at that moment that he saw Katie pull up her car in the parking lot. He smiled, happy that she didn't forget about him. They had met almost everyday for the past 6 months and he was getting accustomed to her company.

When Katie saw him, she waved enthusiastically for him to get into the car. Nick ran to her car, opened the door, and flung his backpack into the back seat. Once safely inside, he waited for Katie to pull out of the parking lot and take him home. But she didn't. She simply sat there, quiet.

"What is it Katie?" he had asked her. She looked rather disturbed.

"Oh, nothing Nick. I was just thinking. Have you finished all your homework yet?" she asked him. Her voice seemed kind of strained.

Nick shook his head. "Not really. Math is so hard. I couldn't figure out all these problems."

Katie smiled gently. "It's all right. How about I help you out a little. Wanna come to my place. We could do it there."

Nick was relieved. He had hoped that she would help him with his homework. Math was such an elusive subject for him. "Sure."

Immediately, Katie began to pull out of the parking lot and head back to her home. The clouds had now covered the sky and darkness had settled in. Soon enough, the rain began to pour. Finally, they had arrived at Katie's house. Katie and Nick jumped out of the car and immediately ran to the door. Unfortunately, they were not fast enough and both were soaked by the time they entered the house.

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