Chapter 12
Around two in the morning, Kevin woke with a start. He looked over at Tyler who was sleeping peacefully next to him. He took her in his arms and held her tight.
Tyler asked sleepily, "What's wrong, baby?"
"I don't know. I woke with this really bad feeling."
"You're just worried about the tour. Go back to sleep, sweetheart."
Tyler fell asleep easily but for Kevin, it was a different matter. He couldn't shake the feeling in the pit of his stomach that something was going to happen. He lay awake the rest of the night holding Tyler close and watching her sleep. Around six, Kevin gave up trying to sleep and got up. He pulled on a pair of jeans and went down to his living room where the piano was. He sat down and began to play softly.
About an hour later, Tyler came down and found Kevin still playing. She walked up behind him and put her arms around him. He stopped and put his hands on her arms.
"Don't stop playing, Kev."
"Sit beside me then."
Tyler sat beside Kevin and he began to play again. She recognized the music from the tape but now he was singing to her too. Tyler listened closely as he sang and she began to cry.
When Kevin was done, he leaned over to kiss her. "I wrote it for you after I left you at Hoke's."
"What's the title?"
"'Nobody but You'."
"It's so beautiful, Kevin."
"Like you. Tyler, there's nobody but you for me. I love you so much that it hurts. You are so perfect."
"No, I'm not perfect by any means, Kevin. You're just prejudice."
Putting his arm around her, Kevin held her close. "Tyler, I don't want to lose you."
From the tone of Kevin's voice, Tyler could tell something was wrong. She looked up at him and saw the tears rolling down his cheeks. She said softly, "Kevin, you aren't going to lose me."
"I can't shake this bad feeling that something terrible is going to happen and I don't know what it is or how to stop it."
"Given everything that's happened, you're just worried, baby. I'm going to be okay and next week this time, we'll be together."
"I guess you're right."
"Kevin, my heart belongs to you and it took us TOO long to get here. I'm not going to let anything happen to us."
"You are my heart, Tyler," said Kevin as he kissed her.
"Kevin, you have a tattoo for me. I want to get one with your name in a heart."
"I could take you to get it done when I come in March for your doctor's appointment."
"I don't want to wait that long."
"Okay. We can go before I go to the airport. Where are you going to put it?"
"Right above my ankle."
"Sounds good. Let's go back to bed."
Kevin and Tyler went back to their room where they lay down again. Kevin put his arms around Tyler's waist and rested his head on her stomach. Tyler looked down at him and ran her fingers through his hair. She could feel his tears through her shirt and her heart was breaking. Tyler sang softly to Kevin, songs that she'd heard him play before. After a while, she realized that his breathing had slowed and she looked down to see that he was asleep. "Oh, baby! I wish I could make this feeling go away," whispered Tyler.
Tyler held Kevin as he slept and she eventually fell asleep too.
Two hours later, the phone rang, waking Tyler. She reached over and answered it. "Hello."
It was Tim and he was surprised to hear Tyler's voice. "What are you doing still here?"
"I'm staying here until next week."
"No! Your uncle came looking for you because there was a terrible accident."
"My uncle?"
"I think he said his name was Hoke."
"That's Howie's dad and I haven't seen him. I talked to Howie on Monday and everything was okay. It was probably just a reporter trying to get a story."
"You're probably right."
"What did you need?"
"I was just checking to see if Kevin needed a ride to the airport but since you're there, I know the answer."
Tyler laughed, "Thanks, Tim."
After Tyler hung up, Kevin asked sleepily, "Who was that?"
"Tim. He wanted to see if you needed a ride to the airport."
Kevin looked at his watch. "Damn! I need to get ready."
"I'll go make some breakfast for us."
Without saying a word, Kevin got up and went to get a shower without giving Tyler a kiss. She followed him into the bathroom. "Kev..."
"Dammit, Tyler! I don't have time to play around."
That hurt Tyler and she left. Kevin saw the look on her face and thought how stupid he'd been. He quickly got a shower, got dressed, and went to find Tyler.
When Kevin went down to find Tyler, she was in the kitchen and he could tell she had been crying. She had some glasses in her hands so Kevin took them from her and set them on the counter. Then he took her into his arms. He held her close and ran his hands through her hair. He whispered, "I'm so sorry, baby."
"I was just coming to give you a kiss. You got up so fast that I didn't get a chance to give you one."
"I know. Baby, I'm not really thrilled about leaving you here for the next week."
"Kevin, I'll be okay. Lou has no idea where I am."
Kevin looked at her. "I'm going to call you every day."
Tyler smiled, "I expected that."
"Is breakfast ready?"
"Yeah, it is. Go on and eat while I go get ready."
"No, you don't, Tyler. You're not skipping breakfast."
Tyler loved the way Kevin took care of her. All weekend, Kevin had doted over her making sure that she ate properly, got enough rest, and didn't lift anything heavy. This had been the first morning she'd fixed any meal. It made Tyler wonder how he would be when she was pregnant with their child. "Okay! I'll eat breakfast," laughed Tyler.
After breakfast, Tyler went to get ready and they headed into town. They stopped by Ann's house for Kevin to say goodbye to his mother and then went to get Tyler's tattoo. The trip to the airport was a quiet one. The closer they got, the quieter they got. Both were dreading the moment they had to say goodbye.
At the airport, Kevin hadn't worn any disguise so they were mobbed by teenage girls. Kevin tried to sign as many autographs as possible but he wanted time alone with Tyler before the plane took off. As they made their way to the gate for the jet, Tyler held his hand tightly, as if he would float away.
At the gate, Kevin took Tyler in his arms and said, "I wish you would go with me, Tyler."
"Kevin, I really want to but I need to take some time to figure things out."
"What's there to figure out?"
"What I'm going to do about the baby."
Kevin and Tyler were both fighting the tears and Kevin wasn't winning the battle. Tears rolled down his cheeks as he said, "I'm going to raise the baby as my own. What more do you need to decide?"
Tyler wiped the tears from his face. "I know but Joey is the father. As much as he's hurt me, he does deserve to be a part of the baby's life. I just need to figure out how much I want him to be involved."
"Do I get any say?"
"Of course you do because it affects you too."
"I say he has no part. He raped you, Tyler," said Kevin angrily. "No guy deserves to be a part of the baby's life under those circumstances."
Tyler said, "To a certain degree, I agree with you but Joey does love me."
"He has a funny way of showing it."
"I'm not going to defend him, Kevin. I still have some feelings for him and he never meant to hurt me."
Kevin shook his head. "Baby, you're way too good to him. I guess that's what I love about you."
"I'm just trying to do what is right, Kevin. I love you with all that I am and I want to be with you."
The couple kissed a long and passionate kiss and then Kevin said, "I love you, Tyler. I'll see you in a week."
"Make sure you watch the Grammy's. When you guys win, I'll make sure to say something to you."
Kevin laughed, "We're going to walk away with everything we're nominated for, baby. You're going to need 'Bull' and Carlos to help you carry our awards."
Kevin kissed her again and headed to the plane. When he reached the steps, he looked back at her and she blew him a kiss. Kevin pretended to catch it and put it next to his heart. Then he disappeared into the jet.
From behind her, a voice said, "Well, wasn't that just touching?"
A cold chill passed through Tyler and she turned to face Lou. She was terrified but tried not to show it. "What do you want?"
"You! You're coming with me. I hope you made the most of your time with Kevin because that's the last time you'll see him."
"I'm not going anywhere with you, Lou. I'll meet with Joey as planned at the Grammy's but I'm going to break up with him."
"No, you won't. If you ever want to see your baby after its born, you'll come with me now and you will stay with Joey," said Lou menacingly. "As for your precious Kevin and the others, I WILL destroy them."
Tyler was terrified and she tried desperately to get away but Lou had several men with him who stopped her escape. She realized she had no choice but to go with Lou. As she followed him through the airport, Tyler thought about Kevin. He'd know by tonight that something was wrong and hopefully, he'd come to her rescue.
That night, just before the concert, Kevin tried to call Tyler and got the answering machine. He hung up and called him mother but she hadn't seen Tyler either. Kevin decided to try Tim as a last resort.
When Tim picked up, Kevin asked, "Have you seen or talked to Tyler?"
"Not since this morning. Why?"
"She's not at Mom's and she's not answering at my place."
"Maybe her uncle found her."
"What's that suppose to mean?"
Tim explained to Kevin about the man showing up and asking about Tyler. He even described the guy to Kevin.
On the other end, Kevin turned pale and almost dropped the phone. AJ, Howie, and Nick were all there too and saw Kevin's reaction as he said, "Tim, you jerk! That was Lou. I'll talk to you later."
Kevin hung up and looked at the others.
Howie asked, "What's wrong?"
"Tyler's missing and Lou was at Tim's posing as Hoke."
Before any of them could say anything, Linda came to the door, "It's time to go on guys."
