Chapter Fifteen

Pink and purple

Christine gazed at the pink ceiling of her room and wiped her tears away. The worry was killing her. Sam said it was an easy mission, that he'd be back soon. And now, after two weeks, she hadn't heard from him. Where was he? What did he have to do? And why couldn't she get out of bed?

Her eyes filled with tears every time she pictured him looking as shabby as he had after the explosion.  Maybe he was hurt, alone, scared. She tore her eyes from the ceiling as though the dreadful images inside her mind were projected on it, and looked around her room.

Ever since she could remember, it had been decorated fit for a princess. Everything was in shades of pink, purple and orange, her favorite colors. Even if she'd outgrown them long ago, the room was still filled with pillows, stuffed toys and ribbons.

She had always been her father's favorite because she reminded him of her mother. And just for that, she'd gotten this beautiful room and her father's love.

Finally, with inhuman effort, Christine pushed herself off the bed and settled in front of her heart-shaped vanity. She looked in the mirror, brushed one eyebrow and pouted her lips. Even with puffy eyes, she still looked beautiful. She'd always been a pretty crier.

She'd always laughed at Tina who was nowhere near as beautiful, saying she was more beautiful when she cried than her sister when she smiled. All her life, she'd been the most beautiful person in a room, wherever she went.

Christine looked in the mirror thoughtfully. An honest voice at the back of her mind told her it was over. Because even if they weren't perfect like she was, Kay, Angie and Jessie were gorgeous. She'd be completely unrealistic to deny them their dues.

Angie was far from perfect, but it was her little defects that made her stunning: her round bottom, high waistline, slightly upturned nose and even the small gap between her front teeth. All the defects Christine had noticed at once came together with her green eyes and wavy black hair and got lost in beauty. A little like how familiar cracks made you love an object more.

But Kay was truly frightening. Christine had never seen another girl glow the way she did. Tall and slender, shaped like an hourglass and with the face of an angel, when she and Kyle were together, she shone like the sun.

Jessie, on the other hand, was perfectly proportioned and toned, obviously one who loved to work out. And that orange hair of hers made her stand out in any crowd.

Christine groaned. So far, she'd never had to do anything to look as beautiful as she did, just apply minimal makeup. Now, she'd probably have to start working out. The simple idea of sweat made her skin crawl.

The thought made her laugh. While in the jungle, she'd been sweaty all the time and she hadn't minded. It had all been so exciting. Her budding relationship, the adventure, watching Sam grow and become a delicious hero. And the enormous show that were Tina and Jerry.

Christine had no idea if they were actually together, but the thought of Tina getting a crush was hilarious in the first place. For a fleeting moment, she wondered how Tina must feel, the average looking one between four gorgeous girls.

And her mind once again drifted towards Sam, and she missed him even more than before. Her eyes filled with tears again and she wiped them away feeling angry with herself. Sam was the only boy she'd ever shed tears for, and she didn't like feeling weak.

"What's the matter?" Tina asked from the threshold.

Christine jumped and let out a hiccup. Gritting her teeth, she turned to her sister. "Still not coming in?"

"I'd rather not. I might get some pink germ or something," Tina answered, looking around disapprovingly.

Christine rolled her eyes. Tina's room looked like it belonged in a hospital. "You're just jealous, as usual. Speaking of which, I was just thinking how you must feel seeing that Angie, Kay and Jessie are also extremely beautiful. Inappropriate? Threatened?"

"It's you who's feeling threatened. You care too much about these things." Tina's hazel eyes narrowed. "I'm actually glad they're so beautiful because they shut you up."

Christine fought the impulse to roll her eyes again. Tina was only deflecting.

"I'm not here to listen to your childish concerns," Tina said quietly. "For the first time in my life, I actually feel the need to talk to you."

"Oh. Really?" Christine asked taken by surprise.

"Yes. Because I'm angry with Jerry. I'm angry with him, and with Sam and... I'm angry with the whole lot of them!" She stomped inside and dropped on Christine's bed.

Christine twisted on her chair. "You're angry? Shouldn't you be worried?"

"No. Because they should've called by now."

"Who knows where they are and if they even have any means of communication? What's the matter with you? Can't you remember that in the jungle we—"

"They're in Montana," Tina said curtly.

Christine's mouth fell open. "How do you know that?"

"Jerry actually told me where they were going. He didn't want to tell me why and who else is coming, but he didn't know much either."

"Sam didn't tell me anything," Christine said, disappointed. It's true that she'd sent him straight to voice mail when he'd tried to call, but that should teach him to ditch her in public. He could play superhero when they were alone, not embarrass her in front of the whole world. "If they're in Montana and the mission is easy, why aren't they back yet?"

"Because they're not on a mission at all. They're just on vacation, probably taking advantage of their celebrity status. With some other girls..." Tina's voice was drowning in tears.

"That's not true," Christine snapped.

"It could be! You didn't answer Sam's calls, so maybe he thought you broke up. And Jerry..." The rest of Tina's sentence was swallowed by a hiccup.

"Shut up," Christine said between her teeth.

"Why, Christine? It's obvious. If they didn't call by now, they don't care about us," Tina spat out with sudden anger.

"You sound like you're trying to convince yourself," Christine pointed out.

Tina stared at her for a second then sunk her face in her hand and broke into sobs. "I can't take it anymore. I'm so worried, and they didn't even bother to call..."

"Calm down." Christine walked to her, sat down and put her arm around her shoulder. "They'll be back safe and sound. Actually, look, I'm going to try calling Sam right now. Maybe that will make you feel better." She had no idea if that would work, but Tina nodded and wiped her eyes.

As she dialed Sam's number, Christine ached to ask if Tina and Jerry were actually together, though it wasn't the best time. Tina's reaction screamed that they were. Which was a bit weird since their PDA was nonexistent.

To Christine's utter shock, her phone actually started ringing. She'd expected Sam not to have it with him or have it shut down. The shock intensified when, two rings later, someone actually picked up.

"Hello?" said a girl's voice.

"Sam?" Christine asked stupidly.

"Oh, Sam's not here right now." The girl giggled.

"Where is he then?" Christine asked, her brain making desperate attempts to justify why some skank was answering Sam's phone.

"He's in the shower." The girl giggled some more. "Oh, no, wait, he's just out."

Christine's blood rushed to her head and she could think nothing but murder. "Can you put him on, then?"

"Hold on," she said and seemed to have turned away from the speaker. "Sam, darling, there's someone on the phone."

And then Christine distinctively heard Sam's voice in the background. "Turn that blasted thing off."

"But it's a girl—" the girl's voice said.

"I don't care about any blasted girl! Now turn that damn thing off!" Sam replied, pissed off.

"Okay, okay." The girl's voice sounded loud and clear once more. "Sorry, he doesn't want to talk to you. Bye!" she said merrily and hung up.

Christine stared at the phone in her hand as if it were a foreign object. How? How could Tina have been right? How could Sam do this to her?

"Call Jerry, quickly!" she said desperately, shoving the phone toward her sister.

Tina's eyes wondered and she tried to shove it back as if they were playing hot potato, but Christine forced it into her hand.

"We need to know!"

Tina nodded. With trembling fingers, she dialed the number. Soon enough, another girl answered.

"Could I talk to Jerry, please? Tell him it's his girlfriend," Tina stammered.

She put the phone on speaker so that Christine could hear, too.

"Why are you coming with that thing towards me? Are you out of your mind? Turn it off!" came Jerry's answer mere moments later, and he sounded truly scared.

The girl on the other end of the line excused herself and hung up, leaving the two sisters feeling utterly bemused.

"I... I don't believe it. How could he?" Tina wailed and leaned her head against Christine's shoulder.

Christine patted her head absently, zoning out, her mind unable to get past the idea that Sam was cheating on her. That he dared do something like that to her. The shock subsided, leaving room to pure rage.

"Oh, he's going to pay for this! I'm going to make sure they all pay!" She stood abruptly, her fists clenched. She wouldn't let Sam make her a victim of heartbreak. Wouldn't let him humiliate her like this. "Who do they think they are? I bet Tom, Jimmy and Kyle are no better. They all went off together, didn't they? Having a blast together! Those good for nothing sons of..." She picked up her phone and dialed Kay's number.

"What are you doing?" Tina asked, wiping her tears.

"Calling Kay."

"Christine, no, stay out of this. It's none of our business."

"I don't care. It's up to them to find out!"

"We shouldn't interfere," Tina said wringing her hands.

"Are you going to let them get away with this? Oh, they're going to pay! All of them. I swear on our mother's grave they will regret the day they decided to screw us over!" And with that, Christine pointed to the door, letting Tina know their sisterly moment was over.

It was time for revenge.

*

Kay looked out the window absently. Yup, just as dusty and empty as she remembered. Tumbleweed rolled down the street.

She couldn't believe that she was back here. For an entire year, she would've sold her soul to get back here, back to Texas, back to Kyle. But now, it was just a place that held too many memories of him and made being apart harder.

After only a year, her father had been forced by his job to move back to a place they should've never left. But once her parents found out about her and Kyle, they'd pulled every string possible to break them up. So her father had miraculously managed to transfer back to her hometown in Arizona.

What Kay found extraordinarily funny and sad at the same time was that her parents had checked if Kyle was still around before moving back. Her father was ready to give up his job to keep his daughter away from the best thing that's ever happened to her.

But Kyle was gone and the whole town knew it. Fortunately, not many knew where he went. And neither did her parents. It made moving to Chicago much easier.

"Hey."

Kay twisted, her knees bent, her fists raised. Her best friend, Kelly, stepped back, her blue eyes wide with surprise.

"Whoa, calm down, I'm not going to hurt you," she said, quickly.

Kay lowered her hands, her cheeks burning. "Sorry, it's sorta became a reflex." If there was one great thing about moving back to Texas, she at least had Kelly and Joey back. Though that meant missing Angie.

"How did it go?" Kelly asked looking at Kay carefully.

"Not very well..." she answered. "I'm going to move to Chicago after all. They actually let me go."

"Then what do you mean it didn't go very well?" Kelly asked thrilled. "This is what you wanted, isn't it?"

"I wish I didn't have to lie to get there," Kay mumbled. She also wished she could leave now, not wait until September.

"Lie?" Kelly asked confused.

"Yes. Their first question naturally was why I would even consider going there. Blah, blah, good schools. Their second question was, where is Kyle?" Kay smiled humorlessly. "Of course, they didn't ask it like that. They actually asked if that thug I was so keen on was there, too." She clenched her fists. She hated how her parents didn't even bother to get to know Kyle and just stamped stupid tags on him.

"Kyle, a thug? That's not the first word coming to mind when I think of him." Kelly giggled. "More like hot as hell."

"As far as they're concerned, he's the biggest criminal walking this earth. And a snob on top of that."

"Let me guess." Kelly heaved a sigh. "Danny painted the picture?"

"Yup." Kay's ex-boyfriend, Danny, had been the one to bring the news that she and Kyle were finally together to her parent. And since Danny's parents and her parents were the best of friends and had been planning her wedding to Danny since before she was born, of course her parents believed him.

"I told them Kyle was coming back for me," Kay said flatly. "And that's why they let me go. They thought Chicago was far enough for me to be safe from him."

"You got what you wanted. Who cares how you got it?" Kelly shrugged.

"I care. It pains me that I have to lie to my parents and it pains me that they won't listen. They still think I'll make up with Danny and they can go back to planning our wedding. They never gave Kyle a chance, never met him properly and already they believe they know everything about him," Kay said spitefully.

Just remembering that conversation made her skin crawl. This was new to her. She'd always gotten along well with her parents. They'd been a happy family. Until she met Kyle and broke up with Danny. Her parents thought that it was Kyle's fault Kay had dumped Danny's sorry ass, even if he had nothing to do with it. It was more likely Danny doing drugs and punching her that did it.

"Um..." Kelly rubbed her toe on the rug. "I heard Danny's out of rehab and doing well. Would you... would you actually consider going back with him?"

Kay turned to her friend so fast, her neck screamed in protest. "Where did that come from?"

"I..." Kelly bit her lip. "You know what? Screw this, I suck at being subtle. Joey's worried."

Kay raised an eyebrow. "Joey's worried."

"Yes, yes. Don't get the wrong idea. Kyle didn't put him up to this. He doesn't even know. I don't think he and Joey have even talked in a while. Anyway," Kelly let out a dramatic sigh. "Joey knows how strong an item you and Danny were, and now that he's cleaned his act, Joey's a little worried that you might be tempted to see him again."

"Trust me, I'm not. Danny and I had been rocky for a while before we finally broke up." Kay huffed. "A strong item." Please, whatever she'd once felt for Danny didn't even come close to how she felt for Kyle.

Kelly's grin threatened to swallow her whole face. "That's what I told Joey. You and Kyle are just... you belong together."

Kay smiled back, but her heart ached. She missed him so much, and it sucked that she couldn't contact him. Her parents were as absurd as to take Kelly's cellphone away the moment she entered the house. She and Kyle had agreed to follow this stupid rule just to make things easier. But sometimes she was so tempted to damn everything and call to hear his voice for just one second.

The landline started ringing and Kay jumped. For one wild moment, she thought Kyle might be calling, but she remembered that it was surely her mother. She was screening every call. Sighing, Kay picked up the receiver.

"Yes, Mom."

"A Christine girl from Chicago wants to talk to you. She says you're friends."

Christine? She was the last person Kay expected to call. But anyone who might have news of her friends was her favorite person right now.

"Yes, I know who she is. You can put her on."

"Why is some girl from Chicago calling you? Who is she? How do you know her?"

Kay bit back a curse. "I've been shopping around for a place to stay. Christine is in the University's student body and said she'd help." The lie came easy. Too easy for Kay's liking, but she was becoming accustomed to answer every questions her parents had with a lie.

Kay's mother hesitated, but finally put Christine on.

"Sam's cheating on me," was the first thing to come out of Christine's mouth.

In regular circumstances, Kay would've greeted her with a sarcastic 'hello to you, too', but her jaw had hit the floor at Christine's affirmation. "You're shitting me."

"Does it sound like I'm joking?" Christine yelled.

Kay pulled away from the receiver, trying to wrap her mind around this absurdity. Adorably awkward, shy Sam would never cheat. He hadn't even gotten into a proper relationship with Christine yet, so the possibility he was out frolicking with some other girl was slim to none. "That's impossible."

"Yeah? I have proof!"

"Okay, Christine, I get that you're upset, but, even if it's true and I'm sure it's not, it's none of my business what Sam does and who he does it with."

"Kyle's doing it, too."

Kay's blood froze in her veins. But just for a second until she realized Christine wasn't speaking in absolute truths. "No, he's not."

"Oh, yeah? They went off together, all of them. Supposedly on a mission. But they do have their phones with them, and someone does answer. Check, I dare you!"

Kay bit her lip. "A mission?"

"There's no mission! God, Kay, good thing you're hot, because you're thick as a rock sometimes. Get your head out of your ass. They're not perfect. Kyle's not perfect! Sam's not..." Christine's voice broke and for a second, Kay wanted to pat her shoulder. All this was coming from deep hurt.

"You can't be sure," Kay whispered.

"Just call him," Christine said and hung up.

Kay lowered the receiver. She didn't believe a word Christine had said, not really, but there was now a nagging pain in her stomach.

"Um, what happened?" Kelly asked.

Kay opened her mouth to answer, but was interrupted by the appearance of her mother. Tall and thin, she glared at Kay with penetrating light blue eyes. Kay swallowed. Shit. She'd completely forgotten that her mother might be listening to her conversation. Christine's introduction had pushed it to the back of her mind.

"Kelly, please go home. You can come visit later."  Kay's mom reached out her hand towards Kelly, handing her back her phone.

"Um, okay." Kelly threw Kay a concerned glance, took her phone and hurried out.

Left alone with her mother, Kay fought the impulse to shiver. The temperature in the room had dropped dramatically.

Her mother walked to the phone, picked up the receiver and handed it out to Kay. "Call him."

"Um, who?" Kay asked, trying to play dumb.

"The miscreant. The one who is cheating on you."

"Mom, I'm not talking to him anymore, I already told you—"

"You're doing this." Her mother forced the receiver in her hands. "Or you're not going anywhere."

Kay swallowed and shut her eyes, but dialed the number and put it on speaker. Don't pick up, don't pick up. God, please let him have a machine so she'd at least get to hear his voice. To her utter shock, to rings later, someone actually picked up, but it wasn't Kyle.

"Hello?" answered a girl's voice.

"Where's Kyle?" Kay asked dumbfounded.

"He's in the shower. Can I take a message? Oh, wait, here he comes. Darling, on the phone..."

"Stop fooling around with that thing!"

Kay's heart skipped a beat. She hadn't bought any of this so far, it seemed too classic, too staged, but that was definitely his voice in the background. She could make no mistake about it.

"But this girl wants to talk to you..."

"Don't they all?" Sarcasm dripped from Kyle's voice and Kay could imagine him rolling his eyes. "Tell her to screw off. And turn that thing off."

Kay hung up before the other girl could say anything else. She looked at the phone in her hand, trying to reboot her mind and think. This was impossible. She and Kyle weren't this couple with troubles who didn't communicate. They had something else, something much stronger. They were ready to die for each other, they've both proven it. Don't let go till we die.

But this... This didn't make any sense.

"Ah," her mother said.

Kay jumped. She'd completely forgotten she was still in the room.

"Just as I suspected. I think I'll invite Danny for dinner tonight. That should put your mind off your heartache." And with that, she turned and exited the room.

Kay stared blankly after her, feeling empty and alone. That phone call had plunged her in a freezing nightmare, and as much as she pinched herself, she couldn't wake up.

Surprise!

Since today is my birthday, I'm gifting you all with a surprise update. And a long one at that.

So, Christine's POV. How do you feel about her now? And did anybody see this coming?

Thanks so much for sticking with me! Don't forget to vote and comment.

Also, if anyone is curious about the whole Kay-Kyle-Danny thing, you can find it in Right in front of you;)