Dark Skies in Still Waters
Chapter 14
By Dottie
Copyright 2013
Teagan wakes up early, still in the infirmary. Her eyes feel puffy from crying herself to sleep and her heart feels frozen. Last night she decided she was not going to allow this to hurt. She wants to stay mad. Anger makes her numb and that's just what she needs.
The door opens slowly. "Teag? It's me...Nat. Can I come in?"
She sits up. "Yeah. It's ok."
Natalie comes in slowly. "You sleep ok?"
Teagan nods. "Thanks to the sedative. What about you?" Natalie's blush is so bright, she's almost glowing. Teagan blushes with her. "Never mind. I don't need to know."
Natalie chuckles nervously. "Teagan, I...asked Brian...he doesn't think they were talking about you."
Teagan's face hardens. "Natalie, I asked you..."
Natalie holds up her hand. "Brian isn't going to mention it to them until they are long gone from Florida. Teagan, he wasn't there. He doesn't know anything about it. And if he did, he would have said something to them."
Teagan nods. "He is a good man, isn't he Nat?"
Natalie smiles. "I think he is. He...Teagan, I told him you will always be in my life. I think he will be too. At least for a while. Are you ok with that?"
Teagan forces herself to smile. “You know I only want you to be happy and if Brian makes you happy, then I’m happy too.”
Natalie hugs her. “I brought you some clothes and your purse. The ship will dock in half an hour.”
Teagan nods, standing up. “Thanks. Are you ok with my luggage? Want me to get it?”
Natalie shakes her head. “No, I’m good. You just go to the hotel and relax. I’m…I’m going to meet Brian for breakfast in a few minutes.”
Teagan changes quickly, putting her dirty clothes in the bag Natalie brought. “Nat…tell him I’m sorry. And thank him for not…just thank him.”
Natalie smiles through the tears. “I’m sorry it was such a lousy trip for you Teag.”
Teagan smiles again, tears of her own welling up in her eyes. “It wasn’t all bad. Look at you, you’re falling in love.”
Natalie blushes. “I don’t know if I’d use THAT word…but it’s nice.”
Teagan hugs her tightly. “Enjoy your breakfast.”
When Natalie gets back to the cabin, Brian is waiting. He watches as she stuffs Teagan’s dirty clothes into a bag. “Is she ok?”
Natalie sighs, sitting down beside him on her bed. “I don’t know. She acts like she is, but I can tell it still hurts her. I’d just like to pummel your friends for being so careless.”
Brian nods. “Me too. Baby, I really can’t imagine Kevin being so cold. I told you, he has a big heart and he cares deeply about humanity in general. He’s been so worried about Teagan the last few days.”
She lays her head on his shoulders. “Brian, I want to believe you. I want to believe that Nick and Kevin are stand up guys, but you didn’t see her face. I can see through the anger. Her heart is broken. She feels utterly defeated and I can’t fix it.”
He kisses her forehead. “I’ll help you figure it out.” After a minute, he mentions cautiously, “If you want, I can talk to Kevin now…”
She lifts her head and looks at him. “I know you could. And part of me wants to fix this now. But…just wait. Let us get home and you guys go wherever it is you’re going and give her a chance to…pick up the pieces.”
He nods slowly. “But…what if this just festers up inside of her, Natalie? Shouldn’t we stop it before it goes too far?”
Natalie blinks rapidly. “I didn’t think of that. She’s so dead set on getting away from him I didn’t stop to think about tomorrow.”
He smiles. “I’ll keep him away from her now…but at least you’ll know. And you can tell her when she’s home and more open to listening.”
She puts her hand on his arm. “Brian…tell him if they were talking about her, he better steer clear of me. Both of them. I mean it.”
Brian shakes his head, pulling her into his arms. “If they said it, they better hide from me. And Teagan won’t have to worry about the Backstreet Boys anymore. They won’t exist.
Brian is the first on deck to disembark. He looks down the ramp, smiling as he sees Teagan getting into a taxi. He leans on the railing and waits. When he gets the guys alone in the limo, he’s gonna find out exactly what happened. And what he can do to help Natalie get Teagan through it.
Nick is the first one out. He sees Brian is upset and he jogs up. “What’s up Rok?”
Brian shakes his head. “In the car, Nick. Away from the fans.”
Nick looks confused. “What’s got you so riled up?”
Brian mutters under his breath. “In the car!”
Nick backs off. Brian might be short, but he’s got a temper on him. It takes a lot to rile him so for him to be this mad, it’s gotta be bad.
The rest of the guys come out and head down the gang plank. Once in the spacious limo, Nick asks Brian pointedly, “What the fuck crawled up your ass?”
Brian takes a deep breath. “Nick, what did you and Kevin do together yesterday? What did you talk about?”
Kevin leans forward. “What are you talking about Brian? You were there most of the day.”
Brian shakes his head. “I wasn’t there when you two were bad mouthing Teagan. If I had been, I’d have kicked the crap out of you.”
Nick holds up his hands. “Whoa, wait a minute. We never bad mouthed anyone. Especially Teagan. What the fuck is wrong with you?”
Kevin jumps in. “Brian, you know we’d never…what’s going on? Who said we bad mouthed Teagan?”
Brian sighs. “Teagan did. She overheard you guys talking. Something about her being a freak and you’re only being nice to her because she’s a fan.”
Nick shakes his head. “Brian, I swear to God I never called anyone a freak!”
Kevin pales considerably. “Nick…at sound check. The girl with the tattoo on her neck.”
Nick hits himself in the head. “Fuck. She heard us?”
Brian nods. “She spent the night in the infirmary and made Natalie promise not to mention it to you.”
Kevin leans back and closes his eyes. “I have to talk to her Brian. Explain it.”
Brian shakes his head. “Absolutely not. We’re all going home and leaving her alone. I’ll let Natalie know what happened and she can tell Teagan. For the love of God, why couldn’t you two keep your big mouths SHUT after everything that happened?”
Nick is starting to get riled up. “Dammit Brian, we didn’t know she was listening!”
AJ chimes in quietly. “That’s the point, Nick. The point we tried to make on the entire trip. Judging people ends up hurting people. Even if you truly are creeped out by someone, you should keep your big fucking mouth shut.”
Nick opens his mouth to protest. But words don’t come out as AJ’s comments sink in. He pales considerably. “Oh my God…I did just what they did. And I didn’t even think about it.”
Kevin is all choked up. “Brian, is she ok? I didn’t…I never meant to…”
Nick leans forward. “This is all on me Kev. I was the one that said it. You even told me to stop being such a jerk. Fuck!” Looking at Brian, he says, “I need to talk to her. Where is she?”
Brian shakes his head. “Neither of you are talking to her. Period. I told Natalie you’d stay away and you will. She’s going to take Teagan home and help her get ready for her next surgery. When…IF…Teagan wants to talk to either of you, I’ll let you know.”
Howie finally speaks up. “How will you know?”
Brian glances at him. “Once things are settled, I’m going to see Natalie when Teagan has her surgery.”
AJ smiles. “She’s a good woman Brian. They both are. Tell Natalie…I’d like to be there for Teagan too. If she’ll let me.”
Brian shrugs. “I don’t know AJ. She’s pretty pissed off right now.”
Kevin doesn’t try to stop crying. “She should be mad. We sure didn’t practice what we preach, did we?”
Brian leans back, happy to know they weren’t talking about Teagan. “Kevin, maybe she needs to get angry. Instead of feeling sorry for herself she’s starting to fight back. Give it time. I sure she’ll forgive you.” Looking at Nick, he says, “Both of you. She’s a good woman.”
Nick nods glumly. “I don’t deserve forgiveness. I think I better get back into therapy and get back to work on being a better person. I’m slipping back into old habits and I don’t like it one fucking bit.”
Brian turns to look at Kevin. He’s just staring out the window crying silently. He feels so bad for his cousin. Kevin truly does care about Teagan. And now his heart is breaking because she’s hurting. He smiles inwardly. Kevin’s falling in love again. Hopefully, Teagan will give him a chance. Because right now, Kevin needs her as much as she needs him. Getting either of them to admit it will be a neat trick. Maybe Natalie has an idea on how to make it happen.
Chapter End Notes:
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