Ch. 251..255: Fatal Kiss Of The Vampire Chapter 251-255
Chapter 251: You Are Too Funny
When Sally first learned that Kylie Finch would be the second lead, she wasn’t sure what to think of it. Before Sally had signed her contract, Miller had promised her that the second lead actress would be played by a veteran actor. Unfortunately, she had not insisted that it be put to paper, so there was nothing she could do. If she tried to quit at this stage, there was no doubt in her mind that Miller would sue her – and he would win.
The first strike against Kylie was that she came with a bag full of scandal. Now that she was attached to this film, everyone involved with the film now had a bit of Kylie’s taint to carry around with them. In the future, whenever the press interviewed them, they would inevitably want to talk about Kylie.
Sally also doubted Kylie’s ability to act. Even after watching The Tea Maiden, she had her doubts. It was one thing to play one role, let alone two. A role like that, she believed, could only be done properly by an A-list actress. Furthermore, from some of the things she’d heard about Kylie, she doubted that they’d get along.
For a veteran actor like Sally, she knew that, if her partner couldn’t co-operate well with her, filming would slow down to a grueling pace. Today though, Kylie had acted perfectly, and Sally’s worries began to dissipate slowly.
The director shouted, “Cut.” and everything stopped. Kylie sighed and walked to the lounge that had been arranged behind the set. Once she was seated, Faith opened an insulated pot and poured out a cup of sweet soup. She smiled and said, “Lucy cooked sugar and pear soup for you. It’s good for your lungs, and it tastes delicious.”
Kylie took a sip of it, and then she turned to Faith. “Wow,” she said. “It really does taste good. Give it a try.”
“Lucy cooked it for you,” Faith replied. “I wouldn’t dare to eat any…”
“Come on,” Kylie laughed as she stood up. “I need to go to the restroom. Have a bit while I’m gone.”
Faith put the lid on the soup and said, “I will go with you.”
“I am a big girl,” Kylie sighed. “You can wait for me here.”
“Alright,” Faith replied.
After Kylie left, Faith thought about her needs; cosmetics, props, water, and protection.
Ethan was always reminding her to keep Kylie safe. “Stay alert for evildoers,” he’d told her. “Kylie is famous now. Some people are jealous of her, and it makes them crazy. Be alert for traps.”
Kylie entered the restroom, took out her mobile phone, and tried to decide if she felt like calling Ethan. Finally, she decided to call him. She knew that he was often worried about her wellbeing, and it helped if she checked in occasionally.
Kylie pulled out her phone, dialed his number by memory, and pressed the green button. The phone rang a few times, and as soon as it went through, Ethan gasped, “Kylie, is everything alright? Are you being bullied by someone?”
Kylie laughed and said, “I am good. Why must you always assume the worst?”
“If you don’t need my help,” Ethan wondered, “to what do I owe this call?”
“I want to discuss something with you,” she replied.
“Is it me you want to talk to?” Ethan wondered. “Or is it Stephen?”
Kylie was astonished. She said, “How did you know?”
“Never mind that,” Ethan said. “Just tell me why you want to talk to Stephen?”
“There is a strange lump on Sally’s face,” she explained. “I want Stephen to help her.”
“Is Sally, your friend?” Ethan wondered.
“We are not friends,” Kylie admitted. “We are colleges though, and I wish her no ill will. It shouldn’t be a big deal. He lives under our roof for free. Surely he could do us a favor…”
“I let Stephen move into a hotel,” Ethan said, “so we may not have as much leverage over him as we had before.”
“Whatever,” Kylie sighed. “I will look for other doctors.”
Before Kylie could hang up, Ethan said, “I will ask him to call you.”
“Oh, honey,” Kylie gushed. “You are so good to me. I love you so much!”
When Ethan spoke again, there was an edge to his voice that was somewhat frightening. He only said two words, but they caused her arms to break out in goose flesh. He said, “Prove it.”
“Don’t worry,” Kylie replied as she hung up the phone.
Kylie went into one of the stalls to take a shit, and she had barely ever farted when her phone buzzed. She checked the Caller ID, saw that it was Stephen, and read his message: “What can I do for you?”
“I wanted to thank you for your sweet soup,” Kylie replied.
“How do you know I was the one who cooked it?” He wondered. “You were supposed to think that it had been made by Lucy…”
Kylie laughed and wrote, “Lucy isn’t that good of a cook. You should know that!”
“Next time,” he replied, “I will make you a pot of ‘shit soup.’ You’ll never think it came from me then! Lol!”
Kylie said, “Lol. You are too funny!”
Stephen said, “Let’s get to the point. As ever, I am at your beck and call. What do you need from me’?”
Kylie replied, “I have a co-worker who needs your help. She has bumps on her face that need to be removed. Because of her notoriety, though, she cannot go to a public doctor or hospital. I thought that you might be able to look at her.”
Stephen said, “I will give you the new address for my office. We can work out a time for you to bring her in.”
Kylie was surprised to hear that he had an office. “Did you open a clinic?” She wondered.
“I did,” Stephen replied. “One of my friends helped me, and already, I have a sizable clientele. Much like your co-worker, until the word gets around, I am primarily treating people who are looking for anonymous treatment.”
Now that they had that worked out, Kylie said goodbye, put her phone back in her pocket, wiped her ass, pulled up her pants, washed her hands, and returned to the studio.
Kylie sat down and took a sip of her soup. She thought it was funny that Stephen had figured that he could get away with making her soup and thinking that he wouldn’t connect it to her. She turned to Faith and said, “Did I miss anything.”
“Absolutely,” Faith replied. “I just overheard Director Miller talking about you. He is very happy with your work so far.”
“So far, everything has been easy,” Kylie said. “In the next scene, I will have to battle Sally. I know that Sally has had some doubts about me playing this role. If I fail her here, there is no way that she will ever trust my acting ability.”
The killer Sharon, who was played by Sally, had caused panic among the corrupt clergyman that ran the church. They reported false information to the King and said that someone had received the news that Sharon had already received the order to kill the King and get revenge for Barry.
The King was so furious that he sent the 6 Rose Knights to catch Sharon. Themis, who was played by Kylie, was the leader of the 6 Rose Knights. When they met, Themis and the King agreed that the clergymen should be put to death. Themis, though, wanted to simply kill them, while the King wanted them to be apprehended and sentenced to death in a court of law.
As for Sharon, she was disappointed with the Royals. She said that someone needed to speak on behalf of the people, even if that person was an enemy of the King. “As long as that person hasn’t committed a crime,” Sharon argued, “they should be allowed to go unpunished.”
The first scene they were going to film was a meeting between Sharon and Themis, in an abandoned town.
Chapter 252: I’m Sorry If I Ever Doubted You
Themis, who was dressed as a man, looked at Sharon and scowled. She laughed and said, “I didn’t expect the big bad bully to be a woman. Shouldn’t you be home with a baby in your teat?”
“What kind of man talks to a woman like that?” Sharon countered
The king’s kingdom was so vast that many people who lived in it, didn’t even know that they were a part of it. Among these people, most were free to say whatever they wanted to say about the king. Nobody cared. Closer to home, though, such comments were unwise. A man could be killed for lamenting his king.
Themis lived in such a place and, even though he though his king was retarded, he kept such thoughts to himself. The irony of it was that, of all the king’s advisors, he was the one that the king trusted the most.
When Themis spoke, his voice was cold as ice and as sharp as a pickaxe. “If you act like a man,” he said, “don’t be surprised if you are treated like a man and executed for a man’s crimes. In the end, even if you win, you will lose.”
Hearing these words, Sharon’s eyes softened, and for the first time that day, her femininity could be seen plainly.
Sally’s expression made the crew gasp. They’d known that she was a great actress, but this was more than they’d expected. Even Miller was shocked. So far, as the two actresses played off of each other, they gave the performance of a lifetime. A layman might not have understood what they’d just seen, but the ladies had gotten so deep into their characters that something spiritual had happened.
Because Kylie’s face had been covered, all of her emotions had to be expressed through her eyes and through the sound and tone of her voice. For many actors, without the use of the rest of their expressions, it was too difficult to express the inner feelings, so they were not able to do certain characters justice.
Though Kylie had found a way to take advantage of her disadvantage and express even more emotion than she otherwise would have been able to do, she turned her disadvantages into advantages which, in acting, was a hard thing to do.
Upon meeting for the first time, these two’ enemies’ created a level of tension that was so high that anyone who had been there instinctively knew that this film would be a blockbuster. Even Sally, who had always been skeptical about Kylie, could tell that she was the right person for the role of Themis.
As soon as the scene ended, Miller had stood up and begun to clap. Sally’s assistant handed her a bottle of water, and she raised it in the air to salute Kylie. “What a great performance from Kylie,” she shouted. “I have never seen anything like it, and especially not from a novice!” She patted Kylie’s shoulder, handed her the water bottle, and said, “Good job! I am sorry that I ever doubted you!”
Sally’s assistant handed her a new bottle of water which she opened and quickly drank.
After hearing Sally’s praise, Kylie didn’t know if it was genuine or not. On the one hand, it was good enough for her to have received such high praise from one of her idols. On the other hand, it meant a lot less to her if it hadn’t been anything more than smoke. Every once in a while, she looked at Sally in her peripherals and slowly convinced herself that the praise had been genuine.
Kylie knew that most people never got the chance to meet their idols at all, so she should count herself lucky, or that was what she figured. Not only had she met her idol, but she’d worked side-by-side with her idol and received positive affirmation from her idol.
When Kylie got home that evening, she was so happy. She couldn’t wait to tell Ethan about her day. When she saw him, the first thing she told him about was the scene she’d shared with Sally and how she’d said so many nice things to her.
“Sally’s acting is really fantabulous,” she gushed.
Ethan looked at her and said, “You are better than her, though.”
Kylie’s brow furrowed, and she said, “You weren’t even there, so how can you say that?”
“I have heard your tale,” he grinned. “At the end of the scene, people were clapping for you. They were cheering your name. Even Sally humbled herself before you and raised her glass to you. Until today, she was the number one actress. After sharing a scene with you, she acknowledged that you were better and passed the metaphorical torch. If you are unconvinced, think about this: while everyone was cheering for you, who was cheering for Sally?”
Kylie thought about it for a few minutes, and then, finally, she said, “You are right. Nobody was cheering for Sally.”
Kylie frowned, and Ethan touched her nose lightly. He said, “Let it go for tonight. You have the entirety of your life to find your place in the world. At the moment, though, there are more pressing matters. We are both tired, and dinner is ready.
Kylie smiled and said, “What would I do without you?”
Locally, there was a place for B list actors and unknown models to show up and look for work. This is where Khloe went after she’d left the studio. For her, it was a major step down, but it was the only step available to her – and even this wasn’t a sure thing. The place was called THE CIRCLE.
The first thing she did when she got there was to put her name on the left side of the page. On the right side, she wrote about her experience. It was pretty depressing. She had spent a long time telling herself that she was an established actress, but the sheet proved otherwise.
After a few minutes, an elderly woman came over and looked at the list. “Not lying,” she said. “We check up on your ‘resume.’ If we catch you lying, you can never come back.”
The woman looked her in the eye and asked her if there was anything she wanted to change before she took a seat. Khloe frowned and said, “If I were going to fake a resume, I would have beefed it up a lot better!”
The old woman looked at her skeptically, in a way that suggested she thought that Khloe had told a joke, but she had misunderstood the punch line.
“Never mind,” Khloe sighed. “I didn’t lie on the paper.”
Chapter 253: Why Are You Angry?
When Khloe arrived at home, the first thing she noticed was the note on the floor. On the backside, it said one word: “Justice” – and it was written over and over in what appeared to be blood. Immediately, she felt a sense of dread. She looked up, and the next thing she realized was that her apartment had been ransacked. Everything that was worth stealing had been stolen. Everything else had been destroyed.
The third thing she noticed was the overwhelming smell of shit. Slowly, she looked at the walls; they had been strewn with human shit – suddenly, her psyche took a hit, and it screamed. It only said one word, but it echoed in her skull until she finally opened her mouth and let it out.
“Mother!” she shrieked. “Mother, mother, mother! Mother, are you okay? Are you here?”
Not knowing what she was doing, she picked the paper off the floor and flipped it over so that she could read the other side. It said, “If you don’t pay your debt, I will snuff out your life and take the money from your insurance.”
Khloe crumpled the paper and threw it onto the floor. She called her mother’s name again, but there was no response. Finally, she pulled out her phone and dialed her mother’s number. It rang four or five times, but then her mother answered. Khloe sighed, and she whispered to herself, “Thank God. My mother is alive.”
“Mom,” she cried. “Where did you go? You scared me.”
Alice’s voice sounded unsteady when she responded. “I am in the hospital,” she said. “Your father woke up. He will fix everything!”
“Dad woke up?” Khloe cried. “I will be there as soon as I can.”
***
By the time Khloe arrived at the hospital, Laurence had been transferred to another ward. He was sitting on the bed, and Alice was feeding him ice chips. From the outside, the couple looked like they were deeply in love.”
When Alice heard the door open, she turned to Khloe and said, “It took you a long time to get here. Your father is already ready to leave this place. I think he should stay longer, but he isn’t listening to me.”
Khloe wiped the sweat from her forehead. She smiled and said, “Dad, you look much better, but are you really good to go? You just woke up! I think you should stay and be observed for a few days?”
Laurence looked at Khloe sadly.
Khloe became frightened suddenly when Laurence looked at her, and she avoided his eyes. It was almost if, even though he’d woken up, he had actually died; he had dead eyes!
Alice turned to Laurence and frowned. She said, “My husband, you just recovered. Why are you angry? After a hard day at work, Khloe just came to see you. You should be thanking her!”
“You don’t understand anything,” Laurence snarled as he picked up his glass and threw it to the ground. His fingers trembled, and he was pointing at Khloe.”Sometimes I wish that I hadn’t had any children at all…”
As the glass shattered, Khloe stepped back. She smiled and said, “Dad, you’ve only just woken up. You aren’t thinking straight.”
“Is that so,” Laurence scoffed. “One thing I know clearly is that you tried to kill me while I was in the intensive care unit.”
Hearing this, Alice stood up. Frightened, she looked at Laurence and said, “What are you talking about? Khloe is your daughter. How could she do such a thing?”
“Look at her in the eyes and ask her,” Laurence commanded.
Alice turned to Khloe and asked her if she knew anything about what Laurence was talking about. Khloe lowered her head and thought about the time that she’d stopped her father’s air supply in an attempt to kill him. She sought out a way to answer the question that would be vague and misleading, but not untrue. If there was one thing that she knew about her mother was that she could tell when somebody was lying.
“My father has been unguarded this whole time,” Khloe replied. “If I were trying to kill him, don’t you think that he would be dead by now?”
“You see,” Alice said, “she is innocent. If she were lying, I would know. Now can we forget all of this nonsense?”
Laurence remained skeptical, and Alice could tell that something didn’t feel right to him. If Khloe had said that she was innocent in a more straightforward matter, she knew that he would have believed her. As it was, Alice knew that Khloe was manipulative even though she’d passed her lie detector, that did not mean that she was telling the truth.
Of course, in truth, Laurence knew more than he had admitted to. The whole time that he’d been in a coma, it had been a lark. He’d been cognizant of everything that Khloe had done. That being said, he wanted to find a way to expose his daughter without exposing himself.
Laurence adjusted his breathing and said to Alice, “This isn’t over. I will investigate it more at another time. You go and check me out. Khloe can push me out in a wheelchair. I can walk, but it is hospital policy that everyone needs to go out in a wheelchair.”
Alice and Khloe looked at each other. They didn’t want Laurence to leave the hospital at this time. Of course, Alice didn’t want him to see where they were living, and she didn’t even know that the place had been ransacked yet. Once they left, they would have to tell Laurence everything that had happened while he’d been in the hospital, and neither one of them knew what would happen when they told him…
“Honey,” Alice sighed, “I don’t think that you are recovered enough to come home. Don’t you think you should stay in the hospital for observation for at least two more days? I was told that the doctors still don’t know what happened. What if it happened again?”
Laurence glanced at her skeptically and said, “Something doesn’t feel right. Is there something going on that you ladies aren’t telling me?”
Alice rolled her eyes and said, “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I am worried about you. That is all. I can’t even believe that the hospital is willing to discharge you so quickly.”
Laurence glanced at Khloe, and in a cold voice, he asked her how the business was going and about any new initiatives she might have come up with in his absence. Khloe smiled at him and lied. She said I raised some money. Mother helped me to buy some shares of the company. At this point, I actually have more shares than anyone in the company! We are doing better than ever!”
What Khloe didn’t say though, was that she’d sold all of the family’s property to purchase the shares, that the shares were practically worthless now, and that they were currently living in squalor.
Hearing Khloe’s words, Laurence looked at her and said, “Show me the stock market. I want to see this for myself.”
Hearing this, Khloe broke out in a cold sweat. Knowing there was no way of getting out of it, she opened her phone and started the app that she used to track her holdings. She pulled up the stock for Garcia Entertainment and handed her phone to her father.
Laurence took one look at her phone, and he threw it against the wall. “What the fuck is this?” he hissed. “Owning all of the stocks doesn’t mean anything if they are worthless!”
Khloe picked up her phone and looked at the screen. It was cracked from corner to corner, but Khloe knew that it could’ve been worse. The phone had been a gift from Aiden, and seeing as they weren’t dating anymore, she had been thinking about getting a new one for some time anyway.
Chapter 254: Did You Sell My Home
Laurence frowned at his daughter. She was no longer his baby. His baby was dead, and she had been replaced by this thorn in his side – and it hurt him deeply. “I don’t know what is going on here,” he hissed, “but I am checking out right now!”
Laurence nearly cried when they arrived at the Flinch House. Not only had he been homesick, but he was surprised by all of the changes that had been made in his absence. Even Alice was astonished. They had just moved a few days ago, but the new owners had already made a plethora of changes.
Alice glances nervously and Khloe. They had passed the point of no return, and they both knew that, whatever happens next, it would not be good. Khloe looked at her father and said, “Wow, the buyer must be an old man. His style is really quaint and simple. Their surname is also Finch. It is quite a coincidence.”
“Did you sell my home?” Laurence wondered.
“I did,” Khloe replied. “I am sorry. It seemed to be the right move at the moment. Only in retrospect can I see that it wasn’t. I wanted to tell you sooner, but I couldn’t find the words.
Laurence was holding a cane, and his hands were shaking. He took two steps forward, and he looked as if he was about to cry – but he remained silent.
“Dad,” Khloe said, “let me ring the doorbell. I will tell them we are the former homeowners. I am sure they won’t mind if we go in and have one last look.”
“Forget it,” Laurence sighed. “It’s late now. Let’s not disturb them. What you’ve done to me is most heinous, but I can see clearly that it cannot be undone. Please, show me where we live now?”
“Mother and I rent an apartment,” Khloe stuttered. “It is nothing special.”
“Never mind,” Laurence said. “I am a resilient man. Take me there so that I may begin acclimating myself to this new lifestyle.”
When Laurence saw the red paint on the door, he lost his temper for the first time, and he slapped Khloe across the face. It was one thing to make bad business decisions and lose – he understood that every investment came with a risk. What he had no respect for, though, were people who made shady deals with shady loan sharks. He would often say that such a person always gets what is coming to them in the end. Now though, that person was his daughter, so his words stuck in his throat and fueled his rage instead.
“I used to think that Kylie was the black sheep of this family,” he hissed, “but I was wrong. You are the black sheep. How did this happen?”
Alice began to cry, and she told him everything. Once the tale was told, Khloe looked at her parents and said, “Maybe we shouldn’t go in…”
Alice looked at her and asked her what she meant.
Khloe looked at the floor and said, “It is worse inside…”
Hearing this, Laurence snatched the key out of Alice’s hand, put it in the knob, turned it, and pushed the door open. “Better to face your demons that avoid them, my old pappy used to say.”
When Alice saw the state of the apartment, she nearly passed out, and Khloe had to steady her to keep her from falling. Above all, it was the shit on the walls that hurt her the most, and she began to babble. “Somebody shit all over my home,” she cried, “They turned my home into a toilet. What will the bridge club think? Oh… my… god… What will my knitting circle think?”
Once Laurence found a clean piece of wall, he sat down and leaned his back against it. He covered his face with his hands, and he began to laugh. “This is too funny,” he gasped as he motioned for Alice to sit beside him. “Don’t cry. We have been humbled; that is all. Wipe your eyes and give thanks to the god that you are so adamant exists. Doesn’t the bible say, “Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength? After this,” he motioned with his hands, “you should have super strength!”
Listening to Laurence mock her religion, Alice was filled with rage. Even as she continued to cry, she began to hit Laurence. “Shut up!” She shouted. “Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!”
Laurence quit teasing her, but he couldn’t stop laughing.
It was at that moment that, by some cosmic justice, the landlord popped his head in. He looked around the apartment and shouted, “As of this moment, you are evicted, and I am keeping your damage deposit!”
“Stop it!” Laurence cried. “Enough with the jokes! As it is, I can barely breathe!”
The landlord turned to Laurence and, with a very serious look on his face, said, “This is no laughing matter.”
“This is no laughing matter,” Laurence parroted back to him. “This is no laughing matter.”
Finally, Khloe walked over to her father and said, “What are you doing. If you weren’t acting this way, then perhaps there would have been a chance for us to make a deal with the landlord. Perhaps we could have found a way to clean up the apartment. Maybe he would have let us stay indefinitely after that, or at least a few days to get our stuff moved out…”
“You are such a killjoy,” Laurence sighed as his laughter went away. “I never noticed it before, but you have always been a killjoy. It has never been as intolerable as it is right now, though…”
Laurence got to his feet and helped his wife standing. He looked at her and said, “Look at all this damage. The landlord can keep the deposit. It will cost him at least one hundred thousand dollars to fix. The deposit you will lose is nothing but a pittance. Let them keep it.”
“But where will we sleep?” Alice whined.
“Look around you,” Laurence replied. “Even if this troll let us stay longer, where would we sleep?”
The landlord looked up, obviously annoyed at being referred to as a troll. He looked at Laurence and said, “Rest assured that this is not over. My lawyers will sue you, and they never lose!”
Hearing this, Khloe fell to her knees at the troll’s feet and begged him, “Please don’t sue us. It would ruin us.”
Laurence turned to Khloe with a look of scorn on his face, and he said, “Stand up you little cunt! You are embarrassing yourself, and you are embarrassing me. Let this little man sue. Haven’t you heard the saying that you couldn’t get blood from a rock? He can sue us, but what will it get him? We have nothing. Even the shares for our company are worthless. If he sued up, he would pay a bundle in court fees and, even after he won, he wouldn’t get a dime. Furthermore, we don’t need any time to pack. There is nothing here worth taking!”
Khloe looked at her father in shocked surprise. Of all the responses she’d imagined he might have to their current situation, this giddy joviality hadn’t been one of them.
“Enough!” the landlord shouted. “I want you out NOW!”
Laughing, Laurence allowed the ladies to each take one of his elbows, and they skipped out of the apartment like some strange recreation of Dorothy, Tin Man, and Lion, as they made them marry way down the yellow brick road.
As they walked into the street, Khloe turned to her father and said, “Dad, please let me explain…”
“I don’t want to hear your explanations,” Laurence sighed. “You are a joke that has no punch line.”
As far as Khloe could see, after what had just happened, this was one of the worst insults that he could give. “What are we going to do now?” she wondered.
“There is no we anymore,” he replied. “In the same way that you found this apartment, you will find another. This time, if you are smart, you won’t tell the loan shark where you live. As for myself, I will go out on my own. The two of you have been nothing but trouble, and I don’t want to have to look at either of you anymore.”
Chapter 255: I Wouldn’t Do Anything To Hurt You
Kylie and Ethan chatted amicably as they brushed their teeth and got ready for the day. “I’ll be at the studio this afternoon,” Kylie said, “but I am free this morning. Do you have any plans?”
“I’m taking Pupu to the vet,” he replied. “He needs to get his injections. Do you want to come?”
Kylie frowned and asked if Pupu was sick, and he explained that he needed to get his annual vaccinations. It was nothing to worry about. Hearing this, Kylie said, “You should let Stephen do it, then you won’t have to go to the vet!”
Ethan tilted his head and stared at Kylie curiously. As far as he was concerned, she was an adorable little fool. He ran his hands through his hair and said, “Stephen is not a veterinarian.”
“If Stephen can’t do it, and you must go,” Kylie said, “then I will go with you.”
Pupu was a middle-sized dog, and he was usually quite brave. When they arrived at the animal hospital, though, it was obvious that he was afraid. His ears flattened to his head, he tucked his tail between his legs, the hair on the back of his neck stood up straight, and he began to piss all over the place.
“Come on, Pupu,” Ethan said in a pleasant voice. “Everything is okay. You are safe. I wouldn’t do anything to hurt you.”
Pupu gave a low and sad sound and refused to go in. Seeing this, Kylie felt like laughing. Now she understood why Ethan had invited her to come. Obviously, when push came to shove, he couldn’t handle the dog by himself!
She stepped forward, knelt down, and began to pet her canine friend. “Don’t worry,” she said. “I will be with you the entire time.”
Seeing Kylie, Pupu relaxed a little. He slowly stood up but, the minute Ethan began to pull him forward again, he sat down and resisted. Even after Kylie took the leash, Pupu was still reluctant to move, and in the end, Ethan had to carry the dog in.
The minute they were inside, though, Pupu dug his nails into Ethan’s leg. Ethan cried out in pain and let go of the dog just long enough for him to jump up, run to the door, push it open, and escape. Kylie was on the other side, though, and as Pupu rushed past her, she put her hand on her leg and cried out in pain. “It hurts so much!” she howled. “Won’t somebody help me?”
Upon hearing this, Pupu froze. He was a loyal dog, and he loved Kylie. It was not in his nature to run away from Kylie if she was hurt. His ears stood up, and his tail wagged as he returned to Kylie’s side to lick her hands.
When Ethan came out, he saw how Kylie had tricked Pupu into coming back, and it made him smile.
Kylie slowly stood up. She looked at Pupu and said, “I’m injured, and I need to see a doctor, but I am afraid. Will you come with me?”
Pupu looked at her skeptically. She looked at the pet hospital and then back at Kylie.
Suddenly, in a moment of inspiration, Kylie began to moan again, as if she were still in pain. Hearing this, Pupu looked at Kylie in a way that said, “Follow me,” and she led Kylie into the pet hospital.
While they were waiting in the waiting room, Pupu wagged his tail anxiously as he paced from wall to wall. Now that his concern had been transferred to Kylie, he no longer even needed to be on a leash. He would not walk away from Kylie.
When it was finally time for Pupu to get his needle, the veterinarian was surprised by his good behavior. He smiled at Pupu and said, “Pupu, you are much easier to deal with than you have ever been.”
He looked at Kylie and said, “Until today, Pupu was our least co-operative animal. Today was his last chance. If it had gone bad, he would have been banned from this hospital!”
Pupu didn’t even growl when it came time for his second and third injection.
There was a ten minute observation period after the treatment was complete, and Kylie gave the leash back to Ethan and went outside to buy a bottle of water. Even though everything had gone well, it had been stressful. She’d had no way of knowing for sure if Pupu would remain calm throughout.
She was sitting on the bench when, out of nowhere, Laurence drove up to the curb and stopped his car in front of her. At the sight of him through the window, her heart began to beat fast in her chest. There was no reason she could think of that Laurence would actively seek her out – and yet he had!
The engine shut down and, when her father stepped out, she was surprised to see that he was crying. Not knowing what else to do, she offered him a tissue. He smiled, used it to wipe his face, and said, “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” she replied awkwardly. Not wanting to stretch the moment, she sighed and asked him what he was doing there and why he’d sought her out. Since she’d last seen him, he looked like he’d aged considerably. He even looked a little sickish, and she wondered if he might have been released from the hospital earlier than he should’ve been.
Laurence smiled pitifully and said, “Haven’t you heard the old saying – Family is who you go to when no one else will take you in?”
“What is that supposed to mean?” Kylie asked him. “Are we family? That’s news to me!”
“I guess I had that coming,” he replied as he walked over to the bench, she was sitting on. “I will tell you everything. If, when I am done, you still want nothing to do with me, then I will go away and never bother you again.”
Kylie sighed and made room for him on the bench. She looked at him and said, “You have always had a flair for the dramatic, haven’t you?”
As Laurence’s story came to its conclusion, Kylie began to think about how she’d reply. Their relationship had started out very positively but, as she’d gotten older, things had become strained between them, and her sister had done everything in her power to push a wedge between them. In the end, there had just been no way for them to maintain any kind of relationship – and that was how things had stood for a very very long time.
After hearing her father’s story, she could see that a bridge could be built. The problem was, though, that after everything that had happened, she wasn’t sure if she wanted to build that bridge. She worried that once Laurence rebuilt his empire, he would no longer see any value in their relationship – or in her, as a person – and he would hurt her again…
“I can provide a place for you to stay,” she said, “But I have one condition.”