Site hosted by Angelfire.com: Build your free website today!
Chapter Eight:You Can't Do That
You Can't Do That

Oh, no, this can't be happening, I thought to myself, fully aware of the oncoming danger. I put my drawing on the ground and looked at Paul. He looked at me. We knew we were caught. Quickly Paul relinquished my hand and backed away from me with a coldness that was unlike his character, trying to make it seem like nothing happened.

We both glanced toward the direction the scream came from. We both saw lightning, black lightning, rapidly speeding toward us, running as if being chased by a tidal wave.

"Oh, God ..." Paul said, his voice shaking. "I hope it's not as bad as it seems."

"I don't think it will be. Just keep calm," I tried to reassure him, but I was unsure about what was to happen too. "You know, maybe if we--"

But before I could go on, Paul was struck by the lightning. The action was so fast, it caught me off guard and I released a cry of surprise. The lightning, with an agility I never knew it possessed, had just run, leaped over the bench, and tackled its best friend who it now considered its mortal enemy. Both of them began fighting it out on the ground. Paul was on the bottom, trying to fend off the lightning that was on top of him, choking him to death.

"You fuckin' bastard! I'll kill you!" John threatened with white intensity. I could not believe this was my brother! So much anger and fiery hate fumed inside him, it was unbelievable. John was doing his best to strangle Paul, holding his neck in an unbreakable grip. Paul was struggling, but was determined to free himself.

"Lay off, John! Wh-what in bloody hell are you tryin' to do!"

"Shut your mouth, swine! I knew you were the twisted one, you--"

"John, stop it! He didn't do anything!" I said, grabbing John's shoulders and trying to pull him away.

"Don't lie to me, Paulina!" John suddenly jerked away from my grip, stood up, and brandished a pointing, accusing finger. He glared at me with eyes as narrow as knives.

"Don't lie to me."

"John, please, we didn't ... do ... anything," I said tensely, but stood my ground. "If you'd only let me explain--"

"What's to explain, Paulina?" he said with cold sarcasm. "What the hell is to explain?"

"How did you know we were here, huh? How did you find out?" I questioned him fearlessly, fiercely.

"I'm not stupid. I went over to his house to see if you were all right, being concerned for me little sister and all. But didn't I get a surprise when I found out that you and that bastard went out alone!"

"John, stop it. Don't you use that language in front of me," I told him, but knew he wouldn't listen. Although I clearly knew who I was up against in this war of words, there was no way I was going to let my guard down. This was one fight I didn't want to lose. "John, just stop, okay?"

"You wanted to know, didn't you? You asked for it!" John exclaimed. "I already knew where he'd take you and why. I already knew. It's the only real reason he brought you out 'ere anyway. The drawing was an excuse, Paulina, an damn excuse!"

"We didn't do anything! Why don't you let me explain for God's sake!" I retorted.

"Oh, and didn't he have a fuckin' good time with you? Didn't he have a good time keeping himself fuckin' occupied with you then? How--"

"Oh, God, John! How could you think of such a thing? How could you!"

"What am I supposed to think, huh? Doesn't it seem compromising to you? You 'ere with him alone? All you did was chat, didn't you? Right, Paulina, fuck that," he added in a caustic tone.

"Look, John, all we did was kiss. That's all."

"Then something did happen between you two! You just lied to me when you said you didn't do anything. You lied right to my face!"

"Please, I--"

"You know what? I'm taking you home right now. Don't argue with me. Let's go." John forcefully grabbed my arm and began dragging me away.

"What are you doing, John! Let go of me!" I tried to break free.

"Why should I listen to you? You didn't listen to me. I'm not letting you go. I am taking you home, and that's final."

"John! Don't do this!" I argued as he continued pulling me away from the scene.

"How many times did I warn you about that fuckin' swine? Why didn't you listen to me? I--"

"Let me go! I know what I'm doing!"

John stopped in his tracks. His grip on my arm tightened as he suddenly turned around and again gave me his cold, myopic stare.

"What?"

"I said ... I know what I'm doing," I said, more boldly than before. John let go of my arm.

"Oh, yeah, you know what you're doing all right. That bloody escapade with Paul surely showed that, I can see," John sarcastically shot back.

"It wasn't a big deal, John. I handled it meself, and I'm perfectly fine now. What's done is done, and Paul and I know it's over. I don't want to talk about it, and it's not like we're going to do it again, not after this."

"But just take a good look at the big scheme of things, Paulina. You give me your word, and you go and do somethin' like this and more behind me back. You ought to be out of your mind if you think I'm going to believe you ever again. How do I know you're still not lying to me? How am I s'posed to believe you?"

"Why don't you take a good look, John? I'm your sister. Don't you know me any better? Don't you trust me?" I threw my words back into his face.

"Trust you? How can I trust you anymore? Not after this I can't!" he remarked cruelly. That last statement punctuated our fight, and I knew that I lost. As I slowly took in his last words, I felt no need to break into sobs. All that happened was a small stream of tears (but not too many tears) trickled down my face. I couldn't say any more to defend my position. I lost more than the fight. I lost my brother's trust.

"I think if anyone's the bastard, it's you, John! You can take this back!" Paul arose with such speed, he grabbed an unprepared John by the collar, and forcibly flung him to the ground. I was surprised by that. I felt he really didn't have to do that, but I understood that since he was knocked down, he had to get up again to defend himself and not show he was weak. And also since he was in this with me, we had to fight it together. My defense was down, so he helped me out. He immediately came to my side to console me. He took my hand into his again.

"Paulina? Are you okay? Don't cry, remember? You told me not to, and now, I don't want you to. It'll be all right. I promise. We'll take care of it," Paul comforted.

"I'm not crying," I protested, using the same response he gave me. He smiled because he understood. Despite Paul's kind words though, John's words still stung. I merely stood there, thinking about what John said previously.

"You're bloody worse than I thought, Paul," John bitterly interjected, getting up from the ground and dusting himself off, trying to appear as if he expected Paul's action. "After all the things you did to my sister, I didn't think you'd have it in you to do that to me. How--"

"Shut the hell up, John," Paul snapped. "Look what you've done, inconsiderate wank. You've committed one of the greatest crimes of all: You made your own sister cry. How sinister, how vile do you have to be to do that? For fuck's sake, John, why did you go off yelling at her? Take it out on me, John. Take it out on me, but please, not her."

"Paul ..." I again tried to protest, looking at him. He ignored me.

"I take all the blame, John. I take all the blame. We may have only kissed, but I was the one who started it. If you don't believe me, then you're not believing the truth."

"What? The truth? Telling me that you two only kissed is the truth? Oh ho, there must be somethin' else you're hiding from me, McCartney--"

"Has Paulina ever lied to you, John? Think about it. Has she ever, or why would she lie to you at t'all? She's told you the truth, and so've I. I did it. I started it, mate, so don't--"

Thwack!

My brother suddenly socked Paul in the face; the blow sent him to the ground.

"Paul!" I immediately ran and knelt beside him. Paul slowly sat up, probably the dizziness he felt prevented him from standing up just yet. I gasped when I saw his face. Paul's left eye was barely open. It was swollen and grew darker by the second.

"You fuckin' call me your 'mate' again, and I'll send you to Hell where you belong, you worthless shit," John solemnly promised.

"What is wrong with you! Who are you and what have you done with my brother? I want my John back right now because I have no idea who you are!" I turned to John angrily. I had no more tears for him; I had only anger.

"Your John is right here, but he's not puttin' up with this crap anymore, Paulina. You're even wearin' his fuckin' jacket too. You want Paul, you keep him, but you'll lose me instead."

"Don't do this, John! We've already told you the truth! Why don't you believe us?"

"Have we not reconciled this matter yet, John?" Paul injected seriously. I tried to help him up, but he didn't want the help. He slowly rose up to meet face to face with my brother. "You got what you wanted. You got the truth. You had me on the ground. You gave me the injury you can now show off to make yourself look like such a big shot. What more do you want? My life?"

"Fuck you, Paul. You don't see me talking to you, so shut your damn mouth," John icily and darkly replied. "All I know is that I'm leavin'. I'm leavin', and you'll never see me ever again, Paulina." He began to walk away.

"John!" I cried out to him. I did not want him to leave! I cried for him to return to me, but he never even looked back. I ran up to him and grabbed his arm to prevent him from going.

"John, don't leave."

"You don't want me to leave?"

"Please, just come back, John."

"How am I supposed to believe that? How do I know you're not lying to me now?"

"John, I don't want you to leave. You know I'm sorry, just let me explain what happened, okay? Please ..." I pleaded.

"You know what you're doin', don't you?" John glared at me again. "Why do you keep following me? You don't need me anymore. You don't need me. There's no reason for me to stay. You can do it all yourself without my help. If that's what you want, then fine, I'm leaving."

"John, no!"

He pulled his arm free from my grip, not even making eye contact with me. He kept walking. I helplessly watched him depart until he was out of sight. I didn't attempt to catch him again because I knew he had made up his mind. He didn't want anymore of me.

I felt more tears collect in my eyes and stream down my face, but I did not want to start sobbing. It was only going to waste my breath, and sobbing would hurt me even more; it would be a reminder, and I didn't want that. I just silently cried, and cried, and cried, silently shed tears. He was gone, he was gone. My brother had just walked out of my life. I sank to the ground, trying to heal myself, trying to deal with the solemn truth that John would no longer be a part of my life.

Paul soon walked to where I was and knelt down beside me. I laid my head down on his lap, tears still streaming. Paul began to stroke my hair. His touch was comforting; it made me feel better, but I knew that John wouldn't return, even if I felt better or not. Nothing could bring him back.

"He's," Paul began softly. "He's--He'll come back, I promise you, Paulina. I promise. You'll see him again. Let him cool down for now, okay?"

"He can't be so cruel, Paul," I responded softly, sniffling at the same time. "He wouldn't even listen. I need him, love him so much, and now *sniff*... he's gone forever ..."

"He needs you, luv, he really does. Paulina, John loves you more than anything in the world. He'll return. He was only trying to protect you ... Oh, come here, luv, it's okay. We'll get through this together." At that, I slowly sat up, and he embraced me. Once I had him in my arms, I held him tight. He felt so kind, so caring that he actually felt those characteristics, intangible as they were.

"Just let him simmer down. He'll be back to normal before you know it. He'll be back, I promise," he said, helping me up to my feet.

All I could do was sadly nod and wipe my tears away, hoping that Paul was right. I saw his eye once again, and a pang hit my heart.

"Oh, Paul, I'm so sorry," I said as I touched his swollen, left eye. He flinched. I quickly took my hand away and apologized.

"No need to apologize, luv; you weren't the one who gave me this lovely present," Paul remarked with a smile as he pointed to his injured eye. "And I can't really see what he did to me now," he continued, still smiling. "I'll 'ave to go 'ome and take a look at it in the glass. I'll bet me eye 'as never looked as good as it does now."

"Well, let's go and fix it up after we're done admiring it ...?" I said cautiously while giving a tiny smile. His smile did help make me feel a little better, but not much.

"Sure, why not? We'll do it for a laugh," Paul answered. "We'll look back at this all one day and laugh, all three of us. John'll be back soon enough."

I dearly hoped that Paul's prediction would come true. But I knew that it wouldn't if I didn't do anything. I needed John, even though John didn't think so now. I had to show him that I still loved him, wanted him in my life, needed him in my life. I knew I had to tell him the whole story so he could understand and know that I would never, ever lie to or betray him ever again. I knew I would never see him again if I didn't find him first. It was the only way to bring him back.


On to Chapter 9

Back to Fab Fic