Chapter TwentyFour
A Week Later
"You're rich and famous!" Lara panted as she and Lisa struggled with the
box containing Lisa's new bookcase. "You could have hired someone to buy
this and put it together."
"Nope. I wanted to be "normal" for once," Lisa told her, setting her end
down with a thud. "I didn't get to go into the store to pick it out, I left
that to you, but I was definitely going to be the one putting it together."
Lara looked at her watch. "Oh, look at the time! Gotta run." She made an
exaggerated dash for the door, but Lisa held her back.
"Nice try, baby. You're gonna read the directions to me."
"Saved by the bell!" Lara said triumphantly as the doorbell rang. She ran
to the door and threw it open. "Um, hi!" She gasped as she saw Howie
standing there. Her mouth fell open when she saw who was with him.
"Who is it? Do they know anything about tools?" Lisa called as she walked
towards the doorway. She froze.
"Come on in," Lara said softly, moving aside so Howie and Kevin could come
in the door. She and Howie slipped away to the kitchen, leaving Lisa and
Kevin standing and staring at one another.
"Whatcha doing here?" Kevin said, glancing down at the box on the floor.
"Bought a new bookcase for the study. Decided I wanted to put it together
myself, but those directions are quickly making me change my mind," Lisa
said, staring at her shoes.
"Well, why don't you hold and read directions, and I'll do the putting
together," Kevin said, stooping to open the box.
"Um, okay," Lisa said softly.
"It's quiet," Howie said hopefully from his seat at the counter.
"Too quiet," Lara replied as she poured them each a glass of iced tea.
"Remember what happened that night? The quieter Lisa is the angrier she
is."
"I'm sure Kevin will yell if he needs us," Howie joked. Lara stirred her
iced tea and said nothing. "Look...Lara...I was wondering...um..." Howie
blushed and then continued. "Would you like to go out sometime? Like for
dinner next week?"
"You mean like a date?" Lara asked, surprised. Howie had been the ultimate
in friends, never making any unseemly moves.
"Um, yes. I would like to show you that not all men are snakes," he replied
firmly.
Lara looked into his kind eyes and smiled. "Let me think about it, okay?"
"So, I hear that you guys caught the asshole who was sending you those
letters," Kevin said, his eyes never leaving the screwdriver in his hand as
he attached the back to the frame of the bookcase.
"Yes...yes we did," Lisa replied.
"You should have told someone...me...Lara...anyone. We would have figured
out a way to solve the problem."
"Yeah, well, I was ashamed of the problem," Lisa said, never looking up from
the directions. "No...now it's that part over there. The dark one." Kevin
picked up the shelf and continued to put the piece of furniture together.
"You're not exactly one to lecture me about keeping secrets," Lisa said
finally. Kevin slowly looked up at her. "Why did you lie for him, Kevin?
Why?"
"I didn't think it would hurt anyone in the long run. I..."
"Kevin, you didn't think it would hurt? Even after the truth came out, I
was still hurt. You chose your bandmates over me. You were more worried
about their future than ours," Lisa said softly.
"You're right. You are absolutely right." Kevin carefully laid the
bookcase down and sat back. "I thought I could make it better. It's always
been my job to make it better...clean things up..."
"Nick's a grown man. He needs to start cleaning up after himself," Lisa
said gently. Kevin nodded. He looked at her, his green eyes full of
emotion.
"Can you ever forgive me for this, Lees? I still love you so much...I've
been dead inside since this all began. Can you let me make it up to you?"
As much as she wanted to throw herself into his arms, Lisa made her heart
harden against him. Kevin had wounded her deeply, and she wasn't going to
let him get away very easily. "We will be taking this slow, Kevin," she
told him. "You will have to earn my love back." He nodded slowly.
"I'll call you next week," Lara said to Howie as he and Kevin were leaving.
He nodded and said goodbye. Lisa closed the door after them.
"That was strange," Lisa remarked as they went to clean up the box and
papers from the bookcase.
"Did you take him back?"
"I told him he'd have to earn his way back. I don't want to have my heart
broken again."
"Me either. Howie asked me out on a date...I told him I'd think about it."
"Go," Lisa told her, placing a hand on her arm. "Howie's worth it."
"She said she'd think about it," Howie said as they drove down the road.
"She said I'd have to earn my way back," Kevin replied. They glanced at
each other and smiled in satisfaction.
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By: Lara
© 2000
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Chapter TwentyThree
Chapter TwentyFive