"Wow," Catlyn whispered looking towards the hallway that led to Kyndall's room. Howie had just told her about the day Kyndall had spent with AJ. Or at least, the parts that she had told him. "I can't believe that he would do that," she said looking back at Howie. "I mean, I knew he played. That I knew. But to Kyndall? I thought…"
"Yeah, me too," Howie said staring gloomily into space. "And ya know what really pisses me off the most?" he asked looking at her suddenly, his dark eyes smoldering with anger.
"What's that?" Catlyn asked, surprised by the strength of his emotions.
"He promised me he wouldn't do anything to hurt her. He PROMISED me," he said vehemently, as he stood up and began pacing the front room. "And what is the first thing he does? HE sleeps with her and pushes her away. Hello?" he said, the sarcasm dripping from his voice. "What did he think? She'd be all 'Thanks AJ, nice fucking you. Now run along to your hellish existence with that thing you live with.'"
Catlyn giggled, but was silenced by a look from Howie. "Sorry. But that was funny," she murmured. "In a twisted sort of way," she said quickly.
"And the worst part of it is," Howie continued, ignoring Catlyn's comment. "I have to leave in a week. I can't even be here to help her through this," he sighed, running his fingers through his hair. He sat back down on the couch, dropping his face into his hands.
Catlyn looked at him, her heart aching for him. She walked over and sat down next to him, pulling him into her arms. "I'm sorry," she whispered.
"Why? Because I want to be the one she wants to be with, but instead she wants the one man in this world that will never appreciate what he's been offered?" he asked softly. "And the only thing I can give her is my shoulder to cry on when he hurts her, and a then I can't even do that properly because my job prevents it?"
"I'm sorry that you had the misfortune of falling in love with someone whose heart is somewhere else," Catlyn said rocking him back and forth slowly. "But she knows that you care about her. And whether or not you are here physically, she knows that you are there for her."
Pulling away, Howie chuckled wiping the tears from his eyes quickly. "This is crazy."
"What is?" Catlyn asked looking at him funny.
"You're her best friend," he said looking at her. "Yet, I'm more tore up about this than you."
Catlyn sighed and looked down at her hands. They rested lightly in her lap, her fingers playing with her fingernails. "She doesn't talk to me too much anymore. Not since…not since that night at the club. Not since she found out I told AJ about her feelings for her. She's…she's had you." Seeing the look of guilt that passed over Howie's face she smiled sadly and touched his arm. "It's okay hon. I'm glad she had someone. I just wish it had been me. But I'm hurting for her. I just know that it's you who she's going to want to turn to, not me."
"I just don't know what to do," he sighed. "I can't believe he did it. It pisses me off so badly. Right now, I want to go over there and just beat the shit out of him," he said, the anger returning to his voice.
"But I don't think Kyndall would want that," Catlyn said shaking her head.
"No. As much as I'm sure she despises him, I don't think she would either."
"Are you going to talk to him?"
Howie laughed. "Hell yes I'm going to talk to him. He's probably not going to like what I have to say. But right now, I don't give a flying fuck," he said standing up and walking towards Kyndall's room.
Catlyn leaned back into the couch, laying her head against the back. She crossed her arms over her eyes and sighed. She could feel the tears falling, but did nothing to stop them. She missed her best friend, regretting the distance that was now between them. She wanted to be there for her, but knew she wasn't what she wanted. Her heart ached for the feelings that Howie had to keep hidden. Catlyn knew that he loved Kyndall, or at least cared about her greatly. And she knew that he wanted to take away all the feelings that Kyndall had for AJ. But he knew that it wasn't possible, and it killed him to watch her hurt over the things that AJ did to her.
Howie walked towards Kyndall's door, wiping the remaining tears from his eyes. He didn't want her to see that he'd been crying. She didn't need to be burdened with his feelings. She had enough to deal with without worrying that he was going to be making a play for her. He knocked softly on the door. After a few moments of silence, he knocked again. He heard a faint "Come in." Opening the door slowly, he peeked inside. She didn't have any lights on in the room, but he could make out her figure laying on the bed. Shutting the door carefully behind him, Howie walked towards her.
"Hey," he said softly sitting down next to her.
"Hey," she whispered, looking up at him.
"How ya feeling?"
"Like shit," she replied sitting up slowly.
He nodded. "I'm sorry."
She laughed sharply. "For what? It's not like you made him do what he did."
"No. But it was my idea for him to find you at the carnival and take you out," he sighed.
"And it was a wonderful idea," she said softly. "I just…I just let myself be carried away by my feelings for him. It was my fault." She broke down again, covering her face with her hands.
"Oh sweetheart," Howie said softly taking her into his arms. He kissed the top of her head gently as he rocked her back and forth. They sat in silence, in the dark, rocking slowly. Howie sang softly, his cheek resting on the top of her head. Eventually he could felt her breathing steady and her body relax. He knew she had fallen asleep, so he laid her back on the bed gently, smoothing her hair from her face. Kissing her softly on the forehead, he whispered, "I love you sweetie. And I'm sorry that I ever let anything hurt you." He watched her sleep for a few minutes, making sure she was going to stay that way. When he was positive that she was okay, he quietly slipped from the room. Saying goodbye to Catlyn, Howie headed back towards his house, praying that he'd be able to get back to sleep.
