| Chapter Twelve Howie didn't waste time. He began by calling Kelly. He explained what had happened and begged her to keep Kat at home that night. Kel reluctantly agreed, but couldn't promise any more than that. She made it very clear that Howie was on his own after that point. The next thing Howie did, was visit the local florist shop and buy a dozen orchids. He knew they were one of Kat's favorites and at this point he figured he could use all the help he could get. He waited until he was sure Kel was home from work and then drove over and parked his car behind Kat's rental. He wanted to make 100% sure she couldn't get away from him. Nervously, he walked to the front door and knocked. He held his breath as he heard footsteps on the other side of the door. The door swung open and Kel smiled at him and let him in. They didn't speak as Kel led Howie through to the living room. "Kat you have a visitor" she announced softly. Kat's head turned from the television and her eyes narrowed as they landed on Howie. "You can tell him I have nothing to say and as soon as I can, I'm going home to forget about this place and most of all HIM" she said, directing her comments to Kel. "Sorry sis, I'm staying outta this one" Kel said as she quickly backed out of the room, feeling guilty after Kat sent her a murderous look. She'd be very surprised if Howie left there in one piece. "Kat" Howie began, only to be cut off by Kat's narrow gaze and the tightly controlled anger in her voice. "Leave now. I never want to see you again." Howie ignored her and walked around the couch to sit across from her, setting the orchids down on the table. "I'm not leaving until you listen to me" he stated in a tone that said he meant it. "Fine! Then I'll leave" she said as she rose from the couch. She didn't get far before Howie had her arm in a firm grip. "I don't think so! You said you trusted me, and yet you won't give me the chance to explain what you saw. That's not fair." "I'll tell you whats not fair! Not fair is trusting someone not to hurt you, only to end up have that trust thrown back at you. Not fair is giving someone your heart, only to find out it didn't mean anything to them at all. That's what is not fair" she said as she jerked her arm from his grasp and ran up the stairs to her room. Howie stood stunned. In all the years he'd known Kat, he'd never known her to loose her temper that way. He knew he was innocent, that he was just comforting Sasha, nothing had happened. But looking at it from her view point, he could clearly see why she felt like she did. He felt defeated. In a matter of seconds he'd lost the best thing that had ever happened to him. If his career suddenly was taken from him, it wouldn't hurt him as much as the pain he felt at losing Kat. Just as suddenly, a flash of anger ripped through him. There was no way he was letting things end like this. He came to have his say and before he left, she would hear him out. Even if he had to tie her down, she was going to listen to him. Then...then if she wanted him out of her life he'd walk away and give her what she wanted. He took the stairs two at a time, and without knocking he pushed into Kat's room. "Get out" she yelled as he slammed the door. "NO!" That one little word was stated with so much passion and feeling it gave her a minute of pause. Howie saw that as the perfect opportunity to begin his explaination, and launched right into it. "I will get out as soon as you sit down and listen to me." Kat sat, her knees to weak to hold her up. "What you saw today was just me comforting a friend, nothing more. She came to my house with tears in her eyes and a sad story on her lips, and like a dumb...well anyways, I fell for it. I was just offering her a shoulder to cry on. That's it. Nothing more. I swear it." Kat sat silently and stared at him. She worked hard at keeping her anger in check, but she couldn't hold the sarcasm back. "How touching. The loveable, sweet Backstreet Boy gives aid to an ex-girlfriend. Puh-lease!" Howie winced at her tone, but knew he deserved it, at least some of it. He could admit now, that it was a dumb thing to do, but hindsight was twenty-twenty. "What do you want from me? You want me on my knees, I'm on my knees" he said as he dropped down in front of her. "You want me to beg, I'll beg. Just don't let what you thought you saw cloud your thinking. I would never, ever betray you that way. Never. And you know deep down in your heart that its the truth." He could see that he was getting nowhere with her and he rose slowly to stand before her. "I only ask one thing from you. Think about the last few weeks, the talks we've had, the time we spent together. Think about the way you feel when your in my arms, the way you stir me, the way my heart longs for you, then if you can honestly say that I still could betray you and you still want to forget that I'm alive, then go. I won't stop you" he finished, his voice no louder than a whisper. He stared down at her for a second more and then turned and quietly left her room. Kat ran a shaky hand over her face and was surprised to find tears. Her heart warred with her head. Her heart said Howie could never, would never betray her, but her head refused to see anything but Sasha in his arms. Around and around they went, heart against head, head against heart. She laid back on her bed and pulled a pillow up to her chest, burying her face in the top of it to stifle the uncontrollable sobs that shook her body. Reunion Index Next Chapter Main Page |