Chapter 66
Nick got into his truck and called Brian.
"Hello."
"Hey Frick. I need you to go check on Kevin."
"Why?"
"Because him and Janel got into a huge fight and I just dropped her off at the airport."
"They what? When did this happen? What were they fighting about?"
"I have no idea. Janel called me asking me to take her to the airport. So I stop by, and her and Kevin are yelling at each other and she's crying."
"Really? Where did she go?"
"I don't know. She just wanted me to drop her off."
"Where's Kev?"
"He should be at home. I'd go over there, but I think he's pretty pissed at me."
"Okay. I'll go over there now. I'll call the other guys and we'll meet there."
"Okay," Nick said, then he hung up.
I sat there thinking about Kevin. I had to close my eyes so I wouldn't cry.
Then the flight attendant came over the intercom announcing that my flight would arrive soon.
I pulled out my cell and decided to call someone before I got onto the plane.
"Hello."
"Hi Rick. It's me Janel."
"Hi. What's up?"
"I'll be arriving in New York in a couple of hours."
"What? You didn't tell me you guys would be visiting."
"Actually, it's just me."
"No Kevin?"
"No."
"Oh. So do you want me to pick you up?"
"Would you?"
"Of course."
"Thank you so much Rick. But I have another favor to ask."
"Sure, what is it?"
"If Lauren or anyone else calls you asking for me, please don't tell them that you've heard from me. I don't want them to know where I am."
"Why?"
"I can't explain right now, but will you do that for me?"
"I don't know."
"Please, Rick. For me."
"Oh okay."
"Promise?"
"I promise."
"Thank you. I have to go now."
"Okay. See you in a couple of hours. Bye."
"Bye," I said. I hung up and then boarded the plane.
The doorbell rang and Kevin ran to the door. He opened it, expecting Janel.
"Oh, hi," he said disappointedly as he saw Brian and Ashley.
Brian studied his cousin's face. "What happened?"
"Where's Janel?" Ashley asked as they walked in.
Kevin sat down and stared at Brian and Ashley. Then his doorbell rang again.
"I'll get it," Ashley said as she got up.
She went to the door and let Lauren, Howie, A.J., and Stacey in.
They walked into Kevin's living room and sat down.
"Wow Kevin, you look horrible," A.J. said.
"Where's Janel?" Lauren asked worriedly.
Kevin stared at the engagement ring that he held in his hand. "Gone."
"Where?" Lauren asked.
"When?" Stacey asked.
"Why?" Ashley asked.
"Kevin, what happened?" Howie asked.
Kevin stared at the ground.
"I slept with another woman," he said, barely above a whisper.
Everyone looked at Kevin in shock.
"You bastard! How could you to do that to her?" Stacey questioned.
"I didn't do it on purpose!" Kevin yelled.
"You slept with that bitch, Ariana. Didn't you?" Lauren questioned angrily.
"How'd you know?" Kevin asked quietly.
"I saw you two at the party. You guys were drunk off your asses!" Lauren cried.
"A.J.'s party?" Brian asked.
"Yes," Lauren stated.
"So where is Janel?" Ashley asked.
"I don't know! She left with Nick!" Kevin shouted.
"He doesn't know where she is either. He called me and said that he dropped her off at the airport," Brian said.
"Damn you Kevin! Do you know what you've done to her?" Lauren inquired.
"Why the hell did you sleep with another woman?" Stacey demanded.
"Kevin. You were going to marry her," A.J. said, trying to understand what had possessed Kevin to cheat on Janel.
"Don't you think I fuckin' know that!?" Kevin yelled.
"Okay. Everyone just needs to calm down," Howie said.
"Arguing is not going to change anything," Brian said.
"We have to find Janel," Lauren said.
Ring! Ring!
Brian quickly picked it up. "Hello, Janel?"
"Um, no. Is Kevin there?" a female voice asked.
Brian handed the phone to Kevin.
"Hello," Kevin said.
"Hey Kevin. It's me, Ariana."
"What the hell do you want?"
"I thought maybe we could go out tonight."
"You've just helped me to screw up my life and you want to go out?! No way in hell!" Kevin yelled. Then he hung up.
Everyone just stared at him as Kevin's face became red with anger.
"Ariana?" Howie asked.
Kevin shook his head yes.
Ariana stared at the phone and then dialed again.
Everyone looked at the phone as it rang again.
"Hello," Brian answered.
"Kevin please."
Brian handed the phone to Kevin.
"Yeah," he said as he answered it.
"Kevin, we need to talk about the other night. I know that we're meant to be together."
"No. We are not!" Kevin said angrily and then hung up.
As soon as Ariana heard the dial tone she hit re-dial .
"Not again," Kevin said as he placed his head in his hands.
"Allow me," Lauren said as she picked it up. "Hello."
"Kevin," Ariana said.
"Look bitch! You leave Kevin alone. He doesn't want a damn thing to do with you! And if you don't stop, I'll go over there and personally kick your ass! Understood?"
There was no response on the other side of the line.
"Understood?" Lauren asked again.
"Yes," Ariana said, then she slammed the phone down.
Lauren smiled. "We won't be hearing from her again."
"Now what?" asked A.J..
"I'm going to call Ann and ask her if she's heard from Janel," Ashley said as she picked up the phone.
Kevin placed his hand on the receiver. "Don't tell my mom what happened."
"I won't. I'll let you explain to her what happened," Ashley said.
Kevin removed his hand from the receiver and let her call Ann.
As I sat there staring out the window Kevin's words kept repeating in my mind.
The more I thought about it the angrier I became. How could he betray my love like that? I loved him with all of my heart and soul. I was certain that he would never hurt me. He promised that he'd always love me and be by my side. After all that had happened with Jerry and then losing my mom, he was always there supporting me. But now I was alone. And there was no greater pain than being without Kevin.
Ashley hung up and shook her head.
"Ann hasn't heard from her since Friday. She said that she'll call us as soon as she hears from her," Ashley said.
"Where could she be going?" A.J. asked.
"The only place she could go is home," Kevin said.
"Rick," Stacey said.
Lauren shook her head in agreement and then walked over to the phone.
"Hello."
"Hi Rick, it's me Lauren."
"Hey. How are you?"
"Pretty good. But I haven't heard from Janel lately, have you?"
"No. She sent me an e-mail about a week ago, but that's it."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah, why? What's going on?"
"I can't explain right now. I just need you to call me if Janel contacts you. Okay?"
"Okay."
"Thanks."
"Sure," he said. Then he hung up.
Rick sat there wondering what was going. Why would Janel just leave and not tell anyone where she was going? And why doesn't she want to be found?
Rick got up and went to go pick up Janel. He was going to find out the answers to his questions very soon.
"Maybe she'll call us at home," Ashley said hopefully.
"Yeah, cause she's not going to call here," Stacey said as she stared at Kevin.
"You don't have to remind me," Kevin said angrily. "Just get out! All of you, out of my house!"
All three girls immediately walked out the door.
The guys just stood there staring at Kevin.
"Kevin. . .," Brian began.
"Look. I don't need you to lecture me on what I've done. I know what I've lost," Kevin stated.
"Okay," Brian said.
"Call if you need anything," Howie said.
"You'll call me if she calls any of you? Even if she says not to. I have to know she's okay," Kevin said.
The guys just looked at him.
"Please!" Kevin exclaimed.
"We will," they said.
Then they left.
"What took you so long?" Ashley asked as Brian walked up to her.
"We were beginning to think that you guys were kicking his ass," Lauren said.
"Lauren," Howie said shocked.
"Actually it was more like we were hoping that you were," Stacey said.
"I know how you feel," Brian said. "I'd love to give him a piece of my mind."
"I think we need to just go home and see if Janel calls," Howie said.
"Yeah," everyone agreed.
"And if she does we'll all notify each other," Lauren said.
"Definitely," Ashley said.
They all said good bye and then left.
I walked off the plane relieved to see Rick. I just needed someone to hold me.
We walked towards each other. He wrapped his arms around me as we hugged each other, neither of us saying a word.
Once he let go he asked, "How was your flight?"
"Long," I replied.
"Come on. Let's go," he said.
"Yes, please," I said.
We picked up my bag and then got into his car. The entire ride home we just chitchatted avoiding the subject of why I was in town.
Kevin sat there on the couch staring at the engagement he was holding. He began to cry as he realized that Janel had left. He knew that she would be upset, but he never thought she would just leave. He figured they would at least be able to talk. But he was wrong.
He laid on the couch with the phone in his hand.
"Here you go," Rick said as he set my bag down in his guest room.
"Thanks," I said as I sat down on the bed.
"You're welcome. Just make yourself at home," he said as he sat next to me.
"Thank you," I said as hugged him. Then I began to cry.
"Ssh, it's okay. I'm here," he said, trying to comfort me.
He wiped away my tears.
"Tell me what happened," he said.
I sighed. "I left Kevin," I mumbled.
"Did I just hear you right? You left Kevin?" he questioned shocked.
I shook my head yes as the tears continued to fall.
"But why? You two were engaged? What happened?" Rick asked confused.
"He. . .he slept with another woman," I choked out.
"He what?" Rick asked furiously.
"He went to a party without me and. . .got drunk," I explained.
"That fucking bastard! How could he sleep with another woman?" Rick questioned angrily.
"I don't know," I said as I shook my head and my tears continued to fall.
"Oh Janel, I'm so sorry. I know you loved him," Rick said as he calmed down.
He pulled me close to him and held me.
"Don't cry. I'm here for you," he said as he stroked my hair back.
"I know," I said as I wiped away my tears.
"Do you want something to eat?" he asked as he looked at me.
"No. I just want to go to sleep," I said.
"All right. But if you need anything you just call me. Okay?" he asked.
"Okay," I agreed.
He kissed my cheek. "Get a good night's rest."
"I'll try," I said.
He got up and left closing the door behind him. I laid down and tired to go to sleep. But every time I closed my eyes I saw Kevin. And when I did fall asleep Kevin was in my dreams.
About 6 o'clock in the morning I woke up crying from a dream. I was standing in the middle of A.J.'s house as I watched Kevin with another girl. He didn't even seem to notice that I was in the room.
I sat up and wiped my tears away. Then I quickly got up and ran to the bathroom. I leaned over the toilet and began to throw up.
Rick walked in and handed me a wash cloth.
I cleaned myself up and then he walked me back to my room.
"You okay?" he asked.
"Yeah. I'm fine," I said.
"Why don't you just lay down?" he suggested.
"Okay," I said as I rested my head on my pillow.
I closed my eyes as he sat there and played while my hair.
Rick sat there playing with Janel's hair until she finally fell asleep. Then he quietly walked out.
He was so glad that Janel had come back to him. Now he had his chance that he'd been waiting for. He knew that somehow they would end up together. Unfortunately her heart was broken at the moment, due to Kevin, but he knew that he would be able to fix that. He wanted to kill Kevin for hurting her so much, but he wasn't going to do anything or else he would lose his chance.
Kevin woke up to Candy licking him. He sat up on the couch and held her. Then he decided to go upstairs, just to check. He walked into his room disappointed to see his bed still made.
He laid down and wrapped his arms around the pillow. He could still smell her perfume that filled the air. Candy curled up next to Kevin trying to comfort him.
I woke up to my cell phone ringing. I quickly got up and answered it.
"Hello."
"Janel, is that you?"
I didn't say anything.
"It's me Brian. Pumpkin, please talk to me. Where are you? Are you okay?"
I just sat there listening to him.
"Janel, I know you're there. Please talk to me. Everyone's worried about you."
I hung up and then shut my phone off. Then I got up and walked out into the kitchen.
"Good morning," Rick said as he made breakfast.
"Morning," I said as I sat down.
"Hungry?" he asked.
"No, not really," I said.
"Are you sure?" he asked.
"Yeah," I said. "But do you have orange juice?"
"Yeah, let me get it," he said.
"Thanks," I said.
He got me a glass and the orange juice. Then he sat down and ate breakfast while I drank my juice.
"Who called? Was it Kevin?" Rick asked a he stared at me.
I shook my head no. "No, it wasn't him. And I don't want to talk about this anymore. That's why I came here."
"Okay. I won't mention it again. But I think I should tell you that Lauren called yesterday asking for you," he said.
"What did you tell her?" I asked.
"Nothing. I told her that I hadn't heard from you in about a week," he said.
"That's all?" I asked.
"Yep, nothing else," he said.
"Thank you so much," I said.
"You're welcome," he said as he placed his hand on mine.