Chase Me (26 page)

My lifelines, most of them anyway, were gone. I looked up at the clock that striked twelve, and wanted to give it the finger.

My mom was gone, my dad was gone, Kurt and Liza were both gone as well. Everyone I knew good or bad were leaving me for the afterlife and for a split second I couldn’t help but want to join them.

“
Kate,” Brooklyn cried as she held onto me. She had now lost two mothers and I was selfishly thinking about walking beside my mom after losing just one.

“
They want a celebration,” I murmured as I pulled every ounce of strength I had from some unknown place just to get up off the floor.

“
Miss Huntington,” the doctor came to me with that solemn look they give you when they feel defeated in their chess game with death. “I’m so sorry,” he whispered as he placed a hand on my shoulder. “We did everything we could,” he continued and I nodded to each remark.

“
My dad is with my mom, and that is where they want to be,” I replied softly as I held the letter tightly in my hand.

“
You okay? I can prescribe you something to help over the next few days until Monday and then you can see your regular doctor,” the young doctor asked, and it was a crutch. I could take it, but then the pills would become replacements for sex and alcohol. People with addictive personalities like mine needed to steer clear of things like that.

“
No, I will be fine,” I whispered and wondered if it was a lie.

“
We need to make arrangements,” I said to Brooklyn as she led me to the elevator. I pushed the button to go up another floor and Brooklyn wiped her tears to look at me crossly, but said nothing.

I took her hand and we exited the elevator and walked down the hallway. There we came to a window where Henry was rocking a new baby in his arms as tubes came out of her like my mother had had.

I knocked and he waved at me to come in.

“
Kate,” he finally got my name right. “I would like you to come and meet Karen Rose Huntington. Your sister,” Henry showed me the tiny little baby and I asked if I could hold her. I sat in the rocker and the nurses helped transfer her from him to me.

“
I know you’re not my daughter. I got the same paperwork this morning, but I would like to get to know you. I would like to try this again without force or strain.”

“
I think I would like that,” I replied softly as baby Karen yawned in my arms. “Why did you name her Karen?” I asked out of comfort.

“
I know I have been obstinate and awful, but there was a time before you where I could be a lot of fun. I met your mom in the prime of that, and she was the one who got away. I gave her everything and she just left me there by a fire in the woods during a rock festival. I named her Karen because I want her to grow up strong, independent, and confident. The three qualities Liza lacked and Karen had in spades.”

“
I think she will grow up to be just fine, as long as you don’t buy her fake tits,” I laughed and baby Karen opened her eyes to look at me. “Hi little one. Your dad here is a grumpy old man, but I think he will take amazing care of you. In fact, I know he will because there is an angel named Karen who just entered Heaven and will be in need of someone to watch over. I bet she picks you just so she can throw things at your daddy.

I looked up at Henry to see tears in his eyes, as I just told him my mother had died. He turned his back to me so I wouldn’t see the sadness and I looked back down at baby Karen.

“
Brooklyn you have to make me some babies with Mark,” I smiled as she watched me with baby Karen. “I know it’s a tall order, but what’s a one-night stand when you get a lifetime of love from a tiny little baby.”

“
You want Mark’s babies, you go have them,” she laughed through her tears.

“
Is that permission?”

“
No,” she shouted defensively. “He’s still mine, even if he doesn’t realize I exist. One day I hope he loves me as much as Karen and Mike loved each other.”

“
You already do,” I replied as the nurse came and took the baby for a feeding.

I walked over and wrapped my arms around Henry and whispered in his ear.

“
She loved you in her own way, if she didn’t she would have never hunted you down and thrown me at you.”

“
She was definitely a stubborn woman when she thought she was right,” Henry replied. “I would love for you to stay and work with me at the office, but something tells me your heart is not in it.”

Henry leaned back and pulled keys out of his pants. I watched as he took three off and handed them to me.

“
What is this?” I asked and he closed my hand around them with a emotional smile.

“
These are the keys to your garage. I’ll send the paperwork over in a couple weeks.”

“
I can’t-,” I tried to refuse, but there was no telling him no. Brooklyn came up and linked her arm in mine and led me out of the room so Henry could compose himself better.

I had loved and lost.

I had lost and loved.

I had lost my heart and gained a new bigger one that was capable of loving openly and easily.

Chapter 23

Six Weeks later

“
I am calling from outside the house,” I spoke into the phone.

“
I am answering from inside the house,” Brooklyn replied as we both laughed.

We made plans to unpack her new apartment with Chinese food, wine, and a movie. I headed out in a cab and went and picked everything up. Then I got to her new apartment to see the door was open. I peeked my head around the corner and looked to see her looking at Mark the way my mom used to look at Mike as he spun her in the air.

I decide to stay hidden in the nook and watch them interact. I could almost feel the spark between them, and had to wonder if that is what Mike meant when he said he saw it between me and Eddie.

“I am a detective. You didn’t have to,” Mark replied to Brooklyn about something with a smirk on his face.

“So, what you’re saying is that you’re a legal stalker?” She sharply retorted as she walked up to him.

“I am whatever you want me to be when you look at me like that,” Mark replied and I wanted to just put up a big neon flashing sign that said here is your chance for Brooklyn.

Mark lifted her off the floor in a bear hug. I was about to make my entrance, but then a song came on her IPod that took me back to memories of when they first looked at each other the way they were looking now.

“Do you remember the first time we danced to this?” Mark asked Brooklyn.

“I do, we were having oldies night at the school and Kevin had just dumped me. You held me in your arms and danced with me all night. You saved me from myself that night,” she replied forgetting that Mark had to go into the bathroom and drag her out with a tear stained dress.

“I’ve missed you, Mark,” Brooklyn said softly and I wanted to alert the world that my sister had found her cojones, and told him, okay kind of told him how she felt, but then I saw the look on his face and she wasn’t going to like the response so I stood up.

“Hey, Kate,” Brooklyn said hi as Mark let her go.

“Hi, Kate.” Mark stated as he acted like nothing was knew.

“Hey, guys. I brought Chinese food and I have three bottles of wine. Who is ready to watch Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit?”.

“Mark would you like to stay for dinner?” Brooklyn asked and I was a little irked that she would ask him since this was supposed to be a girl’s night.

“Did you get any General Tso’s?” Mark asked as he took my bags into the kitchen.

“I sure did, because I knew you would be here,” I stated with sarcasm.

“Shh, Kate, no one is to know I was here,” Mark replied as he waved his hands around like he was hypnotizing me.

“When will you stop these childish games and make a woman out of me?” I asked with humor as my mood had just lightened.

“When you start bringing me Chinese food and my slippers,” Mark replied and I faked a southern scoff.

“She got the General Tso’s because it is my favorite, but I share with hot guys and policemen,” Brooklyn spoke up and I giggled because I knew where this was going.

“What category do you put me in?” Mark asked as he tickled her.

I watched as Brooklyn pressed her body against his and dropped to her knees slowly and then placed a kiss on his belt. I think I was going to vomit if they started screwing in front of me. So I took a swig from the bottle of wine I had already opened in the cab;

“When my body against yours starts affecting you, then I will add you to the hot guy column. Until then, you get to stay off that list,” Brooklyn sweetly spoke to Mark.

“That was cruel, woman!” Mark bellowed and I laughed.

“You could be Chris Pine’s doppelganger,” I shouted and held up the movie case to Mark’s face. I was feeling a little tipsy, but having fun basking in the electricity between the two of them.

“Did you open the wine in the cab on the way here?” Brooklyn asked and I nodded.

Brooklyn took my hand and led me to the couch as she said goodbye to Mark. I didn’t hear what she said, but he looked hurt. I wanted to know, but at the same time I didn’t want to dive into their story.

“What?” She glared at me.

“You got it bad.”

“What are you talking about?” Brooklyn asked as if I had to tell her.

“You want him. You need him. You love him,” I turned it into a little song that was annoying to get stuck in your head.

“We are just friends,” Brooklyn told me her first lie.

“Yeah, because friends refuse to call each other. You two must be such great friends that you can communicate through telepathy. You both know you haven’t come around since he started dicking it to that one chick.”

Brooklyn rolled her eyes with a scoff and tried to walk away. I pulled her arm and became the friend to her that she had always been to me.

“Look, stick the moral compass in your purse. He wants you. You want him. Now jump on his grill chest and get it out of your system before you explode and start dating a vibrator.”

She shook her head as I gave her my biggest smile and then she rolled her eyes. She would see I was right, she just needed some time.

“His grill chest? What does that even mean?” Brooklyn asked.

“You remember my last cookout? Remember that grill I borrowed? The grate was rock hard and made of steel. I imagine his chest would look like that with line after line of rock hard abs. I also think that if I l climbed on top of his chest I would get burned because he is so hot.”

I faked fanning myself as she rolled her eyes and went into the kitchen and made us plates, turned off her Ipod, started the movie and sat down with me.