4.4 Visit Home

The weeks leading up to spring break were filled with excitement and new experiences. Kimberly couldn't wait to introduce her boyfriend to her parents. She smiled up at Malachi as he walked into the room. "I can't believe I'm going to meet your dads."

She heard the excitement in his voice and she couldn't resist the smile tugging at her lips. "you sound like a fangirl after she finds out she has backstage tickets."

"That's how I feel too," Malachi put an arm around her as he plopped on the couch beside her "I'm going to meet the son of my idol. Who wouldn't be excited in my shoes?"

"He's just my dad," she told him despite her pleasure that he genuinely seemed to want to meet them.
"Please don't gush over him. You'll make him nervous."

"I promise I'll be on my best behavior" he pulled into her into his lap and kissed her soundly on the mouth.

They both screamed in shock as cold water poured over their heads. "Take it to your room," Gwen demanded a severe scowl upon her pretty face.

Kimberly scrambled to her feet to face her cousin. "What was that for?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Gwen arched an eyebrow "you needed cooling off."

"Come on sweetheart," Malachi took her arm trying to persuade her to go with him "let's go upstairs and dry off."

Shaking his hands off she glared at Gwen. "That was so uncalled for and you know it."

"Says you," Gwen put her hands on her hips taking a step nearer the irate girl. "Your the one who made the rule, no PDA in common areas."

"Now you're playing house marm?" Kimberly threw her hands up in exasperation "fine have it your way." She turned to follow Malachi upstairs who she stopped. "Are you coming home with us for Spring Break?"

Rolling her eyes Gwen grunted "what do you think?"

"I think no you're not," Kimberly sighed dreading what she was going to have to do when she got home. "Gwen please come home with us..."

Eyes narrowing to slits "why should I? So I can be as big a dweeb as you. No thanks."

"All this partying isn't good for you," Kimberly pleaded trying to convey her concern to the girl.

Crossing her arms "why don't you keep your nose out of my business little miss perfect?" She whirled around and stormed out of the house.

***

The night before their flight Kimberly lay in Malachi's arms on the floor in her room. Her suitcases scattered around the room. "Aren't you finished packing yet?" 

"I am but I'm not ready to close everything up yet. What if I forgot something then I'd have to open everything up to see where I should put it."

"Can't you just leave one open?" he asked "then I could load everything up tonight instead of in the morning."

"I suppose," she bit her lip "but...."

"But what?" he asked with a smile.

"What if it's an item that belongs in this bag and I have to put it in that bag because it's the only one open?" Her eyes belied the worry she felt at the thought of the chaos that would create. 

Shaking his head he kissed her nose "you win. I'll load the car in the morning. I don't want to upset your organizational skills."

Lowering her eyes she mumbled "you think I'm being ridiculous don't you?"

"A little" he admitted "but it's a little thing that can be tolerated."

"You're making fun of me," she playfully scowled at him.

"Maybe just a little," he admitted "but your attention to detail is probably what helps in becoming a top notch scientist. So I'm not complaining."

"Have you ever talked to your parents about your interest in science?" she asked.

"I've tried," his arms tightened around her "they just refuse to listen."

"And you don't want to disappoint them," she added throwing her arms around him.

He kept his eyes focused on the floor as he spoke "they spent so much money on my music lessons, concerts, the best art schools. They can't afford to put me through college too. I'm here, well was here on scholarship."

"What happened to your scholarship?" she asked curious. She had wondered for a while but hadn't wanted to pry into his affairs.

"I missed a concert...."

Frowning "why would that..."

"It was a large percentage of my grade. I missed it so I failed" he sighed "I couldn't help it. I had a good excuse for why I wasn't there but it didn't make a difference. I still lost my scholarship because my grades weren't what they should be."

"You'll be able to apply for it again next semester right?" she asked.

"I can" he looked away "I wasn't going to though. I thought maybe I'd change majors and switch to science."

"That's good isn't it?" she looked at him in concern "you always wanted to study science anyway. Now's your chance."

"It's not that easy. When I first lost my scholarship I approached my parents about switching majors. They..." he gulped back a sob. He felt rather than saw Kimberly turn her face towards him. His eyes swam with unshed tears. "Dad said if I did that I wouldn't be able to go home again. I'd be disowned 

if I threw everything away that they worked so hard to give me."

"That's awful," she cried pulling him close.

"They're not bad people," Malachi was quick to assert "they just don't understand why I would want to do anything else. It's not easy having a talent for something when your heart wants to do something else."

"I'm glad I have the parents I have. They'd never dream of forcing me to do something I didn't want to do," Kimberly sighed resting her head on his shoulder.

"They sound too good to be real," Malachi said wistfully.

"Maybe next time we'll be able to arrange for you to meet grandpa," she said with a sly smile.

"Will there be a next time?" he asked.

"If you play your cards right, there will be," she told him closing her eyes content to be in his arms.

***

"Daddy I need to talk to you," Kimberly said as she walked beside Heath towards her favorite park in Dragon Valley. They had left Malachi at home with Don so they could do some bonding. 

"What's on your mind?" he asked taking her hand "if it's about Malachi don't worry we like him. He's seems to be a very nice young man."

"That's reassuring. I'm glad you like him but um," she looked away watching a squirrel run around a tree "that's not what I wanted to discuss."

"Gwen?" he asked "her dad's have been worried about her odd behavior. She never calls and when they do get through to her she never wants to talk to them."

"She parties a lot," Kimberly blurted out as if she had been holding in the information for way too long. It wasn't what she wanted to say at least not the way she wanted to say it. She idea had been to try and cover for her, offer some excuse for her behavior but she couldn't. Her desire to be Gwen's friend was over shadowed by her concern for her welfare. "I'm sorry daddy. She's out of control. I've tried to talk to her but she won't listen."

"How much is a lot?" Heath asked.

"At first it was only on the weekends now it's practically every night. I'm afraid something will happen to her while she's partying with her friends on Spring Break. I tried to get her to come with me but that obviously failed since she's not here."

"Why didn't you tell us what was going on?" Heath asked already sure he knew the answer. Kimberly and Gwen had grown up together. He knew his daughter wouldn't want to be the teller of tales and getting her cousin in trouble. He knew the situation must be bad if she was telling him now. He had known for a while she had been holding something back but he had thought it was in regards to her and Malachi and private moments he didn't want to be privy of. If he was any judge to the two young people that was something they both still needed to work on. He had hoped his children would be less backwards in that regard than he had been at their age.

She looked towards the ground kicking at a stone with her toes. "I know I should have said something sooner...I thought I could reach her somehow." Shrugging she looked up "she doesn't like me very much."

"Don't say that sweetie," Heath pulled her close "she's lost a the moment."

"She doesn't like me because of my ability to connect with her if I wanted to," Kimberly continued as if she hadn't heard him "she's been pushing me away..."

"Almost as if she's daring you to take a look in her mind."

"Exactly" she said in relief "but I promised I'd never do that to her."

"Honey sometimes you don't have a choice..."

"So you think I should" she asked turning troubled eyes towards her dad

"I think she's in trouble and doesn't know how to ask for help," Heath told  her "what would you do if I suddenly started acting strangely?"

"I'd...." she bit her lip to hold the words back.

"Uh huh," Heath nodded " then why are you hesitating with Gwen? She may be right there in the house with you but she's gone none the less."

"I never thought of it like that before," she wiped a tear away "I need to think about this before I do anything."

Kissing her cheek Heath smiled encouragingly at her "I'll leave you to your thinking. If you need to talk, you know who to reach me."

***

Gwen walked out onto the hotel balcony. The wind whipped her long blond hair around her face. She stared towards the ocean, the waves crashing onto the beach without a care or worry. The white caps perfectly reflected her thoughts and feelings. It's the way she pretended to be most days. The way she wished she was.

Leaning on the railing she wondered what would happen if she lost her balance. A sudden fleeting picture of her twisted broken body on the ground below filled her mind. She was so alone. Would anyone even care?

"I would care," Kimberly's sweet voice filled her head.

"Why?" the girl screamed into the wind unconcerned if anyone was around to hear.

"Your my cousin, my best friend. I love you."

Shaking Gwen wrapped her arms around her herself "I've been so mean to you. I've done so much I'm not proud of." The tears she fought to keep at bay threatened to break loose like the the storm clouds overhead. 

"It doesn't matter," Kimberly told her "those are just things you've done. They're not who you are."

"I've hurt a lot of people," Gwen cried "you. My parents. Everyone. I've slept with so many guys that I can't remember all all of them."

"Why?" Kimberly asked.

"I...I was afraid..."

"Afraid of what?" Kimberly asked as fear clutched her heart. She could feel the other girls terror. It was the same terror she experienced when they had been kidnapped by her terrible grandfather. The same fear that prevented her from connecting with her and comforting  her. "Gwennie don't lose hope. Stay with me."

Shaking in the stiff cool wind coming if off the ocean Gwen fell to the floor. "I saw him...he came to the house...."

"Your Grandfather?" Kimberly asked hoping she was wrong. They had hoped he was dead, caught in the explosion of one of his warehouses.

"Yes" Gwen's voice sounded terrified "Kimmie I don't want to talk about this."

"I know, I know but how else can I help?" 

"I'm scared. I didn't do as I was told and he's going to come back...."

***

Kimberly cried out holding her head when the connection was broken between her and Gwen. It was sudden. It was abrupt. It was painful. Little black dots danced before her eyes as her head throbbed in pain. She tried to get t her feet, stumbled a couple steps before falling over. She lay with her nose in a little depression in the ground as the first drops of rain began to fall. She tried to left her head, to move, nothing obeyed her commands. "Daddy help" she mumbled as the rain began to pelt her.

Malachi jumped to his feet Heath entered the living room where he and Don were talking. Well perhaps staring at each other was a better description. "Where's Kimberly" he asked his voice high 

with anxiety.

"She stayed behind. She had things to think about."

"It's raining," Malachi fretted.

"There are shelters for her to go under if necessary," Heath told him as he started to pick up on the boys concern.

Nodding Malachi turned towards the door "something doesn't feel right."

Heath frowned at the boys words and tried to reach out to his daughter. Nothing. He had never felt nothing before. He had always felt something even when she was blocking him. This was ominous. This was terrifying.

Malachi gave him a concerned look "are you alright sir? You blacked out for a moment there."

Shaking his head Heath waved the boys helpful hands away "no I'm fine." He knew the boy was unaware of their ability but he was uncommonly perceptive. "I think you might be right. We should go look for her."

***

Walking into the pouring rain Malachi looked towards the older man waiting for him to take the lead. Most of the time Malachi viewed him as a sort of older brother rather than a father figure. Don felt more fatherly, older, wiser, calmer. He was the one who elected to stay behind and watch the younger children while they went in search of Kimberly. He could practically feel the tension, the anxiety pouring off of Heath as they ran towards the park.

Malachi had a feeling there was a lot of things he didn't know. Like the black outs that both Kimberly and Heath had in common. Could it be a health problem? One day he hoped they would trust him enough to tell him. He had tried to ask Don but it seemed to be a touchy subject to him. He wished he had pursued it. It might have answered a lot of the questions he had as he ran through the pouring rain.

They were soaked to the skin by the time they reached the park. "Where did you last see her?" Malachi shouted above the rain.

Pointing Heath led the way down a path "she always liked this path even when she was a little girl," he explained a they kept a watchful eye out for her.

"OMG" Malachi cried upon seeing her lying face down in the mud and water. Running past Heath he dropped to his knees beside her. Carefully he rolled her over wiping mud from  he nose and mouth. He felt rather than saw Heath kneel beside him in the mud.

"Is she breathing? he asked the fear in his voice almost palatable.

With shaky fingers Malachi felt for a pulse. Sighing in relief he nodded "she has a pulse." The low moan from her confirmed she was also breathing.

"Oh thank god," Heath muttered under his breath running a hand through his hair. He moved to pick her up.

"I've got her," Malachi said before Heath a chance to touch her.

***

"Daddy," Kimberly said opening  her eyes.

"Shh baby" Heath soothed "it's late. Go back to sleep."

Shaking her head she struggled to sit up. "How?" her eyes opened wide "how did I get home?"

"Malachi had a feeling something was wrong. So we came looking for you." Heath took her hand "what happened?"

"I...don't...know," she turned to look into his worried blue eyes "I was talking to Gwen when I felt a sharp pain in my head."

"Is she in trouble?" Heath asked.

Nodding Kimberly squeezing his hand "that horrible man is back..."

"Her Grandfather?"

"Yes, she's real scared daddy."

"We'll find her," Heath assured her "don't worry about it." He pushed her back onto the pillow. He got up, kissed her cheek smiling down at her "I'll tell Malachi you're awake. He'll want to see you."