Taken Away Chapter 1

Chapter One
Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, AZ February 2, 2009 10:37 AM

Blake Harris stared out the window of her private jet called The Fox as it taxied its way on the empty runway. For some reason, the seventeen year old focused on why she decided to name a plane after an animal. It was currently her favorite animal and thought it’d be cool. Now she was somewhat annoyed by her decision.
I’ll have to change it when I come up with a better name she thought.
The reason she was thinking about such a trivial matter was that she was trying very hard to not think about the rockets that were going off in her abdomen, trying ever so hard to force their way out by any means necessary. She hated being nervous, almost as much as she hated being afraid. She felt they were weaknesses and she only allowed herself very few weaknesses. It’s not that Blake believed that emotions were a sign of weakness, only fear and nervousness. She showed her other feelings without difficulty , such as anger, love, and annoyance. She often said to her friends, “I’m not a bitch, I’m just brutally honest,” which many people who knew her agreed with. If someone was being particularly annoying or just plain stupid, Blake had no problem pointing it out and sometimes that meant saying it outright without cutting any corners. However, she forgave people quite easily and she never kept grudges.
The thing is, Blake wasn’t sure how she should react with the person she was going to meet once the jet parked itself and the aircraft unloaded. What would she say? What does one say to one’s biological mother she’s never met before and never knew existed until a week ago?
Before she could answer the question she’s been thinking about for the past seven days, the captain told Blake over the intercom that they have arrived at the correct tarmac and she can exit the jet.
“Thanks, James,” the teenager said, pressing the intercom button so he could hear her. Blake unbuckled herself and stood, stretching after the hour and half plane ride. She picked up her green messenger bag and downed the rest of her Dr. Pepper she had grabbed from the mini fridge, then tossed it in the garbage. Blake took a very deep breath and clenched and unclenched her fists, a routine she did whenever she was trying to get herself together.
“Are you ready, Miss Harris?” asked a large man in a black suit and tie. His name was Xavier Jefferson, Blake’s head of security. He was six foot four, very muscled, and dark, almost black, eyes. He may look stern and serious to others, but Blake knew him to be an extremely sweet man and she often teased him by calling him a teddy bear.
“How can you be ready for something like this?” she asked the man she’s known since she was a small child. He sighed as well, not answering her question. Then Blake made her way to the back of the plane, the steps already descending.
She felt the blast of heat hit her and gasped at the sudden temperature change from a cool 60 degrees Fahrenheit in the cabin to the 80 degrees outside and very sunny.
“Welcome to the southwest,” she muttered to herself. She was glad she decided to wear a woman’s work t-shirt. It was black and plain in the front and then a white and black guitar design on the back where the neck was broken in half. Running parallel to the broken neck were the words in red “Axe Assassin” and red lightning bolts coming from the area where the guitar neck was broken. Her baggy jeans were a dark blue and ripped in several places with a black, silver studded belt holding them up. Blake reached into her bag at her hip and pulled out her motorcycle sunglasses that were so dark you couldn’t see her eyes, which protected her against the extremely bright sun. She then looked down at the ground and saw a few people bustling with activity by securing the jet and two other security agents next to a black unmarked SUV. Others were taking Blake’s suitcases from the luggage compartment.
But Blake only saw one person and she was standing a little ways ahead of the vehicle. Blake felt her heart pound with nervousness and fear, but she forced it to calm down, then began walking down the steps. Xavier followed her to where the woman was standing. Alyson Christenson; Blake’s biological mother; her real birth mother.
As Blake walked up to her, she looked over the older woman, seeing how much they looked alike. Although at a first glance, Blake looked nothing like this woman, after hours of staring at her picture she received from the police, she could see some similarities. They had the same nose and their eyes, even though they weren’t the same color, were the same shape. However, other than that, there was nothing else. This woman was around five feet and nine inches where Blake was five feet, four inches. Alyson Christenson had grayish-blue eyes and Blake had striking emerald green eyes. The older woman had almost black hair to her neck and Blake had blond hair to her shoulder blades (although her tips were dyed red and her sideswiped bangs where dyed black).
She eventually reached the woman and stood about a yard away from her. The rockets were at full throttle in her stomach and her heart was pounding extremely loudly. Alyson stared at her long lost daughter in person for the first time in sixteen years and it took every ounce of strength to hold her tears back.
Blake saw her eyes moisten.
Oh, please don’t cry! she silently begged the woman, who opened and closed her mouth a few times, as if unable to say what she was trying to get out.
“You’re—you’re beautiful,” Alyson whispered after a minute of staring at her daughter. Blake blushed slightly, but held their gaze. Alyson truly did believe that. Although Blake’s style of clothing was very different than her other daughters, along with nine piercings (eight on her ears, one on her tongue), and her unorthodox hair, the mother of the girl who owned a private jet thought she was absolutely stunning.
“Uh...thanks,” Blake said so quietly that Alyson barely heard her.
There was a long silence, neither of them knowing what to say. Blake could see Alyson’s body tensing, as if she were restraining herself from hugging her daughter. The teenager wasn’t sure if she would be comfortable with a hug. Even though this woman was her real mother, she was still a stranger to her. However, she could understand why she would want to embrace her. Xavier took a step forward to Blake’s side and cleared his throat.
“Miss Harris, we should be on our way. Your luggage has already been loaded into the car,” he said. “It would be wise to beat the press. It won't take them long to learn where you are now living.”
“Oh, right,” Blake said. “This is Xavier Jefferson, my head of security,” she introduced to Alyson.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Christenson,” Xavier said with a slight nod and a professional tone.
“He’s not as serious as he looks, I promise,” Blake promised the woman, knowing her body guard could come across as intimidating to most people. Alyson smiled slightly.
“Well, we should get going. I drove here and my car is in the airport parking lot,” she said.
“Okay.”
Everyone, including the two other security agents who didn’t say a word, got into the SUV and started driving to the parking lot. The ride was spent in silence, which Blake wasn’t sure if it was a good thing or not. They reached Alyson’s car, a blue 2007 Mazda CX-9.
“I’m not sure if all of your suitcases will fit in my car,” Alyson said, her brow scrunched up a little.
“That’s okay. They’re following us to your house, so it’ll stay in that car,” Blake replied. Alyson looked a little taken aback.
“It’s a three hour drive,” she said. Blake shrugged.
“How else are they going to get everything over? We can’t exactly drive back and forth,” she responded.
“I suppose, but I don’t want to put them out,” Alyson said reluctantly. Blake chuckled.
“It’s kind of what I hired them for, so it’s technically their job, I guess.”
“Okay then. Let’s get going.”
“See you in a few hours, Xavier,” Blake called to her protector. He nodded and Blake stepped into the front seat of the Mazda, then they finally left the airport and came upon the freeway around eleven am.
More silence enveloped the two women, the only noise was of speeding cars and soft music playing on the radio. Blake automatically began tapping her fingers to the beat of the music, not even realizing she was doing it. She looked out the window of the car and played with the piercing on her tongue. She would sometimes glance over at Alyson, knowing she was doing it as well.
After fifteen minutes without a single exchange of words, Alyson spoke unable to stand the silence any longer.
“Olivia and Bethany are done with school around three, so you’ll have about an hour to unpack before you meet them,” she said. Blake was then hit over the head again with the knowledge that she had sisters. She grew up as an only child her whole life (as far as she knew of, anyways) and the idea of having siblings was kind of strange.
“How old are they?” she asked.
“Olivia is nineteen and Bethany is fifteen, sixteen in April. Olivia is a freshman at St. Mary’s University, which is just a few miles from our house so she lives at home to save money. Bethany is a sophomore at the high school you’ll be going to,” Alyson answered.
“What do they like to do?”
“Olivia plays intramural golf and she also played in high school. She enjoys church activities, we’re Catholic, and often volunteers for different events, specifically with our church’s youth group. She wishes to become a youth pastor. She is majoring in Philosophy and her minor is Theology,” she explained. “Bethany is more into sports than Olivia. She plays on the varsity volleyball team. She was the first freshman to be a starting player in almost thirty years. The extent of her church involvement is youth group every week and mass on Sundays. You are more than welcomed to join us, if you want, but I’ll understand if you don’t. Are you religious?”
“Uh...no, not really. I’ve never been to church and never really had any urge to go,” Blake answered.
“Well, like I said, you are more than welcomed to come with us whenever you want. You were baptized Catholic after all,” she said. Blake raised an eyebrow.
“I was?” she asked, surprised.
“Yes, at the same church we go to now. We’ve never left Bisbee and have lived in the same house for almost twenty one years. You were actually born in Phoenix, which is my home city, when we were visiting my folks. I was in labor for forty five minutes at four thirty in the morning. One heck of a wakeup call,” she said with a small chuckle. Blake smiled as well. This was the first time she had ever heard the story of her birth.
Another silence, only this one was more comfortable.
“Do you always have them following you?” the older woman asked after another fifteen minutes. Blake smiled and glanced back at the black vehicle that was still tailing them.
“Usually it’s only Xavier and the ones are for when I travel anywhere.”
“When will Xavier be going back to Detroit?”
“He won’t be.”
“Really? He’s staying in Bisbee?” Alyson asked, surprised. “I have to be honest, I don’t have any room for him.”
Blake laughed out loud at that comment.
“Don’t worry, he’s not going to move in with you. He bought a house just down the street from yours,” she replied. “I tried to force him into staying in Detroit, even offering him an early retirement with plenty of money to tide him over for the rest of his life, but he refused. He told me that my parents left me in his charge and he’d be damned if he let me bribe him into leaving me. So, he followed me here.”
Alyson laughed quietly.
“He sounds very devoted to his job,” she said.
“I’m secretly glad he came along. He’s been with me since I was four and it would have been very difficult to leave him behind. However, I do feel a little bad to just uproot him like that, but he’s very stubborn.”
“Doesn’t he have any family?”
“No. His parents live somewhere in Idaho and he never married anyone. I don’t even think he’s had a girlfriend in all the years I’ve known him, but I’ve never actually asked, so I could be mistaken.”
“What about your guardian?” Alyson asked hesitantly. Blake felt her heart twist painfully at the thought of Colette, her in house caretaker she’s known since Blake was left with her adopted parents fourteen years.
“She’s the one who refused to come, no matter how much I begged her. She told me that I would rely on her too much, that I had to learn to live without her,” she answered quietly.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to bring up something painful for you,” the woman said, sounding sincere.
“It’s okay. You were curious,” her daughter answered. “I don’t want you to feel like you can’t ask me questions about my life.”
“Really?” again, sounding surprised.
“Well, you are my biological mother and you haven’t seen me in sixteen years. Sure, you’ve probably heard some random tidbits here and there since I’m a Harris,” Blake said, a little annoyance in her voice at the last part, “but I know you’re probably dying to know what’s happened to me. I know I would be. However, there might be some questions that I won’t be ready to answer. After all, a girl has to keep some secrets,” she continued with a very warm smile directed at the older woman. Alyson saw how absolutely contagious the girl’s smile was and couldn’t stop the corners of her mouth from turning up.
“I’ll keep that in mind, but I might hold off on the interrogation until you’re a bit more comfortable around me. I can’t even imagine how you must be feeling and I don’t want to make any of this more difficult than it has to be. Also, I’m not sure how comfortable I am questioning a seventeen year old into telling me her life story, even if she is my long lost daughter,” Alyson explained. Blake smiled and felt immediate respect for this woman.
“Thank you,” she said. “That is incredibly kind of you.”
“I will take you up on your offer eventually, though.”
“That’s good; I would probably be a little insulted if you didn’t want to know anything about me,” she said. Blake did not mean this to be arrogant sounding, but she would be offended if her biological mother didn’t want to know anything about her own daughters life.
“We wouldn’t want that,” Alyson said.
They spent the next few hours in either extended silences or about a half an hour of conversation at a time. Blake learned a few small things about her sisters (still sounded very strange to think about) or about Bisbee. Alyson only asked a few questions and none of them very deep or big. Just simple, mostly yes or no answers.
Around two pm, Alyson pulled into the drive way of a very cute country style home, although it was in a normal cul-de-sac neighborhood. It had a three car garage, a front porch and looked to be about two levels, three including the basement.
“Four bedrooms, two and half baths, electric fireplace, and a messy basement,” Alyson answered some of Blake’s silent questions. “All the bedrooms are on the second floor.”
“It’s nice. I really like it.”
“It’s probably not what you’re used to, but it’s home for us,” Alyson said sheepishly.
“No, not at all. I’ve lived in a two bedroom, one bathroom, one level home almost every summer for about six years, so this is huge compared to that house,” Blake answered as they walked to the SUV to help everyone carry her things in.
“Really? Where was this?”
“In France with Colette, where she was born and raised. My mother was French—” Blake started, then stopped, realizing what she just said and went red. “Er—I mean...”
“Blake, it’s okay. I understand that they were your parents to you. You can call them mom and dad when you talk about them,” Alyson said, although Blake wondered if she really understood or was saying that to make Blake comfortable.
“Uh, okay. Thanks,” she said. “Anyways, she was French and Colette’s mother was her au pair. Colette followed her mother’s footsteps and decided to be my au pair when my parents adopted me. So, we would all go back to France and live with Colette’s mother for three months.”
“Wow, that must have been quite amazing, living in France for the summer.”
“Well, I lived there for the first ten years of my life, technically seven since I was here for one year and was God knows where for the other two before my parents adopted me,” she said. “But I still loved it there. France is my favorite place in the whole world.”
“I’ve heard it’s beautiful,” Alyson said as they each pulled a suitcase into the house.
“It is, especially Paris. I know that’s cliché, but that’s the best city I’ve ever been to.”
“So, I’m right to assume you speak the language fluently?”
“Correct. It was the first language I learned. However, when I lived in France, I had to learn to speak English, so I would speak French outside of home, but whenever I was home, it was English there. Then, when I moved to America I had to speak French at home.”
“I was wondering where you got your accent.”
Blake smiled. She did have a subtle French accent. It was noticeable, but it wasn’t very strong.
For the next half an hour, everyone helped bring Blake’s things up to her bedroom, which was the first one on the left. The stairs were right in front of you when you walked in the front door. To the left of the stairs was a living room with a long, leather couch, two leather chairs, and a flat screen TV mounted on the wall with some paintings and lamps scattered around the room. Straight through the living room was the dining room with a plain but still nice dining table made of wood and matching chairs. Straight through there was the kitchen and Blake couldn’t get a good look at the rest.
Up stairs were the four bedrooms Alyson spoke of. She informed Blake that Bethany’s was right next to hers and then it was the bathroom, then to the right of that was Olivia’s room and then finally Alyson’s master suite with her own suite bathroom with two sinks and whirlpool bathtub/shower.
Blake’s room was significantly smaller than the one in Detroit, but it was the perfect size for the things she brought. Already set up was a queen size bed with nicely carved headboard and a matching dresser with a large mirror that had shelves and drawers on it. Then a nightstand and a small computer desk near the closet. The room was crowded with her luggage.
“You certainly have a lot of guitars,” Alyson said quietly, staring at the eight guitar cases on the bed and floor. Blake laughed a little.
“It’s my favorite instrument and one of my few indulgences in life. I have more, but they’re collectables and I thought it would be best to leave them in Detroit.”
“More?” she asked.
“I have collected about 20 rare guitars from around the world.”
“And are these collectables?”
“Only two of them. The others are the ones I play.”
“You play the guitar?”
“Since I was five years old.”
“Wow, you must be amazing.”
Blake shrugged.
“You’ll hear me playing at some point. I practice about three hours every day if I can,” she replied.
“You must love to do play if you do it for twenty one hours a week.” Blake smiled this time, but chose not to answer. “Well, I’ll leave you to unpack and set everything up. If you don’t like the bedspread, we can run to Target either tonight or tomorrow to get you a new one and we can also pick up anything else you’ll need.”
“This bedspread is just fine and I don’t think I’ll need anything, but I’ll let you know if I do. My cars won’t be here until tomorrow, so I’d need a ride,” Blake answered.
“Cars?” she asked, emphasizing on the plural.
“Yeah, one of the perks of inheriting a multibillion dollar auto industry. You get access to some pretty cool rides. I’m only bringing one car and my motorcycle, though.”
“A motorcycle?”
“Yeah and I’m really excited about living in a place without snow because then I can ride it any time of the year,” Blake said, her enthusiasm showed in her voice.
“Well, that’s nice,” Alyson said, her expression unreadable. “I’ll let you unpack then. Would you like anything specific for dinner? Would you like a snack now?”
“No thanks. I ate on the plane,” she replied. “Besides, I’d like to get as much done as I can before Olivia and Bethany get here.”
“Okay, just call for me if you need anything.”
“Sure thing.”
Alyson stared at Blake for a few more seconds before she left the room and walked down the stairs. The teenager then began to unpack.

The Keeper 6 (Finally!)

“This is ridiculous!” Kayla exclaimed. Bella felt her heart drop to her feet along with all the blood in her body. Was Kayla not okay with Bella and Katerina’s relationship?
“W-w-what is?” Bella trembled.
“Both of us are,” Kayla replied and glared at her friend. Bella was too afraid to see the real emotion in Kayla’s eyes.
“Both?”
“You are ridiculous for being such a dumbass and not telling me that you’re a lesbian,” Kayla said. “And me for not realizing it.”
Bella stood there dumbfounded.
“What are you talking about?” she asked after a couple beats.
“We’re best friends and tell each other everything, but you have withheld one of the most vital pieces of information you can about yourself,” Kayla said. “And I am ridiculous because I have known you since we could walk and I didn’t know you’re gay. I am shocked to discover this and I am shocked that I’m shocked because I should have known.”
Bella stared at her friend in disbelief until it hit her that Kayla wasn’t angry that Bella has a girlfriend, she was angry at Bella for not telling her and was angry at herself for not realizing it. A few more seconds passed as she processed this, then Bella burst out in laughter.
Kayla was more than taken aback by Bella’s reaction and watched her best friend try to stop herself from dropping to the floor with laughter.
“What the hell are you laughing at?” Kayla demanded. This only made Bella laugh harder as she leaned against Kayla’s dresser. The blue eyed girl glared at Bella, crossed her arms, and waited for her to settle down, which was two full minutes later.
“I’m sorry,” Bella said with a few giggles. She wiped away the tears in her eyes.
“Care to explain?” Kayla asked.
“You’re...mad at yourself for not knowing I’m gay when I didn’t even know until Sunday. I never expected that reaction.”
“Wait a minute, you didn’t know until last weekend? How did that happen? And, are you dating Katerina? Did you come onto her or did she come onto you? What did you do on your date tonight? Does anyone else know?” Kayla rattled off.
“Whoa, slow down, Kay,” Bella said and held up her hands.
“Come on, I want to hear everything,” she said eagerly. Bella rolled her eyes, but secretly loved that Kayla was asking these question.
“Chill out, Kayla. I’ll tell you, don’t worry,” Bella replied.
She went to Kayla’s mini fridge and extracted two soda’s for them, then sat down on the bed and started from the night of Kayla’s party when she stayed with Katerina. She told her basically everything from the kiss in Alyssa’s bathroom to Bella sneaking away from school to see Katerina to her date earlier. She didn’t explain about Katerina’s past since she knew that Katerina told her that in confidence. When she was finished, Bella answered a few questions to clear a few gaps and soon Bella was done.
“So...you and Katerina are an item?” she asked.
“We are official, yes,” Bella replied.
“You’re dating a girl,” Kayla breathed as she stared at her bedspread. “Well, having a gay best friend is pretty cool, if you ask me.”
Bella rolled her eyes and threw a pillow at her friend. Kayla only laughed as she caught it.
“I’m kidding...mostly,” Kayla said after her laughter died down. There was a comfortable silence between the two girls. Bella was thinking about going to sleep. She had a long day and it was close to two thirty am. She was about to propose this idea to Kayla, but her best friend spoke first.
“So, Bella, can I ask a question?” she asked.
“I think you’ve had your fill for tonight,” Bella said sarcastically, pretending to be annoyed. Kayla didn’t react to it, however. Instead, she looked very serious.
“Bells...what’s it like to be with a girl?” she asked. Bella blushed slightly, not expecting that question.
“Kayla, I really haven’t gone very far. I’ve only made out with Kat,” she answered. Kayla raised an eyebrow and smirked.
“The hickey on your neck suggests otherwise,” she said. Bella’s mouth opened in shock as she ran to Kayla’s bathroom and pulled her cardigan back a little.
“Oh, my God,” she gasped. A dollar coin size slightly purple mark on her neck was placed just above an inch above her right collarbone and an inch to the right of her jugular vein. “How long have you noticed that’s been there?” she demanded angrily of Kayla, who was laughing at her friend’s reaction.
“Since we sat on my bed,” she replied.
“Kayla, why didn’t you say anything?”
“Well, I thought you knew. I mean, didn’t you realize that you’d have one when Katerina was sucking on your neck?”
“No...I was too busy thinking about...other things,” Bella replied, remembering what they were doing in Katerina’s car and she smiled.
“She’s good?” Kayla asked. Bella shuddered at the memory of just how good her girlfriend was.
“Oh, Kay, you have no idea,” Bella swooned, going back to the bed.
“That’s why I asked. Is it better than being with a guy?” Kayla asked.
“Well, Katerina and I haven’t really gone that far. I mean, we haven’t even been dating for a week; but...it feels as if I’ve known her my whole life,” Bella said. “She so incredible, Kayla.”
“I know she’s a great person, I’m her friend, too. I’m talking about the physical part. What’s it like?”
Bella smiled.
“It’s like—it’s obviously different than being with a guy. Sure, I’ve gotten some really nice kisses from guys and when they care about you it can be good, but with Katerina...it’s like nothing else exists except us. Her lips are so soft and her skin is so smooth. Every time she touches me it’s so tender and careful,” she explained.
“Okay, I get the soft, smooth, and tender part; that sounds cool. But the careful? I don’t think I’d like to be handled like I’m a porcelain doll,” Kayla said skeptically. Bella sighed as she tried to find a better way to describe it to her friend.
“Not careful as in I’m breakable, but careful as in her only thought is to make me feel good. She’s so passionate but doesn’t show it by shoving her tongue down my throat and gagging me, but by making me feel like I’m the most important thing in the world,” Bella replied as goose bumps ran up and down her skin at the memory. Kayla gave her a happy smile.
“Well, I’m happy for you, Bella. She’s a cool person and she’s a lucky girl,” Kayla replied and put a hand on her friend’s shoulder.
“Thanks Kay,” Bella said with a grateful smile.
“Well, you look beat. Let’s get to sleep,” Kayla said.
Bella was thankful and both girls got ready for bed, then went under the covers.
“Wait,” Bella’s best friend said before she went in the bed. She had a serious expression on her face. “Now, you’re not going to, like, try and get fresh with me in your sleep, right? I don’t need to be fending you off while you have sex with Katerina on a beach somewhere.”
Bella snorted and rolled her eyes.
“Get in bed, you homophobe,” she said.
“Hey, think I want your crawling over me all night? I know I’m hot, but no thanks, Bells,” Kayla said, her eyes laughing which betrayed her serious face.
“Bitch,” she muttered.
“Dyke,” Kayla replied. Bella thought about turning over and attacking Kayla with her pillow or tickling her to death, but she was too tired. As soon as the lights went out, Bella was knocked out on the pillow.
~~~~~~~~~~~
Bella and Katerina entered the elevator and right when the doors closed, they embraced, their kiss deeper and more passionate than ever before. Katerina pushed Bella against the wall, pressing her body against Bella’s.
Then the elevator dinged and they pulled away. Bella’s heart was pounding so loud in her chest, she was sure that Katerina could hear it. Her stomach was wrenching with nerves, but she knew this is what she wanted. She’s never wanted anything more in her life.
Katerina fumbled with her keys. Bella had never seen Katerina fumble with anything and knew she was just as nervous as Bella was. Eventually, she got the key into the lock and opened the door.
They entered the apartment and Bella grabbed Katerina and kissed her with as much passion as she could muster and Katerina did the same. They held each other tightly, as if they were each other’s life lines, never wanting to let go.
Neither of them stopped kissing as Katerina led them to her bedroom, shutting the door behind her. Bella pushed her against the door, kissing her deeply.
Katerina moaned as Bella’s hands grabbed her own and placed them above her head. She then slid them down the sides of her body to the hem of her shirt. She slowly and tantalizingly lifted the shirt up, her fingers grazing Katerina’s skin as they went. They only separated the kiss to fully remove Katerina’s shirt.
Katerina then placed her fingers on Bella’s blouse buttons, trying to get them undone. She was so nervous, however, that she was shaking. But she eventually got them and slid her shirt off her shoulders, joining Katerina’s shirt on the floor.
They kissed for another minute, neither of them wanting to rush this. Bella wanted to savor this moment. Eventually, she slowly moved down Katerina’s stomach, feeling her hard muscles beneath her fingers. Katerina gasped slightly, but went right back kissing Bella.
Bella found the button to Katerina’s jeans and undid them, unzipping the zipper as well. She moved to Katerina’s hips and began pushing her jeans down. She moved her lips down as well, kissing every inch of Katerina she could as she went down, but not touching the one place Katerina wanted her to touch. The older girl, trying to remember how to breathe, kicked her jeans off when they reached the floor. Bella kissed her way back up and found her girlfriend’s lips again.
Katerina undid Bella’s shorts and they fell to the ground. Bella stepped out of them and pushed them to the pile of discarded clothes. Both were now in nothing but bras and panties. They stepped away and admired each other’s bodies. Bella knew she had never seen anything more beautiful than what was standing in front of her.
Then, when they both needed contact, they kissed again. Katerina slowly and gently pushed Bella down on her bed, laying on top of her. When they were both fully lying on the bed together, Bella raised her hand to Katerina’s neck and slowly moved down to caress her breast.
Katerina gasped at the sixteen year olds touch. It sent electricity to every part of Katerina, ending in between her legs. Bella gently squeezed her breast, feeling the nipple harden underneath the material. Katerina moved her lips to Bella’s jaw, kissing it softly while making her way down to her neck. She nipped and kissed the California girl gently. Bella let out a moan when she did this.
Katerina snaked her hand around Bella’s back and found the clasp of her bra. With one hand, she undid it in one swift motion. Bella raised herself slightly, allowing the bra to leave her body. Katerina threw it aside and stared at her breasts, wonder in her eyes.
Katerina moved her head and kissed Shannon’s right breast. She heard Shannon moan at her touch and she moved closer to her nipple.
“Kat...baby, please,” Bella begged the older girl, breathing like she ran a marathon. She felt Katerina’s breath tickle the nipple and then—

“Wake up, you whore!” came a loud, shrieking voice, shattering Bella’s dream and causing her to sit up with a yelp when she felt someone hit her with something soft, but powerful. She looked around wildly.
“What the hell?” she yelled, confused as to what was happening.
“What did I say about having sex dreams in my bed?” came a demanding voice. Bella turned and saw her best friend looking at her, obviously upset, and holding a pillow.
“What?” Bella asked, her brain still frazzled.
“I do not like waking up to you moaning and begging Katerina to do something to you!” Kayla replied, frowning somewhat. “Talk about awkward! I do not want those images in my head, especially this early in the morning.”
Bella then remembered what she was dreaming about and went completely crimson. It was as if all of her blood went rushing to her head.
“Oh, God,” she said quietly, putting her head in her hands.
“Yeah, Jesus Christ girl. At first I thought you were having a nightmare, but those moans were definitely ones of passion, not fear,” Kayla said. This only caused Bella’s face to become even more red, which Kayla didn’t think was possible. Bella mumbled something, but her best friend didn’t understand her.
“What?”
“I said I’m sorry,” Bella repeated more clearly, but still refused to meet Kayla’s eyes.
“Yeah, whatever. You sure didn’t sound sorry in the dream. Having fun, were you?” the blue eyed girl asked, an evil gleam in her eye.
Making Bella blush is way too much fun for me she thought, almost letting out a dark chuckle as Bella groaned in embarrassment.
“No, I think it was more like this,” Kayla said, then made a sensual moan, almost perfectly mimicking the sounds that were coming from Bella only moments before.
“Kayla!” the sixteen year old cried angrily with a glare. Her best friend laughed hard and fell back on the bed, a hand on her stomach.
“Oh, Bella, you are way too easy to poke fun at,” she said, tears in her eyes.
“That is not funny! Do you have any idea how embarrassed I am?” Bella said, very much looking the part.
“I know...that’s why...it’s so...hilarious,” Kayla said in between laughs.
“I hate you,” Bella said, then she threw aside the covers and went to the bathroom.
“Oh, come on! You have to admit that was fucking hysterical!” she heard Kayla call through the door.
“Oh yeah, real funny. So is me re-arranging your face,” Bella threatened quietly as she turned on the water to take a long, hot shower. Instead of beating the hell out of her best friend, Bella chose to steal all the hot water instead.

Author’s Note:
*So, this is a lot shorter than the others but I really just wanted to get Kayla's reaction to Bella's relationship with Katerina and her sexual orientation out of the way. The reason it took so long was I wasn't sure if I wanted Kayla to be okay with it or not and I'm sorry for the long wait. I decided for her to be okay with this when I thought of a few more ideas that will take this story a different direction than if Kayla were not cool with it; the direction that it's going to take is, I believe, much better this way. I was brainstorming all the different scenarios and what would happen if I chose one way or the other. I hope you guys like the way I chose for it :) As always, comments/criticism are welcome! Have a good one!

Taken Away Prologue

Hey everyone, someone suggested in a comment that I post something new while working on The Keeper. I thought about it and I decided to do this one, even though it's still kind of a mess. This is just a little sampler for what the story is about. Let me know if you guys want to hear more because I do have plenty of ideas for this and think it has a lot of potential. Thanks :)

Wild Cat


Prologue

Detroit, Michigan. Thursday January 17, 2009. 2:30 am.
Blake Harris stared out the window from the backseat, shifting uncomfortably. The only thing going through her mind was Oh, shit, I’ve really done it this time. Her right shoulder was killing her and she tried to itch her wrists, but that was difficult to accomplish with the cold metal hand cuffs that restrained them.
The two policemen sitting in the front of the police car were silent and Blake was smart enough to remain that way as well, just as it was stated in the Miranda Rights she had been read only five minutes ago. The seventeen year old had no idea how she was going to explain this to her au pair. She knew she would get a phone call once she was booked, however she couldn’t think of what to say to the woman.
Ten minutes later, the car pulled into the precinct and parked in front of the brown and dark red bricked building. The cop on the passenger side opened the door and pulled Blake out by her arm, further hurting her shoulder, but Blake didn’t say anything. She was pushed into the building where the cuffs were removed and she was told to stand on a set of footprints and look up.
Blake went through the booking process as if she were on autopilot. She answered their questions, obeyed without complaint, waited in between commands patiently and quietly. She was soon allowed her phone call and she dialed the number to her mansion in the heart of the city, where she knew her caretaker was sleeping in the bedroom just down the hall from Blake’s.
“Allô?” came a sleepy mumble. Blake froze for a moment. She had only panicked once in her life and it was something she refused to ever repeat. She took a deep breath.
“Titre? It’s Blake,” the teenager said nervously into the phone, the feeling almost completely foreign to her.
“Chaton?” the woman asked, sounding slightly more awake. She used her favorite name for Blake, which meant kitten in French. “What is wrong? Where are you?”
“I need you to come and help me,” Blake replied, her voice shaking.
“Are you hurt?” her au pair asked, worry spilling over into her tone.
“No...” Blake took another deep breath. “I’m at the police station.”
There was a long pause on the other end of the phone.
“Which one?” she asked, her voice short and curt. Blake felt something very painful stab her heart.


Bisbee, Arizona. Saturday January 19, 2009. 6:30pm.
Alyson Christenson was sitting down at her dining room table eating enchiladas with her two daughters Olivia and Bethany. They were in the middle of listening to Bethany talking about her boyfriend’s soccer game when the doorbell rang.
“Are either of you having someone over?” Alyson asked the two girls. They both shook their heads no and Alyson stood to open the door.
“Detective Bane?” she asked. She hasn’t seen this man in over twelve years, however, she would never forget his face.
“Ms. Christenson, how do you do?” he replied. “May I come inside?”
“Of course,” Alyson said, stepping aside.
“Hello, Olivia. Bethany,” he said, nodding his head at them.
“Detective, what are you doing here?” she asked, trying her hardest to stop her pounding heart. There could only be one reason as to why he was here and she was terrified of the answer.
“You may want to sit down, Ms. Christenson,” he said, his deep voice soothing, yet Alyson still felt awash with fear.
“Oh, God. You’ve found her!” she said, her body trembling. Olivia and Bethany stood went to their mother’s side, both of them shocked. Detective Bane didn’t reply right away, but finally spoke after several long seconds.
“Yes, we have,” he answered. Alyson felt her knees wobble and she felt herself being guided into a chair while her mind spun behind her eyes.
“I can’t believe this,” she said, tears falling down her cheeks.
“Ms. Christenson...there is more,” Detective Bane said. They all looked up at him expectantly. He only looked at the crying mother. “She’s alive.”

Sorry!

Hey everyone! I've been getting some e-mails lately on when I'm going to get the next chapter of The Keeper out and I just want to apologize for the long wait. I did get a ways into it when I ran into a writer's block and am still inflicted with it. I can't say for sure how long it will be, but I would rather make you guys wait for a well written chapter than hurry through it and have you guys (and myself) hate it. So, sorry for the wait and it'll be a little longer, but I promise it'll be worth it.

Wild Cat

The Keeper 5

“You want me to what?” Katerina asked on Thursday afternoon. The nineteen year old lifted her eyebrows high as her mouth opened slightly.

“Meet my mother before we go to dinner,” Bella repeated as she bit her lip. Her and Katerina were at the park again. They sat on the swings, enjoying the breeze that lightly blew around them.

“Look, Bella, I’m really not—do we have to do this before our date?” she asked.

“I don’t want to keep lying to my mom, so I’m going to tell her soon. However, I want her to meet you and let her get to know you better before I do.”

“I’m really not great with parents,” Katerina replied.

“Why?” Bella asked. She didn’t meant for that to sound so blunt, but she wanted to know. Katerina avoided her eyes.

“It’s a long story, but I never got along with mine,” she said shortly. Bella frowned, then walked over to her and grabbed her hands in her own.

“Hey, look at me,” she said softly. Katerina hesitated, then she met Bella’s eyes.

“My mom is really great. She’ll love you, I promise.”

“How do you know that?”

“Because you’re my friend and she trusts me to make good decisions, which includes who I hang out with. So, if I say you’re a good person, then she’ll take my word for it,” Bella explained. “Besides, you’re a pretty hard person to hate.”

Katerina smiled.

“You are way too charming for your own good,” she said. Bella laughed.

“Is that a yes?”

She sighed.

“Will it have to be a long time?”

“Not really. I just want her to meet you for now. Getting to know you will come later,” Bella answered.

“Okay, but only for a minute. Tomorrow is about us,” she said. Bella smiled and kissed her fingers she was holding.

“Deal.”
``````````````
“Damn it!” Bella hissed as she threw down the fifth top she had taken out of her closet. It was fifteen minutes to seven on Friday and she still hadn’t decided on what to wear. She’s gone through several outfits, but none of them seemed right.

Bella sighed. More than anything she wished that Kayla was here to help her. They always helped each other get ready for dates. This was the first time Bella had not asked, for obvious reasons. Also, she wished she could call Katerina to ask what she was wearing, but Bella knew enough about dating to not do that.

She eventually chose a nice pair of blue jeans without any holes, a plain white tee shirt with a light yellow zip up cardigan that hugged her torso sexily, but still looked classy. It would keep her warm in the air conditioned theater, but not heavy enough to make her hot if they ate outside. For shoes she decided on ankle high black two inch high heel boots.

She put on lip gloss, mascara, blush, and sprayed a hint of her Fantasy perfume from Britney Spears, then did a once over in the mirror. Her hair was crimped, Bella’s favorite hair style on her. Overall, Bella thought she looked pretty good.

Then, she hear someone coming up the stairs two at a time and, before she could wonder who it was (her mother never ran up the stairs), her door burst open and in walked her best friend.

“Hey, Bells,” Kayla said, barely glancing at her friend. Instead, she went straight for Bella’s movie collection and searched through it.

“Kayla, what are you doing here?” Bella asked, taken aback by her sudden entrance. Although both of them could just walk into each other’s houses without even thinking of knocking, Bella could not think of a better time for Kayla to not be at her home.

“I need—ah! I found it,” she exclaimed as she pulled her movie Dirty Dancing that Bella had borrowed and was going to return to her, but always forgot. “Stephanie and I are chilling at my place later and I wanted to watch...this...” she trailed off as she finally looked at her friend. Her eyes roamed her body, taking in her outfit and makeup. She raised her pierced eyebrow.

“Are you...going on a date tonight?” she asked. Her voice held surprise and a little bit of hurt, which Bella figured was from not telling the blue eyed girl.

“N-n-no,” Bella stuttered, going slightly red and hoped her blush covered it up. Kayla took a few steps closer so she was very close to Bella, who wanted to back away as her stomach clenched with small amount of fear. Then, Kayla inhaled through her nose.

“What are you doing?” Bella asked as she backed away. She felt a little freaked out.

“Fantasy,” Kayla replied shortly, putting her hands on her hips and half glaring at Bella.

“What?”

“You’re wearing Fantasy perfume. From Britney Spears. You only wear that on dates,” she said crossly.

“I-I do not,” Bella replied. She didn’t sound convinced herself. Kayla scoffed.

“I was with you when you bought it. You told me that you loved the way it smelled and wanted to save it, so you promised to only wear it on dates,” she explained.

“Well...I changed my mind,” Bella protested.

“Bullshit. Why didn’t you tell me you were going on a date?” Kayla demanded. She looked pretty upset and Bella felt a knot of guilt rise up in her chest.

“Look, can we talk about it later?” Bella asked, looking at her alarm clock. Katerina was about to arrive.

“Are they picking you up? Who is it?” Kayla asked, temporarily pushing her hurt and anger aside as her curiosity overrode them.

“Later, please?” Bella asked. Kayla narrowed her eyes.

“You don’t want me to know? Is it Justin? I know that I don’t like him, but you could have at least told me that you were going out with him,” Kayla accused.

“No, it’s not Justin,” Bella said as she suppressed the sudden urge to laugh at her friend’s guess.

“Who then?”

Bella sighed in defeat. She wanted to tell Kayla, if not only to stop the questions. However, the doorbell rang before Bella could open her mouth.

“Bella! Your friend is here!” the two blonde’s heard Diane yell up the stairs.

“I’ll be down in a minute!” Bella called back. “Kayla, I promise to explain later, but please don’t say anything tonight.”

“Promise to explain later?” Kayla said. She didn’t want to wait, but from the pleading look that her friend was giving her, Kayla knew she could for Bella.

“I swear.”

“Thank you,” Bella said with a sigh. She checked herself out in the mirror one more time and turned to the door. She heard Kayla right behind her.

“I’m guessing you won’t stay up here...will you?” she asked Kayla, who gave her a look that said, “you have got to be joking.” Bella sighed.

“Fine, but remember, not a word,” she said.

“Okay, we better not keep him waiting too long.” Bella laughed. “What’s so funny?”

“You’ll see,” Bella replied. The two girls made their way down the stairs and Bella took a deep breath before she made the final steps into the entry way where Katerina had just walked in.

Katerina looked breathtaking, as usual. Bella actually stopped walking and barely felt Kayla bump into her. She had on a pretty, blue flowing skirt with cool, white swirling designs that went to her ankles. Her top was a simple white blouse and she was wearing a necklace with a small white seashell on it; her hair was in a part up pony tail. Bella smiled at her as she found her feet began to work properly.

“Hey,” Bella said quietly, trying hard not to check Katerina out so openly in front of Kayla and Diane.

“Hey, Bella,” she replied and returned the smile. Diane cleared her throat after a few seconds of silence.

“Oh, right. Katerina, this is my mother, Diane Peterson. Mom, this is Katerina Markos,” Bella introduced.

“Pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Peterson,” Katerina said, shaking Bella’s mother’s hand warmly with a friendly smile.

“And you as well, Katerina, but please call me Diane,” the mother replied. “I have heard a lot about you.”

Bella blushed.

“Mom,” she groaned, but Katerina only smiled.

“I hope all good things.”

“Nothing but,” Diane said. “So, what are you girls doing?”

“Dinner and a movie,” she answered.

“That’s nice. What movie?”

“Bella chose The Day the Earth Stood Still,” Katerina answered, looking Diane in the eyes as she answered. Bella could sense she was nervous and stopped her hand from taking Katerina’s just in time.

“And what restaurant?”

“A nice seafood place I know of, down by the Bay,” Katerina replied.

“Nice? I’m not dressed for nice,” Bella said, silently cursing her outfit.
“Oh, no,” Katerina said, her eyes back on Bella again, a blissful smile on her face.
“You look beautiful.”

Bella blushed and bit her lip to stop smiling too widely.

“Holy shit!!” cried Kayla in shock. Everyone turned to look at the teenage to see her mouth open and eyes wide.

“What?” Diane asked, taken aback by the teenagers sudden use of profanity. However, Bella knew exactly what she was swearing about and shot Kayla a look that could kill. It reminded her friend of the promise she kept to stay quiet. Kayla burst into a grin and shook her head disbelief.

“Nothing. I’ll—uh...wait for you to get back later to talk about the...thing,” Kayla said, still grinning stupidly. She made her way to the door and slipped in between Katerina and Bella.

“You are in so much trouble,” she whispered discretely to Bella. Kayla winked at her friend and left.

“What a strange child,” Diane sighed. “Well, you two have fun. Bella, one am is your curfew.”

“Okay, thanks mom. Love you,” Bella said, kissing her mother’s cheek. Then, her and Katerina followed Kayla’s lead out the front door.

“It was nice to meet you, Katerina.”

“And you as well, Diane.”

“What was with Kayla?” Katerina asked when the door clicked behind them. They walked to her newly purchased car. Bella sighed and hung her head.

“I’m pretty sure she just figured us out,” she answered.

“How?”

Bella explained to her what happened in her bedroom on the way to the restaurant. Katerina chuckled when she finished.

“Kayla is pretty smart. She would have figured it out sooner or later if you didn’t tell her,” she said.

“I know...but I didn’t expect her to find out this way; on our first date of all things.”

“Judging by her reaction, I’d say she’s just fine with it,” Katerina assured Bella, who gave her a small smile.

“I always knew she would be.”

“So, don’t worry about it until later,” Katerina said as she took Bella’s hand in her own and smiled sweetly at her, one in which Bella returned.

They reached the restaurant in fifteen minutes and they were seated immediately because Katerina had a reservation.

“This place is really nice, Katerina,” Bella said looking around the restaurant which was called Alioto’s on 8 Fisherman’s Warf. She felt underdressed as she saw the other customers in dinner dresses and suits.

“I know, that’s why I chose it.”

The waiter was polite and smiled at them as he asked them what they wanted to drink. Both of them had water.

“Do you like crab?” Katerina asked Bella, who looked up from the menu.

“I love crab,” Bella answered.

“Good,” Katerina said, then turned to the waiter. “She’ll have the crab Cioppino Alioto's shellfish stew, with clams mussels and shrimp in a spicy tomato sauce. And I’ll take the... shrimp fried prawns breaded in muddica.”

“Very well. Anything else?” he asked. Bella, surprised by Katerina ordering for her, glanced at the menu to see what she was getting. Her jaw dropped open at the price.

“That’s all for now, thank you,” Katerina said to the waiter, who nodded his head, took the menus, and left.

“Katerina, I can’t afford that,” Bella whispered. Katerina rolled her eyes and sighed exasperatedly at her.

“You don’t have to. I’m paying,” she said.

“Not for the whole thing you’re not,” Bella said, frowning.

“Well, I am. I’m also paying for the movie, popcorn, soda, and ice cream afterwards if you want,” she explained.

“First of all, I can never eat that much in one night even if someone paid me to. Second, you just bought a car, you can’t afford to take me to these kinds of places and expect to pay for all of it,” Bella said, scowling. “I don’t want you to become broke just because you want to impress me. Spending time with you, no matter what we’re doing, is all I want.”

Katerina tried fighting off a smile, but failed and chuckled at her girlfriend.

“Bella...you don’t ever need to worry about my finances,” she said.

“I can and will if you insist on spending well over a hundred dollars on one date—”

“No, no. You don’t understand. You never need to worry about my finances. I am very well off. I have enough money to last me through this life and the next if I wanted,” Katerina cut her off. Bella stared at her, not believing her.

“But—but you live in that—”

“Tiny apartment?” she finished. “I don’t want or need a big place to live. I live alone, so why would I? I’m not one for luxuries, either. I grew up extremely poor, so there are a lot of things I learned to deal without.”

“If you grew up poor, then where’d you get the money? You didn’t win the lottery, did you?”

This elicited another laugh.

“No, not the lottery. I lived with my aunt from when I was twelve to when I was fifteen before she was killed in a car accident. She was extremely wealthy and left all of her money to me in her will,” Katerina explained.

“Why did you live with your aunt and not your parents?” Bella asked. She saw Katerina’s body tense and her jaw go tight.

“Things weren’t working out for me at home, so I decided to live at my mom’s sister’s house, where she graciously took me in as her own daughter.”

“What do you mean things weren’t working out?” Bella wondered. Katerina sighed, folded her hands, and leaned forward towards Bella.

“Bella...I won’t tell you all the details tonight. I’m not quite ready for that just yet but I’ll give you a background of my childhood,” she said. “Growing up for me was hell. Like I said, my parents were very poor. My mother was, or probably still is, an alcoholic without a job. My father...well, when he was home and not out partying or at the factory, he would shoot up heroin and sometimes he’d get into meth, neither of them at all pleasant or cheap. My father’s brother lived with us and he was, as well, a drug user without a job, so he only took what little money we had. It wasn’t uncommon for me to shoplift some food just to get something to eat at night.

“When I was twelve, something particularly bad happened that made me realize that I couldn’t stay there anymore. I knew my mother had a sister that I’d never met and I called her up, begging for her to take me in. She did so without any questions. Her name was Rosemary. Do you remember my aunt’s wedding that I was talking about?”

Bella nodded.

“Well, I had known Christi before, but never their other sister. Apparently, they had a falling out many years back before I was born. Christi and my mother are more alike than Rosemary and her sisters. Her wedding was only a few weeks before my Rosemary died.

“But, before she died, she treated me like royalty and showed me the love and compassion I never had at home. I loved her more than I ever loved my parents. When she died, it hit me very hard. The lawyers told me that all the money and the three estates she owned were mine, but I didn’t care. I just wanted my aunt back. I was told I had to move back in with my parents, something I refused to let happen. I knew they’d only go after the money my aunt left me and I never wanted to go into child services. So...I ran away.”

Bella, who’s mouth had been open slightly the whole story, raised her eyebrows at the last statement.

“You ran away?” she asked.

“Yes. When I was fifteen, I hitchhiked my way to South Carolina; my hometown is Little Earth, Maryland. There, I lied about my age being sixteen, got a job, and convinced the owner to allow me to live above the restaurant where I was a dishwasher for reduced wage. I worked very hard and even worked as a waitress whenever someone called in sick.

“After a year and a half, I earned enough money to buy a very, very crappy car and drove across the country to New Mexico, the car broke down after I got to San Francisco, where I worked at a hotel as a housekeeper for a year until I could finally access my bank account, where my aunt’s money resided.

“From there, I didn’t want to live in New Mexico anymore after about a year and chose to move to San Francisco, a city I’ve always wanted to go to. So, after a few weeks of living in that apartment with nothing to do, I decided to start my own self defense business for young women, just a few students a couple times a week. I learned self defense from one of the waiters at the restaurant in South Carolina; his dad owned a martial arts school. However, I’ve only ever really worked through my teenage years and I had nothing to do most days, so I decided to get a job at another hotel, since I liked doing that better than waitressing. That’s where I met you and...here we are.”

Bella was silent after hearing Katerina’s life story. So much had happened to her in only four years. She couldn’t imagine how hard her life must have been.

“Kat...” Bella whispered.

“You don’t need to feel sorry for me. Yes, my life has had many, many low points, but I am happy with the way things turned out. There are many things I’ve done that I’m not proud of and regret, but running away was never one of them. It was the smartest decision I’ve ever made,” Katerina said.

Bella didn’t even think about it as she leaned across the table and gently kissed Katerina. She tried to convey how much she cared about her. There wasn’t any tongue, but it was one of their best kisses that left both of them smiling when it was over.

“Thanks,” Bella whispered.

“For what?”

“For telling me. I always knew you were hiding something about your past because you never liked to talk about it, but I knew you’d tell me when you were ready,” Bella said. Katerina smiled and Bella returned to her seat just as the food arrived.

“So, back to how that story started, you don’t need to worry about me and money. I have way more than enough to spend on taking you out on quite a few of these dates,” Katerina said after the first few bites, which were absolutely delicious.

“I still feel like I should pay for some of this. Even if you’re wealthy, it’s still a lot of money to me and I feel bad for taking it.”

“Don’t ever feel that way. I want to do this. You really are the only person I’ve ever spent money on and, since I don’t give myself many luxuries, I plan to go all out on it,” Katerina responded. “Besides, I’m the one who asked you on this date, so it makes sense that I pay.”

“So...if I ask you on a date...”

“Nope, I still pay,” Katerina replied with a sly smile. Bella frowned playfully and reached over to grab Katerina’s hand.

“Thank you for tonight, but I’m still going to fight on paying for some dates,” she said.

“Hey, tonight is far from over. We still have our movie and whatever you want to do afterwards. We’ll have plenty of time since you don’t have to home until one.”

Bella chuckled and they continued their meal, talking about trivial things such as school, friends (never talking about Kayla’s epiphany), and Katerina would make plans for extravagant future dates which Bella would roll her eyes at, but didn’t admit that some of them sounded like a lot of fun. They did this throughout dinner and, to Bella’s and her stomach’s shock, dessert.
When the bill came, Katerina didn’t even let Bella see the amount and gave the waiter her credit card. She signed quickly the receipt and slipped him forty dollars for the tip and thanked him for being a good waiter, which Bella did as well.

They left the restaurant with a half an hour to spare before the movie started. They drove to Golden Gate Theater and talked about nothing in particular while they waited in line for tickets and popcorn and soda. Katerina insisted even though Bella protested she couldn’t put anything else in her mouth.

They sat in the back of the theater and talked about the different movies they liked and debated which soda was better. Soon, the lights dimmed and the previews started. It was more than natural to the two girls for Katerina to wrap her arm around Bella’s shoulders and for Bella to lay her head against her shoulder.
Like pieces to a puzzle Bella thought as she inhaled Katerina’s scent. Bella knew this was going to soon become her favorite place in the world.

The movie was pretty good. She could feel Katerina tense at the right moments, which made her smile. Bella had seen the 1958 version, so she knew how it would end. During the movie, Katerina would take her hand that was around Bella’s shoulders, and lightly use her fingers to graze Bella’s neck, ears, and cheek, making Bella shudder. Her touch was electrifying and she would use her own hand to trace the designs in Katerina’s skirt.

When the alien was being interrogated by the Secretary of Defense, Bella felt Katerina lean down to her ear, her breath tickled her skin and gave her goose
bumps.

“You picked a strange movie,” she whispered. Bella turned her head to face her, their lips on only inches apart.

“Do you like it?” Bella asked, her heart pounded in her chest.

“I do...” Katerina answered, but she wasn’t thinking about the movie. Neither was Bella.

Bella raised her right hand and placed it on Katerina cheek, her skin warm and smooth against her own. Katerina closed her eyes, sighed quietly, and leaned into her touch. They both inched forward until their lips met in a soft, yet spine tingling kiss. Bella was still blown away by how amazing Katerina’s kisses made her feel; no one else had ever done this to her.

Katerina’s mouth opened and she traced Bella’s lips with her tongue. She opened her mouth gladly and felt her tongue snake inside. Bella lifted her own and their tongues caressed in a passionate and sensual kiss, one that had caused Bella to melt in her seat. She brought her hand to Katerina’s shoulder and pulled her in closer. She wanted to feel as much of her as she could and the stupid armrest was in the way. Katerina’s free arm wound itself around Bella’s side, her hand running up and down her back. Bella pushed her tongue into the dark haired girl’s mouth and searched it gently. She didn’t do it purposefully, but she grazed the roof of Katerina’s mouth with her tongue. When she did, Katerina’s hand on her back dug her nails into her skin, not painfully, but aggressively passionate, which made Bella’s heart flip and her center twitch with arousal. She did it again and Katerina had the same reaction. To Bella’s excitement, she realized she had found a sweet spot.

Neither of them knew how long they made out, but they had to pull away eventually for air. Bella was actually dizzy when she opened her eyes due to the fact that her entire world in her mind spun rapidly. She stared as much as she could in the dark into Katerina’s deep brown eyes and noticed that the lights turned on; the movie was over.

“Want to get out of here?” Katerina whispered, her husky voice trembled. Bella could only nod.

They stood and quickly walked out of the theater. They practically sprinted to the car and jumped inside, their lips met in a fervor over the gear stick.

“My place?” Katerina asked breathlessly through kisses.

“Pelican Overview is closer,” Bella replied. She almost groaned in protest when Katerina pulled away to start the car. They held hands during the five minute car ride to an outlook over Golden Gate Park. Bella could barely think straight when Katerina would run her fingers up her bare forearm. There were a few other cars, but there were at least five parking spaces in between each one.

Right when the engine shut off, Bella unbuckled herself and quickly captured Katerina’s lips with her own. The kiss was very passionate and heated. Bella felt electricity pump from her heart to her toes and up to her brain, causing fireworks to explode behind her eyelids. She moaned as Katerina moved closer to her, which turned into a groan when Katerina pulled away.

“Damned car,” she growled, glowering down at the gear stick between them. Bella suddenly remembered what one of her dates tried to pull outside of her house when they made out in his car; Bella stopped him and went inside after that.

She pulled Katerina in for another kiss, this time, grabbed her shoulders and made her follow her over the gear box to the passenger seat. Bella’s hand left one shoulder and searched for the lever on the right side and pulled it up. She pushed with her back and the back of the seat was pushed down. Neither of them broke this kiss as they laid down. This was the first time they had done this lying down and Bella unintentionally pulled away to gasp at the feeling of Katerina’s body pressed against hers. Her arousal increased incredibly and she began to tremble.

The gasp quickly became a whimper when Katerina, for the first time, wandered away from her lips to her neck. Her tongue did wonders on her body and Bella moaned audibly and arched her back slightly when Katerina nipped where her neck and shoulders met with her teeth. Never in her life had she been so turned on. Her hands went to Katerina’s back and felt her muscles clench and unclench every few breaths. Katerina stayed in that spot as she licked, kissed, and gently nipped her skin.

Bella soon wanted to taste Katerina’s skin and brought her back into a kiss, occasionally she hit the roof of Katerina’s mouth, which caused the older girl’s body to tremble and moan.

After a while, she left her mouth and planted butterfly kisses along Katerina’s jaw. She reached her ear and sucked the earlobe into her mouth, gently flicking it with her tongue.

“Oh, God,” Katerina whispered breathlessly. Bella smiled and, after gently biting it, left her ear and went down her neck. She opened her mouth and allowed her tongue to explore her girlfriend’s skin, which tasted better than she could have imagined. She wound her way across her throat; she felt it vibrate beneath her tongue when she moaned. She reached her pulse and actually felt it pound against her lips. She smiled at the effect she had on Katerina, who decided she wanted Bella’s lips.

They kissed again for a long while as steamed began to fog up the windows of the Impala. Bella felt Katerina shift above her and suddenly, felt Katerina’s thigh press against the crotch of her jeans. Bella moaned as a burst of arousal hit her hormones and she felt it leak out of her vagina and onto her underwear. Almost every single inch of her body and brain screamed at her to allow Katerina to do what both of them were thinking of.

However, much to her libido’s frustration, Bella’s common sense won over. She pulled away from the kiss, both girl breathed as if they had just ran ten miles.

“Kat...” Bella gasped.

“I know,” Katerina replied. She placed her forehead on Bella’s shoulder. Bella knew she was trying to calm herself down.

“I’m not ready for that,” Bella whispered.

“I know. I’m not either...but the things you can do to me—” she said, but didn’t finish. She didn’t have to, Bella knew exactly what she was trying to say.

After a minute, their breathing had calmed down for the most part and Katerina slowly extracted herself from Bella’s embrace.

“I’m sorry. Maybe we shouldn’t have come here,” Katerina said quietly.

“You’re sorry? I was having an amazing time,” Bella said honestly, a slight chuckle in her voice.

“Really? Do you realize how close I was to losing control?” she asked.

“I was, too. I truly have no idea how I was capable of stopping.”

“I don’t think I could have if you didn’t,” Katerina replied. Bella smiled and sat up slightly.

“I think you think that you did something wrong, when, in reality, you just paid me a big compliment,” Bella said. Katerina gave her a confused look. “It’s nice to know that I have some power over you in the physical aspect of our relationship.”

Katerina laughed, more out of relief, Bella figured.

“Oh, baby, you have a lot of power over me,” she said, her eyes hungrily roamed Bella’s laid out body. She blushed.

“I’d say it’s equal now,” she replied, pushing a few strands of Katerina’s hair out of her face.

Just then, Bella felt her cell phone vibrate as she received a text message. Katerina moved back to the driver’s seat and took a few breaths when she leaned her forehead on the steering wheel. Bella smiled at her as she pulled out her phone.

“It’s from Kayla,” Bella said.

Are you home yet? Come over when you get back.

Bella saw that the message was received at—

“12:55? Shit, Kat! I need to get home,” Bella cried. She didn’t want to be grounded.

“Damn it,” Katerina muttered as she started the car. She turned on the de-frost to get rid of the fog.

Katerina rushed to Bella’s house without getting pulled over or into a car accident. They arrived in the driveway five minutes after Bella’s curfew.

“Will you get into trouble?” Katerina asked. Bella shook her head.

“No, I’ll just tell her we hit traffic. There’s always traffic in San Francisco,” she answered.

“Still, I should probably bring you back a little early next time. I don’t want her to have any reason to hate me.”

“She won’t hate you,” Bella assured her. Katerina laughed.

“If you say so. You better get inside.”

Bella didn’t want the date to end. She doesn’t remember having so much fun on one.

“Thank you. I had a great time,” Bella said, squeezing Katerina’s hand. She smiled.

“It was perfect,” she said. They leaned forward and hugged intimately and gave each other a quick kiss, not wanting to get lost in it again.

“Will I see you this weekend?”

“Only if you want to,” Katerina answered.

“Is that even a question?” Bella asked and gave a her a “duh” look.

“Okay. Yes, you will. I’ll call you tomorrow,” she said (she had purchased a cell phone a few days ago so her and Bella could sort out the details of their date).

“Good night,” Bella said.

“Sweet dreams,” Katerina replied, stroking her arm tenderly. Bella looked into her eyes one last time before she exited the car. Katerina drove away when Bella was safely inside her house.

“You’re a few minutes late, Bells,” Diane said from the living room.

“Sorry, mom. We got caught behind an accident,” Bella said nonchalantly.

“Well, make sure to leave a little earlier next time,” Diane said, mimicking Katerina’s words. “Did you have fun?”

“It was a blast.”

“The movie?”

Bella smiled. They didn’t even see half of the movie.

“Good. But Kayla needs to talk to me about something, so I’m going to go to her place tonight,” Bella said.

“Okay, drive carefully,” her mother called as Bella grabbed her keys and walked out of the door.

Bella drove the very familiar drive to her best friend’s house, high on cloud nine the whole way. She literally couldn’t stop smiling. Not even the thought of explaining herself to Kayla could bring her down. Bella pulled up in front of Kayla’s house and walked across the grass to the door. She took a deep breath before she opened the door, but, as she placed her hand on the handle, the door opened and there stood Kayla, staring at her with an expressionless face.

Bella felt her stomach twist as she came crashing down to reality. Kayla simply turned around and headed up the stairs. Bella followed her, taking her shoes off at the entrance and eventually made it to Kayla’s bedroom. She shut the door behind her and looked everywhere but Kayla’s eyes. She could feel the stare from across the room.

Soon, she couldn’t take it anymore and looked up. Her face was still without any emotion, which made it difficult for Bella to decipher how she was feeling.

“So...” Kayla said. Bella swallowed hard in her suddenly dry throat.

“So...” Bella said.

A deafening silence settled in the room as two best friends stared at each other.

The Keeper 4

“Hey, Bella. Do you want to go shopping right now?” Alyssa asked Bella. Alyssa, Kayla, and Bella were walking out of the school, most students roamed the parking lot to head home for the day in their cars.

“Sorry, I can’t,” Bella replied and pulled her keys from her backpack.

“Why?” Kayla asked, her friends confused. Shopping was their best and favorite hobby, also it was a girls only activity most of the time. The boys couldn’t keep up with them.

“It’s the 14th,” Bella answered simply and shortly. Both of her friends had a flash of realization in their eyes and nodded without a single word of protest.

“Okay, we’ll see you tomorrow then,” they said, then left. Bella sighed and headed to her car. She sat down and started the engine, the song Krazy by Pitbull played and she turned it up.

After Bella left the school’s property, she drove to Janice’s Floral Shop about a mile and half away East from the school and went inside. She grabbed a single red rose.

“Hello Bella,” said Janice when Bella stepped up to the counter to pay. She smiled warmly in reply.

“Hey Janice,” Bella greeted.

“How have you been?”

“Same old, same old. How is Richard?” Bella asked, referring to the woman’s husband.

“He’s just fine, thanks for asking.”

Bella paid the couple dollars, bade Janice goodbye, and walked back to her car. She drove west of the floral shop and, fifteen minutes later, drove into the dirt parking lot of a small church called Memorial Lutheran Church. The building was white with green shudders and a few stain glass windows that needed to be cleaned. The garden needed to be weeded as well, but Bella didn’t pay any attention to the negligence of the building. She walked the very familiar path that she took on the fourteenth day of every month for nearly five years.

She stopped in front of a knee high granite headstone that was about twenty yards from the church. It wasn’t extravagant, but it was fairly simple in curved handwriting. Bella knelt in front of it and placed the rose on the top of the slab of stone. She looked at the front of it and traced the letters of the first name.

Keira Samantha Peterson
January 21, 1992 March 17, 2004
“Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints.”

“Hey Keira,” Bella whispered as she felt the sense of loss and sadness fill her heart. Bella stared at the grave of her twin sister and sighed. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a lighter. She leaned down and lit the in ground candle her family had placed there as part of the burial arrangement. The cylinder walls kept the flame safe from being blown out immediately. She placed her lighter back in her skirt and sat on the grass a foot away from the stone.

“So, kind of a lot has happened since I last spoke to you,” Bella said out loud as if speaking to someone standing in front of her. “First of all, mom went on some kind of diet...again.” Bella chuckled. “She bought a book on blood types and it tells you what kinds of foods that are beneficial or bad for your body along with all these other things about exercise. She took us both to donate blood and find out what our blood type is. Mine is O positive. According to the book, I should exercise vigorously and eat more red meat.

“Also, for Christmas, mom and I visited Grandma Bellatrix and Grandpa Henry,” she continued. “It was all right and they wanted to know all about school. I wish you could have been there to deflect some of the attention off of me. I don’t know how an only child does it for their whole life. Attention is kind of annoying, to be honest.

“However, the biggest thing that’s happened is...I think I’m a lesbian.”

Bella paused and took a deep breath, glancing at the cloudless sky and watched a few birds fly overhead.

“I’m surprised, but I bet if you were here, you wouldn’t be. You always had this weird habit of knowing things about me that I didn’t,” she said. “I know you’re wondering, and yes, I do have a girlfriend. It sounds strange, girlfriend, but good. She’s really great, Keira. It’s Katerina, if you can believe it, the co-worker whom I’ve become good friends with. You would love her. She’s smart, beautiful, strong, confident, and independent.”

Bella proceeded to explain how their relationship began the previous night and how she fears that her feelings are coming at her too quickly. She told her deceased twin about the physical part of it and how it feels.

“I have no idea how this will turn out. I care about her and I know she cares about me, but I don’t know how mom will react. We’ve never really talked about gay people, but she’s never said anything about hating them. She’s pretty conservative, which is why I’m worried. Even if she is fine with it, Katerina is a few years older than I am. Granted, she’s nineteen and I’m almost seventeen, but she does have her own place and I can see mom having a slight problem with that. She’d probably be really strict and not allow me over there until she really gets to know Katerina. I can tell Katerina will take some persuading to meet mom. For some reason, I don’t think that she is very big on meeting parents. I don’t know why...” she trailed off and wondered about her girlfriend. “But we have our first date on Friday. I’m really excited, but also nervous. It’ll be a dinner and a movie. I get to choose the movie and she gets to pick the restaurant. I hope it goes well. I know, I know. Just be myself. That’s what you would always tell me.”

Bella paused and decided to move onto school and what’s going on with her friends. She kept it simple since she’s already told her sister the major things. After a half an hour, she stood and rubbed at the imprints the grass left on her bare legs.

“I’ll see you in a month,” Bella said. “I’ll let you know what happened with Katerina and I on our date. Maybe by then mom will be doing some other crazy new idea. I love you, Keira, and I miss you every day.”

She ran her fingers along the granite and then turned and walked back to her car.
``````````````
“Horror or comedy?”

“Oh, please. This is a given. Horror is so much better than comedy.”

“But I love to laugh.”

“So do I, but getting that skin crawling, spine tingling fear is much more entertaining.”

“You are twisted.”

“You just figured this out?”

Bella and Katerina laughed together. They were discussing movies during Bella’s free period on Tuesday. They were eating ice cream at the same park and debating which genre was better. Bella has always loved horror and Katerina was a fan of comedies.

“Okay, okay. Jordana Brewster or Reese Witherspoon?” Bella asked.

“Depends. Jordana Brewer was hilarious in DEBS, but I loved Reese Witherspoon in Sweet Home Alabama,” Katerina answered. Bella raised an eyebrow.

“What’s DEBS?” she asked.

“Oh, my God. It’s hilarious. It’s a comedy that is completely ridiculous, but the love story is so cute,” she replied. “We’re so going to watch that next time you’re over at my place.”

“What’s it about?”

“There’s this secret government agent training academy for girls that call themselves DEBS. This group of four girls who are seniors are put in charge of capturing a dangerous criminal, Lucy Diamond, who is played by Jordana Brewster. Amy, the main character, begins to fall for Lucy and they sort of runaway together for a little while. The government academy is far-fetched along with the weapons and technology, but it’s hilarious,” Katerina explained.

“I am so game,” Bella said with a smile.

“Speaking of movies, have you decided on one you want to see on Friday?” she asked.

“I’m having some trouble. What kind of movie do you want to see?”

“That’s up to you.”

“I know, but I don’t want to pick a movie you’re going to hate. We should both enjoy it.”

“Well, romantic comedy would be good for the mood, however a horror is always fun to snuggle up to,” she said as she played with a strand of Bella’s hair.

“All right. I’ll look through the paper and see what’s playing,” she said. A comfortable silence enveloped them. They sat close on a bench and watched the cars and people pass by, but both were very much aware of the other’s presence.

Bella thought back to yesterday when she visited Keira’s grave and felt her heart twist in pain. She missed her twin more than words could ever express, even after five years. Their birthday was coming up and that was always a difficult time for Bella. For twelve years she shared it with her best friend, someone who was even closer than her and Kayla were. It was painful and hard to celebrate it alone.

Bella and Keira were the stereotypical twins. They were identical to the last freckle, both of them even had the same birthmark on their hip, something that was fairly uncommon even with identical twins. They had that sixth sense that only twins seemed to have; they finished each other’s sentences, always knew what the other was feeling without them telling each other.

Although it was easier to speak about Keira, Bella did it as little as possible and only when asked about it, which is why she has yet to tell Katerina about her.

Thinking about Keira made Bella realize how little she knew of Katerina’s past. She rarely spoke of it and it always seemed to be a touchy subject. She knew she was home schooled and that she grew up in a small town, but she never gave any specifics. Bella planned on asking her during their dinner. For now, she was content with just being with Katerina.

Bella finished the last bite of her ice cream and sighed happily as she
stared into the sky.

“So, tell me more about your friends,” Katerina suddenly said, turning and facing Bella completely. Bella looked at her, slightly taken aback.

“Uh...what do you want to know?” she asked.


“Well, how long have you and Kayla been friends?” she said. Bella smiled and explained to her how they became friends in pre-school and remained that way for years. She told her about their far and in between fights, all of them over within twenty four hours.

“Wow, so, you guys share everything with each other?” she asked.

“I haven’t told her about us, if that’s what you’re asking,” Bella replied. “I want to, but...”

“Yeah, I get it, it’s hard. But, if you guys are as close as you say and you care about each other as much it seems, then she’ll love you no matter who you are.”

“I know she will. There’s like, a one percent chance that she won’t. That’s not what’s stopping me.”

“Then what is?”

“I’m not quite sure. Maybe I’m just not ready.”

“And that is a very good reason. There is no point in rushing it, you’ll only regret it,” Katerina advised.

“Who was the first person you came out to?” Bella asked. Katerina smiled as she remembered.

“Before I really came out to anyone, I wanted to see if I really was a lesbian, which I had no idea how that was going to happen, however. I’ve always known that I’ve never been attracted to boys. When I was fifteen years old, I was at my Aunt Christi’s wedding. Her maid of honor was her best friend and her daughter, Lauren, and I hung out the whole night since we were the same age. Well, while we were eating, I noticed that she was flirting with me, which shocked me at first, but then I was happy. I flirted back and it soon became incredibly obvious that we were in some way into each other. I completely forgot that my family was there when I would touch her arm when I talked or when let our knees touch under the table,” she explained. “After a few hours of this, she asked if I wanted to take a walk and I excitedly accepted. We left the building and walked along the lake where the ceremony was held. We were quiet even though we had talked the whole night.

“Suddenly, she pushed me against a tree and got really close to me. She whispered, asking me if I was interested in kissing her. She phrased it like that too. She didn’t ask if she could kiss me. She simply asked ‘would you like to kiss me?’ I was so nervous I couldn’t even speak, so I nodded. Then, she leaned in a kissed me. I knew instantly that I would never be with a boy and that I was, in fact, a lesbian.

“Well, while we were making out, we heard someone say ‘oh, my God. Katerina?’ We parted and looked to see my cousin Bethany staring at us. With her was her boyfriend and they were both shocked. Bethany’s mother, the bride, and my mother were very close so I knew that if Bethany said anything, Christi would say something to my mom. She knew I was a lesbian and I made her swear that she would never tell her mother or anyone else.

“So, I outed myself on accident, but Bethany kept her promise and left to give us some more privacy, but I was too shaken up to continue.”

Bella contemplated Katerina’s story before she replied.

“Did you have a relationship with Lauren?” she asked, deciding that was the only thing she would ask at the time.

“No. She went to a different school than I did and soon her family moved to Virginia.”

Bella didn’t push her luck by asking any more questions. This was the first really specific memory that Katerina has given Bella of her past before they met. She was a patient person, but Bella’s curiosity was going to get the best of her soon.
```````````
“So, what do you say to pizza and movies?” Bella’s mom asked her that night. Bella glanced up at her mother from her Calculus textbook. Her mother was Bella in twenty two years. The same blond hair and striking green eyes as well as the same build.

“Tonight?” Bella asked.

“Yes, tonight. Do you have plans?”

“No, but I’d love to have pizza and watch movies,” Bella said with a smile. She loved it when her mom randomly wanted to veg out with her daughter. “But what about your diet?”

“I think I can give it up for one night. Once you’re done with your homework, order the pizza, and I’ll pick up the movie,” Diane said with a smile. Both of them women very much enjoyed the other’s company. Bella has never pushed her mother out of her life or tried to rebel against her. They have been close Bella’s entire life and Bella had no plans on changing their relationship.

“Gross! Why are we watching this?” Diane exclaimed, putting a hand over her eyes.

“No, no. You have to watch this part!” Bella laughed, pulling the hand away. Diane opened her eyes and watched Josh Hartnett chop off the head of one of the villagers on a children’s swing set with an ax.

“Bella, this was a horrible choice of a movie,” the woman growled at her daughter, feeling her toes curl with disgust.

“Oh, come on. Who doesn’t enjoy a gory vampire movie every now and then?” Bella said, her laughter still bubbling.

“I don’t. How you are my daughter I’ll never know,” the mother said, shaking her head.

Bella had decided to rent 30 Days of Night where a town in Alaska doesn’t get any sun for thirty days and there isn’t any around for eighty miles, which makes it an ideal place for vampires to come and ravage the towns’ inhabitants in some of the most gruesome ways.

Blood and flying heads had no effect on the teenager at all. She’s never had a problem with gory movies and loved the suspense they held, the thrill of not knowing what’s around the corner. Her mother was never a big fan of them, but since Bella agreed to watch one of her movies, Diane put up with the movie, viscera and all.

“Yeah, but you love me all the same,” Bella replied to her mother’s joke, smiling.
“Of course. Nothing will ever change that,” Diane said, smiling at her daughter. Bella smiled back, but felt a slight tug in her chest.

Would Diane accept Bella’s relationship with Katerina, or would she be disgusted with her daughter? Bella, without really watching the movie, stared at the screen deep in thought, her mind creating more scenarios. Diane could become angry and forbid Bella from seeing her girlfriend, however, Bella chose to push that thought away. Another reaction could be a strained acceptance, but then she would act weird or distant from Bella. She wasn’t sure which of the negative outcomes she liked best.

“Bella!” came a sharp voice and a small push on the shoulder. Bella pulled herself out of her head and turned to her mother.

“Yeah?”

“If you’re not going to pay attention to this thing you call a movie, do you want to change it?” she asked.

“No, sorry. Just kind of spaced for a second. Did you need something?”

“I asked if you wanted more marshmallow’s?” she repeated.

“Sure, thanks,” Bella replied. Her mother grabbed their plates and forks, then went to the kitchen. Their favorite snack to eat during movie nights was to put marshmallow’s in the microwave and cook them until they become so chewy that it takes five minutes to chew one bite. What was really amusing was watching the marshmallow’s grow huge, something the two women called “blowing up marshmallow’s” and putting a toothpick in the sides to watch them fence each other.

Bella absentmindedly grabbed a small handful of popcorn and tossed some into her mouth as she watched the screen, her mind wandering again.

Diane walked into the room and sat down as she placed the, gooey, hot marshmallows on the coffee table. She started eating her own and watched the screen for a minute before she noticed that Bella was, once again, not paying attention to the movie. This was not like Diane’s daughter at all. She loved movies and was usually in tune with them as she would often point out details no one else would normally see. Instead, tonight she had twice stared at the screen with a far off look in her eyes.

The older woman grabbed both remotes, paused the movie and shut off the television screen, then turned on the lamp next to the sofa they were sitting on. These actions pulled Bella from her head and realized what her mother had done.

“What’s up? Why’d you stop the movie?” she asked.

“Bells, is there something you want to talk about?” her mother asked, facing Bella and giving the teenager her full attention. She saw Bella’s eyes widen slightly out of shock and, what appeared to be, panic. A stab of worry shot through the mother, but she didn’t allow Bella to see it.

“Why do you ask?” Bella dodged.

“You’ve been acting...a little out of character tonight. Even during dinner you were quieter than usual. I am just wondering if there is something you wish to talk to me about,” Diane answered, as she suspicions were confirmed. Her daughter was hiding something and the dodge proved it.

“I’m fine. Just a little day dreamy today,” Bella said, telling her mother only half of the truth. Diane sighed and stared at her daughter for a moment, trying to figure out what Bella would be hiding from her.

Diane was not naïve enough to believe that Bella told her every aspect of her teenage life; however, she did trust Bella to tell her the big things that would come up, either seeking advice, comfort, or just to let her know what’s going on.

“Are you sure? You know you can talk to me.”

“Thanks, mom. I’ll be okay, I promise. I’m just a space case,” Bella laughed, hoping it would get Diane off the subject. It did. Diane smiled and decided to turn the movie back on. Her mother was in no way convinced.

Bella almost let out a sigh of relief. Lying was hard work...and it made her feel like shit. Bella knew she had to tell everyone and soon. She couldn’t keep this up.

Oops!

Wow...just wow you guys. I was re-reading The Keeper, chapter 2 to review a few things and I realized that I forgot to add something to the end. It was not supposed to end like that. In chapter 3, when Katerina shows up at the restaurant, and one of Bella's friends asks what she's doing there, Katerina answers that Bella invited her last night when she took her home...there's a real scene to that answer and I'm sorry for forgetting to put that in. So, this is the REAL ending to The Keeper, chapter 2.

They parted and went back down stairs. Neither of them had any idea as to how long they were gone.
“Finally! What the hell were two doing up there?” asked Alyssa. Everyone looked at them and Bella blushed.
“Bella was still not feeling well, but everything is fine now,” Katerina said easily, grinning from ear to ear. Bella couldn’t help but smile the same way.
“Are you sure? Do you need to go home, Bella?” Alyssa asked.
“No, I’m fine. Just some random thing. It’s nothing,” Bella said, her heart bursting with ecstasy.
“Okay, whatever. Come on, you’ve missed half of the movie,” Kayla said. Bella and Katerina sat in their original places, only this time, Bella welcomed the feeling of Katerina pressing against her.
Bella and Katerina would sometimes gently massage their hands and sides, where no one could see them. Bella paid no attention to the movies that were playing. All she could do was revel at Katerina’s touches.
However, halfway through When A Stranger Calls, Kayla looked over at them and Bella quickly pulled her hand away from Katerina’s, her heart pounding. Kayla turned away without looking suspicious. That’s when Bella started wondering when or if she was ever going to tell her friends. She knew she had to tell Kayla at some point, but she was afraid. And her mom. Bella dreaded that conversation. She didn’t know how her motherwould react. Bella and her mother are very close and, a year ago, Bella promised to tell her when she got into a relationship and when she felt she was ready to have sex. But...could she tell her mom this? She knew she wanted to be with Katerina, but she was new to being with a girl and didn’t exactly know how to go about it. She would have to remember to ask Katerina, but not tonight. She didn’t want to ruin this evening.
Sooner than Bella wanted, the movie night was over and everyone began leaving. Bella and Katerina got in her car as Bella drove to Katerina’s apartment. They held hands the whole way. Bella would glance over at Katerina to see her looking at Bella, never taking her eyes off of her. This made Bella’s heart flutter in her chest.
“Bella...what are we?” asked Katerina when Bella pulled into the parking lot. Bella sighed.
“I don’t know...what should we be?” Bella asked.
“Well, I certainly wouldn’t mind you being my girlfriend, but whatever you want us to be, I’m perfectly okay with, as long as I’m with you,” Katerina answered.
“Girlfriend...” Bella said quietly, staring at the steering wheel.
“If you don’t want that, then I understand,” Katerina said.
“I’ve never had a girlfriend before,” Bella said, still speaking quietly.
“I know, but it’s not a bad thing, honestly,” Katerina said, placing a hand on Bella’s shoulder. “But, if you don’t like it, then we won’t be girlfriends.”
“No...it’s fine. It sounds good; right even. I do like the sound of it,” Bella said after a minute, looking over and smiling at Katerina, who’s face lit up like Fourth of July.
“Really? You want to be my girlfriend?” she asked. Bella leaned forward and gave her a kiss.
“Really,” she said when they parted. Katerina was smiling, but then it faltered. “What’s wrong?”
“What about your friends? Your parents? What are you going to tell them?” she asked. Bella didn’t reply immediately.
“I don’t know. For now, until I figure things out, I won’t tell them. If you don’t mind,” Bella said.
“Not at all. This is your decision, whatever you want,” Katerina said.
“Thank you,” Bella said.
“I know this is hard, but it’ll get better soon. I promise,” Katerina said. Bella smiled at her.
“As long as you’re with me, I know it will be,” she whispered. Katerina smiled back. They hugged tightly and Bella breathed in her scent, trying to imprint it in her mind until she saw her again.
“I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?” Katerina said.
“Hey, you should come with me and my friends for lunch. You can meet us at El Lorro’s, it’s a Mexican restaurant, around twelve thirty,” Bella said, smiling, making Katerina smile.
“Sounds great. I’ll see you then,” she said. She leaned forward and they kissed for a while, but Katerina eventually pulled away, shaking her head. “I wonder if I’ll ever get used to these kisses.”
“Same here,” Bella said, absolutely breathless, still amazed at how Katerina could make her feel.
“Good night, Bella,” Katerina said.
“Good night, Katerina,” Bella replied. Then Katerina was gone.
Bella drove home and, when she pulled into her driveway, she was amazed she hadn’t gotten into an accident since her thoughts were far from driving. Bella walked into her house, still in a dream like state.
“Hey honey, how was Alyssa’s?” her mother, Diane Peterson, asked when she was inside.
“It was great,” Bella said, grinning like a complete idiot.
“What is it?” Diane asked, noticing the glassy look of happiness in her daughters eyes.
“Nothing, I just had a really good time. I’m going to go do some homework,” Bella said. She kissed her mother on the forehead and ran up stairs to her room, all thoughts of homework were long gone.



Again, sorry for that! Hope no one is confused. If you are, just comment and I'll answer ASAP! :)

Wild Cat