Crisis Nation (Episode 8)--by Emi

Screams filled the air, drowning out any other sound. A cold wind blew, making a ghostly howl to go along with the screams. Crying and shrieking, it was all the same, all so real and torturing. The room spun and the world was slowly breaking away. Everything around the area was falling into a black hole and being swallowed forever.

Jared pushed his chair away from the desk, shaking his head as the screams began to silence themselves. His breathing was heavy and rushed, his palms sweaty on the cold wood. He was use to nightmares, but never terrors while being awake. He let out a deep sigh and got up, trying to stop his legs from shaking.

Kylie stopped at the doorway, watching him trying to stay standing. “Jared, are you okay?”

Jared nodded and began to say he was fine until he saw the look in her eyes. “I guess I’m a little stressed being back. Just having some weird type of night terrors, only I’m awake for them. I don’t know how to explain it.” Kylie put her hand on his arm, trying to calm him. “Perhaps you should have just stayed home and slept today.”

“Nah,” Jared shook his head. “I’ll be fine. I just need to get on my feet and do something instead of taking the time to rest and think. So, what are you up to?”

Kylie put a folder down on his desk. “Just going through some stuff before I head over to the hospital to see what’s going on with Angel. She spent this week learning things, or trying to anyway. So I was going to go in and spend some time playing games with her.”

“Well, that’s a good thing to do,” Jared smiled. “God, your compassion never fails to amaze me.”

Kylie chuckled, kissing him on the cheek. “I’ll be back later. I was hoping to take my camera along to get some pictures today, so I’ll show them to you when I have them developed.”

“Oh, you want me to stay here?” Jared asked quietly.

“Well,” Kylie frowned, realizing she hurt his feelings. “I’m sorry, Jared. I wasn’t sure if you wanted to come. I didn’t mean that the way it sounded. You can come if you want to. Angel seems to have taken quite a liking to you. I just thought that perhaps seeing the hospital again so soon might be a little too stressful for you.”

Jared sat down in his chair, wiping his palms on his pants. “Yeah, I suppose you have a point. I know you’re only trying to look out for me. I guess I’ll spend the day bugging Eric.”

Kylie smiled, messing up his hair. “Yeah, that’d be a good idea. Take him to get some ice cream and a nicer attitude.”

“Hey now,” Jared laughed and got up. “Eric can be a very nice person, as long as you don’t know him.”

“Gee Jared,” a voice said from the doorway. “I’m so glad you care that much.”

Jared looked at the door and smiled at Mr. Channing. “You disagree with me?”

Mr. Channing shook his head, holding back a smile. “No, you are completely correct. Do have fun, Miss Dominick. I’m trying to work on getting it so Angel doesn’t have to stay in the hospital.”

“Thank you, Mr. Channing,” Kylie shook his hand and left, heading out the door. Mr. Channing sat down in one of the chairs, his face going back to its normal seriousness. “Our funding is having a hard time trying to decide whether they want to help Angel or not. I guess they don’t see the passion you two have for helping this little girl.”

“Well,” Jared sighed. “if worse comes to worse, we can try to find a foster home to keep her in, but foster homes are known for worse abuse than what a child might have seen before.”

Mr. Channing nodded. “Yes, I know. That’s why I’m trying to talk them into taking an old building, or building a new one, and turning it into a children’s home. I mean, there are tons of children who need places to stay since foster care can be so horrible. Children who are abused, or who have learning disabilities, they need a place they can be taken care of and loved.”

Jared stared at Mr. Channing for a moment with a dumbfounded look before putting on a sheepish grin. “Wow, I didn’t realize you were such a sap, Eric.”

“Very funny, Jared,” Mr. Channing shook his head, trying not to laugh. “So anyway, tell me about what’s happening with you and Kylie now that she’s gone.”

“What’s happening between us?” Jared gave an innocent look. “I have no idea what you are talking about.”

“Oh come on,” Mr. Channing finally smiled.

Jared turned his head slightly, putting his hand up to his mouth. “I’ve found some random brides magazines in her apartment lately.”

“Her apartment?” Mr. Channing couldn’t help but grin.

“Yes,” Jared laughed. “Her apartment. We spend a lot of time just staying in and talking, so I’m over there a lot, or she goes to my place. She has this very comfortable couch. It’s one of those La-Z-Boys, or whatever. It’s very easy to fall asleep on. But... she’s worried about me. I can tell she keeps eyeing me to make sure I’m going to be okay. I suppose my break down wasn’t easy on her since I really am the steady one. She’s the one who acts fast and does things because of her compassion. I’m the rock, I guess.”

Mr. Channing nodded. “I believe it. You always have been the person people turn to when they are frightened or feeling unstable. Oh, before I forget. You got a letter today.”

“I did?” Jared narrowed his eyes. “From who?”

“Well, had you wanted to know that, I would have opened it, but they have this thing about how it’s against the law to read other people’s mail,” Mr. Channing smiled and pulled an envelope from his pocket.

“It’s not illegal. It’s only illegal if you take it from their mail box... and get caught.” Jared laughed and took the letter from Mr. Channing’s hand. He opened it up and began reading. “Let’s see, who actually wants to send me mail to my work.”

Jared read over it slowly, stopping a few times to look up at Mr. Channing uneasily. He finally crumpled up the letter and threw it into the waste basket beside his desk. “Oh, dang it all.”

“What?” Mr. Channing gave a worried look.

Jared looked at the crumpled up letter in the waste basket. “It’s from my parents. Remember how I said once to you that the only way they would ever visit me is if they want money? Well, I guess that time has finally come.”

“They’re coming to see you?” Mr. Channing sighed, realizing the stress it would bring.

Jared nodded, frowning. “Yes, they will be here tonight, and they want to know about Kylie.”

**

Kylie smiled and sat down at the small desk, watching Angel as she tried to put together a puzzle. Angel seemed to be doing better. In only a short week, she was getting along with the other people in the hospital and was calming down on her behavior and learning how to keep her clothing on. Her walking was still staggered and she couldn’t speak, but she was growing attachments to people.

Angel looked at Kylie after she gave up on the puzzle, frowning. Kylie gave an encouraging smile. “These puzzles always gave me trouble too when I was young. Perhaps we should try to do a smaller puzzle.”

Angel looked down at the puzzle for a moment, eyeing the one hundred pieces scattered around. She shook her head and pushed the puzzle off of the table, obviously done with it. She got up and staggered over to the shelf full of different games, looking over them. She looked at the pictures to figure out what she wanted to do. She finally pulled down a coloring book and brought it back over, flipping through the pages.

Kylie smiled and grabbed the crayons. She watched as Angel found a page she wanted to do and started coloring it. Angel drew out of the lines, making it look like it was done by an infant just learning. Kylie frowned sadly at this, wishing Angel was like other children her age. It saddened her to think about how much trauma Angel had gone through.

Kylie took out her camera and snapped a few pictures of Angel as she drew on the page. Despite the infant like attitude Angel had, she had a definite personality that drew people in to her. Angel looked up for one of the photos, giving Kylie just enough time to get a picture of her smiling.

They spent the rest of the time playing games, Kylie taking pictures every now and then. Angel seemed to be having fun and at about six in the evening, she curled into Kylie’s lap to watch a movie and fell asleep. Kylie wasn’t surprised with how much she did each day with her rehabilitation and the medication to get her body functioning normally. Angel looked exactly like what Kylie had named her, a definite glow around her.

Kylie turned when a soft knock sounded. Jared was standing in the doorway, looking at Angel with his emotional brown eyes. A nurse came in after him and carried Angel to her room to rest, wanting Angel to stay healthy while she was there. Jared gave an uncomfortable look as the nurse walked past him with Angel in her arms. His eyes went down to the ground and he clenched his hands. “What’s wrong?” Kylie frowned in concern, walking up to him.

Jared kept his eyes on the ground. “My parents are coming to visit, along with that unholy sister you met before and my younger brother.”

“Do you need silver bullets?” Kylie joked. “Garlic? Maybe a cross? We could even ask for a silver cross!”

“Kylie,” Jared finally looked up, sighing. “They’re going to be here in an hour, at my place, wanting to see what I’m up to and to meet you because apparently Leila has kindly told them everything about my life.”

Kylie crossed her arms. “You act like I won’t be able to handle this.”

“It’s not really you I’m worried about,” Jared said quietly. “I’m more worried about my health. I don’t think I can deal with it, even though that sounds so incredibly selfish.”

Kylie leaned in and kissed him gently. “You’re strong. You can do this. You’ll see them, then they’ll leave, and you’ll go on with life. And I will be by your side through it all.”

Jared looked into her eyes. “When did you become the hand rail?”

Kylie smiled. “Since you broke down. Now come on! I need to drop this camera off at the one hour photo place and then we’ll go deal with your family together.”

“You sure?” Jared asked, finally feeling a bit better. “I mean, these people could easily turn you into to stone just by looking in their general direction.”

Kylie laughed and pushed him slightly. “Come on, you big oaf.”

Jared chuckled and followed her out of the hospital. The streets were busy with people going around trying to find Christmas presents as the holiday drew closer than ever. Jared stood outside in the snow while Kylie went into CVS to drop off the camera. He waited outside one of the stores, looking into the window at the porcelain dolls inside. They were so delicate and fragile, yet so beautiful.

Kylie put her hand on Jared’s shoulder, pulling him from his thoughts. “Okay, camera should be done in an hour or so. I thought we could take your family out to dinner and then go pick them up on our way back.”

“Sounds good,” Jared nodded his head.

Kylie looked at him sadly. “Are you really that worried?”

“I haven’t seen them for years,” Jared responded after a moment of silence. “To be honest, I didn’t want to see my parents again. See, with your father, it was a bit different, because at least he cared about you. But my parents, my parents just enjoy seeing my life miserable and I’m pretty sure they will do everything in their power to make it miserable now. To be honest, I’m just lucky that Eric came along when he did.”

“Mr. Channing?” Kylie gave a confused look.

Jared nodded his head. “He met me about a month after Joe had died. I was causing trouble on the streets and running away from home, so as a way to get me ‘back on track’ my parents called him and he brought me to his office. He tried to help me and eventually grew a bond with me, even though I never have figured out why that was. He eventually took me out of the house and got permission for me to stay with him. He’s what got me back on track. He kept me alive.”

Kylie looked down, not sure what to say. “Well, I’m glad, because if he hadn’t, then you wouldn’t be doing all the great things you do.”

Jared finally smiled. “And now we’re getting all mushy. Come on, let’s go.”

They walked in silence all the way to Jared’s home, hand in hand. Jared walked ahead of Kylie as they got closer, but was still holding her hand, making her almost have to run to keep up with him. He stopped when he saw figures by his front door. He took a deep breath and finally let go to Kylie’s hand, walking up to the figures.

Kylie watched them all exchange uncomfortable handshakes and hugs. She could see the resemblance, especially in Jared’s younger brother who could easily be his twin, only younger looking. Jared’s mom turned and eyed Kylie while Jared finished making small talk with his brother. The father was the next one to look at her, followed by his brother, and finally Leila’s eyes were on her. Leila had a wicked smile on her face that sent a chill down her spine.

“Um,” Jared cleared his throat, obviously not liking seeing them. “This is Kylie Dominick. She’s my partner at work.”

Kylie elbowed him. He looked at her and motioned for her to talk, looking tired already. “We’re a bit more than just partners at work.”

“Oh, you’re actually dating?” Leila said without missing a beat.

Kylie turned to look at her, having to hold back a rude comment in front of the rest of his family. “Well, I suppose I can see why you wouldn’t know what was going on in his life.”

Jared cleared his throat again, this time a little louder to stop Kylie and Leila from fighting each other. “Kylie and I have been going out, dating. And, well, we’re engaged.”

“Engaged?” Leila almost choked on the air. “You’re engaged?”

“Oh, how lovely,” Mrs. Preston said without enthusiasm. “When is the wedding date?”

“We’re still working out the details,” Jared replied, looking at Kylie. “So, what were you thinking about for dinner? You know food places better than me. I just get fast food.”

“Yes, I know,” Kylie rolled her eyes. “I was actually thinking of Rizzono’s, that nice little Italian restraint downtown. I’ll even treat.”

Jared shook his head. “No, it’s fine. I need to spend my money frivolously anyway since... well, I haven’t gotten a chance to spend my money for no reason, so why not do it now?”

Kylie frowned at him, wishing he would cheer up a bit. Jared motioned to the van that he drove sometimes and took everyone to the restaurant. The meal started out silent, people not really knowing what to say. Leila obviously didn’t want to be anywhere near Kylie because Kylie was quicker at come backs than she was, and a lot smarter too.

As the meals were served, Mrs. Preston finally looked at Jared. “You didn’t think you could do any better?”

“Mother!” Jared yelled at her, getting the whole restaurant’s attention. He sighed, bringing down his volume a bit. “No, I don’t think I could, because guess what? Kylie’s the best there is in this world. So deal with it.”

Kylie looked away, feeling hurt by the mother’s comment. Jared took her hand under the table and squeezed it, letting her know that he wasn’t going anywhere. She looked at him as he kept his cold gaze on his mother. His mother took a bite of her food, turning away to make him stop looking at her.

Mr. Preston decided to break the silence next, speaking in a low voice. “So, how is your work? What is it you do again?”

“I’m a crisis worker,” Jared replied flatly.

“In other words, he works with lunatics,” Leila said, grinning cruelly. Jared looked at her, mocking her cruel smile. “I’m surprised I haven’t gotten a call from you then.”

“Okay,” Kylie set her napkin down on the table. “I’m feeling really uncomfortable now.”

“Good,” Leila responded. “Leave.”

Jared threw his napkin down and stood up. “You know, Kylie is welcome in my life, but you guys aren’t. So make a choice now. We can finish eating and be on our way, or I’ll just walk away now.”

“Not like it would matter,” Leila said, laughing to herself.

“No, no,” Mrs. Preston said, interrupting Leila. “Please sit down.”

Jared stared at his mother for a moment before sitting down again. “Fine.”

“So, um,” Mrs. Preston gave an uneasy look. “We heard about the breakdown.”

Mr. Preston lowered his voice wanting only Jared to hear but Kylie heard it perfectly. “Is this girl putting too much pressure on your life? You sure you need to get married? Maybe you should quit your job.”

Kylie stared at the family in disgust. So this is what he meant, she thought bitterly. No wonder he didn’t want me to meet them.

Jared rolled his eyes. “Nice try. But at least now I see why you’ve come to visit. You’re afraid I may actually be dying or something. Nice. Are you worried you won’t get anything out of it, is that it?”

Kylie’s mouth dropped as she stared at Jared, his cold expression eerie. “Jared!”

“What?” Jared looked at her calmly. “It’s not like it actually hurts them. I think my family is void of feelings at this point. They were void of feelings before I turned five! I’m sure that upset in their face is mainly because I’ve figured out why they’re here and now my mom is upset because she knows if I know the truth, I’ll never do anything she wants, isn’t that right mother?”

Mrs. Preston pressed her lips together angrily. “This girl is a horrible influence on you. I don’t think you should see her anymore.”

“I agree,” Mr. Preston said quickly.

Leila and Jared’s brother nodded their agreement. Kylie set her napkin down on her plate, trying hard not to cry. “You know, I should just go.”

Kylie got up and began walking toward the door. Jared jumped up, running after her. “Kylie! I’m not letting you leave like this!”

“Leave me alone!” Kylie yelled and ran out of the restaurant.

Mrs. Preston motioned for the others to follow. “We can’t just walk away now. We need to know where we stand with him. Now come on.”

Jared continued to try to calm Kylie down as they walked the streets. She finally stopped outside CVS, putting her hand up. “I’m going to pick up my photos. You deal with this.”

Jared watched her go into the store, then looked at his family following behind him. They caught up to him in a moment and looked in to see Kylie getting the photos and trying to calm down. Jared bit his lower lip, trying to keep any rage down.

“Feisty, isn’t she?” Mr. Preston cracked.

Jared turned and looked at them, anger in his eyes. “I will say this once, and only once. So listen well. I don’t want you in my life. You made me miserable living at home, and make me miserable now. I could deal with you making me miserable. But once you step past the line to make Kylie miserable, well that’s where I draw the line. I don’t want to see any of the family again. I don’t want to get cards or presents or anything. I don’t want phone calls or visits of any kind. I don’t want to be in the will, I will just hand it to these two jerks you’ve so proudly raised. Kylie and Eric are my family. So just leave.”

He turned away to see Kylie standing behind him listening to what he had said. He didn’t even wait for anyone to speak before walking over and putting his arm around Kylie. “So, show me those photos.”

Kylie smiled wistfully and opened the photo package, showing off the photos of Angel. “Isn’t she beautiful?”

Jared smiled and nodded his head. “Yes. She really is an angel. We’ll have to show them to Eric.”

Jared looked back at his family for a moment, bowing his head. “Goodbye.”

He kept his arm around Kylie protectively and they started walking down the street away from the Prestons. Jared was finally free.

***Next week, on Crisis Nation: The christmas season approaches. Jared plans the most wonderful present, while Kylie sees how there is still pain even on Christmas.

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