Second Chances - Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Thirteen: The Salem Common Kris and Tango walked into the small café, the golden bell ringing as the door swung open. Looking around, they heard four familiar laughs and walked over to the table in the corner.
“Hey guys.” Dustin said as he pulled out a chair for Kris to sit in.
“Hey, thought you already ate?” asked Jay.
“What do you mean?” he asked.
“Steve and Tango said you already ate.” Grant said as he sipped on his coffee.
Catching Steve and Tango looking at him with worried faces, his eyes widened a bit then looked at Jay and Grant. “Oh, yeah, um. I went out earlier. Hey where’s Brian?” he asked trying to change the subject.
“Oh crap.” Jay whipped out his phone. “Hey, Brian man, meet us at the Red Rose Café for breakfast....alright, see you when you get here.” Jay closed his phone and placed it gently on the table, then leaned back in his chair.
“You guys forgot to invite him, didn’t you?” laughed Dustin.
“What? No.” Jay stressed and laughed when he started feeling awkward by everyone starring at him. “Just don’t tell him.” he laughed.
20 minutes later and 1 ½ pots of coffee later, Brian joined them and they ordered. After eating a large meal of bacon, eggs and toast, the group walked out onto the side walk and crossed the street to the Common.
“So how’s therapy going?” Grant asked Kris when Brian, Steve, Dustin and Tango grabbed a lone frisbee and started playing.
“Good.” Kris replied as she, Jay and Grant sat beneath a large oak tree.
“What time do you have to go in today?” asked Jay.
Kris looked at her watch, then back up to watch the boys fooling around. “About an hour ago.”
“What? Why didn’t you say something?” asked Grant.
“I...I was having a good time. I’ve missed you guys.”
Jay and Grant smiled and Grant brushed her hair with his hand then kissed her temple. “We’ve missed you a lot too, Kris.”
Kris smiled and wrapped her arms around his torso and smiled again when he hugged her back. “I figured you guys would be mad at me.” she said when she pulled away.
“Why would we be mad at you?” asked Jay as he placed a hand on her’s and rubbed the back of it with his thumb.
“For leaving. For not contacting you guys. For lying about what Mark was doing...”
“It’s okay, Kris. We’re not mad at you. We never were. We were just worried, still are.”
Kris smiled sadly then went back to watching the game of frisbee.
“You know that’s the most I’ve heard you talk since we got here.” Jay said.
“Without stuttering too.” Added Grant. “It’s great to see that you’re getting better, Kris.”
Kris smiled and laughed a bit. “Thanks.”
“Well we care about you, Kris. Of course we would want you to get better.” said Grant.
“Yeah, you’re like a little sister.” Jay laughed.
After a few moments of silence and listening to Jay and Grant mumbling about something, Jay cleared his throat. “Grant and I have been talking, I’m not sure you heard us but we would love it, that after you get better, if you would consider returning to TAPS. We’ve asked Steve the other night and he agreed but not until he made sure that you were right again.”
“Really? You guys want me back?”
“Of course. You’re a great investigator. And I’m not sure if you’ve seen the show since you and Steve left, but it’s pretty shitty now. The new investigators suck.” Grant laughed.
Smiling, Kris pulled them each into a hug. “I would love to come back. Thank you guys, so much.”
“Damn, bitch, you move fast.”
Kris pulled away and looked up to see Mark leaning against the oak tree, starring down at her with empty eyes. Jay and Grant immediately stood up and stood protectively in front of Kris.
“What the fuck are you doing here. I figured the cops would have caught you by now.”
“What can I say, cops in this town have a price.” He said as he looked as his finger nails.
“Who the hell is that?” asked Brian as he caught the frisbee and looked over at the large oak tree.
The rest of the guys looked over at Jay, Grant and Kris. Steve dropped the frisbee and started over towards them. Tango, Dustin and Brian looked at each other then ran over when Steve tackled the man and repeatedly punched him in the face. They pulled him off and looked over at Jay and Grant.
“Why didn’t you stop him?” Brian asked and looked back at the now bleeding man.
“It’s Mark.” Jay said as he watched the man lying on the ground with cold hatred.
Dustin, Tango and Brian stopped holding Steve back and looked at Mark. Pushing Steve, Tango and Brian out of the way, Dustin jumped on Mark and slammed his head against the ground, then grabbed him by the throat and started to hit him. Feeling arms around him, he refused to let go and slammed his head against the ground once more. Dustin felt himself being pulled away from the limp body and kicked at it as he was pulled away.
“Dustin, Dustin, stop! He’s not worth it! Relax!” Someone yelled, he couldn’t quite tell who.
45 minutes later, Jay and Grant walked with Dustin and Steve out of the police station and walked back towards Steve’s apartment. Walking in and closing the door behind them, Dustin and Steve sat down on the couch.
“We’re gonna go get some beers.” Jay said and went into the kitchen with Grant.
“I’ve never seen either of them act that way before.” Grant said.
“Same here.” Jay said and pulled a six pack out of the fridge.
“Man, I do NOT want to be on their bad side...” Granted laughed.
“I know what you mean.”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
“Hey...”
Dustin and Steve looked up to see Kris standing in the hallway, playing with the sleeves of her sweater.
“Hey, you okay?” asked Steve.
Kris nodded.
“Come here.” Dustin said and moved over on the couch.
Kris continued to watch them.
“Kris? You okay?” asked Steve.
Kris nodded.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
“What’s wrong with Kris?” asked Jay as he watched what was happening in the next room.
“What do you mean?” Grant walked over to look into the living room.
“They told her to sit down with them and she’s acting really weird.” Jay said. “Just watch...”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
“What’s wrong?” asked Dustin as he stood up and moved towards her. He reached out to brush some hair out of her face and she flinched and backed away.
“Kris...?” Steve stood up and walked over to her. He placed a hand on her shoulder and she moved away from them, further into the living room.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
“Is she afraid of them?” asked Grant.
“Yea, seems like it...” replied Jay.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
“Jay and Grant s...still here?”
“We’re right here, Kris.” Jay said as he and Grant walked into the living room. “What’s wrong?”
Kris quickly glanced at Dustin and Steve, then looked away. “N...nothing. Are you guys g...gonna stay a while?”
“We were actually gonna get going. We’ll see you tomorrow though, alright?” said Grant as he gave the beer to Steve and Dustin.
Kris nodded and hugged herself. Jay and Grant looked at each other. “Steve and Dustin are here though.” Jay said.
“Yeah, we can watch a movie or something. Alright Kris?” said Steve.
Kris looked over at them. “I um, I think I’m just g...gonna get to bed...” Kris looked at Jay and Grant and smiled weakly. “Night...”
Hugging herself, Kris walked between Steve and Dustin without another word to either of them and closed the bedroom door behind her.