Hi, it's me. I'm back from the dead. (Actually, just a foreign country)
Title: Can't Fight the Moonlight
Author: Savinglives44
Rating: R
Summary: Sequel to Right Kind of Wrong. Addison/Alex. Addison has a much needed talk with her brother.
( Chapter 1: No One's Gonna Be Around ) ( Chapter 2: You Think That You Won't Fall ) ( Chapter 3: It'll Steal Your Heart Tonight ) ( Chapter 4: Deep in the Dark ) ( Chapter 5: It's Not Easy Tonight ) ( Chapter 6: I'll Be There For You ) ( Chapter 7: The Heart of the Matter ) ( Chapter 8: Because of You Part 1 )
A/N: Yeah, I know that I suck. It's been months, or weeks. I don't really know. You should just read it and then read the second author's note at the bottom.
Actually, I suggest maybe going back a few chapters to catch up. That's what I would do.
And this isn't beta-ed, so excuse grammar errors/overall horribleness. I just wanted to get this out so you'd know that I wasn't dead. The next will be better. :)
Disclaimer: See Chapter 1
Can’t Fight the Moonlight
Chapter 9: Because of You Part 2
Previously on Can’t Fight the Moonlight…
She turns to her brother and stares at him. He's grown up a lot since the last time she saw him. His hair is lighter than Addison's, the same color as their mother's, and it hangs down in his face. He's so tall that Addison suspects he's grown at least a foot. His sad eyes are light too, hidden behind dark brown glasses. Addison says his name softly, "Kevin." He's startled that she's even talking to him, but she continues, "How are you?"
"He's fine." Elise declares for him. "He'll stay with his father until he finishes high school in a year. He's graduating a semester early!" She claps her hands together in delight.
I didn't ask you, Addison wants to say. But she's never been able to stand up to her mother, so she tries to connect with Kevin once more. "Do you know what you want to major in?"
Kevin smiles, interested now that they're talking about him. "No. I may not go to college. I want to see if I can make it on my own first, as a musician."
Addison looks up at Alex and explains, "Kevin is an amazing pianist."
"As are you." Derek adds. She never gives herself enough credit.
"But I'm not as good." Addison says while smiling at Kevin.
Kevin watches his sister. She's been through so much and she's still so compassionate. "How are you? Mark told us about..." He looks at the floor. "He told us what happened."
I'm forced to fake
a smile, a laugh, everyday of my life.
And now I cry in the middle of the night
for the same damn thing.
Kevin Montgomer walks down the white hall of the hospital. He'd ditched Mark almost a half hour ago. Lunch with his unexsistant father and a certain arrogant plastic surgeon? No thank you. It's not that he doesn't like Mark. But there's no common ground between the two of them whatsoever. So, as soon as the word "implant" was mentioned, Kevin sudddenly felt the urge to use the "bathroom". Really, he wanted to see Addison. When Elise had suspiciously asked for privacy, an alert went off in Kevins head. He knew his mother was up to something and he needed to be there to correct whatever damage she caused. After all, it was his fault that Elise even knew about Addison's cutting. He hadn't meant to tell her about what he saw and now he's regretting it. As he makes his way around the final corner to Addion's room, the sight startles him. Elise and Derek lean against the wall on opposite sides of Addison's door. Elise's face remains expressionless, but Derek seems sad. This must be what Addison deemed the 'puppy dog face' of Derek's. Man, she must have really taken it out of them. But, Addison? It's not like her to stand up to Mom. Or maybe it was her new boyfriend. Sure, he seems quiet, but the way he was holding Addison? He definitely has a protective nature. Maybe Mom pushed her limits, sent the new guy over the edge. Well, whatever the reason, it wasn't going to stop Kevin from getting into that room. Apparently, it wasn't even going to try to stop him, because when Kevin marches up to the two, they remain silent. He was at least expecting some sort of resistance to him seeing Addison, but neither offers an explanation for their behavior.
When he enters the room, Addison sniffles and tightens her arms around Alex. She doesn't even look up when he closes the door.
But Alex does. He smiles weakly, and then looks away uncomfortably. Kevin walks over to Addison's bed and stutters "I- I don't mean to intrude, but could I have some privacy with my sister?"
Alex looks at Addison shakily. The last time one of her relatives asked for some privacy, it didn't turn out too well. I don't know if she's ready for more of this.
Kevin, sensing Alex's hesistation, (and knowing his mother) says quickly. "Hey. It's okay. I'm not my mom." He laughs nervously. Why is Addison crying? Mom's outside holding back tears. I can't think of anything that would upset BOTH of them this much.
Alex explains, "It's not that." He leans towards Addison, who still hasn't broken her stare at some random corner of the room. "I think she's tired." He asks her, "Are you tired, Addison?"
No response, other than more staring at the corner. After a while, Kevin decides to leave, but then Addison moves before his hand touches the doorknob. She slowly sits up enough for Alex to slip out of the bed. "I want to talk to Kevin." she croaks.
Alex watches her cautiously. "Are you sure? You don't have to. I can stay, if you want."
"Actually," Kevin interrupts, "that might not be a good idea. No offense."
Alex nods, but turns to Addison. "What do you wnat?"
Addison's eyes now remain fixed staring out the window. "I want to talk to Kevin."
He rubs her arms as he steps out of the bed. "I love you." He drops a kiss on her head before exiting the room.
Addison rubs the tingling sensation that the kiss left on her head. "I love you too," she whispers to herself. She avoids eye contact with Kevin as she settles back into the bed.
Kevin knows that he needs to initiate the conversation before Addison loses concentration and begins spacing out again. "I'm sorry."
With this statement, he grabs her attention. She wants to launch into another "Don't feel sorry for me" speech, but she just doesn't have the strength.
"It's my fault," he continues. "that mom knows...about your problem. You know, the cutting." For a second, Kevin almost laughs. It's osrt of ironic. She's a surgeon and she cuts herself. Wow. I'm being incredibly inappropriate.
Addison looks down nervously. There's no way... How could he possibly know? And why does he care enough to come clean about this? It's not like it matters anyway. "Did Mark tell you?" It certainly wasn't Derek.
"No- no." Kevin quickly denies. "I saw you that day. The day after Derek left."
"You saw me?" Addison questions. I didn't even talk to him that day.
Kevin pushes his glasses back up onto the bridge of his nose. "I went to see you that day after school. I didn't even know about Derek; I just wanted some help with my physics homework. But you were in the shower, so I waited at the kitchen table.
Addison nods. Kevin often stopped by the brownstone after school when Elise was driving him crazy at home or when he needed a quiet place to do his homework. As an added bonus, the place was a total babe magnet. No parents, expensive furniture, and lots of food. With Addison and Derek gone for most of the day, the brownstone was ideal for dates.
But that day, Kevin hadn't brought a date with him. It was embarrassing enough to be failing Physics I as a junior. He didn't need the girl he was trying to impress watch him struggle with the concept of velocity. "I waited for a long time. You were in the shower for over an hour."
Addison remembers. The water had been burning hot. She scrubbed her skin raw and red until it had gone numb, much like her shower after the rape. "Why didn't you come and get me?" She wonders out loud.
"I did." Kevin fidgets with the rim of glasses. "When the shower shut off and you didn't come down, I went up to your bathroom. I was very quiet and I saw you sitting on your bed, wrapped up in your towel. I almost said something, but then I saw the blood running down your leg. And the razor in your hand." She'd had a glazed expression in her eyes and Kevin couldn't tell if she was crying or drunk.
Addison gulps. "I'm sorry. I didn't think away was looking. You shouldn't have seen that." That's the kind of thing that scars people for life.
"Well, I was kind of angry about it at first." Kevin laughs quietly. "That's why I sped off home to tell Mom."
He was angry? "YOU told Mom?! She said that Mark had called her about everything."
"Mark?!" Now Kevin genuinely laughs. "No, he didn't say anything to her. God, that woman is something. Her obsession with Mark is getting a little out of hand."
"No, really?" Addison says sarcastically. "Why would Mom say that Mark told her?" It's not like she has a conscious.
Kevin knew the answer to this one. "I immediately regretted telling her afterwards. So," he replies simply with a smile. "I bribed her a little, so she wouldn't tell a soul that I had seen you. I guess I should have extended the agreement so she wouldn't have bothered you." Even then, she still would have found a way out.
"You BRIBED her?" What kind of dirt does he have on Mom? "How? Why? How?" Addison breathes out.
Kevin chuckles. "You don't want to know."
Addison grabs onto his shirt and pulls him down to look her in the eye. "Yes. I. Do. Trust me. I want to know."
Kevin seems pained for a moment and wrenches her hands from his shirt. Running a hand through his hair, he sighs. "I don't want to upset you..."
Addison swallows hard. His mood changed so quickly, confusing her. He's doing the pity thing...I'd better get used to this. Addison tries to remain calm, but she can't think of anything to say. She doesn't want to make him tell her, but she can't just forget what he already said.
Kevin squints, trying to find the right words. "It's nothing that you don't know already."
"Really?" Addison asks, silently begging him to continue.
Kevin paces beside her bed and then turns to face her. "Do you remember when you were really little and you used to do those pagents?"
Addison nods. Ever since she was old enough, Elise had forced her into these beauty pagents for little girls. As an adult, Addison found them perverted and degrading, but as a young child, she never knew the whole truth about the pagents. She liked to dress up in the pretty outfits, but she couldn't understand why Elise would get mad when Addison received less than the biggest trophy available.
But most of all, little Addison hated the baton lessons.
She practiced for hours, Elise screaming after her when she dropped it. Addison shivers just thinking about it.
Kevin notices and pauses. I knew she would get upset. I shouldn't have ever opened my big mouth.
Addison reassures him, "No, it's okay. I had totally forgotten. It's been so long."
"Oh." Kevin nods. "Okay." He purses his lips together. "Do you remember when you stopped, or more importantly, why you quit the pagents?"
Addison scratches her head. "It's a little fuzzy..." Addison hates not being able to remember. Lately, it seems that she's forgotten more things than usual. Is this what aging feels like? "Didn't I fall, or something?"
Kevin's face turns as cold and hard as stone. "Elise pushed you. Right off the balance beam."
Addison laughs a little. "No, she didn't not. You weren't even born yet. How would you know?"
Kevin ceases to move. "Maria told me."
"Maria." Addison smiles. That's a face she can remember. "Our housekeeper. I miss her."
Kevin smiles too, finally letting some warmth travel back into his face. "Yeah, me too."
Addison wrinkles her nose in thought. "Was it just a year ago that she died?"
Kevin crosses his arms. "Yes. She was the only thing that made living with Mom tolerable. Maria was the only person that Mom was ever scared of. She told me to never let Mom take advantage of me. And she told me about the pagents. She was looking out for you. She SAW Mom grab your arm and twist it. And then she saw Mom push you off of the balance beam."
Addison speaks flatly. "Maria was old and her vision wasn't that great anyway. Look, I remember something about Mom maybe grabbing me a little harshly. But in the end, what really hurt me was the fall."
Kevin presses his hand to his forehead and then violently gestures up in the air. "COME ON. Would Maria lie about something like this? You were nine and the balance beam was like three feet up in the air!"
"If it's at the right angle, you can break you arm falling from three inches." Addison mutters.
"You KNOW it's the truth. I mean, even Mom knows it. That's why she shut up when I threatened to tell Dad."
"You threatened to tell DAD?!" Wow. That would kill him. He used to be so overprotective of me.
"Don't worry. I didn't need to. For all he knows, you still 'fell'." Kevin makes quotation marks with his fingers in the air and rolls his eyes.
I don't know if he would even care anymore. Addison sighs and then shakes her head. Don't pity yourself!! It only makes things worse.
Kevin notices her and pats her on the head. "I know you've had to deal with a lot of confrontations during the past couple of days..."
Addison just stares at him. Under his breath, he murmurs, "And that's the understatement of the century." Trying for a more optimistic outlook, he remarks, "It must feel better, to have everything out in the open."
Addison presses her head into the pillow. "It's okay. I have a lot to think about, but it seems like no one wants me to think at all! I mean, there's so much going through my head right now, and I can't just push it all away. It's getting clearer, or at least I'm trying to make it clearer." Addison smiles weakly.
Kevin nods along, being a supportive brother, but not really understanding all that she is saying. Suddenly, they hear shouting outside of the room.
Addison groans and Derek, Mark, and Alex all rush into the room. Derek speaks calmly. "Addison, don't worry. We will fix this."
Addison peers at him, puzzled. Fix what? What's going on?
Elise storms through the room, her face tear-stained. She tries to wipe the mascara from it and sniffles. Soon, she gives up with a growl. Yanking Addison forward by the hand, she yells "ADDISON! You're coming HOME!!"
A/N: Okay, okay. I know. I'm a terrible person. I should have updated. But the thing is, I was in Wisconsin. And then I went to France for a loooong time. So, sorry.
I wrote the first half of this before I left and the second part after, so if it seems OOC or confusing, that's why. And also, I used to have a flashback stuck right in the middle which I hated.
And umm...the Eric Dane clones were arrested for public indecency. Didn't you read it in US Weekly? smirks Next time I'll know better.
The next chapter will be the last for Elise and the family. Thank God. I can't take any more of her. She is driving my head CRAZY.
Since I haven't updated for the past two months, I really shouldn't ask you to review, but I'm going to anyway. So here it is:
Review, my beautiful readers.