Months passed by, and Kat didn't seem to pick up on Talen's sleep problem. She hadn't realized that every time when she spent the night with him or vice versa, he got out of bed when she dozed off. He knew what time her alarm was set so he' come back just before then.
Things were going great between them, they travelled quite a bit. But they made it a point to spend the weekends together, no matter where they were.
"How is your therapy coming along these days?" Kat asked out of the blue.
Talen tried not to show his discomfort, because truth is he never went for it anymore. "Yea, it's great. Lots of progress." he lied smoothly.
"Oh yea? That's great considering you haven't had any episodes in quite some time." she smiled at him.
Guilt flooded him. He just didn't want to worry her about how bad it was. There were consistent flashbacks when he tried to go to sleep. His paranoia was through the roof whenever he went anywhere with or without her. Only difference was, when he was with her, he tried as much to conceal it.
"Talen? You sure you ok?" she asked when he drifted off.
"Yea, yea I'm good." he pulled up to her nana's new house in the Hamptons.
Richard and her decided they had enough of the city and they bought a new place. A sprawling estate that overlooked the ocean.
"I think the question is are you ok. Being back here and all." he held her hand gently.
When was it ever ok to come back here. Kat thought to herself. "I've always hated it here. Will always hate it here." she sighed.
He came over to her side and opened the door for her and just as they were about to knock on the door, it swung open and her nana stepped out.
"Hello my loves. Everyone is here already." she kissed both their cheeks.
"Define everyone nan." Kat said annoyed.
"Your parents, sister and the rest of the usual suspects." Rosa said.
"Can I not be in the same room as them?" Kat sighed and her nana started on one of her lectures.
Sure it was fine for Rosa to lecture her--- but no one told Rosa about what had gone down in the hospital when she was in a coma.
"Rosa don't worry I'll keep her in line" Talen cut her rant short.
"They are family Katerina, be civilised please." Rosa said leading them through the huge foyer and into the dining room.
"Only if they are." Kat mumbled making Rosa turn around and give her another pointed look.
Kat and Talen took their seats with their friends, in the corner of the table that was far from Kat's parents and sisters.
"So, you've got a television show now." Kat's mother tried breaking the ice.
Talen nudged Kat to answer her. "Yea." was all she said.
"Don't bother trying mom, Kat thinks she's above us now." Sarah said trying to poke fire.
Kat bit back her tongue from spewing out cuss words. Instead she smiled and said "So Sarah, how's work. Oh, sorry I forgot. You still live with them."
"Here is the chicken, and lamb, pass it around." Rosa said loudly, trying to break up the tension which seemed to grow bigger.
Silence flooded the table again and this time Rosa started the conversation. "I called Jon to come over, but the boy is swamped with work."
"Yea, he's partner now so he has to go for more meetings." Claire smiled.
"What does the boy do?" Kat's father asked.
"He's an actuarist." Bree said.
"More like nerd." Sarah scoffed out loud.
As if it were possible, the tension in the room escalated even more. Kat finger tips turned white from clutching the utensils so hard. Talen's hand was on her thigh, grasping it tightly, trying to tell her to calm down.
"The way I see it, that fag just doesn't want to be around us three because of what we did to little miss 'I got dumped by mommy and daddy' over there." she said snidely looking directly at Kat.
"What did you call Jon?" Kat pushed Talen's palm off her thigh and stood up.
Sarah seemed to cower back in her chair. Yet she raised her chin and said "Yeah, you heard me. I called that best friend of yours a fag."
"And you're an uneducated whore, who lives off two scum bags. THIS, is why I don't want to come for functions." Kat yelled.
"THAT'S ENOUGH!" a deeper voice boomed.
Richard pointed at Kat's parents and said "Please get out. Right now. Take her with you. I won't have anymore of this."
"Richard, we are so sorry. Sarah, say something." Kat's mother pleaded.
"You disrespect my fiancee in the hospital. I'm sure your daughter has insulted the both of them as well. No more. I've had enough of you three. Leave." he said authoritatively.
The three of them scurried off to the front of the house and left.
"Sometimes, I can't believe we actually came from that family." Ryan said drinking his glass of wine.
"What did they do at the hospital?" Rosa asked them.
None of them wanted to answer her, they didn't want to break her heart. She always saw the best in people, and she thought Kat's parents would change for the better.
Silence made Rosa more upset. "Katerina what happened at the hospital?" she raised her voice.
"Honey, it's alright." Richard soothed her.
"No, I want to know!"
"Fine. I'll tell you." Kat sighed and told her about their greedy need to find out what was in her will-- when Kat told her about the fight that broke out, tears poured.
"Excuse me." she got up and left the room.
"So much drama. All the time." Claire sighed.
"That's her flaw sometimes." Kat said then stood up to go see her nana.
She was in her master bedroom, which had the magnificent view of the ocean. Richard left the room when she entered, and she sat next to her on the bed.
"Nana... it's alright." she hugged Rosa.
"I should have known better honey. I feel stupid." Rosa sighed wiping away a stray tear.
"You are, who you are nana.. Wanting to see the best in people can be a curse sometimes, especially when said people refuse to change. Having tons of money doesn't mean having class. Remember?" Kat used her nana's famous line.
"You're right. Thank you honey. Thank you for standing up for me. I know that I'll always have you." Rosa kissed Kat's cheeks.
The rest of the night, everyone sat around the fire and enjoyed hot cocoa.
"So, have you decided on a specific date for the wedding Rosa? It's gonna be in June right?" Claire asked.
"We're thinking of pushing it back some more. Maybe November." she answered
Kat was surprised at that. Her nana was so eager to get married, and now she was pushing it back further?
"Wow, ok. Let's just hope I don't put on weight and my dress doesn't fit me." Bree sighed.
"We'll have them refitted. No worries dear." Rosa smiled.
Kat could see right through that smile, and decided to confront her when everyone was getting their coats.
"Nan, what's with pushing it back further? Are you and Richard having problems?" she asked worried.
"No, it's just.. me. I just feel like I'm not ready." she said starting to tear up.
"Oh no, no nan.. About grandpa?" Kat hugged her tightly. "Does Richard know about this?"
"No, god no. I just told him I need more physical therapy. I can get through this. I just need time." she wiped away the tears that poured.
"Sometimes nana, you just need to see what's in front of you. Let your heart truly feel it. People hardly ever get second chances these days."
"How wise my little girl has become." Rosa kissed Kat's forehead. "All of you be safe on the drive home." she said as everyone got into their cars.
The car ride back to the City was a little different, Kat realized. However, when she asked Talen he said everything was fine. She knew things were way off when he told her "I've got to head out early tomorrow. Is it alright for you to stay over with Jon at his place?"
His question felt like a slap tp her face. Or like someone throwing an ice filled bucket at her face when she was sleeping. They had always slept together and even if either of them had to leave early the next morning, they still stayed over.
"Um. Yea I'll let him know." she pulled out her phone and messaged Jon.
Kat couldn't look at Talen because she feared she may snap at him our of anger. What was causing this sudden rift?
Grabbing her overnight bag from the back of the car, she started walking up the stairs of Jon's brownstone.
"Katerina. I'm sorry." Talen said.
"When you're done, acting like a coward and keeping everything to yourself, let me know. I've got nothing to say to you right now." Kat said trying hard not to yell and wake up the rest of the neighbours.
"I love you." he said.
Kat simply shook her head. "Do you?" she opened the heavy brown door and went in without even looking back at him.
"What's going on?" Jon said coming out from the living room.
"Why pretend like you weren't looking and listening from the window Jon." Kat sighed.
"I know, but why is he acting this way? He usually wants you by his side 24/7." he asked just as confused as she was.
"If I knew myself, I'd let you know." she went up to the third floor where the guest room was and sat on the bed.
"We have to get to the bottom of this. Do you think there's another whore involved?" Jon looked at Kat who was trying very hard not to cry.
"Who the hell knows." she flopped onto the bed.
"We'll get to the bottom of it." he assured her.
Talen couldn't help but slam the car door shut, slam the doors of his rooms shut. He knew he had hurt her. They always shared everything with each other. He always wanted her by his side. But his night terrors were getting worst.
The previous night just as she fell asleep, he went to the couch as always. But he found himself back in the ridiculously small room where they had him and the others locked up. He remembered pulling out his rambo knife and slicing the terrorist's throat.
However when he woke up from the dream, covered in sweat, he realised he was in his kitchen holding a knife. That really tore him up. What if he went into the room and hurt Kat? The girl he loved with all his heart.
So what other choice did he have other than to ask her to stay with her friend. He didn't know how long this was going to go on. It was for her safety.
The following morning Kat took out her fury onto the dough she was kneading.
"Boss, I can hear the dough calling for help." Stacey winced.
Kat looked up at her, noticing that most of her staff was pretty terrified.
"Sorry, sorry. Just a little tensed." she motioned them to continue their work.
"Kat, we need to talk." Claire said seriously.
Bree was already in her office leaning against the table. "Jon told us what's happening." Claire said shutting the door.
"We know you told him that Talen said he was leaving for work early." Bree said calmly. "But we saw him coming out of his place just now. Let's say he looked guilty as hell when he saw us gaping at him from the car."
Kat's heart felt heavy in a bad way. What was she supposed to even think? Something that she couldn't stop asking herself.
"I'm fine guys really. Don't worry about me. I'm just gonna head back to Jon's place. My stuff is over there. I'll head to the gym once I grab my gear." she said and walked out on the office and left her shop all together.
Kat hadn't hit the gym in a while and it really did feel good to be punching the huge bags, releasing all her tension.
"Your knuckles are going to bruise if you keep hitting that hard." a familiar voice said.
"Danny. How are you." she turned around to see the guy who had a huge crush on her.
He had grown slightly more buff, and yes he still was cute.
"I'm great, I should be asking that to you. You've made an even bigger name for yourself." he walked to her and offered to hold the huge punching bag to make it easier for her to do her kicks.
"Yea, I have. Call it luck I guess." she kicked the bag in between their conversation.
"I can walk you back to your place if you want." he offered once she was done with her work out.
Kat thought about it and realized why the hell not. If she did get harassed by any paparazzi, at least she'd have Danny as a witness there.
"Yea sure." she smiled.
"You sure your boyfriend won't mind me walking you back?" he asked jokingly.
"Yea, he's fine with it." she said, at least that's what she hoped. Realising that she hadn't checked her phone in a while, she pulled it out of her duffel bag and realized that there were a couple of missed calls from Talen himself.
Deciding she would just call him back later, or hell just wait for him to call her back again, she tuned back into what Danny was saying and enjoyed the walk back home.
Talen sat on the steps of Jon's immaculate brownstone and wondered where the hell Kat was. He went over to her shop and he could tell the girls wanted to rip his throat out. But they controlled themselves and told him she was over at the gym.
Deciding that he would just wait for her at Jon's place since the girls told him she had gone quite a while ago, he waited in his car for half an hour before moving out onto the steps.
He heard a distinct laugh, one that always made him smile. Standing up to see if it was truly her, he saw two figures approaching the stoop.
Instantly, he knew it was Kat. Her tall frame made it easy for her to be picked out. Her black hair was in a high pony tail and she was dressed in yoga pants and a tight sports jacket. What really got him riled up was the figure next to her. David? Daniel?
The gym asshole who had the hots for her. The way he was looking at her at that moment was as if she meant the world to him. Anger slowly steeped in him and he decided that he wouldn't go up to them and beat the shit out of the guy. That just wasn't his style at all.
Kat's heart raced as usual when she saw Talen's lean form leaning against the wall of Jon's house. Next to her, Danny stilled and his calm manner had changed.
"Hey man." he held his hand out for Talen to shake.
"Hey man." Talen shook his hand.
"Thanks for walking me back Danny." Kat hugged him even though she could feel Talen's disapproval.
"Not a problem. I know how the paps can follow you sometimes. I'll see you around." he smiled and waved bye.
Talen waited for him to be out of their range before saying "You could have called me to pick you up."
"If memory serves me right, you said you had to 'leave early'." Kat rolled her eyes.
She unlocked the wooden door then held it open for him to walk in.
"I lied. OK, that's why I called you many times. I wanted to explain things to you."
"Is it more made up B.S Talen, because you know, there's only so much I can deal with." she took off her sports jacket, revealing only a white tank top that hugged her.
Talen froze at the sight of her, "Umm-- ahh." he said lost for words.
"What? Cat got your tongue?" she said then burst out laughing at the irony of what she had said.
Talen laughed as well, because when she laughed it made him feel better.
"I hated seeing that guy next to you, making you laugh, knowing that I upset you yesterday." he said.
"Then maybe you shouldn't have lied. We wouldn't be in this position then." she raised her eyebrows.
"Jesus, Kat could you put on some thing less---" he pointed at her outfit.
"What's wrong with this? Are you trying to change the subject?" she asked thinking he was avoiding the talk.
"I'm not changing anything. You're just really distracting me, dressed like that." he stared at the trickle of sweat that had disappeared down her cleavage.
"You'll just have to control yourself?" Kat rolled her eyes, hoping that he bought her words. It took absolute will power for her to ignore the lust building up in her.
Things were always this way, their chemistry had always been off the charts, causing frequent disruptions to what they were doing.
"Well?" she looked at him pointedly, waiting for an explanation.
"Let's just sit down." he pointed to one of the pristine white sofa's in Jon's living room.
She took the chair opposite him to avoid being too close to him.
"My night terrors are back." as soon as those words were out of his mouth, she came next to him and put an arm around his shoulder.
"It's been back for quite a while now. Ever since you were followed. It.. brought back memories for me. I thought I could ride it out you know? But it got worst each night. Everytime you fell asleep, I moved to the couch or the room next door. The reason I asked you to stay with Jon is because I found myself in the kitchen the other day with a knife in my hand. I thought-- I thought I was dreaming. When I realized i wasn't, it really hit me hard. I could have easily walked up to the room where you were---" he stopped, not being able to continue.
Kat was truly shocked. Yes, a part of her was really mad that he hadn't told her sooner. The rational side of her knew better than to start yelling at him. So she comforted him. "Baby, that's why you need to go for therapy. They'll teach you how to deal with it."
"Ok, ok. I'll go back for therapy. You still can't stay over at night though." he said firmly.
"Really now?" she raised her eyebrows in shock.
"Yes, by that I mean we won't actually you know-- sleep together."
"You're fine with not having sex? Seriously?" she asked shocked.
"Yes, it's really for the best." Talen said pained on the inside. Hell, he loved her. If it meant sacrificing sex, he was more than willing to give it up. For a while that is.
Kat on the other hand didn't want to give sex up. Hell sure a year ago she was all for saving sex till marriage. But now that she actually had sex, and with Talen, damn it she wanted to scream in frustration.
"Ok, cool. No sex till you get better." she stood up, knowing Talen's gaze would trail over her.
"I'll see you later then." she smiled sweetly at him.
Talen groaned at the sight of her. It really was going to be a challenge, resisting her.
~~~
"He actually said that?" Claire half yelled.
"Man, that's a first. A guy with that face and with a girlfriend with YOUR face-- doesn't want sex-- fucking insane." Jon said puzzled.
"When did we all become such sex starved whores tho'." Kat wondered out loud and laughed at herself.
"The day we had a taste of it-- we were goners." Bree sighed herself.
"I think the real question at hand here, is what are you going to do about it?" Jon looked at Kat who was just sprawled on one of Jon's pristine white sofas.
"What do you mean? I don't do anything obviously." she frowned. "I mean sure, I'll help him out with whatever way that red skank whore of a therapist tells him to do, but I can't possibly do anything about the sex part."
"OR!!" Claire exclaimed. "Or you could seduce him. Come on. It'll be fun." she added mischievously.
"That sounds like a great plan. I'm dying to know if soldier boy has any self control at all when it comes to you." Jon wiggled his eyebrows.
"Come on you guys. This is a serious matter. I'm not going to do any of that. I'm going to respect his wishes, and help me out." Kat's inner conscience won.
"Yea, we'll see how long that lasts." Claire rolled her eyes.
"What happens if you kiss-- that obviously leads to making out-- and we all know what that leads to. So, in other words you can't even kiss him." Claire laughed.
Kat released a huge sigh.
She knew she could control herself. Theoretically she could.
Maybe.