125. Let it Burn

Warning: coarse language

Present day,

Hotel Rosa, 10 minutes away from Bridgeport...

“How?” She asked, wondering how he’d found her so quickly.

“Our blood bond.” He told her.

Ah! How could I forget? Leigh thought, scratching her head. She’d begged for the stupid blood bond, and he’d warned her about it, warned her they’d always be connected. But it was one of the reasons they’d entered into it to begin with, because they’d both almost died of their heartbreak when she left Bridgeport soon after Jacqueline compelled her.

“You can’t leave me, Leigh. Ever. Isn’t that what you wanted?”  Krisis asked as he leapt to his feet with surprising speed and agility.

For a second Leigh was startled, his sudden movements had caught her off guard. She forgot sometimes he's a vampire, that’s how human-like he acted around her. But now, she could see the predator in him had been unleashed, he was baying for blood. And he had no right. No right at all to be angry.

“Of course I do! I have every right to be angry!” Krisis roared at her. His eyes roamed over her body and settled on her tummy, something flared in the icy depths, tenderness mingled with his anger and confusion. “You promised you’d never leave me, yet here you are, booking into hotels. Couldn’t you come home and give me a chance to explain?”

Leigh had never seen him so enraged; this was their first ever serious confrontation. She stepped back, scared suddenly that things could get physical. She didn’t want to get into an altercation with him. She wanted to be left alone.

 “I’m not your father Leigh, I would never lay a hand on you! How can you even think that?” Krisis growled, he’d read her thoughts and felt her sudden fear and apprehension.

The moment the words were out of his lips, she saw regret in his eyes.

Leigh remained mute, trying to shut out the painful memories of her parents’ violent fights, often ending with her mom lying face down on the kitchen floor with broken ribs and twisted arms, her body, a rainbow of colors from old and new bruises.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that. You should know how much I love you, I would never hurt you.” Krisis apologized, begging for forgiveness.

Leigh nodded, she understood. They were both upset and saying things they shouldn’t.

She knew at some point they’d have to talk about her parents, and her lies, and the things she’d kept from him. But now wasn’t the right time, not when their fight was resurrecting ghosts she’d thought had been laid to rest a long time ago, not when they were both highly emotional and  petrified.

“I would have told you about Thornton," his voice was much softer now as he reached for her. But she quickly maneuvered out of his arms, putting up her hands. She didn’t want to be held.

“No. Stop right there. That ship has long sailed, Krisis!" She screamed at him as she threw on her clothes in angry movements. "I kept begging you to tell me what was on your mind, but you didn’t and I had to find out the truth on my own. I'm not interested in anything you have to say now.”

She was so close to breaking down, so close to letting her tears run loose, but she wouldn’t. She’d see this through and then send him away, and maybe when she was alone she’d allow herself to cry.

“I’m sorry. I wanted to tell you, really I did. For the last 216 years I believed one thing, and suddenly I find out a lot of it may not have been true. I don’t know what to think and believe anymore. I don’t even know who I am anymore, Leigh and I didn’t want to come to you with all of that. I didn’t want to upset you!” He explained but Leigh pounced on him, putting an end to all his excuses.

“What’s the point of us having a blood bond if you can’t come to me with anything? What was the point of Barnacle Bay? I thought we were past all of that!” She threw his smart-ass comment about the blood bond back in his face.

He was stumped. And she was right. He couldn’t have his cake and eat it too. It was all or nothing; he couldn’t use the blood bond to suit his needs and promote his own agendas.

“You’re right. I’m sorry. Please come home. I’ll tell you everything, Just come home,” Krisis pleaded with her. This time he held her in place, running his hands up and down her arms. He felt her shudder in his arms, felt some of the tension leave her body.

But just when he thought he’d won her over, she sprang away from him, her eyes flaming with anger.

“Every time you asked me about my parents, you always knew the truth and you never said anything! Why? And why would you do a background check on me?” This time she couldn’t force back her tears, she let them run free, leaving salty trails on her cheeks, thoughts of not talking about her parents forgotten. She suddenly wanted to get all the secrets and the lies out in the open now

“You look like Laura, Leigh and I had to be sure, I had to know you weren’t working with Vlad and Beau.” He sat in the armchair and watched her pace the room.  “I asked Ben to get me everything on you and that’s how I found out about your parents. I’m sorry. I should have told you. But I figured since you didn’t want to tell me, you didn’t want me to know and I left it alone, I didn’t want to push. And you don’t have to tell me now if you don’t want to. But I’d like to know, and I’d like to be there for you and help you through it.”

“Huh!” Leigh snorted, shaking her head in disbelief. “That’s rich, coming from you. Talking about being there for me and how I should open up to you, yet you can’t let me anywhere near your heart. You are more guarded than the fucking president!”

Krisis kept quiet. The truth in her words stung. Bitterly.

“I’m sorry.” He kept saying over and over. And Leigh kept right on shaking her head, refusing to hear any more of his apologies.

“You know what’s weird and funny and stupid, I was fucking ready to spend eternity with you, I was willing to give up everything for you, yet I don’t know you. I have no idea who you are. I thought I did, but my God, I was so fucking wrong! It’s always something with you and I can’t keep up with all your secrets anymore, Krisis. Get out!” Leigh pushed the door open and showed him out, not at all swayed by his heartfelt confessions and pleas.

Krisis sat stubbornly in his seat, refusing to barge, “I was trying to protect you. We almost lost the triplets once and I couldn’t risk anything happening to them. I didn’t want to upset you."

Leigh found it hard to watch what was happening to them, all their efforts to be together were coming undone in front of her very eyes and she couldn’t do anything to stop it.

 “No,” she shook her head sadly. “This has nothing to do with you protecting me. It all boils down to trust and you don’t trust me. You didn’t trust me when we met, and you still don’t trust me now.”

“I do trust you. Please let’s sit down and talk about this,” Krisis tried to soothe her, but she wouldn’t be appeased.

“No! Barnacle Bay was your last chance Krisis and you fucked it up. Again! Leave. Now!”

“What are you saying?” He asked, baring his fangs, unable to believe what he thought he’d heard; it sounded like she was breaking up with him.

“It’s over. I’m done with you, your lies and your secrets. I’m done with your sorries too. If I got a penny for every time you said you’re sorry I’d be rich by now Krisis Frost. I don’t want to hear any more of your excuses or your sorries. So take your sorries, along with all your shit and go!” She brushed the tears away from her face and crossed her arms.

Leigh didn’t realize how loud their fight was till she saw Amanda, the receptionist she had dealt with earlier, spring out of the lift, followed by two security guards.

“We got a complaint about a disturbance, is everything okay?” Amanda asked. Her eyes shifted from Leigh at the door to Krisis pacing near the bed.

Leigh gave her a small, reassuring smile, “Yes, everything is fine, Krisis was just leaving.”

Krisis groaned under his breath. He didn’t want to leave, but he didn’t want to cause a scene either, he had to be careful with what he said and did in front of the hotel staff; the paparazzi camped outside the hotel would have a field day if they ever got wind of their argument, they’d blow it out of proportion. In fact, he was already bracing himself for a blizzard in tomorrow morning’s tabloids.

“You want space, I’ll give it to you, but make no mistake about this, Leigh, I’ll be back!” He told her firmly on his way out.

At the door he hesitated for a while and just when Leigh breathed a huge sigh of relief, glad the drama was over; Krisis turned back and stole a quick kiss from her, leaving her fuming.

“I love you and that's the truth you need to hang on to.” He added in a low voice, loud enough for her to hear him though.

Before Leigh could give him a piece of her mind and tell him off, Krisis placed a gentle hand on her tummy.

“Daddy will be back,” he promised his triplets.

He smiled broadly when he felt them kick their affirmative.

Leigh was furious, with all of them, Krisis for being so damn stubborn, and their babies for responding to his touch. They were supposed to be on her side and be angry with him for upsetting her; instead they merrily jumped for joy at his touch.

“Nick and Tony are staying in the suite next door. Let them know if you need anything. I’ve left a credit card on the nightstand.” He told her as he brushed past her.

Leigh ignored him; she had nothing to say about the body guards he’d hired soon after they learned they were pregnant.

She thought they were an unnecessary expense and she’d asked him so many times to call them off, but he’d refused, insisting it was for her own good. With Beau Merrick still out there and the constant, deranged paparazzi trying to snap shots of her growing bump whenever she went out, he hadn’t wanted to leave anything to chance.

The past few weeks she’d seen less of Nick and Tony because she’d hardly left home, but now it seemed she’d have to reacquaint herself with them…