[Kristopher Ryans]

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FIREWORKS
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Heather is smiling. The first time she has in days, as she pulls into her driveway only to see a familiar looking sports car ahead of her. The man leaning against it. She groans before pulling to a stop and shutting off the engine. She takes a moment to compose herself. He waits for her to get out of the car, but in the bright sunlight, she can already see the dark bruise forming around his right eye. No sooner does she stand from the driver’s seat does he start in on her. He points up at his eye.

Kurtis: “You hear about this?”

She shuts the door.

Heather: “Hello Kurtis.”

She crosses her arms over her chest.

Heather: “Yes I did.”

At this point he is done with the stand-offish routine. He had endured it when there were benefits, but those were definitely long gone. He had been kicked to the curb, embarrassed, and expected to go away. Even if none of that changed, he was not going to go quietly.

Kurtis: “You tell him I did something to you or something? That I made you do stuff? That I was less than nice to you? Honestly, I don’t know how I’m the bad guy here. Yet I am the one that ended up knocked out by someone that shouldn’t have even been in Jet City.”

Heather sighs.

Heather: “I fail to see what coming here to bitch at me is going to do Kurtis. You have a problem with Kris, take it up with him.”

She shakes her head and starts walking up to her front door. He follows her, not holding back on any of the things that he wants to say.

Kurtis: “It has everything to do with you, and you know it. Do you not feel responsible? I mean, what did I ever do other than try and help you? I busted my ass to try and win you over, and you never gave a fuck. I was a toy that you came and used a few times, and then got tired of. Yet, I’m supposed to be okay with being knocked out? That’s fucked up.”

She smirks.

Heather: “Goodbye Kurtis.”

She opens the door and tries to shut it but he steps in front of it, stopping it from closing and latching. Unable to close it, Heather let’s it go, taking a step back from it. Even before her hands leave the wood he is pushing it open.

Kurtis: “Stop trying to shut me up and just fucking talk to me. I was literally beaten unconscious because of you. The least you can do is answer a few questions.”

She starts getting scared now.

Heather: “I didn't say anything to him about you really. He refused to hear it. And screw you Kurtis, you had every intention of trying to win me over. Now kindly get out of my house.”

She can tell that he is irritated, and if she had been there to see what Kris had done, maybe she would understand a little better as to why. He steps into the house, pushing the door mostly closed behind him. It fails to latch, but Heather is backing across the living room already, so he does not even look behind him to check it.

Kurtis: “I try to be there for you. I stop you from getting wasted at my apartment. I let you stay there when your idiot husband refused to take you with him on the cruise, and then proceeded to bang half the ship. And you don’t even want to talk?”

She keeps moving backward until she hits the wall.

Heather: “You don't want to talk. You want to place blame. Fine. Blame me if it makes you feel better. Now leave.”

She is getting irritated herself. He shakes his head.

Kurtis: “I don’t blame you, and believe it or not, I really just want to know why. If you can’t fucking stand me, why come to me in the first place? Why come back? Why make me fight to keep you around? I don’t get it. It’s like you hate me and want to fuck me at the same time. You think that’s fair?”

He hits the wall next to her, clearly his emotions were starting to boil over. There was more to it than that though. He seems genuinely hurt by the rejection.

Heather: “You are so hung up on the fact that I rejected you before you could do the same. You were a release. You wanna know why I picked you? Because you’re like my step-father and I was looking to punish myself. That’s why. Okay?”

She was ashamed of herself and for the first time, she thinks she deserves better than that. He takes a step back from her, brushing at his forehead with his index and middle fingers. It was a hell of a revelation to drop on someone, especially in anger.

Kurtis: “So i was just some sick mirror-image of some fantasy where a guy didn’t take no for an answer? Last I checked everything we did was consensual. You came to Jet City, and walked right into the locker room. You came to my apartment. I was just some way of dealing with fucked up shit that happened to you?”

He shakes his head, the anger coming out in a scary, but short laugh.

Kurtis: “And you people act like there is something wrong with me. Like you’re so fucking superior to everyone. You dump all over each other. You treat each other like shit, even in public. You’re all selfish. But I remind you of your stepfather? That’s fucked up Heather.”

Heather: “You wouldn't listen to me when I told you I was fucked up. So that’s on you. You feel better now. You got your answers so get the fuck out of my house.”

Her normally sweet voice is filled with a rage rarely heard before. She almost blacks out next.  It happens in slow motion. He gets in close to her face and she clenches her fist, raising it to sucker punch him right in his balls. The front door opens just as Kurtis lets out a feminine scream of pain. He backs up from her, doubling over, and only stopping when the back of his legs hit the end of the couch. He sits down on the arm of it, Heather advancing towards him when Kris and Kali enter the house.

Heather: “Don’t fucking mess with me.”

Seeing Heather pissed off is one thing, but being that she left him locked in the studio, he was hardly very happy with her. He raises a finger towards Kurtis.

Kris: “What the fuck is he doing in my house?”

It sends her world sideways. Kris comes in the door and his immediate concern is not for her safety, but for something completely different. Kurtis struggles to find a normal breathing rhythm, the punch taking his breath away. He manages to answer before Heather can though.

Kurtis: “I just wanted to know what the fuck was wrong with her. She apparently gets her rocks off thinking that I am her stepfather or something.”

Heather: “And you barged in and backed me up against the wall. Feel like a big man huh? Picking on a girl half your size...”

He looks up at her, almost like she is offended he would even accuse him of doing that.

Kurtis: “You were the one backing up. I didn’t even lay a finger on you. All I wanted to do was talk. We could have done that in the driveway, but you came in here. I deserved an answer.”

Kris has had enough of the back and forth between them. He had been clear that he did not even want to see them in the same room together, let alone standing in his house.

Kris: “Well you got it and you can get the fuck out of my house before you end up on the floor again and I have someone drag you out.”

Starting to recover a little, Kurtis stands off of the couch, and takes a step closer to Kris.

Kurtis: “...and you. You think you pulled one over on me hitting me like that? How’d you do it, huh? I know your little ass couldn’t have put me down with one shot legitimately. You plan the whole thing? Goad me into the ring and then lay me out to get your credibility back? You think anyone there is going to take you seriously? All you did was let everyone know that there was definitely something going on between me and Heather, and from how hard you hit me she must have really liked it.”

Heather is seething. She clenches her fist again, and swings at him again. It would have hit in the same spot that Kris’ punch did, but he leans back at the last possible second, and she misses his face by millimeters. He reaches up, grabbing her fist, and stopping her momentum to the ground, but it is all that Kris can take. He rushes forward, crossing the room, and shoves Kurtis back away from Heather. The rookie is forced to let go of her hand to avoid dragging her down with him, and tries to keep his balance. It is all for nothing though as the back of his calves hit the couch, and he falls back to a seated position. Kris is not stopping though. He keeps coming forward, balling his fist to hit him again. However, as he goes to swing forward, a much stronger arm than his own hooks around the inside crease of his elbow and stops him from being able to swing. Another hand clamps down on Kris’ right shoulder and he gets propelled away from the couch. He is able to keep his balance, turning around and seeing Jason was the one that pulled him off. The shock takes a second. Kris’ eyes widen, and his mouth falls open. He tries to speak, but he is so enraged that he cannot find words. He takes a step forward, his fist still clenched, and raises it to the man he now only referred to as an old tag team partner. Jason glares at him though, and speaks only one word. The tone is threatening, but not raised or loud at all. The reason it works goes entirely over the heads of everyone watching.

Jason: “Stop.”

Kris’ eyes water, and he lowers his hand, looking away. It was familiar, scarily so, and Kris had only heard Jason use the tone of voice a handful of times before. He nods, and Jason immediately turns back to Kurtis.

Jason: “Get out of this house before I let him beat you unconscious again.”

Again, his voice is not raised, but Kurtis does not even argue. He gets up from the couch, ducking around Jay, and makes his way towards the door. The whole time Kali has been watching, feeling helpless but as soon as the door opens and the man goes to leave, she springs into action.

Kali: “Ahhh!”

She raises her leg and in one fluid motion, push kicks him in the backside. He stumbles forward out the door onto his hands and knees on the stoop. Kali smirks and moves forward.

Kali: “Oh Kurtis, grovelling won’t help you now. You have a nice day though, okay?”

She smiles and closes the door. She turns back to the other three adults in the room to see them all looking at her in shock.

Kali: “What? I told you I was a red-black in Tae kwon do....”

Kris is the first to take his eyes off of her, turning back to Jason.

Kris: “You can follow him out. You're as welcome as he is. Go back to your vacation. There's nothing here for you.”

Heather: “Kris. You should talk to him.”

She sighs, realizing the tone of her voice was not the most reassuring.

Heather: “And no. This isn't me taking his side. I know how hurt you are by what he did. This is your chance to get it all out.”

Kris shakes his head, holding his arms out to his side. He does not take his eyes off of Jason.

Kris: “You going to tell me it is all made up? That we are actually brothers? That it was our dad, not YOUR dad that did all of that shit to us? Can you tell me it wasn’t my fault? That the shit would have happened to us either way? Want to try and sell me that I got the worst of it just because I was younger, like you have for the last couple decades? That it wasn’t because he knew I wasn’t is, and didn’t care what he did to me? Anything you can say to make it better? Or do I just need to wait until Heather fucks someone else so you can have them let me know what you have to say?”

Jason opens his mouth, but realizes that there really is not anything he can say against any of it. He shrugs his shoulders, but shakes his head, admitting that he knows that he cannot make this one better. Instead of fighting, he turns away defeated. He catches Heather’s eye as he goes to cross the room towards the door.

Jason: “I’m sorry for all of this.”

Heather looks at the floor, not responding to him. He offers Kali a smile, making his way out the door.. All of Heather’s will to fight leaves in one long sigh, but before anyone can say anything, Abby is coming in the kitchen door, talking sweetly to KJ holding her hand. Lindsay sits on her hip. She looks between her parents but when she sees Kris she reaches out her pudgy hands. Heather heaves and holds back her sob. 16 month old KJ lets go of Abby’s hand to toddle over to Heather, hugging her leg tightly.

KJ: “Mama-mama!”

Heather gets down to his level to pick him up, hugging him to her chest and burying her face into his neck. Kris takes Lindsay, who hugs his neck. The couple look at each other over their children’s shoulders, both of them on the verge of tears.

Abby: “I’m going to go see if Amanda needs help... uhhh... yeah.”

Abby backs out the door, sensing that it was not something she wanted to be involved in. After the door shuts, Heather takes a deep breath, looking towards her husband.

Heather: “You should take them out. Just you and them.”

Heather kisses her son’s temple, not wanting to let him go, but feeling that she needed to, especially if Kris was not going to back down from leaving.

Heather: “I need some time to myself and I don’t want them here to see it.”

She hands KJ to Kali. Kris nods, his focus mostly on his daughter in his arms. He shoots short glances between both Kali and Heather, not wanting to continue to argue in front of either of the children. He makes his way across the room, stopping next to Kali to reach out to KJ with a closed fist. The toddler closes his own, hitting his much smaller hand against Kris’. Heather moves across the room, grabbing the door and pulling it open for them. Kali goes through it first, walking down the sidewalk to Kris’ car. Kris pauses behind her, leaning into Heather with Lindsay in his arms so that Heather can plant a kiss on her daughter’s cheek. He offers a forced smile, not wanting to make things worse by opening his mouth. He makes his way out, Heather standing in the doorway behind them.





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FINALE
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The argument had worn her out. She was depressed but a little bit of that had been lifted at finally getting rid of Kurtis. He had been part of her healing, or so she thought, but in all the time they spent together, the only pleasurable moments had been the sex. She enters her house, not looking back at his expensive sports car peeling out from the front of the house. Jason had also taken his leave, pulling in a near identical model car, but turning the opposite direction. She fights looking back out to where her estranged husband was loading their children into his own car, closing the door in an attempt to convince herself that it was not happening. Once the door is closed, she slides down it, resting her forehead on her knees. She wants to cry but can’t.

Kali: “Heather?”

The voice of her husband’s manager Kali Fox echos through the quiet house. She steps in through the door leading from the garage, having failed to talk any sense into Kris. Heather does not look up to see her, instead focused only on convincing herself none of it was happening. It is then she feels strong arms wrap around her and rock her gently.

Kali: “Let it out. You can’t start healing if you don't.”

Heather shakes her head back and forth quickly. Not surprising, Kali had shared a very similar moment with Kris on the cruise ship, and his response was exactly the same. Heather and Kris were alike in so many ways.

Heather: “I don’t want to heal. I want Kris. He wants me to move on, let him go and I won’t. I can’t. There is no-one else for me but him.”

Kali sighs deeply. She had been mentally preparing for this conversation since the first moment Kris told her what he planned to do when he got back. At first she wanted to leave. She did not want to be a part of the reason that a marriage fell apart. He had only convinced her to stay because it was painfully clear that he was still very much in love with Heather. What they had was broken, and this was the only way he knew to fix it before it was too late. She had seen their conversations, and talked Kris through some of his issues. She knew exactly what to say because of it.

Kali: “And why do you need anyone to complete you Heather? You know how much pressure it is to carry someone’s sobriety on your shoulders? It's a lot of pressure right? And it has become heavier and heavier day by day. Every little thing that happens, you both look to each other for willpower, instead of to yourselves. Neither of you think you have any value.”

Heather tries to wiggle free, not wanting to have this conversation, wanting it to all just go away. Kali doesn’t let her go. She keeps her arms firmly around her, not dissuaded at all.

Kali: “If you want a drink, go have a drink. I promise I won’t stop you and I also promise it is not going to change any of this. Kris is not going to run in here to save you. Neither are your sisters. Everyone has held you up but in the process they have held you back. It was wrong that they gave you an ultimatum to go sober. It wasn't your choice to do it, which is why even though it's been two years, you are still very much addicted.”

It suddenly makes sense to her. She had been so scared of losing everyone that she had gotten sober but it wasn't because she wanted it. It had never made sense to her why Kris struggled so badly, until the picture snapped clear about her own addiction.

Kali: “What do you want Heather? Honestly... no shame in your answer, I’m not here to judge you.”

Heather goes through everything in her mind. Everything she wanted.

Heather: “I just want to be loved for me.”

The words blurt out and she can’t hold back the sob.

Kali: “And did you ever think you were?”

Heather shakes her head. Kris aside, she did not, and he was gone now. The only thing that she was really left with was the guilt that it was her fault. Her voice is low and remorseful when she finds the right words.

Heather: “How can I expect others to love me, when I can't even love myself.”

Kali holds her tighter.

Kali: “And who made you feel this way?”

She expects and inward implosion like Kris when he was sent into a panic attack at the sound of his father’s name, but gets the opposite.

Heather: “YVES! That fucking bastard. He told me I was an accident. I wasn't loved. That my own mother didn't love me. But...”

She suddenly stops. She looks up and a realization hits her. Everyone thought that Yves had her murdered. That it was made to look like an accident but what if, the apple didn't fall far from the tree.

Heather: “My mother... she killed herself...”

The tone of her voice changed as her mind raced to put the rest of the pieces together. For so long she had fought the reasons behind her addictions, choosing instead to run from it. Now that it was starting to come together, everything was starting to become much more clear. Her voice trails off, Kali thinking it is because the memory is just too traumatic for words.

Kali: “I’m sorry Heath...”

Heather holds up a hand to silence her. Her eyes moving rapidly from left to right like she is running through her whole life in her head. Her voice is far away, secondary to any of her thoughts, but there was a pattern to it. She could see it for the first time.

Heather: “It was because she didn't think she was good enough….. not good enough for my dad... not good enough for me…. but it all fucked everything up even more…. I don’t...”

She moves out of Kali’s arms, and pushes herself off of the floor. She starts to pace back and forth, running her fingers through her hair and thinking clearly for the first time since everything started to fall apart.. She then looks at Kali as she gets up to her feet. What she had to do had never been more clear.

Heather: “I don’t want to fuck up Lindsay’s life. The cycle has to end with me. I have to end it.”

She walks toward the cabinet above the fridge. Inside is a second wooden box, matching the one that lays open and on the island counter, empty. She pulls hers down and turns to place it on the counter next to the other. She spends a minute staring at them. Kali following her into the room, but standing on the other side of the island. She knows what is in both of those boxes.

Heather: “These boxes are like anchors around our ankles. Keeping us from getting to the surface. I have been slowly drowning Kali and I have been doing it to myself.”

She opens the box with her initials burned in the front of it. H.A.C. The other box, K.E.H. She flips it open and all the mini bottles are neatly sitting in the grooves for them. Each bottle is still sealed. She takes out the whiskey and looks it over.

Heather: “I am not going to be a slave to these anymore.”

She rips off the seal and opens the cap. It was the first time any of them had even come out of the box. It had been taken out of the cabinet several times, and even opened on more than one occasion. She never dared to actually touch one of them though. Not until now. Kali’s arm tenses and her hand grips the countertop, trying to will herself to let Heather make her own decision without interfering. She manages to keep her body stationary, but cannot trap her words before they come out of her mouth full of concern.

Kali: “Heather... are you sure?”

Heather raises an eyebrow, a matter-of-fact smirk coming over her face.

Heather: “I thought you weren't going to stop me?”

Kali lets out a heavy sigh whilst nodding, but looks away. Heather brings the bottle to her nose, inhaling the smell of it. Kali was right. She was still addicted because she wasn't the one that decided to give it up. Kali looks back up when Heather turns from the counter without turning the bottle up. Heather walks to the sink and immediately turns the bottle upside down so that it pours down the drain. She repeats this with all twelve bottles until they line the counter.

Kali: “You are strong...”

Heather has the last bottle in her hand and before Kali can finish, she throws the little bottle at the wall. It shatters. The noise causes both Bea, and Ellie to run from the room in a panic, barking at the commotion.

Heather: “I hate you. You worthless piece of shit. You stole everything from me. It's your fault I can’t be appy. It's your fault he left.”

She does this eleven more times before once again slipping to the floor and hugging her knees. Kali is quick to come around the island, and sink to the floor with her, resuming her hug.

Kali: “It's time to forgive now.”

Heather looks up.

Heather: “Who? Kris? My step-father?”

Kali shakes her head.

Kali: “You were yelling at yourself Heather. And it's time to forgive yourself. You don’t blame Yves for raping you, you blame yourself. Everything has been you shouldering the blame but it's time to let it go. Not for Kris, Lindsay, KJ or even the rest of your family. But for you. Do you think you can do that? If I help you?”

Heather thinks for a second before nodding her head. She moves to into Kali’s arms, finally breaking down. Kali rubs her back.

Kali: “It's okay... we will get through it. I promise.”