Playing With Fire

+++++++++



"Kelly," someone said softly.



Nothing.



"Kelly," they repeated more firmly.



Nothing.



"Damn it Kelly, if you don't get your a** up right now, I'm gonna throw all your chucks into the freaking pool!" Ashley said, causing Kelly to jerk awake, rolling off the couch.



"Ooff," she landed on the floor.



"Good morning," Ashley laughed, offering her a hand up.



"Thanks," Kelly grumbled.



"Hey, don't be grumpy with me. It's not my fault you can sleep through anything. Well, anything except a thunderstorm," she smiled.



"Have you ever watched the Wizard of Oz?"



"Yes Kelly, with you actually, and yet, I'm still not afraid of tornadoes."



"Whatever," she frowned.



"But hey, glad to see you remembered to put clothes on this time," Ashley commented.



"Yea, thankfully, or not, depending how you look at it," Kelly said, glancing up at the ceiling



"What?"



Kelly frowned slightly, realizing that this wasn't going to be fun.



"I need to talk to you about something."



"Ok?"



"And Jason," Kelly added.



"Alright, you want me to go get him?"



"Yea, go ahead. I'll meet y'all in the kitchen."



++++++++++



Kelly was pacing the kitchen nervously when her brother and best friend entered the room.



"So what's up Kell?" Jason asked as the two of them sat on a bar stool.



"Now, before you go completely postal, you have to let me explain," she said, nervously.



"Alright," Ashley nodded, completely confused by what had gotten into her friend.



"Carrie's here."



"Here?" Jason asked jumping up from the stool. "As in in this house, here?"



"As in, in my bed, sleeping, here," Kelly replied.



"I'm gonna kill her," he said, Ashley jumping up behind him.



"Sit. Down," Kelly said firmly, through gritted teeth.



Jason and Ashley turned to her with raised eyebrows, and did as she said.



"Now, you said you would let me explain. So be quiet, and listen," she demanded.



Jason nodded, knowing fully well it was not a good idea to pi** off his sister this early in the morning.



"Look," Kelly sighed, calming down. "She's been going through a rough patch the past couple weeks. She's fighting with the record company about her CD. She had to fire her manager because she found out that he had actually been working for Clive this whole time. And it just seems like anything that could possibly go wrong, is going wrong. Now," she finally stopped pacing to look at the two of them. "I've been there. Hell, I'm in the middle of there. And y'all know how hard it's been for me. But the thing is, I have y'all. I know that y'all will always be there for me, supporting me. Carrie thought she had that...in Chris, but now that's gone as well. She has no where else to turn, so I told her she was welcome here, and we would help her anyway we can."



"Kell, you can't possibly think this is a good idea," Ashley reasoned.



"No, I don't. But it's the right thing to do. She won't be able to do this without us."



"So? Why do you always have to do the right thing?" Jason asked.



"I don't always do the right thing," Kelly frowned.



"No, but you do always put everyone else before yourself," he pointed out. "Tell the truth. How much did it hurt to see her last night?"



"It was fine," Kelly lied.



"And do you think that it's just gonna hurt less with you having to see her everyday?" Jason asked, seeing right through her lie. "I don't want to have to see you like that."



"Well, I'm sorry, but this is my house," Kelly pointed out. "And I told her she can stay as long as she needs."



"Kelly--"



"And if I catch you," she turned to Ashley, "either of you, being rude or hateful or mean to her in anyway, well, I just wouldn't if I were you."



The two of them nodded as Kelly walked out of the kitchen.



+++++++++



"Hey," Carrie greeted nervously as she joined Kelly on the back porch swing.



Kelly nodded, staring off at something only she could see.



"So, I got my stuff moved into the guest room."



Kelly just nodded again.



Carrie sighed, "So, are we ever going to talk?"



"Yea, I've been thinking about it all morning."



"Really?" she asked, hopefully.



"Yea," Kelly said. "And I really think you did the right thing. I mean, not that I didn't before. It's just now all you have to stand by your decision, and not back down. I say just, but that's really gonna be the hardest part. Clive's going to throw a lot at you, but we're going to be ready. Like I said before, I'm behind you a hundred percent."



"Oh," Carrie frowned.



"Oh?"



"It's just...I meant I wanted to talk...about us."



Kelly shook her head, standing up, "There is no us. You've made that perfectly clear."



"You can't mean that," Carrie said, standing as well.



"Yes, I can," Kelly replied, her voice shaking.



"But Kell," Carrie pleaded, taking her hands into her own.



Kelly felt her blood rush at the touch, and she closed her eyes as a tear escaped, "Please, don't touch me."



"Kelly?" Carrie's voice cracked.



"Please," she repeated softly.



Carrie reluctantly let go and watched helplessly as Kelly rushed into the house. She slowly sat back on the swing. What had she done?



++++++++



"Kelly?" Ashley asked as she rushed past her and Jason.



"I knew this wasn't a good idea," Jason said, headed for the back porch, fire in his eyes.



+++++++++



Carrie jumped up from the porch swing as the back door slammed open. She took an instinctive step back as Jason and Ashley walked through.



"You," Jason pointed at her, walking towards her. "What did you do to her?"



"I-I didn't do anything," Carrie said, her words rushed.



"Jason," Ashley said, taking a hold of his arm.



"Then why the hell is she crying?" he asked, shaking Ashley's hand off.



"I don't know. I swear," Carrie insisted, her voice shaky, looking up at him in fear.



"You are so lucky you're a girl," Jason breathed. "Cause if you weren't, I would so kick your ass right now."



"So what's stopping you?" Carrie asked, looking at Ashley nervously.



"If I kick your ass, Kelly will kick mine," Ashley explained with a frown. "But I have no idea why the hell she's still protecting a tramp like you."



"A what?" Carrie asked.



"You heard me," she frowned. "You know, you have a lot of nerve showing up here, after what you've done."



"Kelly said I was welcome here."



"Of course she did," Jason replied. "Because she's Kelly, and that's how she is. She would never turn anybody out. Hell if Clive showed up here, asking for a place to crash, she'd let him."



Carrie bit her lip nervously.



"So what did you do to her?"



"Nothing," she repeated firmly. "I just wanted to talk...about us. But she said we were over, and I tried to ask why, and she told me to leave her alone."



"Well can you really blame her?" Ashley asked.



"Ok, she's the one that shut me out," Carrie reminded them. "Yea, maybe I should have called, emailed, anything, but I don't see how this is all my fault. I mean, I sent her that invitation to my party, didn't I? And what did she do? Show up and leave without saying hi. What for? A photo-op?"



"You know she would never do that," Jason said, taking another step towards her.



"You have some nerve," Ashley said, pulling Jason back, taking a step forward herself. "You were the one that sent her that invitation?"



"Yea. You didn't think Clive would have invited her did you?"



"You really are a cold-hearted bi*ch. You know that?"



"What are you talking about?"



"Um, let me think, you invite her to your party, why? So she can watch you practically screw some guy on the dance floor?" Ashley spat.



"What?" Carrie asked, her voice growing soft.



"Don't play dumb, although we all know you are. She saw you with that guy's tongue down your throat. Oh help me out here Jason. Dallas Cowboys. Can't hold onto his balls."



"Tony Romo," Jason answered, knowing exactly to whom she was referring.



"She...but...oh God," Carrie breathed, realization washing over her. She took a staggering step back, running a shaky hand through her hair.



"Yea," Ashley nodded.



"I got to talk to her," she said, trying to push past them.



"Don't you think you've done enough?" Jason asked, stopping her.



"You don't understand," Carrie said, her voice anxious. She had to explain everything to Kelly. After everything she's been through, it's no wonder she didn't want Carrie near her. "I need to talk to her...explain--"



"Explain what?" Ashley asked, pushing her back. "How you completely use her when you need her, but through her aside to jump into some guy's bed whenever you want some?"



"It's not like that, I swear," Carrie replied with pleading eyes.



Ashley shook her head, taking a deep breath.



"You are so lucky she told us to be nice," she said through gritted teeth. She stepped aside, letting the blonde rush past them and back into the house.



+++++++++



Carrie rushed up the stairs, knocking on Kelly's door. No answer. She knocked louder. No answer.



"Kelly?" she asked.



No answer.



"Kelly, I'm coming in, ok?"



No answer.



Carrie opened the door to the room.



It was empty.



"Kelly?" she questioned, looking around frantically. She checked the closet, the bathroom, everything. That's when she noticed something. One of her windows was open, the curtains blowing in the gentle summer breeze.



"What the?"



"Kelly!" Carrie called out, rushing to the window. She looked down, but saw no sign of her.



"Kelly!" she called out again, this time her voice more urgent.



"What's going on?" Jason asked, as he and Ashley rushed into the room.



"I-I don't know where s-she is," Carrie replied, the panic evident in her voice. "I looked everywhere. And the window was open. I don't know if she jumped. But I can't see her. What if she's hurt? What if something happened? I can't deal with that. Especially if I haven't told her the truth yet."



"Ok," Ashley said calmly. "First of all, breathe."



Carrie took in a deep shaky breath.



"Now," Ashley said, walking over to the window. "Let me show you something."



Carrie walked towards the window, slowly.



"Oh, quit being a pansy," Ashley sighed. "I'm not gonna push you out the window. Trust me if I decided to kill you, it would be way more creative than that."



Carrie frowned. Ashley's response wasn't very reassuring.



"The over hang isn't that steep, see? You can easily walk on it or sit on it, if you're careful. Now, if you walk all the way to the edge of the house, and you reach over the over hang, to the underneath, you will find a ladder attached to the ceiling of it. The only way you can see it is if you look directly at it from underneath. Kelly has that there so she can come and go as she pleases. It's her own house, and she still feels the need to sneak out every now and then." Ashley explained with a slight smile.



"So, she's ok?" Carrie asked, her voice flooded with worry.



"Physically, yea," Ashley said, a frown returning as she eyed Carrie. "Emotionally, that's another story."



"But you don't underst--"



"Save it," Ashley replied.



"Do you at least know where she is?" Carrie asked.



"Yea, and there's a 99% chance that we're right," Jason spoke up.



"So where is she?"



"You actually think we're gonna tell you?" Ashley scoffed, before turning and exiting the room with Jason.