CHAPTER 1

Life is full of decisions. Some are easy, like when a person chooses what to wear for the day. Others are contemplative, like my feelings for both Amanda and Jessi. But the one that is faced in front of me at this moment is so far the most difficult. I stare into the eyes of my enemy, who within seconds became the eyes of my brother. The question is: Do I kill the man and leave behind all my questions unanswered? Or do I let him go; risking the safety of everyone I care about?

"Kyle, stop!" I hear suddenly in unison of two female voices. The familiar voices broke through Kyle's trance as he suddenly let go, dropping Cassidy to the ground in front of his feet. As Cassidy gasps for air, Kyle turns around and finds Amanda and Jessi. Amanda looking horrified while Jessi appears to be surprised and confused.

"Amanda, go home. I've got it from here." Jessi commands as she snaps out of her state of shock.

"But…I…Kyle…"Amanda stumbles over her words, still trying to make sense of the scene laid before her.

"Just go!" Jessi turns around and locks eyes with her. After a few seconds Amanda nods, knowing Kyle will explain when he's ready. Once there were no sign of Amanda, Jessi walks over to Kyle, while keeping an eye on Cassidy and secretly wishing Kyle would have just gone through with his actions. Lightly, she places her hand on Kyle's back as a form of comfort. She felt the muscles on his back and noticed the tension between him and Cassidy. She looked to see that Kyle's once innocent, angelic face has now become full of hate and darkness. All her muscles throughout her body tightened as she saw herself in his eyes. Is this what he has become? Is she the one to blame?

"Jessi you shouldn't be here, it isn't safe." Kyle broke the silence and her train of thought.

"I can protect myself." Jessi quickly countered.

"Jessi, I don't have time to argue."

"Then listen to me. Cassidy is telling the truth. Amanda and I found it on Nate's computer; Grace Kingsly donated her egg for the experiment." Jessi gives Cassidy a cold, hard stare as if to assure him that she isn't trying to defend him.

"Kyle I know how this all sounds, maybe we should sleep on it and we can talk about it tomorrow" Cassidy nervously proposed in an attempt to calm him down. Kyle's anger jolted through his body and spilled out of his mouth into words.

"I can't just let you go! You threatened to hurt my family, Amanda, Jessi, and everyone I care about! How can I trust that you won't do that? How do I know that you are just not going to run away?"

"Where am I going to go Kyle? Latnok is here. You and I both know this isn't over. You weren't supposed to know…"Cassidy emphasized the sincerity in his voice, hoping Kyle will believe him. Kyle just stares intensely, sorting through his thoughts.

"Just leave before any more harm is done." Kyle breaks his tension with Cassidy as they both look at Jessi, questions in their eyes. Cassidy quickly gets up, taking his chance to get away without bothering to ask questions. Kyle's eyes are now fixed on Jessi. How can she let go the man who murdered her mother? Many questions swarm through his head and right when he takes a breath to ask one of them, he looks into her eyes, and finds fear. Her lower lip began to quiver as a tear escaped her hazel eyes and rolls down her cheek. Kyle's face suddenly becomes innocent once more and his eyes fill with worry.

"Jessi, what's wrong?" Kyle spoke in a calm, warm voice. The voice that always makes her feel so safe. He brings one hand to her cheek to wipe her tears and the other brushes her hair to the side.

"It's my fault…I made you this way."Jessi's voice cracks and she closes her eyes hoping to stop her tears.

"What do you mean?" Kyle asked even though he had an idea of what she really meant.

"The way you choked Cassidy, the hatred in your eyes, it's all because of me."

"Jessi…its okay, calm down. Look at me, I'm fine, see? I'm still here. It isn't your fault, please don't ever think that." Jessi opened her eyes and saw the face of the warm Kyle she always felt comfort with. She nodded in agreement; knowing arguing with him won't solve anything. After a long silence, Kyle finally pulls her into his embrace. Jessi takes in his scent, the feeling of his muscles against her body, and the warmth and security she had always felt with him.

"Kyle? Jessi?" Nicole walks in the backyard finding Kyle hugging a distressed Jessi. Then she looks at the scene around her and sees glass scattered everywhere. "Oh, my…What happened here? Are you guys okay?" Kyle and Jessi break the embrace at the sound of Nicole's voice, feeling slightly awkward.

Kyle takes a look at Jessi and then brings his focus to Nicole. "Yeah, we are fine. I'm sorry, I promise I will clean this up, but I think it would be best for me to explain in the morning. I had a long night."

Wiping the remainder of her tears, Jessi says in a quiet voice, "I will help you Kyle", and strides past Nicole into the kitchen in search of a broom and dust pan.

"Is everything okay?" Nicole asks a little skeptical.

"It will be. You and everyone else should get some sleep. Jessi and I will take care of it."

Still a little unsure Nicole nods, "Okay Kyle, I trust you. Goodnight."

"Goodnight." As Nicole exits, Jessi comes back with a broom and dust pan in hand. She hands the broom to Kyle and then she kneels down with the dust pan. For a while it is silent as they clean up the broken glass on the patio. Then Jessi breaks the silence.

"Amanda is going to tell you that she wants you back." Kyle is surprised by her words and he begins to feel 'butterflies' in his stomach. He always felt like this when he thought about Amanda.

"She is?" He smiled as he responded, dazed. Jessi's heart dropped at his reaction. She already knows how attached to Amanda he is. She can't compete against her. I don't deserve someone like Kyle… Kyle catches a glimpse at Jessi and realized that his reaction has hurt her. "Jessi…I'm sorry. You know you both are important to me."

"But not in the same way. Amanda is important to you because you still love her. I'm just important because I am the only one who is like you."

"You are just as important to me as Amanda. When I'm with you everything just comes so naturally and now I am feeling this electricity I have never felt before. I always feel this fluttering feeling in the pit of my stomach when I think about Amanda. You're right I still love her. I have always loved you as my friend, but now…"Kyle paused wondering if he should go on. Jessi looks up at him and tilts her head to the side in confusion. Kyle wants to say that he thinks he is falling in love with her, but saying so will only make things more complicated.

He decides that now isn't the right time to be discussing this and quickly changes the subject. "Jessi, you should get some sleep. I can finish cleaning up here." Too tired to question him, she hands him the dust pan. On her way to her room so many questions run through her head. What was he going to say? She shrugs it off knowing she can always ask later.

Once Jessi disappears, Amanda moves her hand back down to her side and lets the curtain fall in front of the window, where she quietly eavesdropped on their conversation. Was he going to say what I think he was going to say? She takes a peek at the boy she fell so deeply in love with and quietly goes back to her bed. Kyle can't be falling in love with Jessi…