She walked slowly to the back of the bus and got comfortable on the couch there. Brandon followed, and picked out a DVD. He got the equipment all set up, then went to cuddle next to Kaylee.
"Nemo!" she said, a touch of joy in her voice. It was the most excitement Brandon had heard from her since the assault. But it still lacked something.
Halfway through the movie, Kaylee fell asleep. Brandon grabbed a blanket from Kaylee's bed and covered her up. He sat next to her and watched her draw one peaceful breath after another. It pained him to think about that night, but it hurt even more to see her now. She was getting so thin, her long, curly brown hair was no longer shiny, and she had deep, dark circles under her eyes.
He ran a hand through his hair, wishing there was something he could do to help her. He had to talk to someone. Someone had to want to help Kaylee as much as he did. They needed to do something before the old Kaylee was lost to them forever.
The next day, Brandon was able to get Noah and Ashton alone, without Kaylee noticing. He didn't want to talk to them the night before; they were both pretty drunk by the time they had gotten back to the bus. He wanted them completely sober so that they could formulate a plan, one that would work.
"What do you want, Brandon?" Ashton shook his wet blond hair, sending a spray of water flying all around him. He had just gotten out of the shower, and wasn't really in the mood to deal with Brandon. He still hadn't forgiven him for that night.
"Yeah, let's get to the point, and do it quick. We have an appearance soon." Noah still didn't fully trust Brandon, but he was more accepting of him than Ashton was.
"I'm worried about Kaylee," Brandon started, only to be cut off by Ashton.
"There's a first," he said sardonically.
Brandon clenched his fists. He was never going to live down that he hadn't helped Kaylee that night. "I think we've all noticed that she's been different since the assault. We need to find a way to get her back to the person she was before."
"Well, at least there's something we can agree on," Ashton sighed. He had tried to help Kaylee get over what happened, but he just couldn't break through the barrier that she had put up.
"What do you have in mind?" Noah asked. He was willing to do anything to get his sister back.
"Well, I was hoping you guys had some ideas. I haven't known her nearly as long as you." His mind drew a blank, not able to think of a single thing that would help.
"You're just full of all kinds of help lately, aren't you?" Ashton challenged.
Brandon just looked at him. What could he say? It seemed as though Ashton was trying to bait him into a fight just so he could kick his ass. Ashton stared at him, waiting, until Brandon looked away.
"Leave it to me. I'll take care of it," Ashton said gruffly. The lightbulb had just flickered on in his head. He really did know how to help her! He didn't know why he hadn't thought of it before. "I know just what to do." He walked away from the other two to finish getting ready.
"I sure hope so," Noah said, more to himself than to Brandon.
Ashton was a handful at the appearance party. He hit on every single woman there, and made sure that his intentions were clear. He also talked on and on about himself and about how all the women wanted him. He was straight-up obnoxious.
Kaylee watched him from a distance, but every time she felt the urge to get mad at him, a little voice in the back of her head reminded her that Ashton had saved her. So instead of yelling at Ashton for making a fool of himself and the band like she would have before, she bit her tongue and accepted his behavior.
Ashton saw irritation in Kaylee's eyes, and knew that she was teetering on the edge of exploding at him. He figured that he'd have her where he wanted her by the end of the night. "Hey Kaylee!" he yelled across the crowded room. "Tell this woman here how good I look in nothing but my boxers."
Kaylee wished the floor would swallow her whole at that moment. She felt her cheeks get red, both from