Thorny Remembrances

CHAPTER SIX	

	It was a little after four when Lita opened her apartment door 
for Darien.
	?Hi.  Are you ready to go?? he asked.
	?Yeah.  Are we in your car or on the bike??
	?Since you still haven?t got all the strength back in your arm 
I decided we?d better take the car.?
	Lita made a little pout.
	?We?ll go for a ride on the bike when you?re completely healed.?
	She grabbed her leather jacket and headed for the door.  The 
jacket was no longer stained with blood, but still had a hole in the 
back and a tear over one shoulder.  She?d decided to keep wearing it 
a week or two, hoping it would be a constant reminder as to what her 
dangerous lifestyle had almost led to.
	Darien?s hand brushed across where the bullet had pierced the 
leather.
	?You don?t know how lucky you were.  The doctor said the bullet 
missed your spleen by about two inches.?
	?No, you?re wrong.  I know.  That?s why I?m still wearing the 
jacket.?
	The wind outside was cold.  Lita was happy to be in the car 
once they were on their way.
	Inside the coffee shop Darien directed her to an open booth.
	?So, is she coming?? asked Lita looking around.
	?I don?t know.  She said maybe.?
	When the waiter took their orders, Darin inquired about the 
waitress who had passed out while serving him and Serena a few days 
earlier.  The waiter paled.
	?Sir, she had some sort of breakdown this morning.  She died on 
the way to the hospital.?
	The young man, clearly affected by the death, excused himself 
to the kitchen.
	?Man, I didn?t see that coming,? said Darien astonished.  ?I 
may have to rethink my take on this.  Maybe you and I shouldn?t be 
here.?
	?You think Rose may have had something to do with it?  Maybe 
the girl was sick.?
	Before Darien had a chance to answer a feminine voice called 
his name from across the room.
	?See, I did remember your name?Darien,? said Rose, crossing the 
room.  She extended a warm hand to him.
	He rose and shook her hand.  Lita noticed Darien wince slightly 
as their hands met.
	?And this must be the friend you?d mentioned on the phone.  Hi, 
I?m Rose.?
	Lita shook hands with the other woman.  She felt the slight tug 
of energy as she clasped Rose?s hand in hers.  She shot a glance at 
Darien who nodded slightly.
	?It?s a pleasure to meet you, Rose.  My name is Lita.?
	Rose slid into the booth next to Lita.
	?I suppose Darien told you about all the trouble he?s caused 
me,? she said winking across the table.
	?He told me about the accident,? she answered.
	?Yeah,? interrupted Darien.  ?How?s your bike?  I?m willing to 
split the repair bill.  We really shouldn?t have been racing.  It?s 
as much my fault as yours that we were.?
	?No, no.  Don?t sweat the repairs.  I use my bike for work and 
they insisted on picking up the bill.?
	?Really?  Wow, that?s nice of them,? said Lita.  ?What kind of 
work do you do??
	?I?m a courier for an electronics corporation,? she answered.
	?Which one?? Darien asked.
	?I?m not supposed to say.  But they?re great about my school 
schedule.  Enough about that though, Lita, what are you studying?  
I?m assuming you go to school with Darien.?
	?No, I?m still in high school.  But, I?m focusing on business 
management.  I hope to own a restaurant or flower shop someday.?
	?That sounds so nice,? smiled Rose sincerely.  ?And it suits 
you.  You look so warm and friendly.  I?m sure you?ll be a huge 
success.?
	Lita couldn?t help smiling in return.  It seemed impossible 
that this young woman, only a few years older than her, could have 
anything to do with the waitress?s death.
	Soon the waiter returned with Darien and Lita?s orders.
	?Hi Miss Mason.  The usual?? He smiled at Rose.
	?Hello Kurt.  That?d be super.  Thanks.?
	A moment later the waiter reappeared with a cup of tea.  Rose 
took the cup from him.  As their hands touched, Kurt began to swoon.  
Darien jumped to his feet to catch the young man.  Rose too bent 
over him trying to help.
	?No,? Darien ordered.  ?Don?t touch him again.?
	Rose stood; tears came to her eyes as she backed away.
	?He?ll be all right.  He just fainted,? Darien said checking 
the boys pulse.
	Lita had disappeared to the kitchen to ask for a cold moist 
towel.  She returned and laid it across Kurt?s forehead.  She smiled 
as the man?s eyes fluttered open again.
	?An angel,? Kurt said looking up at Lita.
	?He?s fine,? said Darien standing.
	One of the waiter?s co-workers helped him to his feet and into 
the back room.
	Lita looked around for Rose, who had been slowly moving towards 
the door.
	?Darien, Rose is leaving.?
	They caught up with her just outside the shop.
	?Rose, don?t leave,? said Darien, catching up to her first. ?I 
didn?t mean to bark at you in there.  I guess it?s the future doctor 
in me.?
	?I hope not, that?s awful bedside manner.  I didn?t come here 
for you to yell at me.?
	?Look, I?m sorry,? Darien tried to explain. 
	Lita interrupted him.
	?Let her go, Darien.  She knows what happened and she?s afraid. 
 Things will get worse and she?ll come looking for us.?
	Both Darien and Rose stared at Lita, astonished at her 
certainty.
	?She?s not running because she?s offended.  She?s running 
because she?s scared.  So, Rose, do people pass out when they?re 
around you?? continued Lita.
	Darien moved between the two girls.
	?That?s enough Lita,? said Darien.
	Lita was angry.  Somehow she knew that Rose was aware of the 
situation, at least partly.
	Rose didn?t reply as she mounted her bike and glared at Lita.  
She pulled into traffic and disappeared.
	?Lita,? exclaimed Darien, ?what was that??
	?I don?t know.  I feel like she knows something is wrong, but 
won?t face it.  She made me angry.  Besides, I know for sure she?ll 
come looking for us.  She rushed off without her purse.?
	Lita produced a small black handbag from behind her back and 
smiled.
	Darien laughed a little, but before he could say anything the 
glass window behind them shattered for the second time that day.
	A broken table and chair lay amidst the shards of glass on the 
sidewalk.
	Darien had lunged to protect Lita from the jagged pieces of 
glass.  He now pulled her into an alley.
	?We?d better transform,? he said quickly.
	A moment later Tuxedo Mask and Sailor Jupiter rushed into the 
shop.  The waiter who had just passed out at their table was now 
hurling furniture at patrons.
	?Get out of here, you animals!? he yelled throwing a chair 
across the room at them.
	Several people lay unconscious on the floor.  Kurt glared at 
them as he held a table precariously over a woman?s head.
	?What is this, some sort of costume party?  I said get out of 
here!? he yelled again.
	?Kurt, stop.  You don?t want to hurt these people.  They?ve 
done nothing to you,? said Tuxedo Mask.  He tried to persuade the 
waiter to put the table down.
	?No, they laugh at me.  They hate me.  They would kill me if 
they had the chance.?
	?That?s not true.  They come here to see you, because they like 
you,? he answered.
	Infuriated by his words, Kurt hurled the table at Tuxedo Mask.  
Dodging the table he drew a rose, but Lita stopped him.
	?No, let me try," called Lita. "Kurt, do you remember passing 
out?  You?re sick and we are worried about you.?
	?Is this a trick??
	The young man seemed to soften for a moment.  Suddenly though, 
as if shocked, he jerked.  Lita jumped too, having felt the charge in 
the air.
	?No!? screamed the waiter.  ?There is only hate!?
	He lunged at Lita.  She felt the adrenaline pump through her 
veins.  Taking a stance, she met his attack with one of her own, 
throwing him over her shoulder.  He landed with a thud on the hard 
ground.  He tried to stand.
	?Sparkling wide pressure!? she bellowed.
	Kurt was knocked across the room crashing into an empty booth.  
This time he didn?t try to get up.  Jupiter was at his side in a 
minute.  He squinted in the light as he began to regain consciousness.
	?An angel?? he whispered again.
	Tuxedo Mask rounded up a few brawny men to sit on the young 
waiter until the police could arrive.  Then he and Sailor Jupiter 
slipped out the back door.
	?Remind me to be nicer to you,? he said to Lita, back in the 
alley.  ?You?re tough.?
	?Is that a compliment?? she replied as she retrieved Rose?s 
purse and handed it to Darien.