Crescent Moon (Kyle J Simmons)

Bad Blood

Manda

Before I left my father's hut, I met several members of the Wolf Gang. All of them were men, of course, besides Clarisse, who turned out to be my stepmother. Of course, Philippe was my younger half brother. He wasn't the only one.

After Stephen introduces me to his youngest son Andre, who was 24, I was all twisted up and confused. A new branch of family that I had only just met. Andre was special though; he was playful and friendly and quite the opposite of what my other siblings were. Although he had the same teal eyes as my sister and the same black hair as Philippe, Andre had that same trace of our father's face that I had. He was like me.

"You will have to tell me more about London." he said. "It sounds wonderful."

"And I will have to come and visit." said Philippe. "Both of us will."

"Hopefully I can get to know you two better." I said. "You are both so kind and funny. Everything I could ask for in a brother."

"I think you're pretty cool," said Andre. "I have always wanted a zister."

Kyle
I had agreed to get together with some old friends, Janna included. Pretty much everyone I had met at UNI, and everyone else along those lines. Dan was going too, so Rosie offered to watch Mailey along with their own kids. I would have asked Will, her godfather, but Mailey was better off with other toddlers.

I hosted the event for the first time in over a year. Everything was at my place, and I had fixed it up so much that you couldn't tell that there was a child living in the house. Everything that was Mailey's or most of Manda's was locked in the nursery for protection. The only things out in the halls of living rooms were pictures of Manda and I on our wedding day and a few from Mailey's photography session.

"Your daughter is so adorable, Kyle." someone had said.

"I agree," said another. "When do we get to see her in person?"

I shrugged. "Whenever is fine. She's with Dan's wife at the moment. Excuse me."

I wasn't even halfway drunk, but I was dizzy. I was lightheaded. Walking down the hall, I found myself slipping and relying on the wall. I fell back and landed on one the the doors. My senses forced me to open it up.

It was Mandie's art room. My vision was blurry but I was able to spot the most obvious thing I the room. My garden machete was flat on the ground, right next to a pile of caramel colored hair, with the same natural blondish highlights. Manda's beautiful locks. Decorated on top were pieces of her acrylic manicure.

My heart sank. She cut off her beautiful hair. How could she do that?

I pictured her in Paris, hair short and hands dirty. She had prepared herself for harsh circumstances. For a fight.

"Kyle," a heard a female voice from behind.

I turned around to find Janna leaned against the doorway behind me. She was wearing a tight black dress that looked to be two pieces. Her blond hair was fancied upwards.

"Janna," I started. "I came to get some air."

She walked across the room, bending down and grabbing a piece of the brown hair. "Looks a little bit like a suicide case."

"Manda would never kill herself."

"Didn't say that." she said, reaching around and touching the blade of the machete. "Ouch! Oh shit! Shit! Bloody hell!"

It didn't take but two seconds when I noticed the blood dripping down. She had cut herself.

"Let me help you." I said to her, grabbing her wrist and examining the wound. "You need stitches Janna."

"I agree." she said.

"I'll take you to the hospital." I said, leading her out the door. "Let's go."

While walking down the staircase, the two of us passed Dan. "What's- Oh. Oh shit!"

"I'm taking her to the hospital." I said.

"Do you need me to drive?" he asked.

"Sure," I said. "Anything. She could bleed to death. We need all the bloody help we can get!"

Manda
Andre walked by my side the next morning. He had the idea to have breakfast together, as well as Philippe.

"So you're telling me that you have a child, Mandala. Eez that correct?"

"Yes. Mailey is her name. She is almost three months old now."

His blue eyes popped. "So you're saying you gave birth to a baby...three months ago?!"

"Yes." I smiled.

"Impressive." He said. "When my mother had me, it was nearly a year before she started doing things normally again. You are pretty tough."

"Thanks. I've wanted to come here for quite a while now. My husband is a good father, so I know he'll take care of the baby properly. Not only that, but I have friends that are more than willing to help out."

"Zounds vonderful." he said. "Would you mind if I came to meet zis Mailey? And your husband?"

"Of course," I said. "She loves people, and I have a feeling she would love you, Andre."

"Vat does she look like?"

"Well...she looks like Kyle. She has his dark hair and brown eyes. She smiles like him and makes faces that remind me of him. She's beautiful."

"You make me vant to see her even more." he laughed.

Dan
I waited outside in the emergency center. Janna was getting her hand stitched up, and she begged Kyle to stay in the room with her until he agreed to it. I still couldn't believe he actually forgave her and let her back into his life, especially now that his wife wasn't around. Not after all the shit she did to Manda back in the day.

I felt my phone vibrate. It was Rosie.

"Hi, Rosie I can explain."

"Where are you, Daniel? And where's Kyle?"

"We're all at the hospital. Janna accidentally sliced her hand open and Kyle and I brought her to the emergency room."

"Is he with you at the moment?"

"No. He's with her while she gets stitches."

"Oh dear God." she said with shock.

"What?"

"You know what's going to happen if Manda finds out about it, right?"

"About what?"

"Never mind, Dan. Forget it." she hung up.

"No I mean I understand," I said. "But Kyle's not stupid. He wouldn't cheat on his wife."

"Or would he?"

"Rosie..."

"I'm not saying I think he will. But I've seen how Janna is a long time ago. Please watch out for him. Don't let him fall for it."

"I won't, Rosie. He's been my friend for nearly ten years. I won't let anything happen between them."

.....

A/N: What's going to happen next? Here goes nothing...