The girl in the attic

(21)The girl in the attic

The girl in the attic

Chapter 21

Katie's POV

We drove in silence for the rest of the way home. I could tell that Preston wanted to ask me more questions but luckily he didn't. When we got close to the house Preston started getting a bit twitchy and I could tell that he was nervous.

"What's wrong?" I asked wondering what could be the problem.  

"It's just, well I don't want to just pull up in the driveway. Somebody might see us and I don't think you'd want that," he answered as he slowed the car to a crawl.  

"Oh, I didn't even think about that," I replied honestly. I've been way too occupied with what happened with my brother to really think about anything else.  

"It's ok, you've got a lot on your mind. I figured I'll just stop the car somewhere and quickly run over to the house to see if it is safe," he said looking at me to see if it was ok.  

"I've got a better idea. There is a clearing in the forest somewhere ahead, just drop me off there and I'll make my way to the barn while you park the car," I said figuring that would be much easier and trying to find a way to have some time by myself. It's not that I don't like Preston or appreciate everything he's done for me. I just needed a few minutes to pull myself together.  

"Are you sure?" He questioned, the expression on his face telling me that he didn't really like the idea much.  

"Yea, it's not far and that way we can't get caugh,t" I replied smiling at him and hoping that he would agree. He was silent for a moment as the car crawled forward and then shook his head in agreement.

He pulled off the road when we reached the clearing and I quickly got out of the car and made my way into the forest. There wasn't much of a path but I knew my way and quickly reached the barn. I walked around to the back keeping to the shadows and sneaked through one of the wooden boards that were loose and easily moveable.

I barely made it inside when my body started aching again. I had some pain on the drive home but it was manageable and luckily Preston didn't notice. I sat down against the wall and took a deep breath hoping that the flood of pain will wash over, sometimes it helped sometimes it didn't. This wasn't one of those times. The pain just kept on getting worse and worse. I wish I had some of those tablets that Preston always gives me for my leg, they don't take the pain away but seem to calm it a bit, at least for a while.

I didn't want Preston to find me like this and I wasn't sure how long I had before he would arrive so I dragged my body up using the wall to keep my balance. It felt like a truck had just run over me but I had to get up the ladder to our usual place. I started walking across the room towards the ladder when an awful pain shot through my body. I felt my legs give in under me and I crashed to the floor frozen by the pain that was consuming my body.

Preston's POV

I hated dropping Katie off but she seemed so sure about her plan and I didn't really want to put her down so I went along with it. I pulled my car into the driveway and brought it to a stop in front of the garage. I didn't notice anybody at first but soon Lina came walking around the corner of the house. She made her way too me and I couldn't help but feel nervous. What if she saw me and Katie together this morning? I had no idea what was going on between Katie and Lina but I know she is her mother and that for some strange reason Katie didn't want her to know she was around.

"Preston," she said as she came to a stop a few feet away from me.  

"What's up?" I questioned trying to play it cool.  

"Dinner will be ready in a few minutes and your aunt and uncle asked that I come and call you before you take off again. They want you to come inside and eat with them," she stated. This was not good at all. I mean I'm glad that Lina didn't see me and Katie together but who knew how long dinner could take. I had to get back to the barn to make sure that Katie was ok.  

"I'll be there in a few," I replied still trying to act normal.  

"That won't work, they want you there now, they've got something they want to discuss with you."  

"Ok, I'm coming," I said slamming my door and following Lina into the house. My aunt and uncle really do have the worst timing.

When I got to the dining room they were both already seated and from what I could tell deep in conversation. I cleared my throat to let them know I was there as I walked to the table. They both looked up at me with fake smiles and gestured for me to sit down. I felt like telling them to just spit it out and say what they wanted to say so that I could get back to more important things but took a seat and returned their smiles with a fake one of my own.

"We asked you do join us for dinner because we have something we want to discuss with you," my uncle said looking at me like I was some sort of insect that he wanted to squash. 

"Lina told me, what is it that's so important?" I asked trying to get this over with as quickly as I could.  

"The thing is that your uncle got selected to represent our town in a small golf tournament. He has to leave for the tour tomorrow but wants me to go with so we are going to be out of town for a few days," my aunt answered and I have to admit that this was the best news I've had in a while.  

"Ok, that's not a problem, I can look after myself for a while," I replied trying not to sound too excited.  

"That's not the problem Preston. We are sure you can take care of yourself but we are a bit worried about the house and what you might get up too," my uncle said eyeing me carefully.  

"What do you mean?" I asked getting bored with the conversation. I really needed to get back to Katie.  

"Your parents told us about the fact that you liked to throw wild parties whenever they left you alone at home," my aunt answered with a look of disgust on her face as she shook her head.  

"Oh, that. I won't do anything like that," I said honestly. Throwing a party was the last thing on my mind at the moment.  

"We are hoping not. We are going to trust you to be responsible while we are gone but if we come back and find out that you had any friends over or threw any parties we are calling you parents and telling them that they need to come back home," my uncle said looking at me sternly.  

"You don't have to worry, I promise I won't do anything like that," I replied. My aunt and uncle shook their heads meaning the conversation was over and instructed Lina to dish up for us.

All I wanted was to go check on Katie but I had no option but to eat dinner with my aunt and uncle. I tried getting away by telling them that I wasn't really hungry but my aunt told me that I was talking rubbish and that I should be appreciative and eat my food. Usually I would have argued but I didn't dare doing that considering the circumstances. We had starters, dinner and by the time Lina was dishing up desert I was a nervous wreck. It must have been at least two hours since I dropped Katie off and I really needed to check on her. My nerves grew with every bite I took and by the time my aunt and uncle excused me I was freaking out. I got up from my chair trying to act normal but once I was out of their view I dashed for the door and ran to the barn as fast as I could.