Curse of the Peters Brothers

Chapter 17

flashback...

The sleeping bags were set up in the game room, the pizza was almost completely consumed, the smell of popcorn wafted through the halls from the kitchen, and they were just about to start the movie. It was the same every Friday night. Leland and Kit would have a movie night/sleepover in the game room. Sometimes the other boys or her sisters would join them, but usually it was just the Kit and Leland.

"Are you ready for this?" Leland asked with eyebrows raised.

"Is it really scary?" she feigned a shiver.

"I'll protect you."

"My hero," she placed her hands under her chin and batted her eyelashes. At twelve years old, Kit was already fluent in sarcasm. Something Leland couldn't get enough of.

Kit ran out to the kitchen to collect the popcorn and bring it back to the game room, but paused at the sound of voices.

"I just don't think this is such a good idea anymore. They're getting to the age where it's inappropriate for them to sleepover together," she heard her mother say. "Leland is already past puberty, what happens when Kit starts getting those urges?"

What urges? she thought.

"Cindy, Leland would never do anything like that to Kit. You don't need to worry about it. Let it be for now," her father replied.

"No, Daniel. This has to be the last slumber party for those two. Molly and I have already talked about it and we both think that we need to stop it now."

"What?" Kit burst through the door, "Mom, no!"

"Kit, it's inappropriate for you to sleep in the same room with a teenage boy-"

"Hopsey would never hurt me!" Kit interrupted, "I don't understand why you think he would!"

"Kit, calm down. I know Leland would never hurt you," Cindy reached for her daughter only to be batted away, "We'll talk about this tomorrow. Go in and enjoy your movie with Leland."

"Ugh!" Kit stomped back to the game room forgetting the popcorn. Leland had already started the movie without her.

"Where's the popcorn?" Hopsey asked when she came back empty handed. Kit flew over to him and wrapped her arms around him, not saying anything and not letting go. Leland held onto his best friend  for a long time, waiting for her to tell him what was going on. There was a wet spot on his shirt he knew were from tears, but instead of asking, he rubbed her back until he heard her even breathing and knew she had fallen asleep on him. He lowered her so she lay on top of her sleeping bag, then unzipped his sleeping bag and lay down next to her, using his bag as a blanket over the both of them.

Leland settled down on the floor next to her. Instantly, Kit rolled over so she rested her head on his chest. He wrapped her in his arms and kissed the top of her head. She felt so right and so good laying there. He lay awake for hours just reveling in the feel of her there and listening to her deep breaths.

I love this girl more than anything else in the whole world, he thought and silently vowed, Someday I'm going to marry her.

~*~

present...

"Jack, this is Kit Taylor. I was wondering if..."

"If I've seen or heard from Emma?" he asked, his tone harsh. "No. She and I had a fight last night. She said she'd talk to me today but I haven't heard from her."

"Let me know if you hear from her, please?"

"I'll do that. But maybe you should check with Ewen Peters," he said as he hung up the phone.