Reincarnated

Chapter Three: Dopplegangers

Chapter Three: Doppelgangers

I woke up to the sound of my little sister’s scream and dashed downstairs to see what was wrong. I rolled my grey eyes when I saw him in the ‘summer kitchen,’ as my mom calls it. Of course. I shouldn’t be surprised that he’s here. Kat was still screaming, blond curls bouncing as she shook her head.

“Katty, calm down.” Her jaw snapped shut with an audible sound, but her pale blue eyes remained wide and fearful. She looked just like Mom and me, but her coloring was all Dad. I was the one with Mom’s grey eyes, but I got that weird recessive red-haired gene.

“What are you doing here?” I asked, my voice firm.

“I came to apologize, for yesterday. Kathleen was in the kitchen when I got here and she started screaming as soon as I entered the house.”

“How the hell did you get in?”

“Your mother gave me a key.”

“Who is he? How does he know my full name? Why did Mom give him a key?” She interjected. She turned to face me as she spoke, leaving her back to Eamon. Don’t tell her, he mouthed. I nodded, almost imperceptibly.

“This is Eamon White. He’s…” I stalled, searching my mind for a lie she’d accept.

“The son of an old family friend.” He interrupted. “My parents would like to get reconnected, but they can’t right now. So, they sent me.” Wow, he’s kind of a good liar.

I smiled, relieved he didn’t say he was my boyfriend, which was the only thing I could think of. He smiled back, in a way that made me feel odd, deep down inside. It’s almost like the overexcited feeling you get, where you feel so excited that you might vomit. But I can’t feel that way about Eamon, right?

I shook my head to clear it of those dangerous thoughts. I so didn’t want to go there. Kat was still shaking her head, those ‘precious’ curls still bouncing indignantly.

“Tell me the truth, ‘Lynn.” She sounded so like Papa, I mean Dad, that I almost caved. I loved Dad, and he was the only one to call me that. It was the only nickname I had. Everybody else just called me by my full name. I restrained myself and was struck with a better idea. Bribery.

“Hey, Kathy Kat,” I said, using one of her many nicknames. There’s Kat, Kathy, Kathy Kat, Katty, Kitty Katty, Lee, and ‘Leen, but only Dad called her that last one. He like using the end of the name for nicknames, as most people used the beginning. For example, he called Mom Nora instead of your traditional Ellie, or even just Eleanor. “If you drop this, for now, I swear I’ll tell you later. I’ll also help you dye your hair, like you asked me to. And I won’t tell Mom.”

“Deep violet? To accent my eyes?” Kathleen was always the fashion-conscious one. She actually cares about how she looks. Pink is her favorite color. Light purple is also a favorite, although she calls it “lilac.” I’m sure the purple hair is just to bring out those unique purple tints to her blue eyes. She can be very vain, but she’s a loyal friend. Kathleen is always there when I need her. She may gripe and complain about it, but she’ll be there.

“Deal,” I said, as we sealed it with our super-secret handshake. Eamon just stood there, laughing at us. I looked to Kat and she looked back, communicating non-verbally. We both raced off and chased after him.

We had gone through the living room, the kitchen, and ran up the stairs to Mom’s office when the doorbell rang. I elbowed Eamon in the ribs to force him to get off of me, he had ended up winning the tickle war, enabling me to answer the door. His tight hold on my waist didn’t falter, so I glared at him until he let me go.