What Once Was

20.

Scarlett's POV
My phone rings from the kitchen counter and I scramble around my couch and between two chairs to get to it. I smile seeing Katie's name.

Katie: can you come outside? Have to run something by you.

Outside? She's outside? Why doesn't she just come in?

"Rose! Can you come watch the pasta I have to run outside!" I yell up the stairs as I'm slipping my slippers on. My grumpy daughter comes down and stirs the pot some more before I open the front door and head outside.

Katie is sitting in my driveway, leaning against the hood of her white, car legs crossed and she's looking up at the sky. I admire the way the cold sun shines on her face, highlighting her freckles and cheekbones. She looks so much better than she did a week or so ago.

When she looks up at me and makes eye contact and see her red-rimmed eyes and I take quicker steps to her, knowing she's been crying.

"What's wrong? What happened? Did you find her?"

"Oh I found her." She chuckles holding back her feelings. I can't tell it's not a good laugh but the way she rolls her eyes when she says it.

"She uh..." Katie hesitates and I can tell she's conflicted on telling me. I'm not sure if she thinks I'll be mad, or embarrassed or what.

"She has photos, of us. From, years ago. Compromising photos, that would confirm everything and label You a cheater. She also has a photoshopped photo of Rose, which explains why Rose won't talk but." Katie takes a deep breath to remain calm while I can feel my nerves and tension rising, about to burst.

"I'm almost positive I'm about to go to jail."

"What! Katie what did you do?" She cannot go to jail. I told her, warned her not to do anything stupid.

"I confronted her, the photos she has of us is real but the photos she's using with Rose is fake. I can probabaly prove it with my software but I knew it was fake. I called her out on it and she panic and slammed her head against her desk. No joke Scar, I swear I didn't touch her." She stammers out, I can see her hands starting to shake as she remembers the encounter.

"It's okay, I know you didn't hit her. Why would you go to jail?" I step between her legs and rub her shoulders gently trying to calm her.

"She said I did! She was screaming it! While she was holding her bloody nose, she was screaming at me that I hit her."

I should've killed her when I had the chance.

"It's okay. It'll be okay." I pull her into a hug but can feel her shaking her head no. "They won't believe her."

"And they'll believe the crazy lady who broke into a school, which by the way that place is unlocked and not one person stopped me in the hall, but Psh, yeah, I'm sure they'll believe me over her." She says in a sarcastic tone.

Just before I answer her phone rings and she flinches in my arms. She pulls it out of her pocket to see Lizzie calling and she answers while putting it on speaker.

"Katie, where are you?" Lizzie's voice is panicked and Katie looks up at me with the same panicked eyes.

"Why?"

"Because I'm at your place and had to stop two police officers from breaking down your door." Lizzie says rushed and I can hear the tremble in her voice.

Katie does say anything, her eyes frozen on me. I can see the build up of tears threatening to fall as the cold breeze makes me tremor. Katie pulls me closer to her and rubs her hands up and down my thigh. If I wasn't so cold and nervous I'd probably get turned on by the action but it's just providing warmth and comfort for me right now.