Kept Safe From You

Duo

Even if she still had nightmares of that man's smile; of his laugh; of the blood that puddled on the carpet.

Life was good.

................

On Kit's eighteenth birthday, she received four gifts.

i: Kit woke up at 6:45 am, as per usual, to get ready for school. After getting dressed, she strolled into the kitchen to get herself some breakfast. John was already sitting at the counter, reading a paper, and he smiled up at her when she entered.

"Good morning, legal adult."

Kit gave him a sour look as she grabbed the cheerios from the pantry. "Don't remind me; I am not happy about growing older." She poured herself a bowl and walked over to the counter, where she sat next to John. "And being an adult just means I have more responsibilities."

John shrugged. "I guess. But I'd say there's at least one good thing about this birthday." Kit paused with the spoon halfway to her mouth and gave John a questioning look. "Look out the window."

Frowning, Kit turned to the small kitchen window that looked out to the apartment complex's parking lot. There was a new vehicle parked there; an older looking, red pick up truck.

"...You're kidding."

John laughed. "No, Kit, I'm not. She's all yours."
Kit's face lit up, and she rushed over to John, cereal all but forgotten. "Happy birthday to me!" she cried, throwing her arms around him. He laughed and returned the hug.

"Hopefully that's just the start of a great birthday."

Ii: Kit usually met up with her friend Matt in the passing time between second and third period. When she walked up to his locker today, he was leaning up against it with a large grin on his face.

"...What are you up to?" Kit asked slowly, cocking a brow suspiciously. "You're not going to try to pull some school-wide prank again, are you?"

Matt let out a laugh. "Nooooo." He pulled his hands out from behind his back, and in them rested an envelope. "But I heard it was someone's birthday today."

Kit took the envelope, still a bit hesitant, and opened it. Inside was a gift card to Barnes and Noble, a hastily written '$25' on the back of it. She smiled widely.

"Thank you Matt," she cooed at him, and he pulled a face.

"Don't talk like that, you weirdo. You're just a really good friend of mine, and I want you to have a good birthday."

Kit's smile just grew at that; genuine, emotional moments from Matt were few and far between. "Thank you," she said again, this time more genuinely. "You're a really good friend of mine, too."

Iii: "Your homework tonight will be page 34-50," Mr. Alekson called to the retreating class. "Oh, Kit." Kit paused on her way out, looking curiously back at her English teacher. He smiled at her.

"I heard your birthday is today," he drawled.

"Oh." Kit nodded. "Yeah, it is. Why?"

"Well..." Mr. Alekson straightened the papers on his desk, acting mock-casually. "I figured, hey, why not allow my best student to skip the homework on her birthday."

A smile slowly spread across Kit's face. "Really?"

"Really really."

"You're the best, Mr. Alekson," Kit said, then smiled slyly. "Though I would have liked a pass on today's lecture a whole lot more."