Kate Andrews

Chapter 14

Chapter 14

I stooped laughing immediately. For a second I wondered whether Aaron was just being dramatic, but that theory evaporated as soon I caught a glance at Cassidy and Kevin's expressions. Kevin looked scared, the way he did whenever our parents had big fights. Cassidy, on the other hand, seemed more worried about how angry Aaron looked. And he looked mad. I shot a look at Seth, who had come to stand beside me. His hand was half up in a would-be-wave. As I watched, it draped back down across a crutch. Aaron's green-eyed glare, which had so far been focused on me, momentarily flipped over to Seth, before turning back at me. Boy, if looks could kill.

"Hey, sorry we got held up, we -" I started, explaining the reason for our delay.

Aaron cut me off, his hands in fists at his side. I didn't understand why he was getting so mad. We were only a couple of minutes late. Maybe more than a couple, but not enough for him to look like that.

"Forget the fact that you strolled in here as if we hadn't spent the last half hour wondering what happened. What were you THINKING sending Kevin all alone? Something could have happened to him!" he said, starting out speaking calmly, but his voice rising with every word, till he was shouting.

I found myself wondering what to do with my hands. Was I supposed to put them back, or cross them over my chest or fiddle with my hair? Having Seth standing right beside be wasn't helping matters.

"You weren't thinking. That is obvious."

Without meaning to, I muttered, "McGonagall," because it reminded of what she had said once.

('I-I didn't think-'

'That,' said Professor McGonagall, 'is obvious.')

"What?"

"Nothing," I said hastily.

Aaron pinched the bridge of his nose and half closed his eyes. "I swear, Kate, if you bring in a Harry Potter reference right now, I'll-"

"Okay, sorry!"

"You know what happened that day with Kevin, Kate! How could you even-" Aaron continued, his face still a mask of anger.

Surprisingly, Seth broke him off. Nobody seemed to be able to complete a sentence without someone interrupting.

"Hey, it's not her fault. We ended up-"

Aaron's glare went back to Seth, and he said, "You should just shut up. Maybe you'd actually notice what's happening, if you ever took your eyes off my sister."

I felt my cheeks burn up, but Seth looked totally unaffected and said coolly, "How about you take yours off mine?"

Next to Kevin, Cassidy's eyes widened, and she went pink.

Geez, if looks could kill. "This," Aaron said, pointing at Seth, "isn't about you."

Seth put his hands up, and took a step back. So helpful.

Aaron turned to me once again, and he looked even more pissed off than before, " This is about what YOU did," he jabbed a finger at me, "You're so stupid, Kate! You're irresponsible and tactless and so self-centred! Can't you ever, EVER, do anything right?"

So far I had considered the situation dramatic and mildly humorous. But hearing Aaron say what he did, something inside of me snapped. And it wasn't the first time he had something like this. It had always been this way. Whatever I did was stupid and immature and wrong. Whatever went wrong was my fault. Always. For the past three years, at least, all I'd been hearing was, 'Really, Kate? That's stupid.' Or, after we'd meet somebody new, 'See, Kate, you should be more like her.' I remembered a thousand things Aaron had said to me, and that had brought my self confidence down. And in that moment, the million things he had said that had made me feel good, just didn't matter. I could feel tears burning at the back of my throat, but I was too angry to care much.

My voice came out surprisingly low for how angry I felt, "Shut up. Just shut up. This wasn't my fault. It wasn't. I know that, and I don't give a damn whether or not you agree."

Aaron countered, "See, this is why no one will ever respect you. You have to learn how to take responsibility for what you do. Do you remember Charlotte?"

Before I could answer, Seth said, "Charlotte as in the name of a girl, or the place?"

"Place," I answered. "And yes, I remember Charlotte. We went there just last year. What does that have to do with anything?"

"Haley. The girl we met at that coffee shop. You should be more like her!"

For the first time in a really long time, I felt tears threaten to spill down my cheeks, "Stop, okay? Please just stop. I don't want to be like her. I am fine the way I am. I know what I need to change about myself. I don't need you to compare myself to someone we spent ten minutes with. I'm unsocial, tactless, self-centered, irresponsible and bad at EVERYTHING! I know. I know. You don't have to tell me. I know."

My voice cracked a bit, and I could only imagine how whiny I sounded, but I refused to look away. I was going to keep that tiny shred of dignity I still had, if even that. I could see Cassidy's rather alarmed expression, and Kevin's surprised one. Thankfully, Seth was standing behind me. I didn't think I could bear to look at him. So much for trying to look impressive.

Aaron said in a quiet voice, looking not in the last bit apologetic, not that I had really expected him to, "God, you really don't understand anything, do you?"

He turned his back to me, and started walking, shouting for the rest of us to follow him.

Out of the corner of my eye, I felt Seth come up next to me, "Are you-"

"No," I said, "Please don't."

He shrugged, and we walked in silence, me cursing myself for everything I'd said, but also for everything I hadn't.

Hey guys! This chapter was a little dramatic, I know, but I hope you liked it anyway. Because I never think things through, I'm gonna be mentioning lots of things that should have been talked about in the previous chapters, without any explanation. Sorry about that. But, I will give an author's note to explain it. (Example, now Aaron and Kevin both have green eyes, while Kate has light brown ones)

Thank you for reading! Please vote, comment, follow! :)