Moving On

Chapter 13 - Part 2

As they went upstairs, Tyler noticed that Kate still had a faraway look in her eyes. "You're not still thinking about the movie, are you?"

Kate ran her fingers through her hair while her face displayed a mixture of chagrin and embarrassment. "I know it's absurd. But when I watch something, whatever the show is, I need to know the ending. I need to know that everything worked out fine in the end."

"And you love crime shows?"

"Those that I watch or read always catch the bad guys."

"So if the group of people had survived and lived happily ever after, you'd be completely fine."

She pursed her lips. "Not completely, but I'd definitely feel better." Chuckling, she continued. "I remember watching this horror movie when I was young. I don't even remember what the title or the story was. My parents were afraid that I'd get nightmares and told me not to watch it. But I'd already started, and I wanted to know the ending. So I watched, then I didn't dare to go to bed. In the end, I had to sleep with my parents for an entire week before getting over it."

"And you didn't learn your lesson."

"Nope. But The Ring really got to me, and that was when I swore off horror films."

"Then why did you insist on watching the movie just now? You knew the bad reaction you'd get."

"I know," Kate said, exasperated with herself. "I thought I would've outgrown the fear. I'm not a kid anymore. I'm twenty-five, Ty. It's kind of pathetic that I react this way to a movie."

He tried to conceal his grin, but Kate saw right through him.

"I know, it's stupid."

"Pirates of the Caribbean doesn't have too good an ending either—that's if I remembered it correctly."

She nodded. "I do like happy endings, but this is way better than the movies they brought."

"You need to know that everyone is well and fine."

"Not everyone. It's just that through a book or a movie, you grow to like certain characters. And when the ending sucks, it's just wrong."

"We'll watch your movie, then. It's a good ending, right?"

She smiled.

Of course it was. She wouldn't choose something that didn't have a good ending. He grabbed the DVD and set up the player, smiling to himself as he thought about what she'd said.

She wasn't just used to taking care of herself; she was used to taking care of everyone, making sure that things went well for everyone around her.

It was the same thing with Ryan and Joanne.

When Ryan didn't have a ride home, Kate had offered to drive. When Joanne was trying to get his attention but got ignored, Kate couldn't bear to let it continue, so she stepped in to help.

She was the complete opposite of him.

"Do you think we can steal some popcorn from them?" she suddenly asked.

"I'll get it." He stood, then stopped and asked, "Do you want to come along?"

She went down the stairs with him, but didn't follow him over to the couch. He figured she probably didn't want to risk putting more gory images into her mind.

He strolled over, pulled the bucket of popcorn out of Ryan's hand, and headed back toward Kate.

"Hey!" Ryan hollered after Tyler, but he didn't bother to glance back over at him. "Can you guys eat that much? Share some with us."