Adopted By Mean Girls Cast

Chapter 22

I woke up at around 1AM to my phone ringing.

"That's weird. Cat's calling me." I said. I picked up the phone and said, "Cat?" softly into it.

"M-Matilda?" Cat said, sounding like she was crying. Suddenly, I felt more awake. "What's wrong, Cat?" I asked softly.

"M-my mom isn't home and I just had a nightmare...I tried calling my dad and my brother and my aunt...but they won't answer." Cat said, and my heart fell.

"Hey, Cat, do you want to come over to my house? Or would your mom not like that?" I asked. I heard some tears and a bang on the other line, then Cat said, "Mommy would kill me...can you come over?"

"Of course. Let me just tell Grey where I'm going. Hang in there, okay? I love you." I said. Cat hung up and I put on a sweatshirt and put my hair in a braid so I would look somewhat presentable. I then went to Grey's room and knocked on the door.

I heard a bang and Grey opened the door. He looked like he had just woken up, which in all fairness, he probably did.

"Matilda?" Grey asked groggily. I sighed and said, "I have to go over to Cat's for a half hour. She's home alone and she had a nightmare. I asked if she wanted to come here for a bit, but she said her mom would be mad. I'll be back in a half hour, 45 minutes at the latest."

I ran out of my apartment and pulled up Cat's address on my phone. Ten minutes later, I stopped at her front door. I knocked gently on it and said, "Kit-Cat? It's Tilda."

The door opened and Cat was standing there, looking like a mess. I gave her a hug and she started crying.

"D-did I wake you up?" Cat asked, holding onto me tightly. I didn't let go of her. I kissed her head and said, "Catlynn McLemore, do you think I care if you woke me up or not? I love you, you're my whole world. And besides, I have a crappy sleep schedule as it is." Cat giggled and let go of me.

"You never call me by my full name. No one usually does. Only my mom does that." Cat said sheepishly.

"Do you not want me to? Because your full name is beautiful." I said. Cat laughed and said, "No, you can do it. It's fine."

"Do you want to go back to sleep or do you want to hang out for a bit?" I asked. Cat looked deep in thought and said, "Just hang out. My mom does want me to sleep, but I'm old enough to not care." Cat giggled and I hugged her.

"Hey, do you want me to show you something special of mine?" Cat asked. I assumed it would be her orange blanket she brings everywhere with her.

Cat led me to her room and said, "Please don't call me a baby, you're the first person besides my family that knows about this." I nodded and Cat opened her dresser and dug through her clothes.

She pulled out a pair of purple PJ's that had stars and planets and spaceships all over it. "I bring these with me every time I go to the hospital. I got these at the hospital when I was 13." Cat said, sounding slightly embarrassed. "Please don't tell anyone."

"I promise. I won't." I said, hugging my girlfriend. "Hey, do you want to tell me what that nightmare was about?"

Cat sighed and I looked into her eyes. "Um...I told you about the car crash, right?" Cat asked. I thought it over, then shook my head. Cat sighed and said, "Well, um, 4 years ago...Jessica and Ryan got in a car crash, and Jess almost died. It was rough for me, and every so often I get nightmares about the crash, except one of them doesn't make it."

"Oh my God. Cat. I'm so, so sorry." I said. Cat started to cry and I hugged her tightly. I looked over at the time and realized that it had been way more than 45 minutes.

"Cat, my love, I have to go. Grey wants me home." I said. I kissed my girlfriend's head and Cat grabbed my arm.

"Please don't go...Elle's not gonna be home for a while. I'm scared." Cat said.

"I know. I'll call you when I get home, pinky promise." I said. Cat grabbed my arm and pulled me towards her. "Please. I'm begging you." Cat said, her voice breaking.

"Where is your mom, anyway?" I asked. Cat sighed and said, "She just went over to a friend's, no biggie. She's been gone for about 6 hours now, and I'm getting kind of worried."

"Why?" I asked. Cat looked at me with her big brown eyes and said, "4 members of my family have been on the brink of death. 5 if you count me. Elle had appendicitis, Jess and Ryan got in the car crash, and Alice got super sick then got shot by my bio dad a few weeks later. And me? I have a chronic illness and my dad almost killed me. I'm not kidding."

I could only watch with pure horror in my eyes. Poor Cat has been through more trauma than most adults. And I thought losing my alcoholic father and getting kicked out of the house was bad. Poor Cat had to suffer trauma even after she thought it was all over. And on top of that, her life before she got adopted wasn't all sunshine and rainbows either. She was an abused kid, I was lucky enough to not be in her shoes.

I didn't do or say anything except hug Cat. She held on for 5 minutes, then pulled away. "Thanks for coming tonight." Cat said softly. I kissed her cheek gently, then said, "Always. I'll always be here, Cat, I'm not leaving. I love you to the universe and back. Now, I have to get home, are you okay with that."

Cat finally nodded and I gave her one more hug before leaving.

___________

"So, what did your lovey-dovey girlfriend want?" Barrett said once I saw her at the theater. I shrugged and said, "She was home alone and had a nightmare. I stayed way longer than I should've."

"Is your dad mad? Because if he is, I could explain-" I cut Barrett off by saying, "You don't need to explain, Barrett. I told him where I was going. I'm responsible enough not to sneak out." I laughed.

"Wow, Matilda Henson being responsible? That's a first." Barrett said sarcastically, and I slapped her arm. "Shut up. I practically raised my sister. If that's not 'responsible,' I don't know what is."

"Okay, Tilda. Wanna go hang out?" Barrett asked, getting up.

"Always." I said.

AN: It took like a week to write this, I don't know why. Anyways, hope you enjoyed! Catch ya later!