*~*~* Cate *~*~*
“No, I do not want to go dress shopping,” I tell Georgie in no uncertain terms. We’re stood in my bedroom fighting over Masquerade Ball dresses, and while Georgie is dying to head up to the city to hunt for a gown, I am all shopped out. “I’ve had enough of dress shopping these past few weeks to meet my lifetime quote.”
Georgie screams in frustration and throws herself dramatically onto my bed. “I thought you were my best friend, Cate.”
I know she’s just kidding, but that comment stings a little. I’ve always been and always will be Georgie’s best friend, but I don’t see how me being her best friend equates to me having to go with her shopping. I’ve always thought this, but it wasn’t until recently that I decided to put my foot down when it came to our friendship. For years I had gone along with anything and everything Georgie wanted me to do, just because she’s Georgie, but when was that ever fair on me?
I was done being the pushover that I’ve always been. Before New Year’s Eve- before Theo, before TJ, even- I would have given into Georgie. I would have said ‘yeah, sure, I’ll come dress shopping with you’ while biting down on my tongue. Hell, if she had demanded I disinvite Nathaniel to any family gathering in favor of her, I would have done so.
But that was the old Cate. Or rather, that was with the Cate that was hiding the real Cate. Does that make sense? Either way, I was done being that girl. I was going to be the real me from now on, and the real me cannot stand shopping. Period.
“Look, Georgie, I’m sorry,” I say to soften the blow. “I know you have your heart set on going dress shopping, but I can’t go with you. I have too much to do.”
“Well,” Georgie says in that argumentative tone. “You’ll need a dress too, so you’re going to have to go shopping at some point.”
“I’m not going to the Masquerade Ball,” I announce to a furious looking Georgie.
“What about Theo?” She argues. “You’re just going to let him stand in the middle of the dance floor like an idiot waiting for you, huh? You’re too much of a coward to go and tell him face to face that you’re choosing another boy over him? That’s low.”
“I’ll rephrase,” I say slowly, trying to conceal the anger that’s bubbling inside me. “I can’t go to the Masquerade Ball. My sister’s wedding is on Valentine’s Day and so is the Ball. Sorry if it makes me a crappy human being for choosing my sister over some guy.”
There wasn’t much Georgie could say to that, so she just sat there silently while I went to change in the bathroom.
I hated arguing with Georgie because we had been through too much together to fight, but sometimes I got the feeling that she didn’t understand me as well as I understood her. I had been there for her throughout all the hard times and supported her whenever she needed me, but it felt like when it came to her doing all that for me, she treated it like a chore.
When Adam broke up with me, she didn’t come over and cheer me up immediately. It was a week before she came to visit me and even then she hardly mentioned the break up or Adam. Instead she just told me to ‘get over it’ as if it were that easy, and pretended that everything was ok, even trying to get me to embrace high school. The only thing she ever did right was drag me to that New Year’s Eve party.
I stepped out of the bathroom in a pair of denim shorts and a flannel shirt opened over a white tank top, and started to gather my thing in a pile on my study desk. I silently walked to the closet, chose my owl print backpack and slipped my feet into a pair of sky-blue Vans, and then went to put my belongings into the backpack. I grabbed my cell from the bookshelf and placed it into the back pocket of my shorts and tied a zip up hoddie around my waist.
“Where are you going?” Georgie asked accusingly.
“I have to do my physics project,” I tell her. “I’m going to meet TJ at the playing fields.”
“I thought we could hang out today,” Georgie narrows her eyes on me. “I cleared my whole day for you.”
“Well, you should have asked me if I was free,” I say with my back turned towards her. I had suddenly found looking through my wallet was very interesting. “I have plans for today.”
“You don’t usually have plans,” she counters.
“Well, I do now,” I say defensively.
“It’s that boy isn’t it?” Georgie point a finger at me as she comes over to stand face to face with me. “TJ’s taking over your life, isn’t he?”
“This has nothing to do with TJ,” I sigh heavily. I’m not sure why I’m explaining the situation to her, but I am. “This is me, so don’t bring him into this. And if we’re seriously going to be talking about guys taking over lives, take a look at you and Greyson. When was the last time we hung out properly? Since you got with him, I’ve hardly seen you, so excuse me if I’ve got myself another life.”
Georgie’s face darkened as she stepped closer to me, and I swear her eyes glowed with anger. “Do you even know what TJ’s real name is?” When I don’t answer, Georgie smirks. “Thought not. You’re so blind, Catherine. Ask your precious TJ what his real name is, and I promise you, you’ll be whistling a different tune after. TJ isn’t who you think he is.”
With those parting words, Georgie stormed form the bedroom and slammed every door after her as she went. After a few minutes I heard a soft knock at my door and Anna’s head levitating as she debates whether or not she should enter. I wave her in anyway and watch as she hovers awkwardly.
“I couldn’t help but hear all that,” she smiles weakly. “I’m not going to tell you how to live your life, Cate, but I am going to give you some advice. Usually I would tell you to choose your friends over a guy because they’re the most important things in your life, but I’m not sure how important Georgie is to you.
“Sure, she’s a nice enough person,” Anna says carefully. “But, it always looked like you were her puppet. I know you like to hide behind layers and you don’t show your real self often, but with Georgie, it was like she was dominating you. Butterflies need to grow up and spread their wings before they die, because life is too short. You’re the butterfly, Cate. You need to spread your wings and live your life. You’ll never do that if you’re living in Georgie’s shadow.”
Anna smile. “Plus, I really like TJ. He’s a keeper, no matter what his real name is. Even if it’s something ridiculous like Tarquin, I’d still like him better than Georgie.”
I laugh and walk forward to hug my sister. “Thank you,” I whisper. “Although I hope his name isn’t Tarquin.”
My cell beeps with a message and Anna nods at me before she slips out the door. I take out my phone and look at TJ’s familiar name on my screen. Instantly my stomach flips and I smile.
Do you want me to come meet you at your door? TJ xx
I type out my reply. No… Give me a minute and I’ll be out. C xx
I double check that I have everything packed and rush down the stairs with my camera bag in my hand. I stop in the kitchen and grab a few pieces of fruit, waving to Libby, my mom and Vivian before I leave.
I was halfway towards the door, when I stopped and went back to the kitchen and walked through towards the family room.
“Vivian?” I say her name to gain her attention. She looks up at me and smiles politely. “What’s TJ’s real name?”
She squirms in her seat. “I think that’s something you should ask my son. He’d hate me even more if I embarrassed him by telling you. Sorry.”
“It’s ok,” I assure her. “I was just wondering. I’ll go ask him, but can you confirm or deny that his name is Tarquin?”
“Deny,” Vivian laughs. “That’s a terrible name. Worse than the one I gave him.”
I laugh along with her and turn for the door again. I bid my father goodbye as I pass his study and grab a spare set of house keys before I rush out to TJ’s waiting car. I open the passenger door and set my bags inside before jumping in and buckling myself up. I turn to face TJ who leans in towards me for a kiss, but before he gets the chance, I have to ask him something.
“TJ? What’s your real name?”
*~*~* TJ *~*~*
“TJ? What’s your real name?” Cate asks, breaking me out of my trance.
I pull away from her and my heartbeat quicken in panic. I stare at her, worried that my secret was out of the bag, but if Cate knew she wouldn’t be this calm about it, would she? She’d probably be trying to kill me.
“Thomas Jefferson?” I venture carefully.
“Really?” Cate narrows her eyes on me and shakes her head. “Your mom seems to think you’d be embarrassed if I knew, and Thomas Jefferson seems like a pretty decent name to me, apart from the fact that you’d share a name with a President. And she said that it wasn’t Tarquin, so I’m intrigued now.”
“Tarquin?” I laugh at the thought of being called that. “That’s worse than what my mom actually named me. Where is this coming from anyway?”
Cate drops her gaze and shifts in her chair, turning to face the front and pulling her knees up to her chest. She leans her chin on her knees and wraps her arms around her legs, sitting in the fetal position as she tries to ignore my question. I reach out my hand and try to gain her attention.
“I argued with Georgie,” Cate says somberly.
Oh, shit. What the Hell did she say? Please, God, nothing about me being Theo.
She must have said something otherwise Cate wouldn’t be asking me about my name.
“She didn’t like the fact that I’m hanging out with you today,” Cate tells me. “She got worked up about it and then asked me if I knew your real name. I think she was trying to make a point, but I’m not entirely sure what the point was.”
“Did she say anything else about me?” I wonder.
“No,” Cate shakes her head.
Ok, heart… you can stop trying to kill me now.
I reach over to Cate and wrap my arm around her shoulder, pulling her closer to me so I can kiss her forehead. When I let her go, she smiles up at me and plants a kiss against my lips before mouthing ‘thank you’ to me.
I put out of Cate’s driveway and start making my way towards my house. Cate and I made plans to just hang out today and not do anything specific. I saw that she had her camera with her and observed that she very rarely went anywhere without it. If she didn’t have her camera with her, then she had her cell out and was snapping away at that instead. She spent her life looking through the lens and I had to wonder why.
“How did you get into photography?” I finally asked as we sat in the den at my house.
Dad and Amada had taken Noah to see another ASD specialist in San Francisco, and Elliott was out on a date with a girl called Eden Gates from sophomore year, so it was just Cate and I in the house. We’d just put on White House Down and Cate was fawning over Channing Tatum but as soon as I asked the question her attention was on me.
Take that, Channing Tatum.
“I’m not really sure,” Cate shrugs before thinking about it more. “I guess a lot of it had to do with Amanda, I suppose. Back in freshman year I wasn’t exactly popular and outgoing and I just like to blend into the background. I did a photography art project and found that I liked being behind the camera. It allowed me to be a little more social, but also still a little hidden from the world. Then when I printed the picture and Amanda said she liked them, it kinda became an obsession.”
“So, you hide behind the camera?” I ask.
“I guess,” Cate agrees. “It was a coping mechanism. Having Social Anxiety Disorder and an overbearing best friend, popular sisters and my dad’s expectations on my shoulders can be an overwhelming at times, so yeah, I hide behind a camera.”
“Like you hide behind all those layers?” I press, remembering the conversation we’d had in the closet weeks ago. Cate eyes me suspiciously. “I mean, you’re one person when you’re with me and you’re another when you’re with Georgie. With me you’re this confident girl that isn’t afraid to tell me how it is, but then with Georgie, it’s like you’re scared of her reaction so you just give in to her.”
“Perceptive,” Cate says quietly before turning back to the screen. “The movie’s just about to get good.”
After that, we both sit there and watch the movie. Cate sat on the beanbag on the floor with her mini picnic set out in front of her. Knowing that she only eat unhealthy stuff when she watches movies, I’d bought her some jelly bean treats and a large back of tortilla chips and salsa. There was a bottle of cheery soda too, and she’s tasted everything on offer by the time the movie ended.
We’d agreed to watch another movie, and this time it was my turn to choose. I was half way through my choices when my cell rang. I stood from the cabinet and went to grab my phone, frowning when I saw Genevieve’s name on the caller ID. Hardly anyone ever called me, so I knew there must have been something important my sister wanted to talk about.
I slid to answer the call and said brightly, “Genevieve.” From the other end of the line all I could hear was sobbing, and instantly I panicked. “What is it? What’s wrong?”
“Theo…” Genevieve said my name through her crying. “He… Cody… Will this ever stop?”
“Will what stop?” I ask confusedly. Cate looks over at where I sit and asks if everything’s ok, but I just shrug in response. “Genevieve, what’s going on?”
“My heart,” she says as she sobs even more. “He broke it.”
I drop the phone from my ear and growl, “I’ll fucking kill him.” I place the phone next to my ear again and instruct Genevieve to get on Skype. I walk from the den to the bedroom and turn my computer on. I could feel Cate’s presence behind me. “Sorry about this. My sister just got her heart broken for the first time.”
Cate sighed and moved a second chair to sit next to me. “Moral support,” she says when I asked her what she was doing.
As soon as I logged on to my Skype account I had an incoming call from Cate. I answered immediately and almost exploded with anger when I saw my sister’s face filling the screen. Her hair was pulled back messily, her skin red sore from wiping away tears, and her eyes were bloodshot. The worst part though, was seeing the sadness radiating from her.
Yeah, this Cody guy was a walking dead man.
“Genevieve,” I say softly. I wanted to reach out and hug her, hold her and tell her that she was safe. I wanted to reassure her that no one would ever hurt her again, but with thousands of miles between us, all I could do was sit here pathetically. “I don’t like seeing you like this. Gee, I don’t know what to do.”
Cate grabbed a note pad and started scribbling words on it. Tell her that it’s ok to cry. It’s ok that she’s heartbroken.
“Gee, it’s ok to cry,” I say the words that I read. “It’s ok to cry.”
Tell her that the guy was an idiot to break up with her. Tell her that she’ll be ok, and that you’re always here for her. Tell her that one day she’ll look back on this and see that it’s for the best. Tell her that there are enough people in the world that loves her and that this boy will regret ever letting her go.
Tell her that there’s always a silver lining when it comes to break ups and this is the perfect opportunity for her to find a boy that will love her a million times more. Tell her that she’s a butterfly and she needs to spread her wings.
At this last piece of advice, I frown and hide the webcam as I ask Cate what butterflies had to do with anything.
“It’s something Anna told me,” she explains before pointing at the screen. “Tell her.”
I drop my hand and smile at Genevieve, who is looking slightly better now that she’s stopped crying. Each time I read out Cate’s advice, my sister perked up that little bit more and as I read out the butterfly reference, Genevieve laughed for the first time.
“Thank you, big bro,” Genevieve smiles down the camera at me. “I love you.”
“I love you too, Gee,” I tell her. “If there’s anything you need, you know you can just call me, right?”
Genevieve smirks and leans in towards her camera. “Or, I could just call Cate. She gives great advice.” I frown and shake my head. “I heard you talking to her just now. I know it was her telling you what to tell me. I told you she was a keeper, right?”
I blush. “Yeah, Genevieve, you did.”
“You know what?” My sister says triumphantly. “I love her already.”
I look at Cate and laugh, before smiling. “Yeah, I love her too.”
Genevieve thanks us both one last time and promises to text me tonight to tell me how she’s doing. When the call ends I turn to Cate and lean in for a kiss.
“You’ve got this bewitching thing about you, Catherine Westbrook,” I tell her through my smile. “In half an hour, you got me to fall for you. In half an hour you got Noah to fall for you. And now, in half an hour, you’ve managed to get my sister to fall for you, too. You are amazing.”
Cate gets to her feet and moves to sit on my knee, her arm hooked around my neck as she bring her lips to mine. “You’re not so bad yourself, whatever-you-real-name-is Rushing.”
Theo, my mind screams out to her. My name is Theo.
*~*~*
So, I did say not to be surprised if we all ended up hating Georgie by the end of this story. And I told you not to cross her...
Sarah, xx
23:56 (just on the right side of midnight!)