Chapter 14
I had just begun to drift away into a deep sleep, when I heard some rustling and creaking from all around me. I blinked one eye open and looked over at the digital clock that sat at a corner table, surrounded by tiny candles that you get with gift bags at baby showers or sweet sixteens.
The Green glowing numbers read 3:42 AM. You're kidding right? Why are the guys moving around so much around this time? I sighed and shut my eyes closed again.
"Hey Tyler, Chris, Liam? You guys awake?" Drew whispered into the silent room.
"Yeah," The guys replied in whispers as well, a few seconds later.
"Alright," Drew began. "So-"
"Wait." Came Tyler's voice. "Is Kaitlyn still asleep?"
"Dunno, call her name and see if she hears you." Chris suggested.
I heard Drew shift in his bed beside me and then I could feel him hover over me. I kept my eyes shut and my breathing steady. I wanted to know what the guys were going to talk about, if they knew that I was asleep.
"Kaitlyn. Kait, Kaityln?" Drew poked my shoulder and shook me gently. "You awake?"
Liam snorted. "Well, if you shake her then she'll wake up, dumbass."
"Shut up." Drew snapped. He poked me once more and then said. "She's knocked out cold."
"Alright," Tyler said.
"Okay, so Tyler, dude. Can I just say that you're the luckiest guy here right now." Chris said.
"And why's that?" Tyler asked, clearly amused.
"Well," Chris rubbed his hands together. "Because you're girlfriend, Brooke, is the hottest girl in the house."
"Ain't that the truth." Liam agreed. I could just hear the smile in his voice.
Well, I don't know if I should be very annoyed with that comment or just slightly bothered by it.
Tyler laughed. "Well, I don't blame you for saying that. She's gorgeous."
"Wait," Drew said. "So, it's official? Brooke's your girlfriend?"
"Yup, we've been together for about a week now." Tyler replied.
"Damn," Drew muttered. The guys chuckled at his remark.
I hadn't realized Brooke and Tyler were a couple. I mean, I always knew they liked each other and they've obviously been each others dates on our group dates. But, Brooke never told me that Tyler and her were in a relationship. I think that's a very important thing that girls should tell their friends about. Humph.
"So, Liam what's with you and that Natalie girl?" Chris asked.
Liam sighed. "Oh, don't get me started with her.
"She seems like the really...clingy type." Drew stated.
"I know, and she won't get the message. I don't want her. Never did." Liam huffed.
Oh no, poor Natalie. God, I felt so nosy right now for listening in on their conversation. But, it was to interesting, I couldn't just tune them out now.
"But, she's pretty. At least you have a girl looking like that chasing you around." Tyler said.
I heard Liam shift in his bed. "Yeah well, I'm kind of interested in someone else."
"Alright man! Spill. Who is it?" Drew questioned.
"You'll find out soon enough." Liam said.
For some reason, my mind flashed back to this afternoon. I remembered how flirty Liam was being with Brooke. Maybe she's the girl he's interested in? But that'll be a huge problem. What with her and Tyler being a couple and all. I feel like I just walked into a bad soap opera.
"Okay, well Drew what about you? Are you dating anyone?" Chris asked.
Drew cleared his throat. "No."
"Really? Are you interested in anyone?"
"Well..."
"Come on, tell us." Tyler urged.
"No, it doesn't matter she's taken and I'll never have a chance with her anyway, so can you drop it?" Drew mumbled.
Hmm...I have a feeling that the girl Drew is into is Leah. Well, he could have a chance with her, especially if I had something to do with it.
Tyler, Chris and Liam muttered things like, "Sorry," and "Yeah, Let's forget it,"
"Anyway, Chris what about you? I heard you and Kaitlyn went as each others dates on that group thing the other day. I heard that she was crying her eyes out and freaked out on you or something. Is it true?" Drew said.
The guys, besides Drew, all went, "Ohh."
"Haha, okay so what happened?" Drew asked.
"Well," Chris began. "I went to use the men's room at Pete's Shack, and when I came out Kaitlyn was standing there waiting for me. Then she was like, all over me and telling me that we should go have some fun back at my place. And I said no. I mean, I know any other guy would be like 'Okay!' but, I'm not that kind of guy, know what I mean? Plus, she seemed a bit on the desperate side and I wasn't up for it."
I could hear the shock in Drew's voice. "Really?"
"Yup. And then when I rejected her, she completely flipped. She started crying and yelling at me, telling me that I was an idiot. I turned and walked away from her and she followed me, but to add to her humiliation, her shirt got attached to the door hinge of the women's bathroom which made her shirt rip. So, when we got to Jared, Tyler and Liam she looked like a mess, with makeup running down her face and her clothes messed up. I actually felt bad. When I asked if she needed a ride home or anything she freaked out on me again and stormed out of the restaurant."
Liar. Liar. Liar. Liar. Liar. Liar. Liar. LIAR!
"That just...doesn't seem like Kaitlyn at all." Drew finally said.
"Well, we saw it too," Liam added. "She was on full blown drama mode."
"Yup and she was all over Chris at the table too. It was a shock to all of us. It was pretty pathetic." Tyler told him.
"Well, all I can say is that I wish I was there to see that. I mean, Kaitlyn in drama mode, must've been priceless." Drew chuckled.
The rest of the guys agreed and laughed along too.
"That's why I've been so nice to her here, though. I don't want her to flip out again or be really upset. You know?"
I couldn't believe this. Words couldn't describe how angry I felt. Now, they're getting Drew to believe their pathetic little story. I have to set them straight. I have to set them all straight soon. But, why? Why must Tyler and Liam go along with his ridiculous story?
Since, I was clearly annoyed I wanted the boy's little conversation time to be over. So, I moved around in my bed and yawned loudly.
The guys shut up instantly. Yup, that's how it's done.
~*~
Light streamed into the bedroom from the window, making the room look very bright and warm. I had almost forgotten that it was February. I sat up in bed and stretched. I looked around and was surprised to find that the boys weren't here.
They're up already?I thought. Weird.
I got out of bed and headed to the bathroom, once I finished brushing my teeth, I went out into the hall that led to the kitchen. I could smell pancakes cooking and bacon. I also could hear laughter and silverware clinking against plates.
As I stepped into the kitchen, I frowned instantly at the sight before me. Everyone was sitting at the table still sporting their pajamas, all laughing, talking, joking and eating. Without me.
I stood there awkwardly in the kitchen entrance looking at them. They've started our first breakfast here without me? My mood was completely brought down just then.
Leah looked over at me and smiled. "Hey there sleepyhead. Come and join us."
"It's about time you woke up." Natalie said.
I looked over at the clock that hung above the microwave. I turned back to Natalie. "It's only ten A.M. What do you mean it's about time I woke up?"
"Well," She said, taking a humongous bite out of her pancake. "Everyone woke up around eight or so. It feels like you've been asleep for ages."
"Yeah," Tyler added. "We got hungry and we were tired of waiting so we started breakfast without you, sorry."
Well, he didn't look very sorry at all.
"Oh," I said. "That's fine." Even though I didn't really mean that. Truth is, I couldn't help but feel a little hurt.
"Well, don't just stand there hun. Grab yourself a plate and dig in. You should try some of the pancakes. Leah and I did a pretty good job, we know how you really love chocolate chip pancakes." Brooke told me.
Liam, now wearing a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt instead of just his boxers like last night, looked up from his plate. "Yeah, about that...We kind of finished them all." He gave me a sheepish grin. "Sorry."
I shrugged even though it bothered me a bit that they didn't even think to save me some of my favorite pancakes. I had to stop being so selfish, it wasn't all about me anyway. "No, it's fine. I'll just help myself to something else." Feeling everyone's eyes on me, I went over and grabbed a plate from the kitchen counter. Then, I placed some bacon, eggs and toast onto it.
Coming up to the table I was faced with another problem. There weren't any seats left at the table for me to sit in. The table only comfortably sat eight and all the seats were taken.
Leah's eyebrows furrowed. "There isn't any room left?"
I tried to hide the frown that was making it's way up to my lips. "I'll just sit in the living room. It's no big deal."
Jared chuckled as he brought his glass of orange juice up to his lips. This small action annoyed me to no end. Why did I have the feeling that he was the one who urged the others to forget about waiting for me and just go ahead and start breakfast without me?
I slowly went over into the living room and sat on one of the slippery leather couches. The chatter resumed in the kitchen, almost like if I was never there. They cracked some jokes and talked about things we'd be doing today, completely leaving me out of the conversation.
I poked at my eggs with the fork, moving them around on my plate not really wanting to eat them. I felt so alone, not only because of this one time of not being able to sit at the table, but because of all the events that have led up to now. It all seemed like all of my friends were going to be on Jared's side for everything.
I mean, just looking at how Tyler and Drew have changed and how they follow him around like he's some sort of God, is enough to make me think so. Leah is blindly in love with him, she won't see anything but him. Liam was always part of his crew but didn't always seem to actually follow him until now, and as for Brooke and Natalie, well they think he's totally cool. Not to mention when they were both telling me how gorgeous they thought he was and how lucky Leah was to have the filthy jerk.
I sighed. I just had to make them see the real monster that he is. The true unfaithful jerk that Iknow that he's capable of being. But how?
~*~
After breakfast we all helped to clear the table and we got dressed. I decided to throw on a pair of jeans, a nice, warm long sleeved blue shirt, my favorite gray UGG boots, and a jacket. It was starting to snow outside, a few flakes began to fall in a steady rhythm onto the already covered land. I didn't feel like staying inside and hanging around with the others, regardless what the weather was. I wanted some time to myself. Sure, I was alone before at breakfast, but I spent that time trying my best to ignore everyone's talking and laughter.
Right now, I wanted some time to think. I had the overwhelming desire to go back to the past. The lovely past where there were no evil boyfriends, when Leah thought Jared was "Icky", when there were no horrible malicious Chris' and no unreasonable drama.
So now, while the others were inside playing some type of board game, whether it was Monopoly or Candy land I could care less, I'm sitting on the porch swing, looking out onto the snow covered land. The view was beautiful and peaceful. Almost magical actually. The breathtaking view almost made me forget about the unrelenting troubles that I've been going through these days.
I heard a round of laughter go on inside and then Jared's booming voice, "Yeah, money in the bank!"
I rolled my eyes at the sound of his voice. I just wish so badly that he could just disappear, or better yet that Leah had never met him, fell in love with him or was ever involved with the idiot.
I heard the door creak open and I glanced over quickly at it, startled, only to find that it was Liam. Unlike me, he was wearing a soft colored gray hoodie. I let out a breath that I didn't know I was holding. I was glad to see that it was Liam and not Chris or any of the others really.
"Hey," He said, closing the door behind him. "Mind if I join you?"
Without looking up at him, I said. "No, it's fine. Be my guest."
He walked over to where I was seated on the porch swing and sat beside me. He looked over at me. When I didn't meet his gaze, he said, "So...why aren't you inside playing Monopoly with the rest of us?"
I hesitated. "Not up for it, I guess." I murmured.
"Mmm," He said, quietly.
We sat there in silence for a while. It was strange, sitting next to Liam without him mocking me or saying something obscene. The silence between us was oddly comfortable, I surprisingly didn't feel the need to start a conversation. We just both sat there, staring out at the row of identical snow covered trees.
Liam sighed and pushed his feet against the floor, which instantly lurched the porch swing to move in a slow steady rhythm.
"So, why are you out here?" I asked Liam, breaking the silence.
He looked over at me, his milk chocolate brown eyes meeting mine. "Well, Monopoly isn't always very fun to play whenever Jared's around. He pretty much wins all the time, and he loves to show off. I had to come out here to stop myself from punching him in the face."
I smiled at the thought of that.
Liam returned the smile, like if he knew exactly what I was thinking. "Yeah, I know he deserves it. But, he'd surely return the punch with a harder one."
I nodded, knowing all to well what he meant.
"But, I also came out to check on you."
I looked up at him surprised.
"You seem a bit upset. What's wrong?" He asked. It was so strange to hear Liam say this. Did he actually care about me? The thought sent an odd set of flutters through my stomach.
I grimaced. "Well, honestly...I'm not too joyful about the idea of Chris coming along on this trip."
He nodded. "Right, of course."
We were quiet after that. Now, the silence became a bit uncomfortable. I was yearning for him to say something, but he was silent. He appeared to be concentrating very hard on something.
I decided to take this moment as my chance to try and get Liam to be on my side. Sure, this was a rather tough way to start but, if I could have Liam helping me with the downfall of Jared, things would be a lot easier. I truly believed that. But first, there was a question that I was burning to ask him.
"Can I ask you something?"
Without looking over at me, Liam answered. "Sure, go ahead."
I took a deep breath. "You don't...I mean...Do...Do you really believe that Chris rejected me?" My voice shook, slightly.
Once again, he looked over at me. There was shock in his brown eyes that told me that he did not expect me to ask him this. There was a long pause before he said, "No."
A jolt of happiness spread through me after his one worded answer.
"You don't?" I asked.
"No, I don't." He said. "I believe it was the other way around. The story didn't just click for me, Kait. I mean, I know you pretty well and I know for a fact that you are not the desperate type at all. When I saw you come up to our table crying your eyes out, looking like a mess, I knew something was wrong. And when Chris told us what supposedly happened well, I knew that he was lying. I mean,anyone could've clearly seen that you definitely weren't the one being rejected in that situation. It took everything in me, not to grab Chris and choke-"
He stopped abruptly and looked away from me.
"Liam, what were you going to say?" I asked.
"Nothing," He replied quickly.
I tried to hide the smile that formed on my lips. He was going to say that it took everything in him not to grab Chris and choke him. He does care about me. I felt a strange tingling at the thought of Liam actually caring about me.
"Kaitlyn," He said quietly. "Did he try to force you to...to have sex with him?"
I nodded. My answer came out in a whisper. "Yes."
He shut his eyes then and leaned his back against the porch swing seat. I saw that his hands were clenched into tight fists.
I wrapped my arms tightly around my torso as the memories of the day at Pete's Shack came back to me again. I tried to force the horrible memory away, to forget the mischievous look on Chris' face.
"Liam?"
He slowly opened his eyes, and unclenched his fists when he saw me holding myself together, with my arms wrapped around me. "Yes?"
"If you didn't and still don't believe Chris' story, then why did you act like you did. Why did you back Jared up when he told the girls the story and when Chris told Drew."
"You heard us last night?" Liam asked, avoiding my question.
"Yes, I did. I'm a light sleeper. But, back to my question, why?" I urged.
"Why what?" He asked, still trying to avoid the question.
"Liam." I said, firmly. "Why did you go along with Chris' story?"
He pondered the question for a minute. I waited for his answer patiently. He finally sighed and met my gaze. "Because Jared wanted us to."
"Well, yes. I kind of figured this much. But, Liam? Why? Why do you, Tyler and Drew follow what Jared says like he's... like he's some type of King?" Yes, that's exactly what they act like Jared is.
"Because Kaitlyn, okay let's put it in terms you'll understand it as, you know those stupid cliché movies where there's always that one popular girl who basically runs the whole school, and how people just automatically do what she says, when she says it?"
He paused, waiting for me to answer. I nodded, letting him know that I was following along with what he was telling me.
"I know, I know, it's weird that I watch those movies. But that's what happens when every girl that you go out with wants to watch chick flicks. Anyway, okay you know how in those movies the one popular girl is always out to ruin someone?"
Again, I nodded.
"Well, here the one popular girl or in this case, guy is Jared. And you're the one he wants to ruin. But, like in those movies the Queen bee always has a posse, she always has that group of people who help her achieve the goal of ruining that girl. And like in those movies if you cross her she'll ruin you. In this case, if either I, Tyler or Drew cross Jared, he'll ruin us. He can say whatever pleases him about any of us and the whole school will believe him, because in their eyes, he's perfect."
I grimaced and murmured. "It's true."
"I know, and it sucks." Liam agreed. "And just like in those movies everyone wants to belong to the posse. Unfortunately Drew and Tyler really wanted to belong to Jared's, they wanted so badly for him to think highly of them. He took them in quickly, figuring it''d be even easier to make your life more miserable with them on his side."
"Well, why are you a part of his crew? You don't seem to want to be."
Liam rubbed his hands together for warmth. "I guess it's because Jared and I have been friends since middle school. He's always been there for me and I've always been there for him."
"Oh," I murmured, staring at my hands that were folded onto my lap.
"But, I don't like what he's doing to you."
I met his gaze quickly and then glanced away.
Liam moved closer to my side.
"You remember that day at school when...when Jared hit you?" Liam asked in voice only slightly above a whisper.
I involuntarily touched the place under my right eye where Jared had punched me. I remembered the horrible pain and the fear that he caused me. I still couldn't believe that he had done that to me, however I should get used to Jared doing things that I couldn't believe.
I grimaced. "Of course I remember, how could I forget?"
He reached over and gently placed his hand under my right eye where mine had just been. It felt strange having Liam touch me like this, but his warm fingers felt great and reassuring. My skin tingled wherever his fingers touched me. "Well, do you remember when I said that I thought you deserved it? Deserved to be beaten by Jared?"
I flinched and he dropped his hand away from my face.
"Well, I'm sorry for ever saying that. I didn't really believe it then. I just, I guess I said it because I was afraid Jared would find out that I was softening up to you and then he'd start a lot of shit. Trust me, he's just as diabolical as any mean queen."
He reached over and took my hand. "I'm really sorry."
I looked at his face, he looked sincere. He seemed to really mean it. It surprised me how sweet he was being. With Liam, I wasn't sure that he was capable of that. But now, I see it. He really, truly is a good guy. I tried to ignore the fire that I felt in my hand from his touch. I couldn't start having feelings for this guy. I just couldn't. What would Natalie do to me if she found out? She'd be heart broken and then she'll hunt me down to rip my head off.
"I believe you." I told him. "But, I want you to help me with something."
He still held on to my hand. "Sure, what do you need help with?"
I took a deep breath. "I need you to help me get proof that Jared has been cheating on Leah. I want to bring him down."
When Liam didn't answer I looked over at him. The look on his face was seemed like he was torn between wanting to help me and wondering if he shouldn't.
"Please," I whispered. "I really need your help, Liam."
He sighed. "Fine, I'll help you."
"Really?" I asked, excitement bubbled up inside of me.
He smiled. "Of course."
A jolt of happiness coursed through me. I reached over and hugged him. "You're the best." I told him. I was so happy that Liam was going to be on my side through all of this, sure we were still going to be outnumbered, but at least I didn't have to go though all of this alone.
His arms tightened around me. I tried to ignore the sparks of electricity that shot though me at the feel of his well toned arms. "I really do care about you, Kaitlyn."
I patted his back gently. "Thank you."
He pulled away from me then and looked deeply into my eyes. He cupped his hand to my cheek and my face felt instantly warm, despite the chilling weather. He tilted his head lower, toward mine and began to lean forward. I recognized the intention in his eyes immediately. Was Liam going to kiss me?
A thousand thoughts whirled around in my head. Liam was going to kiss me! He was actually going to kiss me. But, wasn't he with Natalie? Although he did say just last night that he didn't even like her. However, then what was all the flirting with Brooke all about? Did he like her? Or was I the girl that he was talking about last night? The new girl that he was into?
Even though all of these questions were taking up a lot of space in my mind, there still was a small part of my brain that was telling me to go for it. I was actually yearning for the feel of his lips against mine, I wanted so badly to be close to him and feel the heat of his body radiate onto mine. Without my permission, my body seemed to take control and I felt my own head tilting up to meet his.
When our lips were just a millisecond away from touching, the door slammed open. Liam and I jumped apart from each other, like we had just been electrocuted. We simultaneously turned to look at who had interrupted us. To my dismay it was Natalie.
Panic flooded through me quickly. Had she seen us?
"Hey, do you guys want to head in? We're about to make lunch now. Leah and Brooke are going to cook up something special." Natalie said in a surprisingly calm voice.
Okay, so maybe she hadn't seen us. Relief shot through me replacing the panic.
"Oh sure, Natalie. I'm starved." Liam told her.
"Yeah, it's pretty cold out here anyway." I added.
She smiled at me, a bit too cheerfully. "Yeah, well, I'm pretty sure you two were finding your own ways of keeping warm."
Uh-Oh.