[Chapter 13]
I Just Can't Believe You Did This
"I am sorry in advance for any injuries you may receive from the journey from this door to my room," Dean says as he opens the door to his house. I am about to ask why, when I see his sister coming down the stairs screaming. Dean makes a face and shudders. Was she waiting for him to arrive?
"You brought a girl to our house?" His sister squeals.
"It's not like I've never brought a girl to our house before Haley," Dean says as he leads us upstairs, trying to get away from his sister as soon as possible.
"Yeah, but I didn't like them, so they don't count," My stomach drops and I suddenly feel uncomfortable. "Is she nice?" Dean's sister asks him, referring to me.
"I don't know, ask her," Dean answers, obviously trying to brush off Haley's question. Before Haley can ask me, I decide to speak up.
"Hi Haley, I'm Kat," I say, trying to not to be awkward. "I'm going to speak for your brother and just say that I'm nice." I say. Haley laughs.
"Look Dean! I've only known her for one minute and I already like her better than Jess." Haley says, excitedly, trying to taunt Dean. Dean rolls his eyes. We approach the door to Dean's room, and Haley is still following us. Dean opens the door, and quickly says goodnight to Haley before slamming the door in Haley's face.
"Have fun in there! Don't keep the whole house awake tonight!" Haley laughs and walks away. I blush, even though I know nothing will happen. Dean sighs at his sister.
"Sorry about her. What can you expect from a 13 year old girl, right?" He says.
"You do realize that I was once a 13 year old girl." I say, "and your sister seems really sweet. I don't understand why you warned me of injury when she never touched me once." I laugh.
"Better to be safe then sorry I guess." He says. "It's around 10, do you just wanna get to sleep?" He asks.
"Sure," I say, "but would you mind if I borrowed something of yours to wear for the night? I don't think I can wear this dress to sleep," I say, motioning to the dress that still hung from my body. Dean nods, and searches through his closet for something for me to wear. He finds something, and hands it to me. I blush, and mumble a thanks. He shows me where the bathroom is, and I quickly get changed. I open the door to Dean's room, and I immediately feel uncomfortable wearing his clothes as he looks at me. I avert his gaze as he looks at me, not knowing how to handle this type of situation.
"I can sleep on the floor," I volunteer, not wanting to be a rude guest. He was giving me a place to stay after all.
"No, you'll be on the bed Kathy," Dean says sternly, bringing my nickname back.
"But you're letting me stay over tonight! The least I can do let you sleep in your own bed!" I cry out.
"You are the guest. Therefore, you have to sleep in the bed." Dean says, making it clear he did not want to negotiate.
"How about we share it then?" I ask. He raises his eyebrows, and I immediately regret the words that came out of my mouth.
"If you wanted me to get in your pants, then all you had to do was ask." Dean says with a smirk on his face. I blush yet again.
"No! I'm just trying to negotiate! Is that so wrong?" I say in self defense.
"If that's what you want to believe," he says arrogantly and I clench my fists. He is so arrogant.
"Let's put a pillow in between us so you don't get any ideas Mr. Horny," I say, and hop into his bed. Dean gets into the other end, and rolls his eyes. I place the pillow in between our bodies, and face the opposite way of Dean.
"Goodnight Mr. Horny."
"Goodnight Kathy."
~~~~
I wake up with an arm on my torso. And I like it. A lot. And I probably shouldn't. The pillow we put between us lies on the floor, disregarded and forgotten.
I keep telling myself that I should be mad at him, but after yesterday, and learning what my parents did to me, I am not mad at all.
I hear Jess's warning in my head. I know I shouldn't care about her desperate threats, but a piece of me is worried about what she can do.
I zone back into reality. I pry Dean's arms from my stomach and quickly scribble a note to Dean, thanking him for letting me stay, and that I need to talk to my parents. I am halfway down the steps when I hear a voice behind me.
"You thought I didn't hear you leaving? What do you think I am, deaf?" Dean says and I laugh.
"I didn't want to disturb you. And I really need to go to talk to my mom." I say.
"You have to have breakfast at least before you leave," Dean says. "Your mom isn't going anywhere." I contemplate fighting him, then I realize it's not worth it.
"Why not. What are you making?"
"You mean 'we,' and I thought we could make blueberry pancakes." He tells me. My mouth waters at the thought of them.
So we began. Dean told me jokes while I mixed the batter, and I would laugh so much that I would forget to keep mixing. It took us a while, but we finished making the pancakes, and they tasted heavenly. We ate in awkward silence, watching each other chew our food. Then Dean broke the silence.
"Look, I'm sorry about the car wash and Jess." He said simply. Usually, apologies are long, well thought out speeches. But not for Dean. But this is the best it gets with him, so I either have to take it or leave it. I'm taking it.
"It's fine, I over reacted anyway. I would just appreciate if you wouldn't put me in situations like that again." I say simply.
Dean drove me home a little while later. I didn't want to go home, but I knew I had to. When I opened the door to my house, all hell broke loose.
"Where the hell we're you last night? Another party? Have you not learned from the first party?" My mom says.
"Well good morning to you too Mom. And no I didn't go to a party." I reply.
"Then what did you do last night?" She asks.
"I don't think that's the question right now Mom. The real question is, what have you been doing for the last half of the year?" I snap back.
"What?" She asks. How can she be confused on something she's been hiding.
"Don't come at me for all the things I've done, when you've been doing something much worse." I say and hand her the letter from the Long Term Care Facility. Her face whitens.
"You know," she asks shakily.
"Yes, and I visited Dad yesterday." I say, trying to keep my cool. "Why did you do this? What was the point?"
"I was just trying to protect you," My mother says, repeating the words of my father.
"Dad said the same exact thing yesterday. Yet I still don't understand what you're trying to protect me from. Reality? Because in life, you have to face it." I snap. "Both of you took away so much precious time that we could have spent together with dad. Now Dad has an expiration date and I can't get back that wasted time."
"I just wanted you to be happy!" My mom cries out, tears dripping from her face. I pang of guilt hits me in the stomach, but I ignore it. She should be the guilty one.
"I just can't believe you did this," I say, and a single tear drops down my face. Meg enters the room, not knowing what she just walked into.
"What's going on?" She asks.
"Ask our mother," I say, and walk up the stairs to my room. The tears rush down my face as soon as I close the door.
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