Exposing Kitty Langley (10 page)

“Kitty!” I called, running after
her. I made it to the parking lot just as her car went speeding off.

I pulled up to her house and spotted
her car in the driveway. As I was making my way to the front door, I heard a
commotion coming from her backyard. I bounded around the house to see Kitty
angrily throwing rocks at the old barn in the farthest part of her yard. Just
then one rock went sailing and busted out one of the windows. As she picked up
another rock, I ran to her, grabbing her into my arms and holding her tight. At
first she tried to struggle, yelling at me to let her go. Slowly she began to
lose steam until she crumbled in my arms, crying, too tired to hold herself up
anymore. I sat in the dirt with her in my lap, cradling her to my chest and
stroking her hair.

“Everything is gonna be okay,
Kitty.”

“I’m so tired, Reed. I’m trying to
be strong, but I just can’t take it anymore. I just can’t.” She cried heavily,
slumping against me in total defeat.

I lifted her in my arms and carried
her into her house and up the stairs to what I assumed was her room. With my
urging, she went into her bathroom to clean up and put on some fresh clothes.
When she emerged, she didn’t resist when I pulled her into my arms and held her,
stroking her back until she fell asleep.

Reed

It was hard leaving her alone,
sleeping peacefully in her bed, knowing she was in pain, but I knew her parents
could be home at any time. I didn’t want to have to explain what I was doing in
her room and what had happened at school. I didn’t know how much Kitty had told
them about what was happening to her. I definitely didn’t want to say anything
I shouldn’t. I snuck out of her room, shutting the door quietly behind me.

Once I was in my car, I sent a text
to Haley letting her know that everything was okay and then sent one to Levi.
Charity called me within two minutes. I filled her in on the latest events, and
we set a time to meet; Saturday at one at Happy’s Ice Cream Parlor. I was
suddenly so glad that tomorrow was Saturday. A new feeling began to surface.
This would all be behind us real soon.

I picked Kitty up at twelve,
purposefully planning to get there early. I wanted to spend more time with her,
and this seemed like a good excuse. She was beautiful as she exited her home,
her newly short hair tucked behind both ears, exposing more of her flawless
face. She looked tired though. Had she not slept well after I left her sleeping?

I hopped out and went around to open
the door for her. She smiled, touching her hand to my arm. “Thanks, Reed.”

My heart rate kicked in a bit at the
unexpected contact, not to mention the amazing green eyes peering into mine.
“You’re welcome, Kitty.” I looked around to see her parents peeping out of the
living room window. I smiled and waved. They sheepishly waved back—busted. I
got in the car and pulled cautiously out of the driveway, making sure to drive
decrepitly slow for their benefit before punching the pedal and picking up the
pace.

“So, it looks like she’s not here
yet,” Kitty said, sliding into a booth.

“Oh well, we’re a little early. I
thought we could talk. You know, get to know each other better.”

“Oh, okay. That sounds good.” She
started fiddling with the cup containing the sugars, rearranging them by color.
Hmm.

“Would you like an ice cream cone?”
I suddenly wondered what her favorite flavor was. I was guessing chocolate.

“Um, sure. Chocolate please.”

Yessss!

Minutes later, I was sliding back
into the booth with 2 chocolate cones. “Here you go,” I said, handing her one.
“So, tell me something I don’t know about you.”

She took a big lick and smiled.
“It’s good.”

I started laughing. “You have
chocolate on your nose.” Before she could react, I reached over and wiped it
off with my napkin.

“Oh, thanks.”

“No problem. Now, something about
you?” I took a giant bite of my cone, waiting.

“Oh, yeah. Hmm, well I like to shop.
My favorite subject in school is Math. My favorite food is anything Italian.
I’m an only child. I love pottery. I collect crystal frogs, all shapes and
sizes, and I was born very premature and only weighed three and a half pounds.
I had to stay in the hospital for four weeks. My mom says that’s probably why
I’m so petite, not that all preemies are. Oh, and I’m addicted to grape
Kool-Aid.” She finished, taking a bite of her cone and then licking the sides,
catching the drops threatening to spill over. I was awestruck. I think my mouth
was actually hanging open.

She giggled. “Reed, are you okay?”

I snapped out of it. “Oh yeah, I’m
fine. I’m just surprised. Grape Kool-Aid, huh? Funny, I pictured you as a
strawberry girl.” Did she buy my cover? Or did she know I was in total awe of
her?

“You’re silly, ya know that?”

I smiled. “So I’ve been told. Can I
ask you something?”

“Um, sure.”

“Did your parents really name you
Kitty?”

She laughed. “Uh, no. My real name
is Summer Katherine ‘cause I was born in the heat of the summer, but my parents
have called me Kitty ever since I was very little.”

“Summer Langley. I like it.”

She smiled, taking another lick. “Okay,
now it’s your turn to tell me about you.” She was staring into my eyes as she
purposely took small licks. I couldn’t take my eyes off her as her tongue
trailed around her cone. Did she realize she was driving me crazy?

“Oh, uh, well.” I cleared my throat.
“I moved here from Georgia because my dad got transferred here. I have three
sisters, two older, one younger. Only my younger sister lives with us. The
other two are away at college. My mom is a gourmet chef, but is currently a
stay-at-home mom. We have a dog named Sushi and a cat named Psycho, because she
really is.” Kitty was laughing. I loved to hear her laugh, although it wasn’t
something I heard very often. “Music is what I love the most, especially guitar
and song writing, and if I have an addiction it would have to be Sundrop.” 

Her smile grew wider, and I could’ve
been mistaken but I think she was in awe of me too. Without thinking I reached
out and took her hand in mine. She didn’t pull away but gazed up into my eyes.
Her eyes held mine, and I was sure I looked like a total idiot, probably even
drooling a little.

The bell to the parlor door chimed
and we both looked over in unison to see a beautiful girl, not much older than
us, glide in. This had to be Charity. She was followed by two guys. The first
one was tall, and even I could admit he was very handsome, and he didn’t take
his eyes off her—must be Levi. The second man was the biggest, scariest bald
man I’d ever seen. He had to be at least seven feet tall. He actually had to
duck as he entered. I knew this Charity was a woman you didn’t want to mess
with.

She smiled wide as she spotted us. As
she approached, I noticed something else about this Charity—she was more than a
little pregnant.

“You must be Reed?” she asked coming
to a stop beside our booth. I crawled out and extended my hand in greeting.
“Yes, and you must be Charity?”

“Oh stop,” she said, wrapping her
arms around my neck and giving a little squeeze. I hugged her back carefully,
slightly wary of the eyes on us. But then the guy, Levi I presumed, smiled and
reached his hand out to me in a friendly gesture, and I shook it.

“I’m Levi, Charity’s husband.” He
shook Kitty’s hand too, after Charity had finished hugging her, which, by the
look on Kitty’s face, shocked her. After the introductions were complete, Levi
and Charity took seats across the table from us. Of course we had to move the
table out a little because of Charity’s protruding belly. The big guy, Hector
was his name, brought Charity a butter pecan ice cream cone. I liked these
people instantly. And I think the feeling was mutual.

“So, Kitty,” Charity began, “Reed
tells me you’ve been having some trouble with Bunnie and the other B’s. I’m
sorry about the drink incident and the scissors, but your hair looks great. I
bet that pissed Bunnie off, huh?” She and Kitty both laughed as Kitty nodded
her head up and down. “Well, at least you had that. I’d give anything to have seen
her face when she discovered her plan backfired. You know I threw tea in her
face last year during a food fight in the cafeteria. Of course she got me in
the back with a plate of food first. Stinking B with a capital B.” Her face
scrunched up in annoyance and we all laughed. I could tell this girl was a
hoot. I watched Levi as she spoke. He was mesmerized by her. You could see and
feel the love radiating from the two of them. I was suddenly wondering if that
was what I looked like when I was watching Kitty. He glanced at me then,
catching me off guard, and smiled and all-knowing smile. This guy was awesome.
I never really had any idols in my life, but if I had one it would be this guy.
He personified the word ‘cool’, and yet he seemed to be totally unaware of it.

I wasn’t here last year when they
attended school, but Haley had told me the stories. She said that Charity was
considered the most beautiful girl in school but had a rough exterior. Levi was
a transfer student from our rival school, East Windrake High. Before him, no
one had transferred from there to our school in years, if ever. Supposedly, he
was so charismatic that everyone liked him instantly, all of them except
Charity. They say she really hated him at first, but soon they fell in love and
after Graduation they married. Some said it was because she was pregnant, but
others said the timing didn’t support that theory. Looking at them sitting
across from us, it was clear to me that they married because they adored each
other beyond reason. I admired that.

Charity ate her cone as if she were
in heaven and we all watched, mesmerized as she finished every bite. It must’ve
been the pregnancy. She then pulled out some kind of lip balm from her jeans
pocket and applied a generous coating to her lovely, full lips. Not that I was
looking at her lips or anything. Although anyone could see that this girl was
breathtaking, and yet I could sense that tough exterior I was told about.

They proceeded in telling us all
about the babies she was carrying and that they were due in early April. They
told us all about their experiences with Bunnie and the B’s and offered to help
in any way they could. All we had to do was call them. They said their friend
Jordan would also be nearby if we needed his help in any way. Just hearing that
we weren’t in this alone was helpful. Charity’s advice to Kitty was simple;
stand up to her and never let her see your fear. And never back down no matter
what. Kitty was inspired by her words and the two seemed to form an instant
bond. It was nice seeing her having a good time and smiling so much. It
appeared that she had made a new friend. We both had.

Kitty

I felt so much better after meeting
with Charity and Levi Drake. We hit it off and became quick friends. She said
she didn’t text, which I found odd, but we exchanged cell phone numbers. She
said I could call her any time I needed to talk. Her advice on dealing with
Bunnie was helpful. Whether or not I could do what she said was still
debatable, but when the time came I would do my best to be brave.

The best part of the day was the
time I spent with Reed. After we left Happy’s, he took me to Tate’s Grill for a
late lunch. I ate a cheeseburger and Reed had a club sandwich. We both had a
Sundrop and shared an order of fries. They didn’t have grape Kool-Aid, but Reed
checked anyway. We talked for an hour about our futures. He had just been
accepted to Lee University and would be leaving before summer’s end. I was
still waiting to see where I had been accepted but told him I too had applied
to Lee. He was thrilled at the possibility, and I have to admit that the idea
of going to the same college made me anxious, but in a good way. The truth is,
I felt myself becoming more and more attached to Reed, which made me happy and
concerned at the same time. There was definitely an attraction there, but it
was more than that. I felt comfortable with him and more importantly, I felt
safe, something I took for granted before this nightmare began.

I wondered if he felt the same, but
then I glanced over at him, and he was studying me with great interest. I felt
goose bumps form on my arms. Yes, he definitely felt the same, if not more so.
I smiled as I took a long sip from my soda. He continued to stare intently, watching
me as I slurped up the last of the soda from my cup. He wanted to ask me something.
That fact was obvious, but every time he opened his mouth, he hesitated.

“Okay, what is it, Reed?”

He thought for a minute, looking down
at his drink as he ran his thumb along the damp cup. “Well, I was wondering if
you might consider dating me for real?”

“Um, I think this would be
considered a real date, don’t you?”

“You know what I mean. We had to
meet with the Drakes, and this doesn’t count. I want us to be—you know—a couple
for real.”