Pick-me-up (8 page)

Brianna rolled her eyes, stuffed an Oreo into
her mouth and walked toward the living room. “I’m telling,” she
managed to mumble through her chocolate mess.

“Aren’t you always,” Katelyn replied, but
refused to be bothered. Instead, she grabbed the end of Kayla’s
nose and gave it a little tug. Kayla giggled and smiled a smile
that would burst off the little face if it weren’t held down by the
same dimples Katelyn knew so well.

By 10:30 p.m., Katelyn had the kitchen clean,
Jacob and Kayla bathed, gave Jacob his last bottle, and had both
tucked into their respective beds. The kitchen was relatively
clean; the dishes were done and she straightened up all the papers
and junk laying around. She even made a plate for her mom with the
leftover Mac & Cheese and peaches she’d made for dinner; it
rested neatly on the main shelf in the refrigerator covered with
plastic and with a post-it note simply reading “Mom.” Brianna
ignored the cleaning spree by disappearing into her room.

Katelyn took the garbage outside to the bin.
Chevy barked and rattled the chain link fence behind her. Katelyn
grabbed a scoop of dog food from the shed and dumped it over the
fence into his bowl. The headlights of her mom’s car pulled forward
into the drive. She withdrew her hand before it was also eaten and
latched the shed door.

Her shoulders tensed as she watched her mom
park the car. Katelyn’s good mood suddenly vanished. She went back
into the house.

Inside, she retrieved a fresh garbage sack
from under the sink and shaped it into the kitchen garbage can. Her
mom came in behind her, and Katelyn heard the keys drop on the
microwave. She imagined her mom surveying the kitchen.

“Kids asleep?” Her mom asked.

Katelyn put the lid on the garbage can and
walked away. She went into the living room and picked up the last
of the toys, including the dolls she and Kayla had played house
with earlier, and threw them into the overflowing toy bin by the
wall.

Her mom walked farther into the kitchen and
lit a cigarette. Katelyn could then hear the shuffling of paper and
the opening of mail.

Katelyn picked up her back pack off the floor
and headed for her room. She had just reached the hallway when her
mom called to her.

“Katelyn.” It was almost a plea.

Katelyn turned around slowly and with a
straight face looked at her mother. Katelyn noticed the drooping
shoulders and sagging jaw. A momentary twinge of compassion filled
Katelyn, but she didn’t let her face warm.

Her mom shifted and, more with her eyes than
words, asked, “Did your dad call?”

Katelyn’s compassion turned into bitterness.
Her mom wasn’t even thinking about the hell she’d agreed to in her
pact with Gorman. She didn’t even notice the housework, the lack of
screaming kids. And, now she wanted Katelyn to be part of her
drama? Hell no, she thought.

Katelyn cocked her head and narrowed her eyes
at her mother. “As soon as I get my phone back, mom, I’ll sure
check.” She went to her room and quickly shut the door. A little
part of her glowed with satisfaction. If her mom wasn’t going to
think about her, then she wasn’t going to worry either.

For the first time since she’d come home, she
was in her room. Katelyn fought to keep it hers when Kayla and
Jacob moved into the house. She was not giving up the only place in
the house that she could be alone. The room definitely needed some
style. It didn’t have much space left after fitting in her bed,
dresser, night table, and desk and chair. She considered
rearranging the room. Maybe once her mom stopped being a bitch she
could be talked into buying some curtains instead of the cheap mini
blinds.

Katelyn was still wired. She looked at her
book bag and sighed at the thought of homework. She threw her back
pack on the unmade bed, but then picked it up and dropped in on the
floor while she fixed the sheets and straightened the comforter. A
new comforter would help the room out a lot. She could even buy it
herself if she could get some money. She made a mental note to
start searching for jobs tomorrow. Not many places hired
15-year-olds, but there were two fast food places in town that
would. Mom will let me out of my grounding for work, she
thought.

She took out the two worksheets Gorman
assigned for her to complete. She shuddered to look at them, but
she grabbed a pen off the clutter on her desk and hit play on her
CD player--and stopped before she even made it back to the bed. The
song playing was one Tim had played for her on his MP3 player. She
didn’t own the CD. She had only downloaded it onto her player. She
double checked the stereo and confirmed it was the CD playing. She
stood over it looking absolutely puzzled.

“It’s about time.”

Katelyn jumped in fright and clutched her
arms to her chest. She sucked in a great gulp of air, but was
unable to breathe as she watched the closet door push the rest of
the way open.

She nearly exploded in relief when she saw it
was Tim that was emerging from her closet.

“Oh my God,” she was finally able to say,
combined with shocked laughter. “Oh my God,” she said in a shouted
whisper. She looked to her bedroom door and quickly went to lock
it. She turned back around to see Tim throw himself casually on her
bed.

“We seem to spend a lot of time in the
bedroom,” he said slyly. “And I usually like to get to know a gal
first.”

Katelyn was still in shock at his presence,
but jumped down beside him and punched him playfully in the chest.
“You scared the shit out of me!”

Tim blocked her light hits with his arms.

“How did you get in here?” Katelyn asked in
absolute awe. "How do you know where I live?"

Tim grabbed her wrists to end her
half-hearted punches and with little effort was quickly over her,
lightly pinning her hands on either side of her head. Katelyn found
herself momentarily breathless again. “I’ve come to rescue my
lady,” he joked. He kept his green eyes intently on her blue eyes.
Katelyn willed herself to return his look, to answer the intensity
in them. “It sounds like you’ve had a rough day,” he continued
softly. “I thought I’d kiss it and make it better.”

He lowered his lips onto hers, his eyes
closing in the process. Katelyn closed hers and let her other
senses take over. His kiss was light and lingering, enough to warm
her whole body, which was already quite warm with his body
stretched out over hers. They’d never been this close. She could
feel the length of him extend over her and the strength in the
muscles of the one leg thrown over one of hers.

His lips pulled away and she opened her eyes
to find him looking at her. She searched them now, looking into
them for the assurance words could not provide, but what this
moment was offering as truth. Both Katelyn and Tim stayed silent,
and then Katelyn felt his hands spread out along her wrists and
gently smooth out her own palm, aligning his fingers along hers. He
put the slightest pressure on her fingertips, the smallest
caress.

She answered back by weaving her fingers into
his and lifting her head up to kiss his lips. She shut down the
doubts about whether she was reacting correctly and just obeyed her
body. She wanted his kiss again, but stronger than before. Her
breathing became urgent. He let her take a kiss and followed her
exhale with a stronger kiss. She gripped his hands, and together
they explored the different feelings of each kiss.

He drew his mouth to her cheek and kissed
gently. She inhaled as if for the first time and then relaxed into
his new attention, gentle touches down the side of her chin until
he reached her neck. There he began to trace gently with his
tongue. Katelyn felt a sensation stronger than any she’d ever had
before. It was beastly and sexually charged. It scared her and she
turned her head into him, forcing him to stop.

He pulled back slowly, coming out of his own
passion, somewhat reluctantly. “What’s wrong?” he asked after a
moment.

Katelyn felt awkward suddenly. She didn’t
know exactly what to say, what words that would make him understand
that she loved these feelings but didn’t trust them. She wasn’t
familiar with this new power. She had never felt so willing before.
It was easy to just kiss other guys and never let it go any
further. Now, there was an unspoken urge to know more, but fear
came with it.

She didn’t have to say anything.

Tim gently pulled off her and sat up on the
bed. He held his hands out to her, and she gave him hers. He pulled
her up into a sitting position facing him and then he leaned in and
kissed her gently again. Then, he pulled her into an embrace, her
head turning to rest on his shoulder. “It’s okay,” he whispered
into her hair, the warmth of his breath causing a small longing. “I
didn’t come here to maul you. We’ve got a date.”

Katelyn pulled back with a question clearly
outlined in her expression. “What?”

At this he sprung from the bed and positioned
himself next to the window where he extended his arm out in great
dramatics. “Behind curtain number one, a glorious evening awaits
you.” He pulled the cord to lift the blinds, and Katelyn saw his
mode of entrance, a window now missing a screen. He smiled slyly at
her. “Thank God you fed that beast out there; I didn’t think I’d
win that fight.”

Katelyn laughed as she imagined Chevy
snapping off portions of Tim’s jeans, maybe even getting one of the
coveted shoes the dog loved to rip to shreds.

“Shall we?” he asked although it was more of
a cue than a question; he fully expected her to go.

Katelyn hesitantly looked to the locked door
and then back to him. She was thrilled by the unexpected and didn’t
want him to go without her. “Yeah,” she said, and then smiled
beyond control. “Yeah.” She grabbed a jacket off the back of the
desk chair and took his extended hand.

“Ladies first,” he said.

Katelyn poked her head out the window and
looked down. Kayla’s tricycle was propped up next to the house just
under the window. She brought her head back in, and Tim was holding
her desk chair. She moved, and he put it under the window. She
stepped up and his hands held hers firmly as she put first one leg
through and then the other. He helped her as she guided herself
back, bracing herself on the windowsill. “Got it,” she registered
as her toes finally located the tricycle below.

Chevy gave out a lone bark as he woke from
his position by the opposite side of the yard and trotted over.
Chevy quickly recognized her, and she pet him while Tim came out
and warily stood next to her. Chevy sniffed him over, more than
once in the crotch. Katelyn held on to his collar just in case the
inspection turned sour. But then the dog’s stub of a tail began to
wag, its fierce jaws breaking open into a harmless pant. “See, even
my dog finds you all the man he ever wanted.”

Tim gave her a champion smile and then took
her hand, leading her the rest of the short distance to the side of
the yard. They snuck out the fence and headed down the dark
street.

Chapter 11: The
Date

Katelyn giggled nervously as they ran down the street and then
slowed to a walk around the corner. Sneaking out would award her
another level of punishment if she were to get caught. But, Tim
held her hand and led the way. Because of her excitement, she was
able to keep up with his quick stride. Normal height people didn’t
understand that shorter people had to walk faster to keep up with
them, but, at the moment, she wasn’t about to complain.

Tim led her into backyards and across open
fields as they neared the edge of town. It didn’t take long.
Northrup only had 7,000 people. Katelyn wondered where Tim was
taking her and asked. He just smiled and said, “It wouldn’t be a
surprise if I told you.” He waited a moment and added, “Not much
farther.”

They were coming to the highway that ran
through town. The cops made a fortune in speeding fines here.
Commuters coasted into the outskirts after speeding through the
miles of cornfield-lined roads, never suspecting the beehive of
cops here.

Tim stopped short and pressed Katelyn back
behind the bushes they were about to clear before crossing the
sidewalk. A Northrup Police cruiser made its way slowly down the
road. She was violating the eleven o’clock curfew.

Once the squad car was out of sight, they
made their way across the street and ran down the walk which
connected with a short recreational trail through a prairie.
Katelyn knew it well; one of her friends from seventh grade used to
live on the other side of the prairie. She used to ride her bike
through the trail almost daily during the summer to see her. The
girl barely talked to her anymore now. Katelyn felt a small tug of
sadness and her step slowed momentarily. Tim noticed.

“What’s up?”

“Nothing,” she replied.

“Don’t be like that. Don’t be like everyone
else.” He dropped her hand and jumped out in front of her, walking
backward in pace with her slow steps. She could make out most of
his features in the light of the moon. As usual, his attention was
fully tuned to her. “Everyone’s so private and scared to talk to
other people.”

“Well, sometimes there’s a reason, maybe.”
Katelyn searched for the words she needed. Tim still stayed in
front of her, his lanky walk awkward in reverse, but still keeping
pace with Katelyn. He stayed quiet, but from what she could make
from his expression, he expected her to say more. She continued,
“Okay, like, sometimes a person can talk to someone, thinking that
there’s no harm, but later wish they hadn’t.”

“What does it matter?”

“A lot. It matters a lot. I mean, when you
talk to someone, you trust them in a way.” Katelyn added,
“Sometimes they don’t deserve that trust. So why not be a little
scared to talk to someone?”