Chapter 9

Chapter 9:

I got home roughly 4 minutes after I talked to the stranger. I do admit, it was really odd that he followed me all the way from the park just to ask me where Willsberry Meadow was. But I decided not to think to much into it, not like I already hadn’t anyways.
When I got home I was welcomed by the face of Lyem and the grumpy face of Caleb who was slumped on the couch. I took off my shoes and jacket and threw my jacket on the couch and kicked my shoes under the shoe rack that was really worn out.
“Hi Lyem and Caleb,” I said as I walked into the kitchen to get some orange juice that I had been craving since I left to go walk with Micah.
“Hi Kitty, its nice seeing you again. Sorry I didn’t get to say goodbye to you this morning.”
I shrugged and grabbed the cold orange juice bottle as I poured it into the glass cup sitting by the edge of the sink. “Its alright,” I reassured him and made my way to the couch and sat down beside Caleb.
“Miss me?” I taunted to Caleb and took a drink of my orange juice. I noticed Lyem was drinking coco that he always drank during this time. He always stuck to a routine, even with food and drinks.
He gave me a sideways glare as he looked over at Lyem, “hey did you know that Katrina was on the verge of having sex with Micah until I came in?”
Lyem choked on his coco and started coughing rapidly. When he finally caught his breath he looked over at me, his face still a little pink from choking. “Well its a good thing I didn’t come in to say goodbye.” He joked back. I was surprised, I never knew that Lyem would go on with a joke Caleb started.
“Oh my God Caleb, can you just drop it? We were sleeping when you rudely entered my room. We both still had our pants on.”
Lyem sat his coco down on the side table and covered his ears. He still had a bit of immaturity that I never got to see. “I don’t want to hear about this.” He joked.
I rolled my eyes and took another drink of my orange juice. “I need to get myself some friends that are actually girls.” I mumbled.
“Hey, I’m not your friend, I’m your brother.” I was surprised he could hear me even though I was talking so low. There were a lot of things I didn’t know about my brothers, apparently. “Oh, and I’m sure you’d like my fiance.”
I went wide eyed, “you finally asked her to marry you?”
He smiled brightly, “yes.”
I was so happy for him, mostly because he never did know how to love someone until Saria came into his life. All his previous girlfriends either used him for his body or money.

But from what Lyem told me, Saria was different. She saw the good in people. She didn’t really care what was on the outside, to her only what was on the inside counted. I only talked to her once on the phone, and her personality was cheerful but filled with wisdom.

“When will I get to meet her?” I asked.
“Well she has exams all week. She finally went to college and shes studying to become a nurse. But I’m sure she’ll be down next weekend.”
I nodded and then looked over at the TV clock and saw that it was 7:32PM. I wondered when Landon was going to get here. I never really learned how to have patience. “So...when is Landon gonna get here?” I asked sweetly.
“I don’t know. Dad called me about an hour ago saying that he was still waiting for him at the airport. He also said that Riley was going to be with him.” I could tell by the way he said that, that he didn’t like her very much.
“Do you think shes pretty?” Caleb said, looking up from the television and looking at me- to Lyem- and back at me again.
Lyem chuckled a little bit and ran his hand through his hair. Something he did when he was nervous or didn’t know what to say. “Could be. Landon does sure know how to pick ‘em.”
Caleb snorted and said, “Yeah, he really does.”
I didn’t enjoy meeting new people all that much. To me, friendships rely on truth and honesty. I don’t like telling people what goes on in my life other than the people that are in my life now.
Thinking about that topic, I couldn’t help but think of Mike. I knew that he didn’t like showing a lot of class, but the way he dumped me wasn’t like him.
In a way, I kind of missed him. He was the first boy I’ve kissed, and certainly not going to be my last.
“Kitty? Earth to Kitty.” Lyem said, waving his hand in my face.
I jumped a bit, focusing my eyes back onto the things in front of me. “Oh, sorry. What were you saying?”
“I was just talking to Caleb about if we should make supper or not. I’m not sure if they were stopping to pick up something for all of us, or if they already ate.”
I rested my hand on my stomach, realizing that all I had today was a bowl full of cereal. As if on cue, my stomach growled loudly. “I know Landon doesn’t like eating as soon as he gets off the plane. Same with car rides. But maybe Riley is different.” I shrugged. “I’m kind of hungry.”
“Hold on, I’ll be right back. I’ll just call Dad.” He got up without any effort and walked towards the phone that was sitting on the charger.
I never noticed this, but Lyem was a pretty athletic guy. His arms were really muscular and the plaid shirt he was wearing showed how slim his figure was. When we were little, he would always help Dad out with whatever he needed. He did it mostly so I didn’t have to do anything, and because he always was helpful. But there was something about the way he walked over to the phone, it looked like he had a bit of a limp.
As far as I could remember, Lyem was currently unemployed. Unless he fell or tripped over something, or maybe it was just a sprain.

I quit worrying about Lyem, knowing that something small like a sore ankle would heal quickly, and turned my attention to Cale who was skimming through the channels on the guide menu once again.

He finally found a channel, it was something on TLC that I never really watched before.
“Do you think you could tell me what happened between you and Mike?” He said out of the blue, even though he was clearly focused on the television.
He finally looked away from the TV and put his focus back on me. For some odd reason, I missed Caleb. We hadn’t hung out, just the two of us, in weeks. I guess that's what happened when you grow older, you start drifting away from the ones that were once close.
“I’ll tell you, but you have to promise not to get mad at me.” I told him softly.
“I promise.” The way he said it was so...comforting. Like I knew I could trust him with anything, even this. Even though Mike was a mutual friend, and everyone knew that the person who got cheated on got the mutual friends, Caleb trusted me.
“Micah came over this morning because I told him to. I totally forgot I made plans with him after Mike and I made plans. When he came over, there was just something about him that made me want him-” when I said that, Caleb shifted uncomfortably. I knew that deep down, he might have small feelings for Micah. “-and then he kissed me. I didn’t know what was going on at first. But then I kissed him back, and then Mike walked in. I felt completely horrible, but he didn’t give me a chance to explain.”
“I don’t think you could have explained what he saw. Mike is adamant, you of all people should know that. But, please, continue.”
I sighed and looked down at my hands, tracing the lines on my palm with my index finger of my other hand. “Then he hit me.” I reached up and ran my finger along my cheek, just below my eyes. It was still swollen and sore, but from a distance you could’ve mistaken it for lack of sleep. “With no questions asked, Micah pushed Mike outside of the apartment and started hitting him. If Micah punched him, Mike punched back. It went on for several minutes. Me and a couple of neighbors were trying to stop them. Eventually Micah got off of Mike. After spitting and wiping the blood off  his face, Mike ended it with me. He told me he was through with me, then left.”
“But when I came home, you seemed to be getting pretty friendly with Micah. After breaking up with Mike, you sleep with Micah? Kat, that really doesn’t sound like you.” He told me honestly. That's one thing I loved about Caleb, he always said what was on his mind.
“Micah was comforting me. And on the contrary, we didn’t sleep together. We were just kissing. And when you came in, we were asleep.” I retorted. “I know, I know.” I said, shaking my head. “I know what you must think of me. And I know that you might not like me very much for it, but I can’t change what I did. And I don’t think I want to.”
“I don’t think of you as anything but perfect.” Caleb said, and it instantly brought tears to my eyes. He smiled a bit, and then moved closer to me. “You’re my best friend, Katrina Talia Evans. Some days, I don’t even know what I would do without you. Thinking about the thought burns a whole through my chest. Sure, I may not agree with some things you do, but that doesn’t mean I think of you as a horrible person. You have no idea how important you are to me, and nothing is going to change that.”
I wiped the tears with the end of my sleeve and wrapped my arms around Caleb. I may not really like cheesy things, but right then, I didn’t care. The words that came out of Caleb’s mouth couldn’t of came at a better time. “I love you.” I told him sincerely.
After what seemed like hours, but was only minutes, we both pulled out of the hug. I looked over at the TV where we were watching people bake cupcakes in time for a wedding, or something.
Lyem came out and sat the phone back on its charger with a smile on his face. I could tell something good happened while talking with Dad. “What?” I told him anxiously.
“Saria is coming down with them.” He said, but I could tell that he was holding back tons of excitement.
“I thought she couldn’t make it? I thought she had exams all week.” Caleb said before I got the chance to say it.
“I thought so too. But it turns out that there has been a change of plans.” He turned from Caleb to me and said, “Turns out that you two will be meeting my fiance sooner than I thought.”
“I can’t wait.” Caleb and I said it at the same time, in perfect harmony.
“So what did Dad say about the food thing?” I asked Lyem.
“He said that they already picked up Chinese food and they should be here really soon.” I could tell that he was just as excited as I was. Caleb just looked nervous.
“Then I guess I should put on something more appropriate than this.” I said looking down at my dark V-neck shirt and skin tight pants.
I got up and hurried to my bedroom, and within seconds, I was rummaging around for something suitable to wear.
“So I see the whole family will be arriving shortly,” said a familiar voice behind me. I spun around, heart beating massively and was face to face with my mother- Marsala.
“Gosh! You scared the crap out of me,” I clutched my favorite black and white striped woolly dress in my hand. “Marsala, you shouldn’t be here. Everyone will be here soon..” I said in a low whisper.
“I know, I know. I just wanted to see how my baby was. I over heard the conversation with you and Caleb earlier when you were talking about what happened between you and Mike.” She walked over to me and put her cold, strong arms around me. If she wasn’t a vampire, maybe it would’ve felt comforting...maybe even safe. But it just felt cold, with no compassion hidden in the depths of it.
“I’m fine now.” I told her honestly. Because I was fine, because none of it mattered anymore.
“I’ll turn around so you can get changed,” she was already turned around, looking at the farthest wall from me. She must of been intrigued by the pictures on my wall, because that's all that was really there.
I slipped out of my uncomfortable pants and shirt and put on my black and white striped dress. It came down to a couple inches below my thighs, and it was really pretty. I got on white socks and black shorts just in case. “I’m done,” I said while tugging at the bottom of the dress.
“You look beautiful, like always,” she said with a promising smile.
“Thanks.”
“Before I leave, I wanted to tell you something.” She looked at me, her eyes cold and hard like she was here on a business matter.
I sat down on the edge of the bed, making my hair so it fitted my satisfaction then watched her as she sat down on the chair in the corner of my room.
“Do you know that your boyfriend is a werewolf?” Out of all the things I expected her to say, saying this wasn’t even on my list.

My eyes turned into rounded O’s. It took me a couple of seconds to let what she just told me, sink in. “W-w-what?” I stuttered.

Micah? A werewolf? I could have laughed, I should have. But there was something about the way Marsala said that, something serious and honest. Something I shouldn’t be laughing about.
Before Marsala got a chance to say anything else, there was a forceful knock on my bedroom door.

I jumped up so quickly that I almost stumbled back because of how dizzy I got. I walked to the door and opened it, slightly ajar. “Yeah?”

“They just pulled up.” Lyem told me. I got a glimpse of the small smile on his face.
“Alright, I’ll be out in a minute.” I closed the door and turned around, but she was gone.
“Why do you always do that?” I said under my breath. I couldn’t believe that she left at a time like that. I couldn’t believe she said that at a time like this.
But instead of fretting about it, I opened my door and walked out into the chilly living room that wasn’t as cold as when I left for my room.
There was a sudden knock at the front door, and once again, I jumped.

Caleb got up faster than I’ve ever seen him get up,  and ran to the door before Lyem got the chance to. He opened it and was automatically greeted by Dad.

When Dad walked in, I could see that he looked even more tired than usual. There was a tall, young man standing behind him, and it was obviously Landon.
He had dark hair that was spiked up, giving him an intimidating look. He was no doubt taller than Dad. He wore all black, making his skin paler than needed. A girl was standing beside him with her arm looped through his.
She had the longest red hair that I have ever seen. It was messy because of the wind, but it looked nice. She had green eyes like a cats that were staring right back at me. There was something about the way that she was looking at me that I didn’t like all that much. It was like she was glaring.
I could hear someone calling Lyem’s name behind Dad and Landon, then I saw that it was Saria who was jogging into Lyem’s arms.

I automatically felt really happy for him.

She had blonde hair that was up in a high pony tail. She had sharp cheek bones that were pink because of the chilly weather outside, but they were really beautiful. Saria was that kind of person who could lighten up a whole room, and I felt that instantly.

When Lyem and Saria finally pulled apart, she was already looking at me. Her eyes were a pale gray that were really different.
“So this is the famous Katrina, huh?” Saria said, walking over to me with her arms spread open for a hug, and a smile on her face.

She gave me a big, but still gentle and I liked her already. “Nice to finally meet ya!” She gave me one last squeeze and let me go. “Lyem talks constantly about you.”

“Nice to meet you too,” I said shyly. Saria headed back to Lyem as they started kissing and hugging.
I looked around for Caleb to only see that he was already engaging on a conversation with my Dad. Landon and Riley were standing awkwardly, looking at each other but not really talking.
From this view, Landon looked tired and a bit emaciated, maybe even intimidating. But that didn’t stop me from walking over there to greet him.
“Are you going to introduce me to your girlfriend?” I said, looking at Landon, then at Riley who looked at me sharply as if I spooked her.
“Yeah,” he said and sighed, taking off his coat. “Riley, this is my little sister Katrina.” It sounded a bit like he was mocking me, but I chose to elide that. He looked over at me and then back at Riley. “And Katrina, this is obviously Riley.”
“Hi.” I said with a welcoming voice, and with a smile.
“Hey,” she said and popped a bubble. I didn’t realize she was chewing gum until now.
I stood there awkwardly, not knowing what to say. But looking at Landon, I knew exactly what I had to say. “I’ve missed you.”
He shifted uncomfortably as he bent down to take off his shoes. When he came back up, he smiled. “I’ve missed you too.” But didn’t say anything after that.
“So, who’s hungry?” Dad said in a loud voice.
“I am,” Lyem said and then Saria nodded.
“Sure, why not.” Landon grumbled and Riley followed him into the kitchen.
Caleb and I walked to the kitchen and looked at the table that only had 7 chairs. I was surprised that our small table could fit all of us.
Lyem and Sara took sat on the end of the table and Landon and Riley took a seat on the opposite end. I realized that Lyem and Landon hadn’t said one word to each other- well from what I could tell, anyways.
I went to sit in the middle, but Saria patted the seat next to her. “Sit by me, girlie, I wanna get to know ya a little better.” I couldn’t help but notice a hint of a Southern accent in her voice.
I went over and sat beside Saria with a smile. Caleb sat beside Dad and started dishing out food from the containers.
As the food got passed around, everyone filled up their plates, including me.
“So how’s school goin’?” Yep. Defiantly a Southern accent.
“Pretty well. Lyem told me that you were in college and that you had exams all week. How has that been?” I never was really good at making conversation. But around Saria, I guess there wasn’t a need to be nervous.
“School is important, I wish I remembered that when I was young. And its goin’ well I just can’t wait until its finally over. Studyin’ takes up a lot of time.” She said and then started eating some of the ginger beef on her plate.
Landon and Riley were eating silently on the opposite side. They looked like they didn’t even want to be here. He had 2 beers in front of him, as did Riley.
“You’ve been awfully quiet.” Dad said to Landon.
“Yep.” He took a drink of his beer and went back to eating.
Everyone started eating in silence That was until Lyem and Saria started talking. Whenever he made a joke, Saria would giggle adorably.

Riley and Landon murmured in the corner and Caleb and Dad were talking about cars.

I was just in the middle, listening to it all.

When we all finished eating, everyone was still talking. I finished the last sip of the pepsi that was in my cup.
“Katrina?” Saria said, looking at me with a smile on her face. Her teeth almost looked like they were glowing with white brightness.
“Yeah?” I said, wiping my mouth and setting down the cup onto the white and pink, cheesy, floral table spread.
“Lyem and I have been thinkin’. Would you be my maid of honor?” She said with promising confidence.
A smile spread across my face instantly. Tears started to form in my eyes. What a beautiful request, I thought to myself. Someone who I barely knew, wanting me to be their maid of honor? But she was Lyem’s girlfriend. She probably knew me already by the stories Lyem has told her.
I nodded rapidly, stopping after about 7 seconds. “I’d love to. Its an honor! But wouldn’t you like one of your friends to be the Maid of Honor.” I said, saying the letters for what it stood for.
“It would mean so much to Lyem and I. I wouldn’t want anyone else to be my maid of honor. Lyem already asked my brother if he wanted to be his best man. Plus, it’ll give us great bondin’ time. We can go dress shopping for your dress tomorrow if you’d like. The weddin’ is coming up soon.”
I was probably blushing like an idiot, but it didn’t matter. “I’d really love to. And tomorrow sounds fine, I’d love to spend some time with you. Thanks.”
Suddenly I realized that everyone was silent, and were starring at us. Dad was smiling, he was probably surprised by Saria’s request just as much as I was. Caleb was toying with the leftover noodles that was on his plate, completely oblivious to what was happening around him.
Landon looked like he was trying to hide a smile, and Riley was chugging back the rest of the beer in her bottle like it was going to be stolen from her.
“Anytime darlin’, you’re the only person I want for the job.” Saria had an angelic voice, a voice that you would never get annoyed with.
And all I could do was smile.

Reviews

[PrincessZeldaWannabe]

Love Saria and Riley sounds mysterious!

[rae52]

really really great

[P.M. Lenski]

i love saria, shes so incredibly nice and you know how much i lovoelovelovelovelovelove southern accents