Big Brother, Baby Sister
By: Riley
Summary – Listening to his parents fight, Kendall realizes the extent of his love for his baby sister and how much he wants to protect her from getting hurt. Pre-series.
They're at it again. Screaming until their lungs burn, raw. Screaming so loud, trying to one-up each other, maybe they thought that the louder they yelled, the bigger the point they made. Maybe the louder they yelled, it would prove that they were the one that was right and the other was wrong. Kendall wasn't sure; he had never really heard them yell like that before. Not since the hockey championship. Lying in his bed he pictured it all over again, the pressure, the screaming, the cheering, sweat sliding down his face in rivulets. His rosy cheeks and nose illustrated how hard he was working if his aching muscles didn't attest for it.
His heart.
His heart was bound to beat right out of his chest. Nausea passed through his small body, appearing larger under his hockey gear. The pressure felt like bricks on his back. Each cheer of his name, another brick was laid down. Each call of encouragement, another slab of cement keeping it in its place. It pulled him down, heavy, so heavy. That heaviness was in his feet, difficult to lift as he skated towards the goal for the last penalty shot. His hockey stick was held tightly in his hands, he could feel against his palms, as if he wasn't wearing the thick gloves. Kendall lifted his head, holding it high, as though his helmet wasn't there.
Despite how hard he tried to keep the pressure off of him, to imagine that he was just skating around the frozen over pond with his friends, he still let it get to him. And he missed the shot, lost the game, lost his father's respect, if only for a little while. A hockey star for a father and a hockey player son. How could he have missed that shot?
He wondered if they were fighting about him and the game.
That moment was scary, but this was scarier to him but he didn't know why. Usually, their fighting didn't bother him. He had seen James's parents fight; it was what they did every now and then. But now they were arguing, insulting each other. How could they love each other…and get married if they were going to talk like that?
"Kendall?"
Kendall lifted his head, abandoning the idea of going to sleep and looked over at his sister. She cried softly as she padded over to his bed, her bare feet hitting the floor. Kendall leaned over and, wrapping an arm around her waist, lifted her up into his bed. Katie clutched tightly to the blanket around her, it was the only shield of protection she had against the hateful words that were spilling down the hallway. Kendall wrapped his arms around her, bundling her up like a newborn baby, holding her close against him.
"Why are mommy and daddy fighting?" She managed to say between her tears.
"They're just upset," Kendall said, trying to sound upbeat. "It's ok. Things'll be better in the morning." He brushed the salt, crystal tears off of his sister's face. Kendall pressed his face into his pillow, close to hers, wanting to comfort her with his presence. "You'll see. They'll go back to smiling and laughing with each other."
"But they're scaring me!"
Kendall pulled the covers up over her. He wouldn't admit that they were scaring him, too. Not when he had to be strong and brave for her. Instead, he smoothed her hair off of her face and started to sing quietly. "You are my sunshine….my only sunshine. You make me happy….when skies are gray. You never know dear…how much I love you. Please don't take my sunshine away." He reached out and tweaked Katie's nose, she collapsed in a fit of giggles, her cries subsiding.
The two lay there, listening as their parents voices crescendo and subside though out the night. A stillness settled over the house, Kendall could feel it. It was different from the silence that fell when everyone fell asleep. This was so final…so suffocating….something was different. Kendall gazed at Katie, sleeping soundly next to him. The next day, she would be preoccupied with her playing; her carefree innocence…Kendall would understand that things were going to change for them.
He didn't care as long as he could continue to protect his sister like this; he never wanted her to hurt like that again.
You are my sunshine, my only sunshine. You make me happy when skies are grey. You'll never know dear, how much I love you. Please don't take my sunshine away.
A/N: I haven't written a Kendall/Katie one-shot for a while so it's not my best, but I hope you guys like this one.
THE END