You Don't Know Me
Summary: You said that you knew what was best for me, for you, for us. You claimed that you knew me, but how can you know something that you've never looked at, never seen? How can you know what's best for someone that you don't know? Spot fic, R&R, flames appreciated!
Chapter 1: Chased, But Never Followed
Rain poured down onto the sturdy rooftop that Granddaddy had built for him and his wealthy family. My younger brother Daniel cried soundlessly into his favorite fluffy pillow as the blinding bolts of pure white lightning flashed and the loud bursts of the rolling thunder drowned out the screams of my father. I crept passed Daniel's room to watch the argument below me, planning to sit on the middle steps of the main staircase. Daddy was blowing up, just like a volcano. Each eruption, filled to the brim with accusation, was aimed directly at my older sister, Kaitlyn, who franticly hunted for a route that would lead her away from the curses that crammed the room. I watched as she tripped over her own two feet and fell into a nearby armchair, the one that was beautifully decorated with stitches of red roses and their deep green stems against a black background. My heart sank as their sharp thorns tore into her soul and ripped at every hope and dream that her and her lumber-yard-working finance had built in secret for so long. The blazing fire inside of her was one that everyone loved so much, and in the blink of an eye, it was extinguished by our social-standings absorbed parents. Endless streams of tears flowed down her face, forging a thin river of black mascara. Mother had been sitting in one of the chairs across the room from her weeping daughter, resting her head on her hand while she digested what had happened, what was happening. Daddy never stopped, though. He looked at Mother, just to check her emotions, then back at Kaitlyn.
"Look! Look at what you've done to your mother! What has she done to deserve this from you?" he said, his hands aggressively emphasizing his every pause, every emotion, every word. Finally, he sat down in the chair opposite of Mother, took her hands in his, and, for once in his life, he began to comfort her. Stroking her hands and offering her kind words in hushed tones.
"I don't care, Papa!" Kaitlyn cried out, tears and heartache breaking her words. Daddy looked up at her, anger flooding his dark green eyes. "You don't know what I want from life! Even if you did, you and your precious money could never give it to me!" We all knew how much Daddy loved the large sum of money that he had, the money the solved all of his problems and paid for all of his nightly trips to women's apartments. To him, saying that his money couldn't solve a problem was like saying that the grass was never really green. He hated it when one of his children insulted it, so when that happened, he'd strike us down, one way or another.
Mother's hands were released from Daddy's hold as he stood heatedly and stepped towards Kaitlyn. I could see her eyes as clear as a blue sky on a warm, sunny, summer morning. Her tears were slowing, soon to stop, and the strong fire was coming back, more powerful than ever. All it needed was for Daddy to respond, and Kaitlyn knew it.
"Young lady, that money is what gave you the well-developed education that you have. As for what you want, if your own father can't give it to you, who can? That trash...What's his name, Linda?...Light Switch? What could he poss-"
"His name's Lightning!" Kaitlyn declared, the fire burning in her eyes. She snapped up out of the chair as the brightest lightning flashed and the deepest thunder rumbled, rattling the windows. "And don't say it with that tone, Papa, you know it's just a nick- name. And yes, he can give me want I want. I never did like being richer than God. That's why I said ye-"
"That is enough, Kaitlyn Sandra Dawson!" Daddy was burning with hatred, towards Kaitlyn or Lightning, I couldn't tell. "Now, we expected this sort of thing to come from Brian, but all you're doing is throwing your life away. Mr. Hathoway has offered us free meals at his restaurant if you will marry his son by December." Daddy always tired to make us do what he wanted by showing us that he always had a 'better plan' up his sleeve. It usually worked with Daniel and me, and sometimes even with our oldest sibling, Brian, but never with Kaitlyn. She was always too independent for those little mind tricks.
"What! Papa, I don't care if Mr. Hathoway offered you the world! His son is a self-absorbed ass! No, no, no, no...I can't take this..." She began to break down. Her hands were on the sides of her head, massaging her temples, in an effort to realize what to do. Daddy had been taken aback by Kaitlyn's comments, but that only lasted for mere moments. He started in on her again, this time pounding harder on her love for Lightning.
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I was the only family member that had been introduced to Lightning, probably because I was the only one that Kaitlyn knew she could trust to keep quite. The two of them had been together for almost a year and a half by then, and that was about six months ago. I was fourteen, they were seventeen. Meeting Lightning was one of the best things to ever happen to me.
"Now, Butterfly," That was Kaitlyn's nick- name for me, I never did know why, but I loved her too much to care, "You're about to meet someone very special to me. His name is Lightning, and he's been my boyfriend for quiet some time now. Please, be nice to him, but, more importantly, be yourself. And don't worry, you'll love him!" I remember how he swept me off my feet, literally. He snuck up behind me right after Kaitlyn had finished, and he scooped me up in his arms. The moment I saw his face, I was sucked into another world, and the only connection to this one was Kaitlyn's laughter in the background.
"Hi. I'm Lightnin', an' I hope dat youse is Samantha Dawson, or I'm gonna feel real stupid any minute now." He said every word with an ear- to- ear grin on his face. A genuine smile, one that reflected the look on Kaitlyn's glowing face. I had never seen a smile as true as his, let alone on my sister, the butt of all of my father's 'worthless people' jokes. After Lightning put me down, I looked back and forth between the two teenagers on either side of me, whose gazes were locked together. From then on, I knew that they were meant to be, and that my sister was happy.
Lightning lived with a bunch of other Manhattan boys in a lodging house. During that winter, he would climb up the vines next to our bedroom window and slip into our room when it was too cold in the lodging house. He would respectfully share Kaitlyn's bed, and usually he'd be there before she was ready to go to sleep. My job was to go down and let her know that he was there without letting Daddy catch on. I didn't tell a soul about Kaitlyn's relationship with Lightning, at least, not until she told me that it was alright and she was engaged to him. I waited upstairs while she hurried into the study to tell Mother the news, who didn't say a word. Mother simply grabbed Kaitlyn by her left wrist and dragged her into the living room, where Daddy was reclining by the fire.
That's when all of this started.
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Kaitlyn's eyes began to pack with tears again, this time hot tears, hot from the fire still burning strong in her heart. She turned for the main corridor and rushed to the doorway.
"Wait right there, young lady! Where do you think you're going? It's almost eleven o'clock at night!" Daddy called after her, walking towards her as if she were insane. Mother followed him closely, as always, seeking protection from any objects that may fly.
"Away from here! I don't have to sit here and listen to you affront the love of my life! I hate you, you pathetic !" When she'd finished, she marched towards the door, opened it and stopped. "I'm so sorry, Butterfly…" With that, she solemnly walked out the door, and once on the sidewalk, she darted off. I had just barely heard her say that last line. She knew that I was watching, and she was sorry to leave me here with the weight of the world thrown upon my shoulders like that. When I was little, she promised me that when she left, she'd take me with her. We both knew that if she had called out to me, I would never have gotten away, not to mention the load of trouble I'd be in for eaves-dropping. But I didn't care anymore. My father may have been a self- centered tramp, but he had no right to treat Kaitlyn the way he did, especially since she was all that held our family together. I was sick of obeying his every word for fear of his awesome wrath.
So, I stood up.
"How could you!" My mind and heart was filled with superfluous amounts of anger and pure hatred for the man who stood before me. His face grew bright red as he realized that I'd been there, seen what he'd done, but his appearance would never be able to match what I was feeling. No one could stop me now.
"Young lady, what are you doing! You are supposed to be in bed! Go upstairs." He began his threatening stride towards me.
"NO!" I refused. There wasn't a chance in hell that I would abide by him now. The tone of my voice shocked him, but I kept going. "Why did you chase Kaitlyn away? Why?"
"She wasn't chased, she left on her own-"
"No, Daddy. She was chased, but you didn't follow her." I jumped down the remainder of the stairs and took off out the already ajar door and off into the night. My destination was generally in a fog, but I knew I had to find Kaitlyn.