Chapter 3
Another Fight/Why Me?
Kit stretched out on the beach and sighed. Nita sat nearby, starting on another novel, this one by E.L. Konigsburg, The View from Saturday. All was peaceful and calm...until Kit's cell phone rang. It all went downhill from there.
"H'llo?"
"Hey Kit. It's Lauren."
"Hey."
"We still going through on that date?"
Kit's gaze flickered over to Nita, who was suddenly very attentive to the conversation, her eyes first disbelieving, then angry.
"Uh...no. Something came up..."
"You're seeing that Callahan girl, aren't you?"
"No..."
"Yes you are, I can tell. Fine. If you want to get together again, just call me. You have my number."
She hung up, and Kit slowly shut the phone off.
"Kit."
Nita's voice was flat and menacing. Kit winced and held his hands up.
"Nita, I can explain..."
She was on her feet, clearly hurt and furious.
"So all this time, you were seeing that Amy girl, pretending you loved me, just for one kiss? That's pretty cheap, Kit."
"Nita, that's not..."
She slapped him across the face. Hard. "Shut up, Kit. I'm sick of hearing this crap from you..."
"How the heck you think I felt when you went out with Ronan, ignored me for a month, and told me to kill our partnership?"
Nita saw red. "SHUT UP!" she screamed.
Fuming, she jabbed a finger in Kit's chest to emphasize each word. "I-am-sick-of-this!" she snarled, giving the last jab all the power she could muster, sending Kit reeling backward.
Starting to cry with frustration, Nita punched him in the shoulder, sending him reeling again.
He stumbled and started to protest. "Nita, I...."
She took a breath, tears shimmering in her eyes, glared at him, and said with deadly calm, "Go to hell, Kit."
Kit was instantly surprised. He stared, slack-jawed, at Nita, until she slugged him again in the same shoulder, catching him off guard and knocking him down.
He was back on his feet in an instant, skillfully dodging Nita's next punch, and dropped a transit circle. He stepped on it, and Nita's fists struck air this time. She collapsed where she stood, crying with frustration and pain, her tears leaving wet dots on the sand where they sank in.
Kit nursed his bruised shoulder and swollen spots where Nita's nails had dug in when she slapped him. Tears began to trickle down his face as he thought in silent anguish, Why me? Why do I make these decisions? Why? Now I've got two girls mad at me, no wizarding partner, no date, and a wonderful bruise on my shoulder. Damn...can life go any further down????