Right from the beginning, the boys were a unit. Cody was the leader and his word was law even though Daniel was older. Daniel was second-in-command and Dolph was the joker. I was left out a lot because I was the youngest and a girl. When they were young, they thought I had cooties but as they grew, they decided that I just wasn't strong enough to do what they wanted.
When I was 10 years old, Cody decided that the boys were going to sleep on the beach and make a campfire. He was a boy scout that year and knew how to do all that stuff.
I watched them plan all night, jealously. I wanted to tell them not to take all the graham crackers and marshmallows but it was neither my place nor my house.
"Make sure to grab the flashlights Daniel" Cody directed. Daniel nodded quickly and I remember being surprised. Daniel never followed orders before but the truth was that he looked up to Cody although he would deny it to his last breath. It had always been that way. Cody had this aura around him that made people flock to him and listen.
"Don't forget the cards Dolph!" Cody added as he rolled up a sleeping bag. Dolph saluted him sarcastically and danced a jig, which made me giggle.
"Sir yes sir!" he replied before turning to me on the couch, "Cody is bossy like our dad. You don't have to listen to him if you don't want to"
"Can I come too?" I asked hopefully. Normally the boys don't pay any attention to me so the fact that Dolph spoke made a bubble of hope form.
"NO! Guys only! Right Cody?" Daniel jumped in but Cody looked hesitant.
"Sorry Katie… Boys only" he told me and Cody did look sorry for a second but then he went right back to rolling up his sleeping bag. I turned away from them and faced the TV.
"That's alright. I didn't want to go anyway. Who wants to sleep on the sand in the dark?" I muttered while trying to seem strong. It didn't work and my bottom lip trembled.
"Ooh watch out! Katie's going to cry!" Daniel teased before glancing at Dolph and Cody, "When she doesn't get her way, she cries. Our dad ALWAYS falls for it"
"Shut up Daniel!" I shouted but I really was worried I might cry. I didn't want to seem like a crybaby and prove Daniel right!
"Katie's going to cry!" Daniel sang. Then he and Dolph danced in a circle together, chanting.
"Leave her alone" Cody finally said. Daniel stopped dead in his tracks.
"What?" he asked confused.
"You two are so immature. Leave her alone" Cody said, shaking his head. He picked up his gear and headed towards the door. I sank into the couch, arms crossed. I would never be a part of their gang.
On the way out, Dolph turned and smiled at me in such a happy way that I couldn't help but smile back. Over his shoulder Cody called out, "Good night Katie."
And that was it. I was in love.
Later that night, after our first night in the beach house dinner, I headed up to my room to sleep. But that story of when I was ten years old kept bouncing around and I kept tossing and turning. Finally I gave up and crept downstairs in my coral pink bikini.
Ever since I was young, whenever I couldn't sleep I would go for a swim in the pool. I'd swim laps until I got tired so when I went to bed, my muscles would be nice and sore but also relaxed. I loved having a pool. I had known at a very young age that the McMahons had a lot more money than the Jerichos did. It was just one of those common facts. Anytime Stephanie would try to buy me something expensive, my mom would tsk and tell Stephanie no.
Anyway, swimming at night was one of those things that I did alone. But two summers ago, Stephanie found me in the pool around midnight. I thought I would be scolded but she joined me. I'd be underwater or doing my laps and I'd feel her dive in and start to swim on the other side of the pool. We wouldn't really talk, we'd just swim but being around Stephanie was just comforting. It was the only time that summer that I saw Stephanie without her wig.
Back then, because of the chemo, Stephanie wore her wig all the time. No one saw her without it, not even Trish. Stephanie always had the prettiest hair. It was long and silky and light brown. I would always remember sitting with her and my mom and brushing Stephanie's hair whenever the boys left me out. Her wig couldn't even compare even though it was real human hair and the most expensive one out there.
After she was off chemo, her hair grew back but she kept it shoulder-length. It was still pretty but it wasn't the same. Looking at her now, you couldn't even picture it long like mine.
I finally reached the pool and dove in. I swam four laps but on my fifth, I kicked something hard. I came up for air and saw it was Cody's bare leg. He was sitting on the edge of the pool, dangling his feet. I guess he had been watching me the whole time and he was smoking.
I was suddenly aware of how tiny my bikini actually was but I refused to let him think anything was wrong. I climbed out of the water and sat next to him. There was silence for a few minutes, the only sound coming from my feet swishing back and forth in the pool and Cody taking in a drag.
"I'm sorry…." I finally said. Cody glanced over at me with an amused condescending look.
"For what? I'm the one ruining your swim time"
"You know what. I'm sorry for bugging you about Kelly at dinner" I told him quietly.
"Whatever. I'm over her. You didn't bother me. Nothing you do effects me" Cody stated smugly. The look on his face made me want to take my apology back. He was the one person who could make me doubt myself.
"Fine whatever. So what are you doing here?" I asked angrily.
"I couldn't sleep so I went for a walk. Besides I knew you were out here. You always swim at night" he said, shrugging. Cody made it sound like it was no big deal but I knew he only came out here to smoke.
"Since when did you start smoking?" I asked suspiciously. Not only did he apparently know that I swam out here all the time but he had picked up another bad habit during the year.
"I don't know. Earlier this year maybe" Cody stated vaguely. I rolled my eyes.
"You should quit. Smoking is bad for you" I replied before I sank into the water again. The air felt thick with tension.
"Why? What will you give me if I do?" he asked teasingly. I flipped onto my back and started to float gently, staring up at the stars. Dolph had taught me the constellations one night when we were alone. I followed the Big Dipper with my eyes.
"Nothing," I finally said still staring at the night sky, "You should quit for yourself"
"You're right" Cody said and the quiet was broken. He stood up and ground his cigarette out on top of his beer can. "Good night Katie and don't stay out here too late. You never know what kind of monsters come out at night"
Everything felt normal again. I splashed his legs as he left. "You suck" I called out after him.
One summer, when I was five, the boys convinced me that there was a monster on the beach that liked to kill five-year-old girls with brown hair and hazel eyes. I practically never left the house that summer and only at the end of summer did my mom find out what was wrong. That was the one and only time the boys got in trouble for teasing me.
After Cody left, I fell back onto the water again and began to float once more. I could feel my heart pounding in my chest. It was thudding like a metronome. Cody was different. I'd sensed it when we first arrived but now I knew. He had hardened himself from the outside world. Why? I didn't know for sure. The only thing I knew was that he had changed, and yet the way he made me feel was still the same. It was like I was at the top of a roller coaster and I was scared yet excited.
So what do you think of Cody? What's going on with him? Does he even like Kaitlyn as much as she likes him? And finally you know what happened to Stephanie in the past. But is that why the McMahons were acting weird at dinner? After all, this was almost six years ago! REVIEW!
Now I know that some of you were a little confused during the last chapter and that's how it was supposed to be. We're following this story through Kaitlyn's point-of-view and what she knows, you know. Also, a reviewer asked which McMahon boy Kaitlyn would end up with but that's a secret for now! You tell me, which boy do you prefer?