Chapter Twelve



They walked out of the woods and were met by Jules, Scott and Sophie. Sophie looked concerned, Scott a little angry-at her? she wondered- and Jules had a blank expression. "Oh gosh, KRistin, you CAN'T run off like that, you'll give us a heart attack!" SOphie said, hugging her tightly. "I know I'm sorry. I'm sorry to you, to, Jules." Kristin said, and she was, she just hoped Jules realized that. "It's okay." Jules said softly. Kristin looked at Scott. He was looking at her angrily.

Peter noticed this when Kristin looked down at her feet. "Um, kristin, go to my office I'll be in there to talk to you in a few minutes." Peter said. "Okay." She muttered and walked off, her hands in her pocket.

"Hey Jules, why don't we go check on the other Cliffhangers?" Sophie asked Jules as she saw Peter wanted to talk to Scott. "Okay." Jules said and they left.

"What was that about?" Peter asked him. "What?" Scott asked. "That Look you gave Kristin." "Nothing." "Scott..." "I didn't know she was cutting herself, plus she hit Jules." "So don't be mad at her, try to help her." Scott thought about that. He smiled. "Yeah okay, Peter." He said. "Good. Now go do something." Peter said and started walking towards his office.

Kristin was fumbling with her hands as Peter walked in. "Haylo Peter," She said without turning around. "Hey, kiddo." He said and sat in the chair at his desk. "What do you want?" She grumbled. Peter was surprised but hid it-she never talked like that to him. Every kid has to be a brat sometimes, right? he told himself. "You know what we have to talk about." "Nope. Sorry. That number is unavailble. Please try again later. Me and the operator are busy." SHe said in a mechanic tone. "The operator and I, Kristin." "What? THe operator is not with you. It's with me!" She said. He shook his head. Note to self: Never fix her grammer.

"Well I don't care if the number is unavailible. You're gonna talk or be on shuns. In the den for 2 hours-no talking to anyone." He said sternly. She shrugged. He grew impatient. "Kristin." "You're gonna give me up, so it don't matter." "Doesn't." Whoops! he thought. "I'm NOT going to give you up, Kristin. Again, you're not a puppy." "That's not what some people think!" She retorted. "I don't care what your father and brother think." "He's not my father. He's an asshole. You're mydad." She said. "I know...Do you want to tell me why you were cutting yourself?" He asked softly.

"I wasn't cutting myself." She protested. "Okay..hurtign yourself. Better?" "No. It doesn't hurt." She lied. "Give the object to me, Kristin. And I'm NOT playing." He said.

"And if I dont?" She shot back. He was again taken back, but didn't show it. "You'll be in the den for the rest of the day, and tomorrow and not allowed to talk to anybody." He said. Kristin thought about it. She reached into her pocket and pulled out the umbrella part. "Here." She muttered. She had 2 more parts and a small knife, so it didn't matter.

"Please Kristin, I'm doing this for you, okay? I don't want you to hurt yourself." Peter told her and she got up and walked out.