"MOM!"
Silence, and an echo of myself rebounded me as I walked the empty house.
"ANYONE HOME?"
I dropped my backpack and went to our kitchen. Still, there was no one in sight.
I reached for the telephone, and dialed my mom's phone number. The phone rang and rang, until her answering machine came up.
"Hi! You've reached the cell phone of Julie Saunders. I will try to call you back, but you will never guess where I am right now. Bermuda! Steve picked me up from work, and surprised me! Call you later."
I groaned as I hung up the phone. Steve was my mother's latest "boy-toy", an out-of-work actor, half my mother's age. He was a very extravagant spender, and one could wonder where he got all of his money.
"Friday night, and I am all alone, without a parent who cares. What will I do?" I wondered aloud.
I dialed the number of my best friend, Claire.
"Hello?"
"Hi, Claire, it's Kate. What are our plans for tonight? My mom like totally ditched me, and-"
"Kate...I was planning on hanging out with Ryan tonight. You know, that hot new guy?"
"Oh."
"Maybe tomorrow night?"
"Maybe."
"Bye Kate, sorry about your mom, again."
I closed my cell phone. Who would I hang out with now, without my second in command to back me up?
I signed on to my screen name. I surveyed the list of names, who were all either away, or not signed. One name stuck out in particular.
sweetheart456.
Lizzie's screen name, that I did not bother to ever get rid of when I deserted her.
I clicked on it to see her away message, which read:
Out with Gordo and Miranda.
I felt a strange twinge of regret that I always feel when I see those three. It almost feels like I am jealous of them sometimes.
I put an away message on mine, that read:
BORED!!! PLEASE CALL ME!!!
I frowned at the site of my computer, and my away message that made me look desperate. So I revised it to say:
Out and about! If you wanna hang out, call me!
There. That sounded a lot better.
I turned on the TV, and sat on the couch, eating Doritos. Wouldn't everyone be just thrilled to know that their head cheerleader was at home, on a Friday night, doing nothing?
"I am such a loser," I muttered to no one in particular.
A sudden idea popped into my head, and I reached for the phone book.
"Where is that phone book?"
When I was searching through the cabinets, I knocked over a purse that was sitting on the counter. The contents spilled out onto the floor.
It was my cousin Amy's purse, which she had left there about six months ago, and forgotten to retrieve.
I rifled through the contents, and I soon found her ID.
She looks almost just like me, I thought to myself.
I placed the card in my purse, for future needs. I finally found the phone book, and found the number I was looking for.
"Hello?"
"Hi Ethan! This is Kate."
"Kate?" the voice on the other end of the line perked up.
"What are you doing tonight? Do you want to hang out?"
"What?"
"Claire completely flaked on me, and my mom is with some guy in Bermuda, and-"
"So I am your last resort?"
"Well, yeah, but I really want to go out with you. I found my cousin's ID, and I was thinking that we could go clubbing."
"That's not really my thing."
"well, then I guess I will just have to go to the Roxy by myself," I pouted.
"Kate?"
"Yeah?" I replied.
"Be careful."
As the phone clicked off, I found it weird that Ethan did not want to go with me. He usually was the first to agree to do something, if I was going.
I shrugged off my concerns, as I changed into my party clothes, and sped away from my empty house.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
"Cosmopolitan, please."
"I sorry, lady, but we don't make those. If you want one of those 'hoity-toity' drinks, go somewhere else," the bartender grumpily replied.
"I'll have a beer then."
He handed me a bottle, and went back into the back room. I eagerly opened the bottle, and took a swig.
I looked around the club, filled with people dancing with friends. Suddenly I felt very alone, and just needed someone to talk to. I chugged the rest of my beer, and sat down at a random table, with a random guy.
"Hey," I greeted him.
The man looked up, and I caught my first glance at him. He was older, but extremely good-looking.
"Hey. What's your name?"
"Kate," I replied, and smiled seductively. "What's yours?"
"Mike. Do you want something to drink?"
"Sure, Mike."
He walked to the bar, and brought me back another beer.
"Let's talk," he said, as he grinned.
"About what?"
"You and me."
Normally I would have been freaked out by this, but something was differnt about Mike. Or, maybe I had a little too much to drink. I gulped down my second bottle of beer.
"Well, we are both here, and I don't know what else to talk about," I flirted.
Mike smiled again. Seeing his smile made me want to forget about my mom, Claire, Ethan, and everything happening in my life.
"Exactly. We are both here, and that is the problem. Do you wanna come over to my place? It's right down the street."
"What's the matter with right here?"
"Don't you just want to get away, go somewhere private?"
I picked up his drink, and downed it as well. This was an extremely bad call of my judgement, but I was not exactly acting myself.
"Okay."
Suddenly, the world around me started to spin.
"Actually, can I just go home?"
"Why would you want to do that?"
"I don't really fell so well," I said, slurring my speech immensely.
He smiled. Obviously he could tell that I was totally wasted.
"Sure. I'll take you to my home, and you can lie down."
"Okay."
I readily believed Mike, and he led me down the street to his house. He unlocked the door, and led me into the kitchen.
He uncorked a bottle of champagne, and it spewed all over the floor. Mike then opened his cabinets, and pulled out two glasses, and he poured both of us a glass.
"Here's to you and me," he said, raising his glass up, and handing me the other.
I looked at him, but all I could think about was that afternoon.
"...you will never guess where I am right now. Bermuda! Steve picked me up from work, and surprised me! Call you later."
The message of my mom, readily dropping her responsibilities as a mother to go to Bermuda with her boyfriend, was the only thing I could hear.
"Here's to you and me," I slurred back, ready to forget.
I drank the entire glass in one gulp, and Mike poured another one for me.
"Are you ready to relax?" he asked. His voice was so calm and collected, that it made me want to believe everything he said.
"Yes," was my reply, and he led me to the bedroom.
"I want you, Kate," he purred into my ear, and then kissed me.
Of couse, I kissed back, being as drunk as I was.
He then gently tried to lift my shirt off. As I was standing there, with nothing on, I felt extremely selfconscious, and I covered myself up with my arms.
"What's the matter, baby?"
With everything going on in my life, I wanted to trust him. But I could not. As he tried to embrace me into a hug, I pushed him away.
"Please, go away."
This enraged him.
"What are you doing?"
"I don't want to," I muttered, as I cried.
I ran into the adjourning bathroom, and locked the door.
"LET ME IN HERE RIGHT NOW!!!" he yelled through the door.
I found my cell phone in my pocket, and nervously dialed the only number that I could think of.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
As I lied in my bed, not able to go to sleep, I could sense something wrong. Sure, I was just little worried about Kate, and her being home alone...but I did not want to seem on the verge of obsession. Calling or showing up to check up on her would just seem a little on the crazy side.
Suddenly the house phone rang. I did not want to get out of bed, so I just let it ring. I thought that it was my father, and I really did not want to talk with the guy who ditched me this weekend.
After a few rings, the answering machine came on.
"Ethan, please answer the phone. I'm in trouble, and I need your help."
A sobbing Kate was pleading on the machine. I rushed over to the phone and answered it.
"Hello?"
"Ethan, you have to come help me. I was at this bar, and there was this guy, and now I am at his house," she slurred, while sobbing.
"Kate, are you drunk?"
"I had a couple of drinks, two, maybe three, or four..." she trailed off.
"Where are you?"
"Down the street from the Roxy, locked in a bathroom, it's a blue house, ummmm....with a red car...hurry, please!"
"Kate?"
"Yeah, Ethan?"
"I'm coming."
Call me crazy, but there was nothing that could keep me away. There was no way I would let the girl I loved get hurt like that.
But I couldn't do this alone.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
"Kate, honey, baby, I have a key, and I'm coming in..."
I was huddled in the fetal position on the floor, sobbing. Suddenly the door burst open, and it was Mike.
"Come here, sweetie."
I can't really remember what happened in the next few moments, because Mike slipped something over my eyes, and I blacked out.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
I woke up a few moments later, in the bed. I looked at my surroundings, but Mike was nowhere to be found.
KNOCK
"OPEN UP, THIS IS THE POLICE!"
I sat up in my bed, but had a piercing headache. I tried to yell to come on in, but to avail. The noise caused me to throw in the bed. Seeing the sight of me, lying there in that vomit, made me start to cry once again.
The police broke donw the door, and someone ran up the stairs.
Standing in the doorway was Ethan. He ran to my bedside, followed by the police.
"What happened?"
"I don't know, I blacked out, and I woke up, and he was gone."
"Who?" one of the officers asked.
"Mike."
"Kate, are any of your parents in town?"
"My mother is in Bermuda with her boyfriend, and I don't have a father," I said through my tears.
The officers looked at each other.
"Can you remember any of the events from earlier?"
"I went to a club, where I met Mike, and..." I said, as I started to sob again.
Ethan wrapped his arms around me.
"Don't worry. It's gonna be okay."
I smiled at him.
"I should have listened to you, and not him. This is all my fault."
"Kate, we are going to take you to the hospital, where they will check you out, and then you will have to come down to the station with us."
"Can Ethan come with me?"
"I will," Ethan answered for the police.
Silence, and an echo of myself rebounded me as I walked the empty house.
"ANYONE HOME?"
I dropped my backpack and went to our kitchen. Still, there was no one in sight.
I reached for the telephone, and dialed my mom's phone number. The phone rang and rang, until her answering machine came up.
"Hi! You've reached the cell phone of Julie Saunders. I will try to call you back, but you will never guess where I am right now. Bermuda! Steve picked me up from work, and surprised me! Call you later."
I groaned as I hung up the phone. Steve was my mother's latest "boy-toy", an out-of-work actor, half my mother's age. He was a very extravagant spender, and one could wonder where he got all of his money.
"Friday night, and I am all alone, without a parent who cares. What will I do?" I wondered aloud.
I dialed the number of my best friend, Claire.
"Hello?"
"Hi, Claire, it's Kate. What are our plans for tonight? My mom like totally ditched me, and-"
"Kate...I was planning on hanging out with Ryan tonight. You know, that hot new guy?"
"Oh."
"Maybe tomorrow night?"
"Maybe."
"Bye Kate, sorry about your mom, again."
I closed my cell phone. Who would I hang out with now, without my second in command to back me up?
I signed on to my screen name. I surveyed the list of names, who were all either away, or not signed. One name stuck out in particular.
sweetheart456.
Lizzie's screen name, that I did not bother to ever get rid of when I deserted her.
I clicked on it to see her away message, which read:
Out with Gordo and Miranda.
I felt a strange twinge of regret that I always feel when I see those three. It almost feels like I am jealous of them sometimes.
I put an away message on mine, that read:
BORED!!! PLEASE CALL ME!!!
I frowned at the site of my computer, and my away message that made me look desperate. So I revised it to say:
Out and about! If you wanna hang out, call me!
There. That sounded a lot better.
I turned on the TV, and sat on the couch, eating Doritos. Wouldn't everyone be just thrilled to know that their head cheerleader was at home, on a Friday night, doing nothing?
"I am such a loser," I muttered to no one in particular.
A sudden idea popped into my head, and I reached for the phone book.
"Where is that phone book?"
When I was searching through the cabinets, I knocked over a purse that was sitting on the counter. The contents spilled out onto the floor.
It was my cousin Amy's purse, which she had left there about six months ago, and forgotten to retrieve.
I rifled through the contents, and I soon found her ID.
She looks almost just like me, I thought to myself.
I placed the card in my purse, for future needs. I finally found the phone book, and found the number I was looking for.
"Hello?"
"Hi Ethan! This is Kate."
"Kate?" the voice on the other end of the line perked up.
"What are you doing tonight? Do you want to hang out?"
"What?"
"Claire completely flaked on me, and my mom is with some guy in Bermuda, and-"
"So I am your last resort?"
"Well, yeah, but I really want to go out with you. I found my cousin's ID, and I was thinking that we could go clubbing."
"That's not really my thing."
"well, then I guess I will just have to go to the Roxy by myself," I pouted.
"Kate?"
"Yeah?" I replied.
"Be careful."
As the phone clicked off, I found it weird that Ethan did not want to go with me. He usually was the first to agree to do something, if I was going.
I shrugged off my concerns, as I changed into my party clothes, and sped away from my empty house.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
"Cosmopolitan, please."
"I sorry, lady, but we don't make those. If you want one of those 'hoity-toity' drinks, go somewhere else," the bartender grumpily replied.
"I'll have a beer then."
He handed me a bottle, and went back into the back room. I eagerly opened the bottle, and took a swig.
I looked around the club, filled with people dancing with friends. Suddenly I felt very alone, and just needed someone to talk to. I chugged the rest of my beer, and sat down at a random table, with a random guy.
"Hey," I greeted him.
The man looked up, and I caught my first glance at him. He was older, but extremely good-looking.
"Hey. What's your name?"
"Kate," I replied, and smiled seductively. "What's yours?"
"Mike. Do you want something to drink?"
"Sure, Mike."
He walked to the bar, and brought me back another beer.
"Let's talk," he said, as he grinned.
"About what?"
"You and me."
Normally I would have been freaked out by this, but something was differnt about Mike. Or, maybe I had a little too much to drink. I gulped down my second bottle of beer.
"Well, we are both here, and I don't know what else to talk about," I flirted.
Mike smiled again. Seeing his smile made me want to forget about my mom, Claire, Ethan, and everything happening in my life.
"Exactly. We are both here, and that is the problem. Do you wanna come over to my place? It's right down the street."
"What's the matter with right here?"
"Don't you just want to get away, go somewhere private?"
I picked up his drink, and downed it as well. This was an extremely bad call of my judgement, but I was not exactly acting myself.
"Okay."
Suddenly, the world around me started to spin.
"Actually, can I just go home?"
"Why would you want to do that?"
"I don't really fell so well," I said, slurring my speech immensely.
He smiled. Obviously he could tell that I was totally wasted.
"Sure. I'll take you to my home, and you can lie down."
"Okay."
I readily believed Mike, and he led me down the street to his house. He unlocked the door, and led me into the kitchen.
He uncorked a bottle of champagne, and it spewed all over the floor. Mike then opened his cabinets, and pulled out two glasses, and he poured both of us a glass.
"Here's to you and me," he said, raising his glass up, and handing me the other.
I looked at him, but all I could think about was that afternoon.
"...you will never guess where I am right now. Bermuda! Steve picked me up from work, and surprised me! Call you later."
The message of my mom, readily dropping her responsibilities as a mother to go to Bermuda with her boyfriend, was the only thing I could hear.
"Here's to you and me," I slurred back, ready to forget.
I drank the entire glass in one gulp, and Mike poured another one for me.
"Are you ready to relax?" he asked. His voice was so calm and collected, that it made me want to believe everything he said.
"Yes," was my reply, and he led me to the bedroom.
"I want you, Kate," he purred into my ear, and then kissed me.
Of couse, I kissed back, being as drunk as I was.
He then gently tried to lift my shirt off. As I was standing there, with nothing on, I felt extremely selfconscious, and I covered myself up with my arms.
"What's the matter, baby?"
With everything going on in my life, I wanted to trust him. But I could not. As he tried to embrace me into a hug, I pushed him away.
"Please, go away."
This enraged him.
"What are you doing?"
"I don't want to," I muttered, as I cried.
I ran into the adjourning bathroom, and locked the door.
"LET ME IN HERE RIGHT NOW!!!" he yelled through the door.
I found my cell phone in my pocket, and nervously dialed the only number that I could think of.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
As I lied in my bed, not able to go to sleep, I could sense something wrong. Sure, I was just little worried about Kate, and her being home alone...but I did not want to seem on the verge of obsession. Calling or showing up to check up on her would just seem a little on the crazy side.
Suddenly the house phone rang. I did not want to get out of bed, so I just let it ring. I thought that it was my father, and I really did not want to talk with the guy who ditched me this weekend.
After a few rings, the answering machine came on.
"Ethan, please answer the phone. I'm in trouble, and I need your help."
A sobbing Kate was pleading on the machine. I rushed over to the phone and answered it.
"Hello?"
"Ethan, you have to come help me. I was at this bar, and there was this guy, and now I am at his house," she slurred, while sobbing.
"Kate, are you drunk?"
"I had a couple of drinks, two, maybe three, or four..." she trailed off.
"Where are you?"
"Down the street from the Roxy, locked in a bathroom, it's a blue house, ummmm....with a red car...hurry, please!"
"Kate?"
"Yeah, Ethan?"
"I'm coming."
Call me crazy, but there was nothing that could keep me away. There was no way I would let the girl I loved get hurt like that.
But I couldn't do this alone.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
"Kate, honey, baby, I have a key, and I'm coming in..."
I was huddled in the fetal position on the floor, sobbing. Suddenly the door burst open, and it was Mike.
"Come here, sweetie."
I can't really remember what happened in the next few moments, because Mike slipped something over my eyes, and I blacked out.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
I woke up a few moments later, in the bed. I looked at my surroundings, but Mike was nowhere to be found.
KNOCK
"OPEN UP, THIS IS THE POLICE!"
I sat up in my bed, but had a piercing headache. I tried to yell to come on in, but to avail. The noise caused me to throw in the bed. Seeing the sight of me, lying there in that vomit, made me start to cry once again.
The police broke donw the door, and someone ran up the stairs.
Standing in the doorway was Ethan. He ran to my bedside, followed by the police.
"What happened?"
"I don't know, I blacked out, and I woke up, and he was gone."
"Who?" one of the officers asked.
"Mike."
"Kate, are any of your parents in town?"
"My mother is in Bermuda with her boyfriend, and I don't have a father," I said through my tears.
The officers looked at each other.
"Can you remember any of the events from earlier?"
"I went to a club, where I met Mike, and..." I said, as I started to sob again.
Ethan wrapped his arms around me.
"Don't worry. It's gonna be okay."
I smiled at him.
"I should have listened to you, and not him. This is all my fault."
"Kate, we are going to take you to the hospital, where they will check you out, and then you will have to come down to the station with us."
"Can Ethan come with me?"
"I will," Ethan answered for the police.