Chapter Eight

Hey, everyone! This one's a bit sad and I'm afraid there's more sadness to follow. I hope that you still love Audrey and Katie and they're not too annoying or sad. Please please please review! I will love you forever!

On Saturday evening, Audrey Lyman happily examined her appendix contained in a glass jar as she rode home in her parents' car. It was kind of cool that she actually had to have an internal organ removed from her body. The tiny scar on her abdomen was like a badge of courage that she would surely show off when she returned to school. Her doctor told the Lymans to keep her home from school on Monday to give her more than enough recovery time.

Donna looked over at her daughter in the passenger seat who seemed to be entranced by her appendix.

"Audrey, would you please put that away?"

Audrey looked at her mother curiously but still held the jar up.

"Why, does the sight of an internal organ bother you?"

"Yes, it does."

"But I'm your CHILD, mom. This piece of me came partially from YOU. It's half yours!"

"The sheer ugliness of it tells me that organ came from your father."

Audrey chuckled a little as she continued to stare at the appendix.

"So, I don't have to go to school on Monday, right?"

Donna sighed. "Yes, sweetheart, but you really need to try to work ahead if you're at all up to it. You know how much work you get and if you get behind, it'll be so hard to catch up."

The New School had a rigorous academic program, so Audrey was lucky that her recovery had taken place over the weekend. Josh and Donna were still worried about her getting behind, so when she was feeling perky on Sunday, they had her start her homework. Katie would get her make-up work the next day so she could get started Monday night.

On Monday, Donna came home at noon to check on Audrey. She walked in the door to the sound of laughter. As Donna neared the living room, she found Audrey watching Jerry Springer, a show that they were forbidden to watch.

"Audrey Elizabeth Lyman!" Donna scolded her, causing her daughter to snap her head around in surprise.

"Mom!" She quickly changed the channel, "I didn't know you were coming home for lunch."

"I can see that." Donna leaned over the couch and nodded towards the TV.

Audrey smiled a little. "I couldn't resist. It was about love triangles."

"Well, besides having your mind corrupted by Mr. Springer and who knows what else, how is your day going?"

"Okay." Audrey sprayed a generous amount of Easy Cheese onto a Ritz Cracker as she spoke. She definitely looked relaxed, dressed in active pants and a tank top, sprawled out with her blanket on the sofa. "Pretty boring, I mean besides Springer of course."

"I can see you're eating healthy also." Donna snatched away the Easy Cheese from her daughter's hand, which elicited a moan from Audrey.

"The hole in my body where my appendix was wanted it. It said, 'feed me Easy Cheese.'"

Donna walked over to the kitchen and retrieved a banana for her recovering daughter instead.

"Really? Did it also tell you to watch trashy shows?"

"Yep." Audrey smiled as her mother handed her a banana. "Just a day of solace before the storm, mom."

"Aren't you just great with words today?" Donna teased her. "I must write that down."

"I'll be here all day."

Later on at school that day, Katie was trying her hardest to pay attention during science class. Photosynthesis was hard to concentrate on when her sister was at home trying to recover from an appendectomy. Ms. Lewis for once ended her lecture early and the class was given a little free time to work on homework or chat with friends quietly. Most of the class chose to chat, but Katie preferred to get started on her homework. Unlike some of her classmates, she had always loved school. Katie was engrossing herself in her work when some voices just behind her caused her to look up.

"Oh my God, I don't see one, Alicia. Do you?" She heard Amanda Gregory ask her best friend. Amanda had gotten up from her seat on the other side of the room and was sitting by her friend's desk directly behind Katie.

"No. I don't think she owns one."

"Why is she wearing that? She can't even fill it out?"

Katie felt her face turning bright red, her heart dropped, and her hand froze in place as she held a pencil in her hand. Were they talking about what she thought they were talking about?

"Hey, Katie!" Alicia called her.

Katie was terrified and she felt barely able to move, but she turned in her chair to look at the two girls behind her.

"Why don't you wear a bra?" She said, and they both started giggling. All the people around them were talking quietly and most likely didn't hear what Alicia just said, but Katie felt like she was in a spotlight on stage in front of thousands of people. Did she really just say that? If she had been smart and witty like her sister, she would have come up with the perfect comeback and shut them up, but she was empty and speechless as she turned back around in her seat without saying anything. Katie stared down at the paper on her desk and looked at the words. All the letters seemed to be jumbled up; they may have well been a foreign language. She tried to read and focus on her work, but every ounce of her attention was spent straining to hear what Alicia and Amanda were saying behind her. Katie didn't want to hear it, but somehow she felt tied to the situation. Why were they doing this?

Katie looked up at her teacher who was working on some papers at her desk, oblivious to the situation. How could she not know what was going on? Katie thought all teachers could sniff out situations like this. This kind of thing happened in the locker room, not in an actual classroom. Shouldn't she know?

"Do it! Do it!" Katie heard Amanda whisper in between giggles. Seconds later, Katie felt a pencil being run down the back of her tank top and the two girls erupted in laughter. Katie felt tears burning in the back of her eyes. She wanted to cry and to get up and run out the room, but then maybe that would call attention to what they were doing. Everyone would ask what had happened, and surely everyone would find out. Katie's throat hurt from trying not to cry and she continued to pretend this wasn't going on, staring down at her homework, pencil perched.

Amanda and Alicia's laughter seemed to pierce Katie's self-worth with every cold-hearted chuckle that came from behind her. Katie looked up again at Ms. Lewis, who continued to be oblivious to the situation. All she had to do was get up and tell Ms. Lewis what was happening and it would be over. They'd be in major trouble. Katie told herself to get up and tell the teacher, but something froze her in her seat. Escape was a mere feet away but she couldn't do it. Her gaze moved to the left to Audrey's empty seat. If Audrey were here, this never would have gone on. Even though Audrey could be self-centered and non-caring a lot of the time nowadays, she would sense what was going on and would have put a stop to it. Amanda and Alicia weren't as popular as her sister, so they'd be scared off. Had they waited for this day when Audrey was gone to do this? So they knew she couldn't come to defend her? They never would've done this to Audrey or one of the more popular girls because they were too powerful. Katie was just an easy target. They knew she wouldn't do anything back; that was her reputation. Quiet and vulnerable in an age of cattiness and meanness, Katie had become a victim this day. She'd never felt so personally violated.

The encounter had only happened within the timeframe of a couple minutes, but to Katie it seemed like hours. When she finally heard the bell ring, Katie had never felt so much relief in her life to be out of a situation.

"Bye, braless." Alicia muttered as they walked past her and out the door.

Her mother had always taught her that if she didn't have anything nice to say, not to say anything. Provided, that usually applied to situation when she and her sister were bickering, she told herself this in that moment. She couldn't think of anything to say anyway, but just in case she did, Katie thought she should remind herself. Katie knew Amanda from being in a political family. Her father was in the House of Representatives for Texas and she only lived here during the schoolyear. They knew each other from different events but had never taken to one another. Perhaps because Katie now knew that Amanda was evil.

As Katie passed Ms. Lewis's desk, she thought about telling her what had just happened, but she just wanted it to be over. Katie knew that if she started telling her about what happened, she'd probably break down in tears and embarrass herself. Other kids would probably see her crying from the hallway. She didn't want to talk about it with anyone right now. Maybe never. It was too humiliating.

Katie quickly got her things from her locker. Thank God it was the end of the day. She wouldn't have been able to concentrate on anything. As she put her last book away in her backpack, Katie finally shed a tear, but quickly wiped it away before more could follow.

Donna could instantly tell something was wrong with her daughter as she pulled up into the loading zone of the school that afternoon. Even though Katie never stood confidently, she looked defeated and distressed. Katie got in the car apathetically, tossing her backpack into the backseat.

"Hi, sweetheart." Katie heard her mother say in that soothing voice she'd come to trust and love. Donna reached over and touched her daughter's arm, knowing that something was horribly wrong. "Katie, what's wrong?"

The concern in her mother's voice pushed her over the edge and she put her hand over her eyes and started sobbing. All the hurt and disgust was now letting herself out now that she was in a safe place. She was furious. Furious at Amanda and Alicia and furious at herself for not doing anything.

Donna looked behind her and saw a long line of cars behind her waiting to pick up students. She knew she had to get away from the school before doing anything.

"Hold on, honey, I'm just gonna get out of the traffic." Donna said as she checked her mirrors and pulled out. "I'll pull over at that parking lot."

"No!" Katie managed. "I just wanna go home. Take me home!"

Donna didn't say a word to Katie as they drove down the street. Donna knew from experience that Katie wouldn't say anything about what was bothering her until she got home. There was no use prying it out; it was just Katie's way. She instead dialed her work number and got Sam.

"Sam? This is Donna. Listen, I'm not going to be able to make it back into work this afternoon. A couple of things have come up. Yes, family related. Okay, thanks, Sam. Bye." Donna ended the call and tossed her phone back down to the console.

By the time they'd reached home, Katie was breathing in and out heavily, still calming herself. She immediately got out of the car without saying a word, quickly opening the door and headed straight to her room. Donna followed her straight in and closed the door. She watched as her daughter flung herself down on her bed, burying her face in her pillow and the crying started again. Not quite knowing what to do, Donna quietly sat on her bed and rubbed circles on her back.

"Take your time and calm down, sweetheart."

Unlike with her other daughter, Katie was cut and dry about her emotions. Donna and Josh could tell that when Katie was upset, it was important and not something trivial like with Audrey. Though she wasn't as verbal and eager to talk about her problems, she did in her own time; Katie just couldn't be rushed. Finally, she sat up and ruffled her hair back in place, her face damp and red.

"In science class…two girls were being really mean to me today. In an awful way."

Donna had seen the girls through countless friend and school drama throughout the years, but she could tell this was something different. Something in her eyes told Donna that she'd really been hurt, right down to her core.

"How were they awful?"

"They were talking about me. About how I look." Katie didn't want to just come out and say it. It was just too disgusting. Would her mom think she was dumb for being so upset? Would she be mad that she hadn't told the teacher.

"About how you look?" Donna confirmed.

"Yeah. About….about my chest."

Donna was floored and disgusted at the thought of some jerk girls making her daughter feel like this. Middle school had been long ago for Donna and she had forgotten how rough and mean preteen girls could be. Donna saw her daughter as a beautiful girl and wouldn't change anything about her, though she knew Katie thought very differently. Katie's apprehensiveness and self-consciousness about her appearance had escalated in the past year. All her life she'd compared herself to Audrey and her sister now definitely looked more grown up at this point in their lives. Donna, as a girl who'd been through the same phase and turned out just fine, also knew that in a few years this would all go away, but that didn't make it any easier.

Katie watched her mother's face change from a soft, comforting figure to disgust. For a minute she thought the disgust was at her.

"What did they say?"

"They were making mean comments about me having to wear a bra and they ran a pencil up my back." The memory sent Katie back into tears. Donna edged herself closer to her daughter and took her in her arms. She was already having such trouble with herself. Why did these two spoiled, self-righteous brats have to come along and make it worse? It wasn't fair.

Donna finally pulled back after a minute or so and grabbed a tissue from Katie's nightstand and handed it to her.

"Did the teacher not hear anything or notice?"

"The whole class was talking and I sit near the back. No one noticed." Katie almost wanted someone to notice so they'd stop it, but also didn't want anyone to because she was so embarrassed. She'd already replayed the incident in her head dozens of times, sometimes with her coming up with the perfect comeback on the spot, sometimes with the teacher noticing and sending them to the principal's office, sometimes with a classmate stepping in, but mostly just the way it happened.

"Oh, Katie, I'm so sorry." Donna told her daughter with tears in her eyes.

"Who the fuck was it?" Demanded the familiar voice of Katie's twin sister, Audrey, from the doorway. "I'll kick their asses tomorrow."

Audrey walked into the room and stopped in front of Katie's bed, crossing her arms and looking undeniably pissed and vengeful. Only she was allowed to make fun of Katie.

"Audrey, don't." Donna warned her daughter. She was just like Josh, wanting to get to the root of the problem and to fix it. Katie was rubbing her eyes with the heels of her hand again.

"No! Who the hell do they think they are? Who was it, Katie?"

"Amanda and Alicia in science class."

"They're a bunch of whores! Don't even listen to them, Katie. They're trash."

Though Katie appreciated the fact that Audrey was coming to her rescue, it didn't make her feel any better that she was unpopular enough for 'trash' to make fun of her. Was she really that easy a target?

"Audrey, it's okay. You don't have to defend me."

"And what? Go back to class tomorrow like nothing ever happened?" This idea seemed unreal to Audrey. If someone messed with her, they'd get it dished right back. Why didn't Katie see it this way? "I will put them back in their places tomorrow morning, eight a.m."

Josh walked in the front door after a hard Monday to hear angry sounding voices coming from Katie's room. What had they done now? As he listened closer, he could tell it wasn't Donna yelling at one of them, it was Audrey yelling at someone. Not too out of the ordinary. Josh put his workbag down and then knocked on Katie's open door. Six eyes turned to look at him and none of them looked too welcoming.

"What's going on?"

No one spoke for a moment, and then Donna got up from Katie's bed after contemplating the move for a second or so.

"I'll be right back, Katie, okay?" She said as she reached her husband in the doorway. Donna dreaded telling him about it. He'd be just as pissed as Audrey and it would break his heart once again – how many times this week had it been?

Donna shut the bedroom door and started walking Josh over to the kitchen bar.

"What's going on? Is Katie okay?"

Donna took in a sharp breath and turned around to face her husband.

"Katie had a pretty awful day at school." She started. "And I think she'd be mortified to tell you, even though you're really close."

Katie had always been more drawn to Josh throughout her youth and there was almost literally nothing she wouldn't tell him, but now she was changing. For perhaps the first time, she didn't feel comfortable talking to her dad about her problems.

"What is it?" Josh asked again with deep concern on his face. The thought of his daughter not being able to talk to him was upsetting.

Donna dropped her voice down. "Two girls were making fun of her appearance today at school and said some pretty mean things."

"About her appearance?"

"About her physical development, Josh." Donna knew the word 'breast' scared Josh, so she deliberately chose not to use it.

Josh looked confused again so Donna gestured the area she was talking about. It finally clicked for Josh and he nodded, "Oh! They what? They did that to Katie?" He almost shrieked.

"Keep your voice down. Yes, Josh. She's pretty crushed."

"Well, didn't the school expel them or punish them?"

"She didn't tell anyone."

"What?"

"I was the first person she told. She's really embarrassed about it."

"I need to go talk to her."

"Josh, I don't know if it's a good idea." Donna's voice somewhat trailed off because Josh was already walking back towards Katie's room. Donna knew she wouldn't want her father to talk to her about this if it had happened to her. But then again, Donna and her father weren't that close. She didn't know quite what Josh would say or how Katie would react. Donna followed her husband but stood watching at the door.

Josh walked straight in to Katie's room where he found Audrey with her arm around her sister sitting on the bed. Donna watched Katie's face for any sign of objection or uneasiness and it didn't come. He took the spot on the other side of Katie and put his arm around her also, kissing her on the head.

"I think you're beautiful, Kaitlyn." Is all he said.