Chapter 8: "Man you see that you just get angrier"
Katie woke up the next morning to being shaken awake by Jessie.
"What?" She asks as she throws the pillow over her head.
"We have to get up!" Jessie insisted.
"Why?" Katie said wrapping herself up in her the blanket
Jessie stood up on the bed and grabbed the end of the blanket which rolled Katie off of the bed. She peered over the edge of the bed. Katie looked like she was in shock but there was still a grin on her face.
"Sorry!" Jessie said climbing off of the bed and crawling over to Katie on the floor.
"Since you woke me up like that, whatever you want to show me has to be good." Katie said looking up into Jessies blue eyes, who in turn leaned in and kissed her. Katie smiled. "That's a start."
Jessie led her to her feet.
"Come here." She said gesturing for a very tired Katie to follow her.
Katie leaned against the wall of the hallway as she walked down the attic stairs and to another bedroom.
Jessie opened the door to display a room, with the walls painted blue. A mobile above the crib, which sat at the center of the room. There was a dresser to match, as well as a changing table and a rocking chair…
"They were really excited about him." Jessie said wrapping her arms around herself.
Katie came up behind her and did the same…
"So you're sure about this?"
Jessie nodded.
"Well we all know that Eli won't be much of a help now will he." Katie said taking long drawn out breaths
Jessie shrugged.
"But you have me." Katie said
Jessie turned around now to face Katie.
"Isn't it weird?"
"What?" Katie asked in a serious tome.
"How all of the sudden this all happened… it was like, … you were there when I needed you the most, and as everything fell apart… in the same respect it fell into place…" She said her voice cracking a little bit…
Katie leaned in and gave her a hug.
"You know what we should do now?" Katie said
"What?" Jessie asked
"Go check on Eli and Ethan at the hospital."
~ 1 month later, Jessie and Katie skip over to the car in the driveway. The see Eli fumbling with the car seat.
"I can't get this damn thing in!" Eli said shoving it across the seat.
"I couldn't either, I already tried!" Jessie said.
"Here." Said Katie pushing them both to the side and taking charge. In one swift motion she slipped into the back seat, and with little effort strapped the seat in.
Jessie smiled at her.
"Show off." Eli said as he climbed into the front seat with Jessie in the passenger side.
The nurses gave them weird looks as they went in to pick up their little brother.
"Here are his release papers." The doctor said handing them to Eli, while Jessie held Ethan.
Eli paused for a second, and then he signed.
"Here you go." He said handing the clipboard back to the doctor. "Is there anything else?" He asked
"Nope, you are free to go." He said smiling warmly at them.
On the way home Jessie and Katie sat in the backseat with Ethan cooing over him.
"He sure as hell is a lady's man." Eli said grinning. "Way to go bro."
Katie laughed at him and then smacked him on the back of the head. It was almost as if they were becoming a little family… almost.
Jessie and Katie had some trouble taking the carrier out of the car. They each had to hold on to one side of the handle. Katie was getting worried about Jessie because she had begun to get so thin, but she easily dismissed it for stress… almost too easily.
They go inside and sit the carrier up on the coffee table in front of a couch. Eli, Jessie, and Katie plopped down and just stared at him…
"Isn't he like supposed to do something?" Eli asked
"I don't know." Jessie said. "Maybe we should take him out of the carrier?" Jessie suggested… Eli stood up.
"Where are you going?" Jessie asked.
"I have band practice, I will be home in two hours tops." He said grabbing his jacket and rushing out of the door.
"Are you sure it's a good idea to leave him alone with Ethan while we are at school?"
"Well that's all I can do."
They look down at Ethan.
"He's smiling in his sleep." Jessie said
Katie played with his fingers…
"Maybe we should take him out now." Jessie said leaning over to pick him up.
She was holding him in her arms when Katie realized something.
"Aren't you like… I donno, supposed to be holding his head up?" Katie asked.
"I guess so." Jessie said propping up his head.
They went to Ethans room and laid him down…
"What now?" Jessie asked.
The two girls were woken up at 3 am by screams coming from inside the crib. They hadn't realized that they had fallen asleep on the floor.
"What the fuck!" Jessie said as she and Katie both shoot up at the same time and smack their heads into each other.
"Oh shit." Katie said
There was a pause and the two girls looked at each other and began to laugh.
"I'll get him." Jessie said in between laughs. "Hey Ethan." Jessie said as she rocked her brother trying to calm him down.
"I'll go make him a bottle." Katie said getting up from the floor and making her way down the stairs, eyes squeezed shut. Her contacts had dried out in her eyes after she and Jessie had fallen asleep.
She was in the kitchen, with the only light coming from above the stove. She put a bottle into warm water on the stove, and mixed the formula… She had seen people do it on the Gerber commercials but it was harder than it seemed.
Katie heard the back door open and then close, and a vase fall off of a table…
"What the fuck." Katie said to herself, grabbing a butter knife and heading to the door…
She turned around… nobody was there. She then swung around to see Eli staring there at her.
"God Eli!" She said looking at the guy. "Jess and I figured you were homed hours ago and just went to the garage."
"Nah. My car broke down." Eli said sitting down on the couch. Katie joined him, balancing the bottle on her knee. "How was he tonight?"
"Really good. He just slept and slept." Katie said, then she stood up. "I should hurry this bottle up to them." Katie said, Eli nodded.
"Katie?" He called back to her as she got closer to the stairs.
"Yeah?"
"Jess is going to need you a lot. I am not cut out for this." Eli then walked out to the garage leaving a stunned Katie.
He wasn't cut out for this? None of them were. They were 16! Well Jessie is 16, she is 17. Oh well, she was going to try she decided heading up the stairs. When she got to the top she saw Jessie closing Ethans door with her finger on her lips…
"You got him in?" Katie asked
Jessie nodded, and led Katie to the bathroom.
"Why are we going in there?"
"I need a shower. So do you." Jessie said closing the door behind her still in shock when Jessie was pulling off her shirt, and then went to turn on the water.
"Jess." Katie said backing away from her "are you sure?"
"Yes." Jessie said looking her in the eyes as she led them to the shower.
Katie tried not to focus on Jessies seemingly deteriorated frame. She trailed kissed up the blue eyed girls wrist where fresh cuts still showed, up her collar bone, all the way to her mouth.
And so it went everything was starting to look up… right?
