Kitty thought she heard someone in the bathroom as her eyes fluttered opened and she turned over to get a glimpse of the time on the clock radio. 6:40 AM? Surely not. She stuck a pillow over her head and rolled back over immediately, as that was much too early to get up on a Saturday. She was vaguely reminded of cheerleading camp, which had started much too early for her liking. That had been two straight weeks of torture, in part due to not being able to sleep in and enjoy the hotel bed.
When she next awoke, it took her a moment to realize that Amy was occupying the twin bed beside hers, as the events of the previous day, cumulating in the surprise lake house getaway, played back in her mind. Amy was also beginning to wake up. Kitty's eyes flickered to the clock, which somehow now read 8:30, even though it felt like no time had passed since she last checked.
"Mm," Kitty murmured. "Someone was up early, did you hear them?"
"That would be Artie," Amy said, with a yawn as she turned over and added, "He's always the first one up anytime we go on a trip."
Kitty sat straight up, upon hearing this news. She hurried into the bathroom, where she tossed her hair into a messy bun, brushed her teeth, and put on a bra. After she'd done this, she cracked the door to see Sam snoring lightly in the corner and, sure enough, Artie's bed was empty. She stepped into the hall to discover that his wheelchair, however, was parked at the top of the stairs. She cast her gaze down the stairs until she landed on the boy on the couch. He was already clad in navy swim trunks and a tank top, a towel folded at his sock-covered feet, sunscreen, sandals and sunglasses neatly arranged on top. He'd gone back asleep, turned slightly on his side with a couch pillow strategically placed between his knees. Kitty sat down quietly on the chair opposite the sofa and watched him sleep, trying to work out his motives for being up before anyone else in the house. Well, all except for Mimi, who was already bustling in the kitchen to prepare breakfast.
Artie stirred at a particularly noisy clank from the kitchen and, eyes fluttering open, turned to find Kitty watching him sleep. He smiled drowsily and pushed himself into a seated position. "Good morning," he drawled.
"I wouldn't know," Kitty replied, smirking. "Tell me, what was it like at sunrise?"
"Did I wake you?"
"No," Kitty replied, her brow furrowing. "Did you just get up early, so you'd be out of our way?"
Artie yawned. "Well, clearly my plan worked," he said, with a grin. Kitty, however, wasn't amused.
"You don't have to do that," she insisted. "I'm pretty sure if I had to wait on you, it wouldn't be the end of the world. That's a lot of extra effort, and I know you're tired, because you fell asleep first last night." Artie opened his mouth to say something, but she cut him off. "I know, I know, I can already hear what you're saying before you even say it, you're used to it. Well, unlearn it somehow, it's just not necessary."
Artie waited a second, and when she didn't cut him off again, he smirked. "So, you're done?"
"Let's see... a lot of extra effort... I don't care if you're used it to... unlearn it somehow... yes I'm done."
"I've seriously been like this my whole life, pre-accident Artie and all, okay?" he explained. "And yes, probably being in a chair intensified my need for control and order. But I'm seriously fine, and anyway, getting up a little bit early is... well, it's just much better than being interrupted or knowing someone is on the other side of the door waiting on me and wondering what the hell is taking so long."
Kitty didn't know what to say to that. Even though she should have had a snarky comeback ready to go, she had nothing. Nothing, that is, but frustration over the fact that Artie never really seemed to relax, especially not when they were doing something outside of the usual routine. Instead, she just looked at the top of the stairs, where the chair sat and pointed at it. "So, do you want me to bring you that?"
"Sam's got it whenever he's done wrestling whatever lion he was trying to kill in his sleep last night." Artie said, reclining back on the couch, closing his eyes once more. "I'm gonna get him some breathe right strips or, like, a muzzle..."
"Maybe you could learn to sleep with soft music or white noise," Kitty suggested, with a giggle. "Or you could order a few more pieces of workout equipment for yourself and sort of force him out..."
"Nah," Artie laughed a little at that. "I'm gonna like rooming with Sam. Besides, I know they said I could have my own room, but that's just another thing that makes me feel... different." And as if reminded of something, he used his arms to shift his legs and lower body around methodically. "I like anything that makes me feel like a regular college guy."
Kitty was glad his eyes were shut so that he didn't see her face just then. She knew he was just being matter-of-fact about it, per usual, but it stirred up her emotions in ways most people who just saw her nastier side didn't expect. She moved to the couch to be near him, perching by him on the edge.
"Remember when you took me out for my birthday," he said, suddenly, filling the silence she'd created just then. "I was just thinking about how far you pushed me out of my comfort zone that night. I mean, it was a freaking Monday night, you made me drive to Indiana but you wouldn't tell me where we were going, and then, to top it off, I had to be your passenger in a go-kart."
"Sorry," she started to say. "I, um..."
"No, no!" he hurried to stop her from trying to apologize. "Are you kidding? It was the best birthday date ever. Plus, the part where you tried to..." His blue eyes were open again, and Kitty only hoped that Mimi would keep on being noisy in the kitchen so that they could continue to have their privacy.
"Yeah, well," Kitty said, adding the next part under her breath. "Losing my virginity to you in the front seat of your car would've been a little too spontaneous, even for me."
"The hotel room in Santa Monica was much better," Artie added, needlessly, for it wasn't like she could or would ever forget about that. She just smirked back at the dopey expression he wore.
"See, you do know how to be spontaneous," Kitty concluded, leaning forward to kiss him, but the conversation and the kiss ended just then, as Amy bounded down the stairs. Sam followed closely behind her, bringing Artie's chair along.
They then gathered back out on the porch around the table as Mimi laid out another yet elaborate meal, this time a breakfast of French toast, bacon and eggs. After that, everyone went back upstairs to dress for the lake, save for Artie who was already ready, of course. He accompanied his grandfather down to the dock. By the time the rest had arrived, Artie was already seated in the boat, although it wasn't even clear to Kitty how he'd managed the task. Pops was pretty young looking and acting, for a grandfather, but Kitty didn't much think the older man had lifted Artie and put him in there himself. And still the chair was abandoned on the dock and there he was, in yet another example of Artie refusing to let them — or maybe just her — see him struggle with anything.
"All aboard," Artie called, as they piled in, Kitty joining him at the back of the boat. Amy took her place up front, even though Artie teased that she was going to fry like a lobster up there, and Sam joined her. The rest put on their life jackets as Pops took his seat to drive.
"Tubing or skiing first?" he asked Artie, over his shoulder.
"Skiing," Artie confirmed. "If I tube first, I won't have enough energy to ski." He caught Kitty giving him a quizzical look and chuckled. "Pops wasn't about to let me miss out on water skiing. He got me a sit ski. I can't wait to show you. If I remember how... it's been a minute..."
Kitty masked her shock and instead showed him how genuinely impressed she was. "If I remember how," he said again. "I haven't done this since last summer actually."
"You're always surprising me," she said, following her sudden impulse to kiss him just then. As their lips parted, she glimpsed Amy looking their way.
When they were at the middle of the lake, Pops stopped the boat and opened the middle compartment in the floor that held all of their equipment. Impressively, he had both regular water skis and a wider, shorter ski with a seat and a bunch of straps. Sam had now moved to the middle of the boat to check this out, Amy following behind him.
"How is it I didn't know you were a water skier?" Sam wanted to know, echoing Kitty's exact thoughts. Artie was blushing and Amy looked pretty proud.
"I mean, I go sometimes," Artie said, humbly. "I wouldn't say I'm a water skier. But... I really liked it when I was a kid, so Pops made sure I could still do it." The look that the older man exchanged with his grandson just then was one of pure love. Kitty thought she recognized that same look between Artie and his mother, Pops' daughter.
As it turned out, Amy had to swim out beside her brother to help him get into the complicated contraption, but once he looked settled, she swam back to the boat and climbed in, taking a seat next to Kitty. Sam had also moved towards the back of the boat, to have a better view of Artie. Amy called out a cheer of encouragement.
"You got this!"
The first time Pops revved up the boat, however, the rope slipped right out of Artie's hands. There was a definite look of disappointment on his face that Kitty saw all the way from the boat. And his look only intensified after two more times of trying to reset himself and start again.
"You've still got this!" Amy called out, waving her hands to get his attention. He gave a tight nod and focused intently on gripping the rope.
"He looks like he's getting tired," Kitty observed, worrying that Artie was going to be pretty bummed if he had to climb back onto the boat after failing to show off his skills.
"Oh, he won't quit," Amy said, as though reading Kitty's mind. Kitty exchanged a look with Sam, who stood up then and started cheering himself, with Kitty promptly jumping up to join him.
"C'mon, Artie, you can do it!" Sam was yelling, as Kitty gave her loudest whistle, the one she used anytime she needed to get the attention of the entire Cheerios squad. Then she and Sam promptly sat back down, as Pops got ready to go again.
On the fourth attempt, Artie kept a tight grip on the rope, while successfully leaning back against the pull of the boat. Kitty, who had water skied many years before herself, remembered this to be the hardest part. But if you only had your upper body strength to pull it off? She couldn't even imagine how it was even possible. Yet Artie held himself in position and even steered so that he stayed right behind the boat.
"He used to ride outside the wake," Amy commented. "But right now, I think he just wants to go for awhile without falling." Her eyes danced as she watched her brother.
Sam was pulling out his phone to video. "Blaine and Kurt are gonna wanna see this," he murmured. Then he added, as he turned on the camera, "Check him out, guys, it's our boy, Artie. Waterskiing like the true bad-ass he is!"
"I'm the king of the world!" Artie yelled, sounding breathless but happy.
"That's my brother, in his element," Amy said, sighing a little. "Thus is why I'm really glad he changed his plans the way he did. I think he'll be a lot happier in the water than he would have been in New York." She looked at Kitty. "So, thank you."
"He-he didn't do that for me," Kitty said, although the more she said it, the less she believed that he didn't. At least, not at first. She looked at her hands. Amy was going to find out soon, if they went through with the plan. It was better to tell her now. "We, um, we might... take a break."
"What?" Amy screwed up her face. "Well, that doesn't make any sense. Every time I look your way, you two are kissing. Do you kiss someone you're about to break up with?"
Kitty didn't know if she was using the universal you in this question or if this was Amy trying to figure out if Kitty was just callous. She frowned, her eyes flickering to Artie, who it seemed had finally tired out. He let go of the rope, as Pops slowed the boat down, to circle back around to Artie.
"It's... complicated," Kitty said, feeling embarrassed and ashamed that she couldn't explain this any better than she was doing right now. She felt like the bad guy, which was kind of unfair, especially given the fact that he'd been the first one to state his doubts about doing a long distance relationship.
"Usually that means it's just too hard, so you don't want to try."
Amy's look of disappointment could not have crushed Kitty more. Amy just shook her head then, as she stood up and fastened the buckles on her life jacket. "I have to go help him back in the boat. Hey, Sam, will you help pull him up, please?"
It most definitely took two of them to get Artie back on the boat. Kitty held back, as she was pretty sure, given how private he was acting that weekend, that he didn't want her help, too. Once he was settled, and still completely out of breath, he thrust both fists into the air and threw back his head.
"That was amazing," he said, as he then cradled both arms. "And I am so going to be paying for that when I try to wheel to classes on Monday." He sighed. "So worth it though."
"So amazing," Kitty breathed, her eyes flickering to Amy. Amy caught her stare for just a moment, but ignoring the younger girl, she just asked who wanted to go next. When neither Sam nor Kitty volunteered, she then hopped into the water as her grandfather tossed her the regular skis.
Artie held Kitty's hand on the boat. There was a lot of PDA going on between them, something that Amy (after she finished killing it on water skis) didn't seem to appreciate watching any longer, knowing what she did now. The sun was beaming down on their little boat, and yet, there was a definite chill in the air.
Sam and Kitty were both casual water skiers themselves, so both took a turn before they swapped to tubing. It turned out that they owned the type of tube you could sit in, which was preferable to hanging on with your arms for dear life. Artie said he preferred to go last, for ample time to rest after his last adventure, so Amy and Sam went first, then it was their turn.
Once Artie was settled on the tube — also not an easy thing to do without your legs, Kitty realized — and she was next to him, they finally had a moment alone and Artie, it seemed, had picked up on something.
"You told my sister, didn't you?"
Kitty bit her lip. "Artie, I don't want to break your heart," she said. "And I don't want you to break mine. But that's what's going to happen if we call it quits tomorrow."
"And that's what's going to happen if we don't call it quits tomorrow," Artie said, too matter-of-factly for her liking.
Why was he so sure? Hadn't she proven to him, over and over again, that she cared more about him than what people thought of her?
"It feels like you just want out," Kitty confessed, finally working up the nerve to say what she'd been thinking for awhile now. His stance had been that he didn't want to tie her down, but she couldn't help but think he meant something else.
"Like maybe you just want your freedom for college," she'd worked up the nerve to add. She'd said it before, right after cheerleading camp, and he'd been quick to say that it wasn't about that. But what if it was.
"I don't, I said that's not—" Artie didn't get to finish that statement. He gripped the handles tightly as the boat took off, his full concentration dedicated to staying put on the tube.
To be continued, Kitty thought.