"Urgh, my head…Kitty?" Tyler groaned as he opened his eyes.
Kitty was leaning over him slightly, and tears were clinging to her eyelashes and they streaked her face.
"Tyler…are you really okay? I…I'm so sorry…you didn't have to do that for me…" Kitty said. Tyler sat up and pulled her onto the sofa next to him, hugging her to comfort her. He felt her relax and hug him back.
"Did he hurt you?" Tyler asked, pulling back to brush hair from her tear-streaked face.
Kitty shook her head, but Josh cut in. "He threw her against the wall." He told Tyler.
"And then hit her in the stomach." Andy cut in.
"Are you really okay?" Lizanne added, looking at Kitty in a surprising concern. Kitty nodded slowly.
"Yeah, I'm fine."
Tyler looked very mad, but Kitty rested her hands on his. "Please, don't do anything stupid, Tyler. It took me ages to take all the glass out and make sure the bleeding stopped, and I don't want you to get hurt for me again." She said softly.
Tyler looked into her pleading brown eyes and weakened. "Fine. But next time, I'll…"
A sudden shriek cut him off and everyone jumped up and ran towards it. Tyler and Kitty exchanged a grin.
It was the booby trap they'd set up for Miranda. A big bucket of snails and worms and mud had fallen on her, and there were even a couple of spiders on her.
"WHO DID THIS?!" Dennis exploded.
Kitty bit her lip and went to raise her hand but was cut off by Amelia.
"I did it." She said.
Everyone turned and stared. The usually very shy Amelia was standing boldly beside Kitty, her blonde head held high.
"I helped her." Kitty said. "it was my idea, really."
"And me." Tyler cut in.
"You three are grounded until further notice, and if anything like this happens again, I'll make sure you don't eat!" he growled, before stalking off. As they all headed back to the living room, Kitty turned to Amelia.
"Why did you do that?" she asked.
"I felt like, for once, I should stand up for myself, and besides, I didn't want to see you and Tyler get beaten up." Amelia said quietly.
"Thank you." Kitty said, and she enveloped Amelia in a hug, which the blonde happily returned.
Kitty's eyes sought Tyler, and as soon as she saw him, her expression softened. He was chatting away to Rick, Andy and Lizanne, and they were all listening.
But Lizanne…
Lizanne was flirting with him.
And the worst part was he was flirting back.
Kitty's world felt suddenly torn in half.
She knew Lizanne only wanted people for their money.
She vowed to get Tyler alone and tell him about it the moment she could, because despite only knowing him for about a week, she was very protective of her best friend.