And a third chapter in the space of 2 days! I have a lot of free time right now, cos it's the summer holidays (yay!) so I'll probably be writing a lot more. Probably.
Disclaimer: See last chapter.
I insisted on being dropped off at the end of the street rather than closer to the place I once called home.. No sense in making an awkward situation even more awkward. Standing on the doorstep, trying to work up the courage to knock, brought back memories for me. Memories of a thirteen-year-old girl with a badly-planned plan and no-one to catch her if she fell. Cathy should have been there to catch me. But she wasn't. I forgave her for betraying my trust, but I doubt she forgave me for doing what I did.
"Beck! You made it OK." Mom ushered me inside. Despite what I've repeatedly told her, she doesn't believe my story and blames Hawkeye for everything that's happened. She kind of sees me as the prodigal daughter who left home but is definitely coming back. I don't really want to, though, and I've tried and tried to make that clear as tactfully as I can. Honestly, I thought my disappearing act would get the message across.
"Of course I did." I hadn't had to go that far, really.
"Cathy!" And so it begins. "Your sister's here!"
"What?" I heard footsteps, and then saw the person I sort of dreaded seeing appear at the top of the stairs. "Why is she here?"
"Dad and Hawkeye had this medical symposium thingy somewhere in Canada." I'm not good with details. It infuriates most people, cos my answers are always either too in-depth or too vague. It's the same with my plans. "I wasn't allowed to go, and apparently I can't stay home alone without some sort of incident. So, here I am!" I tried to sound upbeat, but I wasn't.
"Why did no-one tell me about this?" She vanished back into her room and slammed the door.
"She'll come around." Mom tried to reassure me. "Just give her time."
"She's had six months. I doubt she'll be coming around any time soon." I took my bag and made my way to my own room.
As I passed the closed door to Cathy's, however, I stopped. Because, behind it, she was crying.