Author's Note...
After much work, I have created the first of two super-chapters. Not "super" as in amazing, but as in BIG. 6,000-word-long big. Which I don't especially like. But hey, it's up and almost done. That's something to celebrate!
If you don't see your character in this one, you'll find them in the next chapter. Somehow, even with 6,000 words, I didn't find myself able to squeeze everyone in. (Elli, you got the most attention. You should feel special.) Thanks, reviewers!! (And Annie) You guys totally make my day.
Disclaimer: Any name brands mentioned belong to whoever owns them, not me. Though it would be pretty awesome to own Hillsong... *Australians*
Jason led Kaitlyn through hallways in the Luthor Mansion to the gym. She couldn't help but gaze around in awe at how costly everything looked, from the decor to the immense building itself. "They still have money after building this place?" she asked.
Jason laughed. "You'd be surprised how much. They practically own half the town. Or employ it. Same difference." He shrugged. " He pushed through a set of double doors that led to the large, high-ceilinged room where the freaks trained. Gym mats and workout machines were evenly dispersed throughout the room, along with some equipment Kaitlyn had never seen or heard of before. They looked like they could inflict pain if one used them for very long, though. About ten people were in the gym, seven of them moving in synchronized cartwheels. Kaitlyn was freaked out by how they moved at the exact same time.
"Wow," Jason said, impressed. "See how they're all moving at the same time? It's because Luke's telling them to. He's mastered control of seven people. Getting good; maybe he'll get to ten by Friday."
She gave a disinterested "hm," as they continued to walk towards the main concentration of people, the cartwheeling freaks. Two girls and a guy sat of to the sidelines, one girl watching a DVD player and the other being lectured by the guy. Kaitlyn felt eyes on her from those three, probably wondering who she was and why she was here. The others were too distracted from the mind control to notice that she and Jason had arrived.
A "Hey, Luke!" from Jason broke the controller's concentration, and seven Witnesses collapsed to the floor in mid-spin.
"What, dude? You just ruined it! I was going for five straight minutes before you interrupted," Luke complained.
One of the panting girls on the floor, a tall redhead, shook her head to disagree. "Thanks, Jase. You're totally my hero. I swear, if I had to do one more cartwheel, I would have passed out."
"Who's she?" a Hispanic man asked, the first to mention Kaitlyn. She noticed that he wasn't out of breath in the slightest. Andre can go for days at a time without oxygen, she remembered Jason saying.
Jason clapped his hands loudly to get everyone's attention. "Okay, freaks, listen up, 'cause I'm only saying this once! This is Katie, the newest member of the Freak Army. Come say hi and be nice."
The murmur that rippled through the small crowd made Kaitlyn turn red with embarrassment. They probably wondered who she was and what she thought she was doing, bursting in on their army. She noticed Jason rolling his eyes, put off that they ignored his command to be nice.
"What's your power?" asked a short, dark girl who hadn't been cartwheeling. She was probably in her late teens.
"What's she doing here? She wasn't at the labs," an African-American man asked loudly. He looked like the oldest one in the group, maybe in his late twenties or early thirties.
"Yeah, you gotta have something against Lionel to join the FA," a young man with a blonde mullet added. He looked college-aged, like Jason.
Kaitlyn was caught off-guard by the sudden onslaught of questions. Jason stepped in front of her as if to shield her. "Calm down, Nate, Matt. I'm sure Lex wouldn't have asked her to join us unless she had dirt on the old man."
"But is she a freak?" the short girl asked again.
Kaitlyn decided that she needed to answer this one. She was, after all, joining the Freak Army now, and the question wouldn't disappear easily. "Yes, I can heal myself," she admitted. Kaitlyn had wanted to hide her power from people because she was afraid of looking like a freak, but there was no point in trying to anymore when there were she was surrounded by freaks.
That calmed the group, and a low buzz settled over them. A blonde who was about Kaitlyn's height approached them, glancing curiously at the new girl. "Hey, I'm Nuria. Sorry about the brothers; they're not too welcoming to strangers, I guess. But you can't really expect anything else from them; the FA's all they have left after Hurricane Lionel hit, and they want to make sure that no one takes that way from them."
Kaitlyn nodded, understanding. "I see. You all are really close, aren't you?"
Nuria nodded and smiled. "We're practically family. We have fights, cry in front of each other, have favorite siblings we chill with, you know. LOL, it's good. I like having other freaks around."
Kaitlyn smiled politely. "It'll be weird for me; I only have non-mutant friends. What's your power?" She wondered if there was ever competing between Witnesses to see who had a better ability.
The blonde smiled. "I guess it's only fair since I know yours. Fire eyes, girl. I look at something and can make it burst into flames or just burn a hole through it. LOL, It's fun most of the time, but it's hard to control when I get mad." The smile turned into a sly grin.
"Matt knows from experience, doesn't he?" Jason asked. "The fights get ugly when you date in the freak family."
"Yeah, thanks for the big-brother talk, Jase," Nuria said flippantly, blowing him off. "I'll remember that next time."
"Anytime," he replied with a laugh. "Hey, my girl Katie needs a dress for the big bash. Can you loan her some money?" He didn't seem to notice that he had made Kaitlyn blush in embarrassment. Is it rude to beg for money from someone you just met? she wondered.
Nuria looked her over, assessing the possibility that the money she gave would be returned. "I guess if Jason's asking for you, you're probably trustworthy. He knows what goes on in people's heads. But you'll be paying back every cent, got it?"
Kaitlyn nodded quickly. I'll have to get a job as soon as we're out of hiding. Maybe I can work at the Talon like Lana…or at the bakery a few blocks from my house.
The blonde was back to smiling. "Cool. I'll get my purse. BRB, guys!" Then she was out the door.
In her absence, Kaitlyn observed the freaks around the room. Luke was walking in their direction, probably to say hi to Jason. The tall redhead from earlier was morphing her shape, turning into a llama, then a dog, then a bear. Kaitlyn was completely shocked by this, but no one else seemed to care. To them, it was normal. Yeah, a girl who could turn into a bear is normal, she thought with a laugh. I wish I could remember her name. Is it Zoe?
One girl with black hair and red highlights was sitting against a wall, watching something on a DVD player. What's the point of coming to the gym if you're just going to sit in a corner and not talk to anybody?
Jason answered her question. "That is Kyra's training. She can do anything she sees, so she's watching every movie she can in hopes of being promoted to Protector by Friday. That means all-night movie marathons and lots Red Bull. Poor girl is running purely on caffeine right now. I'm sure she'd come and say hi if she wasn't in the middle of a killer action sequence."
Luke joined in the conversation as he approached. "Yeah. I suggested that she should watch some Chuck Norris and pull off a sweet-action roundhouse kick, but I'm not sure if she did. That would make her the ultimate Protector right away." He slapped Jason on the back. "Great to see you finally made it, man."
Jason nodded and cuffed his shoulder in return. "Yeah, I didn't even have to call Corben and make him fly me here."
Luke turned his eyes to look Kaitlyn over. "So you're a Witness now. What's your story?" Tell me. "Since you weren't in the labs, you've gotta have some other dirt on our favorite enemy."
Kaitlyn opened her mouth, feeling words form on her tongue without her command. Jason stepped in front of her, almost protectively, before she could say a word. "Don't bother her right now, dude. The chick's new. Let her go meet some of the other people before you go all interrogator on her."
"Okay, whatever man. Katie, you see that girl with dark hair over there who's listening to her iPod?" He pointed towards a stationary bike, where a girl sat, not pedaling. Kaitlyn recognized her as the girl who had asked what her power was.
"Yeah."
"That's Elle. Ellusion. Whatever. She's evil; stay away."
"Luke, she's not evil," Jason cut in. "It's just between you two."
Kaitlyn was trying to remember what Elle did when a miniature stage with miniature twelve-inch people materialized out of thin air. The people started to play instruments; one of them was dancing around like a crazed monkey. "What's she doing?" Kaitlyn asked.
"Listening to Hillsong United." Jason rolled his eyes, as if it were a typical Elle thing to do. "She makes optical illusions, and she always recreates the Hillsong concert she went to in Missouri last year when one of their songs comes up on the shuffle."
Luke was quick to add in annoyance, "She never shuts up about that band. 'They're in Australia, the US, Europe, and blah, blah, blah!'" He mimicked Elle in a high voice.
"Okay, so she's not that bad," Jason sighed. "See the monkey-dancer over there? We call him Caveman—Elle hates that. And the guy playing guitar right next to him has been dubbed Christian Bale."
Kaitlyn nodded, then remembered Nuria. "So what's taking Nuria so long? I need to get out of here in two minutes."
Jason closed his eyes to focus for a moment, trying to pick up a thought. "She's in a hallway, the one just outside the door, I think. I still need to practice with seeing pictures; they're blurry."
Luke turned back towards the group. "Well, good luck with that. You have training in fifteen minutes. I need to get back to work myself. I've got another hour ahead of me if I want to control eight by tomorrow morning. See y'all later." The words that he shoved in Kaitlyn's brain were quiet different, though. What's your story, Kate? I'll get it out of you eventually.
She stared, wide-eyed at him, wanting to say no. But a simple "no" would be ineffective if he ever commanded her to spill her guts. Jason glared hard at him. "Get back to training, Luke." Luke sauntered off just as Nuria rejoined them, empty handed.
"Hey," she greeted. "So I don't think twenty bucks is enough for a dress, but that's all I have on me. Sorry." She stared at Jason. "But I don't know, maybe our mind-reader has some." The hint was obvious.
"Nope," Jason answered with a smug smile. "But here comes someone who does." Kaitlyn shot him a questioning glance and was answered by Jason calling to the room of people, "Lex is coming! Act busy!"
Her first reaction was to look for somewhere to hide, but she told herself to stop being silly and irrational. This Luthor wasn't going to hurt her. The freaks' responses were six people and Zoe, still in bear-form, suddenly doing jumping jacks in synchronization, per Luke's instruction. Kaitlyn wondered how anyone could keep a straight face while watching a jumping bear.
Kyra hadn't moved a muscle, just kept staring intently at the flickering screen that probably was showing crazy martial arts moves. Elle immediately expanded her illusion until it shuddered, flickered weakly, and took up the empty half of the gym. Just as the doors burst open, Kaitlyn was close enough to hear one of the guys mutter, "Here comes the cue ball."
Lex entered, an amused look on his face. "It's nice to see all of you working." His tone told them that he knew that they hadn't been doing much, probably because of hidden cameras or something sneaky like that. "I need to talk to Ms. Fable, if she wouldn't mind."
Kyra looked up from her DVD player, blue eyes wide and mouth curved into a smile, both surprised and excited. She snapped the player shut and practically skipped over. Kaitlyn wondered if maybe she was going to get her wish of being a Protector.
"Wait, Lex," Jason said. "We've got a small problem."
The bald man raised his eyebrows. "Really? What would that be?" His gaze fell on Kaitlyn, and she found herself unable to breathe.
Jason jabbed his thumb in her direction. "Katie doesn't have money for a dress."
Lex smiled. "Well, that's no problem at all. I believe we can fix that, Ms. Grant."
"Really?" Kaitlyn asked. She had no idea what else to say; her brain had stopped working correctly since Lex had entered. She didn't want to explore the possibilities of why.
Jason leaned down to whisper in her ear. "Yes, really. He's going to give you money. Try not to take too long with him; Kyra shouldn't have to wait any longer to find out that she'll be rolling with the Protectors now." When he stood upright again, she saw that he smiled broadly and winked at Kyra, who had been looking at him for hints about the upcoming conversation.
--
Wednesday…
Christmas was a strange, awkward day that traveled in a blur. The presents were few because her parents hadn't expected her to be home from Belle Reve until the new year. She told them not to worry because she hadn't bought anything for them, either. Brian gave her an awkward hug and told her that it was alright; he understood that she was having a hard time, and things would get better. A clumsy attempt at acknowledging his daughter's problems.
Kaitlyn wasn't sure if she should laugh at his awkwardness or cry because he cared. He didn't really understand how hard a time she was having, or that things might not get better. She ended up blinking back tears and sniffing as she hugged him back, wanting to say "Yeah, thanks," but not trusting her voice.
In the front pocket of her hoodie was a plastic card that she kept bending: a debit card with a full thousand dollars on it. She still couldn't believe that Lex had given her so much, but he had blown it off as pocket change. No matter what he said, though, she promised herself that she wouldn't spend more than two hundred dollars. To her, even that amount was high.
She spent an hour trying to convince her mom to let her go to Metropolis the next day so she could shop at the mall. Her purpose, though she didn't tell her mom, was to find a dress for the party.
"I don't think you should go alone," Kelly replied.
"What if T comes with me?"
"Maybe. Have you asked her?"
"Yes! Well, no. But I can call her right now and see."
Kelly sighed. "If you can find someone who will go with you, then I'll say yes."
Of course, Tatiana couldn't say no. That being settled, Kaitlyn spent the rest of her day in her room, thinking about shopping, worrying about the party, and wondering about the baby and what she was supposed to do with her. "You're really inconvenient, you know that?" Kaitlyn told her at one point. "You're making me think, something I really shouldn't have to do over Christmas break." The bitter tone had left her voice, though.
Thursday…
Kaitlyn woke up to her phone ringing at six-thirty in the morning. Whoever is calling must not realize that it's way too early to be talking to me. She flipped it open and answered groggily, "Hello?"
"Katie? It's Jase." He sounded rushed and a bit worried.
That immediately woke her, and she sat up in bed. "What's wrong?" She rubbed her eyes with her free hand. "And how did you get my number?"
"Remember when you left your phone in Lex's car? I got it then; figured it might be useful. Turns out that I was right. Have you noticed anyone, like, hanging around the house a lot? In the neighborhood but not really doing anything?"
"No… Why? Should there be?"
"No! Look, we think old man Luthor is gonna send out his goons to make sure you really died. I'm not sure if they've already come and gone or what, but we need to get you out of there. Luke and I are coming to get you right now; you'll have to stay with us until the party to make sure you're safe."
Kaitlyn was out of bed now, searching frantically for clothes. "Wait, what?! I was going to the mall with T today; I still need to buy a dress! And how am I supposed to explain to my parents being whisked away by you guys? How am I supposed to pack?" This was quickly turning into a major problem.
"Don't worry about your parents; we've got that covered. We'll send Elle or Camille later to get your things since they can camouflage. I'm not sure what to tell you about the mall, though."
Kaitlyn was struggling to change clothes with the phone still in her hand. "Great. And what do I do if someone comes to the door before you get here?"
"I doubt that will happen; they'll be more cautious than to ring your doorbell. Stay on the line; we're driving over right now. If I hear someone suspicious, Luke will order them away."
"Jason, you're scaring me!"
Jason sighed in exasperation. "Ever heard the saying, 'What you don't know can't hurt you'? It's not true; these people will kill you whether or not you know about them. I thought it would be nice to give you a heads up."
"Great, thanks," she muttered, pulling her suitcase out of the closet. She needed to make sure some things got to the mansion, items that the girls might not think to pack. Snowball, the stuffed polar bear her mom had given her in first grade, her purple comforter, a pillow. The maternity shirt Tatiana had given her—as a reminder of her friend, and the possibility that she might need it. The unused diary Brooke had given her for her birthday before they started seventh grade. "How long before you get here?"
"Five minutes. I'm not hearing anything suspicious, but I don't think we're close enough yet."
Kaitlyn rushed down the stairs, yanking a brush through her tangled hair. Her stomach began to churn, and she worried about throwing up around Jason or at the mansion, around all the other Witnesses. "Can I take my car, or do I have to ride with you?"
Kelly heard her daughter talking from the kitchen. "You're up early, Katie. Who are you talking to?"
Covering the phone, she replied, "My friend."
Jason answered her question with, "You can probably drive yourself if you want."
A nine by six photo hanging on the wall caught her eye, the family as they had been in the summer. Kaitlyn examined her face, the face of a girl who had no idea what the real world was like. Compared to the person she saw in the mirror, the Kaitlyn from half a year ago looked as if she were five years younger. Without a second thought, she snatched it off the wall and ran back up the stairs to put it in her suitcase. Who knew if she would ever see her mom or dad again? She wanted a reminder if she survived long enough to hide with the rest of the Freak Army.
The physical exertion from climbing the stairs increased her nausea. "Jase, if I puke while we're talking, I'm really sorry," she told him. "I'll try not to."
He sounded slightly disturbed. "Um, well, if you do, please try to be as far away from the phone as possible. We're really close now; do you think you can handle driving, or will you get carsick?"
She dropped the family picture in her suitcase and sat on the bed. "I don't know. This stuff is really unpredictable, you know?" She swallowed hard against the stuff trying to creep up her throat.
"Yeah. I'm hearing your thoughts now, so you can hang up. We can safely get you out of the house. Expect the doorbell to ring in two minutes."
"Great. Mom will probably answer since my head will be in the toilet." She slapped the phone shut without a goodbye and headed to the bathroom, hand clamped over her mouth.
Five minutes and two mouthfuls of mouthwash later, Kaitlyn carefully descended to the first floor with a blanket wrapped around her. She smiled sheepishly at Jason, who was sitting and talking to her parents at the breakfast table. "Sorry to make you wait. I had a few issues." Why are my parents so okay with you being here? Is Luke involved? I don't see him.
Brian grinned at her. "Morning, sunshine. So you're going to stay with Jason for a few days? That's fine; just make sure you make it back to us in one piece."
What?! Dad not caring if I run off with some random guy? That's so not like him! Luke has to be ordering him around. "Uh…yeah. Okay." Kaitlyn forced a smile.
"And don't worry," her mom added. "If someone we don't know asks about you, we won't tell them you're alive."
"Great." Jason, this is really weirding me out. My parents aren't acting like themselves. Luke is a horrible puppeteer.
He nodded and gave an apologetic smile. "Are you feeling okay? Do you think you can drive?"
Shrugging, she replied. "I don't know. Probably. It doesn't look like we're in any danger right now, so can I just go pack?"
Jason paused for a second to think, shifting uncomfortably in his chair. "We need to get you out of here as soon as possible. I really don't want to stick around when we could run into trouble."
"Fine." Kaitlyn rolled her eyes. "Let me get my purse, and I'll pretend that I'm ready to go." She tried to avoid eye contact with her parents, who had the happiest looks on their faces as if today were just a lovely, beautiful day and everything was perfect and sunshiny. She decided that she liked Luke even less now; the way he controlled her parents was creepy.
Purse in hand and blanket replaced by a coat, she carefully hugged her parents and told them she loved them. "Bye. I'll hopefully see you soon." Jason pretended not to notice her misty eyes and the troubled thought that asked if she might never see them again. Finally, she pulled out her car key and said sadly, "Let's go, Jase. I'll drive myself." If I randomly pull off to the side of the road, don't be too concerned. It's just the morning sickness.
--
At the mansion, Kaitlyn was given a bedroom to stay in until Friday night. To her, it felt more like a prison. Once she had recovered from feeling queasy, she paced back and forth, regretting talking to Lex and admitting everything. This was such a mistake, stupid. I should have just let the hit man kill me and save everyone the trouble. What was I thinking? I don't know if I can trust these people… When someone knocked on the door, she jumped before hesitantly opening it.
Jason entered. "Hey, I just talked to Lex. You can go to the mall with your friend, but on one condition."
And that is…?
"One of the Protectors has to go with you to make sure you're safe."
Not that I don't appreciate you guys trying to keep me alive, but don't you think this is a bit too much? And won't it blow your cover if you're following me and T around the mall?
"I'll stay out of sight," he promised.
"I don't know…" she muttered. She didn't want Jason tailing her, but she didn't actually want to die, either.
"Or you can stay here," Jason offered.
"No, the mall's fine," Kaitlyn answered quickly. She didn't want to be in the Luthor Mansion any more than she wanted to be "protected," and decided on the lesser of two evils. At least in this case, she had a bit of freedom. She took her Honda to pick up Tatiana, and Jason followed in his truck at a safe distance. Kaitlyn found it hard to act normal when she had just fled for her life and now had a boy shadowing her.
Tatiana broke the awkward silence in their car. "Sorry 'bout Monday. I'm not really sure what happened, but I know you ended up pretty mad at me."
Kaitlyn glanced over at her friend and waved it off. "Don't worry about. I was just going psycho with hormones and everything. My world's not been liking me lately; I'm trying to get used to it. Sorry that I took out all my issues on you, though."
"Hey, what are friends for?" Tatiana replied with a laugh. The entire time they were swimming through crowds of people at the mall to find dresses, she kept asking Kaitlyn why she needed one. "It's not like you're going anywhere."
Kaitlyn sighed unhappily. She was going somewhere, the party and then into hiding who-knew-where. But she didn't think she was allowed to tell Tatiana. "I just need a dress, okay?"
"No! Yo gotta tell me why!" she whined.
"Fine. I'm going to a party," she said quickly. "Do you think Sears has formal dresses?" She turned suddenly into the store, Tatiana following.
"Why wasn't I invited? That's gotta be some fancy party."
Another sigh. This is impossible to explain to T. "I don't think you know the people who are hosting it." Be glad that you don't. She weaved through aisles of clothing and traveled up the escalator to find the dress department. She began avidly searching the racks for every purple dress in sizes six or seven.
"Who's throwin' it?" Tatiana asked.
Kaitlyn had to stop herself from snapping at her friend. "Look, T, can you just stop asking questions?"
Tatiana looked hurt. "Sorry, girl. I just wanna know what's goin' on."
"Trust me, you really don't want to know," she replied, shaking her head.
After trying on multiple dresses in every store possible and asking, "Does this make me look fat?" at least fifty times because she wondered if she really had put on some weight, Kaitlyn finally settled for a dress from Macy's that was described on the tag as PLUM 9008 MERMAID. She didn't know if it fell into the category of "innocent," but the floor length gown did adequately cover everything that needed to be hidden—unlike the ones Tatiana had suggested: dresses with no back and plunging necklines. Kaitlyn had flatly refused with, "The guys don't need to see that." She was thinking of one in particular.
Matching shoes, purse, and makeup were added to the tab, and she managed to spend a little over three hundred dollars. Tatiana gave a low whistle. "Yo parents are gonna kill yo for that," she remarked. "Maybe yo shouldn't have bought those heels—they're so expensive look real uncomfortable."
Kaitlyn attempted to laugh. "T, didn't you know that beauty comes before comfort?"
"Yeah, but there were some just as cute and painful for half the price," Tatiana countered.
"Don't worry about it, T. Money isn't an issue." Kaitlyn received a confused glance. "Seriously. Come on, I'm craving Burger King. Let's go to the food court and get some before the drive home."
Outside, as Kaitlyn walked towards her car, a bumper sticker on the white SUV parked next to the Honda caught her eye, nearly making her drop her Icee and bag of large fries. On the bumper sticker was a picture of a baby and the quote:
"It is a poverty to decide that a child
must die so that you may
live as you wish." --Mother Teresa
Her heart jumped into her throat, and her right hand, still holding car keys, flew to her stomach. Is it a sign? How am I supposed to respond to something like this? It was true, she would rather let the baby die and get on with her life, but it now occurred to her just how selfish the notion was. When she managed to open the car door with shaky hands, her eyes were filled with tears.
Tatiana noticed she was crying and asked, "What's wrong?"
Kaitlyn didn't want to say anything for fear that she would start sobbing. She just pointed at the SUV and began backing out of the parking space so that Tatiana could read the bumper sticker.
Tatiana looked at it and immediately whispered, "Oh my gosh. Is that why yo cryin'? Are yo rethinkin'?"
"I…I don't know what to do, T," she whispered, trying to keep her eyes on the road. "Mother Teresa is right. I want to live as if nothing ever happened, but that means that the baby's not going to live to see light, or have a family, or know what a freakin' Icee tastes like!" She shook the drink violently, red slush nearly spilling, and threw it back in the cup holder. "She won't know what purple is, how fun it is to shop, what a first kiss tastes like." Kaitlyn took a hand off the wheel to wipe her eyes, "And I take all that crap for granted, but I'm so ready to say to someone else, 'You can't have that.' What's wrong with me, T? Can I be any more selfish?"
Her friend stared at her with unblinking eyes, trying to take in what was going on. The last time she had seen Kaitlyn, she was still planning on an abortion. A change of heart? Maybe. "Nothin' is wrong with yo, Kate. It's totally normal."
"What!?" Kaitlyn exclaimed, turning to shoot her friend a disbelieving look. "T, there is nothing normal about this! I have a freak power, the baby inherited the freak gene. My freak friend heard her thinking on Tuesday." She could feel Tatiana's confused stare. "That's right, thinking. When she's not even three months. And here I am, trying to decide whether or not to kill her!"
"You have a friend who heard her think? What?! Yo gotta explain this to me!"
Kaitlyn turned into the nearest parking lot. "You need to drive, T. I'm gonna cry." She parked and swapped seats before explaining in as few words as possible. "I have a friend can read minds. He heard the baby. He said she sounded just like me, and that she was scared." Her voice broke. Jason was probably not pleased that he had been mentioned, but she hadn't named any names or how she knew him, so Kaitlyn decided that it didn't matter. That's what he got for listening in on their conversation.
"She?" Tatiana repeated.
"She. How can I ignore that? How can I…?" Kaitlyn bit her lip and squeezed her eyes shut. "How can I still say, 'Screw you, kid,' and kill her?"
Tatiana shook her head, not sure how to react in this situation. She didn't even know how Kaitlyn wanted her to respond. "So what would you do instead?"
It is a poverty to decide that a child must die so that you may live as you wish. "I can't keep her, that wouldn't be good for either of us. I would be one failure of a parent." Kaitlyn paused to dry her eyes again. "I think, T," she whispered, "that I need to give her up for adoption."
"I'll stick by you with whatever you decide, but for serious?"
"For serious, T. It's time for me to stop making stupid choices." That didn't mean that this one would be easy, though.
--
Friday…
Kaitlyn was nervous. No, beyond nervous. She was panicked, sick to her stomach, and worried out of her mind. She could wander through the whole mansion if she wanted to or hang with the Freak Army, but she just wanted to stay in her room. She would survive the day thanks to the massive security Lex always had around the mansion, but would she be able to live through the party tonight? And if she did, would she see ever see her parents again? What if Lionel managed to kill her? Or if he instead went after her parents? Would they know that she loved them? The thought of never hugging her mother or joking with her father made her want to cry. She could only hope that Arnold, or whatever his name was, would do a good job of explaining her disappearing act. At least a better job than Luke.
Then there was the baby. Kaitlyn would start expanding like a balloon in another week, and it would only become more obvious as time went on. It actually looks like I'm already putting on some weight. How could she manage with her family not being around to care for her? No Tatiana to laugh and try to make the situation light? Would Jason help her? How would the rest of the Freak Army respond when they found out? Would she have to tell them who the father was? Would Luke force it out of her?
He had promised that he would. Kaitlyn didn't like that idea. Sure, he was a Witness, but that didn't mean she trusted him. What if he did it at the party, with everyone watching? How would Lionel react? That made her wonder how she would react when she saw him. Would she pass out or throw up? Run from the room? Cower behind Jason?
Kaitlyn flopped onto the unfamiliar bed and screamed into her pillow, which Camille had kindly brought along with many of her other things. I can't do this! But she knew she had to go to the party, for herself and all the other freaks. Come on, Katie. Pull yourself together. You're going to be fine.
She groaned unhappily and rolled off of the bed. Before she knew it, Kaitlyn was in the large kitchen, staring at the empty chairs around an unused table. How she got there, she didn't know, but she found herself raiding the cupboards in search of a box of Cinnamon Toast Crunch. She sat down at the empty table and poured herself a bowl, but instead of eating it, she cried. Her kitchen back at home had been so much warmer and personal than this one. It was filled with happy, good memories, and even some bad ones. But she loved it, missed it. Who knew if she would see it again? I'm missing a freaking room. What's wrong with me? She pulled her cell phone and dialed her mother at work, just to hear her voice again.
"Honey, what's the matter?" Kelly asked, hearing the tears in her daughter's voice.
"I just need to talk," she said quietly, staring down at the table and tracing patterns with a finger. "I want to let you know that…I'm going to let someone adopt the baby."
Her mother's voice was filled with pride. "I knew you'd make the right decision."
Kaitlyn nodded, though her mom couldn't see it. "And…I want to tell you that I love you so much. You have put up with rebellious Katie, psycho Katie, hormonal Katie even though you could have just ignored me. Thanks."
Kelly sensed something else wrong. "You're acting strange, Kate. Is everything alright?"
"Yeah," she answered, though she herself wasn't convinced. "I just want to let you know how much you and Dad mean to me."
"Aw, thanks, honey. When are you coming back home? I don't like the idea of someone trying to kill you. Why would they want to do that?"
"I'm not sure, Mom, about either question. But I know that I love you and miss you already."
"Try to come back soon, alright? The house is empty without you."
That's not going to happen. "Of course, Mom. I love you." And if Lionel doesn't kill me or you guys, we'll see each other as soon as the trial's done.
One..chapter...left. I feel like I'm running a marathon here. So exhausted, but hoping it'll be worth it just to finish.
Review, tell me what you're thinking. Oh, and if you want to know what Katie's dress looks like, you can ask me. Because I'm nerdy enough to have found one for her...