Chapter 2

Kat POV

A few days had gone by, and I had spent them in my room. Cody was now practically best friends with the Lynch family. I hadn't seen them since that first night though, and I was glad. But today, my parents decided I was getting stuck at their house for way longer than I would ever want…

"Why can't we just stay home?" I asked.

"Because we have to travel, and we won't be back for a few days. I don't want you two home alone," said my mom.

My mom and dad were thinking about getting a divorce, and they kept leaving to talk to lawyers. Normally it wasn't an out of state thing, but my parents were really picky. I thought they probably wouldn't go through with it though. They liked to have something to threaten each other with, in this case, having a better lawyer.

"Go upstairs and pack a suitcase," said my mom.

"Fine!"

It was spring break, but it did not feel like it at all! I packed 2 suitcases, one with clothes, and one with random stuff, and brought them downstairs. I put them next to Cody's, and sat down on the couch. My dad had already left yesterday, and my mom was leaving in 10 minutes.

"These are going to be the best 3 days of my whole life!" Shouted Cody.

I rolled my eyes.

"Alright you guys, let's go," said my mom.

I grabbed my suitcase and slowly followed my brother out the door. Our mom put her bags in the trunk, and drove us down the street to the Lynch's.

After thanking their mom, Stormie Lynch, for watching us, our mom left. And I was stuck in the dreaded place. It was decided that I would sleep in Rydel's room, but that didn't end up happening. Everyone thought it would be fun to just have a giant sleepover downstairs in the living room.

I got in my sleeping bag and closed my eyes. There was no way I was participating in anything they were doing tonight. They kept talking and talking and talking… Eventually I fell asleep though…

The Next Morning…

Kat POV

I woke up before anyone else, or so I thought, and I had a major headache. I sighed, closed my eyes again, and flopped backwards onto my pillow, pushing my hand into my forehead, trying to ease the pain any way I could.

"Are you alright?" Someone asked quietly.

My eyes snapped open, and I sat up and looked at the other person that was awake. Riker. Great…

"I just have a headache," I said, grumbling.

"Do you want me to get you something for it?" Riker asked.

"No. I'm fine. I just need to get some fresh air," I said, standing up and walking towards their front door.

Not surprisingly, Riker just had to tag along with me for some reason. He sat down next to me on his front steps. The morning air felt cold, but I wanted to be out there anyway. I closed my eyes, and tried to focus on making my headache go away, but there was no use. I rubbed my temples, trying to feel better as Riker got up and went inside. Maybe he actually understood I wanted to be alone. Nope.

A few minutes later, Riker came back out, and sat down next to me again, holding a glass of water.

"Here. Take this," said Riker, handing me the glass of water and a pill.

"What?"

"It'll make your head feel better," said Riker.

I rolled my eyes before taking the glass and pill from Riker. I felt weird, but my head was pounding, and I just wanted it all to stop. I set the glass down next to me, and sighed. I noticed Riker kept glancing at me. Whatever…

I got up and walked back inside, leaving Riker all alone. Almost everyone was awake now. I flopped on top of my sleeping bag and closed my eyes. I could hear Riker come back inside and put the glass in the sink before walking into the living room.

"So Cody, what do you want to do today?" Ross asked.

"Ooh! I heard about this carnival that opens today. It's only like 20 minutes from here. We should go!" Said my brother.

"Oh yeah, I heard about that!" Said Ross.

"But Kat doesn't really like carnivals and rides and stuff," said Cody.

"We'll figure something out," said Ross.

Hours Later…

Riker POV

"But why can't I go? Why not Ross or Rocky?" I asked.

"Because you're the oldest, and Kat's our guest. If she doesn't like carnivals, I'm not going to force her to go. But I'm also not going to let her be stuck home alone either," said my mom.

"But she hates me!"

"Why would she hate you?"

"That's the thing! I have no idea! I've been really nice to her!"

"Well, this will be a good opportunity for you to improve your relationship with her."

"What?"

"Ross was telling me earlier how Cody and he are like best friends now. If you hate Kat, that could hurt their relationship."

"I don't hate Kat. She hates me. I just don't understand her."

"Well, I'm sure you'll figure something out."

"Mom, really? Do I have to?"

"Yes Riker. You know, her mom and I were talking, and her parents are thinking about getting a divorce. She might have problems you don't know about, and that might be why she's shutting you out and treating you like that. Just try to be nice and understanding toward her."

"I am mom! That's what I've been doing, and nothing's helping!"

"Well, I'm sorry, you'll just have to keep trying."

I sighed. I wasn't getting out of this…

"Oh and by the way, your father and I are going out tonight. We're visiting a recording studio and meeting with some producers and stuff, so we won't be back until late."

"Wait, so I'm literally stuck with Kat all alone!?"

"Riker, it'll be fine! Trust me."

As I walked away, I rolled my eyes at my mom. I was really annoyed.

Later…

Riker POV

"Bye Riker, we'll see you later!" Called my mom.

I was officially alone with Kat. Well not exactly… She was taking a shower right now, so I had a little bit of time before I had to deal with her. I was extremely jealous of my siblings right now, going on rides, eating junk food… I heard the shower turn off. Great… She was a fast showerer… All of a sudden, I heard Kat scream.

"Kat!?"

No answer.

"KAT!?"

I ran up the stairs and knocked on the bathroom door.

"Kat are you ok!?"

"Riker?"

"Yeah? What?"

"There's a spider!"

"So?"

"I need you to kill it!"

I was terrified of spiders…

"What? Can't you kill it?"

"NO!"

"Ok, I'm coming in…"

Kat was standing in the bathtub with a towel wrapped around her.

"W-where is it?" I asked.

Kat pointed to one of the corners of the ceiling. I looked up. There was a big, black, creepy looking spider with long legs just hanging out up there.

"Oh…"

"Kill it!"

"I can't reach it!"

"Get a chair!"

I walked out of the bathroom and returned with a chair, a plastic cup, and a piece of paper. I was planning on putting the cup over it, and sliding the paper underneath so I wouldn't have to touch it. Kat was still standing in the bathtub, looking almost as terrified as I did.

I slowly stood up on the chair, distancing my head a little ways away from the spider. This was all going to have to be one swift motion… I slammed the cup into the ceiling, missed, and jumped backwards off the chair when the spider fell – towards me.

"AHHH!" I screamed.

From the ground, I crawled backwards to the bathtub as fast as I could, away from where I had seen the spider fall.

"Do you see it?" I asked.

"No! Weren't you watching it!?"

"I was too busy trying to get away from it!" I shouted back.

Kat and I were now trapped in the bathroom. The spider had fallen somewhere between us and the door. One of the scariest feelings, was knowing there was a spider in the same room as you, but not knowing where it was.

"Well what do we do now?" I asked.

"Well I would like to get dressed."

Kat grabbed her clothes, and closed the shower curtain. I stayed on the ground, still staring at the floor, looking for the spider.

Kat opened the shower curtain, got out, and stood next to me.

"Well?" She asked.

"Well what?"

"I'm not going to stay in this bathroom with you forever! We might not ever find the spider!"

Kat ran out the door, and I followed as quickly as I could. We returned to the living room, and Kat put her clothes in one of her bags. She took out her laptop, and I realized I had left my laptop at my dad's office. It had stuff like tour dates and times planned out on it, and Rocky had wanted to discuss some of that when he came home tonight. I knew it was a longshot, but I decided to ask Kat if we could go get it.

"Hey Kat?" I asked, nervously.

"Yeah?" Kat answered, sounding like she thought I was stupid.

"I was wondering if we could run out and grab my laptop from my dad's office. It's only like 10 minutes away, and I really need it."

"Fine… At least we'll be away from the spider…"

YES! I grabbed my dad's keys, and my car keys, and waited for Kat to grab her shoes before locking the door and leaving. We got in my car, and started driving.

"Ugh, ok maybe a little longer than 5 minutes…" I said, slowing down behind the long line of cars.

"What?"

"I think there's an accident up there."

"Ugh!"

Kat's phone beeped, and she looked at it. Even though it was dark, I could see she had a weird expression on her face, and something wasn't right.

"Are you ok?" I asked.

"Fine…"

Kat turned her phone off, and looked out the window. I wondered if it had something to do with her parents or the divorce.

The traffic soon got back to a normal speed, and we arrived at my dad's office building. Kat followed me to the door, which I unlocked, and then to the elevator. We got inside, and I pushed the button for floor 7. The doors closed, and we started going up. Halfway up, we stopped, and the lights shut off, leaving us in total darkness.

"What's going on!?" Kat shouted.

"I-I don't know!" I replied.

The emergency light came on, and we could see a little bit now. I tried pushing some buttons, but there was no power, and nothing happened, not even when I pushed the red button at the bottom for emergencies. I turned back to Kat, not really knowing what else to do. Kat was sitting on the ground with her legs out in front of her, leaning against the wall.

"Ummm…" I said.

Kat sighed.

"How long do you think we'll be stuck in here for?" Kat asked.

"I don't know… Wait, does your phone have reception? I forgot mine…"

"Ugh, no bars."

Great. Just great…

Kat leaned her head against the side of the wall, staring off into nowhere.

"Kat, are you ok?" I asked.

"Yeah…"

"Are you sure?"

Kat started crying.

"My parents are getting a divorce!"

Kat covered her face with her hands. I immediately sat down next to her, our shoulders touching.

"Kat, I'm so sorry!"

"They've been talking about it for so long now, but I never thought they'd actually do it!" Kat said, turning to face me.

I held out my arms, and Kat accepted my hug, crying into my shoulder.

"I'm sorry! I've been a jerk to you, and you've been so nice!" Kat said, upset.

"Kat, it's ok. Just try to calm down…"

"But my parents are separating!" Kat cried.

"I know… Just breathe…"

Kat held onto me tighter as her breath got steadier. Eventually, Kat pulled away, and leaned against the elevator wall again.

"I'm sorry, I'm such an idiot!" Said Kat.

"No you're not!"

"I'm talking to a guy I barely know about my parents getting a divorce. I shouldn't be here. I should be in my own house, with Cody, with both of my parents, all getting along and doing something fun together," said Kat standing up.

"What are you doing?"

"Getting out of here."

Kat was able to pry the elevator doors open. We were at a random floor about a foot off the ground. She held the doors open for me, and we both jumped down.

"Let's just get your laptop, and we can get out of here," said Kat.

Kat followed me to the stairs, and we walked until we saw the door for floor 7. I found my dad's office, unlocked the door, and grabbed my laptop that was still sitting on his desk where I had left it. I locked the door behind me, and we started walking down the many flights of stairs.

"Wait, hold on. I'm out of breath," said Kat, sitting down at the start of another flight of stairs.

I sat down next to her.

"Are you ok?" I asked.

"Physically, I will be in a minute. Mentally, not at all…"

I put my arm around her shoulder and gave her a side hug.

"It'll be ok," I said.

"How can you say that!? You don't know what this is like for me!"

"I can tell you're a strong person Kat, and I know you can make it through this."

"Oh yeah right. Breaking down in an elevator!"

"Everyone has those moments."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

Kat got up, and continued down the stairs. I followed. We got in my car, and started heading home.

"Riker?"

"Yeah?"

"I need you to do me favor."

"What?"

"I'm not ready to go back yet. I just… don't want to see Cody. Mom and dad probably texted him, and they're probably home now. I'm just not ready to deal with that just yet. I don't know what I'm asking you to do. I just…"

"No, I totally get it. Here, let me take you out to this diner I know of," I said, turning the car around.

"Really?"

"Yeah. We can stay there as long as you need to."

"Thank you…"

Driving to the diner, I honestly didn't know what to think! This was such a completely different side of Kat, and it was weird! But I could see she was breaking inside, and I felt really bad. I pulled into the parking lot and we got out and walked into the diner. Kat chose a table in the back.

"I'll be right back. I just want to fix my makeup and stuff," said Kat, walking to the bathroom.

When the waitress came, I ordered us both vanilla ice cream and hot chocolate. There weren't a lot of people in the diner, so our order came before Kat even came back.

"I ordered you some ice cream," I said when Kat returned.

"Thanks…"

Kat sat down across from me, and took small bites of her ice cream. She didn't really say much. She just kind of stared at the table.

"Are you ok?"

"No. I'm really not. And if you don't force me to go back to your house at some point, I won't leave this diner. Our family's a mess, and usually Cody looks up to me on how to act in certain situations. I need to be strong for him, but-"

"Kat, we're not going anywhere until you're ready. Just relax."

Kat looked up at me. There were tears streaming down her face.

"I just… don't even know anymore…"

"Know what?"

"How to do this!"

"Do what?"

"Live a normal life! When my grandmother died, it felt like my life was falling apart and there was nothing I could do to fix it. It feels exactly like that now, only worse…"

I didn't even know what to say anymore.

"Can we just leave? I just want to get this over with. There is no way I'm going to be able to do this calmly, and I just have to accept that. Let's just go. I'm wasting your time…"

"Are you sure? You're not wasting my time."

"No. Let's just go. I just want this day to be over."

After I paid, we got in my car, and Kat started crying. Hard. Her breathing was so unsteady, and she was shaking like crazy.

"Whoa Kat, calm down. Everything's going to be ok!"

I wanted to wait for Kat to be somewhat calm before I left. Her breathing was getting slower now.

"How can you say everything's going to be ok!?"

"Kat, I'll help you through this. You're not alone! I can help you talk to Cody if you want."

"You'd do that for me!?"

"Of course I would."

"But I've been nothing but a jerk to you!"

"Kat, it's ok."

All of a sudden, Kat turned to me, reached over, and put her hand around my neck. We both leaned in, and kissed.