Chapter 38

Riker POV

"Where did he get that from?" I asked.

"I have no idea!"

I was staring at the computer screen in shock. How did Cody get this!? It was a picture from the amusement park we'd gone to when Kat and I were forced to ride together by my siblings. It was one of those pictures they take at a weird moment in the ride so you looked crazy, and then when you get off, they have it printed out for you to take with you. But Kat and I didn't look crazy. I had my arm around her shoulders, and I was looking down at her. Kat was looking back up at me. It was probably the cutest rollercoaster photo anyone's ever taken.

"Maybe Ross gave it to him or something."

"Maybe."

"Why didn't he want you to look at it until after the dance?"

"Probably because he knew about this all along, and he wanted to make sure their plan worked first."

"You look so adorable."

Whoa… I just said that out loud didn't I?

"So do you."

YES!

"Riker?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you still want to watch that movie?"

"Isn't it kind of late?"

"Well yeah, it's already tomorrow, but there's no way I'll be falling asleep anytime soon after everything that happened tonight."

"Ok, then sure."

I helped Kat get the movie set up, shut the lights off, and then sat down next to her on her bed.

"Ugh…"

"What?"

"My back is killing me."

"Here, let me see."

Kat turned her back to me so I could pull the back of her shirt up, revealing a really big bruise across her back from the edge of the counter.

"Whoa, that looks like it really hurt."

"It did! And it still does."

"Here, I'll go get you some ice, don't start the movie yet."

"Riker. Thank you. For everything. I really needed you tonight, and you were there for me."

"Kat, I'll always be there for you."

I turned to go get the ice before she could see me start to cry. She was the only person that could make me feel like this. I almost crashed into her parents on my way down the stairs.

"Oh. Riker. Are you ok?" Kat's mom asked.

"Yeah. I'm just getting some ice for Kat."

"Is it her back?"

"Yeah."

"You don't think she broke anything do you?"

"No. I think she just bruised it pretty badly. If she broke something, I think she'd be in more pain."

"Ok. Good. Just keep an eye on her for me, would you? Tell me if she's not ok."

"I will."

"Thanks. She's really lucky to have someone like you, Riker."

"Well I'm really lucky to have someone like her too."

Kat's mom smiled at me before continuing up the stairs. I got some ice for Kat, and then went back upstairs.

"Here," I said.

"Thanks Riker."

I sat back down next to Kat on her bed, and we started the movie, which turned out to be a horror movie. Why she liked horror movies, I didn't know. I was actually a little shocked she picked a scary movie, considering everything that happened tonight. I was definitely freaked out! And the fact that it was now past 2:00, and dark, and no one else was awake was making it even worse!

"Riker? You ok?" Kat whispered, startling me.

"Yeah."

"You sure?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"You seem… I don't know… Not yourself…"

"Well I don't really like scary movies."

"Oh… Riker I forgot. You could've told me."

"Nah, it's ok."

"So… You didn't really like the movie then…"

"Well I was scared! It's ok Kat."

"Well… Ok… You're ok now that it's over though right?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

Kat still didn't seem to believe me, but I knew it was because she cared about me, and that meant the world to me.

"So… What are we going to do now?" Kat asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Well the movie's over. Are you going to go home? Or… What?"

"Uh…"

"I mean you don't have to. I'm not trying to make you. I'm just wondering."

"Honestly… I'm actually… Terrified of leaving this room right now… You don't know how freaked out I get with scary movies. It just makes me feel like outside of this room, someone's waiting to kill me. Almost like… you tonight…"

"Awww. Riker, it's ok. You can just stay the night."

"Are you sure? I can call Rocky to come get me."

"No, it's fine. Here, let me get you some blankets and stuff."

"Thanks. Hey Kat?"

"Yeah?"

"Are you… scared?"

"From the movie? No."

"No. I mean from what happened tonight."

"With getting attacked?"

"Yeah."

"Well yeah. We didn't find anything missing. So we don't exactly know what they were here for. I mean… What if they were here for me or Cody?"

"Well if they were here for you, then why are you still here? I mean wouldn't they have kidnapped you or killed you if they were here for you? Not just pushed you and left?"

"What if they didn't know it was me. What if they heard a person come home, but couldn't see who it was, so they figured they should just leave?"

"I don't know Kat."

"Ugh! You got me all scared now!"

"I didn't mean to. I was just wondering."

"Well now I'm not going to be able to fall asleep for a while. I'm wide awake!"

"Shhh! Do you want your parents to hear?"

"I don't care if my parents hear. After all I've been through, the least they can do for me is let you stay the night. Did you notice how they barely cared that I'd been attacked?"

"Kat, they cared! A lot!"

"No they didn't! They don't care about me or Cody. Well, maybe dad cares about Cody, but they don't care about me!"

"Kat, when I went to get you ice, I ran into your mom. She said she was happy you had me."

"Yeah, happy I had you, so she didn't have to deal with me!"

"Kat-"

"Why can't you just agree with me!?"

I looked away from Kat. I didn't know what to say anymore.

"Look, let's just go to sleep, ok? I'm sorry."

I silently got off Kat's bed, and set up my own on the floor next to Kat's.

"Riker. I'm sorry. I'm just freaked out. These past few days have taken a lot out of me."

Once I was finished setting up my bed, I laid down facing the wall.

"Riker, I don't want to go to sleep like this in the middle of a fight."

Had we really just had a fight? It hadn't even been a whole day, and we'd had a fight already? I guess we had…

"Riker. Please talk to me. Don't do this."

Ugh she was crying. Why was I doing this to her? Why was I hurting her? I loved her.

"Kat, I'm sorry. Can we just… Just forget anything happened and go to sleep."

"But you're mad."

"I'm not mad."

"Really?"

"I promise I'm not."

Kat half leaned off her bed to give me an awkward hug. I had to help push her back up before she fell off.

"Good night Riker."

"Good night Kat."

The Next Night…

Kat POV

I ran outside to meet Riker, who had run all the way from his house to mine.

"What was so important? My dad yelled at me for leaving halfway through dinner!" I shouted, annoyed.

"Kat. I have to tell you something," Riker shouted, running toward me.

"What's wrong? Why do you look upset? Riker! You're scaring me!"

"Kat," Riker said, breathing hard.

"What!?"

"We… We're…"

"What?"

"We're leaving for tour tomorrow."