• The Worst ending ever

    I stumbled out of the bath tub, still dizzy and with the feeling - no hope - that all this was a nightmare. A bad dream I would sooner or later wake up from. I sincerely hoped that it would be sooner rather then later. That I would close my eyes in this false reality and open then in a hospital wing or something. Jared and Klyde would hurry to my bed both relived and horrified by my state, like I knew they would. But that’s just “would be” stuff. And it would be like that, if I wasn’t selfish, life-destroying wretch.

    I grabbed the towel and in a swift motion wrapped it around my torso. Just thinking their names made my eyes flood with salty water and turn my legs into jelly. I leaned over the sink and held onto it for the extra support. Of course it didn’t help. The pain was too heavy to carry and I dropped to my knees under its weight. I pressed my over-heated cheek to the cool tiles below me.

    “Kate? Kate, darling, we rally must go soon or they’ll think we are being rude.”

    That was unmistakably my mom’s voice. She always has this patient ring to it, but now I could hear the pity and regret breaking through it. That stupid pity for my uncontrollable suffering. That stupid regret for telling me about the letter. How could she blame herself for things that didn’t involve her at all? Death of someone she met once or the pain of someone who would care little for her own?

    The harsh sound of John’s angry footsteps was crystal clear through the thin wooden door. If anyone I could rely on John to be mad at me. May be not for the right reasons but he was mad and that was enough. Sometimes it was hard to believe he was my older brother and not my dad. I suppose he tried to replace our son-of-a-b***h-father for me as much as he could, since he never had one.

    “Katarine O’Shay! You get out of there right now!” he yelled in his cold deep voice
    “John, stop it.” mom whispered. She sounded so worried. I felt horrible.
    “No Mom! Kate, you listen to me and you listen good. This has gone on for far too long! When will you stop feeling sorry for yourself and do as much as you can with what you have left? Jared is dead, that’s a fact. But for god’s sake, Klyde is not!”
    Mom let out a low hiss.

    I curled into a small ball and tied my hands around my legs still lying on my side. The burning sensation in my throat worsened and a fresh wave of pain and anger washed through me. My whole cheek was stuck to the floor by my tears, and I was more then sure they weren’t planning on stopping their heavy flow any time soon. I could never let Klyde see me like this. Ever. It would hurt him. Eat him away from the inside. The least I could do now was to keep all this hurt to myself. Not inflict it on anyone else. Especially not Klyde. If only John new how true his words were. I was feeling sorry for myself, but I couldn’t stop it. Angrily, I forced my tears back with my left hand and pulled myself up, off the floor. I could hear mom’s and John’s infuriated whispers still outside the bathroom door.

    “Ill be out in few minutes, darn it!” I chocked out as loudly as I could force myself to, without revealing the way I spend the last 45 minutes of my life, which consisted of nothing but crying. I think it might have sounded unnecessarily harsh though.
    ***


    “Mysteriously” mom’s mood improved to the point of whistling, by the time I got out of the bathroom. Of course both her and John suddenly remembered they had something important to do, so I had to go to that house on my own. At least John’s excuse was valid since he really had to study for his finals, but mom’s claim to have to go shopping was quiet feeble, of which I was made aware as soon as I opened the cupboard and when trying to close it met resistance in form of too many instant noodles and cereal boxes.

    The drive to Long Beach Parks was longer then usual. The sun burned my skin and the heat was almost unbearable. Even with all the windows opened and the black Porsche moving at nearly invisible speed, the air was not moving fast enough to get rid of my nausea. I pulled over in front of Klyde’s house and turned off the engine. I sat there silently for a while. No one checked to see who I was, just waiting in a car in a random street. Nobody in Long Beach Parks has a car like me. Nobody is used to listen out for cars quiet engines like this. If it was few weeks back and I still had my old broken down jeep, everyone would be wary, because the noise of the car would draw peoples attention. But not anymore, because now I was driving the most expensive, stupid car around. Did it bring me any joy though? No, because the reason Jared gave me this car, was because we planned to go to the mountains every weekend, as long as we lived, and my jeep just wasn’t up to it. What do I need it for now? I have a car, but the one who was suppose to ride in it with me won’t ever even touch the glossy paint again.
    I closed my eyes and pinched the bridge of my nose…

    … It was just as sunny as it was now, but the heat didn’t bother me at all. I held Jared’s hand as we walked across the lawn of his neighbour’s house toward his own house. Suddenly he pulled his hand back and wrapped it around my waist.
    “Sorry Kate hon. but I am going to have to blind fold you now… you know, so it doesn’t spoil the surprise”
    “Sure” I said with ease, although I was more than eager to receive my surprise present.
    “Are you sure you trust me to lead you SAFELY over our back yard?” Jared teased.

    I knew exactly what to answer to get back on him for it. I spun around and simultaneously lifted my head so I could see his honey coloured eyes better. Of course he was one step ahead of me. His face was so close, that if it was anyone else it might have been uncomfortable. I inhaled the scent of his breath. It smelled of tobacco and mint, just like always, and even though I disliked the smell of tobacco, mixed with the mint it smelled quiet pleasant. Also just like always it made it made me a little light headed. With a smirk on his face he pulled me a little closer and with one hand brushed my curly hair out of the way. My crazy heart accelerated so much that I wasn’t sure a race car could out run it. What was he thinking? Was he trying to give me heart attack? And guess what, he wasn’t finished with his “charming” performance. He took my hand and clenched it to his chest. I looked down to see the difference in our skin tone. My was awfully pale and if you looked close enough you could probably see the arteries under my skin. It was sickening. Especially when compared to his tanned, chocolate brown colour. My pulse slowed down a little now. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a lilac velvet scarf which he tied around my head, covering my eyes.

    “You never said, do you trust me?” He asked again with what I was positive a mocking smile.
    No chance. I could not remember what it was, I was going to say, so I just whispered the most obvious answer.
    “I…I trust you with my life.”
    I expected a lot of answers but not that he will laugh.
    “Sounds like a line from some crappy love book.” he confessed

    He grabbed my hand again and dragged me through the house and out into the garden. When I felt the wind on my face again for about two minutes, he stopped and let go of my hand.

    “You can take off the blind fold now” Jared said, all excited

    I pulled the scarf’s end a little and it slipped down onto my neck. In the shade of an enormous tree - that was obviously out of place for the area - stood a beautiful shining car. I could see the reflection of my shocked face in the black paint and even though I didn’t know what type of car it was, I knew it was extremely expensive.

    “Well, do you like it?” Jared blew half holding his breath
    “Well…” I mimicked his thoughtful voice “…I suppose…” I couldn’t hold my straight face anymore “…I LOVE IT!” I squealed with may be a little too much excitement.
    …I opened my eyes. Tom was standing right in front of the car, staring at me. His long black hair and green eyes where just like Klyde’s. In fact the only major difference was their size. Klyde was much taller and bulkier, but no one could deny the fact that they were father and son.

    “Hello Kate. Where you planning on having a nap outside our house or where you actually going to come in?” he asked me in a cool voice.
    It took me a minute to figure out what he was talking about.
    “Oh” It hit me “I… no… actually I came to see how Klyde was doing?”

    I braced myself. Surely, Tom would have no option but to hold me responsible - unless he wasn’t human and had now emotional feeling towards his only son out of four children. I waited, but no yelling came. I looked up from my hands. Tom was simply smiling at me. It was a weak smile, but smile non-the-less.
    “Kate, Klyde is a fool. He should have known better then to fight with Jared. I think that you feel bad enough as it is, because of Jared, so me blaming you in any way for Klyde’s idiocy is not helping anyone. Besides he is recovering fast.”
    He answered my unspoken question as if he could read my mind.

    What is wrong with everybody? They all feel sympathy for the wrong people. People like me, who don’t deserve it. It was my fault that Klyde was injured and that Jared was… well that he wasn’t around any more. I was the last person they should be comforting.
    “It was my fault, not Klyde’s. If I never told him what was in that letter, they could both be alive and well.”
    I said so quietly, I was surprised he could hear it, even if he was enhanced in this weird way.
    “But you would have been dead and I think that both Jared and Klyde would gladly sacrifice their lives to save the Noble One.”
    For a moment we stared at each other through the front windshield, before he took another deep breath and sighted.
    “Come on Kate, he’s been waiting for you since he woke up.”

    Wordlessly I opened the door and stepped outside. The sun burned even more intensely against my skin now. I slammed the door shut and turned around to lock it. Not that it was likely that anyone in Long Beach park would steal it. By the time I was done, Tom was already gone, so I took the liberty go inside without direct invitation. As soon as I opened the door the smell of Sunflowers overwhelmed me. The sun was shining through the large window onto the sofa, where Klyde was lying, watching TV. Almost instantly, Klyde registered my presence and flashed a big goofy grin at me.

    ***