Katy's Summer

Alex

I looked out from the window as Katy went inside a cab and it drove away. It was heartbreaking, and something inside my mind was yelling at me, telling I was stupid for mocking her behind her back.

“It’s okay, Alex.”, Leisha patted my shoulder. “She’s not worthed.”

The rage inside me went to my fingers. I launched up and somehow, my hands were already around her neck, strangling her. “You bitch!”

“Alex!”, she yelped as I pinned her harshly to the couch. “You don’t know what you’re doing!”

“Alex!”

I turned my head around and saw Aubrey panting on the doorway. She pushed me aside and continued where I left off. “YOU! I HATE YOU FROM THE START!”

“Let me go, bitch!”

Aubrey fumed and her fist went across Leisha’s face. My eyes widened to see her like that, and now, Aubrey pinned Leisha on the floor of the bus. “Call me a bitch again and I’ll take that eyes of yours!”

Leisha shut her mouth and took a sharp breath. Aubrey punched her one more time and she knocked out.

“Aub…”, I touched her shoulder and she turned her head around. Her warm brown eyes were glassy. She stood up and sat on the couch.

“Why, Alex? Why did you do that to her?”

I sat next to her and sighed. “I don’t know. I was stupid.”

“She’s the best girl you ever brought and dated.”, Aubrey spat as she stood up and ran to her bunk.

Katy

“Katy!”, mom wrapped me in a tight hug when I was walked into the foyer. “Oh my, my baby’s home!”

“Hi, mom.”, I smiled and hugged her back.

“Is that my little kitty?”, Dad walked out from the living room and engulfed me in a tight hug after mom. “We miss you, baby.”

I nodded. “I’m sorry, dad.”

Mom wiped her tear away and smiled. “Okay, who’s up for waffles?”
*************
A week after I was home, I went to the front yard and sat on the garden sofa outside the porch. My electric purple journal was on my lap. I was writing down the whole summer, and I got the Polaroids and pictures from my little trip.

There was one Polaroid of me, Aubrey, Dexter, Serena, and Kara in front of the bus, the first day of tour. The caption says “SUMMER GIRLS!”. I smiled cause’ of that picture.

The next one was me and Alex, at the back lounge after we went to Disney World. We were kissing, and our face still smothered in paint.

“Katy?”

I looked up and I thought I was hallucinating. The dirty blond who was standing in front of me was real. she was only wearing her brother’s Hurley sweat shirt and black skinny jeans. She looked thinner than the last time I saw her.

“Serena?”

She smiled and I launched up, tackling her into a hug. “What are you doing here, Rena!?”

“I’m home. I need to tell you something.”

I pulled her inside and up to my room. I closed the door and sat on my bed, next to her. “What’s wrong?”

Her eyes were tired and red, with dark circles under them. There were dried tears trails, and she looked lifeless. “Katy, I just found out…”

“Found out what?”

Her lips trembled as she tried to say it. I held her hand, encouraging her. “Found out what, Serena?”

“I was…I was…”

My eyes widened as I kept on looking at her. Her other hand fell down to her stomach. “You’re…”

She shook her head. “I was.”

My mouth hung open and I narrowed my eyes. “You were? What happened to the baby?”

Tears started to fall again from her blue eyes. “I…I took him out.”

It felt like someone stung my eyes with hot iron, made tears fell down my eyes too. Serena began to cry harder and I pulled her into a hug. She kept on crying on my shoulder, and all I can do was telling her it’ll be okay, or stroking her hair.

After she calmed down, we sat on the window edge, enjoying the streaming sun of the end of summer. “When did you take him out?”

“When you went home, I went home too, with the excuse I missed my mom. Everyone believed it, and I took him out at night.”

I nodded. “Is he buried now?”

She shook her head. “No, I chose cremation.”

“Why?”

“It’ll be hurting me to imagine his tiny body in the ground.”, she answered quietly. Her eyes were still holding the tears back, and her hands were caressing a clear bead, hanging on her necklace. I looked at it carefully and it was filled with grey ashes.

“It’s that…”

“Yeah.”

“Have you told Matt? Or your brother?”

“No, and I’m not planning to.”

“Serena, why did you take him out? he had the right to live!”

“Katy, you don’t understand!”, She shouted. “I’m only 20, I’m not ready for a kid, yet. I doubt that Matt wants him too.”

“Have you asked him about it?”

Serena froze on her spot. She shook her head slowly and looked down to her hands. “No, I haven’t.”

“Rena, what if Matt wants him? what if he wants to be a dad? What’re you gonna do about that?”

“I don’t fucking know!”, she screeched and fell back to the floor. Thank god my parents were out. she yanked her hair and cried like a maniac. “I need help, Katy! Not a lecture!”

I quickly kneeled beside her and wrapped my arms around her. “I’m sorry.”
**********
After dinner, Serena went home. I asked her to sleep over, but she has Bud, the Merricks’ Golden Retriever. When I wanted to turn around to head inside, someone held my shoulder.

“Katy.”