Who We Are

Ronnie sat in one of the chairs along the wall and looked up when I walked into the office from the back hallway. He stood up when he saw it was me and stepped over quickly, only to be stopped by my dad, who put an arm out in front of him.

"Dad," I said, pushing his hand off of Ronnie and stepping between them, "He didn't do anything. Let go."

My dad's eyes trained on me and he looked less than displeased. "Just because he didn't abuse you doesn't mean I want him around you," he stated, catching us both by surprise. He motioned for me to walk ahead of him, but I stayed still.

"Dad..." I trailed off as Ronnie grabbed my hand and stood next to me. I shook my head and met my father's light eyes. "You can't do that," I said, "I want to be with Ronnie."

"You're sixteen," he replied, pulling my arm from Ronnie and trying to pull me out of the office, "Yes, I can."

My head was shaking continuously as I backed out of his grasp and grabbed Ronnie's hand tightly, standing beside him with my chin pressing into his arm. "No matter what you do, I'll see him," I said solemnly, "You could quit your job and move us across the country and I'd still figure out a way to see him, Dad."

My father crossed his arms over his chest and looked at the two of us. I couldn't place the anger on his face, but it was evident. "Kat," he almost growled, "Move over here and lets go." He didn't reach out to grab me. He just waited for me to do as he said, like I always did.

"No," I replied without trying to sound defiant, "I'm not walking away from him."

Ronnie spoke next, tightening his grasp on my hand and talking to my dad honestly. "Mr. Silverstein," he started, getting his attention, "I'm not the ideal boyfriend you'd want for your daughter, I know that, and I know you're scared to let Kat be around someone like me, but I swear to you that I will never get her into anything that could hurt her," Ronnie promised, dropping our clasped hands to our sides.

My dad looked at Ronnie with biased eyes. My dad didn't hate him, I knew that from the times he let the brothers sleep in our living room, but he hated the idea of Ronnie being more than charity case to me. "I'm sorry, Ronnie," my dad spoke, sounding sincere, "but I can't let you or your family around my daughter. There will always be a chance that she could get hurt and I can't allow that."

"I'm going to get hurt anyway," I defended abruptly, trying to reason with the man, "No matter what I do, Dad, I'm going to be hurt by something in the future. Please don't make me stay away from him. That would hurt more than anything."

My dad's blue eyes met mine and I could see the struggle in his. He slowly shook his head back and forth as he spoke. "I don't want to hurt you, Kat," he said honestly, "but I can't allow you to be hurt in the way they are."

Ronnie cringed and frowned because he knew exactly what my dad was referring to. My father knew too much about his home life, but he'd never openly spoke about it in front of Ronnie. "I would never let anything happen to her," Ronnie growled, "I would never, ever let him lay a hand on her."

"What about last night?" my dad asked quickly, "You took her into your house all night long. Are you telling me that your father wasn't in the house at all?"

"He wasn't," Ronnie stated harshly, "I'm not that stupid." He stepped so that he was standing slightly in front of me, protecting me from the very idea that his father was near me last night.

My dad's gaze was just as harsh. "You were stupid enough to keep my daughter with you all night," he replied, now getting to the fact that we were alone all night together, "You kept her with you all night, knowing she lied to me, instead of sending her home. She was hurt and you didn't send her home."

Ronnie's dark hair fell into his eyes and he glared at my dad through the gap between us. "I took care of her," he said, "Like I always will. She came to me and she didn't want to go home. I'll never send Katerina away."

I looked up at the tall boy and listened to his words, wondering where the intensity was coming from so suddenly. I'd only ever cared about my siblings and my father that way, and to have Ronnie's feelings thrust at me so strongly was a terrifying idea. "I don't want to be anywhere else," I said, speaking to both of them before I addressed my dad, "Ronnie isn't like you think he is. He's not a bad guy, Dad. He's good to me."

"For now," he responded, unconvinced about what I was saying, "You don't know what you're getting yourself into, Kat. You don't understand that his life is really messed up and you shouldn't get into the middle of it. You don't need any of that."

"You're wrong," I replied, stepped forward with our hands connected between us, "I need him and I want him. I don't want anything else, but I want Ronnie more than you could ever understand."

He was shocked, I could see it, and I watched as that surprise transformed into worry. He stepped forward a half step and looked at me with pleading eyes. "We're leaving, Katerina," he replied. He didn't sound angry with either of us, just tired and disappointed in what we were saying to him. He reached across the gap and grabbed my arm again. It didn't hurt because he wasn't rough, but I didn't want to leave Ronnie, not like this.

"Dad, please," I stressed, "You can't just pull me away like I'm not speaking to you."

"You're speaking nonsense. So we're going home." He glanced towards the back hallway and I followed his gaze as Ronnie turned around to look at Emily and her family. Ronnie's expression turned murderous when Nathaniel came into sight.

I yanked out of my father's grasp and grabbed Ronnie's arm before he could move any closer. "Ronnie, no," I demanded, pulling him back towards me when he stepped forward.

"Kat, let go," he replied in the same tone.

I pulled him back so that he was next to me, and stepped in front of him to brace my hands against his ribs, holding him back from doing whatever he was thinking about. "Don't do this in front of my dad," I begged softly, "He'll keep me from you if you prove him right."

Emily's family stopped at the opening of the hall into the room and looked over the three of us. Mrs. and Mr. Henderson didn't looked pleased in general, but they looked even less pleased to see us. "Emily, you have some apologizing to do," her father ordered, giving his daughter a look before his wife caught his attention.

"For hitting Katerina, yes," Mrs. Henderson agreed sounding a bit put off by her own husband's statement, "but she shouldn't have to be around this boy just to be friends with her."

"Excuse me?" I got out, looking at the mother like she'd lost her head, "You don't even know him," I defended, turning around so that my back was to Ronnie's chest and my eyes were trained on the Hendersons.

She gave Ronnie a look as I slipped his fingers into mine. "I know enough," she said, not bothering to look at either of us.

"I'm sure you do," I stated with a roll of my eyes. My gaze flickered to Nate next as he stood silently by his father's side. He looked pleased that I finally looked at him at all. It was almost as if he tried to explain himself with his eyes. I shook my head and dropped my gaze to Ronnie's tattooed hand holding mine.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Mrs. Henderson questioned with a suspicious look towards me.

I shrugged and met her calculating gaze. "Just that you don't know everything that goes on with your children, is all," I stated.

"Kat, don't," my dad spoke, taking a step closer to Ronnie and I, "It's not your place."

I looked back to the blonde man. "It's not her place to judge others," I replied angrily, "Especially when she's under the false assumption that her own family is picture perfect."

He gave me one of his 'dad looks' but I didn't want to be quiet. There was so much that I was tired of not saying that I was about ready to explode. Ronnie spoke instead, directing his words towards the oldest Henderson sibling. "We'll talk later," he said darkly, causing both of Nate's parents to be disturbed and too look shocked.

"Is that a threat?" Nate questioned, stepping out from behind his mother as she demanded he 'knock it off'. Ronnie stepped out from behind me and let go of my hand as I tried to yank him back. The older boy crossed his arms over his chest and stared at Ronnie, who was taller than him by inches.

Ronnie shrugged his shoulders. "It's what you take it as," he replied, "But if you ever kiss my girlfriend again, we'll do more than talk."

"Stop it," I said as I got between them, "Both of you. You'll never have to see each other again, so just stop it right now." I pulled Ronnie back by his hand, stepping back twice to keep a good distance between the angry teenagers. "Ronnie, lets go." I tried to turn around, but Nate quickly grabbed my other hand.

"Kat, can we-"

Ronnie pushed him off all at once. "Don't touch her," he demanded, stepping half in front of me protectively, "I think your family has caused her enough trouble."

Nate glared at the younger boy. "What Kat and I talk about has nothing to do with you," he stated, "So stop acting like a jackass and get the hell out of my way. Just because she picked you for some God-awful reason doesn't mean you have a monopoly on her time."

"I sure have more right to it than you do," Ronnie spat, "You can't even keep your sister from punching her in the face."

The two fathers in the room rushed forward as Nate and Ronnie came face to face, their hatred towards each other evident as they glared at one another, on the brink of throwing punches. My dad pushed me back and grabbed Ronnie, pushing him back as Nate's dad did the same, demanding that his son calm down.

I slipped between my father and Ronnie and grabbed both of the brunette's hands. "Ronnie, it's okay," I said softly, holding his hands up between us with my fingers between his, "I don't want to talk to him anyway. We're leaving and Nate's going with his family."

"Emily, Nathaniel," their mother called, "We'll meet you both back at the house." She looked at her kids and practically shooed them out of the office, expecting Nate to drive Emily back to their house so they could wait to be yelled at. Why they weren't leaving with their kids, I wasn't sure, but the look on their faces made me nervous

"Mr. Silverstein, we'd like to speak with you privately," Mr. Henderson explained, glancing at Ronnie and I as if to say that we weren't welcome as part of the conversation.

"I'm sorry," my dad replied, "but I'm taking my daughter to get her eye looked at."

"It won't take long," they rebutted, "Maybe an half hour. We just would like to discuss with you the relationship between our children."

"If it has to do with me then I should be included," I stated, pulling my hand from Ronnie's so I could cross my arms over my chest. "But seeing as there isn't going to be a relationship between me and either of your kids, I don't think it's something you'll have to discuss at all."

My dad looked from the married couple to me and jerked his head towards the door. "Kat, go home," he demanded, making me angry. He looked to Ronnie and told him to go back to class, making sure to emphasize that he wasn't welcome at our house.

Ronnie and I both nodded and headed out of the office, knowing we were being watched through the large glass windows that encased the room. When the door closed behind us, Ronnie took my hand and pulled me to him quickly. "I'll meet you at your house in ten," he said softly into my ear as he wrapped his arms around me.

I wrapped my arms around his neck and dropped my head. "I'll be waiting," I replied, letting go of him just as quickly so that my father didn't burst through the glass door and yank us apart by our hair. We turned in two different directions. Ronnie headed down the back hall towards the back exit while I headed out of the front of building, taking the usual way home.

On the walk home, I was worried about what my dad was talking to the Hendersons about. When I got to my street, I slowed my pace and looked at the car that wasn't supposed to be parked in the driveway. Through the driver's side window, both Nate and Emily were visible as they talked angrily to one another.

My plan was to walk past them into my house, but as soon as he saw me coming, Nathaniel was out of the car and slamming the door on his sister as she ran her mouth. "Kat, I just want to talk to you," he said as he stepped into my path, "Please, just give me five minutes."

I tried to step around him without looking him in the eye. "Nate, go away," I demanded, crossing my arms over my chest as he kept stepping in the way, "I don't want to talk to you about anything."

He lightly put his hands on my shoulders to stop me from walking around him. "Kat," he said, trying to meet my gaze, "Kat, please just talk to me. You can't end our friendship. They're two sided."

"You can't be a friend to yourself," I stated, pushing him away from me, "So just go away. You're not my friend but you'll always be her brother." I glared at the girl in the car.

"I know she's the one you're really running away from, Kat," he said, throwing his hand back towards the brunette in the car, "But you can't push me away just because she's my sister. It's not fair to either of us."

I glared at the brown haired boy. "I'm not pushing you away because you're Emily's brother," I replied, peering at him angrily, "I'm pushing you away because you don't want to be my friend anymore! You want more from me and you don't understand that I want to be with Ronnie, not you." I met his eyes just before his slid up to look over my shoulder.

"What's he doing here, Kat?" Nate questioned, reminding me all at once that Ronnie was on his way.

My eyes widened and I quickly turned around to intersect Ronnie before he could get any closer to Nate. "Ronnie," I grunted as I grabbed the boy around the waist, "Don't."

"Your dad isn't here, Kat," he replied, pushing my hands off of him, "I don't have to play nice." He stepped forward and swung his fist at Nate, who didn't bother to protect himself as Ronnie's fist collided with his jaw. "You deserved that," Ronnie spat as I pulled him back by his thin waist.

Nate stood up straight with a hand to his cheek and nodded slowly. "If it makes you feel better," Nate said, glaring at the seventeen year old, "Then I'll let you get away with that."

Ronnie scoffed and rolled his eyes. "What're you going to do about it?" he questioned, "Fight me?"

Nate shook his head at Ronnie. "You're so immature," he replied, crossing his arms over his chest, "I don't know what Katerina sees in you."

"That's none of your business," Ronnie replied maliciously, "but obviously there's something in me that she likes better than you." He ignored me as I yanked on his arm, warning him to be quiet and stop throwing how I feel back in Nate's face.

I stepped between the teenage boys and shook my head at both of them. "Nate, take Emily and go home," I demanded, causing him to look back at his sister, "You shouldn't be here."

Nate peered at Ronnie. "What're you going to do with him?" he asked, causing Ronnie's anger to bubble.

"That's none of your fucking business," Ronnie exploded, gently pushing me back so that he could get closer to the noisy brunette, "What Kat and I do has nothing to do with you. She's not dating you, she's dating me. It doesn't work three ways. She's mine, not yours. So mind your own damn business."

Ronnie stepped away from the boy and pulled me by my hand, waiting for me to follow along. I stepped past Nate and frowned at the boy. "Nate, go home," I said one last time. I caught up to Ronnie and we crossed the lawn to my house, knowing we didn't have that much time before my dad would come home. I didn't look back at Nate, but I heard the car start and back out of the driveway.

"We don't have time to go in," I said as I turned towards Ronnie and looked him in the eye, "And there's no way that my dad will let me anywhere near you once he gets home."

Ronnie wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me to him, shaking his head at a thought neither of us liked. "We'll find a way," he promised, a slight smile on his face as he tried to reassure me, "Your dad works a lot and we both have school. There will be time for us to be together."

"But not enough time," I replied, realizing that it was the truth. "There will never be enough time for us to truly be together, Ronnie. Especially alone."

A sly grin slid onto Ronnie's face. "You want to be alone with me?" he asked playfully, pulling me harder against him, "I'm sure we'll find a way, Katerina."

I shook my head and frowned at the boy. "How do you always have such a positive attitude about us?" I asked, reaching up to brush his bangs out of his dark eyes, "Even when we've got a school and my father rooting against us, you find a way to believe that everything is going to work out."

His smile was gone, but his eyes were light. "Because I love you, Kat," he told me, "I really do. I didn't say it earlier for no reason."

"I remember," I whispered, glancing away from his eyes. This time he said it, I knew I had to say something back, but I wasn't sure exactly what I felt or how to say it. 'Love' didn't seem like the right word, not because I didn't love him, just because it was different and more at the same time.

"Kat," Ronnie said before he dipped his head and pressed his mouth to mine. He moved his head up during the kiss, which caused me to be looking right at him when we pulled apart. "You don't have to love me back," he said, smiling because he'd managed to get me to look at him, "It's okay if you don't. I just wanted you to know how I feel about you so that maybe you'll understand why I know we're going to work out."

I nodded, smiling, and peered back at the road to make sure my dad wasn't heading in our direction. I pushed up onto the tips of my toes and kissed him softly, my fingers moving to the back of his neck as one of his hands cupped my jaw.

"I don't know how I feel," I said when we stopped. I met his eyes and smiled lightly, reassuringly, "But I promise that I do feel something for you. A lot, actually, and I'll tell you when I figured out how to explain it."

He nodded until his lips were on mine. "Okay," he said, then looked over my shoulder to the road. "You should go. I don't want your dad to find us here like this."

I shook my head and wrapped my arms around his waist. "I don't want to go," I complained, pressing my head against his chest.

"He won't yell at you that much," Ronnie replied, pulling back so he could see my face, "It'll be fine. Just keep telling him that I love you and that we want to be together."

"I don't think knowing you love me is going to make him feel any better," I said, grabbing his shirt in my fists as he stepped back, "He wants me to be his little girl for the rest of my life. He doesn't want me to love anyone else."

Ronnie grinned. "Well then I guess we're okay," he said, "because you don't, yet."

I glared at the cheeky boy and pushed away from him. "I'm going now," I said as I turned my back to him and headed across the grass to my front door.

"Kat, come on," Ronnie laughed as he bounded over the grass to wrap his arms around me from behind. "Don't be mad," he said into my hair as he pulled my back to his chest, "I was only kidding. Plus, shouldn't I be the one upset by that? And I'm not, so it's okay."

I rolled my eyes but turned around in his grasp when I couldn't get out of it. "Go home, Ronnie," I chided, "Or my dad will shoot you."

"That's okay." He kissed me. "Because at least I'll be with you."

I groaned at the corniness of that sentence as he laughed. "Now you really need to go home," I replied, shaking my head at the boy as I stepped away from him. When half the yard was between us and I was at the steps to my front door, I looked back to him and smiled. "I'll see you tomorrow?"

He nodded, his hands shoved into the pockets of his skinny jeans. "Yeah, you will," he promised, "You'll see me everyday for as long as you want."

"I'm counting on that," I said as I stepped up to the door.

He bit his bottom lip and dropped his eyes to the grass between our houses. When I unlocked the door and was about to step through, he looked up at me through long, dark lashes and smiled. It wasn't a looked that I would ever forget, or that I would want to.

He didn't say anything as I went inside and closed the door on him, but when I secretly peaked out of the kitchen window, he still stood in the middle of the grass, in the spot where both our yards connected with his hands in his pockets and his eyes on my door. I took off my shoes and put them by the front door and then headed into the living room to wait for my dad to get home and yell his opinions at me.