To Walk in His Shoes

July 22nd.

I'm on a beautiful stage, with cherry hardwood flooring and dark red curtains that cover the crowd. My heart is racing inside my chest, about to pounce. I hear the people outside, sitting down and quietly talking to one another. A person on the intercom sounds over, and then the red curtains, the ones that are keeping me sane, open all too quickly.

The music starts, an intoxicating melody that lulls the audience into a breathless silence. I begin to dance, sashaying my pink satin slippers across the floor. My heart's beating begins to fade away, and all I am is within the song.

One foot across another, and I bend and twist like I'm so accustomed to doing. Everything is natural, and I finally feel alive again. I jump and bow and soar into the air, like nothing can hurt me. But all too quickly, the music fades, and I hear an all too familiar voice among the crowd. He saunters down the aisle with a cunning smile on his face. His dark brown hair almost blends in with the shadows of the audience.

"Kitty-Kat," Keith calls, alarming the peace. The music stops and the people begin to disappear, one by one. He continues to slyly slither up the stairs like a snake, his smirk obvious from even twenty feet away.

Instantly he's standing next to me, grabbing onto my shoulders and shaking me. "Hey, wake up," he says.

And all too soon, my perfect life is no more.

~~*~~

The sun is nowhere to be seen and my room isn't as light as it should be on a Sunday morning. I stretch quickly and look to my left. My eyes instantaneously open, and I begin to scream.

"Keith! What are you doing in my room!?" I exclaim, pulling the covers up to hide the pajamas that barely cover anything. Keith notices and rolls his eyes, obviously annoyed at me.

"Someone's on the phone for you. I think she said her name was Emma," he says, attempting to stay calm. He hands me the house phone and walks away hastily.

"Emma?" I say, sitting up in bed.

"Well, that was interesting," she says facetiously, giggling over the phone.

"Why didn't you call my cell phone?" I ask, rubbing my eyes.

"It was off! So it's your fault that Keith had to go into your room and wake you up," she exclaims, laughing at me.

"Ugh. Can we just not talk about him? It's ruining my morning," I say in disgust.

"Okay, okay. Fine," Emma enunciates.

"So, what's up?" I ask. Emma doesn't call often. We usually talk online. But hearing her voice is equally as reassuring.

She practically squeals over the phone before she responds, spiking my curiosity.

"Well, after working my butt off at that local coffee store for the past four months, I finally earned enough money to come visit you!" She bursts out. I can hear her running around her room in the background. She's always gotten overstimulated in situations like this, but I don't mind. She wouldn't be herself if she wasn't always so energetic.

A smile lights over my face as I imagine her being in my house like the old days, and I immediately feel a pang deep in my heart. I didn't realize how much I missed her until now.

"Oh my gosh. Really!?" I utter loudly.

"Yes, Katrina. Of course. Would I lie to you?" She asks. I'm silent on the other end because we both know the answer to her question. We begin to laugh ferociously within a few moments and everything is the same again, like she's actually here with me.

"So, when will you be here?" I query.

"A couple of days, I think. I'm working on finding a ticket to get there as soon as possible," she announces.

"Oh, wow. I can't wait to see you, Ems," I smile.

"I know. Me too," she responds.

We talk a little longer before she has to go, and then I hang up. After a couple of minutes of reminiscing in the past, I walk into the bathroom to take a shower and cool off. It's already 11:30, so I go as quick as I can. It's not like I have plans. I just enjoy having the whole day to myself. It's summer after all, and I enjoy relaxing.

The water is warm on my skin, and it drizzles down my back peacefully as I zone out into my world. This is probably the only time I ever really get to myself, other than dancing. But even then, Carter always bothers me because he doesn't know how to turn on the oven or put a load of clothes in the laundry. He really doesn't know how to do anything other than play video games and get girls to walk the other way. Sure, he's an attractive guy, I guess. Nevertheless, his creepy smile isn't very alluring.

All in all, without me, Carter would be a complete mess.

I massage shampoo into my hair softly, singing an old pop song that no one knows anymore. I used to believe I could sing, until I realized I was better at using my body as a release than my words. However, I still enjoy listening to my voice every once in a while, when I'm all alone or in a quiet place. It's sort of soothing.

When I'm done washing myself off, I climb out of the shower and wrap a towel around my body. I brush my hair and pull it into a messy bun, which fails terribly due to the heavy weight of the water. I dress quickly, clasping my polka dot bra on and pulling my underwear up my legs. I know it's silly, but they're my favorite pair of panties. It's an obnoxious shade of orange with bright smiley faces covering up almost every square inch of the fabric. They were probably made for kids, but I love them, and they make me happy. That's all that counts, right?

I slip on a low tank top and a pair of old sweat pants before opening up the bathroom door. I hear voices downstairs and instantly roll my eyes because I know that Keith is still here. I should get along with him, I realize that. And I've tried, I have. However, he's so immature, and every time I try to make amends, he shrugs it off and goes back to how things always are. Keith is just one of those guys that will always be a piece of work. But I don't blame him. His mom bailed on him when he was four and his dad is an alcoholic. He really doesn't have any release other than picking on me. Like how I enjoy dancing and singing horribly in the shower, Keith enjoys teasing me. It's his cup of tea, in a way.

"Good morning, Kitty-Kat," Keith says almost too cheerfully as I walk into the kitchen. I let out a small grunt and continue to the fridge to grab the milk for my cereal. After searching for the milk for much longer than I should have, however, Keith lets out a coy laugh. I turn around and see that he's had the carton of milk in his possession the entire time and has watched me rummage through every last bit of the fridge for his entertainment.

I grumble something incomprehensible and walk towards him cautiously. I grab the carton as fast as I can, not taking any chances. Keith chuckles behind me and I roll my eyes.

I pour my milk into my bowl of cheerios and rest my hips against the counter top. I notice Keith's gaze on me and for some reason it makes me uneasy.

"What?" I snap at him. He smirks and flips his hair out of his eyes, continuing to chomp down indecently on his cereal.

"You eat loudly," he says easily, almost as if it's just a calm observation.

"You're kidding me, right?" I scoff, insinuating my hands in his direction. He raises an eyebrow and finishes his last bite before resting his bowl in the sink.

"Hmm, you're fun to mess with, kitty," he purrs, not caring to wash his dish out.

"Don't you have somewhere to be?" I ask, trying to get him to leave.

"Well, Carter and I have a party to go to tonight," he says, winking at me.

"Carter? At a party? Have you seen him dance?" I sneer. Keith turns around and gives me his signature look. He raises one side of his lip and furrows his eyebrows together.

"Oh, he won't be doing much dancing," he laughs. I turn my nose away in disgust.

I finish my cereal and wash my bowl before beginning to descend into the hallway and up the stairs.

"Hey Kitty-Kat, you're welcome to come. It's going to be one hell of a party."