I was awoken suddenly by a large clap of thunder. My throat was unusually dry and I needed some water. I sat up in bed and felt the soft touch of Natalie's hand on my arm.
"I'll be right back sweetie," I whispered and crept out of the room.
The house was a cave of darkness that I felt my way along the wall to the stairs. I slowly crept down the stairs as to not make any noise. When I got to the sink I turned on the small overhead light and got a glass of water.
The cool liquid felt so good to my throat that I just stood there drinking it in. I stood in front of the stove and looked around at the dimly let kitchen.
Though this kitchen was much larger then in our old house, I just couldn't get used to it. I remembered when we lived in the old house on 78th street, mom made chocolate chip cookies and her 'world famous brownies'.
We had such good times at the old house that I sometimes wished we hadn't moved, even thought Natalie and I don't live here anymore. We got an apartment on the outside of Jenks which is in the neighborhood of the old house.
In the quietness of the house, I heard a faint sigh from the living room. I turned off the light and tip toed into the other room. The moonlight was bright enough that I could make out the figure laying on the couch.
Kaitlin.
I actually do remember her but she didn't look like she does now. I remember her as a shy, petite red head with glasses who used to follow Ike and I around at church. She wanted to be a boy so bad that she even followed us into the men's room at church one Sunday. Luckily no one was in there at the time so we just pushed her out the door.
I went further toward her on the couch and she was tossing and turning. Her covers were all twisted and she moved like she was having a bad dream.
"No...don't...stop..that hurts," She murmured and through her hands out as if she were pushing someone. She suddenly bolted upright and saw me standing over her.
"Sh...it's okay," I whispered and squatted down beside her. She stared at me in the moonlight and I noticed her dark tan. I could almost see tears in her eyes.
"Ta..Taylor?" She said and her voice was weak and raspy.
"Yeah, it's okay. Your okay. It was just a bad dream," I said and offered her some water. She took the water and sipped it slowly. I could tell she was shivering so I helped her pull the covers tighter around her.
"It felt so real. Like he was attacking me again. I..I mean like someone was attacking me," She said and gave the water back to me.
"It was just a bad dream. I've had ones like that myself," I said trying to consol her. She then roughly brushed a tear from her cheek and snighed. She looked like a sad little girl.
"Do you remember me?" She asked in a whisper that I could hardly hear her.
"Yeah, actually I do. I remember you went to our church and you used to play with us in the back yard. And one time at church you went into the men's room," I said and we both laughed slightly.
"I remember you and Isaac, but mostly you. I remember you were nice to me when the other kids teased about my glasses. You always let me play on your team when we had ball games. I remember your laugh when I tried to jump from the treehouse. I remember your smile and how your eyes lit up when you were happy...I remember the secrets we used to tell at night when I would stay over at your house"
"Yeah. Alot has changed since then. Im married now and you have grown up. Did you get contacts or something?'
"Yeah and I got a tan. I remember I used to be so pale and white....After my father died, we moved to Indiana to live with my grandparents. Then my mom and I moved into our own place. She got a shop and met this man..." She stopped and her face got tense as though she was going to cry. She then let out another ragged breath.
"What?"
"This man named Jon. He moved in with us and my mom thought he was real nice. He took up time with me and we played games.." She started to quietly sob. I felt compassion so I sat beside her and took her in my arms. She felt cold and vunerable, like a little girl. I put the blanket close around her and held her against me.
"What is it?..It's okay...you can tell me," I whispered and my thoughts ventured up to Natalie. I don't know how long I have been down here and she was probably getting cold herself. I should probably go back up...I felt Kaitlin sigh with pain and my thoughts returned to her.
"He touched me...hurt me.." She whispered and felt her shudder. I knew she was telling the truth by the way her breathing was so deep and quick.
"Did he hurt you?" I asked looking at her face. Her eyes pleaded with mine that the answer was 'yes' and I knew that he had hurt her badly. "Did you tell your mother?"
Kaitlin then broke down and clung to me tighter. I felt her small body shudder and inhaled the fragrance of her vanilla shampoo. Again my thoughts returned to my sleeping wife upstair and I felt guilty holding this other girl. Practically a stranger, and here I was married.
"Im sorry...you should be upstairs with Natalie. She needs you more then I do," Kaitlin said and pulled away from me. I felt the urge to brush her tears away but she looked away.
"You need to go...go," She said in a more serious tone.
I felt the need to stay with her but I couldn't fight the thoughts about Nat laying upstairs alone.
"Will you be alright down here?" I said and stood up off the couch. Kaitlin pulled the covering around herself.
"Yeah...Just don't tell okay?" She said and again pleaded to me with her eyes. "My mom doesn't know. She's pregnant and that's why I ran away. No one can know...please."
"Okay," I said and gave her arm a light squeeze. "I won't tell. I promise."
I watched her ease back to sleep and then crept up the stairs to find Nat still sound asleep. I laid down beside her but my thoughts kept returning to a hurt, young girl laying alone downstairs. I put my arms around Nat and pulled her to me.
I tried to ease my mind and fall off to sleep, but I couldn't. I lay awake thinking about what she said.
I know that I would never hurt Natalie or my own children like that. She shouldn't be hurt either, with her long curly red hair and glasses...
"Taylor, Ike wait up!" Kaitlin yelled as we ran up the latter to the tree house. She ran over to the bottom of the tree and waited for us to come down.
"You better come down here Taylor Hanson!" She screamed as Ike and I sat watching her on the top ledge of the treehouse. She looked so funny yelling with her hands on her hips. She looked just like her mother and we were dying with laughter.
"Hey Kaitlin...how's this?" Ike yelled and threw down one of my muddy sneakers. "That's one part of him."
"That's not good enough!..Im gonna get you both..here I come," She said and started to come up the ladder.
Ike and I srambled to the lowest possible ledge and jumped from the try. Kaitlin had just gotten to the very top.
Ike and I were running around laughing as Kaitlin stood at the top with her hands on her hips. She looked just like that Margeret from 'Dennis the Menis'.
"Okay Im coming down!" She yelled and stepped out on the ledge. I and I were still laughing when she almost slipped. Then we were in shock when she actually did jump from the high limp. She could have killed herself, but luckily it was just a broken leg..."
Yet another memory of Kaitlin, I thought I had forgotten.