Katie was awakened the next morning by Kristen's screaming. She threw her covers back, put on her robe, and went across the hall to Kristen's room, where the almost two year old was standing up her crib, red faced and screaming.
"What's wrong?" Katie asked, rushing over to her sister's crib.
"Dada!" The little girl screamed.
"Shhhh.....shh..." Katie said, lifting her up from her crib. Kristen continued to scream as Katie walked her back and forth.
"Dada!" Kristen sobbed.
"He's not here, sweetie. You had a bad dream." She said, shifting the little girl on her hip. Katie bit her lip as she walked with her sister. Kristen only screamed for their father when she had had a bad dream. Katie sighed. Her sister was almost two; It had been been almost two years ago that her mother died, leaving Katie with her father. It had been almost a year ago that her father had died, leaving her with no one. Katie closed her eyes to keep her eyes from tearing. She missed her parents a lot, but she never took the time to dwell on it. It only made her feel the familliar searing pain in her chest and the tears well up in her eyes.
"You okay now?" She asked her sister.
The little girl nodded, blinking her large blue eyes that were still wet with tears.
"Do you wanna go downstairs and get some breakfast?"
She nodded again, and Katie smiled at her. "That's my girl." She opened Kristen's door and walked out into the hall, where Sandra was coming out of her room.
"What's wrong witht the damn baby?" She growled, slamming her door shut.
"She had a bad dream." Katie said indignantly. "What's wrong with you?"
"Nothing." Sandra said, walking into the bathroom. She splashed some water on her face.
"Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning." Morgan said, coming out of her room just in time to hear the last of the conversation.
"Shut up." Sandra said, scowling at her sisters. She reached for a towel to dry her face.
"Whatever." Morgan said, thumping down the stairs.
Sandra dried her face as Katie watched with Kristen in the hall.
"What's wrong with you?" Katie asked.
"Nothing." Sandra said.
"Why do you always have to be so bitchy to everyone? I just want to know why my little sister is being so crabby." Katie said.
"Shut up Katie. You're so nosy."
"You're my sister!"
"So that doesn't give you an excuse to go barging into my life!"
"I just want to know what's wrong, because something obviously is!" Katie said.
"No, it's not. Can't you just leave me alone? That's all I want. Stay out of my life!" Sandra said.
Before she could reply, she had retreated back into her room and slammed the door. Katie stood out in the hallway, just gawking after her sister.
"I wish I knew what was wrong." Katie said.
"Yeah." Kristen said.
Katie smiled and kissed her sister on the forhead. As far as Kristen knew, she was just cranky from waking up. But Katie had a feeling that it was something else.
"So what's up with you?"
"Not much."
"Doesn't sound that way." Zac said, detecting the sadness in her voice.
Katie shifted the phone on her shoulder as she loaded a dirty pan into the dishwasher. "Well....It's Sandra."
"What about her?" Zac asked.
"Well, she's just so....I don't know. She's always kinda aloof and stuff, but she's even more so lately. I cant' figure out why."
"Anything major going on in her life?"
"Not really, I mean, as far as I know."
"Oh. School?"
"Sandra's good in school, and she wouldn't be that down about school."
"Oh."
"She's acting really bitchy, but I can tell she's sad or upset about something. When she's sad, she just acts really mean."
"Maybe it's her boyfriend."
"Boyfriend?"
"Yeah. Remember? You told me about that Scott guy."
"Oh yeah!" Katie said, picking up the silver ware from the counter and placing it in the dishwasher basket. "Maybe something's up with him!"
"But what? Didn't you say he was older?"
"Yeah...she's eighth grade, so he'd half to be a freshman."
"Our age?"
"Well, yeah."
"Oh. I don't know any Scotts."
"Neither do I." Katie said.
"Hm..."
"I just wish I knew, Zac." Katie said. "She's so upset, and I just want to help her. She's my sister."
"I know."
"She yelled at me this morning and told me I was barging into her life. Was I wrong to ask?"
"Nothing is wrong with wanting to help."
"Yeah, and I would. I just wish she would let me." Katie said.
Later that Sunday night, Katie was up in her room, finishing up her homework. She wrote down the last few answers on her biology worksheet, the closed her book. She threw the heavy book down on the floor with her bookbag, then pulled out her english assignment. She tried to start it, but her mind soon started wandering to other things.
Mr. Loomis said we'd be doing a biology project soon....he said we'd be in groups. I hope Zac is in my group....
She looked around her room. I need to clean...my desk is a mess... Her eyes then fell on the top drawer of her desk. She slowly reached over and opened it. She reached into the back and pulled out the last few photos her mysterious follower had taken of her.
The first was of her and Zac outside the dance, talking to one another. If they hadn't been taken for such a creepy reason, they would have been good pictures, she thought. She sighed and put the pictures back after flipping through them for a few minutes more. There was something she had to do.
She had promised Zac that she would tell Judy that night on the phone. What if she thinks I'm crazy? What if she doesn't believe me?" Katie thought. She found Judy in the kitchen, putting away the dishes from dinner earlier that evening.
"What's up, kiddo?" Judy asked, looking up.
"I have something to tell you." Katie said, standing near the counter.
"Okay." Judy said, putting away a stack of plates.
Katie closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "I"m being stalked!" SHe said.
Judy froze, then turned around. "What?" She asked.
"I'm being stalked! Judy, you've gotta help me! I'm being stalked by someone crazy and obsessive!"
Judy frowned. "Who's stalking you?"
"I don't know!" Katie said. "And they call here and take freaky pictures of me and leave them in my locker and they're gonna get me!" Katie said.
Judy held up her hands. "Slow down. Now, you think you're being....admired, shall we say?"
Katie took a deep breath. "No. I'm being stalked, and I know it."
Judy looked at her carefully. "I knew there was something going on with you."
"Judy, I'm getting really scared. I'm afraid that someone is going to attack me someday when I'm alone, and they know where I live..."
"Calm down, calm down. You said they take pictures and leave them in your locker? What kind of pictures?"
"I'll go get them." Katie said.
Judy followed her up to her room, and Katie grabbed them out of her drawer, shoving them into Katie's hands.
"Here they are."
"Is this all of them?"
"Well, no." Katie bit her lip. "I tore the first ones up. But only two. These are all of them after that."
"Okay." Judy said. She flipped through them, frowning. "Creepy." She muttered.
"What are we going to do?"
"I don't know. Is this who's been calling you?"
"Yes." Katie said. "I mean, I'm pretty sure."
"OKay. Well...I'm not sure what to do, but we're going to go to the police, just to be safe." Judy said.
"Okay." Katie readily agreed.
Judy walked through the bathroom and into Morgan's room. "Morgan?"
Morgan looked up from her computer. "Yeah?"
"I need you to watch the kids for awile. I gotta run an arrand with Katie."
Morgan frowned. "Okay." She said.
"We'll explain later." Katie said.
Morgan nodded and followed them downstairs. Katie and Judy got their coats, then got into Judy's suburban and headed to the local police department.