Katie Bug: New Prey

The Missing Girls and A Madman

The house on O'Keefe Street was much quieter this time. Some of the guys were drinking in the living room but not even close to the size of the party it was the night before. Xander had a perplexing air about him, it made Katie uncomfortable. Nothing made Katie uncomfortable. It wasn't because of any specific behavior, he actually was acting quite normal. He wasn't all over Jaylah this time either, much to her dismay there was space between them on the couch. Katie would occasionally spot him starting at her, or at Carter's hand which rested on her thigh. Was he studying her? "Katie.." Xander started, "What do you think of Brambrook?" She shrugged and took another drink of her beer, "I dunno, a little too ominous for my taste." He smiled and twisted his neck, "How so?" "Isn't there a missing girl from your school?" She asked. Xander nodded, "Fair enough."

"I'm not scared." Jaylah said giggling and bumping her shoulder into Xander. He smiled and hung his arm over her, "Maybe you should be. It's a sign of self-preservation." Carter cleared his throat lightly squeezing Katie's thigh, "So do we want to keep the party going here. Or did we want to go to Homeland?" Xander smiled, "Nice, Homeland sounds like a great idea!" Jaylah and Katie shared a less enthusiastic look. "What's the matter?" Carter asked. Jaylah smiled with remorse, "Katie's only 18." Carter turned to Katie with a somewhat shocked look on his face. "You're a first year?" Katie nodded, "Is that an issue?" Xander gave Jaylah a dirty look. "No!" She started "I'm a third year! Katie is in my class! She's mature for her age!" Xander relaxed a little.

The look on Carter's face had changed to discomfort. "It's fine Carter, I'm sure we can get her in." Xander said over confidently. "No it's fine! We can just hang out here!" Jaylah suggested feeling things were going sour in the room quickly. Xander was staring intently at Carter, "What's the matter Carter? Katie turned to him, he looked really uneasy. "Carter? What's wrong?" Seriously he looked down at her and started to stand up. "Can I talk to you upstairs?" She followed him upstairs turning briefly to see Xander smiling at her as she walked away. He'd look much better without his head.

Carter closed the door behind her and spun around. "18? You're only 18" He asked sounding completely taken aback. "Yeah. Is that a problem Carter?" Katie snapped back. He sat on his bed looking a little bewildered. "Like you're turning 19 soon or?" She shook her head, "No I just turned 18 shortly after school started." He sighed, "You're so young!" "Well how old are you?" She huffed. "I'm turning 22 in a couple months Katie." "You make it sound like you're turning 30. What is the issue?" Carter sat down on his bed looking defeated. "I was 18 in my last year of high school. I had a near miss with a statutory case." "I'm 18 Carter, not 16. If the issue is you going to the bar without me I don't care." He let out a frustrated sigh "No Katie it's not..." She cut him off, "Well damage is already done Carter, you've slept with me twice now. If you were really concerned with age maybe you should have asked how old I was before taking me up to your room!" It was an effective statement in shutting him up. He sat for a moment just blinking, "You're right." "No shit."

"So are we done with this?" Katie asked feeling uneasy now. Carter nodded, "Yeah." "So do you want to try and sneak me into the bar?" Carter shook his head, "No, with the missing girls on campus I'd rather the both of you girls stay here where we can keep an eye on you." Katie smiled, "I don't think you realize I can handle myself just fine Carter." He gingerly wrapped his arms around her and kissed the bruise on her forehead, "I'm sure you could." If he only knew.

The quartet spent the next several hours playing cards and drinking. Jaylah leaned over to Xander and whispered something to him. He turned nodding to her. When they stood up and began to the stairs Katie spoke up. "What's up Jay?" Jaylah smiled at her, "It's okay Katie." She eyed Xander as he walked behind Jaylah up to his room. "She's fine Katie, even you said so." Carter said squeezing her thigh lightly while laying the cards in his hand down. "That girl drinks like a fish." He said smiling. Moments later Xander came back down stairs alone. "Where's Jay?" Katie asked face pulled into a scowl. Xander pointed up, "Asleep. She was tired, so I took her up to my bed. Is that okay with you? You can go check on her if you like." He said sounding defensive.