Something in the Woods

Chapter 19

"And next week I'm going to a doctor to get tested for ADHD!" Katie exclaimed. 
"What's that?" Barrett asked. 
"It's like a disorder that prevents me from focusing." She explained. "Angie thinks getting tested will help me." 
"That's great!" Byssa exclaimed. "If you catch up now, you won't have to repeat seventh grade!" 
"Yeah, I guess." Katie muttered while picking at the grass. 
"Is something wrong?" Byssa asked. 
A knot formed in Katie's stomach. "I just don't know what to make about David and Angie." 
"What do you mean?" Barrett asked. "Are they hurting you?" 
"No, not at all." Katie responded. "Quite the opposite, they're nice…. Too nice! I feel like they're putting on a front, just to look good until I'm officially adopted." 
"What do you think they'll do when that happens?" Byssa asked. 
"Okay, here me out… but what if they adopt kids to experiment on them?" 
"No way!" Barrett gasped. 
Byssa crossed her arms. "Really?" 
"I know it sounds crazy but think about it! David is a part of the military and he knows a lot about comic books. What if he's a super villain!" 
"Katie, my brother is a part of the military!" 
"Listen, I'm not saying that everyone in the military is doing this." She reassured. "I just think it's weird that for thirteen years, no one even thought about adopting me, but suddenly, these two people wanted to adopt me!" 
"Life is funny like that, sometimes there's no reason why it happened, it just happens." Byssa looked up at Katie with a half smile. "But hey, better late than never, right?" 
Katie just shook her head. Ever since she got adopted, Byssa has been more cheery lately, but anytime Katie expressed a concern, she was so quick to write off her complaints! It was so infuriating! It was like she didn't even want to listen to her anymore. 
"Well, I think you're onto something, Katie." Barrett's voice chipped up over the two girls. 
Katie let out a sigh of relief. During this hectic time, Barrett seemed like the one to be the voice of reason. It felt like he actually listened to Katie's suspicions. 
Byssa stood up and narrowed her eyes. "How so, Barrett?"
"Imagine what they would do if they found me!" He exclaimed. "If they can experiment on me, then they can experiment on her too." 
"You're a fifty foot tall teenager from another universe, of course they would experiment on you!" She hissed out. "But Katie is just some kid. There is no reason to use her for government experiments." 
"But I was an orphan kid with no friends or family." Katie chimed in. "I'd be the perfect one to take!" 
"You have me…" Byssa muttered. 
But for how long? Katie wanted to say. Having a friend like Byssa was probably one of the best things that happened to Katie, but when she looks at Byssa, she sees a girl who is far too cool to hang out with someone like her; why hadn't she ditched her yet for people who are as cool as she was? Would there be a day when Katie goes to school and see Byssa hanging out with people better than she was? It seemed more likely than she wanted to admit. 
"Why don't we all calm down." Barrett said. "It doesn't matter if Katie's parents are actually going to experiment on her. She's going to Jotunheim in the end." 
"Yeah!" Katie looked over to Byssa with a smile, but when she saw her face, she saw a look she had never seen before. Her face was stoic, no frown, no smile. However, the look in her eyes seemed like a mix of sadness and anger, like a tormented storm at sea. What was going through her head at that moment? 
A soft sigh escaped her lips. "It's getting late, I should go home." 
"I'll go with you!" The blonde exclaimed. She looked up to Barrett. "See you tomorrow, okay?" 
"Same time?" 
"No, it's Saturday. I'll be here after lunch." 
"It's already the weekend? Wow, time flies!" Chuckled the giant. "See you tomorrow." 
Katie waved and then jogged over to Byssa, who already started walking away. A gloomy aura plagued the woods as they silently walked. 
"Okay what's up?" Katie asked as they left the woods. "You've been acting so weird lately." 
Byssa remained silent for a minute, her amber eyes still mixed with emotions, finally her lips parted and a shaky voice spoke out. "I just can't bear to watch you go." 
"Are you still on about me going to Jotunheim?" 
"Yeah, I am! I don't understand why you have to leave!"
Katie sighed. "Byssa, we've been over this, life here sucks and I want to leave!" 
"You know what I remember you saying?" She snarled. "I remember you saying that you would stay if you got adopted!"
"That was a joke!" Katie snapped. 
"Then why did you say it?! Were you trying to get my hopes up?" 
"I've told you I was going, and I even invited you to join us, but you don't want to come!" 
"I told you why I couldn't go!" 
"And I already told you why I couldn't stay, but you don't seem to get that!" She snapped. 
"No, I understand perfectly why," Byssa retorted. "The only reason you wanna go is because you're afraid that if you get close to anyone here, they'll all leave you behind!"
Something about that line struck a chord in Katie. What made her so sure that she was correct? How could she say that like she knew exactly how Katie felt? Her blood began to boil, she had enough of Byssa thinking she knew better. 
"I'm done…." 
"Done with what?" 
"I'm done being your friend!" Katie yelled. 
Byssa's eyes widened. "You… don't mean that." 
"Yeah, I do!" She spat out. "You haven't been supportive of my decision to leave since you found out I was going, so what's the point of being friends?!" 
"I'm just trying to look out for you!" 
"By keeping me away from my only friend? Some friend you were!" 
"Barrett's not your only friend!" Byssa snapped, tears streaming down her face. "I'm your friend too!" 
"Not anymore…" Katie started walking away, she passed by the girl she once called a friend without even giving her a glance. She didn't need to see her face to know the amount of damage she had just caused, because she felt the exact same pain that Byssa was about to go through. 
~~~~
Byssa wiped her nose on her jacket sleeve as she made her way down the street. How could Katie do that to her? She just dumped their friendship so quickly… and for Barrett! There was so much she wanted to do with Katie and now it's all over. 
As she got closer to her house, Byssa saw her brother's jeep in the driveway. She quickly wiped her eyes of the tear that had fallen, but there was no way to hide the fact that her eyes were red and puffy, Tymere will definitely ask about this. She entered her house and slipped out of her shoes, the smell of dinner being made filled the air. 
"Guess what's tonight?" Her brother called out excitingly from the kitchen. 
"What?" 
"It's taco night, silly! Don't tell me you forgot?" 
"Oh yeah…" Byssa replied softly. Man, taco night was on her list of things to do with Katie; she would have loved taco night. 
Tymere came out of the kitchen and stared at his little sister for a second. "Is something wrong?" 
"No…" 
"Please don't do that to me, I'm not mom." He sighed. "You can actually tell me things without getting in trouble." 
He was right, but could she really tell him about Barrett and Katie? Would he think she was crazy? 
Tears welled up in her eyes again. "Katie stopped being my friend." 
Tymere quickly rushed over to her and led her to the couch to sit, his arm protectively draped over her. "What happened?" 
"She has this other friend named Barrett, who she hangs out with." She sniffled. "We don't really get along, so she decided to end our friendship!"
"Why aren't you guys friends?" He asked. 
"Because he's totally possessive of her!" She snapped. "He got really mad at her because she hung out with me here that one day instead of him! And she blamed me for it!" 
"Sounds like they're trying to date."
Byssa scrunched her nose in disgust. "God I hope not! They could never be a couple, he's-!" 
She caught herself before she could finish her sentence. Byssa locked her eyes with Tymere, who gave a deadly serious look. 
"He's what?" 
Byssa remained silent. She knew she already said too much by mentioning Barrett but she wanted to remain vague enough to not drop out the full truth about him.
"If she's hanging out with someone she shouldn't be, you have to tell me." 
She pondered the situation she had put herself into. If Katie found out Byssa told someone about Barrett, she would never forgive her. But if she didn't tell, then Katie would just leave with Barrett to Jotunheim and then they'll never see each other again, it didn't matter what Byssa did anymore cause Katie would hate her no matter what. She took a deep breath before she spoke, once those leave her mouth, there will be no going back. 
"There's something in the woods."