Worthy (Complete)

Chapter 3

 Katelyn threw her purse in the chair then fell back on the bed. A tired smile crossed her lips as she remembered being in Trevor's strong embrace as he swung her around the dusty dance floor. He had eased the pain. Though the hope of it being completely erased by the fruit flavored liquid had sadly fallen short. She bobbed her head gently to the rhythm from the live bands drums that still played in her thoughts and immediately regretted it. She grabbed her head. As if human hands could reach through bone, skin, veins, and whatever else with some magic cure and relieve the pain.

She closed her eyes and eagerly waited for sleep to take her over, but a low mumbling caused her to lazily open them again. Ignoring it was not an option. There was something about the soft melodious sound of the chants that drew her to them. She rose from the bed, stepped out into the hall, and walked in its direction, stopping at her aunt's room. Winning against the temptation to knock, she chose instead to press her ear to the warm wood in hopes to better hear what her aunt was saying. "What in the world is she doing in there?" she whispered to herself.

A warm glow lit up the one-inch opening that separated the door from the floor. She acted on the thought that entered her mind and bent down, placing her head on the floor and lined up one eye the best she could to see whatever was on the other side. To her surprise, it was her aunt's two bare feet.

The door flew open. Katelyn jumped. "Oh, Aunt Cara, you scared me."

"What do you want?"

Katelyn didn't know how to answer that. She wasn't even sure herself.

"Well," Cara growled.

"I'm sorry, I just thought I heard you talking or something."

"It's best if you get back to bed, Katelyn. See ya in the morning."

She stepped back, staring for a short time at the door her aunt had just shut in her face. A faint pain pricked at her heart, but the nasty demon that was there waiting for his big moment quickly replaced the hurt with curiosity. Katelyn stood there a minute more, thinking. It was Cara's voice that she heard alright, but that was all. Her movements, her gaze, her stance. Those were not. It was almost as if some invisible strings were controlling her motions.

Katelyn walked back to her room, closed the door, and leaned back against it. "Hmmm, either that was strange or I'm way too drunk and over thinking things." She scratched her head. "Maybe I'll talk to her about it in the morning."

Cara tip-toed down the hall and descended the stairs, being sure to skip over the squeaky one, three up from the floor. Phone calls and ticket purchases needed to be made, and the sooner the better. The trip to Hawaii was only a couple weeks away, and she wanted everything in order and ready to go.

She had just hung up from her last call when Katelyn entered the kitchen.

"Good morning, sleepy head."

"If you say so, but my head disagrees with you."

"Had a little too much fun last night, huh?"

"Not enough to forget everything," Katelyn mumbled.

"Problems don't just disappear. You know that. You have to learn to deal with them, how to confront them."

"It's fun to pretend they don't exist sometimes, though."

"True. Want something to eat?"

"No, not really."

Cara set down the pen in her hand and looked at her niece. "You are not allowed to mope around all day, feeling sorry for yourself. It's Saturday, it's a pretty day out. Let's do something."

She laughed at Katelyn's less than enthusiastic expression. "I'm serious. Go clean up. If nothing else we can weed the flower bed or something."

"Oh, now that sounds like fun."

"Man, Trevor's going to have his hands full if he decides to marry you. I feel sorry for him."

"Gee thanks, Aunt Cara. I love you too," she replied as she walked away.

Cara copied the details about the upcoming trip on a separate piece of paper for Katelyn, then went upstairs and placed it on her bed before going to her own room. "Little thoughts, planted here and there, will soon make us an unstoppable pair." Cara chimed as she held a worn book to her chest.

"It's working. Everything is working according to plan." She ran her palm across the symbol embedded in the old leather cover before placing it back in its secret place. "Soon another generation will be added to your works, my lord. Very soon."

Cara stood in front of the window and soaked up the warmth of the morning sun, then turned to make her bed. The blanket flipped through the air with a snap then fell neatly against the stuffed material below it. The narrow streams of light coming through the blinds revealed the tiny floating dust particles. She swatted at them in vain. "Stupid dust bunnies," she said while bending over to get her gym shoes, "no matter what I do you're still there."

After pulling on her shoes she went back downstairs to wait for Katelyn. Knowing her niece would be awhile gave her plenty of time to think through the different plans of action she could pursue. Although they all seemed good, she ultimately decided to stick with one she already had in place. "If it's working why change it?" she questioned. Complimenting a Burnsten had always been a good way to worm yourself into their heart. Katelyn was proof of that. Little words and phrases were spoken to drive a wedge between her and the ones she loved. Sure, it was sneaky, maybe even a little cruel...but it was working. "One step at a time."

"What did you say, Aunt Cara?"

Katelyn's sudden appearance interrupted her thoughts. "Oh nothing, just talking to myself. Anyway, ready to pull some weeds?"

"Seriously? No."

Cara grabbed her hand, "Come on."

The day passed quickly, never giving Katelyn a chance to ask Cara about her strange behavior the night before. She wasn't sure if she still wanted to. Cara seemed to be back to her lighthearted self today, and she didn't want to change that. Deciding it was best to just let it go, she refocused her attention back to the unmovable weed in front of her. "Umm Cara, I need some help over here."

"Just grab a hold of it and yank it outta there."

"What do you think I've been trying to do?"

"Honestly, it looked to me like you were day dreaming. But who am I?"

Katelyn picked up a hand full of loose dirt in front of her and sent it flying in her aunt's direction, laughing as it dropped like rain on her head. "Oops, my bad."

"You will pay for that!"

"I know, but I couldn't resist."