Shattered

Chapter 8 Kristin

"The hardest challenge is to be yourself in a world where everyone is trying to make you be somebody else." EE Cummings

"Hey," Kristin blinked, unsure if Phil Catalano was really standing over her. "Can we talk?" he whispered.

Kristin glanced at her parents and brother who were all fast asleep. Caroline was sprawled out on a cot and Curtis was in a recliner, same as Connor. She hesitantly nodded and pointed to the wheelchair. He pushed the chair to her bedside and assisted her into the cool seat. His movement wasn't as smooth as the nurse had been earlier. He pushed her into the hallway and turned into the waiting room two doors down.

"Are you going to erupt on me again?" she asked nervously. "Because, if you are..."

"I'm not," he snapped. "Your friends are downstairs."

"Okay," she shook her head in confusion. "You woke me up to tell me that?" Phil slowly sank into the chair and rubbed his bloodshot eyes. He looked completely disheveled. His once smooth and shiny hair was a frizzy mess. His toes hung over the front of the hunter green flip flops and the t-shirt he wore was way too tight, not that it looked bad clinging to his muscular frame, but it wasn't the way Phil dressed. "Are you okay?" she asked feeling slightly concerned.

"I think I'm hungover," he mumbled, eyes still closed. "I just want this to be over."

"Isn't it?"

His eyes shot open and he glared at her curiously. She could feel him trying to stare through her with Superman's X-Ray vision. "I'm sorry I hit you," he said with no emotion, no empathy. The words seemed rehearsed.

"Oh," Kristin sighed looking down at her swollen shins. "I'm sure I probably deserved it."

Phil squinted his eyes, his head cocked to the side. "Why did you lie? Why didn't you tell them I hit you?"

Kristin folded her hands in her lap. "I don't actually...did you really hit me?" She wanted it not to be true. "I'm just having a hard time remembering things and I guess I don't really want to believe you did that. I mean, we hooked up and then you hit me? I know I must have done something horrible, unforgivable actually, but," she shook her head trying to stir some buried memories, "I don't know what the hell happened."

"Are you telling me the truth right now?" he actually looked confused.

"Yes."

"You swear to me?"

"Yes," she admitted. "I swear I'm not lying."

"Kristin, you altered a video of your sister and had it sent to everyone in the state of North Carolina!"

"Oh, that?" she frowned. "It was just some stupid prank."

"You do remember!"

"Oh, stop!" she rolled her eyes. "I remember what happened, well, I remember finding the stupid video and giving it to Julia so her cousin could alter it into something more than it was, which is really your fault anyway."

"How can you even say it's my fault?" he argued.

She sighed. "You were denying even knowing my sister. But, I could tell...I just knew there was more to it. At the time, I just thought maybe you were curious about her. Especially Mark, I mean he even asked about her. The video was just supposed to be a prank to make you see what a dork she is so you'd all hate her."

"You're stupid," he crossed his arms. "In the end, it only makes us hate you more."

"Obviously," she said slowly. "Wait, did Bradley see the video? Is that what happened? We got in a fight and then some psycho kidnapped us?"

He leaned forward. "Who was it?"

"I don't know!" she snapped.

"Come on, you have to remember something!"

"Do you know what I remember? Throwing up in a bucket while some detective was spitting questions at me! Anything before that is not even foggy, it's just gone. Vanished. Poof!"

"Calm down. Did you drug your sister?" he pushed.

"Screw you!" Kristin reached for the wheels and tried to back away from Phil. He grabbed the arm of the chair. His bicep was flexed and Kristin became instantly distracted. She reached out to touch it.

"What are you doing?" he spat.

She was stunned, completely taken aback. Was this the same boy she slept with a few hours earlier? "I want to go back to my room."

"Just...wait, just a second," he was trying to calm down. "I'm so tired. I'm not thinking straight."

"You accused me of drugging my sister!"

"Emma accused you," he seethed. "And, you were standing over her with an oar, about to beat her down because she said it was you. That's why I hit you."

Kristin was stunned at his admission. "You believed the girl that accused you of kidnapping her over the one you just slept with!"

"Dammit," he threw his arms up. "Bradley wasn't on the boat, we couldn't find her."

Kristin gritted her teeth together. "Everything is always about Bradley. Bradley's so pretty. Bradley's so nice. Bradley's so smart. Everyone loves Bradley."

"Kristin, stop."

"Did you date me to get close to Bradley?" Phil's body stilled. "Did you?" He shook his head, slowly, without breaking his stare. "You're lying."

After clearing his throat, Phil scratched the back of his head and straightened his posture. "Emma was stalking me and I thought your sister was helping her."

"So, you were using me!" she screeched.

"Let me finish!" Kristin closed her mouth. "I asked my friends to help me and then one day I saw you, coming out of Chipotle. You were in your soccer uniform and your hair was a crazy mess and you were laughing. It was just so...I just thought you were so beautiful. And, you were with your dad, so I sure as hell wasn't going to ask you for your number in front of him. So, I kind of followed you, thinking maybe I'd find out something about you so I could find a way to talk to you. But, you went home and that's when I realized you were Bradley's sister."

"Wow," Kristin huffed. "So, after you figured out I was Bradley's sister, you decided to use me."

"Me being with you had nothing to do with Bradley! I liked you! I thought you were the most beautiful girl I'd ever seen. I wanted you!"

"And, now?"

"Fuck..." he sneered. "That video..."

"That's going to be your excuse?"

"Bradley's my friend! How could you do that?"

Kristin inhaled forcefully and turned her head away from Phil. For a moment, she felt a twinge of regret. "Take me to my sister's room," she demanded.

Phil's eyes widened. "What are you gonna do?"

Kristin shook her head. "I'm going to apologize."