Saving Kate

12. Dress

LEANNE'S POV

"I'm glad you're back," I say, draping my arm over Kate's shoulder as we walk down the sidewalk in front of the school.

"Me too," Kate says, leaning into me.

She's gotten smaller. I know this sort of thing has its ups and downs to progress, but she just feels a lot smaller than she was before.

Kate has always been physically smaller than me, she's a good three inches shorter and was probably five pounds lighter when she was healthy. I do have to admit, there have been times when I really hated my body, but I can't even come to terms about how much Kate hated her body. Enough to do what she did I guess.

"Has your mom come back yet?" I ask, and immediately regret it. I know she isn't back.

"No, but it's ok. My dad's sort of functioning and I can manage my brothers. They're good." She looks up at me and smiles weakly, but it's a genuine smile.

"You're welcome at my house anytime you know," I say. My parents don't care if Kate's family comes over for dinner, even if it's just Kate and her brothers.

I'm practically an only child because my brother Nate and sister Lucy are at college. They're twins and much more popular than I'll ever be.

"I know, but I have a lot of brothers..." She says.

"That's ok. Your family isn't much bigger than mine," I say, and it's true. The only difference is that not all my family is home anymore.

She's quiet for a few seconds, then stops walking to face me.

"Can I ask you something?" She asks.

"Yeah, anything," I reply, looking directly into her bright green eyes.

"Remember when I told you that you had enough credits to graduate this year?"

"Yeah, I don't-" I start, but Kate cuts me off.

"I know you don't want to talk about it, I get that. I just want to know why. Why were you so upset when I said that?" She says, pushing her hair behind her ear. That's one of her signs that she's nervous.

"Because I don't want to leave before I'm ready to. I don't want to rush anything, take things slow." To be completely honest, I'm afraid. I'm afraid of being away from my family, of being on my own. I need some time to get used to living a new life. It was weird enough when Nate and Lucy left for college.

"I get that, plus if you stick around next year, you'll be valedictorian. That's big," Kate says.

I laugh, "Yeah, but speaking of which-"

"Which what?" Kate says, twirling her hair around her fingers. She's really nervous.

"Don't worry, I was just wondering what's up with you and Max?"

She doesn't reply right away, "I don't know, I mean I really like him and it seems like he really likes me but... I agree with you, I don't want to rush anything that I don't have to. Max had asked me out and I said yes, but then turned him down because I just thought our timing was off. I mean, for starters, it was like the day I first talked to him when he asked me out. After that, I mean, you know..."

"Just talk to him, Max is a really easy going guy and with everything that's happened, I'm sure he'll understand if you're hesitant," I say.

"I know, I don't even know what I would say though. We barely have anything in common."

"You'd be surprised. He's not just a lacrosse jock who happens to be nice, there's a lot more to him than that," I say, "and I only know that because of sports camp the past few summers."