Fooled

Chapter 10

It had been two weeks since the news about her brother shook her entire life. She had become more appreciative of Damien in the past two weeks. He was thoughtful, caring, and protective of her. Shelby and Oliver weren’t strong enough to be around her during this time so Damien had been her constant rock. He listened to her vent, he never rushed her, and he never expected her to stop crying because it was annoying. In fact, at the end of two weeks, they were sitting in his truck in silence.

“What are you thinking about,” He asked her. She shrugged in response not wanting to burden him. “Kathryn, come on, don’t you know by now that I’m listening? I don’t want to be just another person in your life you have to be strong for.”

“If I keep going off on you like a basket case then you’re going to get thoroughly annoyed,” She responded with a hint humor. 

He instinctively runs his hand down her cheek in comfort, “No I won’t. I know what it’s like to keep that guard up. I don’t want you to feel like you have to do that with me.”

“You know what its like,” She tilted her head slightly curious, “What happened?”

He sighed knowing that it was the only way to coax her into letting her guard down even if it was just a little bit. He moved his hands towards hers preparing her for his news. “My Dad left my mom when I was younger because he was a coward. Julia was diagnosed with cancer. She’s in remission now but at the time I had to be strong for both my mom and my sister. My mom was scared out of her mind not knowing whether she’d be able to support us but hey we made it out okay.”

“I didn’t know.”

“I know,” He nodded, “That’s why I’m telling you. Don’t ever be afraid to talk with me! Even if you think you’re being a burden, you can talk with me.”  She nodded her head in response and smiled at him. Without him to listen to her, she probably would’ve given up a long time ago.

Walking into class Monday morning was probably the hardest thing Kathryn had done that year. When she sat down at the table, she noticed how dreadful Damien looked. He didn’t look like he had the time of his life that weekend. His eyes were bloodshot and his skin was pale almost blue. He looked completely burnt out causing her to feel sad for him remembering how he had to be strong for his family. Cancer must’ve done a number on his family because it’s been years of remission and he’s still hurting over it. It made her wonder how long it would take for her brother’s death to stop lording over her life. Years? Decades? Forever?

The bell rung and not being able to stand the sight of him any longer, she rushed towards her locker. Before she could turn to the second digit of her locker combination, Oliver comes over to her. “Hey Kat,” He leaned over coolly.

“Oliver,” She laughed lightly, “What’s up?”

“Nothing really,” He shrugged.

“Liar,” She laughed at his attempt to remain cool when pulled out two tickets out of his pocket, “What are those?” Her eyes grew wide in excitement over the mystery of what those tickets could lead her to.

“Tickets,” He shrugged, “No big deal really. Just some ballet that has to do with a girl that has an animal name.”

She gasped, “You got tickets to Giselle!” She screamed and quickly wrapped her arms around his neck. She thanked him over and over and took one of the tickets.

“You’re welcome,” He laughed blushing slightly, “It’s in a couple weeks so I’ll meet you there?”

“It’s a date,” She joked which caught Oliver off guard but he laughed any way. The bell rang just as she turned to open her locker. Groaning, she knew she had no time to grab her books. Instead, she raced down the halls to get to her next class not without running into Dylan.