Right in Front of You

05. Aftermath

Kathy walked inside her house and kicked her boots off in the hallway. A breath of relief escaped her as her bare feet hit the cold floor. It was finally over and she could go to bed. Maybe she'd wake up tomorrow and realize this entire day had been nothing by a nightmare.

"Who was that?"

William's voice made her jump. He sat in an armchair in the living room which looked into the hallway, a frown on his face. Apparently, it wasn't over.

"You scared me. It was, um... just my ride home." She gave him a small smile, trying not to think about what she'd done when he'd warned her against being reckless mere hours ago. 

He didn't seem fooled and stood. That's when Kathy noticed the suitcase by his feet. 

"Going somewhere?" she asked, trying to change the subject.

"You said you were going out with Donnie," he said instead, obviously not fooled.

Guilt and embarrassment once against twisted in her gut, but she still tried to smile. "Yeah, I did go out with him, but he couldn't take me home."

William's frown deepened. "Why not?"

She was not getting into a discussion about Donnie's faults with her brother. "He just couldn't."

"So you decided to hitch a ride with the first stranger that crossed your path instead," William concluded.

Kathy opened her mouth, but closed it and shrugged instead. It was better that William just thought stranger danger instead of her having to explain that Kyle had a bad history. She'd never hear the end of that.

"You promised me you'd stay safe," William said, his tone laced with disappointment.

"Come on, William. The guy just gave me a lift home. It wasn't that bad." It was fast, effective and anti-climatic.

"I beg to differ," her mother said from behind her.

Kathy turned to see her in her dressing gown, her arms folded over her chest, her pale faced blotched and her teeth gritted together. She'd never seen her mother so angry. A strange sense of fear overcame her.

"Mom..."

"You said you were going out with Donnie, and yet some hoodlum on a motorcycle brings you home," her mother said, her voice shaking with anger. "Care to explain that?"

As a matter of fact, she did not, so she tried for a change of tactics. "I know motorcycles are dangerous, but I didn't have much of a choice."

"Where's Donnie?"

The guilt and anger were at it again. "Hopefully home."

"Hopefully home?" The words sounded so vile coming off her mother's tongue. "You left with him. Where did you leave him?"

Kathy pursed her lips, tears stinging her eyes.

"I'm still waiting for an answer," Cassandra said. "An answer as to where you left your boyfriend and why you decided to come home on a motorcycle with a stranger."

Kathy didn't have an answer that didn't imply spilling every dirty secret Donnie had to her mother. And she wouldn't do that. They would make up, but her mother might never forgive Donnie for this. But with the truth unavailable, she had nothing else to say. Catching a lift with a guy she didn't know now sounded crazy dangerous.

"What has gotten into you?" Cassandra asked once she stayed silent. "You're grounded!" 

Kathy winced, but took the punishment, as much as it stung. She hadn't been grounded in ages. But this time, she felt like she deserved it. As angry as she was at Donnie, she shouldn't have left him there. She should've called a cab or something.