Hide & Seek

Cathryn

I watched in disbelief as Luke suddenly pulled away and turned to me. The horror and guilt in his eyes made me feel worse.
"Cathryn..." he gasped and pushed Kimberly off him. He took a step towards me.
"No, stop!" My voice cracked and I stared at him through my tears.
"H-how could you do this to me?"
"Cathryn, I didn't mean to."
I let out a horrible laugh. "Yeah, that's what they always say."
"He was only using you," Kimberly sneered. I ignored her.
"Cathryn? Can we stay another hour..." Reagan's voice faltered when she saw us. She took in Luke and Kimberly's flushed faces and understood what happened.
"Actually, let's go now, Cath." She grabbed my arm and started turning.
"Wait!" Luke leaped forward and grabbed my arm. My temper flared. I turned and wrenched my arm out of his grip. I watched, almost as if I lost control of myself, as my arm pulled back and slapped him, hard. He stared at me, shocked, and touched his cheek. Tears were streaming down my face.
"You're no better than before. I hope you did your parents proud."
The bitterness in my voice was evident and he jerked back. Then I turned and left him.

Reagan was silent the whole way home, but she gave me a huge hug before asking me if she can come in with me. Nodding, I entered my house.
"Cathryn? You're home earlier than I thought," Mum looked up from her book and saw my tears.
"Oh, Cathryn. What happened?"
I shook my head and burst into tears.
Mum stood up suddenly and looked at Reagan for an explanation, but I turned and ran to my room, Reagan closely behind.

Curling up on my bed, I cried, pouring out all my pain. How could he do that to me? I thought he liked me and was changing. Was it all just an act? And when I didn't make a move, he grew sick of me? Maybe he only wanted me like he'd wanted all those others girls. Reagan came and sat next to me.
"Tell me what happened," she murmured.
"We danced and talked and danced again, and I thought he was going to kiss me," I said between my sobs.
"Then I went to the bathroom and when I came out, I found him and Kimberly..."
I let out another wave of sobs while Reagan rubbed my back.
"Oh, Ree, he was kissing her with so much passion. I thought maybe it was Kimberly who threw herself on him, but he kissed her back."
"Shh, it's okay," Reagan whispered. Eventually, I calmed down.
"I hate him, Ree. Was our friendship just a joke to him?"
"I don't know, Cath. You have to talk to him about it."
"I'm never talking with him again."
"You can do so much better than him. He's a player, Cath."
"Yeah... I was stupid to trust him in the first place."
I sniffed.
"Hey, at school tomorrow, keep your head high. Pretend that it didn't affect you. Look pretty and smart. Make him regret it so much, he'll wish he'd never messed with the Cat."
I smiled. Reagan always knew how to make me feel better.
"Thanks, and I love you, Reagan."
"Love you too, girl."