Book 1: Realization

Chapter 16

Katherine and James walked home in silence. Katherine was angry with him. He had hidden the fact that he would be her teacher. James had tried to explain but she had quietened him down.

After a while they reached home. Judy and Jonathan were not at home, they were going to arrive late and so the afternoon was theirs. They entered the house and James tried again.

“Kathy, I …” James tried again

“No… I don’t want to hear anything” she said angrily.

She bound up the stairs with James right behind her. She opened her room door and barged in. In anger Katherine had forgotten that James stayed in the same room as her. She angrily pushed the door to close it but instead she crushed James’s fingers.

“Aahhh!!” James screamed in pain.

“WH... what happened?” Katherine asked in a horrified tone. She was by his side in a few seconds. She took hold of his arm and slowly guided him to her bed. His fingers were bleeding. She began crying.

“Hey!! Why are you crying? Don’t... Don’t cry” James said softly.

“I’m sorry... I’m so sorry” she said between breaths.

“It’s okay… don’t cry Kathy. It really doesn’t hurt. Please don’t cry… for me...” He said softly.

He pulled her close to him and hugged her tightly. She held onto him crying into his chest.

“Sssh… don’t  ...It’s okay” he whispered in her ears.

He sat down onto the bed still holding her. He liked the contact, it felt soothing. He kissed her forehead softly and pulled her closer.

Slowly they both released each other and Katherine stood up.

“What happened?” James asked

“I‘ll get the first aid kit.” Katherine replied shyly

She walked out of the room leaving James sitting on the bed. After a few minutes she returned with a small green container. A hand made ‘First aid Kit’ sign was pasted on it. She sat down next to him and opened the container. She slowly took his hand and began wiping the blood away.

Her eyes were filled with tears again. She tried to stop her eyes from over flowing but it was very difficult and soon the tears streamed down her cheeks and onto James’s hand. James looked up at her and wiped her tears of her cheek. She put on some antiseptic cream and tied a bandage around his hand.

“Don’t cry… It wasn’t your fault. Please don’t cry Kathy! I love you so much, for me. Please don’t cry” James begged.

She finished bandaging the hand and that’s when she began crying again. James quickly shifted the first aid kit away and shifted close enough to hold her against his chest. She held him tightly and cried for a long time. James tried to stop her from crying but she wouldn’t listen to him.

James was about to cry when she finally quietened down. She held onto him and he pulled her closer and held her in a tight hug. He loosened the hug, but kept the contact.

“You go have your bath. I’ll prepare dinner. Okay.” He told her softly. He stood up still holding her and guided her to the bathroom. “Don’t go.” Katherine said quietly. “I’m not going anywhere. You have your bath. I’ll be right here.” James said innocently.

 He passed her a towel and closed the bathroom door slowly.

He waited until he could hear the water running, then he moved swiftly downstairs to do the cooking. His hand had already healed. And it made it easier for him to finish the cooking quickly.