Katie

Chapter 26

The weekend passed slowly for Katie. She was anxious for Monday to arrive. A secret part of her was looking forward to seeing Logan again. He hadn't shown up at school the day after their talk in the stairwell and she was curious as to how things would be between them now. After everything he had said, she was cautiously hopeful that they could become friends again. She wasn't sure why she wanted that so bad, after all these years. Maybe because deep down she had never stopped caring about him and remembering the sweet boy she had spent most of her early childhood with. Back when things were good and simple in her life. Back when she didn't have a care in the world. The loss of his friendship had just been the beginning of the end of her wonderful life.

Sunday evening, Katie headed downstairs for a drink of water. She stopped in the doorway when she saw Shawn and Ashley sitting at the breakfast table, sharing a pizza. They both glanced up as she came into the room. She noticed how they both glanced quickly away and went back to their pizza and conversation. Ignoring them, she opened the fridge door and pulled out a bottle of water. She opened it and took a long swallow before turning back and leaning against the kitchen counter. Katie eyed the two of them as they tried to pretend like she wasn't there. Narrowing her eyes, Katie took another long drink and then sighed.

"Ok, I get it. First you both try to talk to me, and when that doesn't work, what? You ignore me? You really think that's the trick?" she leaned her elbows back on the counter top behind her, holding her water bottle in one hand.

Shawn and Ashley looked at each other before turning their heads to look in her direction.

"Seeing as how you're talking to us for the first time in awhile, yeah, I would say so." Shawn responded quietly.

Katie fought back a smile. She straightened up and walked over to the table, taking a seat across from them. "Whatever." She glanced over at Ashley, "You keep that look on your face much longer and you'll have permanent lines on your face."

Ashley quickly smoothed out her forehead. "Hey!" She blushed as she secretly glanced over at Shawn. "Not funny, Katie."

Katie smirked, "Yeah, it kinda was. Look, I'm sorry, ok? I overreacted and I shouldn't have gotten so upset about everything. I still don't agree with your reasons but, what's done is done. I'm tired of being mad. At both of you."

Ashley reached over to grab her hand. "I'm sorry too, Katie. I really, really am sorry. I swear to you, from now on I will never keep anything from you ever again. No matter how big or small."

Katie squeezed her hand and smiled. "I'll hold you to that, Ash."

With a huge grin on her face, Ashley jumped up and pulled Katie into a big hug.

"Can't breathe, Ashley, can't breathe!"

"Oops! Sorry!" Ashley said impishly, letting Katie go. "I'm just so happy that you're not mad at me anymore!"

"Yeah well, I kinda have other things on my mind right now. Takes too much energy to stay mad at you at the same time."

"What things?" Ashley inquired, sitting back down beside Shawn.

Slowly lowering herself back into her chair, Katie hesitated, looking at Shawn. "It's about Logan."

Shawn stiffened, "What about him?"

"Well," Katie cleared her throat. "He followed me out of the cafeteria the other day, and, well,"

Shawn frowned and Ashley looked over at him curiously. "And?"

"He apologized to me. For what happened all those years ago." Katie twisted a strand of hair around her finger nervously. "He also told me that he has never hated me." She glanced up at Shawn.

He visibly relaxed, picking up his pizza and taking a bite. "That's it?" he said around a mouthful of food.

"Thats it!? That's a big deal, Shawn!" Katie said incredulously.

Shawn quickly swallowed his bite and said, "I didn't mean it like that. Sorry. I just thought that, maybe y'all had gotten into a fight or something, that's all. Although, it is surprising that he said all that. Not very typical of him, he's usually not quite so open with his feelings."

"People can surprise you sometimes." Ashley said with a smile. "I'm happy for you, Katie. And Shawn, that's a really good thing for you too. Now you can stop worrying over being torn between the two of them. We can all hang out together without having to worry about all the tension." She smiled over at Katie, who was frowning at Shawn.

"You felt torn between us?" she asked him in confusion.

"Well, yeah," Shawn tugged nervously at his collar. "The two of you are notorious for hating each other. I'm stuck in the middle. You are my biological half-sister, you're family, and I really want us to have a good relationship with each other. As far as blood goes, we are all we've got. I haven't had that since my mom died and I want to have that again, with you." He gave her a small smile, which she returned. "But,"

"But?" The smile faded from her face.

"But," Shawn continued, "Logan is my brother. He may only be a step-brother on paper, but in my heart he is my brother. I love him and I would do anything for him. The two of us have been through a lot together, more than most biological siblings ever go through, and that's tied us together, thicker than blood." He looked at her and she thought she saw sympathy in his eyes before he looked away. "If I was ever put in the position to choose, I would choose him. Every time."

Katie swallowed the lump forming in her throat. "I see. That's definitely a big 'but'"

"I don't say that to hurt you, Katie. I just want you to know where we stand so that we can move forward and, I don't know, become a family." He said hesitantly. He watched her warily, waiting for her reaction to what he said.

Katie chewed on her bottom lip thoughtfully and frowned down at the table. After a few moments, she finally looked up and said, "Well, at least you're being honest about it. That's something." She shrugged and gave him a small smile. "To be honest, it's kinda more than I expected. I figured you'd just stick around until graduation and then once you had your inheritance I'd never see you again."

"Seriously?" Eyebrows raised, Shawn leaned forward. "I would never do that, Katie. I promise you that. As long as you want a brother in your life, I am here. Inheritance or no inheritance."

Katie saw the sincerity in his eyes. "I can live with that." Then she smiled brightly and reached over and hugged him.

"Aww, I think I'm going to cry." Ashley sniffed as she watched the two of them hug.

"Shut up, Ashley." They said in unison.

The room filled with their laughter and Katie started to feel content for the first time in a long time.