The Nothings

Kate (Chapter Six)

     Kate walked home in the morning by herself with a boy's flannel around her. It smelled like Julius. He tried to drive her home, but she said the morning air would wake her up. Then he tried to walk her home, but she refused. He'd gotten stoned after they had sex so he wasn't up to arguing. He made her promise she'd wear his coat though. 

  She only lived two blocks away, but she wished it was longer. She needed the time to think. The sex hadn't been as bad as her first time, but it still hadn't done anything for her. The attraction she felt for Julius in the living room seemed to vanish the moment they were in his bedroom, and they were falling down onto his black and white argyle comforter and the clothes started coming off. He tried everything, but she didn't feel anything. 

 She faked it during his second try with his mouth, and he seemed satisfied that he'd done his job. They sat huddled up in his comforter smoking a joint, and he put on a movie on; a stupid frat boy type comedy that made Kate cringe, but she didn't say anything. He kept brushing the hair out of her eyes and telling her he thought she was beautiful. He'd thought so since the moment he laid eyes. 

  She could only think about how weird it was that she was sitting naked in a bed with some random guy. She didn't even know him, and she was experiencing something so intimate. She didn't feel nervous though. She wasn't sure why. They slept for a few hours in each other's arms before she finally decided to leave. It was too warm in his bedroom, and she was starting to sober up.

  "I'll call you," he said. "You live with Harper right?"

  "Right," she said as she slipped on her underwear.

  "It's weird you're related to her," he said as he struggled to keep his eyes open. "You're nothing like her."

  "How would you know?" She asked, but he was already asleep.

   Harper was thrilled that Kate and Julius hooked up. They were so perfect for each other, she kept saying. Why hadn't she thought of it first? Harper said that he was really smart, but kind of quiet. Harper said he would make the perfect boyfriend for Kate. Kate didn't know what to say. She didn't really want to see him again... or did she? She couldn't decide. 

He called, and he said he wanted to see her again when he got back from Colorado. He and his brother were going out to see their Mom and sister for two weeks, but he'd been thinking about Kate a lot. Would she think about going out with him when he got back? They could go out to dinner. He knew she was kind of a loner, thanks to Harper, but he liked that about her. He was a loner too.

  "Um, sure," Kate said. "Dinner sounds nice."

  "A loner, hey?" Kate smirked when she got off the phone with the boy while Harper listened outside of Kate's door. She wasn't a good sneak.

  "Yes," Harper said as she came out of the shadows and bounced down on her sister's bed. "It's who you are, and you should be proud. You march to your own beat."

  "Hmm." Kate wouldn't go that far.

 Harper went for work, and Kate sat thinking about Julius. She looked around at the week old pop on her night stand, the three day old pajamas she was wearing, and the back pack full of junk food by her bed. She stock-piled all her favorite things and kept it upstairs for easy access. Sometimes she spent all day in bed; not even going outside once. Sometimes she did that for a week straight.

   Julius was a popular guy even though he said he was a loner. He'd told her all about his friends, and his family when they had laid in each other's arms that night. He talked a lot about his life. He was in college, and he made his money working on cars part-time. Kate knew he once dated the gorgeous Cynthia, and they lived together for six months. He was too normal for her, Kate thought. He'd never want anything more than a hook up with someone like Kate. Actually it was all he could have. Kate barely had enough life for herself. She felt depressed as she curled up under her heavy comforter and thought about Harper describing her as a loner.