The Nothings

Tabitha (Chapter Thirteen)

  "Richard creeps me out," Kate said to Tabitha as the two of them waited for group to start. "He's so sweaty and weird."

  "He's nice," Tabitha objected. "He really is. I think he likes Anita too."

  "No way," Kate said, and she looked stunned. "Does she like him?"

  Tabitha shrugged. "Well, he is really sweaty so I don't know.."

  "Shh, here he comes," Kate said as Richard lumbered in the room and smiled nervously at the two girls who sat next to each other; their chairs scooted closer together than usual.

 Anita came in with cookies for everyone, and Tabitha actually took one since she was really hungry even though she hated eating in front of people. She ate in front of Kate sometimes, but it didn't matter since the other girl was just as messy as Tabitha. 

They had tacos the other night with Mike, and Kate had ended up with sauce on the sleeve of her t-shirt while Tabitha dropped sour cream all over her lavender blouse. They had just laughed though, and Tabitha gave the sour cream to Russell the cat. He adored Tabitha's new friend. He slept on her pillow that weekend when Kate stayed over when they were up late watching 80's movies.

   Tabitha and Kate were now spending a lot of time together. They would hang out at the park, sitting on the picnic tables and sipping coffee. They would talk for hours about their favorite books, comics, movies, TV shows, but they also talked about their families and about their anxiety. It was strange for Tabitha to have someone who understood so much about what she was going through. Kate always got it. 

   The girls spent a lot of time at Tabitha's house. It was their favorite place to hang out. Mike was often gone, and they would spend long afternoons with Jamie. They would cook dinner together, and then they would go out and walk the streets in the early morning hours after Mike came home. That was their favorite time of day; when they were alone in the dark even in the cold. They loved to run down the pavement and laugh at their weird shadows in the street lights.  

   Elizabeth wasn't at group that week since she had a band event at school. It was yet another activity that she hadn't wanted to do, but her father said the more activities the better. Joan was there but grumpy and spent most of the session telling them about her most recent fights with her step-mother, and saying she felt like Harry fucking Potter because they gave her the smallest room in their new house. It wasn't even a room, Joan said. It was supposed to be the laundry room so there was no window or closet. She couldn't even fit her bed frame in it so she just had a mattress on the bare floor. 

  "That's how I have my bed," Tabitha admitted. "It's comfortable."

  "Well, I don't like it," Joan shuddered. "It's easier for spiders and mice to get you."

  "My cat eats the mice," Tabitha admitted, "so it isn't that much of a problem for me. I kind of like the spiders though."

"You're so weird," Kate said with a smirk.

"Thank you," Tabitha said. 

  After therapy; Kate's Mom came to pick her up, and Kate had talked Tabitha into coming to her house. Tabitha felt uncertain as she hated meeting new people, but she agreed. Kate knew Tabitha's  family after all. Tabitha had heard all sorts of horror stories about Kate's overly religious parents, and her flighty sister so she was extra nervous.

   "Mom - this is Tabitha," Kate said to the woman in the bright red SUV.

  "Oh hello!" Kate's Mom was clearly thrilled that her daughter had a friend even if her hair was bright orange. "I've heard a lot about you. I'm Paula. Are you going to our house for dinner? We're having pizza!"