Narrow Paths

Chapter Twenty

chapter twenty

I knew the way to the Eamon house by heart. I steeled my nerves as I slowly drove up the driveway.

After my realization yesterday evening at dinner, it had been hard for me to think about anything except how I would apologize to Katie. The nagging feeling of being a coward chewed at me and my actions toward her tore at my conscious.

Finally, I couldn't take the guilt any more. It was eight o'clock at night, so I knew both of Katie's parents would be gone. I forced myself to retrace old roads right back to the Eamon house. It was so close to the highway that you could hear the cars zooming by when you sat in the kitchen.

It was one of the nicest houses in town, second only to Darcy's. The driveway was the entire length of a football field. There was a well-kept garden, the pride and joy of Katie's mother, that greeted people as they came up to the house.

As I drove up to the house, I remembered all the time I'd spent there in the past. I was frequently a guest at the Eamon dinner table, because her parents had been fond of me. Other times, Katie invited me over to watch movies in their living room. I'd only be in Katie's room once, and the door had been open the entire time.

These memories led to even better ones. I remembered my first date with Katie, an awkward diner at my house and then a trip up to Union City to watch a movie. I couldn't remember what movie we'd seen. It was silly that it bothered me so much, but I wanted to remember.

I knocked on the door loudly and waited. Katie's room was on the second floor, so it would take her some time to get downstairs to answer the door. I tried to be patient, but it was hard.

She opened the door and stared at me. She was dressed just as casually as she always was, her glasses slightly askew from the run downstairs. I could tell that in her head, she was debating the advantages and disadvantages of letting me inside.

"I just came to talk, one person to another."

She held the door wide open. "Be my guest."

I followed her to the living room. She'd apparently been in here watching a movie when I'd knocked on the door. She paused the movie with the remote and offered me a can of cola. I politely shook my head and sat down next to her on the couch.

"What did you want to talk about?"

"Okay, look. I'm not going to beat around the bush. I was a jerk when I broke up with you. Not only the way I did it, but the reasons behind it as well."

"What did Darcy Winston say to make you realize this?" She asked sarcastically.

"Absolutely nothing. Katie, for the past month that girl has been helping me get my shit together and realize what kind of life I'm capable of living if I don't let Benton Ridge try to run my life. Katie, I broke up with you because of the town."

"Because of the town?"

I could tell from her facial expression that she thought I was crazy, but I had to continue to talk. There was no turning back at this point, no matter how badly I wished I could go back to our break up and slap myself out of the idea. No matter how badly I wished I'd met Darcy the summer before that, so she could make me realize what was happening to me, I couldn't go back and make it happen now.

"I hate the feeling of being constantly watched."

"You mentioned something like that before," she remembered.

"Well, Ed's situation really put it into perspective for me. I felt the way he feels right now. I felt like we should have a little privacy. I'm not saying we should have had the right to be alone 24/7, but I hated it how random people would know we'd kissed. They'd know when I dropped you off after a date. They knew when we were going to the movies, what we were seeing, and what type of soda we were going to drink."