Katie’s POV

Chapter 1 – Long Morning

One would have thought life in a small, southern town would have been ideal. You had the quant little main street with its myriad of family owned and run shops. The local post office acted as a public meeting place for friends to catch up on the latest with their children, grandchildren, nieces, and nephews, and any cousins that might have recently been removed from the family tree. The grocery store was the perfect place for aisle side chats about work and relationships—not to mention that the frozen food section was a better match maker than any website out there. And if “one” pertained to a person with a life they could be happy with, then, yes, Richmond Hill could certainly be all of those things. But if you were me, as I certainly seemed to be on this sunny Friday morning, a small town was the land of gossiping vultures, waiting to pick the meat from your bones before your body had even cooled.

Alas, time was once again running shorter than I would have liked and it was time to leave the sanctity of my bedroom and face the shark-infested waters of high school. The only life preservers available on my rough little teenage sea were Sadie and Alison. They were amazing friends to put up with me everyday. You see, I wasn’t really all that friendly and my idea of a good pet was twenty feet long, weighed about five thousand pounds, and had rows and rows of serrated teeth. For some reason though, Sadie and Alison put up with me, even accepting my love of sharks.

Speaking of Alison, I needed to get going. I had promised to pick her up for school this morning since Ryan was home sick. Alison and I had been friends since about the fifth grade. We shared a lunch table together every day, knowing neither of us would really fit in anywhere else. Alison wasn’t eligible for popularity since her family wasn’t wealthy and she didn’t “put out” for the boys around here. She was nearly as tall as me and had long, blonde hair with brown eyes. She was extremely sweet and tried to be nice to everyone, but make her mad and you had better watch out.

I finished brushing out the last of the tangles in my wavy hair, smiled for the mirror to make sure I hadn’t missed any spots on my teeth, and then headed toward the living room to grab my backpack. The house was quiet this morning since both my dad and his fiancée, Kelly, had gone into work early. They did that a couple of times a month for one reason or another and I thoroughly enjoyed having the house to myself on those mornings. I never had to worry about my dad yelling for me to hurry up on those rare days. The man was always trying to rush me, no matter how much time I had before school; I think it was a strange form of entertainment for him. Parents could be so weird sometimes.

I stopped in the kitchen for a granola bar and a bottle of water, snagged my backpack from behind the sofa, and then headed out the door. After a few false starts, I finally had my car running and on the road to Alison’s house. My car might not have been fancy or even close to new, but it was mine and I took pride in it. I had even gone so far as to force Sadie’s older brother, Shawn, to teach me how to change the oil, the spark plugs and wires, and what to do with a flat tire. I wasn’t sure if I would be able to do all of those things when the time came; still it was good to have the knowledge anyway.

I pulled up in front of Alison’s and honked my horn, just as she’d instructed me to do. She knew if I went inside, her mother would keep me talking and we’d end up late for school. I swear it was only seconds from the final beep of the horn until when the front door opened to show a beaming Alison. She waved as she hurried over to the car and climbed in.

“Rough morning,” I teased, grinning at her. Alison was hardly ever in a hurry.

“You don’t know the half of it,” she sighed, buckling herself in. “Ryan and his little sister, Sara, are both sick, so I’m not allowed at their house until they are completely healthy again. My mother is worried that I will pick up a bug and give it to Jackson and Andrew and she does not have time for sick, twin toddlers. Or so I have been told about a thousand times in the past few days.”

“Does your mother not realize the irony behind a devoutly religious woman naming her twin sons after one of the most blood-thirsty political leaders of the eighteen hundreds?” I asked.

“Katie, please. Not again,” Alison groaned. “My mother was not thinking of him when she named the boys. She was thinking of her grandfather, Andrew, and the town where the twins were conceived.”

“Such a strange place for a vacation,” I said, shaking my head. “Who goes to Jackson, Mississippi for an adults only vacation?”

“My parents and apparently, there’s nothing to do there, hence the twin brothers,” she giggled. “My offer still stands for you to take one of them.”

“Are they potty-trained yet?”

“Yes,” she laughed. “And have been for quite a while.”

“I’ll think about it, but at this point in my high school career, I really believe a younger sibling will hurt my chances of obtaining popularity and you know how I’m dying inside to be among the elite.”

“How you can be so sarcastic this early in the morning, Katie?”

“It’s in ma’ bones,” I yelled out dramatically. “I awake in the mornin’ and I feel it deep in ma’ soul! Much like my beloved Carcharodon carcharias has to bite, I have to be sarcastic.”

“Latin word for great white shark,” Alison said.

“You have been paying attention to me,” I replied. “I feel so special.”

“You should,” she laughed.

“Oh, Alison. You cut me deep right then.”

“Oh, Katie. You’re so full of it, you could fill up ten of Mr. Clark’s grain silos.”

“Ouch! That’s a particularly Sadie thing to say to me on this fine Friday morning.”

“Yeah, she told me yesterday to make sure I got in a dig for her on our way to school this morning.”

“That evil red head,” I chuckled. “I am so going to get her later today,” I said as I navigated the car into my usual spot in the middle of the parking lot.

“Thanks again for the ride,” Alison told me as we got out of the car.

“You’ve been thanking me since yesterday morning. I think we’ve appropriately established your level of gratitude,” I replied, closing my door.

“Well, I like to say thank you. Not everyone has a problem with those two little words.”

“Alright, you are now banned from making Sadie-like comments. Go back to being sweet, charming Alison or we have nothing more to say to each other this morning.”

“You know Sadie only says those things because she cares about you, Kat,” Alison said.

“Yeah, I do know, but I’m just not in the mood for it today,” I told her. I was doing all I could not to think about the Tuesday that was quickly approaching and all of the things it would mean for me. And the more I tried not to think about, the more it invaded my thoughts and darkened my mood.

“Evil twin alert,” Alison whispered.

“Left or right?” I asked, not wanting to chance looking right at them.

“Straight ahead, unfortunately. But Sadie and Caleb are in sight, so I think we’ll be okay.”

Ellie Becker and Lindsey McKinney…affectionately known as the evil twins (include copious amounts of sarcasm here). I doubted there were any two people in the entire school who hated me more than they did. I had never done anything to them, but for some reason, they just couldn’t leave me alone. They delighted in spreading nasty rumors about me around the school, and never passed up a chance to remind me of my family situation. The rumors I could handle—the constant reminder of my family…not so much. But I did my best every day to make it through school without hitting either of them; so far, so good for this school year. Then again, we were only a few weeks into the year, leaving plenty of time for impromptu nose jobs for the evil twins.

Alison and I stuck closer to the building, hoping to avoid detection, as we passed the vile ones.

“Look at what Sadie is wearing today,” Ellie sneered.

“You would think she could dress herself a bit better seeing as she’s an Abbott,” Lindsey added.

“Sadie’s always had poor taste. Look at the people she considers to be her friends,” Ellie said.

“Lucas really needs to talk some sense into that girl,” Lindsey replied.

My head shot up at their evil words and my eyes immediately landed on them. Ellie and Lindsey were sitting on the top of the round stone table with their arms behind him, making sure their chests poked out as much as possible. The only thing worse than the sight of Ellie and Lindsey offering themselves up as sexual buffet items, was seeing Lucas Abbott standing right next to them, not saying a single word about their comments. He seemed to be a bit busy looking at some sophomore girl’s behind. Lucas was Sadie’s older brother by just a few months so he was in the same grade as us. Luckily for Sadie and me, we only had one class with the arrogant wonder. Poor Alison had to deal with him in four of her classes.

“Sadie could be so popular if she would just listen to us. Fix her make-up, get her some sexier clothing, and get rid of the homely little boyfriend,” Ellie noted.

“Dating the son of the local tire salesman is so not cool,” Lindsey said. “He’s such a…a loser,” she added, scrunching up her face.

“Well, so is she so I guess they technically are perfect for each other,” Ellie chuckled.

Alison grabbed my arm and hissed at me. “Let it go, Katie. They haven’t noticed you, so let’s just keep it that way.”

“How can he just stand there and let them talk about Sadie that way?” I fumed, wishing for the millionth time that I could just beat the snot out of him and the evil twins and be done with all three of them.

“You don’t call him the ‘arrogant wonder’ for nothing,” Alison chuckled. “And as Sadie has explained it, it’s a mutual dislike. Sadie hates that he’s a womanizing pig, and Lucas hates that Sadie doesn’t worship him as the godly big brother that he is.”

“Yes, I fondly recall the last time he sat at her lunch table, when he flat out told her she should be thankful for the popularity he gave to her by sitting there and allowing her to enjoy his presence.”

“Think he’s really that stuck up?” Alison asked.

“Let’s look at the facts. One, he ignores Sadie and Shawn. Two, he lets his friends talk about them anyway they want and never says a word. Three, he always talks to Sadie as if she was a little child, instead of just a few months younger. And four, he finds Ellie and Lindsey to be suitable dating material. I would say that he definitely qualifies for his given nickname.”

“Do Sadie and I have nicknames?” Alison asked.

“Of course you do,” I replied. “Sadie is Pippi, as in that wonderful character with the red braided hair, Ms. Pippi Longstocking.”

“You will never let her live down that one day she wore braids, will you?”

“Nope, not likely,” I chuckled. “I’ve got a better chance of getting a shark as a pet.”

“What would you name it?” she asked.

“He would be Pepe and I would love him with all my heart.”

“Sure you would,” she chuckled. “So! What’s my nickname? And Ryan’s too? Oh, and Caleb?”

“The boys don’t have nicknames. They are just the men in the lives of my two friends. But your nickname is Sweet Pea.”

“I’m named after the baby in the Popeye cartoons?” she asked, looking completely crestfallen. “The baby doesn’t even speak.”

“But the baby is the unifier between Olive Oil, Popeye, and Bluto. Without Sweet Pea, those three would never get along. Plus, Sweet Pea can be completely sweet or completely mischievous, just like you.”

“Alright. I feel a little better about it now that you’ve explained it. But let’s just keep it as a private nickname, okay?” she asked, clutching my arm as she looked at me with pleading eyes.

“You got it,” I chuckled.

“Ladies, are you as excited as I am that today is Friday?” Sadie asked, smiling wide as we walked up to Caleb and her.

“I know I am,” Caleb chuckled. “Shawn and I are going out on the boat with Brian first thing tomorrow morning. The weather is supposed to be perfect and the fishing excellent.”

“Do not snag any sharks,” I warned Caleb, pointing a finger at him. “If you accidentally do, you had better let it go and make sure it’s going to live.”

“Yes, Katie. I know the shark rule,” Caleb said, rolling his eyes at me.

“Don’t be that way, Caleb,” I said, attempting to mimic Sadie’s infamous pout. “You know I can’t help but mention it. They are a very misunderstood species and I have to protect them.”

“Katie, your love of sharks always astounds me,” Sadie chuckled.

“I do try my best to continuously stun and amaze you,” I told her. “By the way, that brother of yours is a total sleaze.”

“What did the arrogant wonder do now?” Sadie sighed.

“Don’t tell her,” Caleb said, pulling Sadie into his arms. “She doesn’t need to know. He already upset her first thing this morning.”

“What happened, Sadie?” Alison asked, putting her hand on Sadie’s arm. It was a gesture that seemed so normal for Alison, and yet was completely foreign to me. Personal contact was not high up on my list of allowable items. I quickly shook my head, not wanting to get distracted from the conversation by my random thoughts.

“Do you guys know Leeann? She’s a sophomore on the cheerleading team? About my height with really short blonde hair?” Sadie questioned.

“I think so,” Alison replied. “Doesn’t she hang out with Garrett Becker, Ellie’s cousin?”

“Yeah. Talk about the family tree having a very rotten apple in Ellie. Garrett is so sweet and polite,” Sadie said. “Anyway! Lucas knows damn good and well that Garrett is head over heels for Leeann and he also knew that Garrett was planning to ask her out tonight for a real date and not just as friends. So what does my wonderful, amazing, big brother do? He calls Leeann last night and asks her out.”

“Tell them why,” Caleb said, looking a bit angry. Caleb was the most even tempered boy I knew, so if he was angry, Lucas had really done something sleazy.

“Lucas did it because Garrett tripped and put his hand on Lucas’s car as a way to stop himself from falling and it left a handprint on the precious vehicle,” Sadie explained. “So Lucas had Lindsey find out if Garrett was dating or interested in anyone just to get his revenge. I found out about it through Shawn’s friend Lily and I asked Lucas to call it off this morning. He told me to keep my nose out of his business.”

“So just tell Garrett and Leeann what’s going on,” I said. “Explain about Lucas’s sick sense of humor and that way, Leeann can dump Lucas and bruise that massive ego of his.”

“But will Leeann believe it?” Sadie asked. “I don’t want to do anything that might mess up Garrett’s chances because we all know Lucas won’t be calling her back.”

“If Leeann and Garrett are really friends, then you telling them both what happened won’t make her think Garrett had anything to do with it,” I pointed out.

“Sadie, it’s worth a shot,” Caleb encouraged.

“Alright,” Sadie agreed, nodding her head. “We’ll try it at lunch.”

“I’ll go with you,” Alison offered.

“I’d go with, but I really need to spend my lunch studying in the library,” I told them.

The bell rang loudly across the school yard, letting us all know it was time to start another day of higher learning—or at least that’s what the brochure said. I happened to consider high school as more of a teenage daycare facility since the only thing most of these students seemed to learn was how to gossip, lie, and have sex. Me personally, I just learned more reasons for getting the hell out of Richmond Hill as soon as possible.

Caleb gave Sadie a kiss goodbye and then disappeared, leaving the three of us to finish the short walk to our history classroom. “So, Kat, what big plans do you have for this wonderful Friday?” Sadie asked as we took our seats.

“Educational TV night,” I replied, enjoying the way Sadie’s face scrunched up at my answer.

“What about this time?” Alison questioned.

“Alexander the Great. And then I’ll be flipping over to A&E where they will be playing To Kill a Mockingbird.”

“Mind if I come over?” Alison asked. “I really can’t stand the thought of another night at home with my parents and the twins.”

“As long as you don’t mind putting up with my dad, you are more than welcome,” I laughed. “He wasn’t happy when he found out my chosen programs for tonight.”

“You think he would just give in and either buy a TV for your bedroom or one for his,” Sadie chuckled.

“I think he prefers to moan and groan,” I said, grinning at the memory of my father complaining about some of the programs I liked to watch. “What about you, Sadie? What perfectly romantic thing is Caleb doing with you tonight?”

“We are having dinner with his parents and grandparents. It’s his grandparents’ forty-eighth wedding anniversary,” Sadie replied. “Can you imagine being married for so long?”

“No, not really,” I said. “You know my feelings about marriage.”

“Yes, in the last month, we have certainly all been privy to your exact thoughts on the institution of marriage,” Sadie sighed.

The tardy bell chose that moment to ring, saving us from another rousing argument over whether or not my thoughts on marriage and family were completely wrong. Sadie thought I was being overly pessimistic because of my family history, while Alison believed I was “acting out”, threatened by Kelly and my irrational fear that she would “steal” my father away from me. Neither of them seemed to want to understand or believe that my view on marriage was just that—my view. I freely admitted that for some people, it could be a lifelong commitment, but I held fast to the belief that they were a minority in a world full of people ready to run at the slightest sign of trouble in paradise. I shook my head, clearing out all of those random, annoying thoughts and focused on my history teacher instead.

I always found it so interesting that on days when I had a math test, time seemed to fly by; and when there was no math test, snails moved faster than my school day. And being that today was a math test day, lunch seemed to arrive in a matter of minutes instead of hours. I wished Sadie good luck with Leeann and Garrett and then headed off to the library.

I found a table near the back of the library and sat down, pulling out my math book and my notebook. Alison was my tutor this year and with her help, I was keeping a solid “B” average. I planned to keep it that way, hence my sequestering myself into the library with my math book. This was the quietest place in the entire school and was perfect for studying.

“Lucas!” an all too familiar voice whined. “I hate the library.”

Obviously, I had spoken too soon about the library being a quiet place. What in the hell was Ellie Becker doing in the library? Better yet, how had she found her way in here? This place was neither popular, nor filled with boys capable of drooling over her. Not even my luck should be this bad! I came in here to study and managed to run into the arrogant wonder and a lone evil twin. Maybe they would see something shiny, become distracted, and leave the library.

“So leave,” Lucas told her.

What a wonderful idea! They would leave, I would get to study, and all would be right with the world.

“Good, let’s go get some lunch,” she said.

“No, Ellie. You leave. I need to get this research done for my essay,” he replied.

“God, Lucas! Can’t you just slap something together and be done with it?” Ellie asked.

“Ellie, what is my last name?” he asked, sounding rather bored.

“Abbott,” she replied instantly.

“Have you ever heard of an Abbott just slapping something together?” he questioned.

“Well, no, but—” she started.

Okay, I had heard enough. I was not going to listen to anymore of this drivel. I decided a direct approach would be good, while pretending I didn’t know exactly who was causing the disruption. “Could whoever’s in the stacks keep it down just a little? Some of us are attempting to work in here,” I said, just loud enough for them to hear.

Ellie suddenly appeared to my left. “Oh, it’s you,” she sneered. “Can’t you go be repulsive somewhere else?”

“I’m shocked you managed to find your way into this part of the school, Ellie. There are no mirrors or groups of boys in here for you to show off in front of,” I replied. “Oh, you’re lost, aren’t you? Poor thing! Well, this is the library and you’re supposed to be quiet in it. No talkie, talkie! ‘Kay? Good.”

“So what’s your excuse for being in the library? Trying to track down your mother?” Ellie asked as Lucas appeared behind her, a smug smile on his stupid face.

“No, I was actually reading up on yours,” I shot back. “She’s a succubus, right?”

“A what?” Ellie questioned, clearly confused.

“Oh, now that’s not very nice,” Lucas said, leaning his gangly body against the edge of the bookcase. “You were the one who interrupted our conversation, after all.”

“You’re in a library, dumb-ass. Most people realize without having to be told, you don’t talk in a library,” I hissed at him.

“You’re talking,” he replied, his smug smile widening.

“If you’re looking to have a ‘not-it’ style argument, go back to talking to Ellie. I prefer my conversations to be comprised of more than monosyllable speech,” I told him.

“Sharp little tongue you have there,” he chuckled. “Must make you very popular around here.”

I just stared at him, amazed at just how oblivious he was to anything outside of his little circle. I was his sister’s best friend, I’d been in his house numerous times, and I sat right behind him in English class, but he had no idea who I was. He really was the arrogant wonder. Or maybe that blonde hair of his wasn’t natural after all. Maybe his lack of intelligence was directly related to how much bleach he used on his hair.

“Wait! Who has mono?” Ellie asked, turning to look at Lucas. “I don’t want to kiss anyone that has that! Gross!”

I snorted and slammed my book closed, knowing I wouldn’t get the peace and quiet I needed in here with these two clowns. “I don’t have time for this mess. Thanks for ruining a perfectly good opportunity to study, you morons.”

“You better walk off,” Ellie called, trying to seem tough.

I wondered how the hell the girl had ever made it to eleventh grade with a brain as small as hers. On my way out, I came across Mr. Morris, the librarian. A wicked smile spread across my lips as a plan quickly evolved in my mind. If I wasn’t able to get my work done in here, why should those two be any different?

“Mr. Morris, sir,” I called.

He turned around at the sound of his name and immediately smiled upon seeing me. “Katie, how are you, Honey?”

I genuinely liked Mr. Morris. He had to be somewhere in his seventies with all those wrinkles on him. He was always dressed so neat and clean and his little round glasses seemed to sit just perfectly on his nose. I loved when he would tilt his head forward to look over the tips of them. I had once mentioned that they make bifocal glasses to him and he had just laughed. He told me that when a man had been doing things the same way over twenty years, it was easier to keep doing them that way. Then he had added that he didn’t think he had enough time left on the planet to get used to new glasses. That had been during my freshman year and I had to say, Mr. Morris looked exactly the same now as he had then. I think he had a lot more time left than he thought.

“Fine, sir,” I said in answer to his question.

“And your dad? He caught any record breakers lately?” he asked.

“No, sir. He’s been too busy with his charters to do any fishing of his own.”

“That’s right,” he chuckled. “He’s got a wedding to save up for.”

“Yes, sir,” I said, forcing myself not to grimace. The wedding was a sore spot with me, but not for the reasons most people thought.

“So what can I do for you, Katie?” he questioned.

“Well, sir, I was attempting to study for a test I have later today, but Lucas Abbott and Ellie Becker are talking very loudly in the stacks near the back. They’ve made it impossible for me to get any work done. I’d hate to see them ruin anyone else’s attempts to study.”

“Thank you for letting me know, Katie. I’ll go and have a talk with them. You tell your dad ‘hello’ for me, okay?”

“Sure thing, Mr. Morris. Have a great day,” I said, pushing my way out of the heavy, wooden doors.

While people my own age seemed to be utterly repulsed by me, adults—especially teachers—seemed to genuinely like me. Even our principal, who had good reasons to be perturbed with me, was always glad to see me. Shawn, Caleb, and I had given the poor man some new gray hairs on his head over the last few years. The three of us enjoyed a good, harmless prank every now and again, and high school provided us with the perfect setting and audience for them. Luckily for us, the principal had only been able to prove we were behind a single prank so far. Of course, Shawn blurting it out right in front of him had made it rather easy to pin it on us.

I smiled, remembering that day clearly, as I adjusted my backpack onto my shoulder a little more. I headed toward my English classroom knowing no one ever came in there early; it would be a great place to finally get my studying done. I made my way into the building, enjoying the sound of my sneakers squeaking and echoing in the empty hall. I walked into the deserted classroom and slid into my seat. I pulled out my books and opened back up to the problems I had been trying to work on in the library, confident I would get through these without interruption this time.