Chapter
19
A few hours later,
Brian pulled into the driveway of his parents' house. He looked over to see
Katelyn sound asleep, her head resting against the door. He smiled. She looked
so peaceful, he didn't want to wake her up. But he reached over and nudged her
shoulder gently. She stirred and slowly lifted her head. She sat up and looked
around, a bit confused. Then she saw Brian and remembered where she was.
"Hey
there, sleepyhead," Brian said, grinning at her. "We're here."
"Oh,
good," she said, smiling and rubbing her eyes. Brian got out and came
around to her side to help her out. She smiled at what a gentleman he was. She
got out and stretched in the yard. Brian opened the trunk and got out her
suitcase.
"Come
with me," he said, starting to walk up to the front porch. She grabbed her
purse and followed after him. He led her into the spacious house, and she
followed him into the kitchen. There was a note on the refrigerator. It said, Brian,
I went to the store to pick up some groceries. Be back soon. Love, Mom.
"Well, I guess we have the house to ourselves then," said Brian,
after reading the note. "I'll take you upstairs to where you'll be
staying." He led Katelyn up the stairs, down the hall, and into a nice
bedroom, decorated in navy blue. "This used to be Harold's room,"
Brian told her. "It's just a guest room now though."
"Can I
see your old room?" Katelyn asked, interested.
"Sure,"
Brian said. "Right this way." He led her down the hall to another
room, decorated in a lighter shade of blue. "This was my room," Brian
said. "It's just a guest room now too, but I always stay in it when I'm
here."
"Cool,"
Katelyn said, looking around the room. "I can't believe I'm standing here
in your old house," she said, turning and smiling at him.
He returned
her smile. "I'm glad you're here," he said. "Otherwise, I would
have still been worrying about you."
"So, you
have actually been worrying about me since Saturday night before the
concert?" Katelyn asked, surprised, yet touched.
"Yeah,"
he said. "I just think what you've been through is one of the most awful
things I've ever heard of. I can't relate to it at all because I came from a
very loving family. My parents are great, and they would never hit me or
anything. I just felt like you deserved to be in a place like that, where you wouldn't
have to get treated like that."
"My
family used to be like that, loving and caring an everything. But my dad died
when I was thirteen, and ever since then, my mom hasn't been the same. She
loved him, and she just kind of went psycho after it happened. I don't think
she blames me or anything; she just takes all her anger and stress out on
me," Katelyn explained sadly.
"I hope
this isn't too personal, but how did your father die?" Brian asked.
"He was
killed by a drunk driver coming home from work late one night," Katelyn
said, her eyes filling with tears. "It all happened so suddenly. He didn't
come home one night, and then the police showed up at our door in the middle of
the night and told us that he was dead." Tears streamed down her face as
she remembered that horrible night.
Brian sat down
on the bed and patted a spot for her next to him. She sat down, and he put his
arm gently around her and let her cry on his shoulder.
"I can't
believe I'm acting like such a baby," Katelyn said, her voice still trembling.
"I've done nothing but cry in front of you."
"Don't be
sorry. It's okay," Brian soothed. "That's what I'm here for. I want
to help you. There's nothing wrong with crying. I cry a lot too. I'm kinda
embarrassed to admit it though because crying is not the manly thing to
do."
Katelyn smiled
up at him. "I don't mind when a man cries. I think it shows how sensitive
they are, and I think that's very sweet."
Brian grinned.
"You'd sure get along great with Howie. Heck, he still cries at Titanic!"
Katelyn
giggled.
"Do you
want something to eat?" Brian asked.
"Sure, I
guess so," Katelyn said.
"All
right, come on," Brian said. He took her hand, and they walked downstairs
to the kitchen.
***
