Chapter 3

“H..Hey” I answer as I warily stepped into the room. Oh, wait, it is MY room.

The girl standing at the bathroom door is tall, and pretty with bright red hair and green eyes. The other girl is sitting, so I can’t really tell if she is tall or not, she is a brunette with very vivid blue eyes.

My sister stands there grinning from ear to ear as she introduced us. “Kathy meet Paige and Haley, two of my very best friends” she said pointing first at the blue-eyed brunette, then at the green-eyed redhead.

“Paige, Haley, meet my dear little sister, Katherine”. She finished still grinning.

“Hi, excuse us for a moment please.” I said turning to drag Katlyn out of the room with me.

“What the heck?!” I asked as soon as we were past hearing range. “Why didn’t you tell me your friends were here? And why are they in my room? There’s an extra room for them to stay in, or better yet, they could stay in a hotel. There are lots of those close by”. I said gesticulating wildly.

“Oh Kathy, I’m sorry, it kinda skipped my mind. You know, with you coming back, and with us not seeing each other for three years straight. I was just so excited that I forgot. I’m sorry Kathy. And I would have had them stay in the guest room, but mom Carol and Uncle Joe are coming later this week, and they would have to stay there.” She said.

“But, look on the bright side, it is going to be fun. All of us together, you know, before I tie the knot” Katy said jumping up and down and clapping her hands.

“Well, I’m sure it would be okay. I guess I could sleep on the floor. It is no big deal.” I replied shrugging.

“Come on K, don’t tell me you still do that thing where you don’t let people touch you. You should have outgrown that by now K”. She said looking at me with pity in her eyes. She leaned in to touch my arm, but I flinched, and she dropped her hand to her side.

“I’m sorry sis, I don’t know what to tell you.” I replied. “It is nothing anyway. I’ll manage, I’m sure I can.” I continued.

“Well, ok. Go on, go take a bath and rest a little. Devon and his brother will be here soon, and Kaden will be coming with them. They’ll pick him up from the courts on their way here. You know how that boy loves to play basketball.” She said as she walked down the hall towards her room.

“Sure, I can’t wait to see him” I mumbled as I turned to walk back to my room.

“Hi…um…sorry, I apologize for my reaction. I just didn’t know you guys were going to be here. My dear dear big sister left out that little piece of information” I said to the two girls as I walked into the room. Haley was dressed and was now sitting on the bed with Paige looking down at her phone.

“I’m really sorry, I know that was rude of me. I’m not usually like that, I was just kinda shocked.” I continued.

“It is alright” Paige replied nodding in my direction. “Yeah, no biggie. I didn’t think it was rude at all. In fact, the look on your face was pretty comical” Haley added laughing.

“Yeah, if anything, it was funny” Paige added as she looked up from her phone to glance at me.

“Oh great then, I’ll just go take a shower, I’m really beat. I just really want to get some shut eye”. I said as I wheeled my luggage to the closet. There was some space at the end, and I arranged my bags there. I opened my carry-on and took out my soap, sponge, towel, and a pair of grey sweatpants and a black tank top, and marched off to the bathroom.

“Was it just me or was Paige staring at me?” I thought as I sponged myself down. After my shower, I dressed in the bathroom, and got out. I went straight to the closet and a blanket and spread it on the floor beside the bed. Then I grabbed one of the five pillows on the bed, and settled down on my makeshift bed.

“Hey, Katherine? You know there’s a lot of space here on the bed, right?” Haley said turning on the bed to stare down at me.

“Umm, yes. But, the thing is, I don’t share beds.” I replied glancing up at her. I met Paige’s eyes as she too was looking down at me. Her brows furrowed as she looked at me questioningly.

I smiled awkwardly and said “I’ll explain later, but right now I just really want to sleep a little. The drive down here was kind of hectic”.

“Sure” Haley replied laying back on the bed. “Umm, okay” Paige said her eyes lingering for a moment before laying back on the bed.

“Please, someone wake me once the fiancé gets here?” I asked.

“Sure thing” Haley replied.

I closed my eyes, and drifted into a dreamless slumber.