“Look, Kaykay, maybe we should go sit down.” Kimmi sighed as
she slowly turned towards Kaleah. | “Kaleah…say something.” Sloane’s annoying, stuck-up voice
broke through the silence. Kaleah glared at her. |
Kimmi took a step closer to Kaleah. | Kaleah started laughing. Kimmi and Sloane glared at her in
complete confusion. What could possibly be funny? |
“Not trying to be rude, here, but really Kimmi? Do you think
that talking highly about K’s dad is going to make her feel better? It’s only
going to make her miss him more.” Sloane intruded. | “Hey! I was just coming to get you guys. I ordered pi…” Sam
tried to say to Kaleah. She kept running though, ignoring anything he tried to
say. “..zza. Kaleah?” He hollered up the stairs. “Kaleah!” |
“What the hell did you guys say?” Sam asked, annoyed. “She’s
awfully sensitive, you know. You can’t toy with her emotions as easily as you
can with other people. As her cousins, I would’ve assumed you already knew
that.” | “Kaleah?” Sam didn’t even bother knocking. He walked in her
room and heard drawers opening and slamming in her closet. “You okay in there?”
He hollered across the room. |
Kaleah stepped out of her closet without even so much as
looking at Sam. | “Hostage.” Sam repeated. “I think that’s a little harsh.” |
“I have to go see my mom. She needs me.” Kaleah said as she
ripped her arm out of Sam’s grip. | “It’s all going to be okay.” Sam whispered. “It may seem awful right now, but it will get better. I promise. That broken heart of yours that you’re trying so hard to fight against right now will never be complete again, but it will stop hurting. I lost my dad, too. Remember? To an illness just like your dad did. I know how it feels and I just want you to remember that I will always know how that feels. No matter what’s going on in that head of yours and no matter how crappy you feel, you can come to me. I’ve been there before so I understand.” Kaleah had forgotten that Sam had lost his father so many years ago. She felt better knowing that there was someone who understood her pain so well. Without another word, Sam kissed Kaleah’s forehead and left the room. For once, he didn’t linger and try to convince her right from wrong. For once, it seemed that Sam had left the decision of what Kaleah should do all on her own, with his arms wide open for comfort if need be. Kaleah felt a little at ease, and as she stood alone in her big room with nothing but her own thoughts, her broken heart began to burn and she fell to floor in tears. |
Sam made his way downstairs when he heard the bickering
voices of the Morgan cousins watching an old movie with Tyler. | “I should go talk to her.” Kimmi said through a sigh. She
tried to stand up, but Sam grabbed her leg to keep her down. |
The four of them sat in silence for what seemed like hours.
All of them pretended that they were focussed on the TV, but inside their own
heads, thoughts of worry and fear consumed them.It wasn’t until they were about
to give up and go to bed that Kaleah finally joined them. She snuck down the
stairs, undetected. | “We’re here for you, Kaykay.” Kimmi said softly as she
pulled her cousin into a hug. |
“Are you feeling better at all?” Sam whispered to Kaleah,
ignoring Sloane and Kimmi’s bickering. Kaleah shook her head. | Hours went by and the five of them remained in their places,
without saying another word. It was nearly 5 in the morning. The sun would come
up soon. Finally realizing how tired he was, Tyler stood up and broke the silence. |
Sam plopped Kaleah into her bed and brought the covers up to
her chin. He kissed her forehead and brushed the hair off of her face before
turning to head out of the room. | “Sam, don’t go!” Kaleah sat up in bed with an instant jolt.
“I don’t want to be alone.” |
“How is she?” Sloane asked as Sam stepped into the hall. | “Kimmi?” Sam called as he went outside. “What are you doing
out here? Aren’t you freezing?” |
Sam didn’t say anything. Instead he took a few steps closer
to Kimmi. She opened her eyes and stared directly ahead of her. | “Look. You and Sloane may have made a couple mistakes, but
you guys are here. You guys came all this way just to be with your mourning
cousin. Kaleah sees that, trust me.” Sam put his hand on Kimmi’s shoulder to
comfort her. Kimmi’s saddened expression slowly turned into an understanding
smile. “If you leave here, that would only upset Kaleah more.” |
Sam pulled Kimmi in an embrace. It was a more intimate hug
than Sam had intended and as much as he didn’t want to let her go, he knew he
had to. Reluctantly, he pulled away. | Kimmi and Sam stared at each other in silence for what
seemed like a really long time. The sun had risen, and Kimmi didn’t seem to
care that she had missed it. |
Kimmi took a step closer to Sam, not breaking the gaze she
had locked with his eyes. She took Sam’s hands in hers and gracefully rubbed
her thumbs over his skin. | “Kiss me.” Kimmi repeated. Sam used every muscle in his body
to pull away. |
Kimmi went upstairs to join Kaleah in bed, but when she got
there, the bed was empty and Kaleah was nowhere to be seen. | “You really should get some rest, though, Kaykay.” Kimmi
said. |
“Kaleah, I don’t think that’s a great idea. I mean, what if
you lose your job?” Kimmi asked. | “Kaleah, I’m not gunna let you go and ruin your job.” Kimmi
protested. |
By the time Kimmi got to her, she was off the phone. | “What’s wrong, Sloane?” Kimmi asked, annoyed. Sloane quickly
jerked around to face Kimmi. |
“How can I relax when I’m such an awful person? How come
nobody ever told me how awful I was before?” Sloane hollered. | “You know!” Sloane started laughing. “You’re right! You are
absolutely right! I am such an idiot
to think that I’m as awful as I thought I was. I’m just going to go get
dressed, grab daddy’s credit cards, and head down to the mall. Shopping will
make me feel better. It always makes me feel better.” She quickly nudged past
Kimmi and headed into the house. |
“Morning, Tommy.” Maggie said to the tattoo artist as she
walked into the salon. | When Maggie walked inside, Kaleah was getting ready to
makeover a little boy. They had rules about making over children. Their mother
or father had to be present, and they were no where to be seen. |
“Maggie, I don’t want to talk about it. Just trust me when I
say that I need to be here right now.” Kaleah said, fighting back tears. | After Kimmi had showered, she headed down to the kitchen to
grab something to drink. Kaleah was at work, Sloane was out shopping, and Sam
was sleeping as far as Kimmi knew, so she just decided to run downstairs really
fast in nothing but her underwear. As she was looking in the fridge for
something to drink, someone cleared their throat behind her. Kimmi jumped and
jerked her head. |
Kimmi walked to the counter, cautiously trying to keep her
back facing Sam. | “It’s not my fault! I told her it wasn’t a good idea and she
went anyways!” Kimmi hollered. Sam drew his eyes from the top of Kimmi’s chest
all the way down her perfectly sculpted body. When Kimmi realized he was
checking her out, she half turned away in embarrassment. “I should go change.”
She said without moving. |
As he tried to pass Kimmi, she tried to go the same way as
him. They kept getting in each other’s way and awkwardly bumped into each other
over and over again. | They paused for a second and stared at each other. Sam
couldn’t handle it any longer and he quickly leaned in and smacked a kiss
directly on Kimmi’s soft lips. |
This time the kiss was longer—harder—more passionate. Sam wrapped his arms around Kimmi’s warm body and pressed her half naked torso into his own. The feeling he got when his bare skin touched Kimmi’s bare skin was indescribable. He kissed her even harder, his hand slid down the small of her back close to her butt. She moaned at the pleasure of his touch and, just as quickly as it began, it ended when the front door abruptly swung open. |