Rogue [heart]'s Kate
an excerpt

The gold Chevy Tahoe sped along the highway, swerving erratically along the road. The cars around it honked, making their displeasure known. Then, as if time had been stopped, the Tahoe swerved to the right, and careened off of the edge of the bridge. It somersaulted through the air for a moment, and then crashed to the road below. Miraculously it had landed on no other cars, but suddenly, it burst into flames. The whole suburban was engulfed in flames within seconds. The screaming started soon after. The person inside the vehicle was trapped, and all could hear the anguish of their death. Various people exited their cars, a few brave souls tried to help, but they couldn’t get close enough because the flames were too hot. Several minutes later, the painful cries died, and the silence was more deafening than the roar of pain. Whoever it had been; was dead.

Katie Durance jolted up in bed, breathing hard, sweat covering her, fear was pulsing through her veins and her head was pounding. She had nightmares frequently, under the circumstances she was in, anyone in her position would, but she’d never had that nightmare before and it scared her. The worst part was the feeling that she knew the person in the car. She didn’t know how she knew; it was just a feeling, amplified by the sickening dread growing in her stomach. Her body was shaking as she tried in vain to take deep breaths and calm down. She inhaled through her nose and exhaled through her mouth, the exhaustion and paranoia seemed to leave her body, and the calming feel of peace flooded through her.

She shut her eyes and lied back against the pillows, only to see flashes of the dream behind her eyelids. This wasn’t working; she needed to feel safe, secure. She needed him. She looked over at her clock. The red, blinking lights informed her that it was indeed later than she thought. It was one in the afternoon. Why no one had woken her up earlier was a mystery. Usually her mother, Dana, or her stepfather, Thomas, came to wake her when they felt she had slept long enough.

She slipped out of bed, the sheets making a soft rustling sound against her jeans and tank top as she touched the floor. With a startled yelp she jerked her feet off of the floor. It was without a doubt winter here in Fairplay, Colorado. The hardwood floors were freezing against her bare feet. She bent down and looked under her bed for her fuzzy Snoopy slippers. Finding only one of them she slipped it on and began rummaging through her closet in an extensive search for the missing mate.

When, after five minutes all she was able to find, was the ratty left slipper from the Tom and Jerry set, she slipped that one on and went to her window. She opened the blinds and abruptly ducked her head and shaded her eyes from the glare of the midday sun. She turned the box fan off that sat at her feet; she wouldn’t need that anymore this year.

Shuffling out of her room with a sleepy yawn, Katie pulled her brown hair into a ponytail using the thick, red band around her wrist. She continued down the hall and stopped when she reached a white door, knocking on it softly, she waited a few seconds for permission to enter. When none came she gently nudged the door open with her Snoopy-covered foot. It swung open easily, and after peeking in the room and finding no one, she shut it again and made her way to the stairs.

Taking the stairs one at a time so that she didn’t slip on the slick floor, she used that time to scope out her surroundings. No football players were in view this morning, so that was a good thing. She skipped into the kitchen, a smile on her face. “Morning, mom!” She said cheerfully, hopping up on one of the barstools to eat breakfast.

“Morning, sweetheart,” Dana Kelley replied. “Here you go.” She handed Katie a glass of orange juice and a plate of last night’s spaghetti. Katie was notorious for hating ‘breakfast food’ and eating whatever was left in the refrigerator from the night before.

“Thanks. Have you seen Danny this morning? I was going to see if he wanted to go riding today. It’s the perfect weather outside, nippy, but not too cold.” She said, twirling a strand of spaghetti around on her foot and shoving it into her mouth.

Danny Kelley was her sixteen-year-old stepbrother, their parents had gotten married when they were four and five, but, unlike most stepsiblings, they never considered each other brother and sister, nor did they fight as much as other stepsiblings did. That’s not to say that they never fought, they had their occasional screaming matches with one another, they just never had constant battles going on like teenage stepsiblings in the movies or TV.

“Katie, that’s not ladylike,” her mother warned, her blue eyes flashing with annoyance.

Katie looked up at her; her blue eyes radiated annoyance as well. “Yeah, yeah, yeah, it’s just you,” she said, waving her hand to dismiss her mom’s words.

“But –” Dana started to rebuke her again, but Katie cut her off, annoyed.

“How you practice is how you play, I know. You say that all the time!”

“And yet you never do it.”

“Have you ever considered it’s because I don’t care?”

“But you should care.”

“But I don’t.”

“But you have to care.”

“Yet, I never do.”

Dana sighed. “Fine, it’s not worth arguing with you anyway.” She started to walk out of the kitchen and then stopped. “Oh, and Danny said to tell you that Rogue and Kelsey might be coming over to watch movies.”

“’Kay, thanks.” Now she was excited, Kelsey and Jake Bennett had been her best friends for seven years – since she was eight years old. Jake had been given the nickname “Rogue” when he was a freshman on the Varsity soccer team, and even after all these years it had stuck. After all, he was a rogue at just about everything but soccer. Kelsey was in her and Danny’s grade in school, they would be freshman tomorrow, while Rogue would be a senior in high school. They all went to the same school; Fairplay Christian School. Though Katie and Danny had been going there since kindergarten, Kelsey and Rogue had been attending since third and seventh grade when they first moved to Fairplay from New York City.

As soon as she finished her food, Katie dumped the plate, fork, and glass into the sink and ran into the living room. When she saw Danny lying down on the couch, watching Saturday Morning Cartoons, she snuck up to the back of the couch, and shouted “boo” in his ear. He shrieked and stared up at her, his ice-blue eyes terrified. “Morning, D,” she said, giggling at the rapid rise-and-fall of his chest.

“I hate you,” he said, coughing in an effort to make his heart stop racing. She walked around the edge of the couch and lied down next to him, her back pressed up against his chest as he slipped an arm around her waist. They were comfortable being physically closer to each other than normal stepsiblings because they both found relief and comfort from Thomas that way.

Ignoring him, she turned to the TV. “Just what I needed,” she says, snuggling into him. “What are we watching?”

“Tom and Jerry,” he said, gesturing towards the screen where the little brown mouse was being terrorized by the gray cat.

“Aw, poor Jerry, he should run into a dog house and get Tom killed, or something.”

“Wow, aren’t we violent today.” He chuckled.

“I had a nightmare this morning,” she told him softly.

“What happened?” He asked, his fingers absentmindedly drawing patterns on her arm, making her shiver.

“Some car flipped off that new bridge, you know, the really high one that’s like sixty five thousand feet in the air? Well, the car burst into flames and whoever was in the car died. It was really horrible. It felt like someone I knew, too.” This time she shivered because of the dream.

“Well, that’s not good.” He told her lightly. “The good thing is you don’t have to worry because that bridge isn’t going to be ready for another year. So no one is dying just yet.”

“Oh, well, gee, that’s comforting,” she said sarcastically with a roll of her eyes.

“It should be,” he snarked back, laughing when she groaned in annoyance.

“Are Rogue and Kelsey coming over today?”

“Oh, crap, yeah, I forgot to tell you. Kels said something about a Chick flick marathon.” He shuddered. “Me and Rogue are probably gonna go outside and play soccer.”

“You know how to play soccer?” She asked him, bewildered.

“Not really, but Rogue is teaching me. He lives for that sport, you know.”

“Does he have practice today?” She wondered.

“I don’t know, he might… why?” Danny asked suspiciously.

“Because I – well, I was thinking about going to watch.” She stuttered.

“Oh, God, please don’t tell me you have a crush on my best friend!” He groaned.

“N – No, not – not really.” She mumbled.

“Yes, you do! Oh my, gosh! Why? Why my best friend?”

“Hey, he’s my best friend, too!” She pouted. “That’s like you having a crush on Kelsey!”

“Yeah, well, she’s more my age than Rogue is to you! He’s eighteen, you’re fifteen!” He replied.

“Oh wow, you like Kelsey? You’re such a hypocrite!” She groaned.

“You like Rogue!” He fired back.

“Fine, we both like them. But do they like us back?” She wondered.

“Well… I kissed Kelsey a few weeks ago….”

“You what?! She never told me that! When?”

“Like, in June on a trail ride helping with one of your mom’s classes.”

“Are you kidding me? You kissed my best friend and didn’t tell me? What the hell? That’s not fair!”

“What, that I kissed one of the Bennett’s or that we didn’t tell you?”

“Both! You’re my brother! You’re supposed to tell me these things!”

“Oh, please! Don’t say that like it actually means something!” He retorted. “I’m not your brother!”

The sound of the front door opening jarred them away from their fight. The steady click of designer loafers could be heard on the hardwood floor. Thomas Kelley was home. He passed by the couch heading into the kitchen and without so much as a glance said, “Katie get off of your brother.” His tone was snide and condescending, and it made Katie’s stomach roll.

Danny tensed up around her, his arms tightening their grip on her stomach as they waited for the backlash that would surely come. When nothing happened next, they sat up carefully. Danny looked her in the eye, his eyes searching hers for any hint of terror. Though her eyes didn’t show it, her face was pale and she was shaking.

Danny pulled her into his arms, cradling her against his chest as he felt the tears begin to soak into his cotton Under Armour shirt. He shushed her soothingly, running his hand up and down her back slowly in an effort to calm her. This routine was all too familiar for him and he couldn’t wait to graduate high school when they could leave this house behind them, leave the beatings in the past. It made him sick that it was never he, always Katie that he chose to hit whenever he felt like it.

Katie pulled back from him, just as the doorbell rang. “I’ll get it,” Katie said, jumping up before Danny could object. She bounded to the door and stopped for a second to take a deep breath before she opened the door.

“KB!” Katie squealed, pulling her best friend into a giant hug.

“KD! Ah! I haven’t seen you in days!” She sighed, melodramatically.

“Kels, it’s been like fifteen hours,” Rogue tells her with a chuckle.

“Where’s your brother?” Kelsey asked, much to the chagrin of Katie.

“In here, Kels!”

“Well, see ya!” She chirped, running into the living room, leaving Katie and Rogue alone in the foyer.

“H – Hi,” she stuttered softly, looking into his warm hazel eyes.

“Can I come in?” He asked, with a smile. That’s when Katie realized he was still standing outside on the steps.

“Oh, yeah, sure, sorry!” She apologized, turning bright red as she stepped aside to let him in.

“So, how are you since we last saw you fifteen hours ago?” He jokes, hugging her. She melts against him happily, her heart pounding. She pulls away a few seconds later, blushing again.

“I’m good, just… hangin’ around,” she said, lamely.

“Well, that’s good.” He finished awkwardly; he glanced at her for a second, making Katie blush again. “So, are you excited for high school?”

“Uh, yeah… that and terrified.” She admitted.

“Well, stick with me and you’ll be fine,” he told her, smiling softly.

“Y – yeah, but you’re a senior,” she told him, as if that should explain everything, and really it should, even though she wasn’t in high school yet, she knew that his seniority was going to be an issue if anything ever happened between them.

“That won’t matter, Kate, I promise you,” he said, turning to her, blocking her view of Kelsey and Danny. “If I want to hang out with you, my seniority won’t be a problem. If you ever need me for any reason – or just want to talk – I’m here for you, it doesn’t matter that I’m a senior. I’ll still talk to you. Okay?”

“Oh… okay,” she said softly. She could feel her palms growing sweaty at the intense look on his face.

Jake Bennett had always been hot. His brown, almost shoulder-length hair, hazel eyes, and athletic body made him a prime target for most of the girls at Fairplay Christian School. Now that Katie was going into high school she hoped that the regular attention that Jake always received, wouldn’t become nauseating now that she would be attending school with him full time.

“Hey, guys! We’re gonna watch Cruel Intentions, get in here!” Danny yelled.

Katie broke away from his gaze, blushing once again and biting her lip. “We should go,” she says, softly.

“Right, let’s go.”

Katie and Rogue met the two others back in the living room, Katie eyed Danny nervously, his eyes held a certain look to them, but she couldn’t figure it out what it was. Shrugging to herself, Katie sat down next to Rogue and Danny. They looked at her simultaneously and she blushed again and shrunk into the couch.

”Well, I feel left out,” Kelsey said loudly, pouting.

Danny snorted and looked at her. “You can sit by me if you want.”

Katie rolled her eyes at his tactic, he really did like her, she guessed. For some reason, that knowledge left a funny feeling in the pit of her stomach but she pushed it away when she realized that Rogue was inching his pinky towards hers in an effort to subtly touch her hand. She smiled to herself but kept her eyes glued on the screen in front of her where Sebastian was currently moving his hand down Kathryn’s shirt.

Katie blushed scarlet and her whole body erupted in goose bumps when one of the scenes turned really sexual. It wasn’t that it was embarrassing; it was just awkward because she felt Rogue’s hand subconsciously tighten on hers as well as his hand became increasingly hot.

She pulled away suddenly and got up from the couch to go into the kitchen. She needed to breathe. She leaned against the sink, breathing hard as she grappled to clear her head from the powerful emotions that were coursing through her. She opened up the fridge and pulled out the jug of orange juice and got a glass from the cupboard. She poured herself a glass of orange juice and was sipping it when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She shrieked, spewing the orange juice all over the counter and spun around. She came face-to-face with Rogue Bennett.

“Uh… Hi – hi, wh – what’s up?”

“Are you okay? You left kind of suddenly, just wanted to check on you.” She noticed that they were standing unbearably close to one another, their bodies almost touching.

“Oh, well, uh, yeah. I’m fine, I’m just – it’s really hot in there, I just needed a breather.”

“But you’re okay other than that?”

She turned around, took a swallow of her orange juice, and turned back around to look at him. “Do you like me?” She asked, before she could back down. All of a sudden she felt stupid, utterly insane for asking Rogue – a senior – that question. She felt painfully unworthy and foolish when his eyes widened considerably and he stared at her.

Thankfully, she was saved from being completely humiliated when Dana walked into the room, dressed for work in her tan riding breeches, tall boots, black riding gloves, and her hair in a neat ponytail. “Hi, Jake! You and Kelsey are here to watch movies right?” He nodded. “Well, that’s nice, I have three back-to-back jumping classes to teach, and I think Cabo San Lucas is ready to be worked, don’t you, dear?” She redirected her question to Katie, apparently not noticing the growing, uncomfortable silence between the two.

“Oh, yeah, mom; Brett worked him for a few hours this morning over cavaletti, so don’t work him too hard, okay?” Brett Winchester was the sixteen-year-old stable hand that worked at their barn, Durance Stables.

“Of course not, dear.” She said, giving Katie an offended look as if Katie was crazy to suggest that she would ever overwork one of their horses. She never did, Katie just knew that sometimes she would get so caught up in the life that she loved, that she tended to forget if her horses had already been worked that day. “Have a lovely day, kids,” she called, as she walked out the backdoor leading to the barn. That left Katie and Rogue alone.

“We should go,” Rogue said softly to her, his eyes drifting back to the couch where Danny and Kelsey sat. Katie could see that Kelsey’s head was now resting on his shoulder and her heart clenched in her chest. She shook away the feeling quickly and nodded. He walked her back to the living room, his hand resting lightly on her back. She felt herself growing hot at a part of his body in such close contact with her. These were the times that she had to remind herself that she was three years younger than Rogue, and completely out of his league.