Exposing Kitty Langley (9 page)

“Aunt Maggie, this is my girlfriend,
Kitty.” I turned to look at him, surprised by his choice of words.

“Kitty, it’s so nice to meet you.
None of us have ever met a girlfriend of Reed’s before. I’m glad you came to
see me.”

“Yes, it’s nice to meet you too.
Thanks for fitting me in.”

“Of course, dear. Now let’s take a
look. She gently took the hoodie off and gasped. “So, they don’t call these
girls the B’s for nothing, huh? I’m horrified you had to go through that,
Kitty, but don’t you worry about a thing. I’ll take care of this. You’ll look
like a leading lady in no time. Come with me.”

Reed

It seemed like it was taking forever
as I waited in the small waiting room in the front of the salon. My Aunt Maggie
was styling Kitty’s hair to cover the botch job she got from those psycho Bee
Hives. I stood and began pacing. Someone needed to teach those stupid girls a
lesson. My mind was reeling. I stopped in front of the glass double doors,
staring out just as it began to rain. There was a storm coming. Just then my
phone rang.

“Yeah.”

“Reed,” Mark began, “I have Levi’s
number if you want to call and talk to Charity. Jordan wouldn’t give me
Charity’s number. He said you needed to talk to Levi first. Weird, huh?”

“Yeah, a little, but he doesn’t know
me so I guess he’s just being cautious.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right. Well,
call him and let’s see if this Charity has some info that can help us with the
B’s. Haley told us what happened. I hope Kitty’s okay.”

I quickly jotted down the number as
he called it out. “She’ll be fine once my aunt finishes with her. Thanks for
the number. I’ll keep you updated. Later.”

“Okay, later.”

I ended the call and dialed the
number to this Levi dude. A deep voice answered. “Hello.”

“Um, hello, Levi. My name is Reed. I
go to school at W.W. High, and my girlfriend is having some trouble with the
Bee Hives.”

“Man, them again? Someone seriously needs
to teach those girls a lesson.”

I laughed. “Yeah, I was thinking the
same thing. Well, I was told that your wife, Charity, had a run in with Bunnie
last year. We were hoping she might be able to give us some pointers on how to
deal with this crazy girl.”

He laughed. “Yeah, she and Charity
had a run in that’s for sure. More than one actually. I’ll give her your number
and have her call you. I’m sure she’d love to talk to you guys. She really has
issues with that girl.”

“Great. Thanks, man. I really
appreciate it.”

“No problem, Reed. Nice talking to
you.”

“Yeah, you too.” He was much nicer
than I thought he’d be. Just as I finished that thought I heard someone cough
from behind me. I spun to see my Aunt Maggie ushering Kitty in from behind her.
My mouth fell open. I thought Kitty was beautiful before, but this new
hairstyle made her look like an angel. It was short and layered around her
face, framing it perfectly. I suddenly wanted to kiss her so bad.

“Perfect,” I managed to say in a
whisper.

My aunt chuckled in amusement. “I
think that means he likes it, sweetie,” she said to Kitty. This brought a smile
to Kitty’s face as she reached up to touch it self-consciously.

“So you like it then?” She asked,
hopeful.

I stirred from my daze, making
myself focus on her question. “I love it.” Then I burst into laughter.

She smiled nervously. “What?”

I laughed harder, doubling over. I
managed to get my words out, realizing Kitty was becoming alarmed. “If only
Bunnie knew how her little plan backfired, and now you’re more beautiful than
before. I can’t wait to see her face tomorrow.”

Then Kitty started laughing too, along
with Aunt Maggie until the room was roaring with laughter.

Kitty

I sat in Reed’s car, both of us wet
from the downpour. He turned to me and smiled. “You’re new hair even looks good
wet.” His face turned serious as his eyes devoured me. “Can I touch it?” He was
inching closer even as he asked.

I turned nervous. “Um, sure,” was
all I could manage to say as he inched closer still.

His fingers gently skimmed my neck
as his hands inched into my hair. I closed my eyes and leaned into him, and he
moaned softly. I opened my eyes to see his lips moving closer. “You smell so
good,” he whispered, his lips against my ear. I was breathing heavier. I
couldn’t help it. He was so sexy, and his close proximity was driving me mad. I
knew I shouldn’t, but I couldn’t take it anymore. I turned my head, pressing my
lips to his. His reaction was powerful. He tilted my head so he could get
better access, his hands still in my hair. His lips ravaged mine
hungrily—almost desperately. One hand moved down my neck to my shoulder and then
my back as he pulled me closer. “You are so beautiful,” he murmured against my
lips as the kiss deepened. I moaned as I felt his tongue against mine. Suddenly
my phone rang, startling both of us. We peered at each other in surprise,
realizing we were taking things slightly too far too soon. Or maybe we were
just disappointed with the interruption.

“Um, sorry,” I said, reaching and
answering my phone. “Hey, Mom. I’m just leaving the salon where I just got my
hair cut…….Oh, I didn’t tell you I was getting it cut?” I looked at Reed and
grimaced. He covered his mouth to hide is laugh. “I’m sorry……..yeah, I’ll be
home soon…….I’ll be careful…….Love you too…….Bye.”

I closed my phone and studied Reed
sitting quietly, looking down at his hands. “Is everything okay?” he asked
without looking up.

“Yeah. She just worries when it
rains so hard like this. You know how moms are.”

He smiled then. “Yeah. I have three
sisters too. I know how they worry.”
I realized then that I didn’t know anything about this boy sitting across from
me. I only knew he was gorgeous, sweet, and had rescued me more than once.

“So, I guess I better get you to the
school to get your car then?”

“I guess so.” We stared at each
other a moment longer before he turned and cranked the car, backing it out
carefully as the rain continued to pour.

Kitty

School had been out almost an hour
when Reed dropped me off at my car. He nobly followed me most of the way home,
making sure I was safe in the storm. He made me promise to text him when I
arrived home.

Once I was parked in the driveway
and the car was off, I sent him a quick text and darted through the rain and
into the house.

“There you are. I was worried,” my
mom said, taking my backpack from me and hanging it up. She gasped, covering
her mouth with her hand. “Oh, Kitty, you cut all your hair off.”

“Yeah,” I said, touching it,
remembering Reed’s hands in it and shivered.

She turned my face to her and
studied it. “Actually, I think I love it!” She smiled. “It really suits your
face nicely. We should’ve thought of this style sooner. What made you decide to
cut it?”

“Just needed a change I guess. Reed
really likes it like this,” I said lost in thought, a smile playing on my lips.

She smirked. “And who is this Reed
you’re talking about?”

“Oh, I forgot. I haven’t mentioned
him, have I?”

She nodded, still smiling.

“Well, we’re sort of dating, I
guess.”

“Kitty, that’s so nice. I hope we’ll
get to meet this one.”

“We’ll see,” was all I said as I
dashed up the stairs.

When morning arrived, I took extra
time in the mirror, making sure my new cut was styled just right. It would be
my first, and maybe only, opportunity to get a little jab at Bunnie. I knew I
shouldn’t want to, but I did anyway. I chose my favorite mini dress, the one my
mom gave me for my seventeenth birthday. It was a beautiful color of green that
made my green eyes look almost supernatural. It was made of a soft material,
and I loved how the skirt swayed when I moved.

I stood and appraised myself in the
mirror, smiling as I actually felt proud, perhaps for the first time, of the
girl I saw smiling back at me. She had been through so much pain, but if she
managed to survive this she would no longer be a doormat for others but a young
woman with the world at her feet once again.

I spotted Reed as soon as I pulled
into the school parking lot. He was breathtaking with dark jeans hung low on
his hips, a green polo shirt stretched tight across his muscled chest, and
black biker boots to top it off. I tried not to stare, but I was
failing—miserably.

His face lit up when he spotted me.
“Hey beautiful,” he said, stepping to open my door. His eyes went wide in
appreciation as he took my hand and helped me out. He was getting good at this
pretend boyfriend stuff. I found myself wondering how many girlfriends he’d
actually had but shook the thought. I was getting way too attached.

“Hey.”

He pulled my backpack out of the car
and slung it over his shoulder and leaned over to kiss me. I was surprised, but
in the good way. He rested his arm around my shoulders and pulled me to his
side as we made our way through the parking lot toward the building.

He pressed his lips to my ear and
whispered, “You look very beautiful. Your hair is gonna be a hit whether anyone
admits it or not.”

I lowered my head, smiling. “Thanks
to you. Thank you, by the way.” I stopped and faced him. “You saved me
yesterday. I was a mess and once again you rescued me. I don’t deserve a friend
like you, Reed.”

His expression turned frustrated. “Now
why would you say that? You’re an amazing girl. You deserve much better than
me. But I am your friend so accept it, okay?” His expression lightened. “And
you’re welcome.”

    I smiled and turned to continue
our walk.

“Ohmigod!! Your hair!!” Haley
blurted out at the first sight of me. She studied me for a brief moment. “I
like it.” She smiled, but I could tell she still wasn’t sure if she liked me or
not, but it would have to do for now. She had saved my butt after all.

“Thanks, Haley—for everything.”

“Oh you’re welcome, Kitty. I guess
you’re not as bad as I once thought.”

I laughed. “Thanks.”

We walked into the building together
and everyone stopped to stare. There were lots of whispers but no one said
anything. I didn’t know if that was a good thing or a bad thing. Did it really
matter anyway?

Reed

I felt proud of her as we made our
way through the crowded hallway with everyone staring and whispering. Aside
from the hair cutting incident, she said she was no longer receiving physical
injuries, but the verbal abuse still continued. Most happened during her
classes, along with notes being stuffed in her locker daily. They didn’t seem
to bother her anymore, or at least she didn’t act like it to me. It still made
me mad though. This girl was amazing, and I hated that everyone was choosing
not to see it—to see that she had changed. Even her old friend, Phoebe, the one
she had stood up for and started this whole thing, wasn’t talking to her. She
passed us every day with her head held low, ignoring Kitty completely. I knew
that had to hurt her, but she never complained. She just went about her day as
if everything was normal.

We had just entered the cafeteria
when we noticed Bunnie and her friends taunting a table full of girls. They
were making them give up some of their food because they didn’t want to stand
in line. They hadn’t noticed us yet so we made our way across the room to our
usual table. About that time my phone rang. “Oh, Kitty, this is Charity. I’ve
been waiting for her call. I’ll be right back.”

“That’s fine.”

I walked outside to take the call. I
spent the next few minutes explaining to Charity the situation we were in. I
told her all about Kitty and her recent changes and the abuse she had been
receiving. This seemed to anger her. I sensed she had a big heart and a strong
pull toward the underdog. I liked her instantly. She said she would call me
back to set up a time to meet.

I walked back into the cafeteria but
didn’t see Kitty anywhere. “Where is she?” I asked my friends trying to keep
the panic out of my voice.

“She was hungry so she went to stand
in line,” Jessie said with a shrug.

“And you let her go alone?!” I
snapped.

“What?!” he said as he took a huge
bite of his hotdog. “She’s just over there.”

Haley ran up and interrupted us.
“Um, Bunnie just heard about Kitty’s new hair style and how cute it was. She
seemed really pissed.”

Before any of us could react, everything
seemed to shift into slow motion, and three things happened almost
simultaneously. Bunnie marched through the room and straight up to Kitty,
grabbed a drink out of some poor guy’s hand, and launched it at her, drenching
her from head to toe. Kitty shrieked, drawing attention from the entire room,
silencing it. I was in shock—and apparently so was she. She stood frozen,
looking around, wide-eyed, at all the faces watching her. She peered down at
her dress as she took the ruined skirt in her hands, her eyes filling with
tears. Then the room burst into laughter.  Kitty looked my way and our eyes
locked. I’m sure my face mimicked the horror on hers. That was it—she darted
from the room as the tears began to flow.