Waiting for Dusk (20 page)

I’m still here. I’m a sixteen-year-old girl
who’s going to a dance with her friends. That’s how it should be. I
need to stay focused and get my life together. Tonight I break up
with Ty.

Katie headed down the stairs and saw a large
group of people. The other parents took her mother’s offer to come
over and enjoy the festivities. Everyone snapped pictures, talked
and ate. No one noticed she came downstairs, except Ty.

“Katie! You look beautiful.” He kissed her on
the cheek. “This is for you.” Ty handed her a clear container with
her flowers inside.

“They’re nice.” She smiled at Ty and took
them out. He tied them on her wrist.

Lindsey and Jordyn came up to Katie and
grabbed her hands. “Pictures!” They said in unison and pulled her
away from Tyson.

Before Katie realized, she was in the car
with Ty, driving to the restaurant. The other two couples went
together in Matt’s car. They rode in silence for awhile and then Ty
turned on some music. He took Katie’s hand. “This is a perfect
evening. You and me, alone. I don’t want to share you with anyone.
I know that sounds selfish but that’s how I feel.”

Katie stayed quiet because she had no idea
what to say in return.

After dinner they headed for the school where
the dance was to be held. Tyson parked the car in the school
parking lot and ran around to let Katie out. “Just wait till all
our friends see us as a couple. Can’t wait. Erin will have to
accept it. We’re going to be together forever. This is just the
start.” He patted his jacket pocket as if he was checking
something.

The entrance to the gymnasium was decorated
with fall colored balloons, bales of hay, autumn leaves and a few
friendly scarecrows. There were moons and stars hanging from the
ceiling. The theme of the dance was ‘Harvest Moon’. Everyone agreed
to meet before going into the dance and Katie and Tyson waited
patiently for their friends to arrive.

Formal pictures were taken and then the three
couples entered the gym which was transformed into a twinkling
nighttime dance floor. Katie had to admit they did a very good job.
She especially loved the moons. She danced with her girlfriends and
Ty throughout the night.

Later in the evening, Jordyn brought Erin and
some other basketball cheerleaders over to their table.

“Having a good time?” Erin looked directly at
Katie.

“Why, yes we are,” Ty answered as he put his
arm around Katie. “Who’d you come with, Erin? Didn’t I see you with
Joe Donovan?”

“Yeah, we came as friends, though. That’s
all.” She sat down next to him. “Do you mind if I steal him for the
next dance, Katie?”

“No, not at all. Go right ahead.”

While Erin and Ty danced, Lindsey and Katie
had time to talk. Lindsey looked at Katie very seriously. “What are
you planning on doing about the Tyson situation?”

“I’m breaking up with him tonight after the
dance. I know that sounds mean but it just can’t go on anymore. I
feel like he’s not hearing me when I say I just want to be friends.
He has all these plans for us and he thinks I’m going right along
with them. I know I have been giving him mixed signals but it stops
now. Even my mom is getting in on this! She has me married with
children!”

Katie didn’t realize how serious it all was
until she said it aloud. Ty was serious, she was not. She was
letting him believe otherwise and wanted to end things before it
went any further.

“Well,” Lindsey leaned in closely. “If you
are going to break up with him, do it before he starts to sound
serious.”

Katie looked at her suspiciously. “Do you
know something I don’t?” Tyson sounded pretty serious already
tonight.

“Just heed the warning.” Lindsey smiled with
her attempt at humor.

Ty came back to the table and for the rest of
the night didn’t leave Katie’s side. He made sure he danced the
rest of the dances with her. He tried to kiss her on the dance
floor but she managed to avoid it. Katie knew she wouldn’t have to
kiss him again if all went as planned.

“Would you like to leave?” Ty said before the
dance was over.

Katie shrugged, “Sure, that’s fine. If you
want to.”

They walked out into the wonderful night air.
The sky was full of stars and the full moon was glowing brightly.
Katie stopped and looked up. She sighed as she looked at the moon
with a half-broken heart. She didn’t realize that Ty had put his
arm around her.

“Cold?” he asked as she shivered. He took off
his suit jacket and put it around her shoulders. “Katie, I was
going to wait until we got home but the night has been so great, I
can’t wait.” He reached over to take something out of his jacket
pocket. He put a small box in her hand.

Heed the warning, Katie heard in her
head.

“Wait!” she didn’t mean to sound as harsh as
she did. “Ty, we need to talk and this is as good a time as any.
Since you’re not hearing me about just being friends, I feel like I
have to break this off. I want to be friends forever, just like we
said when we were eight. If this means we can’t even be friends, so
be it. You don’t seem to get it. I like you, it was fun dating you,
but that is all it was.”

Katie looked at Ty. He seemed to be in shock.
Good. He heard me, she thought.

“Is there someone else?” he said softly.

Katie didn’t answer right away. She just
looked up at the moon and thought of her Drew.

“There is, isn’t there?” Ty’s tone changed to
anger. “Did you ever like me, Katie? Or were you just using me to
go to Homecoming? That’s what Erin said and I guess she was
right!”

He stormed back into the building. Katie
didn’t know quite what to do. She slowly opened the door and went
back inside. There was still a good crowd and the music was playing
loudly. No one was sitting at their table. She just stood there,
wondering what to do.

Through the crowd of dancers, Ty emerged with
Erin in tow. He was holding her hand and pulling her through the
dancers. She seemed to be asking him to slow down but he kept
going. They whizzed right past Katie, with Erin giving her a slight
grin as they went out the door.

Katie stood there, unable to move. What had
she done? Ty was so angry. Now he was with Erin? She hoped they
would be alright.

Lindsey came running up to her. “What
happened? Brian and I were dancing and the next thing we see is Ty
grabbing Erin off the dance floor and disappearing into the crowd.”
She looked at Katie. “Are you okay?”

Katie had been holding back the tears. “No,
no I’m not. Do you think you guys could take me home?”

“Sure, sweetie. Just let me find the rest of
the gang.”

Katie sat in the back seat of the car with
Jordyn on one side and Lindsey on the other. She cried the whole
way home. No one spoke or asked her any questions. Lindsey made
sure of that.

The girlfriends walked her to the door and
made sure she got inside. Katie’s parents were in the family room,
waiting up for all the details. When they saw her face with tears
and mascara running down it, they panicked.

“What happened? Where’s Tyson? Are you
alright?”

“I’m fine,” Katie answered. “I broke up with
Ty and he went home with another girl. Jordyn’s date brought me
home.”

“That irresponsible kid! I trusted him with
you! Tomorrow I’m going over to their house and giving him a piece
of my mind!” Her father paced the floor.

“No, dad, it’s my fault. I shouldn’t have let
it go on so long. Ty and I were friends and it got complicated. I
thought we were friends and he thought I was his girlfriend.” Katie
barely choked the words out.

Katie’s mom wrapped her arm around her.
“Let’s sit down, shall we?”

Just then the phone rang. Katie’s dad
answered it, all the while looking over at his two girls.

“No, Janet, Katie’s right here. We don’t know
the whole story yet. Please keep us informed.” He quietly hung up
the phone. “Tyson has been in a car accident. It seems he had some
girl in the car with him and Janet thought it was Katie. She was
calling to tell us she got a call from the hospital. When I told
her you were here, she got a little freaked out. She’s going to the
hospital now.”

Katie rocked back and forth on the sofa. She
couldn’t believe how the night ended. She pictured it differently.
She wanted to wait until they were safely home and could talk
quietly with Tyson. It was not supposed to end like that, not like
that. Suddenly Katie realized she still had Ty’s jacket wrapped
around her and was clutching the small box in her hand. Slowly she
opened it. There was a tiny heart ring with a very small diamond in
the center. Ty had put a little note in the top of the box, ‘Step
One of the many steps to come’. She snapped the box shut and leaned
back, closing her eyes and that was the last thing she
remembered.

Chapter Twenty-Five

Katie heard her mom
talking softly when she awoke the next morning. It was difficult to
hear what was being said. She could only make out a few words here
and there. Katie knew she would just have to wait for her mother to
get off the phone and give her the details. Someone had put a very
soft blanket over her and it felt so good. She would love to hide
under it and make everything go away. Instead, Katie sat up and
looked down at her dress. It was wrinkled from sleeping on the
couch all night.

Lucinda wouldn’t be too happy about that, she
thought. Either would Grandma Rett.

She felt for her necklace...still there. On
the floor in front of her was the little black velvet box from the
night before. Katie picked it up, and opened it. The ring was still
in there with the note. She removed it from the box and placed it
on her left ring finger. It fit perfectly. How did he know her
size? It was frustrating all Tyson seemed to know.

Well, he should! They knew each other for
eight years. They went to toy stores together to spend their
birthday and holiday money and swam the summer days away in her
pool. He would follow her around the mall for hours as she tried on
many outfits. She played video games with him for hours. He beat
her at basketball; she out rode him on their bikes. Katie felt a
twinge of nostalgia, for the simpler days. She wished she could
have loved Tyson like he wanted, she really did. She took off the
ring, snapped the box shut, and set it on the table. Her mom was
done with the phone call and Katie wanted to know if it was about
Ty.

“That was Janet Gray. Tyson is home now. He
just got a few bruises here and there. It was a one car accident.
He drove into a stop sign.”

“What about Erin?”

“She has a few bumps and bruises, too, plus a
sprained wrist.” Her mother folded her arms and her brows crossed.
“Want to tell me what happened now?”

“There isn’t much to tell. I broke up with Ty
on the way out of the dance. He went back inside, grabbed Erin and
that’s the last I saw of him.” Katie wanted to stop talking about
it.

Her mom picked up the ring box as Katie
finished her story. “And this?”

“You can open it. And do me a big favor by
giving it to Mrs. Gray.”

Her mom opened the box and sat quietly for a
moment. “He was getting a little too serious for you, wasn’t he?
You know that you have to give this back to him yourself, don’t
you?”

“Yes, I guess I do. I’m glad you finally get
it.” Katie looked away. Tears filled in her eyes. She didn’t want
to hurt Ty anymore.

“Oh, and Mrs. Gray said something else. She
said Tyson said you like someone else, not him.”

Katie was done talking. “Yes, that’s right.”
She got up and went toward the stairs. “I’m going to take a shower
and may never come out.”

* * * *

She wasn’t looking forward to going to school
on Monday. Once the rumors from the dance settled down, she hoped
things would get back to normal. She would do or say whatever Ty
wanted about Saturday night. Katie would take the blame and make Ty
look good. Slowly, brushing her hair, she’d do anything to delay
getting on the school bus today.

“Katie, you’re going to be late.” Her
father’s voice drifted up the stairs.

“I’m coming.”

“Looks like I’ll have to drive you. You
missed the bus.” Her father grabbed his keys and they went out the
door.

The plan was to find Tyson and talked to him
before they entered the building. If she’d been on the bus, they
might have already talked. She spotted him sitting under a tree and
ran over. Tyson got up when he saw her. He had a bump on his
forehead and a few scratches on his arm.

“Ty, I hope you’re alright. I heard about the
accident. Whatever you want to say about Homecoming night, I’ll go
along with. Plus, I need to give something back to you.” She held
out the velvet box.

“You keep it, Katie. I bought it for you.
What will I do with it?” Ty said coldly. “We broke up, end of
story. You don’t have to make anything up for me.”

“Ty, I’m sor...” Before she could finish,
Erin came running up.

“You waited for me just where we planned!”
Erin looked at Katie with a triumphant grin. She was wearing a
brace on her left arm. Tyson put his arm around Erin and walked
away from Katie. She was stunned. He bounced back really fast. She
wouldn’t worry about him anymore.

Jordyn came running up to Katie. “Did you
hear how Ty and Erin got in the accident? They were kissing! Do you
believe it?”

No, Katie could not believe it. If that was
high school, she wanted out. The sooner the better. She was
counting the days till she and Lindsey left for Arizona. She
couldn’t wait to meet Lindsey’s family and get away for just
awhile.

Chapter Twenty-Six

Lindsey and Katie
were excited to be at the airport instead of school. Their parents
came with them but could only go so far because of security. Now
they were completely on their own.