Secrets; Chapter 8

Chapter 8

It's a tree house. It's built in a huge oak tree. The wood is cherry-colored and it blends easily with the leaves on the tree. The roof is flat but definitely strong. It has a door with a green doorknob and two small windows on either side of the door. A ladder leads up to the door.
I hear Nichole scream with excitement. She races passed me and stops directly below the door to get in, putting her foot on a ladder step. "You got a treehouse?!" she calls back over her shoulder to Kate.
Kate smiles and walks up behind her. "Yep. Kendall and Gary built it."
"Your dad did?" I ask, surprised. Gary is the name of their dad. Kate's parents had divorced years ago due to Kate's mother being beaten. Her dad went to jail and finally took anger management classes. He recovered, so he is fine now. All this happened eight months before Kate was even born. Kendall was only two and until he turned fourteen, he never forgave his dad. Kate was more easy-going, forgiving him at about five years of age. However, even though they forgave him, they both call him by his first name because that don't consider him their true father.
Kate nods and starts up the ladder behind Nichole, whom had started climbing without waiting to hear an explanation on the treehouse.
As we step inside the treehouse, I hear Nichole scream again. But her voice is full of fear instead of excitement. Then I realize she's looking at me, panic-stricken.
"Are you ok?!" she gasps, staring at the side of my face.
"Uh... Yeah?" I say, confused. What was wrong with me?
"You have a huge scratch on your face," Kate winces, turning around.
I do a mental face palm. Where the tree limb hit me, of course! How did I forget so fast?
"I'm fine," I say, suddenly feeling the stinging sensation I felt earlier at the remembrance of the scratch. I touch the scratch gently and let out a quiet groan.
"Now, how did I miss that when I was talking to you?" Kate asks, stepping closer to get a better view of it.
I shrug. "It's not a big deal any how."
"But it looks so painful!" Nichole says quietly, as if it wasn't obvious. "What happened?!"
"A tree limp whipped my face," I reply.
"Nichole, calm down. You're gonna pass out," Kate tells the brunette girl. "It's just dried blood."
Nichole has never been good with blood. She nearly faints every time she sees some. Once, she passed out when she got a large paper cut. It was an interesting experience watching the paramedics try to get her to wake up.
Nichole tears her gaze away and looks out the window, trying to hard to forget about it.
"We should head back and fix that," Kate says, starting out the door.
"Hey, can we sleep in the treehouse tonight?" Nichole asks hopefully as she follows me down the ladder.
"You want to sleep in the woods? At night?" I ask, pushing away my own misgivings as my feet touch the ground.
Kate turns back around to face Nichole. "That's not a bad idea," she says thoughtfully.
"You can't be serious," I groan. I hate camping. Sleeping in a treehouse at night would practically be the same thing.
Kate glances at me. "Scared?" she teases.
"Yes!" I reply instantly, knowing she was joking. But I'm dead serious.
"Just one night? Come on," Nichole begs me. I know that if I take my hand off the scratch, she'd stop begging and look away, but I don't want to upset her again. Instead, I keep my hand where it is. I shake my head in response.
"I wouldn't sleep there, anyway," Kate says. "I wouldn't put it passed Kendall to pull a prank on us or something."
Kate and I start back toward the house, Nichole following more slowly. I glance up through the trees and see that it's getting dark. I shudder and continue on, just able to imagine what happens to teenagers in the woods at night.
As we step inside the game room and take ours shoes off, Kate darts ahead of Nichole and I. She disappears into the kitchen. I glance at Nichole before going into the kitchen myself.
Kate had spilled out a whole first aid kit on the counter. Bandages, disinfectant spray, cotton balls. You name it, it's there.
I laugh. "It's just a scratch, Kate. I don't need all this."
"Hey, you never know," Kate says, smiling. She pulls my hand off my face and winces. "You know, it's bigger than a scratch," she comments.
"Thanks," I say sarcastically.
"I'm just pointing it out since you can't see it," Kate defends herself before rubbing some clear gel stuff on my cheek. I flinch away.
"I can do that myself, mother," I grumble, running my hand around on my cheek. I feel the scratch and realize she's right; it's worse than I thought. I sigh inwardly. Shelby's gonna love that.
"I'm gonna set the sleeping bags out and put a movie in," Kate informs me. When I nod, she turns and steps out of the kitchen and into the living room.
I unwrap a bandage, wondering if I'll even need it. It's either an ugly mark across my face or a huge bandage. I decide to go with the bandage for now.
I page it on my face and jump when I hear someone come up behind me. I turn around and see Kendall smiling at me playfully.
"Hi- Whoa! What's with your face?" Kendall asks, taking a step back.
"It how I was born, thank you very much," I reply, rolling my eyes.
"You know that not what I meant," Kendall says, though he can tell I'm joking. "What happened right there?" he asks, poking the bandage.
I wince and back up slightly. "Nothing that has to be poked."
"Sorry," Kendall laughs awkwardly.
"I got whacked with a tree limb," I go on. "I tripped and it came back and smacked me."
"Sounds... Fun," Kendall jokes, trying to lighten the mood.
"Very fun," I reply, smiling.
"Kendall!" I hear a voice behind me. Just then, Kate comes up beside me. "Stop flirting. You're supposed to be gone!"
"I was just leaving," Kendall says defensively. "And I'm not flirting! I just wanted to say hi to Sam. Is that a crime?" he shoots back.
"Yes, it is!" Kate growls. "You know why? Because you choose now to come out of your bedroom!"
Kendall blushes a deep red and I have to stop myself from laughing at his embarrassment. I bite my lip to hide my smile.
"That's what I thought," Kate sniffs when he doesn't reply.
"I'll see you around," Kendall tells me, before casting Kate a last glare and heading out of the kitchen to the game room.