BRUTAL !

CHAPTER THREE:
"It Only Just Begun"

KITTY KNEW SHE WAS in for a lecture as soon as she took her brother's call. Nate's voice sounded frantic and also a little angry.

"You won't believe what Mom just told me."

Kitty sighed, entirely regretting that she hadn't just declined. "Oh, I'm sure you're gonna tell me, Nate"

"Not in that tone, Katherine."

Kitty rolled her eyes, hating the way her brother often acted like he was her father.

"Why didn't you say anything?" Nate then sighed, voice a lot calmer, as he registered that he wouldn't come far by screaming at his sister. "You could've called?"

"I thought you were busy." Kitty shrugged. That of course wasn't really the reason she hadn't called but it helped to make Nate feel bad.

"You know that it doesn't matter how busy I am if something like this happens. I mean Tara was almost killed. Of course you could've called."

"I didn't want to Nate," Kitty tried the more direct approach as anything else seemed to be lost on her brother. "And it's not even-- It was just some Freak in a mask. Okay?"

"How can you know that, Kitty?" She was sure to hear a bit of nervousness in his voice. "What if it's not just some Freak? What then?"

"Then I'll take care of it."

"Then you'll take care of it, of course" Nate repeated in disbelief. "Kitty you're a seventeen-year-old girl--"

"I'm eighteen" Kitty corrected. It was no surprise to her that Nate didn't know her correct age. It wasn't like he had come to any of her birthday parties in years.

"I'm sorry, okay?" Nate quickly excused. "But it doesn't make a difference. If it's him, you can't handle that"

"But you can?" Kitty challenged. "Because you're handling everything else in your life so perfectly, right?"

"Kitty this is not the topic right now," she could hear Nate sigh and imagined him moving a hand through his hair like he always used to when they were children and he was stressed about something.

"Maybe it should be the topic," Kitty muttered, more to herself than to her brother, before she noticed her friends walking out of Tara's hospital room. "Look, Nate, don't worry about me. And about that festival thing: I probably won't make it, just a lot of stuff with my friends piling up, sorry."

"Kitty, wait, let's discuss this like adu--" she had ended the call before Nate was able to fulfill his sentence.

"Hey, everything alright?" Wes had come closer when had noticed Kitty end the call and put her phone away.

"Yeah, yeah," Kitty nodded, as she bit her tears down. "Everything's alright."

"Hey Loverboy, you guys coming?" Mindy called over and both Wes and Kitty nodded.

🔪🔪🔪

"SO WHAT IS she like, the sister?" Liv asked later that evening when they had all met at the corner pocket.

"Sam?" Chad asked, exchanging a look with Wes. "Sam is so cool."

"You only say that because she let you wear Pokemon onesies to bed for a year." Mindy smiled jokingly.

"That's true. That's a true statement." Chad nodded, pointing at his sister.

Mindy bent down to take her turn in pool, her playful attitude shifting slightly.

"No, trust me, Sam is not cool." Amber interrupted, breaking up the light conversation.

"Amber, maybe we shouldn't—" Kitty said softly, but was met with ignorance by her friend.

"Her Dad left her Mom. Walks right out when Tara's eight, Sam's 13." Amber continued. "Sam started acting out, getting in trouble with the cops. And then, on Sam's 18th birthday, she leaves. Ghosts them all. Maybe Sam's changed. I just don't want to see Tara hurt again."

"So what, you're protecting Tara from her own sister now?" Wes asked in disbelief.

"Well, someone has to."

"Hey, guys stop," Kitty interrupted the fight that was threatening to start between her friend and boyfriend. "It doesn't matter what happened. Tara just needs her sister now."

Wes looked over at Mindy, who was smirking slightly. "What?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

Mindy shrugged, her tone playful. "Oh, I was just wondering... Wes, did you maybe think if something happened to Tara, you'd get more time with Kitty?" She gave him a teasing look. "You know, be the one to comfort her, act all heroic?"

Wes immediately shook his head. "That's... ridiculous. I don't need to do that."

Kitty rolled her eyes, stepping in to defend him. "Wes isn't some jealous boyfriend who doesn't want me spending time with my friends," she said firmly. "He's not like that."

Mindy held up her hands in mock surrender. "Alright, alright. Just a thought."

"Come on, Mindy." Wes shook his head.

"But we're all suspects." Mindy quickly stated before anyone could feel too safe. "Except maybe Liv."

"Thank you." Liv sent the Meeks-Martin girl a genuine smile.

"You're way too boring to be a psycho."

Liv's smile was quickly exchanged by a frown, as she sent Mindy an offended glance.

"Yo, Liv." Vince had come closer to the group without them noticing. "Hey Kitty"

Wes stepped in front of Kitty as if to shield her from the guy. Kitty held him close by the arm, before he could do something he would regret.

Wes didn't have to worry any further, because Vince's attention was back on Liv quickly. "You want a real drink? Or are you happy sitting at this kids' table?"

"Listen up, Uglier Michael Myers, it was a summer fling. It meant nothing." Chad walked forward until he was standing right in front of Vince.

"Was I talking to you?" Vince spat with furrowed brows.

"I don't care who you're talking to." Chad shrugged, not losing the aggressive tone, as he slightly towered over the older guy.

"Liv, let's go." Vince pointed behind himself, ignoring the guy right in front of him.

"Don't talk to her! I don't want to hear your voice. Shut your mouth."

"Better shut the fuck up." Unimpressed, Vince let a small pocket knife snap open.

"Hey!" The bartender called, "Get out of here or I'm calling the cops. Go!"

"I'll see you soon, sweetheart." Vince pointed a hand in Liv's direction, while he started walking backwards and eventually turned around and left the bar.

"Hey, man, fuck you." Chad spat after him.

"You kids, too! Let's go!"

"Did you see that shit?" Chad asked catching Wes' eyes, who looked just as shaken up as Kitty behind him.

"That was stupid, Chad." Kitty shook her head, crossing her arms. Before Chad was able to retort something she continued, "That could've ended entirely different. You're not like him, don't stoop down to his level, okay?"

Chad bit down whatever he had wanted to say and reluctantly nodded before he grabbed Liv's hand, who sent a thankful glance in Kitty's direction.

🔪🔪🔪

"So, I still don't get how you can like The Hunger Games so much," Wes said, glancing at Kitty as they drove. "Peeta's fine, but he's kinda... too perfect, don't you think?"

Kitty smiled at him. "What's wrong with that? He's selfless, brave, and totally in love with Katniss. What's not to love?"

Wes shrugged, teasing. "Yeah, but he's a bit too nice. It's just... predictable."

Kitty laughed. "You sound like you're describing you, you know."

Wes raised an eyebrow, pretending to be offended. "Me? Pff, I'm not nice. And I'm definitely not predictable.

Kitty nudged him playfully. "Please, you're practically Peeta in a hoodie. Always looking out for me, always stepping in when I need you. You'd totally try to take the bullet for me, just like he did for Katniss."

Wes glanced at her, a playful smile tugging at his lips. "Well, if I'm Peeta, then that must make you Katniss. Strong, fierce, ready to do whatever it takes for the people you care about."

Kitty blinked at him, a little surprised. "I don't know about that... but I guess we do make a pretty good team."

Wes paused for a second. His eyes sparkled as he looked at the road, before he turned his head to look at Kitty for a short second, a more serious tone to his voice. "I love you, more than anything, I just want you to know that."

Kitty's face softened. "I know. I love you more than anything too. And I promise you I'm not secretly some psychotic killer."

Wes sent her a look but quickly broke into a smile again. "I promise the same." He parked the car on the side of the road in front of the Walker house.

"Are you coming in?"

"I can't," Wes sighed, leaning back in the seat. "You know how my Mom gets. And especially after what happened with Tara she wants to know I'm safe."

Kitty wasn't able to hide the look of disappointment on her face.

"You're angry," Wes concluded as he moved a hand through his hair.

"No," Kitty quickly said, shaking her head. "I get it, okay? It's not like my Mom is any different. And I know it's better to be safe than sorry."

"Yeah, it is." Wes nodded.

Kitty grabbed her bag and her jacket from the back before she opened the door.

"What? No kiss?" Wes asked, right when she was ready to climb out of the car. Kitty rolled her eyes, but turned back around before she connected her lips with his.

He took his hands off of the wheel and pulled her closer by the waist.

"You really want to continue this?" Kitty muttered against his mouth, pressing another quick peck to his lips.

"I would love to," Wes whispered. "But you know I can't."

"Yeah, yeah." Kitty rolled her eyes with a smile before she stepped out of the car and stood on the path in front of her house. "Good--"

Before she was able to finish her words, she was interrupted by loud engine noise. A dark car drove around the corner and down the street.

"Who is that?" Wes muttered, trying to think of someone he knew who drove a dark BMW.

"Oh, you must be kidding." Kitty shook her head in disbelief when the car parked in the driveway of her own house. "It's my brother," she told Wes.

"What?" Wes asked in surprise. "Thought he couldn't make it."

"Well, seems that the circumstances have apparently changed."

Both of them watched how a man in his twenties opened the door of the dark car and got out. He had high cheekbones and a light beard. His hair was dark and a bit longer, cut to his ears, and framed his face perfectly. He had -- even in the dark, his face only illuminated by the street lights -- piercing blue eyes.

The resemblance to Kitty was undeniable, marking them as siblings, but their distinct features made it clear they had different fathers.

"Hey," Nate Walker said when he came to a halt next to his sister.

Kitty, as well as Wes, still sitting in his car, stared at Nate, without saying anything.

Then, all of a sudden, Kitty broke out of her trance and hit Nate with her first, directly on the arm.

Wes furrowed his eyebrows in confusion at his girlfriend's sudden anger attack.

"Ow!" Nate said in surprise.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" Kitty asked loudly. "In 10 years you don't care about visiting your mother and sister, but as soon as some idiot with a mask attacks someone, you're the knight in shining armor, huh?"

"Kitty—"

"No," Kitty interrupted. "I don't want to hear it, honestly. And I'm very interested in seeing how you're gonna explain this to Mom. Because she has been sitting here for the past ten years, asking herself if her son might ever come home. Honestly weren't sure you would—"

"Kitty!" Nate interrupted more firmly. "He's no longer just some idiot with a mask"

"What are you talking about?" Kitty exchanged a worried glance with Wes.

"He killed someone. A few hours ago. Some guy, Vincent Schneider."

"Vince?" Kitty repeated in disbelief. Wes gulped.

"Yes," Nate nodded, holding her by the shoulders. "Look, he was Leslie Macher's son. Ghostface is back."

Kitty had almost collapsed at that news. Nate held her up, while she tried to breathe normally.

If Vince had been on Ghostface's list and his mom was Leslie Macher, Kitty wasn't far from being on his list as well. She was even closer related to a past Ghostface killer than Vince had been. She couldn't breathe.

"Hey, everything's gonna be alright, okay?" Nate assured before he turned towards Wes and bent down slightly to talk to him. "Wes, right?" he asked and the boy nodded. "I remember you from years ago. Your mom's Judy Hicks, right? She was a deputy in my brother's case."

"Yeah." Wes nodded, a little glad for the slight change of topic. At least this was familiar. "She's Sheriff now."

"Oh, man." Nate nodded, having sympathy for Sheriff Hicks' situation upon the return of the Ghostface killer. "Well, you better get home now, it's dangerous."

"Of course, Mr Walker" Wes nodded.

"Hey," Nate smiled friendly. "You can call me Nate, Wes, we met when we were children."

Wes nodded with a smile before he started the engine of his car. "Goodnight, Kitty."

"Night." Kitty tapped the side of his car before Wes drove off. She stared after him for a few minutes, Nate staying completely silent next to her.

"Kitty," he finally muttered, reaching for her arm. She pulled it back quickly, turned around, and walked to the front door of the house.

"Come on." Nate sighed, as he followed her and watched how she unlocked the door.

"Good Luck with Mom," Kitty smiled sarcastically as soon as they both stepped into the hallways of the Walker home. "And stay the fuck away from Charlie's room. Here, you're not a Cop, but his brother."

She walked up the stairs without another word. "I'm home!" She called, loud enough for her mother to hear. "Bring the champagne, Mom; the president is here."

At the top of the stairs, Kitty leaned her back against the wall, listening to her mother walk into the hallway, to greet whoever was waiting for her.

There were a few seconds of silence before she heard a gasp. "Nate," Lily Walker said softly upon noticing her son standing in the entry of the house, not quite sure what to do.

"Mom," Nate said.

The next few minutes were not clear for Kitty to understand, but she could imagine what was happening, as she heard her mother cry muffled tears, probably into Nate's shoulder.

And even though, she would've preferred if he had stayed in New York, Kitty was a bit glad, that Nate had finally decided to come home.

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