Adopted by Heathers Cast

Woe is Me

"So, what do you want to do?" Katie asked me after we had eaten all the frozen pizzas in the house.

"You do know my mom's gonna kill you, right? Don't worry, I'll take the fall." I said, laughing.

"What other food do you have?" Katie asked. I started digging through the fridge.

"We have leftovers." I said, pulling out some chicken nuggets I brought home from school.

"Ew, no." Katie said. I laughed a little. I pulled out my phone and said, "God, it's 11 at night. I'm never up this late."

"Yeah you are, Sunshine. Don't lie." Katie said. I laughed and said, "I'm usually up until like 10:30."

"That's still way too late for a girl your age." Katie said. "Hey, can I paint your nails?"

"Why not?" I said, getting some orange nail polish from the bathroom. Katie laughed and started painting my nails.

_______

"Your mom is gonna be so mad that we're up at midnight." Katie said. I yawned and said, "I'm getting tired."

"Go to bed, Sunshine. I love you." Katie said. She hugged me and kissed my cheek.

I smiled and went to my room, slamming the door behind me. I went to my desk and opened a drawer, pulling out an envelope of pictures that I scribbled Memories on.

I dumped out the pictures on my bed and most of them were pictures I took with my family. But one of them broke my heart.

It was a picture I took with Red and Ethan.

"Hey Katie?" I called out, about to cry. Katie opened the door and said, "Everything good?"

"I found this in my desk." I said, sniffling back the tears. Katie took the picture from me and threw her arm around me. "When was this?"

I flipped over the picture and there was a date on the back.

"August 3rd." I said. "The day before the crash." I sighed and put the picture away, tucking it in my math notebook from seventh grade. 

"Anyway, um, I'm gonna go to bed for real now. Night Katie, I love you." Katie hugged me tightly and kissed my head. She waved at me as she closed the door behind her.

______________________________________________________________

Katie's POV

I left the door to Cat's room cracked, just in case she got a nightmare. I sighed and sat on the couch, waiting for Cat to wake up. It was bound to happen.

By 1:30, I was getting tired, and I didn't hear Cat cry or anything. So I got comfortable on the couch and drifted off to sleep.

_____

"No...Mommy...no..." I heard as I woke up. I sat up groggily and realized, Cat was having a nightmare and was talking in her sleep. I ran to Cat's bedroom and flung open the door. 

Cat was tossing around on her bed, but she wasn't talking to herself anymore. She was lightly snoring and she was curled up in a tiny ball, hugging her blanket to her chest. I kissed Cat's forehead, and I saw her stir a little. 

I walked out of her room, smiling at my sleeping niece. 

As soon as I sat back down on the couch, I turned on the TV and was watching the news, bored. 

Suddenly, I heard a loud crash from Cat's room. I ran to her bedroom and threw open the door.

"KATIE!" Cat screamed. I ran to her and rubbed her back. "Sunshine, it's me. What's wrong?" I asked.

It then hit me. She was on the floor. She must've fell out of bed. I gently took the blankets off of Cat and then I realized what was truly wrong.

Her knee had dislocated. Again. She must've fell in a funny position. 

"Cat, your knee..." I said, gently rubbing her kneecap. Cat grimaced in pain and grabbed my wrist. 

Me being scared, I yanked my arm away and carried Cat to the couch. I had no idea what to do. Cat started sobbing hard. I grabbed my phone and called 911, totally oblivious to Cat. I started crying a little too, and I noticed Cat staring at me with her big brown eyes. 

I tuned out the sounds of Cat sobbing in pain as I listened to the 911 dispatcher. I wanted to turn back and give my sweet Sunshine the biggest hug in the world, but right now, making sure she was okay was the first thing on my mind. 

"OW!" Cat screamed as soon as I hung up. I dropped my phone on the ground, trying to figure out how to explain to Cat that an ambulance was coming for her. 

But then I realized what Cat was trying to do, she was trying to put her knee back in place. And by the looks of it, she didn't succeed. She may have made things worse for herself.

"Sunshine, baby, why did you do that?" I asked, trying not to sound too mad. I didn't want to make Cat feel worse.

Cat burst into tears and said, "Y-you were crying...I just wanted to make you feel better, Auntie..." 

I gasped. I just got my first Auntie. I felt like screaming in pure glee, but that wasn't important right now. I needed to get her to the hospital, she needed to get her knee fixed.

"Sunshine, you didn't need to do that for me, you could've hurt yourself more." I said. Which was the truth. Cat simply nodded then started crying again once she heard the ambulance sirens outside the window.

"YOU DIDN'T TELL ME I HAD TO GO IN AN AMBULANCE KATIE!" Cat screamed. I was taken aback by it, but I realized that Cat was probably really overwhelmed by this whole situation. She had a nightmare, fell out of bed, and now has to go to the hospital without her mom. 

"Hey. Sunshine." I said. Cat's tiny hand grabbed mine and she squeezed my hand. I smiled at her and squeezed back. "Want your blankie?"

"Please." Cat said. I let go of Cat's hand and got her blankie. Cat grabbed it from me when I came back and leaned against me, letting the smell of it lull her to sleep.

I took a breath of the blanket's scent, and my heart dropped.

It smelled like a hospital, with a hint of the living room. Why was the scent of a hospital so calming for her? She hates that place more than anything else in the world. 

I grabbed Cat's hand and then kissed her forehead. "I love you." I whispered in my niece's ear.

As soon as the paramedics knocked on the door, I gave Cat's hand one last squeeze. 

When my sweet Sunshine wakes up, she'll be in a hospital room.

I have to be there for her, I made that promise to her. I'm her aunt. She looks up to me. 

"I'm here, Sunshine. Katie's here."

AN: Slight cliffhanger, I guess. And another trip to the hospital. Come on, you guys know hospital trips are my brand. Hope you enjoyed! Catch ya later!