The Wrath

Chapter Two

Kat looked behind herself at her home, the detached four-bedroom house, with the neatly kept garden, which was her Mums hobby.
Kats stepdads car was parked in the garage and next to it, padlocked to a metal railing was an adults black mountain bike, alongside a smaller bright pink bike.
Kat walked up the path, stopping to stroke their long haired tortoiseshell cat, Artemis who was lying in the shade on the front doorstep. Kat stepped over her then pushed the front door open. She entered the hallway and could smell cooked fries coming from the Kitchen, as well as her Mum singing along to Queen, badly.
She peered into the Dining Room seeing her stepdad sitting at the table reading the newspaper. Kat put down her folder and bag on the unit where they keep their shoes, then she hung her jacket up on the hooks.

In the Lounge there was a young lad with light brown, shaved short hair and brown eyes, wearing baggy jeans and a checked shirt. He was sprawled comfortably on the couch, occupying it completely, watching one of the movies from the Scream trilogy. Upon hearing the front door slam, a sly smile appeared on his face as he leapt up from the couch and approached the Lounge door, as he got close to it the door was pushed open slightly, bumping him.
Kats head appears round the edge of the door, when she sees Alan standing behind, she frowns.
"What the hell are you doing you freak?"

Alans face fell when he saw her, then he pushed his shoulder against the door to prevent her from entering, "Oh look, it's my charming sister. What are you doing here?"

"I live here," replied Kat slowly, as if she was trying to explain to a pre-acknowledging baby.
"Remember. My Mother married your drunken abusive Father. Meaning I ended up with this lame excuse of a stepbrother."

Kat looked him up and down with a disgusted look. Then bracing her shoulder against the door she pushed with all her strength, the door hit Alan again harder as Kat forced her way into the room.

"Slag," grumbled Alan.

"I heard that," Kat responded.

Alan lays down again on the couch, as Kat sits sideways in the armchair, dangling her legs over the arm, she glances briefly at the television.
"This again? How many times have you watched this?" she asks, gesturing towards the television with her hand.

Alan places his hands behind his head and reclines even more.
"The Scream films are classic, and besides Neve Campbell is hot," despite the film been on, Alan kept his eyes focused on his stepsister.

Kat narrowed her eyes suspiciously at Alan as she kicked her suede ankle boots off letting them fall noisily to the floor.
"Are you sure you don't have OCD or something? Have you been tested for it, because I don't know how you can just sit in here day in and day out, watching the same films over and over again. Haven't you seen them all like a hundred times already? It's weird."

Alan doesn't reply. Kat pushes herself up from the armchair, she leaves the room, returning a moment later popping open a can of soda, still talking.
"Also, do you know how depressing it is to come home from sixth form, or work, or a driving lesson just to find you here everyday."

Alan scowled at her, but there was no stopping Kat once she got started.
"I mean, I know you have no friends, girlfriend or social life, but can't you do something. Get a hobby, join a football team or go to those nerdy shops where guys go to play with those weird little war figurines. Better still, get a job."

Kat eventually stopped talking as she took a sip off her drink, she stood leaning against the wall watching Alan expectantly, waiting for a smart-aleck reply.

Alan simply shrugged.
"Why? So I can be as busy as you, have to get up as early as you, pay taxes and spend my days waiting on people, when I can be at home playing the X-box."

He smiled thinly knowing that he was winding her up, "Besides I have a job. It's making your life as miserable as possible."

Kat snaps back at him,
"Yeah, well take a day off."

She glances down at her watch.
"This is so dull, and I have better things to do with my time than sit here arguing with you. However much fun it is to remind you of how sad and pathetic you are, I actually have a life."

Alan sits up on the couch as Kat heads out of the Lounge.
"Off to hang out with your loser friends? Or is it another boring night with Officer Porkings?"

Kats eyes narrowed, "It's Officer Perkins too you," she replied coolly, refusing to give him the satisfaction of knowing he was angering her.

Alan continued to tease her, "Or maybe it's a date with your dealer?"

Kat spun round as if she had been stung then glared at Alan, "What did you just say?"

Alan saunters towards her, grinning like he had won the lottery.
"Did I strike a nerve there? Yeah, I know all about your dirty, disgusting addiction," he goaded her thoroughly enjoying himself.
Using one hand he covers one nostril then inhales deeply through the other in a drug imitation sign. Standing directly in front of his stepsister he lowered his hand,
"You can slag me off all you like, because deep down we both know what you really are. Nothing, but a worthless junkie." He spat his words out angrily.

Kat immediately slaps Alan around the face, hard enough to make his face turn away from her and flinch. He slowly faced her again,
"I'll let you have that one, but do it again and I'll hit you back, only twice as hard."

Ignoring Kats icy stare Alan strides back to the couch then lays down again. Kats eyes were downcast, clearly embarrassed that her secret addiction had been exposed by someone who she harboured such hatred towards. Alans face was red, with a hand mark clear on his cheek. They faced each other silently. You could feel and sense the tension between them, it was impossible to ignore.

Raising her eyes Kat shook her hair behind her shoulders and tilted her head up confidently,
"I'm going for a shower, so if you need to piss you're damn well outta luck. Now I know you've not seen the female form naked in years, but try not to peek. It's wrong, on so many levels."

Kat walks through the door then pulls it shut forcefully with a deafening bang. Alan tentatively touches his cheek then grimaces, he muttered quietly,
"God I hate her."
Picking up the remote he turns the television off, then gets up from reclining on the couch and presses the power button on a CD player. Knowing the door to the Lounge would be jammed shut after Kat slamming it. He had to use all the strength in his upper arms to open it, he yanks the door open as a Linkin Park song starts playing loudly. He walked towards the Kitchen keeping his face turned away from Kats Mum, but she was distracted from him anyway, checking the temperature of a meat pie.
Alan heads straight for the fridge, pulls it open and drags out a six pack of Lager bottles. Just as he is about to leave Kats Mum calls out,
"Dinner will be done in about twenty minutes, can you tell your sisters?" she asks glancing in his direction as she starts to slice the meat pie into sections.

"They're not my sisters. They never will be. I'm a Slamson, not a Harris," he replies moodily.

His stepmother shook her head with disappointment, "It's the holidays now, you two have got to try to get on with each other."

Without another word Alan left the Kitchen. On his way back to the Lounge, he passed a younger girl, with the same dark hair and brown eyes that Kat had. Alan holds his left hand out, so the girl slaps him a high five as she walks past, heading for the bathroom.
Alan enters the Lounge, as he is about to sit down he suddenly hears, over the top of the music, a female scream. He jumped and turned his head in the direction of the sound then hears Kat voice shouting.

"Nikki, get out dammit."

"Sorry Kat," replied Nikki meekly.

Alan smiled to himself and returned to the door in time to see Nikki closing the bathroom door, an apologetic expression on her young face. She sensed that she was been observed and looked up. Alan gave her silent thumbs up then a wink as she smiled sheepishly. She headed for the Kitchen as Alan shut the door again, then sat down on the couch opening a bottle of drink, he leaned back then took a long swig.