Blank Slate

Chapter 14: This Girl is on Fire

Chapter 14: This Girl is on Fire

Katelyn Bishop

As she looked at her flickering reflection, a tear broke away from her ocean eyes. Everything felt both salty and sweet in the swell of her head. Waves of guilt washed over her as she slipped out of her house. Before she went, however, she looked down at his sleeping body. Katelyn bit her lip in utter guilt. How do you love someone without leading them on?

She looked at him lying in that bed. She almost melted at the sight of him. She knew that she loved him, but to be with him...she would have to disappear too. With tears in her eyes, she regretfully began to write her note for him. Looking down at him she vowed to herself shakily. She would never let herself disappear like him.

Katelyn spun on her heels towards the door and picked up her purse.

Dragging her feet, she made her way to her job. The flickering of her body kept picking at her. Each time she would look down at herself, she would flicker. Flint flickered in and out, but this was different. This was her, not Flint. It was hard enough the man she loved was going, but it was harder to know she would be going with him if she got any closer to him.

Not to mention, the difference between her and Flint was astronomical. They both wanted the opposite things out of life.

She wanted notoriety at her job and he just wanted to leave all the people he loved.

He'd rather run than fight. He'd rather leave than stay.

Most of all though, he'd rather hide in his supposed love for "Kate", then face the truth.

And the truth was...he couldn't coast anymore. Not on his looks, which his ex had overlooked. Not of his money, which again, his ex chose his brother. No. He couldn't coast on his private jet or plane, he just had to parachute down like the rest of us and hope to God he stuck the landing.

As Katelyn recounted this fact again trying to persuade herself he was just an attention seeking millionaire, a ring echoed in her pocket.

Her heart thumped a dangerous rhythm.

It could be Jared....or Flint.

Both men she should have sworn off, but both men had wormed their way into her apparently vacant heart.

She felt like her heart was a motel and each of these calls were them trying to check in again and again.

As her heart rioted in her chest, she finally picked up her phone looking down at the name.

Jared.

It was Jared.

Katelyn gulped and answered, "Hey, Fido, what did you bury in the yard this time, huh?" She said this referring to his phone call the other day where it sounded like he was burying something

There was along pause of a crackling silence and heavy breaths pouring over the other side of the phone.

Katelyn wearily yelled out, "Jared, are you there? I can hear you breathing. What is this about?"

Finally, a voice fluttered over in a hoarse and gravelly churn of strange words, "Do you remember me, Kate?"

Katelyn's brows rose, "Of course I remember you Jared. What do you mean?"

Heavy breathing residing on the other side of the line and a heavy wave of anger seemed to be rising in him.

"No! Not him. Me! Do you remember me, Kate?"

Katelyn was extremely confused and her heart thundered harshly in her chest as she wondered what he meant.

Still weary and confused she asked, "Aren't you Jared. I could swear you sound exactly like him. If you're not him...then who are you?"