Vengence

“That SON OF A BITCH!”

“Kat, please, it’s not that big a deal…”

“No, he has absolutely no right to do that to you.”

“Well, I mean, he’s kinda right…”

“No, the fuck he is. Stop fucking talking like that fucking NOW. I will NOT have you buying into his LIES. He’s just doing it so he won’t look like such a douche bag.”

Erin looked down, trying to cross her arms over her chest and failing because of her giant belly. Kat was so furious she was shaking. When Erin had come home and told her about what that fucking idiot Todd had done, she was ready to go out and hunt him down, law be damned.

“And I suppose he got away with it, hmm? Not even a detention? So fucking typical!”

“No, he got called to the office. I’m pretty sure he was sent home early… I’m not sure if it’s a long suspension, but…” Erin trailed off, still looking down and hugging herself.

Kat walked forward, putting her arms around the smaller girl. She held her tight, tucking her head underneath her own chin. She just stood there, holding her until she felt a tremble quake through the younger girl’s body. She expected the tears to come, were surprised they hadn’t dropped sooner, but finally Erin was crying. She was already stressed out, she needed to stay as relaxed as possible in her condition, and a good cry was the best way to release some tension.

Well, second best, but that was what had gotten her into this mess, wasn’t it?

“Can I at least go to his house and punch him? Please?”

Kat managed to provoke a smile from the teary girl, but she still had wet cheeks. Erin burrowed deeper into Kat’s chest, breathing in her smell and settling her nerves. Kat had meant it when she asked to go and rough up the asshole.

“You know they didn’t believe him, Erin, right? Todd’s a bastard, everybody at school knows what he’s like.”

“No, you don’t know what it’s like there now. They’re all so MEAN… You’re lucky you graduated, Kat… I wish I could just LEAVE…”

“I know what you’re thinking, Erin, and no. At least one of us has to be the smart one... You’re going to stay in school, and you’re going to go to college and you’re going to make something of yourself.”

“You could be the smart one, Kat… I’ve already screwed up so badly…” she broke off as a fresh wave of tears poured down her face.

Kat pulled her to the couch, easing down and finding a position that was comfortable for her friend, and cradled her in her arms, making soothing sounds. They simply sat in the quiet, Erin crying and Kat comforting. The weather outside took a turn for the worse, and the echo of heavy rainfall permeated the house. Eventually the smaller girl’s shaking and sniffling came to an end, and Kat looked down at the peaceful sleeping face of the most important person in the world to her.

Erin was certainly going to hate her, but she was going to do this.

She carefully moved off of the couch, pulling Erin with her, and walked her to the small bedroom they shared. With a hand on one shoulder and the other at her waist it was easy to steer her away from corners and safely to the bed. She set her up on the soft mattress, covered her with a thin blanket, and kissed her forehead. She tip-toed out of the bedroom, closing the door softly, and walked with purpose to the bowl by the door where they kept their keys.

He was going to pay.

**

How many times had she driven this road? It must have been a million. Even before she was able to drive, her mother was driving her to his house for study dates or whatever. Kat couldn’t fathom how she and Todd could have ever been friends.

The rain had made the road slick, and she constantly had to remind herself to take it slow and be patient. If she died now there would be nobody to look out for Erin and the baby, and they needed someone. Erin was much too small and weak to get through this ordeal on her own, and Kat could never forgive herself if something happened to her. Only one of the reasons she was now on her way to give Todd a piece of her mind. Or a piece of the baseball bat currently lying in the backseat. She liked to think she wouldn’t actually use it on him, but she knew herself (and her anger issues) well enough to know it was possible.

As she pulled into his driveway she immediately took notice of the bright and shiny red car sitting out front.

‘So daddy bought you a new car? Maybe I’ll get to use this bat after all…’ she grinned to herself over her evil thoughts.

Kat spotted Todd standing outside smoking. She got why Erin had fallen for him in the beginning. He was very attractive, and he had the whole bad boy thing going for him. He was always impeccably disheveled and he was always getting into trouble. It was part of the reason Kat had been friends with when they were younger, but he’d shown his true colors one day when he’d let Kat take the fall for setting fire to Mr. Jenkin’s barn. That had been right before Erin had transferred to their school. The only reason Kat hadn’t gotten into more trouble was that she was a minor at the time, but news had spread fast about her ‘arson fetish’ and she had become the local pariah. Erin had no reason to look down on her, and befriended the outcaste. Their close relationship blossomed nearly overnight, and Kat would be forever grateful to the younger girl for pulling her back from the edge.

When Erin fell for Todd, Kat wanted desperately to say something, but she couldn’t. She knew it would be taken the wrong way and she honestly didn’t think the relationship would go badly. She still thought that Todd was essentially a good guy, if not young and a bit misguided. Maybe he just needed a good girl to hold him down? So Kat would drive Erin to Todd’s house after they did homework after school every day, and for a while Erin was happy.

“Hey, what are you doing here, Kat?”

Kat parked her vehicle, leaving her headlights on, and pulled the bat from the backseat before exiting the car and walked up to the jerk that broke her best friend’s heart. Todd dropped his cigarette and backed up when he saw the long piece of wood in her hands.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?”

Kat continued walking until she stood toe to toe with the bastard. She gripped the bat hard in one hand; she was sure her knuckles had turned white.

“I was going to beat you over the head with it. Or smash your junk… that might be more appropriate given the circumstances, don’t you think?”

Todd’s hand went to instinctively protect his crotch, but he did he best to stand his ground against her.

“Why don’t you go bother someone else, huh kitty? I don’t like mangy felines lurking around.”

“Don’t you fucking call me that. You lost that privilege years ago.” The familiar nickname coupled with the insult had actually hurt. Her blood boiled and she had to remind herself that she was there for Erin. She had to defend her honor.

“I mean it, Kat. Get out of here.” Todd seemed to be growing more bold as she didn’t yet do anything damaging, and she grit her teeth.

“I’m not leaving until I get something from you.”

“What, are you looking for a piece of the action? Sorry sweetie. That ship sailed years ago, I’ve more than moved on.”

“No, you ass! You’re going to apologize to Erin. She didn’t deserve anything you did to her, especially that stupid fucking stunt you pulled today.”

“Oh, I did no fucking today, at least not with her.” His cocky grin was begging to be whacked off with her bat.

“You know what I fucking mean, you little shit! You’re going to apologize for what you did to her, all of it! And then you’re going to tell everybody the truth. You have to quit blaming others for your decisions.”

“What, and ruin my reputation? I don’t think so. I like how things are going for me, I could have any girl at school over right now if I wanted. I bet your little friend would even answer if I called.”

“You son of a bitch, you stay the hell away from her! She’s been through more than enough because of you!”

“You know, I liked you more before you went all dyke-y. Although, I don’t blame you... Little Miss Erin was the best piece of ass I’ve had so far. How’s it feel to be slurping on my sloppy seconds?”

It took less than three seconds for the red to completely filter out the environment in front of Kat’s eyes. She kept a firm grip on the bat with one hand, and with the other she swung hard and socked Todd in the jaw. She heard the delightful crunch of some bone breaking (she hoped it was an important one) and turned, walking away from the boy now crumpled on the ground. On her way back to her beat up old four door, she decided she needed to put the bat to use anyway. She walked around the front of the shiny red car and paused. She cocked back the wooden bat and swung as hard as she could, reveling in the clink of broken glass showering the pavement. She heard a strangled cry sound from where she left Todd in pieces on the ground and grinned to herself, getting back into her car and driving away.

**

Kat walked quietly into the house, navigating around well in the dark. She made no noise, save for the creaking of the door to the bedroom she shared with Erin, and shed her outer wear, settling into the mattress and snuggling into the warm body of her small friend. Kat spooned up behind Erin, placing her hands protectively over her giant belly, and stuck her face in the long wavy brown hair. It was thick and beautiful and smelled wonderful. She nuzzled deeper into it, breathing in deeply, until she felt the body in her arms start to stir.

“Where did you go?” Erin’s voice was laden with sleep and Kat found it utterly adorable.

“Nowhere, sweetie... Get back to sleep.”

“But I woke up, you were gone…”

Kat smiled fondly, even though she knew Erin couldn’t see her, “I’m right here, I’m not going anywhere. Now go back to sleep, you have school in the morning.”

Erin mumbled something and shifted back, melding her body against Kat’s. Kat closed her eyes and let Erin’s breathing lull her to sleep.

**

Kat watched as Erin walked up to the school with her head down and her hands on her belly. She glared at all of the other students as they stared at her Erin walking past them. She wanted to get out of the car and smash all of their faces in, but she figured that was an impractical impulse. Kat couldn’t protect Erin from every tiny little threat… But she could protect her from that dick, Todd. She stared hard at the red car pulling into the parking lot. She chuckled darkly to herself as she noticed the still-broken bumper and headlight. Todd got out of his vehicle and spotted Kat almost immediately (her broken down old car definitely stuck out in a crowd). Kat laughed out loud when she saw the wire holding his mouth shut. So she had broken his jaw, after all… Todd glared hard at her, before glancing over to where Erin was entering the small building that was their high school. He sent one more glance back to Kat, one that told her that as pissed off as Todd was at her, Erin wasn’t in any danger. Kat drove away when she saw that Todd was out of sight. She didn’t want to be late to her appointment, and she hoped it wouldn’t keep her from picking Erin up on time.

The drive was short, the address was close to the school, and before long Kat found herself in a long hallway. Her steps echoed off of the pristine walls around her as she made her way to the door at the end. Her fingers wrapped around the brassy handle and opened the door. She stepped inside a nearly empty room, save for one sitting at the end of a long table.