Undying Devotion Chapter 9
Erika!" Heather screamed excitedly, hugging Erika tightly.
She then turned to her brother, and said mildly, "Hey Josh."
"Hi." JC answered, closing the door behind him.
"Hi sweeties, I'm glad you decided to come." Karen said, wiping her hands on a dishrag.
"Hey mom." Erika responded, kissing her on the cheek.
She'd always felt like Karen was a second mom to her, and she was lucky to have her. As the family walked into the dining room, and sat down at the table, Erika realized she hadn't seen Tyler yet.
"Where's Ty.." she began, just as Roy yelled loudly,
"TYLER, get in here, you can call her back later!"
A few moments later, he came walking in, and smiled pleasantly at Erika.
"So, who's this SHE you were talking to?" she teased.
His face turned a shade of pink, as he explained it was his girlfriend, "Jessica". No'one else could embarass him about things like that, but for some reason, Erika had always been able to. The rest of the dinner went like
that, everyone laughing and talking happily. It felt wonderful to be around everyone Erika loved so much,
but still, it made the thought of going home even harder to deal with. For now, she tried to push it
out of her mind. Standing up, Erika took her plate to the sink,
and rinsed it off.
"Heather, go help Erika, please." Karen asked.
"Why don't you ever have Tyler do ANYTHING?" she said, glaring at her mother.
"You know that Tyler does just as much as YOU do, so don't give me that." Karen quickly said.
"No kidding Heather, shut up."
Tyler shouted. Heather got even angrier,
"WhatEVER! He doesn't help with any..."
"HEATHER! Listen to your mother." It was Roy, and his deep voice ended the conversation immediately.
Heather jerked up out of her seat, and stomped off to the kitchen sink. Erika was already finishing over half of the dirty dishes, as Heather started to help.
"This is so cheap," she vented, "just because he's the youngest, they spoil him rotten. I HATE them."
Erika got so mad when she heard those words, she almost wanted to slap Heather, and after knowing her so long, they were like sisters, and she wouldn't have hesitated to do it. Somehow, though, she fought back her anger, and it quickly turned to pain.
"Heather! Don't you EVER say that! You don't know how lucky you are." she said, turning away, and quickly walking outside.
Heather stood in the kitchen, speechless. She hadn't realized what she was saying, and she'd never felt
more guilty in her life. JC came jogging in, and looked at her for a second.
"What's wrong, what happened?" he asked.
"Josh, I said I hate mom and dad, and she got upset. I didn't mean to..."
His eyes narrowed, as he shook his head angrily at her, and ran for the front door. As he got out on the porch, he saw Erika sitting on one of the steps that led up to the door. Her face was buried in her hands. He timidly sat down beside her, and asked if she was okay. She looked up at him, and right away, she began to lecture him.
"You can't take anything for granted. Never, EVER tell someone you hate them. I said it to you the other day, when you were just trying to help me, and it killed me afterwards, the thought of what would happen if I ever
lost you." Erika said through her tears.
"Baby, don't be upset, I forgive you. I know you didn't mean that." he consoled her.
"But it doesn't matter!" she shouted, "Heather doesn't realize what she just said, but it means alot more than she knows. If I could see my mommy and daddy ONE more time, I'd do NOTHING but tell them how much I loved them. I just wish I could take back EVERY little thing I did that hurt them. JC, would you please just take me home?"
"But you..." he started, and she interrupted quickly, "PLEASE."
Reluctantly, he nodded, and went inside to get his keys.
[chapter 10]�[Undying Devotion]
Send feedback to [email protected]