The People I'd Die For (part 10)

"Where to first?" Amy asked Kat and Brian as they were getting dressed. Amy and Kat were getting dressed in the main room of the attic while Brian was dressing behind Amy's Oriental screen.1

"I have some place in mind." Kat said as she buttoned up her dark purple blouse. She and Brian had left some clothes in Amy's drawers for this purpose. Kat was wearing her pruple blose with black ruffles, a black skirt, and a pair of Amy's leather boots.2

"Are you two decent?" Brian called from behind the screen. 3

"Just a second." Amy replied as she quickly pulled on her jeans. She threw on one of her long sleeve black shirts and said "Okay, you can come out now."4

Brian came out from behind the screen wearing a navy blue t-shirt and blue jeans. His dress shoes clashed with his jeans but he didn't seem to notice. "Should we make breakfast?" he asked.5

"I'm not really hungry." Amy said as she pulled on a pair of old white sneakers. 6

"Me neither." Kat agreed.7

"That makes three of us." Brian said. "Are we leaving now?"8

Amy opened her mouth to say something but Kat said "Yes, now." before she could.9

Kat turned to Amy and asked, "Is it okay if I drive?" 10

Amy nodded her head and said, "Yeah, sure."11

As the three of them headed down the stairs, Brian said, "Where are we going, Kat?"12

Kat stopped on the stairs for a second then resumed her walking. "We're going to Jake's house." she said in almost a whisper.13

Nothing was said as the three of them all piled into Amy's car. Kat was in the driver's seat, Amy was in the passenger's seat, and Brian was in the back. Neither Amy or Brian wanted to say anything in fear of saying something wrong.14

When they finally arrived at Jake's house, Kat parked at the curb and took a deep breath. "Are we ready?"15

Both Amy and Brian nodded in response.16

"Okay." Kat said. She opened up her door and walked onto the lawn. Brian and Amy did the same. While Kat was looking down she saw a "For Sale" sign stuck into the lawn. She wanted to kick it but instead walked by it as quickly as she could. When she approached the stoop she turned right to stand in front of the bush. She had a flashback of when she and Jake buried his spare housekey together but quickly shoved the memory out of her mind. She knelt down on her knees and started digging in front of the bush with her fingers.17

"Is it still there?" Amy asked.18

Kat saw something silver shine in the rich brown dirt. Sure enough, the key was still there. "It's here." Kat answered. She picked the ket up, dusted it off, and looked at it for a second. She clentched it in her hand and went up to the door. She inserted the key, turned it, and heard the door click. She took a deep breath and opened the door.19

Kat walked in and heard her boots clunk on the wooden floor. She could hear Amy and Brian behind her. The air inside the house smelled different. The usual smell of burnt popcorn and Jake's paints were gone. The picutes on the mantle were gone, the couches were gone... There was nothing.20

Brian looked at Kat. "What now?" he asked.21

Kat paused and then spoke. "Before Jake got hit, he said he had something for me. I want to see if it's still here."22

"Do you want us to help look?" Amy asked.23

Kat shook her head. "No, you guys stay. I'll be back soon."24

Brian and Amy nodded and stood where they were. Kat crossed through the living room and into the back of the house. She was in a hallway and there were three doors. She walked past the first one which used to be Jake's parents' room. She stopped in front of the middle one. Jake's room. She slowly turned the golden door knob and pushed open the door. There it was. The red paint, the brown shag rug...But it wasn't the same at all. It was so empty. Kat remembered all the memories she had there, sitting on the floor, just talking. Kat sighed and took a look around the room. Right in the middle of the floor was a medium sized cardboard box. Kat almost ran to the box and kneeled in front of it on the floor. She opened the flaps as fast as she could and pulled something out of the box. She didn't recognize what it was at first but then saw that it was a picture in a picture frame. Kat held it in her hands and stared at it. It was the candid photo that Jake's mother had taken at the Christmas party. There was Kat leaning over Jake on the couch, trying to reach her present that Jake was teasingly playing keep-away with. Brian and Amy were standing at the end of the couch, hunched over laughing.25

Kat felt tears forming in her eyes when she felt something on the back of the frame. She flipped the frame over and saw an envelope taped to the back. Kat took it off of the frame and read on the front in Jake's handwriting, "For Kat, Brian, and Amy." Kat opened the envelope and in Jake's small, sharp handwriting, it read this.26

To Kat, Brian and Amy.27

Hey guys. I guess you're getting this on prom nite. Guess you didn't expect to see me here, did you? Anyway, I just have a few things to say to you guys. Listen, we're graduting soon and I have to tell you, I'm kinda nervous. I don't know if you guys are too but I just wanted to let you know this. We've known each other since 7th grade. We've been through so much crap and if nothing had split us apart by now I don't think anything ever will. I know that me moving will have some affect on all of us. We're probably all going to get seperated after graduation and I have no idea how that's going to turn out. All I know is that you guys mean everything to me. You're the people I'd die for, and nothing can change that. Sooner or later, we're going to be split, but nothing can keep us apart. Let's make this last month the best we've ever had, okay? Talk to you guys soon.28

-Jake29

Kat closed her eyes and covered her mouth. She couldn't help but thinking of how he thought he was going to graduate, live a normal life. She hunched over and covered her eyes with her palms. Not wanting Amy or Brian to hear her, Kat quickly wiped her eyes and calmed herself down. She opened the flaps of the box once again to find a smaller box inside of it. She took the box out and saw on the side of it, it was labled in black marker, "Kat". Carefully, Kat opened the box and pulled out another letter. She hurriedly tore the letter open and read.30

Kat,31

Hey. Happy Prom nite! I hope I made it on time, I could only get the 5:40 plane out. OK, I'll get straight to the point. Inside the box are two letters from New York University. Remember how we both applied there? Well I talked to your mom and asked if I could have your letter so we could both open them together. I guess it's the right time to open them. Wish us luck. I love you Kat.32

-Jake33

Kat reached further into the box and pulled out two envelopes adressed to her and Jake. She opened her envelope first. She skimmed over the first paragraph quickly. She had been accepted to the school. Kat half smiled then put her letter down. She opened up Jake's fast but carefully. She once again skimmed over the first paragraph and sighed shakily. Jake had gotten in. At this time Kat let the letter drop to the floor and sobbed aloud, not caring if anybody heard.34

Amy and Brian heard Kat crying from what used to be the living room. They stopped talking and ran into Jake's old room. Kat had her knees pulled up to her chest and was crying into them.35

Amy knelt down next to Kat and said, "Kat, what's the matter?"36

Kat lifted up her head and looked through the window in the back of the room. "Jake and I...We both got into NYU. He took my acceptance letter so we could open them together."37

"How do you know?" Brian asked.38

"He left me a letter." Kat said quietly as she pointed to the letters. Brian picked Jake's letters up and read both of them. He sighed and then handed the letters over to Amy. As she read them, Brian put his head in his hands.39

Amy gave the letters back to Brian and then started to cry silently. Kat wiped her eyes and reached into the box. She felt something at the bottom and pulled it out. It was a CD in a trasparent CD case. It had a sticky note on it saying, "THE MIX, FOR KAT."40

"We should go." Kat said.41

Amy nodded and Brian said, "Yeah. Do you need help carrying this stuff out?" 42

"No." Kat said. "I'll meet you guys in the car."43

Amy and Brian nodded and left the room with the door open. Kat out the letters, the photo, and the CD back in the box and put it under her left arm. She noticed that the closet door was still open a bit and went to close it. She noticed a flash of black and opened the closet door. She looked at the floor and saw Jake's old leather jacket lying there. Kat picked it up and looked at it for a moment then put it over her shoulders. With the box under her arm and the jacket on her shoulders warming her, Kat walked out the door. With a silent tear, she put her hand on the door handle and left Jake's room for the last time.44