MILEAGE XI

Chapter 11
Bodies. -- 2


  "CATHERINE," I ATTEMPTED to look into her eyes but she looked through me. "Explain yourself. You look really bad right now."
  "Tiki," my father, said, straining again. "What is this?"
  Surprised, I looked away from Catherine and looked over at my father, who looked like he was on the verge of tears himself. "What?" I asked him.
  Just then my door slowly opened and Miranda slowly walked out, looking timid, which I've never really experienced seeing on her face. "Tiki?"
  "Are you leaving?" I asked, trying to convey the fact that I didn't want her to do that with my facial expression.
  "Oh no," she said, and the timidness was gone in a flash. "I, um, I'm sorry but I couldn't help but overhear some things Mr. Bates." She walked over to the counter and leaned on it beside him. "This isn't completely my business-"
  "No, it's not at all, really," my father said in the same stressful tone he had been carrying for the discussion, cutting her off.
  "But now it is, somewhat," Miranda continued, almost rude in her assertiveness. "Because now you're talking about my sister. And as a matter of fact, I've seen Cathy over here, over there a lot. A whole lot. And I've heard her--"
  "Miranda," I cut in, and I hated my tone as soon as it fell out of my mouth. I sounded like I was chastising a child. The age thing and the fact that Miranda was in high school hung in the background, peeking it's head out once in a while like a common cold in the winter. I couldn't help it, though. The last thing my father needed was Miranda rubbing in the fact that Sam had Catherine   multiple times, in multiple ways, making multiple noises.
  Miranda looked at me like she wanted to fight. I gave her a pouty face but she just turned back to my father. "You get my point," she finished.
  My father sat quietly absorbing the information he just received from Miranda. The back of my mind was buzzing- I knew Miranda and I were going to have our first argument fairly soon, but for now the major portion of my mind was on my father and what was going to happen next. I watched him put his face in his hands and sighed.
  Catherine just continued to sit quietly. She sniffled once, but her eyes, which were once fighting back a storm sat blank and dry on her face. Miranda folded her arms. The room's silence was uncomfortable.
  My father broke the still and got up from his stool. He slowly and quietly walked past the three of us and out the door. We stood silently as we heard the door slam behind him and finally the engine of his car turn on and pull off. It completely fell silent again and I just continued to stare at Catherine as Miranda's burning eyes sank into the side of my face.
  "So..." Miranda finally spoke up. "Cathy, honey, you not going to admit to anything?"
  Catherine's lip started trembling again and I almost lost my shit. How could she sit here and cry, feel sorry for herself after putting all of us through what she did?
  "Catherine, do you not care about anyone but yourself?" Miranda continued. She sounded livid, as though Catherine had cheated on her as well. The thought made me laugh until I realized with Catherine, anything was possible.
  "Wait a minute here," I interrupted with bewilderment. "What? Did something happen between the two-"
  "Oh HELL NO!" Miranda cut off. "Never will I do anything with that tainted ass nasty dirty pussy ass bitch." With every insult, Miranda took a step closer to Catherine and I felt shit about to turn ugly. To my surprise, Catherine didn't flinch. She just continued to sit staring out the kitchen window with her bottom lip trembling. "This dirty, stank pussy, want to sleep with everybody ass bitch. Tiki, this girl is a whore."
  I was so confused as to where all this anger Miranda had bursting out of her was coming from. She didn't know about the man doctor because she hadn't read the letter and me nor my father had said anything out loud about it. I didn't dare ask her, though, and although I felt slightly sorry for Catherine, I wasn't getting in between them just yet. "Am I missing something?" I asked.
  "I should have told you, but Sam was like, nah, she wanted to tell you." My face fell. What the fuck is going on?
   At this point Miranda was so close to Catherine that I'm sure she could smell and interpret her breath. "You're disgusting, Catherine. You really, REALLY thought I would play Tiki and sleep with you after you slept with my big SISTER? Bitch, I am the enemy. You are the hoe."
  This must have stuck a nerve with Catherine because in a flash I saw her do something I never expected her to do. She slapped Miranda square across her face. Miranda didn't blink, gasp-- nothing. She immediately pulled Catherine off the stool by her hair and proceeded to beat her ass. I rushed over and picked Miranda the Pitbull off of her, picking her up like she was a 24 pack of toilet paper. She fought my grasp, still trying to grab for Catherine but I held her tightly. Catherine stood up and adjusted her clothing and attempted to fix her hair. Her face was bright red. She looked stressed.
  "You still not gonna say anything, Catherine?" Miranda shouted. "Nothing at all?"
  I was not only only confused, I was disgusted. Although Catherine needed her ass beat several times in several different ways, although her muteness made me want to choke her for an entire Alaskan winter, Miranda was just too fine to be doing that stupid popping off shit and to me, it was a showcase of her immaturity. It brought me back to high school and that was a turn off.
  As Miranda annoyingly barked at Catherine, Catherine just stood there in that same annoying silence. Finally, she sauntered off. Miranda finally stopped bucking.
  "So," she said, almost snarling at me.
  "So, what the fuck is wrong with you!?" I asked her. "What the fuck is all that?"
  "Don't fucking scold me, Tiki. You're fucking me, I'm not your child, which you seemed to think earlier."
  "The fuck are you talking about? Don't try to flip side on this shit! Like what the fuck was that childish shit?"
  "Tiki, that bitch needs her ass beat. She did some really fucked up shit to you, and you're dead sitting here defending her, like she's not a nasty bitch, like she didn't cheat on you with an entire African village. And she SLAPPED me, did you miss that? She had no right putting her dirty little ass hoe hands on me. I can't believe you're really defending her." Just then Catherine sauntered back in.
  Miranda turned around and disappeared into my room where I could hear her fussing around. Minutes later, she reappeared, fully clothed. She shot me a dirty look, bumped Catherine with her shoulder and was out the door.
  Catherine and I just stood there, alone. Me in shock and her with her face still stuck on stupid. It was understandable why Miranda would want to beat her ass but I couldn't help but feel like it was wrong. Then again, I was still confused as to what happened with her, Sam and Miranda.
  "Catherine, you not gonna tell me shit, right?" I asked her. It was more like a statement. I already knew my answer. She just continued to stare off, and fed up, I went downstairs to assess my room.
To my surprise, Miranda cleaned my room, spread the new sheet on the bed and made it and put my dirty clothes and sheets away. I didn't have to whoop her ass for that, but I did have to whoop her ass for almost completely whooping Catherine. What Miranda said to me reverberated around my brain. I wasn't defending Catherine, exactly, was I? I just couldn't stand seeing her fucked up, and couldn't stand seeing Miranda fucking her up, despite her bringing that on to herself with that smack to the face. Then again, if anyone was that close to my face popping off, I know I would have straight up duffed them.
  I shook my head. I wasn't choosing sides here. Perhaps that was wrong of me, though. Maybe I should be picking a side and that was Miranda's side. Maybe I owed her an apology.
  I ran the shower until it got steamy and the air was tight and stuffy. I stood there for what felt like almost forever just letting the heat and hot water roll off my back and face. Finally I washed and scrubbed and rinsed off, getting dressed and towel drying my curls and pulling it in it's usual bun at the top of my head.
  I hit up Sam to let her know I was coming over and headed upstairs to get a bottle of water before getting in the car. Catherine was nowhere to be seen or heard.
  Once outside, I checked the mailbox out of curiosity. Surprisingly, there was a letter from the infamous Shakespeare in Love Dr. I took it out and stuffed it in the pocket of my sweats. I wasn't in the mood to read it now and honestly wasn't in the mood to read it ever. But Sam would be curious and Catherine didn't deserve to get this. Additionally, I still hadn't admitted to my father my sins, so taking this would also serve as a precaution just in case I was mentioned by name.