Chapter 12 brinnnnnnng………brrrrrrriinnnnnnngggg Kari stirred in her bed. brrrrriiinnngggggg…….brrrrinnnnngggg Kari pulled her pillow over her head trying to drown out the noise. Brrrriiiiinnngggg…….bbbbrrrrriiinngggg Kari sat straight up in the bed, her eyes only half open as she sleepily tried to figure out where the noise was coming from. Brrrriiiiinnnnggg……bbbbrrrriiiiinnnggg Suddenly realizing what the noise was she cursed under her breath, "Who in the hell is ringing the doorbell so damn early in the morning." She stood up and put her robe on, slipped on her house shoes and stumbled downstairs to the front door.  "I swear if Jason forgot his key again, I’m gonna take that damn key and shove it straight up his…." Brrrrriiinnnggg…..bbrrrriiinnngg "I’m coming!!!!   Just give me a second!!!!", she yelled reaching for the doorknob.   She usually looked out to see who it was, but this time, she didn’t think.  She swung the door open, "WHAT?!?!" It was Matt.  She stared at him through the slits between her eyelids.  "Aren’t you going to ask me in?", he asked. She huffed and turned away from the door motioning for him to come inside.  "Well, aren’t we perky this morning?", he teased as he walked inside and shut the door behind him.  Kari simply flipped him off. "Was that the doorbell?", Jason called from his bedroom door. "You were here all that time and you just let it ring?", Kari spewed at him.  "Hey Matt.", Jason said ignoring his roommate just before shutting his door and returning to his bed.   Kari just shook her head in disgust.  She walked silently to the kitchen and started a pot of coffee.  Matt followed. "Aren’t you going to ask me why I’m here?", Matt asked in a voice too perky for anyone that time of morning. "Matthew, I love you, but you know better than to talk to me before I’ve had caffeine.", she snapped.  "Some things never change I guess.", he laughed.  She just glared at him.  He took a seat at the table and remained quiet until Kari had swallowed at least four sips of coffee.  "Is there enough caffeine in your system yet?", he asked. She smiled slightly at him, "You know, you were the only one that ever really left me alone until I got the caffeine." "Well, I just figured that there was no sense in causing a ruckus.", he smiled back at her pouring himself a cup of coffee. "Well…..", she pried. He just looked at her as if he didn’t know what she was talking about.  "I’m assuming you are not here just to see my beautiful face.", she stated.  He gave her a once over, "You know, don’t take offense but I wouldn’t call that hair beautiful."  He laughed. She smoothed her hair down, "Hey, I’ve seen you in the morning too dear, sweet Matty.  I wouldn’t be so cocky.  Those curls sticking up everywhere."  She caused herself to laugh. He stuck his tongue out at her, "The reason I’m here.  Christmas is coming up and well, if you don’t have any plans, Dad wants you to come home and spend it with us." Kari squirmed in her seat, "I don’t know, Matt.  I’m just so busy.  Besides, this is my home - even if I have to spend the holidays alone." Matt became a little irritated, "First of all, this is not truly your home and you know it.  Secondly, even you get time off for the holidays.  And last but not least, there is no way in hell, that I would let you spend Christmas alone."  "Wow, nice speech, hon.  Did you practice that on the way over?", she snapped. "What the hell is wrong with you, Kari?", he said, the volume of his voice rising with each word.  "Nothing is wrong with me.  This is how I am.", she returned. "It’s not how you use to be.", he said, his voice a little softer.  "Things change, Matt.  People change.", she informed him.  "Kari, you can’t play this shit with me.  I know you better than that.  You are the same person that I knew all those years ago.  I don’t buy into the acting crap like the rest of them.", he told her. She knew that he could see through her, but she wasn’t giving in.  "This is the new and improved me whether you ‘buy it’ or not.  You have your brother to thank for that.", she said.  She could see the anger growing in his eyes. "How many times does he have to say he’s sorry.  He made a mistake.  He’s only human.  Don’t act like you’ve never made mistakes.", he said almost yelling.  "I’ve made mistakes, but never in a million years would I have cheated on someone that I claimed to love.", she said.  Matt stood up and started for the door.  He stopped and turned around to glare at her, "Whether you chose to believe it or not, he has never done anything but love you, which is more than I can say for the other men you’ve had in your life."   That was a low blow and coming from him, it hurt ten times as much - she couldn’t say anything back. "If you come to your senses and want to spend Christmas with the people that truly love and care about you, you know where to find us.  If not, well then,  you’re not the person I thought you were, and I don’t want you there.", he told her just before walking out the front door.   She watched him through the window as he climbed into the car and sped away.  She leaned her head against the window pane feeling its coolness.  She then turned and made her way up the stairs, and crawled back into the bed.  She had a lot to think about.              Last Chapter ..*.. Next Chapter ..*.. Chapter Index ..*.. Home