#Chapter Forty-Six
Kitty slid open the window to her bedroom, careful not to make a sound. She didn't want her mother to know what she had been doing, just in case it gave her more ideas. Her dress was dripping with water as well as her slippers, which were in one hand. Her hair was matted to her head and she desperately needed to shower. Putting one foot into her bedroom, she entered the room and put her slippers down on the floor.
"Where are you coming back from?"
Kitty jumped at the sound. She looked towards the source and waited for her eyes to adjust to the darkness.
It was Barry.
"Barry? Why are you here?"
"I said, where are you coming back from?"
"I was just having some fun at Long Lake."
"Alone?"
"Yeah."
"Then why is there a man's jacket draped around your shoulders?"
She removed the jacket and it slopped to the floor. "I buy men's jackets every now and then. They're more comfortable."
"I don't remember you having this habit, Kitty."
"We grew up together, but you don't know everything about me. And how did you get in?"
"Your mother let me in."
"Oh."
"I had an interesting conversation with her just now."
Her heart skipped a beat. "What did you guys talk about?"
"Well, about you."
"What about me?"
"Are you sure you were alone at Long Lake?"
"Yes, I'm sure. You don't believe me?"
"I trust you with all my heart, Kitty."
"So do I."
"But sometimes I wonder if I should. Some of the things you say are questionable."
"Barry, you know me. You know us."
"I do. But you're changing, Kitty. I hardly recognise you anymore. What happened?"
Gunner happened.
"I'm the same Kitty now as I always was," she told him.
"And I'm the Barry who has always been by your side," he said. "Who will always be by your side."
"Yes," she said. "I kind of want to shower though. Could you go home?"
"Sure" Barry said, getting up from her bed.
"Thanks," she said, heading for the toilet.
"Wait, Kitty."
She looked at him again. "Yeah?"
"I love you, Kitty."
She swallowed hard as she stared at him in silence.
"Well?" Barry said.
"I love you too, Barry."