Katie sat, quivering in her seat. The movie was The Exorcist, and it was super-scary. She glanced at Kerry and Madison. They looked scared too. " This is really scary. I'm going to get some popcorn." Lauren said, breaking the silence. She got up, and Katie moved to let her pass, but Kerry and Madison sat, their eyes locked on the screen. Suddenly something sudden happened, and they all screamed. And then, right at the prime of their screams, there was a sound of breaking glass. Katie, Kerry and Madison all turned around, and Lauren came running in. There emerged a man from the outside, with a bushy beard and a gun. There was a loud bang and Kerry started to writhe in her seat, with blood dripping and staining the sofa. Katie had no time to react. She stood, her face in horror. The man then shot himself, and he stood in a heap at the pile of broken glass. Madison reacted quickly, she was screaming and Lauren was screaming. Madison's dad came down, and he was screaming. Lauren had dialed 911 and was talking crazily into the phone. Madison was all over Kerry, talking gently and telling her it was going to be all right. But her blood was staining the couch and wrists were flopping.

And then she woke up. It was just a dream, just a bad dream, but no. Suddenly Katie remembered, and she felt bad because for a moment, she had forgotten about Kerry. The pain in her heart magnified, and she knew she had to go to school today and pretend that everything was okay. But it wasn't. Katie hurt. And everyone just pretended it hadn't happened, that a man from the mental hospital escaped and broke into the Leary home and killed Kerry.
Kerry. If anyone deserved to die it would not be Kerry. Kerry was kind. Kerry was the one that protested when they made fun of Xavier. Kerry was the one that always tipped way too much at restaurants because she felt bad for the waiters.
It was Katie that should have died then. Katie, who made Jeremy miserable because he had a middle-school crush on her. Katie, who was always mean to her brothers and sisters. " Katie!" yelled Mrs. Brown." Are you up?" " Yeah, whatever." Katie got up and dressed. It was time to pretend that she wasn't hurting. Tears welled in her eyes but she pushed them away. It had been nearly a week. Time to pretend.
Jamie was gulping down his breakfast when Katie came down. Jamie was in high school, and he had cute friends. Jenna was still asleep. Jenna was also in high school, and she always gave Katie her old clothes and make-up. Since Jenna was pretty, stylish and popular, Katie loved her hand-me-downs. Lauren was at the counter drinking juice. Lauren was in first grade and so adorable and innocent. " Hi Katie!" Lauren said happily. Her curls bounced and Katie moved to tousle her hair. She loved Lauren so much that tears formed in her eyes. " Katie, why are you crying?" Lauren asked. But Katie just ran from the room, crying and shivering.