Mastering the Valley: Completed

Chapter 71: After

We walk out of the courtroom, and I'm feeling indifferent about the situation. I'm glad that they will rot in a cell for the next 40 years, but at the same time how will putting them in jail change what they did to me?
   Exactly. It won't.
  I sit on a bench in front of the building with a feeling of numbness. I don't know what to do, how to feel, or what to say.
   "Hey." Noah says. "I got you a coffee. Your favorite."
   "Mocha Frappe extra whipped cream?" I ask.
"I even spent the extra 50 cents on chocolate drizzle." Noah says.
   I smile and accept the coffee from my brother.
  "So. Did you talk to Hawk?" Noah asks.
    "No, I haven't had time to." I say.
   "Kate, you need to talk to him. It will help you."
  "I am going to wait until after the bonfire." I say.
   "Why is that?" Noah asks.
  "Because I want to spend the night getting to know the kids my age here. I don't want to spend the night with the same 5 people I know. Plus you." I say, adding him in at last second because I forgot he was my age.
   "That's not a bad thing, especially at a teenage party. There will just be drunken idiots who only want one thing." Noah says.
   "Yes Noah, please enlighten me on how I will get drunk and have sex with someone I barely know." I say, sarcastically.
  "I know it's not my place, but-"
"Exactly, it's not your place." I say.
  "Oh, and also dad told me that you can come back home and I take care of you." Noah says.
  Wait. I'm going home?
  "Has he told Mr LaRusso?" I ask.
   "No, but he told me."
  "You are a rookie." I say. "Mr LaRusso won't believe you."
   "Well. It's what he said."
  "Well, until dad tells Mr LaRusso. It's not happening." I say.
   "Fine, I'll tell dad." he says.
  "What time is it over there?" I ask.
   "Only 3 hours ahead of here." Noah says.
  "It's like 8 P.M. over there." 
    "Perfect. We get to annoy him on his date." Noah says.
  Wait... date? Dad's dating again?
   "Who's dad dating?" I ask.
    "This girl named Shaylee. The crazy thing is, she  reminds me of mom." Noah says.
   Is he trying to replace mom?
    "Anyways. I'll call him." Noah says.
   "Don't." I say, grabbing his phone.
    "What's wrong?" he asks.
   "Nothing, I just uh..." I try and think of something off of the top of my head, "..don't want to interrupt dad's date."
   "Come on, it's dad. We get a free hit on dad. What is he going to do? Fly to LA and ground us for a day?" Noah says, reaching for his phone.
   I pull his phone farther away from him.
  "Kate, come on." Noah says, holding his hand out. "Give me my phone."
   I throw his phone into the bushes that are across the door on the other side of the building. "What phone?"
   "Kate, what the hell?" Noah says, starting to raise his voice. "I know you don't like to hear that dad is dating again, but damn."
   "How could he replace mom?" I ask.
  "He's not trying to replace her, he would never do that." Noah says, lowering the tone in his voice.
   "Are you sure about that? He's dating a girl that reminds you of mom, and you notice that he didn't tell me?"
   "I thought you knew." Noah says.
  "Quite obviously I didn't. Why else would I ask if dad was dating again."
   "I kind of looked past that." he says. "It's not that big of a deal."
   "Actually it is." I say.
    "Are you actually going to have a conniption fit over this? Right here, right now?"
  "How could you not tell me?" I ask.
   "Well, I actually was going to tell you a few weeks ago but you hung up on me. Do you not remember chewing me out then hanging up?"
   Oh shit, I did do that.
  "I was going to tell you before dad did, because he told me he was going to tell you, which was obviously a lie."
   "Why would dad lie?" I ask.
  "Maybe because of how you are acting right now. You are acting like an immature child about it. Maybe dad just wanted to be happy." Noah says.
   "But this soon Noah?" I say. "She only died two and a half months ago."
   "Yeah, and he's been dating Shaylee for over a month."
   "Are you serious?" I ask.
    "You really don't know anything do you?" he says in a serious tone.
   I smack him across his face, turning his cheek into a blush red shade. "Don't you ever say anything like that to me again." I say, getting up and walking to the bush I threw his phone in and retrieving it, and then walk back to him. "Here's your fucking phone." I say, throwing it at him.
   "Katelyn." Noah says, getting up.
  I look back to him. "What." I say, not asking him, but demanding him.
   "I'm sorry, I didn't realize that I would hurt your feelings."
   "You can say anything you want to me, but when you call me stupid that's crossing a line."
   "Why?" Noah says. "Whats so wrong about me playing around with you?"
   "Because you didn't say it like you were kidding."
   "And? Am I supposed to tell you every damn time that I am messing around with you?"
   "Noah, stop."
  "Dad is right, you are turning into mom."
   "How is that such a bad thing?"
  "Because if you knew what mom done then you wouldn't think the same way."
   "Shut up Noah." I say trying to stop him from saying something that he will regret.
   "You don't know what mom put dad through behind closed doors." Noah says.
   "Shut up." I say, raising my voice.
   Noah towers over me, starting to raise his voice. "What are you so afraid of? Hearing the damn truth."
   I turn around and grab him and turn him around and kick him into the wall.
   "Kate what the hell?" he says, turning around.
  I jump onto the bench and roundhouse kick him back into the wall.
   "Don't ever say anything about mom."
  "WOAH WOAH WOAH." Mr LaRusso says. "What in the hell is going on here?"
    I look to Noah then walk past Mr LaRusso and bump into him as I walk away.