Take Me Back - The Story of Jarrod & Kate [From 'Hiding Behind The Music']

"Pretty, pretty please/Don't you ever, ever feel/Like your less than/Fuckin' perfect/Pretty, pretty please/If you ever, ever feel/Like your nothing/You're fuckin' perfect to me" - P!nk - Fuckin' Perfect

Kate mused thoughtfully to herself as she drove down to the wharf to meet up with Bree, she wasn’t sure where they were going this time for tea but that was the usual, they used to take it in turns of who chose each weekend where to crash for tea. But since her Lilly had stepped into her world Kate’s past routines had been pushed aside and mostly all for the best, it was a beginning of a new era and Kate couldn’t be happier, to an extent.

Kate pushed that thought aside. She couldn’t get everything she wanted, besides the thing she wanted most was calling her “mum” and was a splitting image of the man of her dreams, the man she’d been in love with since her teens. Yet she couldn’t expect everything to be a fairytale, she still had a long way to go with Lilly, and at times Kate questioned whether she deserved any form of positive ground.

Kate tapped her hands along to the beat of a new song she had been recently writing and had been practicing earlier. It was her best yet, but every other one she had written recently was also grander than usual. Ever since her baby girl came. It wasn’t just a learning experience for her nor a release of all these pent up emotions. Kate couldn’t count how many songs she had written nor tunes. Some sad, some alive but every single one of them real. It was a confession of every inch of her heart. It was the best form of counselling yet.

It was amazing how much memories and emotion Lilly bought back with her, it wasn’t just the loss of Kate’s baby girl but also of the man that held her heart, they were so similar and it only made her miss him more, bought back that ache, and reminded her something she had been avoiding for the majority of her life; she had screwed up so many lives.

Pulling in at the wharf Kate pulled on her sunglasses and headed towards their usual spot taking advantage of the sea salted breeze and the setting sun in front of her on the surface of the sparkling sea whilst she walked towards a more secluded spot of theirs. The wharf was an older one that not many visited and wasn’t much of an attraction nor busy. They had the odd elderly couples of fishers but other than that it was a peaceful form of elegance. What people didn't know was that hidden behind the first row of boarded up shops that closed down were the best seafood and other cafes possible behind them. It was a sanctuary to Kate; very few knew who she was and those that did settled for as simple as a smile or a wave. Here life was simple, Kate was simple.

The breeze was nippy and Kate was glad she had the small cardigan over her singlet and her black skinny jeans; she smiled at the sound of her cute little wedges sound on the wharves boards. Clicking her tongue to the sound of each ‘thunk’ on the board she waved to old man Craig as he winked at her, his rod in his hand and a placid whistle passing through his lips.

Rounding the corner she kept walking pushing her loose and probably now tangled hair from her face, glancing up to their usual spot, the square centre of the wharf where there was one huge post coming up through the centre, stood no one. Kate shrugged carelessly still walking forward thinking nothing of it due to the traffic being during rush hour, she kept walking till she hit the middle and Kate sank to the wharves boarded floor and leant against the post. Kate pulled her phone out checking to see if Bree had tried to call, she smiled at the wallpaper on her phone of her girl and herself smiling happily during one of their adventures. Her thumb stroked the screen as if she was really stroking her daughter’s cheek whilst humming softly to her most recent song.

“Kate?” A voice breathed just above her breaking her off mid-hum. Her skin froze as goosebumps raised, her body telling her something she didn't already know. She reluctantly turned her gaze from her phone screen her smile so wide due to it, she glanced up her smile probably too huge to be classified sane to any other person. That smile faltered though as she looked up into vibrant green eyes, memorable green eyes. Her mouth fell open as she squinted against the setting sun. She was speechless. Was it just the sun playing tricks on her?