Sophomore Year || Parenthood Series, Book One || WATTYS 2018

Chapter Thirteen

SOUNDTRACK: "Keep Your Head Up" - Ben Howard

Kate blinked rapidly as sunlight fell across her face. A brief moment of fear passed through her mind as she looked at her unfamiliar surroundings. She wasn't in her room and she wasn't in her bed and there was a different view from the windows. Then she remembered. She wasn't in her own bed because she was in Jared's. The walls were a different color because she was in Jared's room. The view was different because she was in a different house, in a different city. Her old life was basically just a memory.

She sat up and swung her legs over the side of the bed. Vedder groaned next to her and licked his lips. He nudged her back and she smiled slightly.

"Want to go out, buddy?" she asked. The dog stepped down from the bed and barked once, shaking the window with it's volume. "Come on. Let's take you out."

Kate led him across the room to the bedroom door. She had locked it the night beforehand, more to keep Jared out than anything else. She didn't want to hear him make anymore attempts at explaining why he uprooted her from the only life she'd ever known. She unlocked the door and opened it, poking her head out into the hallway to see if anyone else was outside. Upon their arrival, she had been introduced to Jared's assistant, who couldn't be more than six or seven years older than her. The entire day had been a big, long blur and all she had wanted to do at the end of it was crash and wake up to it all being a dream. She wandered through the house to the back door, opening it for Vedder. He immediately trotted outside and hiked his leg on a palm tree.

"Morning," Jared said coming into the kitchen. She didn't respond to him and kept looking out of the window at the dog instead. "Do you - are you hungry?" he asked. He opened the fridge and peered inside. "I can make you some fake...eggs?" he suggested nervously.

"I'm not hungry," she replied softly. Vedder appeared back at the door and she let him back inside.

"How did you sleep?" Jared asked from across the room. The awkwardness hung between them like a fog.

"Fine," she said. "But I was exhausted, so I would have just slept regardless."

He took a sharp breath in. "So, my brother and my mom want to come by to meet you today," he started, leaning against the counter. "If it was up to me, I would give you a day or two to adjust and get settled. But I was going to introduce you to them the next time I had you in L.A., so I don't see any reason to hold off any longer."

Kate nodded mutely and looked at the floor. Vedder flopped onto the floor, looking at her expectantly. She fed him quickly and looked back at Jared. He had on a tank top that had several holes across the front. It looked worn and well-used. The arm holes were stretched and his abdomen was mostly exposed. Shearling slippers were on his feet, barely peeking out from under his baggy sweatpants as he shuffled across the tile, getting his own breakfast ready.

"They're really excited to meet you," he added. She could tell he was trying to fill the silence. "I think they're coming by around eleven."

Kate looked at the clock on the microwave. 8:15. She figured she should at least text her friends and let them know she wasn't even at her house anymore. When Vedder was done, he followed her out of the kitchen and back to Jared's room. Jared watched the pair go over the top of his coffee mug.

So I had to move.

She hoped she wouldn't have to go into too much detail. Since she had found out about Jared being her biological father, Kate had been scared of what her friends would say. Embarrassed, too. How was she going to explain this to them?