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

Chapter Twenty-Four

SOUNDTRACK: "Pumped Up Kicks" - Foster the People

Kate rolled over as the sunshine hit her face. She sighed and looked at her phone on the night stand. November 15, 2015. She was officially sixteen years old. She groaned as she stretched her arms over her head, causing Vedder to look up from his place on the floor. The smell of cooking food had drifted under her door and her stomach grumbled. Vedder followed her out of her room and into the kitchen. Jared was presiding over the stove, cooking something.

"Good morning," he said. "You're up early."

"Vedder wanted out," she said simply, opening the door and letting the dog outside.

"I made pancakes," he offered, showing her a plate full of them. "They're vegan, but I don't think you can tell the difference." He carried a plate into the dining room and motioned for her to sit. "How many do you want?"

"Oh - uh - a couple is fine," Kate answered, sitting.

He slid a few of the thin pancakes onto her plate and returned to the kitchen. She picked up her fork and took several bites, surprised at how good they tasted.

"You like 'em?" he asked with a smile. "I thought I'd do something special for your birthday."

She nodded and kept eating as Jared turned off the stove and sat down next to her at the table with his own plate. "They're good. Why don't you make these more often?" she asked.

He opened his mouth to respond, but noise in the hallway got his attention.

"Jared? Are you cooking?" a tall, thin blonde appeared in the doorway, wearing one of Jared's shirts and little else. Her hair was tousled and it was very evident she had spent the night. "Oh," she stopped when she saw Kate in the dining room. "You said we were alone."

Kate stopped, mid-bite, and looked at Jared in disbelief, her appetite suddenly gone.

"Allie, I thought you had left," he stammered, standing up and walking over to the girl.

Kate looked between the two of them and shook her head. "Unbelievable," she muttered, throwing her fork onto her plate and storming out of the dining room and out of the house.

Jared looked between the girl and the space Kate had just occupied, torn between who he should address first. He settled on the problem in the room. "Alright. Look, you gotta go," he said, bundling her back toward his room. "Just - just go, okay? It was nice to see you. Thanks for calling me. But you've gotta go."

The model protested, but Jared didn't wait to hear it. He rushed out of the house and into the back yard, hoping to find Kate on the patio. She wasn't there. He ran up the steps to the gate and jogged down the driveway, well-aware that he was barefoot and not wearing a shirt. He caught sight of her at the top of the hill and ran after her.

"KATE!" he shouted. "Stop!"

She slowed down and stopped next to a flamingo-shaped mail box at the end of a long driveway. "What?!" she shouted back. "You gonna feed me some lie about how you forgot or didn't think I'd care?!"

Jared finally caught up to her and doubled over as he tried to catch his breath. "Jesus fucking Christ you're fast!" he exclaimed between gasps for air. "Look, Allie was only in town for the weekend. I thought she had left when I got up."

"Great. So you figured you'd get a fuck in before making my breakfast?" she snarled. When she said it like that, Jared felt his stomach start to roll. "When exactly did your friend arrive? Before or after I went to bed?" She crossed her arms. "You know, I'm actually really impressed that you managed to perform with your sixteen year old daughter in the next fucking room!"