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

Chapter Thirty-Two

SOUNDTRACK: "Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer" - Elmo & Patsy

For the past two days, Kate had done nothing but sleep and laze around the house. The play was finished and she had gotten rave reviews from everyone who saw it. She had elected to skip the cast and crew party and sleep instead. She had no idea how much energy she had been focusing on school until she no longer had to do it. Jared had finally gotten into the holiday spirit and decorated the house for Christmas - such as it was. He really only had a dilapidated tree and a strand of lights that worked half of the time. It didn't really matter since they weren't going to be there for much of Christmas anyways; Jared had booked them a flight out on the twenty-third. Kate was currently watching Christmas movies on the Disney network, reliving her childhood.

"Kate, he'll be here in five minutes. Can you clean up the kitchen a little, please?" Jared called down from the main floor.

She sighed and stood up, stepping over Vedder and taking the stairs lazily. The kitchen was mostly clean, just a few dishes that needed putting into the dishwasher. She turned around and adjusted her pajama pants just as the sound of a car door slamming rang from the driveway. Jared walked through the house to the side door and opened it just as the man raised his fist to knock.

"Terry! Hey, man!" Jared exclaimed, embracing the man so quickly, his suitcase fell to the ground.

The two walked into the house and Kate hung back in the kitchen, watching through the doorway. From what she could see, Terry Richardson was exactly as Jared had described him: tall, thin, in his mid-to-late fifties with graying hair, a handlebar mustache, and large black-rimmed aviator glasses. He laughed at something Jared said before he turned to look at the house.

"How was your flight?" Jared asked, shutting the door behind him.

"Good, good," Terry answered. He put his hands on his hips as he surveyed the house. "Got everything packed up for the move, huh?" he asked. He spotted Kate through the doorway and broke into a grin. "Is this - holy shit Jared. She's stunning!"

"That's Kate," Jared answered, leading the man into the kitchen. "Kate, this is my good friend Terry. Terry, Kate is my daughter."

Terry held out his hand and Kate took it. "Nice to meet you. I'm sure you're probably tired of being told how much you look like your dad," he remarked. "But Jesus, if I had to describe Jared Leto's kid, it would be you," he chuckled.

"Terry is one of the best photographers in the business. He's also one of my best friends," Jared said.

"I gathered," Kate said with a smile.

"You know Jared, she could be a model if you let her," Terry said, helping himself to a glass from a cabinet.

"That's gonna be a definite no," Jared replied. "Over my dead body."

"Why not?" Kate asked.

Jared scoffed. "Because I know too much about it and it will never, ever happen so long as you are living under my roof or you're under eighteen."

In truth, he knew exactly how bad the industry was. He knew exactly what happened to models in it and exactly how it could go very wrong, very fast. He knew there was another man out there, just like him, who would take advantage of Kate's young and naive nature. Vedder appeared at the top of the stairs and wandered into the kitchen, sniffing Terry eagerly.

"That's Vedder. He won't hurt you," Kate said.

Terry patted the huge animal's head and relaxed slightly when he walked away and plopped down next to Kate.