Juiced

Prologue

Katy was just an average girl. Or so she likes to pretend. Her parents had her when they were 17, they weren't in love with each other but they both loved her greatly.

Her father met his true love when Katy was only a year old. He moved to Ireland and got married. He still came to Scotland to visit Katy and he kept in touch with her the best he could. He made sure she got to know her little sister. When she was growing up, Katy spend her summer holidays in Ireland with Chibs, Fiona, and Kerrianne. She was lucky to have two families that loved her so much.

Her mother, Laura, got married when Katy was 7. Although George never asked Katy to call him Dad he was definitely more of a father to her than Chibs was, especially after Chibs left his family in Ireland and moved to the states. She never saw him after that, it was a week after her 13th birthday that he left for good. She understood why, the man who had left the brutal scars on her fathers face had chased him out of Belfast. Jimmy O had taken Chibs' Irish family for his own. Fiona and Kerrianne didn't really have a say in the matter.

Katy went about her life as everyone expected her to, she got good grades, went to university, cared for her step sisters children as if they were her own. She even made sure to write letters to her little sister in Ireland to keep in touch but the visits stopped now that Jimmy was the head of that family.

When Katy was 25 she had her own online life coach business. She basically just told people how to be the best version of themselves. She thought it was a bit of a joke to be honest but she was raking in the money and could work from anywhere.
That's where our story really starts. Katy's realisation that she could work from anywhere. Not just anywhere in Scotland but anywhere in the world. Now would be the perfect time to track down her father. Give her an opportunity to get to know him better.

Katy was sick of living with her mum and step dad, sick of how boring her life had gotten. She got up each morning, ran 5k, replied to any business e-mails she had and then took Sarah's kids to school. Sarah was her step sister and a total junkie. She couldn't look after the kids without the families help so she moved back into the family home. Katy's life had become so boring she couldn't cope. She felt too young to be stuck in a rut.

It was the week after her 25th birthday, exactly 12 years since he had last seen her father and she just thought to herself "fuck this". She started packing, looked online, found an apartment to rent above a vacant shop in Charming, California, booked a plane ticket and shouted on her mum.

Laura came up the stairs wondering what was going on, Katy was normally out running at this time of day and definitely wasn't screaming for her mother.
She timidly entered her daughters room to see clothes flung everywhere, an opened suitcase in the bed with her daughters favourite things spilling out of it.
"What's going on in here then?", she asked of her daughter.
"Mum I'm sorry but you are going to need to take the boys to school today, I'm going to visit dad and I don't know when I will be back. He doesn't know I'm coming and I would be grateful if you don't tell him. My flight is in 3 hours can you give me a lift to the airport after you drop the boys off?"
Laura's mouth dropped open in shock. Her daughter had hardly made mention of her father in the last 12 years. Sure she still got birthday and Christmas cards from him, and Laura herself kept in touch letting him know Katy was doing okay but there had definitely never been a mention of going to visit him.

Laura nodded, unsure what else to say, then she left Katy to pack and went to get the boys ready for school.

Katy finished packing what she thought were her essentials, her diary, some clothes, some jewellery that held sentimental value, she packed fairly light considering she hadn't booked a return flight. She was ready to go within the hour. She humphed her case into the boot of her mums Astra, shouted a quick farewell to her stepdad and stepsister, and jumped in the car with Laura and the boys.

They dropped the two youngsters outside of the school and watched them walk in, Katy had tried to explain to them on the ride there that she was going on holiday for a while, the boys didn't seem phased by it. George Jr was only 5 and Samuel was only 3, as a p1 student and a kid in nursery they couldn't be expected to understand half of what happened in their lives.

As they headed toward the airport her mum started asking her questions, "what's brought this on Katy?"

"I just feel like it's time, if he doesn't want to see me I will be on the next flight home, I've nothing keeping me here mum. I can work anywhere and I'm not dating anyone now, most of my friends moved away when we went to uni, I was the only one mad enough to move back!"

Laura laughed in response "okay well make sure you call me when you get to London, let me know what time your next flight is, e-mail me every day so I know you are okay"

"I bought you a smart phone for Christmas, get Sarah to show you how to work what's app, it's easier than e-mail" Katy grinned at her mothers lack of understanding for technology.

Before she knew it they had arrived at Glasgow Airport. It would take 3 flights to get to California, then she would need to get a bus to Charming. It was going to be a long trip, but hopefully, it would be worth it.