Take me away

Chapter Twenty: A promise

Up above is the model for Jake 😍 oooh la la!

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Kat slept soundly throughout the night with Jake snuggled close against her. For a brief moment in time, she had experienced a true sense of peace in her own home which wasn't something she felt often when living under the same roof as her father, but that moment ended with a crash and a bang. Her father was pounding against her bedroom door drunkenly accusing her of being a terrible daughter and threatening to send her to boarding school for all the trouble she caused. 

Confused as well as dazed, Kat opened her eyes to see the sunshine pouring in through her cracked window which allowed a soft breeze to drift into the room. Sitting up, she glanced down to see Jake snoring softly into a pillow. He somehow managed to make messy hair and drool dripping from his chin look adorable. Another knock rapped at the door, this one louder than the last. 

"Katherine!" Her father kicked the door while cursing under his breath, "Open this door!" He demanded. 

A chill surged through Kat's body as she stared at the door with wide eyes, she grabbed Jake tightly by the shoulders and shook him until his eyes popped open. He looked at her resembling the same look of fear she had, "What's wrong?" His arms wrapped around her waist protectively.

"It's my dad." She hissed pushing him out of bed, "You have to go." She forced him towards the window as another shout came from behind the door. 

"Wait!", He turned grabbing her face in his hands, "When will I see you again?" His voice was soft and his eyes were sad as he caressed her cheek with his thumb. 

"I don't know..." She whispered remembering the threat her father had made only minutes ago. "Soon." She said though she wasn't sure. The only thing she was sure of was that Jake needed to leave. Now.

The knocking continued becoming louder as her dad became more irritated, Jake pulled her into a tight embrace placing a quick kiss on her forehead before he climbed out the window. With a heavy heart full of love for this boy, she watched him run away until he disappeared from sight. She hoped she would see him soon though she truthfully didn't know if she would be able to. 

Once he had disappeared from sight, Kat opened the door to find her father fuming with a beer in one hand and a cigarette between his lips which were turned upwards into a snarl, "What? You think you can live in this house and not obey my rules?" 

He spit the cigarette onto the ground and crushed it beneath his slippers before inching closer, "Think you can ignore me when I tell you to do something?" He watched her, his eyes narrowed. If looks could kill...

"No." She managed to mutter. 

"What?" He leaned forward. 

"No, sir." She corrected herself allowing her eyes to drop to the floor. She couldn't stand to look him in the eye when she said it, he didn't deserve to be called 'sir'. He didn't deserve her respect or anyone else's. 

"Damn right." He grunted straightening his back, he leaned against the door frame and pulled another cigarette from his pocket. He twirled it around in his fingers like a miniature baton before raising it to his lips and lighting the tip. "Your mother used to hate it when I smoked." 

Kat shuffled her feet uncomfortably knowing that he always seemed to become even more upset after talking about her mother. She nodded acknowledging that she had heard him as he continued, "And you know what I did?" He paused, "I stopped buying cigarettes...I didn't buy a single pack for five years until the morning she left." He scoffed. 

"I gave your mother everything she wanted. Do you want to know how she repaid me?" He shifted his attention back to Kat, "By leaving me behind with a shitty house that's falling apart and a skinny little bitch that acts just like her." He flicked ashes from the cigarette at her. 

He was wearing a stupid smirk on his face as he watched the anger boil beneath her skin turning her face a deep shade of red, but Kat knew that acting on her rage would only put her in a world of pain so she kept silent and bowed her head not wishing to look at him any more. "I'm going to check into some boarding schools." He said casually before turning on his heel and walking away. 

It was in that moment as Kat stood in the door frame of her bedroom with cigarette ashes on her skin and the smell of alcohol hanging in the air around her that she realized something she should have long ago...This man- the man who got drunk every night, slept with strangers, abused his daughter, and wasted the days away with a bottle in one hand and a cigarette pursed between his lips was not her father. Her father had disappeared the same morning her mother did and was replaced with a cruel man who tried to heal his damaged heart by damaging his brain with alcohol and filing his lungs with smoke. When he had caused himself enough harm, he began to then harm someone else because that's what broken people do; they  break other people so they don't have to live in this broken world alone.

Kat had felt like she'd been broken countless times. She used to believe her father's touching had transformed her into less of a human being and more of an object. It wasn't until she met Jake that she realized she wasn't as far gone as she had thought. Jake saw her when she felt invisible to everyone else and suddenly- she didn't feel so alone anymore. If only her father could realize that hurting others doesn't fix anything, but love can and it had seemed to fix almost everything for her. 

Her father seemed to be too far gone though, he had been truly broken and it was him that did it rather than her mother. He had allowed himself to be broken and Kat refused to become her father. She wouldn't allow herself to be broken anymore, it was time she picked up the pieces. Jake may have given her the courage to finally put the puzzle back together, but it had to be her that actually placed the pieces where they belonged. How she was going to do that? She had no idea.

The next day at school, she passed time by scribbling down ideas in her spiral notebook. She'd show it to Jake at lunch who would hopefully point her in the right direction. When the lunch bell rang, Kat's stomach turned with excitement as she thought of Jake waiting for her in their usual spot. She walked briskly to the cafeteria where she found him exactly where she thought he may be, "Hey stranger." She said sitting down beside him. "Kat." He said her name with relief, "I wasn't sure if you were coming today." 

"I wasn't sure if I'd ever be coming back." She admitted taking his hand. "My dad-" She paused, "George." She referred to him by name, "was threatening to send me away." 

Jake's eyes widened in surprise as his brows furrowed in fear, "Where?" 

"Boarding school." She responded.

For a moment, a silence passed between them. 

She took his hand giving it a reassuring squeeze, "If I could stop him, I would." Jake didn't seem to being paying attention though, his face was blank and his eyes stared ahead intently. When he seemed to snap out of it, he returned the gentle squeeze, "I promise you this Kat...I'm not going to let him hurt you for much longer."

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Hope you enjoyed this chapter