Stuck In The Middle

Chapter twenty-one

Tap tap tap tap.

I can't seem to stay still. My dad will be here in less then an hour. I'm nervous but excited at the same time.The pace of my foot quickens.

Tap tap tap

What am I going to say to him? What questions am I going to ask him? What's he going to say? How awkward is this going to be? Angel shoots me a glare from where she's sitting on the couch. I stop tapping my foot.

"Sorry," I mutter.  I stare at the television, trying not to think about coffee with my dad.  Could I fit into his life or with his family? What if his family hates me?

Tap tap tap tap

"Katie! Calm down!" Angel demands. She pushes herself up off the couch and walks out of the living room. Why am I so nervous? This isn't like me!

After another long fifteen minutes of waiting, there's a knock on the door. I freeze and quickly stand up. I walk over to the door, taking deep breaths. I can do this. I pull open the door and my dad is standing there.

"Hey," I say, noticing he looks as nervous as I feel. I grab my bag and follow him out of the house to his car. I slide into the passenger seat.

"So, where are we going?" I ask casually, trying to make conversation. He takes his eyes off the road for a split second to glance at me.

"There's this small cafe I found a while back. They have amazing coffee." he says

"Do they other types of drinks? Like hot chocolate?" I ask.

"Yes, they do. Don't like coffee?"

"Not at all." I laugh and for a second he joins me.

"Just like your mother." he says lightly.

"I'm nothing like her." I snap. I can't stand being compared to my mother. I don't want to be anything like her. She's such a disappointment in my life.

"I didn't mean it that way." he apologizes. I look out the window. He pulls into a small parking lot in front of a small building.

The inside is really nice. There are a few tables, a fire place with a few comfy looking chairs surrounding it, and a counter with stools in front of it. There are some pastries on display and had music playing softly through the speakers. It feels homey; I love it already.

We choose one of the two person tables. A waitress comes over and takes our orders. I order a hot chocolate and my dad orders a coffee. In no time, the waitress (Jamie, according to her name tag) is back and passing us our drinks. The cup is warm in my hands.

"So, how's school going?" my dad asks, breaking the silence. Without thinking, I laugh. Of course he would ask that first! It's such a dad type of question.

"It's...good," I decide he doesn't need to know about my skipping habits.

"Why did you leave?" I blurt out.

"Things just didn't work out with your mother." he says. I wait for him to say more but he doesn't.

"Well, obviously," I say in a duh tone, "I don't remember anything ever wrong with you two."

"She was too clingy. I couldn't even talk to another woman without her getting mad. She always had to know  where and what I was doing. I just couldn't live with it anymore. So I... Left." he shrugs.

My mom never told me any of that. She rarely ever mentioned him. I could tell she was hurt and mad but she never talked. I would ask about him, wondering why he wasn't there and all she would say is that he didn't want us anymore. At that age, I believed everything she said but as I got older, I started to wonder what had actually happened?

I remember crying every night for the first month he didn't come home. Then mom started bringing home horrible guys. They were never nice to me or Ethan. At that point I knew dad wasn't going to be coming back ever again. It really sucked.

"Have you told Ethan this?" I ask him. He nods. Yet, Ethan still didn't want anything to do with dad.

"He wouldn't listen to my explanation. He just kept telling me how horrible of a father I am." he sighs.

"I missed you. I used to cry all of the time and mom was so mean and... and..." I search for something else to say but my mind is blank.

"Hey, shh, it's okay now. We'll make it work, I promise." I offers me a small smile. I nod and take a sip of my hot chocolate. 

"How did you meet Nick? He hasn't told me." he asks, changing the topic.

"He delivered pizza to my house and he gave me his number but I wasn't planning on calling him. And then I ran into him a few days later. Since then we've been hanging out." I explain.

He laughs and I join him. We keep talking. I tell him about things in my life like my friends, school, and some of the things I do for fun. In return I listen to him talk about what he does in his life. We both missed out on a lot. Fathers and daughters were supposed to be close. Maybe we could get there one day.

Maybe I could fit into his life.

Maybe we could make things work.

Hey there! How do you like it? Sorry it's so short. And I think the spacing is kind of wired :/ Anyway, this story will be done soon :( I'm thinking two more chapters and then an epilogue? 

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