With A Dad Like Jack…
Summary: After spending five years in jail, Jack finally gets out in hope of rekindling his broken relationship with his daughter. Meanwhile Lisa is trying to move on and fix her life, but when the two cross paths, what's to be expected?
Disclaimer: I own the idea for this storyline and my own characters, nothing else.
Chapter Three
Frozen. Her feet were stuck to the floor; her eyes locked on her father, Jackson. The words that she had been planning to say for so long could find their way out. She was speechless. She could feel Josh's comforting hand on her shoulder.
"Katy. You've grown up, so much." his words came out with a breath. His voice was unfamiliar but strangely familiar at the same time.
She felt a lump in her throat. Like it was something stopping her from what she really wanted to say. She had to hold back her realistic comments for a while, until she knew that he could handle them. But it wasn't the time for her head to speak; it was time for her heart to do the talking.
"I missed you." the words finally came out after an awkward and uncomfortable pause.
A smile came to his face. "I missed you too." he took a couple of slow steps towards her and wrapped his arms around her. Vaguely in the background she could hear her grandmother ask Josh to give them some time. A moment later the front door closed, both Josh and her grandmother gone. Jack took a step back and held her at an arm's length.
"You're not my little girl anymore... You're a woman." he smiled sadly at her and pulled himself away from her. He turned his back and slowly walked towards the kitchen. She watched him. The sadness and guilt radiated from him.
She followed him into the room and watched him dig through the fridge. "This seems so different. I keep thinking that someone's just going to hand me shit on a tray every couple of hours." he grabbed two bananas from the fridge and closed the door. "These," he waved them around a little, "seem like one of the rarest things and this place feels like heaven." he sat at the island counter.
"If you want, I can make you shit on a tray." she smiled a little at him and sat across from him. He looked up at her and smirked.
"I'm fine, thanks." he peeled the banana and glanced at her. "So, who was that guy?"
"Are you really going to do the protective parent thing?"
"Well I think I should try it on to see if it fits."
She stared at him for a while with raised eyebrows. "His name is Josh, he's my boyfriend."
"He looks older than you, how old is he?"
"He's the same age as me." she slid off her stool and walked over to a cupboard. He kept his eyes on her while taking small bites at his banana. He wanted to savour it; it was ten times better than what they served at the county jail.
"How long have you been together?"
"A while." she pulled out a bag of chips and held them out to him. He declined them and ran his fingers through his greasy brown hair.
"You do realize that if he hurts you, I'll put him into a hospital."
Katy took it as a joke and replied, "I'd help you."
The warm water felt amazing on Jackson's skin. The simplest things, like a warm shower, felt like a luxury to him. In his mind the shower was washing away his broken past and now he had to focus on being a good son, a good father and a better citizen.
He walked through the second floor hallway, drying his hair with the now damp towel when he heard a thud from downstairs. He was the only one home. His extinct kicked in.
He jogged quietly into his bedroom and felt under the wardrobe until he found what he was looking for. His favourite weapon; a K-bar, was still where he left it, taped to the bottom of the wardrobe. He pushed himself off the floor quickly and glided down the stairs, keeping his back hugged to the wall.
All the lights downstairs were switched off. If there was an intruder in the house, it was most likely a burglar who saw the lights of and thought that they hit the jackpot.
He had checked every room downstairs except the kitchen. He tiptoed in and flicked on the light switch. There was no-one there.
"Jackson." his mom called. He quickly walked to the other side of the counter to see her lying on the floor, the brown paper bag that she was carrying ripped and tins all over the floor.
"Mom, are you okay?" he put the knife on the counter and helped her up.
"I'll be fine. What's with the knife? I thought we agreed no more funny business."
"I thought someone was breaking into the house. Would you rather have me dead?"
"Do I have to answer that?" she groaned a little in pain as she tried to straighten up. "Can you take me to my bedroom please?"
"Of course." he slowly led her up the stairs and sat her on her bed. "I'll clean the mess downstairs. You go to sleep."
"Thank you Jackson." She smiled weakly and slipped under the covers.
Jackson smiled a little and closed the door.
Katy sat at the back of Josh's car. She just sat there, staring out the window. Josh was in the shop at the gas station. He was taking his time.
Before she knew it, the car was moving, the radio was playing and one of Josh's friends was in the front seat.
"What's your dad like?" Dylan turned in his seat and stared at her with a wide and mischievous grin. The sight of him made her blood boil.
"He's the same as I remember him. Kind. Considerate. A good dad."
"Minus the fact that he tried to blow up a guy and his family… And then tried to kill a woman."
Josh looked at Dylan. He looked slightly annoyed, but not as annoyed as Katy. She had a good poker face.
"Whatever you might thing, you're wrong. He was doing his job. That's all. He's sorry for what he did. He did time for it and reformed. So you can choke on your comments now." She looked back out the window.
"Whatever man," he turned back around in his seat, "the guy is still a total whack job."
Katy glared at the back of his head.
"Dude, quit it. This isn't pick on Jack day." Josh complained. "Keep it up and I'll dump your ass on the sidewalk and drive away."
When Dylan left, Katy took her seat back. She waited for Josh to walk back from his house. She kept her head in her hands and tried to cool off. She was so angry that she could feel tears sting in her eyes. Josh's door slammed shut. It shook the car. Katy sat up and glanced at him.
"I'm sorry about him. He's a jerk, I don't know why I hang out with him." He looked at her just as she wiped away a stray tear. She felt Josh's embrace. "Are you okay?"
"I'll be fine."
"Tell me if he offended you." He pulled away and looked at her. His expression was serious and a little angry.
"He did… A little but, I have to get used to it. People probably have the same opinion that Dylan does."
"It doesn't mean he can just… Say it." He started the car. "I mean, if someone said that about my mom, I'd hit them, hard."
Katy waved at Josh as he drove away then walked into the house. She thought everyone was asleep, but they weren't. The sound of the TV was faint in the hallway, but she could still hear it. She walked into the kitchen and turned on the light. She could smell butter. The smell made her feel hungry.
"Katy?" Jack called out. She looked over in his direction.
"Yeah..?"
"Did you have a good time?"
She walked into the living room and sat beside him.
"Yeah, kind of."
He looked at her and raised an eyebrow. "What happened?"
"Nothing happened, dad."
"Your body language suggests that you're uncomfortable. Your hands are clasped, you're not being open and you can't look me in the eye. So let's rewind and change your answer."
She looked at him. "So you have to be so… You?"
"Yes. In this situation, yes."
She rolled her eyes. "One of Josh's friends were dissing you, I wasn't happy with it. There you go."
"I'm sure it wasn't that bad."
"He said you were a whack job."
"I've been called worse. Sometimes you have to suck up what life gives you, and make it better."
She looked at him again, a little bit of shock was on her face. "When did you become so motivational?"
"I've always been like this." He looked over at a plate that was beside him. "I made toast, and I don't think I'll finish it." He held a piece out towards her.
She looked at it and took it.
"Your mother and I used to do this every night. After we put you to bed, we'd sit up, make toast and watch crappy TV movies." He smiled as he remembered the memories.
Katy looked at him from the corner of her eye and rested her head on him. He put his arm around her shoulder and held her.
"We can watch crappy TV together."
A:N Sorry for the wait but I finally updated. I hope the sickly sweet ending didn't kill you all. Hope you enjoyed reading.
