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 Four
Katy woke up on the sofa. Her back was aching. She sat up and stretched it out. Around her legs was a blanket. She must've fallen asleep on Jack. She looked at the time. She had an hour to get ready for school.
The floor boards in her room creaked under her weight as she got ready. The sun was shining through her window, and it was warm. She knew that she would evaporate in school. She wasn't looking forward to today; Lisa Reisert was coming into school. Unless her grandmother told him, Jackson was blissfully unaware.
She tied up her hair and dropped off the last two steps. Jack was standing at the bottom of the staircase, staring up at her. "Morning." He greeted.
"Hey. Did I fall asleep on you?"
"Yes, right in the middle of the movie."
She chewed on her lip a little and smiled. "Sorry about that."
"It's fine. I didn't mind… Do you have a ride to school?"
"Uhm, no. Do you want to take me?" she looked at herself in the mirror and brushed her curled ponytail.
"Yes… If you don't mind."
"As long as you don't blast music while your window is down, I won't have a problem." She smiled at him and threw the car keys at him. "Come on then."
Jackson kept a pair of sunglasses on. He was conscious. He didn't want anyone to recognise him. Anything could've happened if they did. Since getting out of jail, this was the first time he had been away from the comfort and safety of his home He still knew the streets like the back of his hand. He knew where every drug dealer did business and where every hot dog guy tried to make a living. It was one of the things that he never forgot.
He parked near the front of the school, just over halfway through the car park. "Thanks for the ride." Katy slid out of the jeep. "Do you want me to pick you up after school?"
His face lit up a bit. "Yeah, I'd love to."
Katy glanced around. "School ends at half three. Wait for me outside the gates."
He nodded. "I can do that."
"Great." She started to close the door. "Laters."
"I lo-" the door closed before he could finish his sentence. She started to walk away. He watched her until she was safely in the arms of Josh. Once he was happy that she was safe, he drove away.
"Your dad was watching us." He took her hand and walked towards the entrance.
"He was just making sure I would be okay."
"But you're at school, nothing will happen."
"Well you know, dad knows best and all that." She shrugged a little.
He looked down at her. "We need to get him to relax."
Katy laughed a little. "You're talking about the ex-manger of an assassination company. I don't think you'll get him to relax." She said quietly, she didn't want someone to hear her.
"If he took all his worry off you and took his mind off unlikely scenarios, then it will be a win-win situation."
"And what were you thinking of doing? Sending him on a whirlwind holiday?"
"No… I have a friend… Well she's my aunt. She is the same age as him, roughly. There's only two years between them. We could set them up on a date."
"And why do you think this will work?"
"Because she knows what it's like to be judged, being my mom's sister and all."
"If they're both willing, then I don't see a problem with it."
"I'll get it set up; all you have to do is get your dad to agree with it."
The assembly hall was full of people. Lisa could feel her stomach do flips. She hadn't spoken to this many people before. Just by her hairline, sweat began to form, her throat became drier and her heart rate had increased. "Cynthia, I'm so nervous." She rested her head on her best friend's shoulder.
"You'll be fine. Just imagine everyone is in their underwear."
Lisa laughed a little. "I don't think I want to imagine a hall full of almost naked teenagers."
"I forgot this was a school. Anyway, you'll do great. You always do."
The school principal edged passed her and slipped through the curtain. He began to introduce her. Cynthia pulled away from her. "I'll be in the first row. Good luck."
"Thanks, I'll need it." She watched Cynthia disappear through a set of double doors.
"Please be on your best behaviour and give your full attention to Miss Lisa Reisert."
Katy watched Lisa emerge from behind the dark blue curtains. People gave her a round of applause, but Katy wasn't so eager to welcome her. After all, she did take her mother away from her.
For just under half an hour, Katy forced herself to stay awake and listen to the small insults that Lisa would aim at Jackson. Katy leaned over to Josh and whispered in his ear. "I wonder if she realises that Jack's daughter is in attendance."
"Probably… Maybe she's just looking for a reaction."
"I'm going to talk to her, at the end. You know, drop in the fact that she murdered my mom and got away with only a suspended license."
Josh looked at her. He was slightly shocked that Katy could be so harsh. It wasn't the same girl that he knew. He kind of liked this side of her. "You do know that what happened was only an accident."
"And if she had've been paying full attention to the road, the accident wouldn't have happened, my dad wouldn't have wanted revenge on her and I would've grew up with both of my parents in my life." Katy turned away from him and stared at the stage.
"Don't be mad at me, I was trying to look things from two angles."
"Next time, don't bother."
At the end of the presentation Lisa stayed by the stage. "How did I do?" she said with a grin on her face. She still seemed nervous, but Lisa was still feeling the adrenaline rush.
"You did well, like I told you." Cynthia smiled at her. "Well done."
"I feel like I could do it again." Lisa looked over at two pupils that were approaching her.
"Can I ask you some questions?" Katy asked.
"Of course."
"How can you walk onto the stage and talk about people being monsters, when you killed a woman in a crash." Her eyes were cold; she had a ruthless sense of aggression.
Lisa was in shock. She didn't know how someone would know about the crash. She didn't tell many people, she kept it to herself. Her dirty little secret.
"Katy, just leave it okay?" Josh said lowly from behind her.
"How do you know about the car accident?"
Josh tugged on Katy's arm but she ignored him. "Because she was my mom. Do you not remember talking to me in the hospital?"
"I didn't know it was you… What's your name?"
"I'm Katy. You'll know my dad very well." Her voice was sarcastic and as cold as her eyes.
"Who is your dad?" Lisa could feel something… Something that indicated danger, anxiety and something strange. Like something wasn't right.
"Well… You liked to call him Jack."
Jack sat on the bonnet of his parked car. He took a small pack of cigarettes out of his pocket. Smoking was something that he took up while in prison. Friends would hand him a cigarette and sit around a table with him. It was one of the few pleasures that a criminal could enjoy.
"Who does she think she is? Walking up to you like that." Jack listened to a woman ramble from the other side of the fence. "Teenager or not, I would've hit her. And to be related to him, it just makes everything crazy."
"Leave it Cynthia. It didn't bother me."
Jackson got off the car at the sound of Lisa's voice. He could feel some sort of hatred well up inside his heart. It was something about her that made him tick.
"She still had no right." Cynthia's voice was as annoying as he remembered. He couldn't stand to listen to her during the trial. He dreamed of chocking her in her sleep many times when he spent sleepless nights inside his cell.
They came around the corner, angry looks covered their faces. Jackson watched them, his arms crossed over his chest.
"Oh my… Lisa, look." Cynthia whispered.
Lisa looked at Cynthia and then to Jackson. Her jaw dropped as the unpleasant memories came back like a bad taste in her mouth.
"What are you…? Why?" her chest started heaving, like she was taking a panic attack.
Jackson felt a smirk cross his mouth. He was happy that he had this effect on her. "Calm down, I'm not here for," he looked her up and down and pulled a disgusted face, "You." He stood up straight. "I've wasted too many years on you." His eyes glanced towards the school. "I'm here to do what any normal dad does."
"You're not normal though. You're a-"
"Don't even say it Lisa."
The way he said her name sent chills down her spine. She shivered, and she didn't care if he noticed.
"It's the truth."
"Well I'm here for my daughter. Not you."
"She made a lasting impression." Lisa crossed her arms.
Jack raised his eyebrows. "You met her?"
"Yeah. It's not like I wanted to. I want nothing to do with you, or her. Or any other Rippner's there are."
"No, you did a good job killing two of them." He said lowly. He was upset, it was apparent in his voice.
"There was only one in the car." Lisa whispered. She knew the possibility, she could believe it, but she didn't want to.
"She was pregnant Lisa; you killed my wife, and my child. Not only that, but a little bit of me died that day too." He shook his head slowly and looked at her straight in the eyes. "If anyone's the monster, it's you I don't kill, I can… But I haven't. I only make the call, the plot. I do the preparation. There's always someone else at the end of the gun. You're the only one I've tried to kill personally."
"But it was an accident." Tears started to sting in her eyes. Her vision was blurred. Everything Katy said… Everything Jack said was true.
"Come on Lisa, we should go." Cynthia put her arm around her back. Jackson's eyes were stitched onto her, he couldn't break his glare. He did once he felt someone hold onto him.
He wrapped his arms around her and looked down at her.
"What's wrong?" he said to her.
"I didn't think you would be here." Katy looked up at him.
He rested his head, face down on her brown hair. "Of course I would. You can't get rid of me that easily."
They were so peaceful, just standing there. In Jack's arms Katy felt safe; in Katy's, he felt like he was at home.
A:N Hope you enjoyed the confrontations. And the little cheesy bit at the end. Sorry for the wait, I took a lazy week or two and couldn't be bothered to update, but here it is. Thank you for reading.