What's up, Lady J?
You like my new nickname for you? I'm still trying to see how I feel about it personally, but I thought you needed a nickname from me. I'll keep thinking about a better one, though…
Thanks for the tip about the arm… I'm finally getting some sleep at night. Like I said… you ARE my official injury guru! I have to warn you, though… the first time one of my fellow superstars gets hurt, I'm giving them your email. Hope you don't mind!
It's official, now… Heroes is done until next fall. I, for one, am extremely pissed, but please don't jump off any buildings. I really don't think my fragile psyche could deal with that too! As for baseball, thank you for the congratulatory note, but that doesn't mean I forgive you for the 1986 World Series!
Oh… and I'm glad that someone thinks I'm normal. Could you do me a favor and call my mother to tell her that? Thanks.
I'm sorry to hear that high school is hell for you right now, on a level aside from academically. If it helps, I was picked on until I was fifteen for being a small, scrawny kid. Look at me now, though; I'm over six feet tall, two hundred and forty five pounds of solid muscle, and all those kids are still stuck in our hometown, doing absolutely nothing incredible with their lives. One day, you'll show them. I know you've got the determination in you, Kate. I believe you in and that has to count for something, right?
You are smart, funny, and incredibly intuitive. Plus, you're wise well beyond your eighteen years of life and you'd NEVER have to beg me to continue to write you. My days would be empty without hearing from you.
I want you to know that if you ever need anything, whether it's just advice or something more, I'm just an email away, alright? Take care of yourself.
John
PS: Although I know you will be successful in your external changes, don't change on the inside. I like you the way you are.
Kate sighed and pulled the covers over her head, nearly knocking the laptop off of her bed altogether.
It had been over three weeks since she'd first received that email; it must have been read about ninety five times since then. Her parent's separation had taken its toll on her and she still hadn't written him back yet.
It wasn't so much the departure of her father that hurt Kate the most, it was that she hadn't seen it coming. She hadn't much love left for her father in her heart anymore and his business trip had been the last straw. In fact, it had been the last straw for Natalie Jackson, as well.
Still, Matthew Jackson's departure from their lives was taking its toll on Kate's mother. She'd been late to work numerous times, barely ate, and found it hard to sleep at night.
He was a bastard for leaving her in the first place. Natalie was perfect and he was too stupid to see that.
Men!
But just as she was about to write off the entire species, a beep sounded from her laptop's speakers and another email joined her long list of unread emails from John.
With a sigh, Kate decided that enough was enough.
Hey, Kate.
I uh… I haven't spoken to you in a week or so. Normally, you write me back almost immediately. I hope my nickname didn't offend you.
Just checking in,
John.
Another click.
Kate, what happened to you? It's been two weeks now and this playing hard to get thing is becoming absolutely ridiculous! Girl, you'd be driving Randy Orton crazy by now!
Just kidding. Write me back, though!
John
Another click.
Kate, are you alright? I'm not genuinely worried. This isn't like you.
Please write back!
John
One last click.
I know something's wrong now, Kate. I can feel this one in my gut.
Please, send me an email, a freaking letter of the alphabet… anything to let me know you're okay. I am worried sick!
I'm here for you, Kate. You know that.
Love,
John
The last two words created a pang in her heart like she had never felt before.
"Love, John," the words rolled off her tongue and hung in the air around her.
She really liked those words.
"You're seriously sweating this girl, man!" the content voice of Randy Orton echoed over the speakerphone in John's kitchen.
"Dude, get your head out of the gutter…" the older man shook his head at him. "She's eighteen years old and a senior in high school. It's not like that!"
"Just because she's a senior doesn't mean she's not legal!" he informed him, causing anger to rise in John.
"You are incredibly lucky that I can't reach through that phone and smack that smug grin off of your fucking face," John scowled at the telephone. "How you got Samantha to marry you is beyond me."
A faint voice crackled over the speakers, "It's beyond me, either!"
"Really, Sam… unnecessary," Randy pouted on the other end and a smile twitched at the corner of John's lips.
"Quite necessary," his wife countered, her voice growing stronger. "John, you there?"
"Yeah," he nodded, even though she couldn't see it.
"Listen to me," she requested, although he was certain it was more like a demand, "It's obvious this girl means a lot to you. It doesn't really matter what label you put on your relationship. Clearly, she's a friend of yours… am I right?"
"Yes," he replied simply.
"So then why are you just sitting in your house doing nothing?" Sam countered. "There's this great thing called the internet. I mean, you know her first and last name. You know she's eighteen and a senior in high school. You know she lives in New Jersey."
"Point being?" John asked, slightly annoyed at her pushiness.
"Certainly you've heard of Myspace."
John Cena would like to be added as your friend.
Kate continued to stare at the ten words on her screen in disbelief.
After not writing the man for nearly a month, had he really taken the initiative?
It couldn't be.
It shouldn't be.
But it was.
"I love how I'm keeping tabs on your girlfriend."
"Randal Keith Orton!" a female voice yelled on the other end of the line. "You give me that damn phone RIGHT NOW!"
It had been a week since he'd requested Kate on Myspace and he had yet to hear from her. In fact, he had created an account just for the sole purpose of communicating with her on the website.
"John, I don't understand why you trust my husband with anything anymore," Samantha Orton scoffed over the phone. "From now on, I'd prefer you come to me with your problems. In fact, I'd prefer you come to everyone BUT him with your problems."
"At this point, I don't care who it is," he shook his head. "My internet is down and I just wanted to know if she added me."
"I will check," Samantha replied and began clicking away at the computer. "Well, well, well… what do you know?"
Dear John,
I am so sorry that it has taken me this long to write you back, but at last, I feel I am of sound mind to reply to your numerous letters.
Things have been a little rough on the home front as of late. A little while after I got your letter, my mom, Natalie, informed me that her and my dad are splitting up. It's not like I have this great relationship with my dad. Actually, he's kind of sucked as far as fathers go, but it's the idea of everything changing. For the first time in as long as I can remember, I am genuinely scared, John, and I don't know what to do.
I mean, my grades are suffering, my health is suffering… hell, I'm just suffering altogether. And it sucks.
I don't know what to do. I can't eat, I can't sleep… I've locked myself up in my room. Then again, with everything the way it is, I don't even know how long it will be my room. My mom works, but I don't really know if her income is large enough to support the mortgage on our house. I wouldn't be surprised if my dad finds a way to get out of both child support and alimony. It really would shock me at all. He did it once before… why not again?
Anyway, I figured that I owed it to you to explain why I wasn't writing. I didn't want you to think that I hated you. The only good thing about this is that I've lost close to 15 pounds since I found out. Well that… and you.
Aside from my best friend, Julia, you are the only person that's really brought any sort of happiness to my life as of late and I'm extremely thankful for that, far beyond what you could ever estimate.
Well…I think that's all. For now. I'm sure there will be more. Life's about to take a dramatic turn.
It's funny… you spend your entire life avoiding drama, but when it finally catches up with you, you wish you hadn't tried to outrun it in the first place. Maybe then, you'd be able to deal with it.
Kate
John ran a hand along his jaw line and silently cursed himself for not making himself available to her sooner.
She was dying inside, her world being ripped out from underneath her feet like a worn out doormat. The worst was that he was just as powerless as she was in the situation.
He did know what she was going through. In fact, his parents had divorced when he was nineteen and even though they were on decent terms, the pain never went away. If he could just sit her down and talk to her, maybe he could get her out of this rut she seemed to be stuck it.
In college, he wished that there was someone who could have picked him up off the floor and brought him back to his feet. Instead, he had a girlfriend who fueled the fire.
Come to think of it, that had never stopped hurting either.
"Kate!" her mother called from the bottom of the stairs. "Kate, please come out of your room!"
"It's winter break, Mom!" she answered back from behind the closed door of her bedroom. "I don't have to leave for anything."
A few moments later, Kate could hear footsteps coming from the other side of the door. A slip of paper slid under her door and from the bed, she could make out black writing on it.
"Look," Natalie sighed, her hands pressed against the white wood, "I know this has been hard on you. To tell the truth, it's been harder on you than it has on me. I just don't want you to fall apart over this, Kate. You've got so much going for you. Don't give it up just because of your father."
Natalie was met with stone cold silence on the other end. Clearly, Kate had no desire to speak anymore, either.
"At least just read this, Kate," she sighed. "It came for you this afternoon."
Hearing nothing yet again, her mother retreated down the stairs.
Wiping away a tear from her eye, Kate slid out of bed and picked up the envelope. Written on the center of the white envelope, in black handwriting, was her name and address.
She ran her thumb lightly over the top left corner.
Tampa, Florida.
Slowly, she tore the envelope open and pulled the card from the ripped paper. On its cover was a Christmas design, red and gold splashes of color with gold writing on it. With an intense curiosity, Kate peeled apart the covers and peered inside.
Dear Kate,
I figured you could use a little holiday cheer, as I'm sure you're lacking some this holiday season. I'm sure you're wondering how the hell I got your address and you'll be proud to know that I figured it out all on my own. is a wonderful website, by the way.
I wish that you could see it here in Tampa this time of year. It's absolutely beautiful. The sun is out almost every day and the water at the beach is warm all of the time. Granted, a little piece of me wishes I could see a white Christmas like when I was little. Still, this is home and it's nice to be here.
Look, I know you feel like your life is falling apart right now, but I know what that's like. My parents divorced when I was around your age, but I was close with both of them… not to say my pain was worse than yours is. Don't make the same mistake I did, Kate. I wasn't there for either of my parents, instead I was focused on a girl who was out to break my heart. In the end, I wish I could go back and change the path I walked then, but I can't.
You need to be there for your mom, Kate. She needs you just as much as you need her. Strong women need to stick together, you know.
On the back of this page is something that will help you stay in contact with me, to get to me on short notice. I might not always respond right away, but I will get back to you ASAP. In fact, I'll get back to you a hell of a lot faster than I've replied to your emails in the past.
So… Merry Christmas, Kate. Or Happy Chanukah. Or Kwanzaa, if that's the way you roll. I don't know… just have a happy holiday, whatever it is, and know that somewhere in the world, despite how far you may fall, there is someone that understands.
Love always,
John
Kate quickly pressed the end button on the phone and shook her head.
"What the hell were you thinking, Kate?" she dropped her head into her hands and sank down onto the floor, still holding the phone.
But as she sat on the floor, a funny thing happened: the number she had just dialed... called back.
A/N: A little chapter to catch Kate and John up to Christmastime.
Hope you like this one!
I appreciate: Enigmatic Lotus Leaf, WWESupernatural102292, Fozzy-Floozy, Cena-Test-Lover, Ayla C. Raspus, JCEdgeRKO, John cena punk princess, Nikki, goddessofthenite, jada951, and I'm.Totally.Fxcking.Awesome.
Please review!!!!
Danielle
