Author's Note-Wow guys. I just want to thank you all for the response to this. Seventy three reviews in six chapters, not to mention the forty nine favourites, the one hundred and fifty nine follows and the eleven thousand one hundred and forty five views. I'm blown away, I really am. So thank you so so much. Read, review, enjoy NYLF xx
Rick pulled up outside Jim Beckett's house and killed the engine, taking a moment to watch Kate. She leaned back against the headrest and her eyes slipped shut, her shaking hands twisting in her lap.
"Hey, it's okay." He murmured. Kate gave him a soft smile.
"I haven't been home in four days." She whispered. "I have no idea what I'm coming back to." Rick sighed gently.
"Where have you been staying?"
"My friend, Maddie, has been letting me crash on her couch." Rick shook his head. "I couldn't be here anymore. I couldn't...I couldn't see...he's my daddy, Rick." She crumpled, resting her head in her hands. Rick leaned over and unclipped her seatbelt before pulling her into his chest with an arm around the back of her shoulders.
"I'm right here. You aren't alone Kate. I've got you." She nodded against him.
"I know." She whispered brokenly.
"Kate." He sighed. "I'll buy you whatever you need, you don't have to do this. I don't want to make you do this." Kate shook her head.
"I, I can't avoid him forever Rick. He's my dad." Her voice faltered on the last word but didn't break. Rick had never been so proud of her. "I, uhh, I hate to ask but..." She hesitated.
"You can ask me anything Kate. I'll never think less of you for it." Kate nodded before pulling back to look him in the eye.
"Could you hold my hand, please?" His heart broke for her. He had a feeling that this broken young girl was but a shadow of the woman she was becoming a month ago. He gave her a soft smile.
"I've got you."
Kate opened the door with her key, her left hand firmly clasped in Rick's right. She took a fortifying breath and felt Rick squeeze her hand. She nodded quickly before pushing open the door.
Their senses were immediately assaulted by the smell of stale beer and alcohol. Rick felt Kate shudder against his side and, while he didn't look down, he had a strong suspicion she was on the verge of tears again. He gently squeezed her hand and felt her pulse it back before she took a step further down the corridor and closed the door behind them. If the tight grip she had on his hand was any indication, she felt as trapped as he suddenly did at the move. She led him down the corridor a few more steps before turning up the narrow staircase to their left.
The door at the top was decorated with all sorts of 80's and 90's band stickers and 'Keep Out' signs. If the circumstances had been different, Rick would have chuckled.
Her childhood bedroom.
Kate pushed open the door and led him through into the deceptively large room.
The large bay window at the back of the room was accompanied by a soft, comfy looking cream window seat, large enough for even Kate to lay flat on and wide enough to probably seat them both comfortably.
She released his hand and leaned under the bed to retrieve her suitcase.
The hard purple case was covered from top to bottom in black sharpie, each word inscribed was a place somewhere in the world. He spotted some of the typical ones- Paris, Rome, London- along with some more obscure ones like, Cameroon, Turkmenistan and Rwanda. He smiled at that.
She started filling it with a few outfits from the large walk-in wardrobe while he explored the rest of the room.
One entire wall was filled with books with everything from the latest Harry Potter, to a ten inch thick book on Russian literature. The middle of the room was filled with her double bed-with royal purple sheets- and a writing desk, antique looking and polished white. He liked her taste, it was a little haphazard but it seemed to fit her.
Once she'd put clothes, a wash bag, her phone charger, a few miscellaneous items and books in the case, she returned to his side with a hesitant smile.
"I've probably packed too much but I wasn't sure how long I was staying. Plus, I kinda need some stuff to stay at Maddie's." Rick gave her a reassuring smile.
"You can stay at mine as long as you like, Kate. I have no problem with it." She nodded. "Come on. I'll take that." He took the case from her despite her unformed protests. "Do you need anything else?" She bit her lip nervously. "Kate?" He prompted gently.
"I uhh, I need to just check on him. Do you mind? I mean I'm sure you have better things to do than check on a drunk, but I can't leave without doing it. I'd never forgive myself if something had happened and I didn't check." Rick gently cupped her cheek, halting her ramblings.
"Want me to come with you?" She nodded quickly, her eyes pleading. "Okay. And Kate? Never be afraid to ask me for something." She nodded a little shyly before leading him back down the stairs and down the corridor towards the back of the house.
"Dad?" Kate called out hesitantly as she stopped in the kitchen doorway. "Dad, it's Katie." She tried again, her grip getting firmer on Rick's hand as the silence dragged. "I just came by to pick up some stuff; I'm staying at a friend's again." A shuffling from the other side of the island, in the middle of the kitchen, drew their attention.
"Katie!" A man's voice slurred, an almost hysterical happiness to it. Kate gulped loud enough for Rick to hear before slowly stepping round the island, her grip never wavering on Rick's hand.
Even Rick wanted to recoil when they saw what must have been Jim Beckett sprawled out on the floor, a bottle of whiskey in one hand, in the other, a picture of he, Kate and a woman that looked so much like her, it could only be her mother. Kate took a step back and collided with Rick's chest, his reactional hand on her hip the only thing stopping her from falling. "You're back."
"I'm, I was just getting some things. I'm staying at a friend's tonight." Jim nodded, smiling widely.
"That's nice. Have fun Poppet, your mom and I will just hang here then." Rick felt Kate's sob rip through her chest before he heard it. He would have sworn under oath that he heard the moment her heart broke. She nodded to her dad before stepping quickly back through to, and out of, the front door, only stopping when she reached the car.
Rick was quick to follow.
He quickly put her case in the trunk of his car before turning to Kate. Tears poured down her face as her arms hugged her waist tightly in an attempt to self-soothe. He simply wrapped his arms around her tiny frame and held on as her sobs rocked them both.
