Hi there!
Here's chapter 9. Thanks for your continued support.
Enjoy!
Friday morning, and all Kate had to do was get through this day and then it was the weekend. Her alarm went off bright and early, reminding her that there were still bad guys to catch, and still a writer to make amends with. Not to mention the teenager that was still dangerously angry with her.
But with good reason. After everything that had been said last night, Kate knew that Alexis' outburst was completely justified. What child didn't want their parents together? And how confusing and frustrating was it to see them interact on almost a daily basis, and not do anything to rebuild the bridge? Kate had an idea of what she was feeling, but she knew that all three of them felt differently about the situation.
Rick was hurt, she suspected. She knew the man, and the look in his eyes after she told him that he had to try harder was absolutely heartbreaking. The hardest of all tries and she had shot him down. Now he was stuck with his crazy publicist, unable to communicate with his family.
Alexis was mad; so extremely angry at Kate for pushing Rick away and for leaving so many years ago. She was taking it out on Kate, and she could handle it, to an extent.
And although she was able to channel what those around her were feeling, Kate had a hard time determining what exactly she herself was feeling. She was antsy and apprehensive about what was to happen next. She was sad about the gist of it, and she was happy, hopeful of what might come next. She could deal with having mixed emotions, but all she wanted was to talk to Rick.
The apartment was completely silent when she emerged from her room, dressed and ready for work. The living room was dark, and the kitchen was empty. There was a travel mug of coffee on the counter with a note resting underneath.
Had to be at school early. –Alexis
So now Alexis wasn't even staying for breakfast. Kate huffed out and crumbled the note in her fist, throwing it in the trash. She took a sip of the lukewarm coffee and poured herself a bowl of cereal. Kate sat down at the table and pulled out her phone. She sat there with his contact pulled up until her cereal went soggy. Eventually, she knew she had to actually call him, and not sit there pretending she was. Her stomach turned in on itself, flipping over and over.
She'd never been nervous to talk to him, but under the circumstances, she was scared as hell. She had practiced what she was going to say over and over again last night until it was all she thought of in the dark. But once he picked up, she would lose it all. With one shaky breath, she dialed Castle's number, but was met with his voicemail instantly.
"Hey, Rick. It's me. I really need to talk to you. If you could call me that would be great." She paused a little too long before finishing her message. "Hope the tour is going well. Bye."
She ended the call and combed through her hair with her fingers. It was then that she realized her hands were shaking and she had that tingly feeling in her toes; she was physically nervous. Dammit.
"Shit." She realized she had to be at work in twenty minutes, so she grabbed her coat and ran out the door without a second cup of coffee.
After a long day of catching killers and inner turmoil about a certain phone call, Kate finally made it back to her apartment. On the way, she tried calling Rick again, but ended up getting the voicemail and leaving a similar message as before.
When she made it through her front door, Alexis was already in the kitchen making dinner.
"Hey." She hung her coat on the back of her chair and slipped her keys over the ring above the sink.
"Hi." Alexis didn't even turn around.
"Whatcha making?" Kate prompted.
"Dinner."
"Vague, okay." Kate nodded and sat down at the table. "Have you heard from your dad?"
"Nope." Alexis continued to move around the kitchen, speaking as minimally as possible.
"Not answering his phone?" She tried to sound as carefree as possible, when in reality, she was freaking out.
Alexis dropped two plates of stir fry on the table and plopped down across from Kate, her head down. "He's been busy all day."
"So you did talk to him?" Kate leaned towards her, trying to get just a little more information from her.
"No, he gave me his schedule before he left." She huffed, annoyance evident in her tone.
Kate sat back. "Oh."
The rest of dinner was spent in silence, Alexis finishing ten times faster than she normally did.
She stood, slipped her plate in the sink and made for her bedroom. "I have homework." And with that, her door was closed, keeping Kate out.
She could only assume she wouldn't see Alexis for the rest of the night. So she made her way to her own bedroom, changing into shorts and a baggy t-shirt. When she climbed into bed, she sent Rick one more text.
Please call me when you can.
She could feel the pull of sleep as soon as she got in bed, realizing just how exhausted she was. An early night wouldn't hurt anything.
The next morning, Kate waited almost half an hour after she heard Alexis' door open until she realized she wasn't coming in her room as she usually did. She checked her phone for the millionth time, still no notifications of a single call or text.
Eventually, Kate got up and made her way into the kitchen where Alexis was already eating.
"Good morning." Kate offered her a smile.
"Morning." Alexis widened her eyes at her. Good enough.
"Sleep well?" Kate poured a mug off coffee and sat in her designated seat.
"Yup." Alexis slurped the milk from her bowl and took a drink of coffee. There was an awkward silence until she noticed Kate checking and rechecking her phone. "Gina doesn't let him have his phone on when he's touring. You of all people should know that."
"Okay, Alexis, enough! I do know that. I'm trying here, cut me some slack. Do you think this is easy? It's not. I'm sorry that you're angry at me, but I promise you, I am doing what I can with the circumstances. Your dad isn't exactly easy to reach at the moment." Kate stood.
Alexis went to speak, but Kate turned, making her way to her bedroom.
She climbed onto the bed and dialed his number again, only to listen to his chipper voicemail message.
'You've reached Richard Castle. I can't take your call right now, but leave a message and I'll get back to you.' Beep.
"Hey, Rick, it's me again, I'd really appreciate it if you called me. It's important." Kate hung up the phone and threw it next to her on the bed. She held her head in her hands, letting out a long, slow breath.
"I'm sorry I snapped at you." Kate looked up to see Alexis standing at her door, her arms folded tight to her chest.
"You had every right to be angry with me." Kate nodded at her admission, scrunching up her lips.
"I know this, but I can't blame just you." And I can't blame just dad either. I can't really blame anyone." She shrugged.
Kate extended an arm to her, a small smile spreading on her face, welcoming her daughter to close the distance between them.
Alexis returned her smile, crawling into bed with Kate and hugging her tight.
"You can blame me all you want. I deserve it. I'm stubborn and irrational, and sometimes I'm just scared. But I'm trying to make things right."
Alexis held Kate's hands in hers. "Do you think it'll all be okay?"
"I hope so. I truly do."
"I want you two to be happy, no matter what, but I'd like it a lot if you were happy together." Alexis smirked at Kate, bumping her arm.
Kate couldn't help but let out a breathy laugh. That was her girl. "I know, hun. I promise, as soon as I can make things right I will."
"You know, I wasn't going to tell you this, 'cause I was mad at you, but dad usually checks his emails on his computer. He gave Gina some bull crap story that he gets inspiration to write while on tour. The only inspiration he gets while on tour is to check the mini bar. Anyway, I would try that."
"You know how much I love you, right?" Kate smiled, the whole thing covering her face.
"A lot?" Alexis pursed her lips mockingly.
Kate hugged her tight. "A lot plus one."
Alexis laughed and hugged Kate back. "Well I like you a lot plus two."
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