Another chapter for my lovely readers.
Enjoy!
Prompt: Kat has a dream that her father is alive. She wakes up to the harsh reality that he is dead.
Kat's age: 16
Kat stepped out quietly from the kitchen. She tiptoed to the living, clutching a feather and whipped cream. She glanced to the armchair, where her mother was clutching a book in her hands and staring at her curiously.
"Kat, what do—?"
"Shh," the teen whispered to her mother. She continued to tiptoe to the couch. Today was her father's day off at work and it has been a while since she has pulled a prank on him. When she came back from hanging out with her friends and saw him sleeping on the couch, she just had to prank her dad.
Olivia smiled at her in amusement. "Get ready to run when he wakes up."
Kat grinned at her mother. Once she was standing close to the couch, she started to put some whipped cream in one of her father's hands. The teen put the can on the coffee table and was about to tickle her father's nose when she heard her mother talk.
"Wait," Liv whispered. She put the book next to the can and took out her phone. The detective bite her lip from laughing and started to record. "Okay. Go."
The teen smiled and turned to look at her sleeping father again. Kat brushed the feather between her dad's nose and upper lip. James let out a small grunt and moved his head away, still with his eyes close.
Olivia and Kat stifled their laughter before Kat continued to brush the feather. James moved his head again. But this time he tried to smack the feather away.
SPLAT
James woke up with a start and sat up. He felt something on his face and he quickly tried to wipe it off. He saw what it was whipped cream and turned to stare at whoever put the prank. He saw his daughter laughing, holding the white feather. James eyes then glanced to his wife and his eyes widen when he saw the phone in her hands.
"Are you recording this?" James asked, wiping away the remaining whipped cream from his face.
Olivia just nodded, still laughing from what happened. "I couldn't resist."
Kat took a few steps away from her dad when he turned his gaze on her. She noticed the small smirk forming on her father's face and Kat knew that she was in trouble. She ran from the living, with her dad quickly following behind.
"I'm sorry!" Kat laughed, running to her room.
"No, you are not!" James said, clutching the whipped cream can. He heard footsteps behind him and he knew that Olivia was following behind.
Kat went to her closet and grabbed her nerf gun from one of the corners. She turned around but her face was hit by the whipped cream that was coming out of the can. "DAD!"
James laughed and ran out of her room with Olivia laughing at her husband's childish antics. The detective saw the Nerf gun on her daughter's hand and yelled so James could hear, "She's got the Nerf gun!"
"So do I!"
"It's war!" Kat yelled, grinning as she exited her room.
Her dad walked out of his and her mother's room with his Nerf gun. "Bring it young one!"
Kat was the first to fire but her dad was able to move away before he got hit. She quickly ran for cover when her father started to shoot. Sadly she got hit on the leg. But she was able to shoot again and this time her father got hit on the arm.
"1-1." Liv said, still recording.
James walked to the kitchen and hid behind the counter. "Whoever loses cleans up the whole mess!"
"Deal!" Kat shouted from behind the armchair. She shot the first shot. It missed her dad.
James then shot and it almost hit her daughter in the arm but she was able to duck before it did. "You know I'm going to win."
"Last time I won!" Kat retorted, shooting and missed again.
"This time it would be different!"
Kat chuckled and shook her head. "As if." Out of nowhere she started to smell eggs and something else. She frowned in confusion when everything started to get blurry and her parents' laughter started to fade.
Kat's nose twitched when the smell hit her face again. She stretched her arms and let out a heavy sigh. The teen let out a tired yawned and opened after she was done yawning. She rolled on her back and stared up at the ceiling, smiling. She sniffed again and this time she was able to smell the bacon and coffee. She could also hear the faint morning news from the TV.
"Mom probably fell asleep and dad is making breakfast," Kat mumbled, kicking off the covers and getting out of her bed. She flinched slightly when her bare feet touched the cold wooden floor. She rubbed her eyes as she stepped out of her room. "Don't forget to just put two sugars with a bit of cream in my coffee, dad!"
She heard a chocking sound and Kat stopped rubbing her eyes. Her mind was still half asleep to comprehend what she just said. She saw her mother putting down the coffee mug that she was holding her hands and settled it down on the kitchen table, next to her plate that was full of food. Kat worriedly asked her mother, "You okay, mom?"
Olivia coughed and patted her chest, "I'm fine." She coughed and cleared her throat, sitting down on her chair. "What—?"
"Did I fainted or something?" Kat frowned in confusion, walking to round kitchen table and sitting across from her mother. "I remember having a Nerf gun war with dad." She looked down at her plate and grinned when she saw three stripes of bacon. She took one and took a bite out of it. She glanced around the table and frowned when she didn't see a third plate on the table. She looked up at her mother, who was staring at her in surprise. "Where's dad plate? Did he have to leave early?"
"Your dad's plate?" Olivia whispered, her eyes were wide in shock. "Honey, are you feeling okay?" The detective stood up from her chair and walked next to her daughter. She touched her forehead with the back of her hand. Kat's temperature was normal.
"I am," Kat frowned, moving her mother's hand away. "But you didn't answer my question. Did dad—?" The teen stopped talking. Her mind had fully awakened. She remembered that her father was dead. What she was remembering was the dream she had woken up to just moments ago. "Oh my god. It was just all a dream."
"Kat…" Olivia whispered sadly, reaching out to touch her daughter's arm.
The teen stood up from her chair and walked away from her mother. Her eyes wandered wildly around the room, trying her hardest not to look at her mom. "I'm not hungry. I'll just be in my room."
Olivia was able to grasped Kat's arm before she was able to walk out of reach. When her daughter's eyes found hers, Olivia said, "Talk to me. Don't hide."
Kat walked to her mother and wrapped her arms around her waist. She buried her face on her mom's shoulder, closing her eyes. She didn't cry but it felt like she wanted to. She felt her mother wrapping her arms around her and rubbing her back. "Do you want talk about your dream?"
"I played a prank on dad…" Kat murmured. She started to explain her dream with detail. From getting the whipped cream to hiding behind the armchair with her Nerf gun. Her mother didn't say a word. She just listened, to which Kat was thankful of. Every once in a while she felt a kiss on top of her head or her mother's arms tightening around her when her voice trembled. "…and then I woke up because I smelled eggs and bacon."
Olivia rested the side of one of her cheeks on top of her daughter's head, looking out the window. She rubbed Kat's back soothingly, deep in thought. It pained the detective when she saw the realization on her daughter's face when she remembered that James was gone. Olivia knew that pain too well. The first couple of years of James passing, Liv had dreams of James. They always felt too real. Whenever she woke up, she still thought she was still in the dream. "Would it help if we visited your father's grave today?"
Kat gently stepped out of her mother's embrace. A small smile appeared on her face and her eyes were beginning to show happiness instead of sorrow. "Can we?"
"If you want."
"Can I take him flowers?"
Olivia smiled, cupping her daughter's cheek with one of her hands. She gently brushed her thumb and said, "Yes, you can."
"Okay."
"Let's eat first."
Kat nodded and hugged her mother again. "Mom?"
"Yes, baby?"
"Thank you," the teen murmured. "For listening."
Olivia whispered and kissed her daughter's hair, "Always, sweetheart."
I didn't meant to make it emotional at the end.
Next chapter will be up hopefully by Friday. I want to get it done before fourth of July.
Review!