Live and Learn.

Chapter 17.

That afternoon, Kate stormed into Mike's office.

"Where is she?"

Mike stood from his desk with an apprehensive look on his face, he approached holding his hands up like was about to enter a hostage situation.

"Kate, just calm down."

Her eyes narrowed as she clenched her fists by her side, she didn't need to be patronised, she needed answers. She slapped his hand away, letting out a hiss and placed her hands on her hips.

"Yeah, cos that's the best thing to say in this situation, calm down. What the hell happened?"

He grasped her hand and led her to a chair, he thought it was best she was sitting for the information he had to tell her. He sat beside her, and exhaled sharply, putting on his best composed expression.

"Well, I went to get Nate because he wasn't in class, and I found Maddie in his room, she, umm, had obviously slept there."

Colour drained from Kate's face, her jaw dropped open but nothing can out, Mike took the opportunity to continue.

"They had also been drinking… look, I don't know the whole story, I had to go to class…"

Kate took a deep breath in, resisting the urge to scream, she calmly rose from the chair placing a stressed smile on her face.

"Well, I'm gonna find out."

Mike grasped her arm as she headed for the door, but she snatched her arm away and bolted from his office.

Kate didn't bother to knock as she flung open Maddie's door, it slammed against the wall causing Maddie to jump from the bed. She let out a groan upon seeing Kate and flopped back into the bed, covering herself with the blanket. Kate sat on the edge of the bed, trying not to lose it, Maddie turned over, refusing to acknowledge her presence.

"Maddie, what is going on?!"

"Save the lecture…"

She pulled the blanket tighter over her body.

"You were drinking?"

"So?"

Kate was sick of the childish behaviour, where had her mature, sensible daughter gone? She pulled on Maddie's shoulder, turning her towards her. She caught a glimpse of her puffy eyes and hesitated, her rage subsided a little, she sighed, maybe she needed to put herself in Maddie's shoes.

"Is this all because of Mike and I?"

She didn't respond, Kate placed a hand gently on her back and tried again.

"Maddie…"

Kate sat there waiting for any type of response, but she was only greeted with silence. Her frustration returned, the least she could do was talk.

"Is this what you want? Do you want to get kicked out?"

Maddie couldn't hold her tongue any longer, she sat up, throwing the covers back.

"Yeah, that would look terrible for you, wouldn't it?"

Kate was thrown by her tone, she grabbed her by her shoulder trying to get her to understand the seriousness of the situation.

"This is not about me! Maddie, your reputation in this job is everything!"

Maddie's voice grew louder, matching Kate's irritated tone.

"Oh, that's rich! You talk about reputation, when you're the one with secrets! Just leave me alone!"

"Madison, if you're mad at me, take it out on me, don't ruin this for yourself!"

Maddie was overwhelmed, everything was getting to her, she wasn't coping, and now it seemed that all her mum was concerned about was the Navy's opinion of her. For the first time she felt Kate wasn't on her side, that she was alone. Maddie lept off the bed and stood in front of her, her expression darkened and her mouth took over.

"It's lucky dad's not here, he would be so disappointed in you."

Kate's inhaled sharply at her hate filled words, Maddie sunk back on to the bed as she watched a shocked and devastated expression cover her mum's face. She knew it would hurt her, that's why she said it, but she regretted it as soon as it left her mouth. Kate tried to keep it together, she couldn't respond, she rose from the bed and walked out the door.

Later that night Kate paced in front of Charlie's front door, she needed to talk to someone, usually it would be Dutchy but she knew how he would respond, plus, she needed a parents' point of view.

She let out a grunt as she raked her hands through her hair.

"What are you even doing here? You hardly know him."

She went to walk away, taking one step down the path she stopped herself and turned back towards the door.

"No, you need to get through to her."

Taking a deep breath in, she knocked three times. Scuffing her shoe along the ground she went through how the conversation would play out in her head, she was about to knock again when Charlie opened the door, a grin appeared on his face seeing her.

"Kate! This is a pleasant surprise."

His smile distracted her, her mind was suddenly blank, she didn't know what to say. Charlie's face wrinkled at her silence and the strange expression that covered her face.

"Kate? Everything okay?"

She shook her head, waving her hands in the air, dismissing her weirdness.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to disturb your night, I'll go…"

She turned to leave, Charlie laughed nervously at her behaviour, he ran after and pulled on her arm.

"Kate, what's going on? Hey, if it helps, I've got wine…"

She sighed giving in, he wrapped his arm around her and led her inside.

"It's like you read my mind…"

He grabbed a second glass from the cupboard and filled it for her. They made their way to the couch, Charlie sat and waited for Kate to explain, but she sat there in silence sipping on her wine.

"So… how are you?"

She lowered the glass, glancing over to him for a split second. She needed reassurance, or advice immediately, her mouth took over.

"What do you really think about Mike and I?"

Kate mentally kicked herself, so much for a structured conversation. The question stunned Charlie, he knew it was complicated, but he didn't think she'd wanted him directly involved.

"Umm…"

"Do you think it's a bad idea?"

"Kate, that's not up to me to say."

She didn't want the sugar-coated friend version, she needed the truth, and for some reason she trusted Charlie to be brutally honest.

"Please…"

"Kate, I really I don't know either of you that well."

"Okay, well, if your daughter hated the person you were dating and was acting out and could potentially get herself kicked out of Creswell, what would you do?"

Charlie took a mouthful of wine, he knew she was desperate for an answer but wasn't sure she'd like the one he had, he tried to be diplomatic.

"Oh… well, I would try to talk to her about her feelings."

"And what if that resulted in her telling me she was glad Jim wasn't here cos he would have been disappointed in me…"

Charlie winced, it was a brutal thing to say, he moved closer, squeezing her hand.

"Oh, Kate, I'm sorry, are you okay?"

"I just can't get through to her…"

He knew what he would do in the situation, but he didn't want to be the one to blame if she went through with it, but regretted it later.

"Okay, well, you're asking what I would do, and by no means am I saying this is what you should do, but she's obviously hurting, cos she's lashing out at you. She's probably confused, sad even, I mean, a lot of things have changed in the past few weeks and…"

Kate sighed interrupting him, she knew what was coming.

"You're saying break up with him, aren't you?"

"Not that black and white, but Kate, I know Maddie means everything to you, and right now, I think she needs you. Maybe just put a pin in it? I'm sure he'll understand, he's a parent."

Kate picked up her glass and downed the lot, not wanting to deal with any of it.

"How come you're so much better at this than me?"

"Ah, because you decided not to date? My girls had a few they didn't like, and it was hard. I can't imagine how it would be if one of them was their teacher too…"

The more Kate heard, the more she understood why Maddie was feeling the way she was, she felt like a bad mother. She held her glass to Charlie, shaking her head.

"Ugh, more please!"

Charlie chuckled as he filled her glass.

"So, we're just gonna deal with this with wine?"

"For the next few hours, yes…"

An hour, and two-and-a-half bottles of wine later, Kate had finally relaxed, she walked around Charlie's living room swinging her glass around.

"You know, she has been perfect all her life, she's eighteen in a week, and now she chooses to be a teenager."

Charlie laughed as he followed her around, trying to mop up the spills.

"Lucky I have tiles..."

Kate spun round, spilling more on the floor.

"Shit, sorry..."

He knelt down and lay the tea towel on the big patch of wine, placing his hand on her back he gently pushed her towards the couch.

"Maybe we sit, and it was bound to happen eventually, actually, I'm surprised it didn't happen earlier."

She groaned as she flopped back on to the couch, refilling her glass.

"What were your girls like with the women they didn't like?"

"Oh, you know, just bitchy comments, most of them ignored it, but I hate to admit that it did influence me. I mean, I gave it a good shot, but I couldn't have my girls unhappy, they'd suffered enough…"

She, unfortunately, agreed with him, one hundred percent, she plonked her glass on the table and ran her hands over her face.

"Ugh, I don't know what to do…"

Kate's phone rang, it was Mike, she picked it up and shrieked seeing that name that flashed over the screen, she turned it round showing Charlie the callers narm.

"What do I do?"

He reached over and pressed the decline button, she gasped, dropping her jaw and pulled the phone back towards her.

"You hung up on him!"

He laughed and grabbed her phone and placed it under the couch cushion.

"Maybe it's best not to talk to him after a bottle and a half of wine?"

She picked up her glass and swallowed the rest of it.

"Might be easier to break up with him then?"

"Oh, so you're gonna do it?"

She moved closer, grasping his face between her hands, her eyes pleading with him.

"Tell me what to do, Charlie!"

"Hey, if I had it my way, you'd be dating me so…"

She froze realising what he had said, her hands dropped from his face. He tried to brush it off as a joke, waving his hands in the air, trying to distract from his comment.

"Sorry, ignore my juvenile inappropriate comments, it's the last thing you need."

Kate stared at him blankly for a moment, tilting her head, she moved even closer. Charlie wasn't sure what she was doing, his eyes rose to meet hers.

"Kate?"

She placed her index finger over his lips.

"Shhh…"

She leaned in, closing her eyes. He pulled back, knowing what she was going to do, he placed his hands on her shoulders making her to stop and open her eyes.

"Kate, we can't…"

She frowned and moved away, feeling embarrassed.

"You're not the boss of me!"

He couldn't help but laugh, she was even adorable when she was angry drunk.

"Not yet anyway…"

Silence came over the conversation, he shook his head letting out a sigh.

"Well, I know what we're gonna have to do now…"

Charlie got up off the couch, Kate followed, worried that she'd completely stuffed up their friendship.

"Charlie, I'm so sorry, I'm a mess and, maybe if I wasn't, or, I dunno…"

He opened the cupboard and paused thinking about his response, he couldn't be the one to add to her drama, he liked her, but bringing it up now wasn't going to help anyone. He reached in a grabbed another bottle, placing a smile on his face as he turned to face her.

"Kate, it's fine! I was grabbing another bottle… I think we need it now!"

A part of her knew he was lying, but it was easier to let it slide. She smiled, trying to forget what she had nearly done.

"You're such a bad influence on me..."

"Yeah, sorry, Princess!"

The next night Kate sat on Mike's couch staring blankly at the TV, he chuckled at the comedians dig at Vegans. He noticed the lack of laughter coming from the other side of the couch, he looked over to Kate who's face was blank.

"Kate?"

She snapped back to reality, placing a smile on her face.

"Yeah?"

"Where were you just now?"

Grabbing the remote she silenced the TV, comedy was not the greatest choice.

"Mike, I think we need to put a hold on things."

Mike was paralyzed with shock, it was the last thing he was expecting. He didn't want to come off angry, but he was.

"Kate, you can't be serious?!"

She closed her eyes, wishing it didn't have to be this way, but he knew it was the right thing. Grasping his hands, she brought her gaze up to meet his.

"It's Maddie, a lot has changed in the past month and she's struggling."

Mike knew he wasn't going to win, but he had to at least try.

"Kate, you can't always put yourself last."

"Yeah, but Maddie has to be first. Mike, you're a parent, you should understand. We did this all wrong, our kids are old enough to understand, we shouldn't be hiding things from them, what's that teaching them?"

"But, Kate, they know now."

"Yeah, but I need to make this right. The way she spoke to me the other day, and what she said... I know her, for her to say what she said, she has to be in pain."

He squeezed her hand, desperately trying to get her to reconsider.

"Kate, they're teenagers..."

"I know but we've never been like this, I need to be the parent and show her I'm there for her, I'm sorry. Do you understand?"

"I do, but… are you sure this is all the issue is?"

She frowned, there was no ulterior motive, she was being honest.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, umm I kinda had the feeling that Charlie…"

She bit her tongue, why did he always have to go there, why did there have to be an unspoken reason.

"Mike, it's got nothing to do with Charlie."

She quickly rose from the couch, irritated by his jealousy.

"I'll stay in a hotel tonight."

"Kate, that's not necessary."

"It is..."

She packed up her things, he followed trying to get her to change her mind.

"Kate, you don't want this..."

She turned before opening his front door.

"Mike, I can't lose my daughter, she's already lost her father, she can't lose me to."

The next morning Kate made her way to Creswell, she had a terrible night's sleep, she felt guilty about Maddie, Mike and Charlie. When did her life become so complicated? She slowed as she approached Maddie's room, hoping she'd be receptive to her visit. She knocked gently and turned the door handle. Liv was dressed, and sitting on Maddie's bed, Maddie was still tucked in.

"Oh, Kate, hi... ah, I'm gonna go to breakfast, Mads, you want me to bring you something?"

She didn't respond, Kate gave Liv's arm a squeeze and a nod.

"Thanks."

Kate sat beside Maddie waiting to be acknowledged, but there was no response. Placing a hand on Maddie's back, she cleared her throat.

"Madison, I love you more than anything in the world and I know the past couple of months have been hard. I shouldn't have lied to you, we used to be able to be honest and talk about everything. I know you're finding your place in the world, and you may not need me as much, but you have gone through a lot recently and I need to know you're okay. I need to know I'm not part of the reason you're like this, so, I broke up with Mike. It's not to make you feel guilty or anything, but I understand that the way we handled things was not okay. I just hope we can get back to the way we were soon. I'm back home from today, so when you're ready, call me and we can talk."

She leaned down and kissed her forehead.

"I love you."

She headed for the door, as soon as she heard the door clock Maddie folded back the covers. Rubbing her hands over her face, she couldn't help but feel slightly guilty. She had shut everyone out, including Liv, she thought it was best to deal with things on her own, but it had just got messier. She sat up and grabbed her phone to message Liv.

A short time later Liv returned to the room to find Maddie' packing.

"What's happening? Is everything okay?"

"I need to see mum…"

"What happened? Wasn't she just here?"

Maddie dropped on to her bed, throwing her top into her overnight bag.

"I think I've ruined everything, Liv."

"What do you mean? You have every right to be..."

Maddie interrupted, not wanting Liv to make excuses for her.

"She broke up with Mike, for me…"

"Oh…"

"Like, I don't love the idea but... I didn't think she'd do that."

Liv sat beside her and wrapped her arm around her.

"You want her to be happy too?"

"Yeah... I just, I'm such a mess right now... And I'm sorry for being a shit friend."

"Hey, it's okay, as long as you're okay and you're not a shit friend. Mads, you're a teenager, don't be in such a rush to be an adult and handle things on your own, it's not that much fun!"

Maddie laughed, how did Liv know her so well? She jumped up from the bed and continued to shove things into her bag.

"I need to fix this..."

"Ah, how are you gonna get home?"

End of Chapter 17.