Chapter Thirty-Two
A/N: Okay, this is it! This is the chapter everyone's been waiting for! And after this, the story is NOT going to end! There's at least five more chapter left, so keep reading!
I am so sorry that I didn't post this sooner. I had some difficulties writing this chapter. Well, the beginning was fine but when it got to the end, I just didn't want it to sound too soap operish and dramatic. So I just went with the flow. Lol.
Chapter Thirty-Two
"Dad! I'm home!" Natalie called out as she stepped inside her house later that day. She made her way into the kitchen and found Gordo loading the dishwasher.
"Hey, Dad" Natalie greeted.
Gordo turned around. "Hey. How was school?" she asked.
"Fine," Natalie answered, walking over to the fridge and opening it up. "Is it okay if I have a friend over later?"
"Uh..." Gordo hesitated, "No."
"Why not? Are we doing something tonight?" Natalie asked. She reached into the fridge and pulled out a tray of brownies
"No," Gordo said, "It's just that I have a friend over and I want you to meet her."
Natalie ignored this. Instead she asked, "When'd you make brownies?"
"I didn't," Gordo said, "My friend did. With the help of Brooke."
"So, your friend and Brooke are like, friends now?" Natalie asked. She pulled a brownie from the tray and began eating it.
"Yeah, when we picked Brooke up from the hospital, I told Brooke that Li-err, my friend was from out of town and didn't have anywhere to stay," Gordo explained. "Whatever. They're talking in the living room, don't go in there," Gordo told his daughter. He closed the dishwasher, then walked over to Natalie, grabbed a brownie for himself, and bit into it.
"Why not? Does you friend have some birth defect that will freak me out?" Natalie asked, her mouth full of brownie.
"No! That's just weird."
They stood there in silence as they ate brownies. After a few minutes, Gordo broke the silence.
"Nat?"
"Yeah?"
"Do you remember your mother very much?" Gordo asked.
"Yeah, a little," Natalie replied as she grabbed another brownie from the tray.
"Do you remember at all what she looked like?" Gordo questioned and took another bite of his brownie.
"Uh huh," Natalie said and nodded. She smiled. "She was very pretty."
"Yeah, okay," Gordo said absentmindedly. "Wait, what do you mean by 'was'?"
"Didn't you say she was dead?" Natalie asked slowly.
"Uh-"Gordo began, but he was cut off by Brooke, who came into the kitchen to tell them that she was going to go rent a movie and would be back in fifteen minutes, then grabbed her purse and headed out the front door.
Gordo had forgotten about what he had told his daughter a few years ago. Everyone figured that Lizzie was dead since they hadn't heard from anyone for years, so he told Natalie that her parents had taken her off life support.
"Damn, I'm so stupid!" he blurted out.
"Dad? What are you talking about?" Natalie asked.
"N-nothing," Gordo muttered, shoving the last bite of brownie into his mouth. He ran from the kitchen into the living room where Lizzie was sitting watching TV. He grabbed her arm, then led her into the hallway from another doorway, so Natalie wouldn't see her.
"Gordo? What are you doing?" Lizzie asked him.
"Natalie's home," he told her.
"So?" Lizzie escaped from Gordo's grasp and stared up at him. She hadn't noticed how tall he had gotten since they were fifteen. His hair was a bit longer and it looked like he worked out every day.
"Look, can't we just get this over with?" she asked him. She folded her arms across her chest.
"Get what over with?" Gordo asked.
"Just go in there and tell Natalie I'm not dead! Then, just bring her in here or something! I can't just live in this house without her knowing that I'm here!" Lizzie nearly yelled.
"Shh!" Gordo brought a finger to his lips. He glanced behind him, and was about to tell Lizzie that Natalie could have heard them, but it was too late.
Natalie was standing in the doorway.
"What's going on?" she asked.
"N-nothing," Gordo stammered nervously, running a finger through his head of curls.
"I heard voices," Natalie told him.
"Uh huh," Gordo said absentmindedly. Luckily, he was standing in front of Lizzie, blocking her from Natalie's view.
"And, I-uh, well, call me crazy, but I kind of recognized one of them as my mother's," Natalie said. She tucked a piece of her dark brown hair behind her ear, then fiddled with her earring.
Gordo tried to think of something to cover up the truth, but he couldn't think of anything.
"Well, yeah, uh, I can't call you crazy. Uh, that's because...uh...that was your mother," Gordo finally managed to say after a couple of minutes.
Natalie's face went from confused to serious. And even more confused. "Dad...maybe you're the one who's crazy. Mom's dead," she said in a blank tone.
"No, uh, actually, she isn't. She's uh, right behind me," Gordo told her nervously.
"Yeah, add sheez guh-ah be edd if oo would juss move!" Lizzie called out in a muffled voice from behind Gordo. Since Natalie had come into the room, Gordo had been backing up slowly towards the wall, and hadn't realized that he was crushing Lizzie. What Lizzie has said was, "Yeah, and she's going to be dead if you would just move!"
Gordo jumped from where he was standing, revealing Lizzie.
Natalie's jaw dropped. Neither of the adults said nothing. After a long moment of silence, Natalie turned to Gordo, crossed her arms across her chest, and said, in a voice that as choked up yet angry, "You told me she was dead!"
Gordo looked terrified. When Natalie got mad, everyone would jump out of her way. Her stepmother and her best friends were afraid of her. She even made Ryan whimper like a puppy. Of course, she wasn't like that all the time. Just when people really piss her off.
"I-uh-I-" Gordo stammered, "It's a l-long story..."
"I've got time," Natalie stated coldly. Gordo gulped, and told her everything that had happened. When he was finished, Natalie scrunched up her nose and looked at the ground. Then she looked back up at him and said, "Damn. I thought you'd have something lame. But I guess that's good enough. You can leave now."
"Thank you!" Gordo gasped, grabbed his daughter and kissed her on the cheek, then ran out of the room.
Natalie turned to Lizzie, who hadn't said a thing for the past five minutes, and stared at her. "Mom?" she finally said.
"Yeah," Lizzie nodded a smiled. "I'm so sorry."
"For what?" Natalie asked. "You didn't do anything."
"Yes, I did," Lizzie told her, "I just...walked out on you. I know it sucks having to leave your life and to start a new one, in a different state and whatever. I'm just...sorry."
Natalie stared at her for a moment, then burst out laughing.
"What's so funny? I was being serious," Lizzie said. Then she started laughing, too. She couldn't help it.
"It's just that-it's just that you haven't changed a bit, I mean, you still-you still talk the way you did when I was younger, and you still look the same...well, except older and prettier, and you shouldn't be-shouldn't be sorry because it was some ugly dude's fault anyway. He was the one that hit you," Natalie said between laughs.
The two calmed down a bit and stared at each other.
"You look...totally awesome," Lizzie said. She smiled. Natalie smiled back.
"I missed you, Mom," she said, then stepped forward and threw her arms around her.
Lizzie hugged her daughter back. "I missed you, too."
A/N: Okay, this is it! This is the chapter everyone's been waiting for! And after this, the story is NOT going to end! There's at least five more chapter left, so keep reading!
I am so sorry that I didn't post this sooner. I had some difficulties writing this chapter. Well, the beginning was fine but when it got to the end, I just didn't want it to sound too soap operish and dramatic. So I just went with the flow. Lol.
Chapter Thirty-Two
"Dad! I'm home!" Natalie called out as she stepped inside her house later that day. She made her way into the kitchen and found Gordo loading the dishwasher.
"Hey, Dad" Natalie greeted.
Gordo turned around. "Hey. How was school?" she asked.
"Fine," Natalie answered, walking over to the fridge and opening it up. "Is it okay if I have a friend over later?"
"Uh..." Gordo hesitated, "No."
"Why not? Are we doing something tonight?" Natalie asked. She reached into the fridge and pulled out a tray of brownies
"No," Gordo said, "It's just that I have a friend over and I want you to meet her."
Natalie ignored this. Instead she asked, "When'd you make brownies?"
"I didn't," Gordo said, "My friend did. With the help of Brooke."
"So, your friend and Brooke are like, friends now?" Natalie asked. She pulled a brownie from the tray and began eating it.
"Yeah, when we picked Brooke up from the hospital, I told Brooke that Li-err, my friend was from out of town and didn't have anywhere to stay," Gordo explained. "Whatever. They're talking in the living room, don't go in there," Gordo told his daughter. He closed the dishwasher, then walked over to Natalie, grabbed a brownie for himself, and bit into it.
"Why not? Does you friend have some birth defect that will freak me out?" Natalie asked, her mouth full of brownie.
"No! That's just weird."
They stood there in silence as they ate brownies. After a few minutes, Gordo broke the silence.
"Nat?"
"Yeah?"
"Do you remember your mother very much?" Gordo asked.
"Yeah, a little," Natalie replied as she grabbed another brownie from the tray.
"Do you remember at all what she looked like?" Gordo questioned and took another bite of his brownie.
"Uh huh," Natalie said and nodded. She smiled. "She was very pretty."
"Yeah, okay," Gordo said absentmindedly. "Wait, what do you mean by 'was'?"
"Didn't you say she was dead?" Natalie asked slowly.
"Uh-"Gordo began, but he was cut off by Brooke, who came into the kitchen to tell them that she was going to go rent a movie and would be back in fifteen minutes, then grabbed her purse and headed out the front door.
Gordo had forgotten about what he had told his daughter a few years ago. Everyone figured that Lizzie was dead since they hadn't heard from anyone for years, so he told Natalie that her parents had taken her off life support.
"Damn, I'm so stupid!" he blurted out.
"Dad? What are you talking about?" Natalie asked.
"N-nothing," Gordo muttered, shoving the last bite of brownie into his mouth. He ran from the kitchen into the living room where Lizzie was sitting watching TV. He grabbed her arm, then led her into the hallway from another doorway, so Natalie wouldn't see her.
"Gordo? What are you doing?" Lizzie asked him.
"Natalie's home," he told her.
"So?" Lizzie escaped from Gordo's grasp and stared up at him. She hadn't noticed how tall he had gotten since they were fifteen. His hair was a bit longer and it looked like he worked out every day.
"Look, can't we just get this over with?" she asked him. She folded her arms across her chest.
"Get what over with?" Gordo asked.
"Just go in there and tell Natalie I'm not dead! Then, just bring her in here or something! I can't just live in this house without her knowing that I'm here!" Lizzie nearly yelled.
"Shh!" Gordo brought a finger to his lips. He glanced behind him, and was about to tell Lizzie that Natalie could have heard them, but it was too late.
Natalie was standing in the doorway.
"What's going on?" she asked.
"N-nothing," Gordo stammered nervously, running a finger through his head of curls.
"I heard voices," Natalie told him.
"Uh huh," Gordo said absentmindedly. Luckily, he was standing in front of Lizzie, blocking her from Natalie's view.
"And, I-uh, well, call me crazy, but I kind of recognized one of them as my mother's," Natalie said. She tucked a piece of her dark brown hair behind her ear, then fiddled with her earring.
Gordo tried to think of something to cover up the truth, but he couldn't think of anything.
"Well, yeah, uh, I can't call you crazy. Uh, that's because...uh...that was your mother," Gordo finally managed to say after a couple of minutes.
Natalie's face went from confused to serious. And even more confused. "Dad...maybe you're the one who's crazy. Mom's dead," she said in a blank tone.
"No, uh, actually, she isn't. She's uh, right behind me," Gordo told her nervously.
"Yeah, add sheez guh-ah be edd if oo would juss move!" Lizzie called out in a muffled voice from behind Gordo. Since Natalie had come into the room, Gordo had been backing up slowly towards the wall, and hadn't realized that he was crushing Lizzie. What Lizzie has said was, "Yeah, and she's going to be dead if you would just move!"
Gordo jumped from where he was standing, revealing Lizzie.
Natalie's jaw dropped. Neither of the adults said nothing. After a long moment of silence, Natalie turned to Gordo, crossed her arms across her chest, and said, in a voice that as choked up yet angry, "You told me she was dead!"
Gordo looked terrified. When Natalie got mad, everyone would jump out of her way. Her stepmother and her best friends were afraid of her. She even made Ryan whimper like a puppy. Of course, she wasn't like that all the time. Just when people really piss her off.
"I-uh-I-" Gordo stammered, "It's a l-long story..."
"I've got time," Natalie stated coldly. Gordo gulped, and told her everything that had happened. When he was finished, Natalie scrunched up her nose and looked at the ground. Then she looked back up at him and said, "Damn. I thought you'd have something lame. But I guess that's good enough. You can leave now."
"Thank you!" Gordo gasped, grabbed his daughter and kissed her on the cheek, then ran out of the room.
Natalie turned to Lizzie, who hadn't said a thing for the past five minutes, and stared at her. "Mom?" she finally said.
"Yeah," Lizzie nodded a smiled. "I'm so sorry."
"For what?" Natalie asked. "You didn't do anything."
"Yes, I did," Lizzie told her, "I just...walked out on you. I know it sucks having to leave your life and to start a new one, in a different state and whatever. I'm just...sorry."
Natalie stared at her for a moment, then burst out laughing.
"What's so funny? I was being serious," Lizzie said. Then she started laughing, too. She couldn't help it.
"It's just that-it's just that you haven't changed a bit, I mean, you still-you still talk the way you did when I was younger, and you still look the same...well, except older and prettier, and you shouldn't be-shouldn't be sorry because it was some ugly dude's fault anyway. He was the one that hit you," Natalie said between laughs.
The two calmed down a bit and stared at each other.
"You look...totally awesome," Lizzie said. She smiled. Natalie smiled back.
"I missed you, Mom," she said, then stepped forward and threw her arms around her.
Lizzie hugged her daughter back. "I missed you, too."