Author's Note-I hope all these revelations aren't confusing you. I love plot twists, aren't they fun?
Jackson handed Kat a tissue and eased the car up in front of the hotel lobby. She remained listlessly leaning against the window.
"Kat? I'm going to go check in. Can I trust you to stay here?" She didn't reply.
"Katie, I don't want to hurt you."
She slowly nodded.
"Peachy." He quickly jogged inside, checked in with the white-haired concierge, and then ran back out for Kat.
They headed up several flights of stairs to their room in silence. Kat had nothing to say. She'd exhausted all words worth speaking.
Jackson unlocked the door and gestured her into the spacious two-queen bed room. She entered and he handed her the bag from the store that he'd gone back to get.
"Here," he ran a hand through his hair. "Go take a shower, freshen up, change. I'll order some pizza."
She nodded and turned to go to the small bathroom.
"Kat?" she shifted and let her hand fall on the door frame. "I'm sorry. I didn't want it to be this way. But it was the only thing I could do to get you and your mom back."
"You can't get us back," Kat lowered her head and spoke quietly. "Because you never had us."
With that she entered the lavatory and locked the door, leaving Jackson to sulk in his guilt.
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"Hello. You've reached Luke, Lisa, and Katie Michaels. We're not here right now, but leave a message and we will definitely get back to you."
Luke sighed at his wife's recorded voice. He almost missed her. He hung up and dialed Joe's number.
"'Lo?"
"Joe, it's Luke."
"Hey, son. How are you? By the way, any idea why Lisa and Kat aren't answering the phone?"
Luke cursed quietly. If there was one thing that bothered him, it was not knowing where his family was and what they were doing. "None. That's why I was calling. Do you have the spare key? Could you run over there?"
"Of course. Want me to call with any news?"
"That'd be great, Joe. Thanks."
"Say, when'll you be back?"
"Tonight. Will I see you then?"
"Yup. Bye, Luke."
Joe hung up and grabbed his jacket. He was almost worried. Lisa was never this unpredictable.
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As Kat pulled the soft cotton shirt over her head, she felt slightly revived. Once she'd tied her wet hair into a ponytail she felt ready to talk to her so-called father once again.
"Hey," he greeted quietly as she opened the door. He'd removed his suitjacket and was shutting the main door. "Pizza just got here. Mushroom, right?"
She silently nodded, slightly shocked. He caught her look of surprise and shrugged.
"Just another trait I passed onto you," he explained, setting the pizza on his bed. Kat sat on the bed, the pizza separating father and daughter. She took a piece and nibbled the crust.
"Did you ever plan on letting me go?" Kat finally asked. He looked at her, thinking, and spoke.
"No. I always planned to hang on to you. I threw your mom into the mix a little later in the production."
"Oh."
"I was thinking we could go to my house in North Carolina. It's really nice, by a lake-"
"I don't want to."
"What?"
"I don't want to live with you and I doubt Mom does either."
"Well, you'll get used to it."
"No, we want to stay with my dad!"
"He's not your dad."
"Whatever. We love him."
"Do you? Explore that for a minute. Has he ever been there for you, treated you like an adult?"
Kat froze. Because in a weird way, he was right.
"I-I-well, you haven't been either!"
"True. But I had an excuse. But you have to admit I haven't patronized you."
Her voice fell to a mutter. "I guess. But you almost killed my mom."
"I didn't want to."
And she didn't know why, but she believed him.
Author's Note-She's so trusting. Kind of. Sometimes she's like her mom and sometimes she's the exact replica of Patrick Kitten Braden. Except...she really is a girl.
