" You didn't call me." Bianca told him as soon as he answered the phone.
" I didn't figure there was much of a point now." Patrick said quietly.
" What happened earlier ?" Bianca wanted to know. " Kat's been in her room all night. She wouldn't come down for dinner. She won't let me or Dad in. What did you do to her ?"
Patrick huffed angrily as he sat up in his rumpled bed and adjusted the phone on his ear. He had really just about had it with the entire Statford family. " I gave her what she wanted."
" What the hell does that mean ? If you hurt her, I swear I will hunt you down." Bianca threatened.
" I'm really not in the mood for this tonight." He told her tersely.
" Do you care about her at all ? Or are you exactly who she thought you were all along ?"
" What does that mean ? Who did she think I was all this time ?"
" She thought you were the kind of guy that wouldn't stay around. Was she right or would you like to know what's really bothering her lately ?" Bianca asked cryptically.
" Okay," He sighed. " I'm pretty sure we just had a really loud conversation all about what's bothering her lately. But I'll bite. Give me you're insights."
" Tomorrow is the anniversary of the day Mom died. She always gets like this around this time of year. I wanted to warn you, but I never got the chance."
He was quiet for a moment, letting her words sink into his sleeply brain. " I'm sorry." He said finally. " I wish I had known."
" Don't apologize to me. I'm not the one that needs you right now." She informed him.
He shifted again. " So you think I should apologize to her ? I didn't do anything wrong this time."
" Does that really matter ?"
His voice lowered to almost a whisper. " I guess not. What am I supposed to do now ?"
" I know she's the biggest pain in the ass in the world. But that doesn't seem to bother you. You knew that coming into this thing." She explained patiently. " What she needs is to know that you care about her. She needs more than just hanging out. She's afraid you're going to leave. In her mind, everyone leaves eventually and you just proved her right."
" So what you're basically saying is that I'm a commitmentphob with a thing for a someone with abandonment issues ?"
She laughed quietly. " I guess so. Now the question is, who's issues are bigger ?"
" What are you doing here ? I thought we said everything we need to say to each other earlier ?" Kat hissed as she raised her bedroom window and glared at Patrick murderously.
" Move." He demanded without any other explanation.
Inexplicably, she did as he told her and stepped back from the window to give him enough space to enter the room. Once inside he closed the window again before turning to look at her.
Then he simply stepped towards her and pulled her into his arms, wrapping her tightly into him and holding there. He was surprised when she didn't protest. She just let herself melt into him as her arms came around him as well.
Then he heard the noise that made his heart physically stop beating for a time. She sniffled into his shirt. She sniffled and buried her face deeper into his chest at the same time tightening her arms around him.
" I'm sorry." He whispered as he smoothed her hair.
" No," She answered, wiping her nose on his shirt as she shook her head. " You're right I'm an impossible bitch."
" Yes, you are." He held her tighter as she tried to pull away from him. " But I wouldn't want you any other way."
" You're a smug, egotistical jerk." She told him though her words were muffled by his shirt. " But I wouldn't want you any other way either."
He pulled them both over to her bed and sat down before pulling her onto his lap and taking hold of her again. " Why couldn't you just tell me what was really bothering you ?" He asked. " You didn't even have to give me details. All you had to say was, Mom. I could have figured the rest out for myself."
She pulled back and looked at him in surprise, the tears gleaming in her eyes made his chest throb, but he ignored them because he knew she'd wanted it that way. " How did you find out ?"
He cast his eyes towards the wall opposite of the one where her bed sat, the wall that housed Bianca's room on the other side and she huffed impatiently. " I'm going to kill her."
" Now, don't be mad at her." He chided as he brought her back into his arms. " She loves you. She's just looking out for you."
" She's just sticking her nose where it doesn't belong." Kat argued.
" But, be honest. Aren't you really glad she did ?" He teased with a wiggle of his eyebrows.
She laughed quietly and put her head back on his shoulder. " Yeah, I guess I am."
" Of course you are, because..." He paused dramatically. " You're obsessed with me."
" I guess maybe I am a little." She admitted quietly and his pulse sped up at the acknowledgement.
He nuzzled her neck and held her tighter. " It's okay. I think maybe I'm a little obsessed with you, too."
They sat like that quietly for a long time, neither of them talking, neither moving, just holding to each other and enjoying the closeness.
Finally, Kat shifted and picked her head up. " I should try and get some sleep."She announced as she tried to slide off his lap.
He let her go reluctantly, but grab her hand before it could slip away from him completely. " Let me stay tonight."
His tone was quiet and sincere and she turned back to him instantly. " I don't think that's a good idea. If my Dad finds you in here, I don't know what he'll do, but it won't be pretty and it could possibly involve jail time and dismemberment."
" Your dad won't find me. I'll be gone before he gets up." He reasoned with her. Then he stood and came to wrap his arms around her again. " I need to stay. I'm not looking for anything. I just don't want to let you go tonight."
She sighed and gave him a look that said she was completely exasperated with him. " Just sleep." She told him.
" Well," He dipped his head to her shoulder and left a trail a kisses along her neck. " Maybe a little more than sleep."
She laughed and smacked his shoulder. " You never stop, do you ?"
" No, I'm a persistent, smug, egotistical jerk."
"Alright." She conceded. " But if he does find you in here, I'm claiming you sneaked in without my knowledge and tried to seduce me in my sleep."
" Oh, that's cold." He chuckled. " You wouldn't take the fall with me."
" Hell, no. I value my life and my freedom more than you do apparently." She laughed right back.
He stepped back and let her go so she could go about getting ready for bed. " Okay, I'll take the rap if it means getting to hold you all night."
He thought he heard her say something but the sound was muffled as he pulled his shirt over his head and let it fall to the floor.
When he looked at her again, her eyes were resting squarely on his now bare chest and they had taken on a dreamy, unfocused quality that caused his stomach to flop. " Like what you see ?" He teased.
" What ?" She snapped back to reality and shook her head to clear her thoughts. " I was just saying that that was a really sweet thing to say. I'm impressed. It's really outside your normal range."
He stepped back to her and wiped his finger at the corner of her mouth. " You had a little drool."
" Ass." She spat and hit him in the stomach.
" You'll take any excuse you can to touch me, won't you ?" He continued nonplussed.
She jerked away from him and went to her bed, sliding under the sheets and snuggling down into them to get comfortable.
He flipped off the overhead light, checked the lock on her door and came to sit on the edge of the bed to remove his boots. Once done, he stretched out beside her and pulled her into his arms. Without a word, she rested her head on his shoulder and wrapped one arm around his waist.
" Tell me about her." He said into the darkness as he tightened his hold her on.
" She was really pretty." Kat answered immediately.
" I knew that. You couldn't have possibly gotten your looks from your father." He laughed.
" She had the softest hands and the sweetest voice when she was trying to get us to go to sleep." She continued without hesitating. " But that same voice could be so scary and passionate when she talked about something she believed in. She always had a cause, something to fight for. She cared about so many things."
" Sounds familiar." He muttered into her hair.
" I hope so." She answered. " I want to be just like her. I want her to see that she is still making a difference where ever she is now."
Kat shifted and moved her body so that her face was more even with his.
" I'm sure she's proud of you." He told her.
" I'm sure she would have really liked you." She answered.
He laughed. " No parent really likes me, not even my own."
" I'm sure that isn't true."
" Oh, no, it really is. My mother told me once that if she had a daughter there is no way she'd let her date a guy like me." He said with a smile.
" That's a terrible thing to say to your son." Kat looked appalled.
" Maybe, but it's honest. Hell, if I had a daughter I'd never let her date a guy like me."
" You don't give yourself enough credit." She reprehended him in that voice that sounded like a lecture was coming on.
" No," He answered, pulling her closer and dropping his lips to her neck. " You just don't realize how much danger you're already in."
" Danger, huh ? What are you going to do, cannibalize me the second I fall sleep ? You know I'm not afraid of you."
His lips found hers and he captured her bottom lip between his. " Maybe you should be afraid of me." He whispered when he finally finished sucking on it.
She looked at him for a few heartbeats before grabbing his head and pulling it back down to hers. The feel of her lips, so soft and yielding under his was surreal and his hand flexed where it rested at her waist, digging his fingers into her skin. She gasped softly as his lips left hers and traced down her jawline and the column of her throat.
" I said sleep." She told him as she pushed at his shoulders.
" Okay." He answered, moving his head back to his pillow. " I'm sorry. I'll try to behave."
" Ha !" She laughed. " This I've got to see."
He instantly rolled to his back and placed his hands securely behind his head, staring up at the ceiling.
His jaw clenched as he felt her shift beside him, pulling her body more firmly into his and resting her head in the crock of his shoulder. Her breasts were pressed into his side and he followed their movement with each breath she took. Her hand came around his waist and laid there lazily. The warmth of her body was driving him insane and it took all his willpower to keep his hands behind his head. He wanted to hold her, to touch her, to let her know that just for the night, she wasn't as alone as she thought she was.
" Okay." She finally muttered impatiently. " You've proven your point. You can behave. Now will you stop."
He raised an eyebrow as he looked down at her. " Stop behaving ?"
" Stop being an ass." She clarified.
She raised her head and wrapped her hand around his bicep, pulling his arm around her firmly. He let her position him how she wanted him. Once she was settled and happy with their position, he leaned his head down and brushed his lips against hers softly, almost tenderly.
" Goodnight, Kat." He whispered against her mouth.
" Goodnight, Patrick. And thank you."
" For what ?" He asked.
" Coming back, staying, everything." She answered as she stared at his lips, purposefully avoiding his eyes.
" I'm not going anywhere." He insisted.
" Thank you for that, too." She nodded.
" You're welcome." He said as he kissed her one more time.
Then they both feel silent and were asleep in minutes.