Strange Connection

"Kitty! Open this door right now!" my dad yelled as he pounded on my door later on that day.

I rolled my eyes and sighed. "Come in."

He opened the door and stared me down. I noticed immediately that he was dressed to go out somewhere. "What on Earth did you tell Mark?"

I shrugged and turned around to face him, "Why do you care? It's not like you've been paying me much attention anyway."

"Katrina, I'm a busy man you know that." He said. "You have no right telling that man about how I handle my business."

"No right? You have no right to treat me like I'm not a factor in your life!" I yelled as I slammed my make-up down and stood up.

"Don't you take that tone with me young lady. You are way too young to speak to me like that!"

I folded my arms, "How would you know that? You don't pay me any attention so I'm willing to bet that I haven't received a gift on my birthday in the past five years because you don't even know when it is!"

"Sure I do….it's…June…14th…no, the 15th… " he said.

I shook my head, "Wow…it's tomorrow….August 30th. "

He sighed, "Ok so I was a month off…But I know your turning 15 or something like that."

"Oh my gosh! You see what I mean! I'm turning 17 you ass!"

"Don't talk to me like that Kitty…I'm still your father." He said as he stepped closer to me.

I backed away and shook my head slowly, "No…John Cena is my father….you're just a figment of my imagination."

He looked at me with cold eyes, not looking hurt at all by my words. He finally sighed after a few moments, "Why did you tell him Kitty?"

"Because he's my godfather and he has a right to know what's been going on with me. It's not like you ever gave him the chance to get to know me." I said.

"That's because he isn't my friend…he's your mother's."

I gasped, "So what! Just because mom isn't here doesn't mean he can't see me!"

"If I say he can't than he can't…you're my daughter not his!" he snapped.

I chuckled, "You know it's funny how you actually sounded like a father when you said that. You should try that more often."

He narrowed his eyes, "Look…I don't want you telling him anything else do you understand?"

I rolled my eyes, "Whatever, please get out of my room."

He turned to leave and then looked back at me, "You know, if you think he can treat you better than I can…then leave with him tomorrow morning."

I rolled my eyes as he left the room. I walked behind him and then shut the door, making sure to slam it. I couldn't believe he actually said that to me. I mean sure, I would love to live with Mark, but I still needed time to get to know him. I sighed and finished getting myself ready for the game. I didn't have time to deal with any of his crap. I saw him leaving the house from my window and I instantly felt the need to vent.

So once I was done I grabbed my cheer bag and headed downstairs where Mark was waiting for me. He was on the couch in our den looking through my photo album. I watched him for a few moments before stepping into the room. He had a soft smile on his face while he looked at all my pictures.

"Hey." I said as took a seat next to him.

"Hey there miss cheerleader." He said with a smile. "Are you alright? I heard you and your dad arguing."

I sighed, "Yea I'm ok. He's such an asshole."

He chuckled, "You know normally I wouldn't allow you to swear but, it's kind of cute."

I laughed, "Thanks….so you found my photo album?"

He nodded, "Yep, you were a cute little thing growing up."

I smiled, "Your sweet, thanks."

"No problem honey….hey,"

I looked at him, trying to fight back tears from the pain I was feeling. He closed the book and then sat it beside him. He then put his arm around my small body and pulled me close to him. I laid my head on his chest and let my tears fall.

"It's going to be alright Kat, don't worry." He said. "In time your father will come to understand how precious you truly are."

I sniffled, "Yea but what's going to happen when you leave here tomorrow? He'll never change Mark."

"Yes he will, it may not be immediately but he will come around." He said.

I sighed and then sat up and wiped my tears, "Will I see you again?"

"Of course you will. In fact, remind me to leave you my cell phone number and my address tonight ok?"

I nodded and then hugged him tightly. "It's been real nice having you here Mark. It feels nice to know someone cares about me."

He chuckled, "Well like I said, I've always cared about you and I will do anything to make sure a smile stays on your face."

"Ok." I said.

"We better get you to the stadium. Where is it again?" he asked.

I thought about it, "About an hour from here."

He nodded, "Ok."

The ride to the stadium was pretty nice. Mark had on his heavy metal music that I had fun dancing in my seat to. We also had another deep conversation that made me see the more gentle side of him that was hiding in that giant form of his.

During the game, I found myself real nervous with Mark watching me. He sat under the bleachers and watched so he wouldn't draw attention to himself. I kind of felt like he was my own personal video camera so, I smiled a lot more whenever I was cheering. After the game, a loud alarm went off, signaling a tornado watch.

"Um. Mark…will we make it home?" I asked nervously.

He sighed, "Probably not, we'll go stay somewhere for the night."

"But what about your flight?" I asked as I hopped into the truck.

He shrugged, "I can always catch the afternoon flight. Besides, I want to spend as much time with you as I can if that's alright with you."

I smiled as I fought the urge to blush, "That would be nice."

I wasn't sure what was going on inside my head, but having Mark around really had me feeling more loved than anything. It was like he was more than just my godfather, he was my best friend in the whole world.

A few moments after he started up the truck, it started pouring outside. I tensed up in my seat as thunder and lightning struck around us.

"Are you ok?" he asked as he diligently search for a place for us to stay.

I shook my head, "No…I'm afraid of storms."

"Just like your mother." He said with a smile.

I giggled, "Are you serious?"

"Yep, your mom always snuggled up with her teddy bears or John when there was a storm."

I looked at him sternly, "You and my dad don't like each other do you?"

He got quiet for a moment making me laugh. He glanced at me with a small smile, "Of course we don't silly. Your father seemed to think I wanted your mom."

"Did you?" I asked.

He sighed, "At one point I did, but I didn't want to lose our friendship. Plus she really loved your father and I didn't want to stop her from being happy."

"Awe." I said. "You are such a sweet guy. Why haven't you been dating or anything?"

"Because a lot of women are the same nowadays."

I rolled my eyes, "Now you sound like me."

He laughed, "Yea I guess I do."

I giggled, "Ok so what do you look for in a woman?"

"Honesty, a great personality, outgoing, smart, funny,-"

"-Sexy…" I said with a teasing smile.

He laughed, "Oh be quiet,"

I laughed as he pulled into a hotel in town. I reached in the backseat and grabbed my purse from my cheer bag. We then got out of the truck and quickly ran to the entrance. My hair was completely soaked once I walked into the building and so was his. We laughed at each other and then went up to the desk to get a room. While he was handling that, I walked over to the convenient store and picked up some shampoo, conditioner, and body wash.

"Mark, can you get this for me please?" I asked him sweetly.

He looked down at me, "Oh my, now she wants me to buy her stuff. Damn these women."

I giggled while the man behind the desk laughed.

"I'm kidding yes I'll get it for you." He said.

Once the man gave us the key to the room, he paid for my stuff and then we headed up to the room.

When he opened the door, I was slightly nervous to see only one bed in the room. There was also a couch but it looked way too small for him to fit on.

"Are you hungry?" he asked me.

I nodded, "Yea I am actually but can I get in the shower before we eat?"

He laughed, "Clearly you've never stayed in a hotel room before…"

"What do you mean?" I asked with a smile.

"Room service takes a little while to get Kitty, so you have plenty of time for a shower."

I smiled, "oh…alright then…oh…what am I suppose to sleep in?"

He laughed, "I'll go buy you a shirt to wear Kat, just go get in the shower."

"Yes sir," I said before heading for the bathroom. I glanced over my shoulder at him just in time to see him looking back at me. He winked at me once before leaving the room to go buy me a shirt from the store. I had to admit I was somewhat nervous about being alone in this hotel room with Mark. After all, he was a real sexy man, and…oh my…look where my head has gone….