AN: Woohoo!!! Christmas is almost here!!! And you know what that means?!?! No school! And that means more time to write! Wooooohoooo!!! XD
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Chapter 8 - Jerry Smith
It only took me about ten minutes to walk to Lola's house, and that's saying something because I was dragging my two garbage bags full of crap along with me.
I'd only knocked once when she opened the door.
"Caitlyn." She said my name with no emotion. I couldn't tell if she was happy or mad to see me. She moved out of the way and sitting in his usual spot on the couch was Sander.
"Hey Caitlyn!" He smiled over at me before looking back at the video game he was playing.
"Hey." I replied back while setting my stuff down.
"Who's place did you sweep?" Lola asked in the same tone while sitting down next to Sander.
"I didn't rob anyone. This is all my crap. And speaking of my crap, I need my stuff out of your car." I announced, not moving. It didn't look like I was welcome.
"You know how to get in." She said it like I should have already done it, while staring at the television.
"Well I wasn't going to break into your car without asking you first." Only after I said the words out loud did I think they sounded funny. Sander thought so too and he laughed.
"Whatever." She muttered while standing up and walking past me to the door. I followed her out and shut the door behind us so Sander wouldn't be able to hear us.
"Listen..." I started as she opened the trunk of her old, rusty car. "...I just want you to know that I'm not mad at you. You did what you had to do. I understand."
"I'm not mad at you." She explained while pulling out the crowbar and then working her way to the drivers side window.
"Good." I quietly replied, not sure what to say now.
"But don't think that means we're going to be best buddies again." She said it in a sarcastic tone that told me she was mad at me.
"Why the hell not?" I asked, careful to keep my voice quiet. She got the door unlocked using the special jerk and push routine and unlocked the other doors. I opened the back door and pulled out my backpack and two of my text books. I opened the back and stuffed the books inside. It's not like I actually carry any folders around with me.
"Because..." She hesitated and looked around. She locked and shut the doors and put the crowbar away. She closed the trunk but kept her hands on the top of it. "...what you're doing is wrong."
"What am I doing?" I asked her, already knowing what she'd say.
She looked up at me. Her expression made it look like she was ready to kill me.
"What are you doing? What are you doing!?" She raised her voice and I looked around for cops in hiding. I can't get arrested for knocking her out...not today at least. "Screwing a teacher, Caitlyn, that's what you're doing."
"I am not screwing a teacher. Trust me, I've tried already. Besides, she's not a teacher. She's a shrink." I explained, backing up a little bit.
"It doesn't matter Caitlyn. You could make that girl loose her job. You could get expelled. She could go to jail. You could go to Juvie!" Her anger switched to pure sadness. "I don't want you to go."
"Don't worry." I told her in a soothing voice. "I'm not going anywhere. I swear."
"Just..." She shook her head. "Just promise me that you'll screw her and get it out of your system. You know this isn't love, Caitlyn. It's you. You and love don't go together. You know what always happens. You get together with someone then as soon as it gets too deep for you...you run."
"I promise." I said flatly. She smiled and took my hand.
"That's the good friend I love." She giggled and started to lead me inside.
"Sorry, but I...I have some more stuff I have to go pick up." I pulled my hand away from her and slung the backpack over my shoulders.
"Okay, but...come back soon." She stuck out her bottom lip.
"I will." I told her with a smile while I grabbed the trash bags. I started walking away but when I turned the corner I waited a while to make sure they weren't following me. I sighed and headed to the bus stop.
Why? Because there's a man I need to visit.
The entire time I was on the smelly bus this old lady kept staring at me like I was going to steal her purse.
I'd already tried calling Torres once, but I decided to try again.
"Hello?" She sounded distracted.
"Hey, it's me." I greeted her in a tired voice. "Caitlyn."
"Oh, hey. Are you ready for me to pick you up?" She sounded disapointed.
"Actually I was just calling to check in and to tell you that I've got all my stuff...and I was kind of wondering if you'd go visit a...family friend with me." I decided to fill her in later.
"Family friend? Where at?" Multiple sounds filled the background. Lots of other people talking, a small beeping, and other odd noises.
"Over by where you live. I've already got the address." I explained while looking down at the paper that I had ripped from some phone book that was connected to a pay phone.
"Yeah, I can do that. What time?" She asked as someone close to her asked her something and she replied yes.
"Like...right now. I got on the bus and I'm heading towards your place. You can meet me there or whatever, so I can drop off all my stuff." I smiled at my plan. It sounded good.
"Oh...um...sure. I might not get there before you but I won't be too long." She replied.
"Great. So I'll uh...see you there." I told her.
"Okay, just..." She hesitated. The bus came to a stop and at the exact moment she finsihed her sentence my world went silent. "...just be safe. I don't want anything to happen to you."
"Don't worry." I replied and watched the old lady scramble out the door. "I'll be fine."
"Call me if anything happens." She instructed me.
"I will. Just hurry up with whatever you're doing." I told her. She sighed.
"I'll see you soon." She said softly.
"Yeah." I mumbled before hanging up. I let out a sigh and leaned back against the bus seat. I watched as the trees flew by as the bus gained speed again. The sky was a bright blue today, and the sun hurt my eyes. Lazy clouds floated around and it seemed like every single yard we past was a little bit more green today. Everything just felt...better.
It was another twenty minutes before the bus even got a little close to her house. I got off with all my junk, my backpack killing my shoulders already, and walked for at least five minutes until I got to her road. I was so thankful that I'd found it without having to ask someone for directions.
I walked down the road and never saw her house. I walked back up it and found her crappy car pulling into the driveway just as I started to walk up to the door.
"Hey." She called as she got out of the front and pulled a few plastic bags full of things out with her.
"What'd you get?" I asked as she walked past me and opened the door.
"Stuff." She replied and walked inside. I followed but kept my eyes off her butt.
"What kind of stuff?" I questioned.
"Clothes." She replied and walked into her room. I dropped all my crap next to the couch and walked to her door. I leaned against it and crossed my arms.
"For?" I asked her.
"What, someone can't buy clothes without having a good reason?" She asked while stuffing the bags in her closet for later.
"You bought new clothes for him?" I couldn't believe it. "What happened to the whole, it's just a friend thing?"
"I didn't say I bought them for him." She replied.
"But you did!" I pointed out.
"Caitlyn..." She shook her head slightly.
"No, you know what...whatever." I sighed in defeat. It's clear the boy has the upper hand in this battle for her heart. I pushed myself away from the door and back to the front door.
"Where are you going?" She asked, following me.
"To see that one guy." I reminded her. "Are you gonna drive me? Or do I have to ride the bus with that paranoid grandma again?"
"I'll drive." Her tone was weird. It sounded almost like she was excited about something but pissed at the same time...
"Are you sure this it?" I asked as she stopped right outside a giant victorian house. It was like something right out of a movie. There's no way this can be it.
"What's the number?" She asked while getting unbuckled and turning off the car.
"1724" I sighed as she pointed to the brick mailbox that had the same number in bold black letters.
"Now, before we go up there...tell me who this is." She demanded while sitting back in her seat. I got unbuckled and looked over at her. I'd been keeping his identity a secret from her the whole ride.
"Jerry Smith." I looked back over at the house. "He's my real father."
"You've never mentioned him before." She said slowly, taking in the new information.
"I didn't know about him. When I was picking up my stuff my mom caught me. She told me all this stuff about how this Jerry guy is my real dad. She told me that...that she still loves him but...she won't leave Frank." I explained.
"Are you okay?" I could tell she was already in shrink mode.
"I'm fine. It's just that...that's not even the weirdest part." I smiled slightly and thought about everything my mom had said. I love you. "But let's go do this."
"Are you sure?" She asked as I opened the door and got out. She got out and locked the doors, going around the car to stand by me. "What if he's not what you're expecting?"
"What if he is?" I asked back.
"Caitlyn...he could be dangerous." She said the words slowly. "There might be a reason your mother never told you about him."
"She didn't tell me because she knew I'd yell it at Frank. She knew I couldn't keep it quiet while living in that house." I told her quietly.
"So he doesn't know you're not his?" She questioned about Frank.
"Nope...he thinks he's my father. Which means this guy...doesn't know anything about me." I sighed before walking forward. Torres quickly followed me up the path to the front door. A big SUV sat in the driveway so I guessed that he was home.
"Just remember that I'm hear for you." She whispered as we stood staring at the door. She gently held my hand and squeezed it. I breathed in deep and exhaled slowly before letting go of her hand and knocking on the big door.
We waited for what felt like forever.
The door opened and a tall man wearing a book worm type blue polo looked out at us. He had jet black hair, but it was short and stuck out in random places. He had thick black eyebrows that made his blue eyes look bright. He smiled politely at us.
"Can I help you?" He asked. His voice was in the middle of normal and deep.
"Um...yeah." I said slowly, in awe at how handsome he was. He waited for me to speak again, his eyes going from me to Torres then back to me. "I'm Caitlyn Gellar."
"Gellar?" He asked, folding his arms across his chest. His eyebrows came together as he thought about something. "Would you be related to Frank Gellar?"
So he remembers...
"Well um...kind of." I didn't want to just blurt it out. That could end badly.
"Kind of?" He questioned, looking over at Torres then back to me. I could see the puzzle peices in his head as he tried to make it all fit together.
"He's my..." I was going to say dad, but I stopped.
"Your?" He asked slowly. I bet he was starting to think I was mentally retarded or something. When I didn't reply he looked over at Torres again, as if to ask what the hell was going on. "Are you two here for a reason?"
"Yes." Torres answered for me. I guess she noticed that I was speachless at the moment. "We are."
"Well?" He questioned, looking back at me. I could see how impatient he was...just like me.
"Are you Jerry Smith?" I asked, just now remembering that I never asked him.
"Yes." He still looked confused.
"Do you remember a Ashley Jones?" I asked, using my mother's original name. He swallowed then looked at both carefully.
"Yes." He said hesitantly, wondering what we're up to. "Why do ask?"
"Because she's my mother." I stated. The wheels clicked in his head.
"Oh...I didn't know she had a daughter." He confessed, looking a little hurt.
"Then I guess you don't know that I'm your daughter, too." So much for not blurting it out.
For a moment he just stared at us. Then he looked behind us and then behind himself. He opened the door wider and stepped to the side.
"Please, come in." His voice sounded both stressed and confused.
We walked in and he led us to a big room with huge couches and a large flat screen TV. I was very aware of how close Torres was staying to me.
"Please, sit down." He gestured to a couch. We both sat down. He walked over to a table in the corner and poured some type of wine into a glass. He looked over at Torres. "Would you like a glass?"
"No, thank you." She smiled politely. He put the bottle away and walked over to the big reading chair to the side of the couch. He sat and sipped on the wine before sighing.
"So...would you like to explain things for me?" He was looking at me.
"Well, for starters my mom doesn't know I'm here. She doesn't even know for sure that you still live around here." I explained.
"I didn't know she was around either. Do you both live close by?" He questioned.
"Actually..." I wasn't sure how much info to give him. "...she lives on the other side of town. With Frank."
"Frank..." He muttered, thinking about something. "She's still with him?"
"Yeah...they got married when she found out she was pregnant." I explained. I could feel Torres watching me.
"How do you know that I'm your father?" He asked in a lawyer like way.
"Because she told me. I don't have any facts or any proof...I just know that Frank is not my father." I explained.
"So I'm the next choice?" He questioned.
"No...you are the only other choice." I told him. He sipped on the wine again and looked down at the floor.
"How long has she known? That you weren't his..." He asked slowly.
"Since she found out she was going to have me." I told him quietly. He looked up at me with hurt in his eyes.
"Why didn't she tell me? Why didn't she ever try to find me?" He asked.
"I don't know." I honestly replied. "But if you meet her then you could ask her all these questions."
"No." He said quietly. "It's far too late for a simple conversation."
"No, it's not." I replied. "It's never too late."
He looked directly at me. He tilted his head to the side.
"You have your mother's eyes." He smiled slightly. "And her smile."
"She still loves you." I blurted it out. I couldn't stop myself. I wanted this man to be my father. I wanted him to be with my mother.
He sighed and looked over at Torres.
"I don't believe I got your name." He stated, changing the subject.
"Mitchie Torres." She smiled politely. She was good at that...the polite stuff.
"Are you related to...Caitlyn?" He paused to remember my name.
"Oh, no." She smiled slightly. "I'm her...friend."
"Yeah." I backed her up to let her know that I'm not mad at her for saying friend. "A close friend. I needed someone to come with me. To meet you."
"Is that why you're here? Just...to meet me?" He questioned.
"Yes." I answered.
"Well...I've actually got some things I have to do today. Perhaps we could talk more another time?" He suggested. Was he for real? Or was he just kicking us out?
"Yeah." I told him. "And maybe next time my mom can come?"
He sipped on his wine.
"I'd like that." He said after a few moments of silence. "I'd like to see her again."
"Do you still love her?" I knew this was the question he'd been fearing since we walked in the door.
"We'll talk more the next time we meet." He smiled slightly and stood. We all walked to the door. "I promise we'll talk more about everything. And I certainly want to know more about you...my daughter."
He seemed to like the idea of being a dad.
"It's just a question...but is it just you living in this place?" I wondered as he opened the door.
"Yes, I'm afraid I'm all alone." He smiled and walked over to a table. He opened the drawer and pulled out some kind of small paper. "Here's my card. Call and we'll schedule our next meeting."
"Sounds good." I smiled at him. He smiled back as we walked out the door.
"Drive safe." He called as we walked to the car. I was kind of sad at how short that was...but at least everything's looking up.
"See you soon." I called back. He waved and watched as we got in the car and drove off. I looked down at the card for the first time.
"A doctor!" I laughed. Torres looked at me funny and laughed too. "He's a doctor!"
"I figured he had a good job like that." She laughed at my expression.
"I can't believe how awesome this is." I shook my head slightly. "Mom is never going to believe this."
It was quiet as we drove back to Torres' house. When we actually got there the first thing she did was run off to her room. I just sat on the couch and turned on the TV.
"How do I look?" Her voice startled me. I guess after an hour of watching Spongebob any natural human voice will scare you. I turned to look at her, just now noticing how dark it was outside.
She twirled around in a tiny circle so I could see her outfit. She was wearing a dress and high heels. Just knowing that this was for Shane made me angry...or jealous...okay, both.
"I think that dress is a little too slutty for a friendly meeting." I didn't smile to let her know that I'm not joking around. She frowned and stopped spinning.
"You think it's too much?" She asked looking down at her clothes.
"Those old lady dresses you wear to school, are too much." This time I couldn't stop my smile. She just smiled and walked closer to the couch. I stood up, not really knowing why.
"You have nothing to worry about." She said gently, stopping right in front of me.
"Are you kidding? You change your mind ever ten seconds. How do I know you guys won't end up going to some bar then back to his place?" I couldn't stop my worries from spilling out of my mouth.
"Caitlyn...that won't happen." She smiled down at me. "I'll be back before you know it."
"No...every second you're away from me feels like forever." My voice managed to come out, but only in a whisper. She stopped smiling but didn't frown. She just looked at me with this hidden emotion in her eyes.
"This is something I have to do." She said quietly.
"I'm not telling you to stay." I told her. "I'm not telling you what to do."
"But...?" She whispered.
"But I don't want you to be alone with him." I told her, scared at how powerless I am.
"Everything will be fine." She smiled. "I'm just going to talk to him."
"About being a porn star?" I asked, anger showing up in my voice.
"About how he's changed. And yes, about the mistakes he's made." She backed up a few steps.
"Well...can I at least give you a present for good luck?" I smirked. She noticed my change in attitude and stopped to watch me carefully.
"Sure." She said, not knowing what was about to happen.
I moved quickly forward and cupped her cheeks in my hands. I pressed my lips against hers before she could make a sound.
She didn't pull away, even though I knew she wasn't comfortable with the situation. I was on my tippy toes since she was wearing freakin high heels. I tried to keep it going forever but it ended when I kind of lost my balance and went back down on to my feet.
I dropped my hands but kept eye contact with her. She watched me carefully, almost with guilt in her eyes, before turning around.
"I'll be back soon." She said weakly while walking to the door. She opened it, stopped, turned and looked at me, then smiled.
"I'll be waiting." I tried to smile.
"No parties." She giggled.
"No promises." I smirked. She just smiled and walked out the door, locking it behind her.
Now, if I asked any other teacher in the entire world if I could stay at their place they would have laughed in my face then given me a detention for even thinking about being stupid enough to ask. Even further, what teacher or shrink lady thing would leave me alone in their house?
She honestly must not know me at all.
I sighed and turned back to the TV. I knew I had homework I should be doing, but let the idea drop as soon as it came. I pondered on going through her stuff, but realized that'd be too creepy. I thought about cleaning out the fridge, but I wasn't all that hungry.
So basically I'm stuck in a house with nothing to do.
Unless...unless I wasn't stuck in a house. What if I were outside the house? Possibly wandering down a street that just happens to have a fancy French place that say...oh, I don't know, two old friends are doing some catching up at?
I am a genius.
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AN: Insert evil grin here.