Chapter 4

That same afternoon as Bianca was occupied with Driver's Ed, Kat was in her room, drowning her misery in the familiar comfort of music. Her father was busy in the kitchen preparing dinner since Darlene was coming. She hated him so much at the moment. She couldn't even bring herself to speak to him when he was around. That's why she had been so unable to defend herself against him. She knew her hurt was her greatest weakness at the moment, forcing her to keep quiet, but she wanted to do something. If she had to leave, she was determined to make sure that she had at least tried. A knock at her window startled her from her thoughts, but she knew it could be only one person. Patrick.

"What are you doing here?" Kat asked as she pulled open her window.

"I need to show you something. Since I'm probably never going to feel any braver, I didn't want to wait." He answered after getting inside.

"What is it?"

He pulled the manila folder out of his bag. "Take it. It's a copy of my school record." Patrick handed the folder to Kat. "But before you read it, promise me you won't tell a single soul. Not even Bianca and especially not your father. Please, don't get mad either. Ok?"

"You're not a criminal, right?"

"I thought we had that one covered," Patrick answered.

Kat sat on her bed and started reading, but Patrick was getting impatient desperate to tell her his past.

"Ok, you can read my record later. I'm just going to tell you." Kat looked at him, trying not to smile at his impatience, and he sat down next to her. "My father is from Chile. He's not a criminal or anything, but he is the only child of a very rich family in Santiago. My grandfather had several businesses, but my father didn't want anything to do with it. He was into science and math, so he decided to attend Cambridge. After he graduated, he was offered a position as a teacher in Columbia. He met my mother. You remember that I told your dad that she was a dancer?" Kat nodded. "Well, she's actually a choreographer. Anyways, they got married in Chile and had me before my dad got offered a job at Harvard. I spent most of my childhood in Massachusetts when I wasn't in Chile visiting my grandparents. When I was eight, my parents got divorced, and I lived with my dad. My mom shipped me to stay with my dad because she wanted to get married again. Those years with my dad were the best. He wasn't arguing with my mother, and he taught me math, physics, science, and just about everything. He would even take me to the university labs so we could do experiments."

"So how did you end up here?" Kat questioned, becoming more intrigued by the moment.

"When I was about 12, my grandparents died. It was difficult for the both of us since my father and I used to spend every Christmas in Chile with them. We ended up needing to stay there for a while because my dad's inheritance, but through all of that, his main concern was to protect me."

"From who?" Kat asked.

"The jerk my mom married. My father knew that if anything happened to him, Joe would do anything to take everything away from me. We stayed in Chile for a year, and I went to the school there. My dad decided to go on a sabbatical, give us a chance to get away from everything, but the next year when we returned, he died in car accident. That's how I got sent here."

"Oh, Patrick." Kat was overwhelmed by the sheer tragedy of it. The words couldn't seem to come to her, so she entwined her hands with his hands, hoping to offer him at least physical comfort.

"There's more," Patrick announced, a dark look appearing on his face.

"Really?" Kat asked astonished and afraid that something even worse had happened in his short life.

"Have you ever wondered why I never got expelled from school?" He had that cocky smile on his face.

"Now that you've made me think about it. Yeah, it's weird. You never really seem to get into trouble. Don't tell me the superintendent is gay and has a thing for you," Kat teased.

"Hell no! Kat, the thing is I have the highest GPA in the whole entire school. I've only gotten a zero once because I was stupid and got suspended on a test day. Now I'm careful. I make sure I never get caught when I have quizzes or exams. The rest of the time I don't give a damn." There was the arrogant bad boy Kat was so familiar with.

"What? You have to be lying. I've seen you in chem lab. You're always goofing off."

"I already know the answers." He laughed full-heartedly. "It's so boring. Honestly, that experiment we did last week I did with my dad when I was like ten."

"When did you start with the bad boy act, then?" Kat questioned, deeply intrigued by the real Patrick.

"When I got here, I realised that the only way people would leave me alone is if I scared them all senseless. I was only about fourteen, but I still had the majority of the school, diving out of my way when I walked past. Secretly, I'm a geek which is why I sort of get along with Cameron. I just can't get past his whole show choir thing. So? What do you think of the real me? Are you disappointed, mad, or both?" He asked quietly, looking a little afraid of her reaction.

"I... I..." Kat broke out laughing, covering her mouth in an attempt to control it. Patrick was confused, for he hadn't anticipated this reaction from Kat.

"Sorry, Patrick, it's just that I thought I was dating Edward Cullen, and instead I'm dating McGeek"

"And which one is sexier? I can be a vampire if you want me to." He leaned in and kiss her neck. Kat momentarily forgot about the world for a second.

"I like the mix." Kat smiled. She looked Patrick straight in the eyes as she spoke very seriously, "Thanks, Patrick. I promise your secret is safe with me."

"Thanks, Kat." He kissed her gently on the cheek.

"Does anyone else know all this?"

"Yeah, Principal Holland and Miss Tharp," He replied honestly.

"Of course." It would make sense for those two to know.

"And Kat?" She focused her attention back on him.

"Yeah?"

"You really should try to talking to your father. Maybe, he might understand when he's not on the war path. He just cares about you. Please try, Kat. This might be the only way to stop you from moving back to Ohio."

"Patrick, I'm not...," Kat began.

"Just think about it." Patrick kissed her, with every ounce of emotion he had flowing through him. She responded with the same enthusiasm.

After their kiss, he disappeared through her window again, and she felt her loneliness return. She started reading Patrick's file, hoping to distract her weary mind. She fell asleep until Bianca's scream woke her up.

"Kat! Darlene is here."

Kat quickly hid the file under her bed and went downstairs. Everyone was already seated at the table, but things were not quite right. Darlene was sitting in Kat's usual spot, but Kat dismissed it and sat down next to Bianca. Darlene and Walter continued to talk lively. Kat tried to eat, but she couldn't. Seeing her dad happy while she was miserable wasn't fair.

Bianca saw that her sister wasn't eating. Bianca wanted to explode. She couldn't drive. She no longer had the super-hot boyfriend. She wasn't a cheerleader. Her best friends were too involved with each other to care about her problems, and her father was dating a total weirdo. To top it all off, she was about to lose her sister.

"That's it!" Bianca screamed, her frustration finally bubbling over. All eyes suddenly turned to her.

"Bianca, princess, are you ok?" Walter asked, looking concerned for his youngest child.

"Are you punishing Kat, or are you punishing me?" Bianca asked. She was so mad that she hadn't realized she was standing.

"What are you talking about?" Walter asked.

"I don't want Kat to leave. I want Kat here. If you really want to punish her, you can make her stay with me forever. You know, Dad, you might not like the way she is around Patrick, but I happen to love the new normal Kat. She actually behaves like a human being with actual emotions, and she even helped me break up with Joey. Kat would never done that before. So what if she had sex with Patrick? She had a rough day. Some idiot named Blank completely sabotaged her campaign. Everyone insulted her, and they even covered her car with food. Cameron had to help me because Kat was too upset. If you send Kat back to Ohio, I will never forgive you." Bianca realised what she had just done and sat back down quietly.

"Is this true, Kat?" Walter asked in an obvious state of shock.

"Yes. Dad, I tried to tell you, but you wouldn't listen. Wait. I thought you knew about what happened with the elections." Kat was now stunned.

"Patrick was right after all, Kat," Bianca completed Kat's thoughts.

"Were you talking to the man-boy?" Walter asked, his anger starting to return.

"Dad, don't change the subject. I thought Darlene told you, or at least, that's what she told me." Kat said, turning her eyes towards the pretty little liar.

"Yeah, Darlene, I heard you tell Kat the same thing. I'm guessing she's the one that suggested sending Kat back to Ohio, too," Bianca commented, looking Darlene over scornfully.

"I wouldn't be surprised. You used me to get back at Miss Sommers. Now, I get why you were so supportive of me going to Nepal."

"Girls, wait... I..." Darlene tried to explain but failed.

"Girls, go upstairs I need to talk to Darlene. Alone," Walter ordered in a very serious tone.

The Stratford sisters set their dishes in the sink and left talking in whispers.

Walter never felt so ashamed. Jimmy had been right. He should have talked with Kat first, but he didn't. He had ran to the phone and asked his girlfriend for advice. She was the one who told him that Kat had continued seeing Patrick at the school. Thinking back, he realized that she was the one who suggested sending Kat back to Ohio.

"Why did you do it?" He asked, staring at her dumbfounded.

"I... I don't know. I feel so ashamed. I didn't want this to happen. I realize that...," Darlene cleaned the tears from her eyes with her napkin. "Do you want more children, Walter?"

"What?"

"I'm just asking a plain and simple question," Darlene said seriously. "Do you want more kids?"

"I don't. These two are more than enough to keep me occupied." He said, almost smiling.

"There you have it," She said. "I want children of my own. I want five, to be exact. I have been taking care of everyone else's children for too long. I take care of them and help them grow, but then they leave. When they do, it just leaves a big hole in my heart. Am I a terrible person for wanting children of my own?" Darlene was bawling like a child now.

"No, but why did you want Kat to leave?"

"I didn't want Kat to leave, but I thought that if you missed your daughters, you would want to have kids with me. There is it, I said it."

"You could have just told me." Walter tried to justify her actions in his head, but it just further proved that he didn't understand the opposite sex at all.

"And you would have broken up with me," She argued back between sobs. Walter thought she was right but didn't say anything. "Look, Walter, I'm sorry. I know this is the end for us, but can I give you some advice? I swear, there's no secret agenda behind it."

"Sure," he said, willing to indulge the crying woman.

"Trust your daughters. They're smart, strong and well educated. They will be fine. You don't have to protect them from everything. Oh, and you should let Kat date Patrick. Believe me the boy is worth it. This I'm telling you as his counsellor." She got up from the table, preparing to leave.

"Thanks, and I have some advice for you," Walter responded, looking at her from his seated position.

"Sure." Darlene smiled.

"You should be patient. You are a nice woman, and there's someone out there for you. If you do manage to have those five children, name one of them Walter. It's a good name," Walter joked as he got up out of his seat

"I will. Thanks."

She kissed him on the cheek before she left. As Walter closed the door, none other than man-boy showed up."

"I thought it was clear that I don't want you anywhere near my daughter," Walter said but felt guilty the second he remembered what Darlene had told him.

"I know, but I want to give you this." Patrick handed Walter a folder and left. It was yet another copy of his record. This one differed from Kat's because at the end it had a note, saying "If this isn't enough, maybe this will be. I love Kat."

Walter knew he wouldn't be able to sleep that night. When he went upstairs, he found his daughters in Bianca's bedroom. He realized he couldn't separate those two, and after reading Patrick's file, he knew Kat was lucky. Not that he would ever say that out loud.