Back with chapter 2. PLEASE leave a comment!

Two days later in the afternoon, only Kendall and Katie remained in the apartment. Their mom was out job-hunting and Carlos, James and Logan were still in the studio.

Kendall laid awake on his bed, staring at the ceiling. It's been a day and a half since he and Katie have spoken, and it had been weighing on him ever since. They weren't typical siblings. They didn't fight all the time. Katie was cuddly and Kendall always thought that Katie was the cutest thing ever and was always very affectionate towards her, from the day she was born. He remembered that day like it was yesterday.

Now she was 10 years old, soon turning 11, but she had the mindset of a grown adult. She was more mature than all of the guys combined. Her life was destined for success. And Kendall loved watching her strive.

He sighed deeply before suddenly pushing himself into a sitting position. He stared at his guitar beside his bed.

No. He didn't feel like playing.

He scrolled on his phone.

No. He didn't feel like scrolling.

He turned on the TV.

Nope, nothing interesting.

He sighed and turned it off before turning his head towards her mom and Katie's room. It wasn't like her to hide in there. She was usually watching cable or hustling people playing poker. It was clear that she was avoiding him. But it was also clear that she wanted to make up since she didn't leave the apartment.

Kendall got up and slowly walked up to the bedroom, just standing there for a while. Eventually, he knocked.

"Katie?" No noise was coming from the bedroom, and he suddenly wasn't sure if she was in there. "Katie?" He asked again, gently pushing the door open.

Oh, there she was.

His baby sister was curled up under the covers, playing on her Nintendo. She didn't react to Kendall's arrival.

"Katie?" He asked, staying back, for now. "Can I come in?"

Katie shrugged. Kendall rolled his eyes.

"That's not an answer, Katie."

Katie shrugged again, then muttered something under her breath.

"Come again?"

"Guesso." Said Katie a little louder, not looking up.

"Thank you." Kendall walked in and sat on the edge of the bed, waiting for Katie to look at him. When he realized that wasn't going to happen naturally, he asked. "Can we talk?"

Katie nodded, head still buried in the Nintendo.

"Talk." She said flatly, and Kendall had enough, letting out a big sigh.

"Come on, Katie, you're acting like a child!" He knew that would get a reaction out of her: she prided herself on being mature so being called a child was not something she liked.

"That's because I am a child." She retorted calmly.

Wow, Kendall thought. Katie knew what he was doing and didn't fall for it. Smart. Too smart.

"Okay, all right, nice one." He admitted, then, sort of reluctantly placed a hand on the covers, where he assumed her knee was. "Come on, Kates, let's talk about this. I don't like fighting with you. And I know you don't like it either."

A sigh. Katie sighed. At that moment Kendall knew he had won. Katie tapped away on her Nintendo, then slowly closed it and tossed it aside, looking at Kendall. Her facial expression showed nothing.

"Look, baby sister... I'm sorry for yelling at you that day, okay? That wasn't nice of me. I get that. Can you forgive me?"

Katie's expression softened, and she nodded at him, although the smile Kendall wanted to see wasn't there yet.

"Second of all, I'm sorry I said you didn't know dad. I made it sound like it was your fault, and that's not true. So... yeah, I'm sorry about that, too."

There was a moment of silence between them before Katie sighed and finally began to talk.

"I'm sorry, too. I know it's hard for you when it comes to dad. I envied you for knowing him, that's why I yelled. But I shouldn't have. So, you know... I'm sorry, too."

Kendall gave her a light smile and nodded. Katie looked like a reflection of her brother, just... smaller and female. Smiling lightly, she looked up at Kendall with those chocolate brown eyes that he adored.

"Come here." He opened his arms and Katie slowly crawled out from under the covers, then sat on Kendall's lap and hugged his waist, burying her face into his chest. If she saw her brother's face, she could see how relieved he was: rubbing her back, he gave her a kiss on the head and squeezed her tightly. "I love you, baby sister."

Katie snuggled deeper into him, smiling wider.

"I love you too, big brother."

They sat together like that for a minute before Kendall gently pulled away. He took a lock of her hair and started playing with it. Katie loved when he did that ever since she was little, and smiled in response.

"I was thinking about... you know." Said Kendall, shrugging. "What I said that day, and what I didn't say... and I guess I should talk about what I didn't say."

Katie nodded, enjoying Kendall twirling her hair between his fingers.

"I didn't say that I'm scared for mom. I know you know she had one date since dad died. But do you know how it went?"

Katie shook her head, and Kendall sighed.

"Not too well, to say the least. She ended up talking about dad the whole time, to the point where she would cry and her partner just got up and left after a while, you know... not knowing what to do with the situation."

Katie felt a rush of anger hit her. What kind of a person leaves a grieving woman on her own? Not wanting to date her is one thing, but that man could have politely declined. Her mom must have felt so embarrassed and betrayed.

"I didn't know that." She said quietly, and Kendall nodded.

"I know you didn't." He stayed silent for a while, then let go of Katie's hair and gently tilted her chin upwards. "You know who was there to comfort her once she came home?"

Realization hit Katie like a slap.

"You?" She asked in awe, then added quickly. "But you were like... 10 years old, right?"

"9, actually." Kendall looked into his little sister's eyes. "I've never seen mom so broken before. She was sobbing so hard, and I tried to... I don't know... hug the sad out of her." He furrowed his eyebrows together. "I stroked her hair, lead her to her bed and sang her a lullaby, like she did to us when we were crying. And you know what I did afterwards?"

Katie curiously shook her head no.

"I did the same thing to you." He answered, and Katie smiled lightly at that. Then she rose an eyebrow.

"Wait, so that's how..."

"It became a thing?" He asked referring to him singing to her to sleep at night. "Yeah. It turned out you preferred my voice over mom's. You always had good taste."

Katie let out a giggle and Kendall felt butterflies in his stomach at that.

"So, yeah, that's how it became a thing. I vowed that day that I would never, ever let Mom date anybody ever again. Of course, that changed since then... at least I like to think it changed."

"Really?" Asked Katie. "You seemed pretty against it."

Kendall shrugged.

"Maybe, I guess. But I never really said she shouldn't date Buddha Bob, right? I just have this feeling that, I don't know... no man's good enough for our mom. You know what I'm talking about?"

Katie nodded, then added quietly.

"But Buddha Bob's a really nice guy. And he doesn't look homeless anymore. Did you see his new look?"

It was Kendall's turn to nod, smiling a bit.

"Yeah. He... he's looking good, I guess. But that doesn't really matter though, does it?"

"Looks, you mean?" Katie asked, then snorted lightly. "Everyone knows that looks matter, Kendall. We all like to think that it doesn't, but the outside is what first grabs our attention. And then, if there's good on the inside, that's what keeps our attention."

Kendall smiled, ruffling her hair.

"Smartass." He said lovingly, and she pushed his hand away with a chuckle.

"You know I'm right."

"Yeah." Kendall laughed. "I know you're right. But..." He sighed. "Long story short, like that night 7 years ago, I still feel responsible for Mom's feelings. And I know that it's not right, and Mom wouldn't like it if she knew about it either. But still... I'm having a hard time letting her go."

Katie nodded. Now that she understood everything, Kendall's reaction wasn't surprising at all.

"I'm sorry." She said again, shaking her head. "I didn't know you carried all that weight." She laid a hand on his shoulder. "And you shouldn't. Not on your own."

Kendall smiled at the small hand resting on his shoulder, and leaned down to kiss it.

"I know, I know." He nodded. "And that's exactly why..." He paused for dramatics. "I have a plan."

Seeing Katie's eyes light up was salvation itself, and he gave a chuckle.

"I knew you would like that. And you, baby sister..." He poked her sides, getting a giggle out of her. "Are a key character in it."

"Really?" She asked excitedly. "What am I gonna do?"

"We..." He corrected her. "Are gonna write two letters. I'm gonna tell you what to write, and you're gonna tell me what to write. And then..."

"We're gonna bring Buddha Bob and Mom together!" She chirped happily, and Kendall nodded with a grin.

"Exactly, baby sister. How does that sound?"

"That sounds awesome!" Katie kissed one of Kendall's dimples and jumped up from his lap, running up to his cumputer and turning it on. Kendall rolled his eyes before turning the computer off.

"Hand-written letters, you donut. We're going back to the stone age. Why do you think I'm writing Buddha Bob's letter and you're writing Mom's? Our handwritings have to be belieavable. Yours is nice and feminine. Mine's messy. Of course we're gonna have to make some changes so that they both fall for it."

Katie nodded.

"Right, right." She scanned the room. "Do you have any paper?"

~ the next day

"Dear Jennifer,

My letter might come as a shock to you after I stormed out of your apartment. Please, let me explain myself. While your reaction to my offer indeed hurt my feelings, I understand that it caught you off guard and you never intended to harm me. You are a kind, beautiful, smart woman, Jennifer, and I would love to get to know you better. I have a reservation for a table for two at Earnest's - I presume you know where it is - for tomorrow at 5 pm. You would do me the greatest honor if you came. If you decide not to come, I will understand and won't bother you anymore. See you, or see you not tomorrow,

(Buddha) Bob"

Jennifer couldn't believe her eyes. Her heartbeat fastened as she read the handwritten letter over and over again. Buddha Bob was asking her out, once again. After she laughed in his face. This must have taken some serious courage.

Jennifer felt undeserving of this kindness. The conversation she had with her kids the other day also influenced her decision. Or at least it wanted to.

After she was done reading the letter for the 100th time, she finally held it in both hands and got ready to rip it apart.

But her hands wouldn't budge. Again and again, she tried to get herself to do it but... she just couldn't.

Come now, Jen, she thought to herself. You deserve a good man, and he walked straight into your apartment. Do you really want to let him walk away?

Don't go, Jennifer, said her other self. It'll end badly. Plus, you know how Kendall will react.

Kendall will understand, answered her positive self. It's now or never. Don't give up on yourself. Don't give up on love.

Driven by a sudden idea, she got up and walked into the kitchen, ready to present the letter to her kids. But when she actually saw them, she suddenly changed her mind. This is her business, and her business alone. What comes after, she can discuss with them later.

"Hey Mom, what's up?" Asked Katie, and Jennifer quickly shoved the envelope in her back pocket, smiling at her daughter.

"Nothing much..." Her voice trailed off. "Say, what do you say we go to the mall and go shopping, just the two of us?"

Katie, her only daughter stared at her asif she had grown two heads. Oh, that's right, Jennifer remembered. Katie hated shopping. She rather played online poker or black jack.

"Okay, how about I go shopping and you watch a horror movie?"

Katie grinned and jumped off the couch.

"Sweet!" She ran to their bedroom to get her stuff, and Jennifer smiled with a sigh. Hopefully her daughter won't have nightmares after this.

"Dear Bob,

I know this letter might come as a shock to you after what happened between us, but please, let me explain myself. We've always had a platonic relationship, you and I. We joke around a lot, so when you asked me to go on a date with you, I simply assumed it was another joke. Clearly, it wasn't. It's not your fault, but you caught me off guard. The truth is, as you know, I'm scared of dating since I haven't done it in a long, long time. But I won't let my past define me. I have a table reserved for two at Earnest's for tomorrow at 5 pm. If you come, I'll know you have forgiven me. And if you don't, well... I'll know that I lost my shot. See you, or see you not tomorrow,

Jennifer"

Buddha Bob - or, as his parents named him, Robert David Poopsalot - stared at the handwritten letter in disbelief. Even the handwriting was so gentle, so feminine. He couldn't believe it. He just simply couldn't.

Jennifer was the woman of his dreams, and if he wanted to be honest, the love of his life. In that short one month they lived together, he completely fell in love with her. Clearly, he was good at hiding it, or Jennifer wouldn't have laughed when he asked her out. But now, she was asking him out.

Him. It can't be. It simply cannot be.

With a sudden movement, Buddha Bob jumped up and performed an improvised dance, laughing in joy. He couldn't believe his luck.

Jennifer and him are going on a date tomorrow.

What a wonderful world.

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