Issues ✔️

Chapter 7

"Kat!"

Chris lets me into his house the next Tuesday as I see an excited white and brown dog, "hello cutie!" I hand Chris the box I brought before kneeling on the ground to pet his dog.

"That's Dodger. I see where the priorities lie though. Dog gets greeted first. Always."

I laughed, looking up at him pretending to pout. "Aww. I'm sorry." I stood up, placing my hand on his cheek to kiss him, "how's that. Dodger didn't get a kiss."

He smiled, "better. Come on."

I followed him to his kitchen, "I made cupcakes. That's what's in the box." I watched him set it on the counter.

"Thank you. You didn't have to. I'm supposed to be cooking for you."

I shrugged as I saw him smirk, "yeah well."

He laughed as he watched her sit at the kitchen counter, "right, you have a thing about control. Don't you?"

I laughed, nodding, "yes. I'm sorry."

He shook his head, "don't be. I really don't mind." He motioned to the dining room, "come on." He offered her a bottle of wine and some glasses, "go sit. Pour wine and do nothing else."

I laughed, accepting the bottle and glasses, "yes sir." I heard him chuckle as I sat down, pouring us both wine. I wasn't sitting for long before he came in from the kitchen to set food in front of us. "This is great Chris. Not used to having someone else cook for me."

He smiled, "well my mom taught me to cook. 'Can't always expect the woman to cook for you Christopher.'"

I laughed, "Thank your mother for me. You cook for a lot of girls here Christopher?"

He laughed, shaking his head, "not many girls get invited back to my house. So no."

"And I got here after one date?"

He nodded, smirking, "you did. You're different."

I chuckled, "and what makes me so different?"

He shrugged, "I'm not sure yet."

I noticed the piano in the other room, "you play that piano or is it just for show?"

He laughed, "I play. Another thing my mother taught me."

"That's sweet. You have a big family then? You close?"

He nodded, "we are. I have two sisters and a brother. And my dad has a family. So I have step siblings there too."

"Geez so, yeah. Big family. I have to admit, I find it a little overwhelming. I mean, I don't have a family. I'm not sure I'd fit in well."

He shrugged, placing his hand on hers, "it'll be fine." He paused for a moment, "are you going to tell me why you don't like closets?"

******************************************************

I heard her groan when I asked the question, "you don't have to."

She sighed, shaking her head, "it was used as a punishment from one of my foster parents. They would lock me in a dark closet for hours on end."

I put my hand back on hers again, "god Kate. I'm sorry." I couldn't help but feel anger welling inside as I tried to remain calm. I wanted her to be comfortable talking to me. I wanted her to feel safe with me. "Punishment for what?"

She sighed. "As a kid I went for a long time as undiagnosed ADHD. It appears differently in girls usually. In boys, it's obvious. Running around, pent up energy, blurting and interrupting. That happens in girls too. But there's other ways it manifests in girls. Forgetfulness, easily distracted, problems regulating emotions. Et cetera. Anyways, I would be told to do something and I would go to do it and forget what I was doing and start doing something else. A lot of the parents just took it as disrespect, as if I was not following directions, or orders, on purpose. Now it manifests a lot in anxiety and depression. That's part of the reason I love cooking. It keeps my brain busy and I get to use the creative part of my brain along with the technical. And then I get the dopamine hits I need from compliments on my food." She shook her head, "I'm rambling. I'm sorry. Now you see one of the reasons I'm in therapy."

I shook my head, "no. You're not rambling. And it doesn't bother me. I want to know more about you."

She nodded, "it wasn't until my last foster mother, Beverly, that I was diagnosed. And she taught me to cook, to try and help me control it. I'm on medication, but I can still sometimes be easily excitable."

"Well I'm sorry you had to go through that, as a kid no less."

She shrugged, "just a small part of things I went through. But that was a big part as to why I was shifted from one house to another a lot. No one wanted to take the time to deal with me, so they just got rid of me." She put her arms up, "so. Abandonment issues."

I chuckled, "I see now why Dr. Tompkins warned me against you."

"Why?"

I shook my head, motioning to myself, "commitment issues." I hesitated at I said it, wondering how she would react. I was relieved when she started to laugh, "why are you laughing?"

She shrugged, "I don't know. We're quite a pair."

I laughed, "we are. And I have slight abandonment issues as well. My father left my mother when I was 19 and married someone else, starting a new family."   

She nodded, "right. I can see that. I'm sorry."

After we ate, I helped her with the dishes. I leaned back against the counter, watching her dry her hands, "I'm having my family here next weekend for the 4th. I'd like you to come."

**************************************************

I stopped, looking at him, "you're serious?" I felt my heart begin to race as I walked to the sitting room off the kitchen, sitting on the couch.

Chris followed her, sitting on the coffee table in front of her. "Of course I'm serious. You've already sort of met them anyways."

I shook my head, pulling my legs up to my chest as I felt it start to tighten. "Chris. It was different before, we weren't dating."

"What is happening right now Kat? Why are you freaking out?"

I shook my head, not being able to form words as my heart raced. My mind was going a thousand miles a minute as I panicked at the thought of being paraded in front of his family; not knowing how they'd feel about me.

He sighed, "okay. How can I help you?" He sat for a moment as he saw a few tears begin to fall. He leaned towards her, placing his hands on the couch on either side. "Okay."

'Cause I got issues
But you got 'em too
So give 'em all to me
And I'll give mine to you
Bask in the glory
Of all our problems
'Cause we got the kind of love
It takes to solve 'em
Yeah, I got issues
And one of them is how bad I need you

I laughed as he started to sing to me, "really?"

He shrugged, "I didn't know what else to do." He watched her out her legs down as he placed his hands on her thighs, "it worked it seems."

I laughed, nodding, "a bit." I smiled as he brought his hands to my face, wiping the tears. "You're serious?"

He nodded, smiling, "I am. Please Kat." He moved from the table, sitting next to her on the couch.

I felt him put his arm up, pulling me to him as I laid my head on his chest. "I'll think about it Chris."

"Okay." He grabbed the remote, turning on the tv, "watch a movie with me."

I never had a guy try so hard to make me feel safe before. I looked up at him to see him looking at me as I brought my hand to his cheek, pulling his lips to mine. I heard him moan softly as my tongue parted his lips, searching for his tongue. I moved my hand to his neck as I felt him do the same, teasing my tongue with his.

He pulled away, looking at her and smiling, "what was that for?"

I shrugged, "I wanted to."