Shades

is tough

Today had been a rare day for Kate. It wasn't every day she just forgot about work and enjoyed the evening breeze.

"So, Dad calls you Cherry" Kate broke the soothing silence as they walked back to the house.

"Oh that," Alec chuckled. "While I was younger, I loved cherries a lot. Cherry smoothies, ice cream, yoghurt, cherry everything!" She giggled. "So the things kind of just stuck with Dad"

Kate nodded. Her dad had also named her after something she loved so much as a child.

"You're going to love my lasagna tonight. I made extra last night, it's like I knew you would come" Alec cheered and dragged her as she ran into the house.

"How'd you learn to cook? Did Dad teach you?"

As far as Kate could remember, her dad couldn't brew coffee to save his life. Or maybe that was just one of his qualities that changed while he was away all those years.

"Oh, no, no, no, no" Alec shook her head as she pulled her shoes. "Dad couldn't brew coffee to save his life"

Kate laughed as she followed Alec to the kitchen. They were so much alike. Maybe cooking was their dad's recessive trait that got passed on to his daughters.

"Dad!" Alec yelled, seeing their dad at the stove. "You're going to burn the house down!" She rushed to him.

"I was just going to heat the lasagna," their dad said innocently.

"On the stove!?"

Kate frowned. What was so wrong with that?

"Don't you know that's going to take forever!" Alec took the lasagna tray and placed it in a microwave. "It would have been dry and lost all its good taste. Next time, you put it in an oven or microwave and watch it"

Kate and her dad laughed at Alec's stern tone.

After dinner, Kate helped Alec with her assignments before she was asked to go to bed. Her duffel bag was still in the sitting room because her dad insisted to take it to her room himself.

After Alec was tucked safely in bed, Kate joined her dad in the backyard for a talk. They both sat on different chairs beside each other. Kate sighed deeply, enjoying the cool breeze again and the sound of crickets in the distance.

"You sound stressed." Her dad chuckled.

"Yeah," she sighed again. "School's not so fun right now. There's so much work and so much to save up"

He turned to her, "Thank you, Katie"

She nodded. There was a moment of silence. Kate was about to ask him why he had left but he was already speaking again.

"I'm sorry for putting you in this position, Katie. Being sick and all. You know, when Alec's mum died, I felt something in me die too. I didn't know if I wanted to be in the world again, didn't see the joy in being in it without her. I--"

"Wait, what?" Kate interrupted him softly "You didn't want to live because some woman you had a fling with died!?"

She felt like a bitch as the words came out of her but she couldn't help it. Here he was talking about how he felt when he lost someone and he had to go into drinking. What about her? Did he even have the slightest idea what she had gone through when he left?

"She's dead, Katie! I would never see her again!"

"And what about me?! You could have never seen me again, you didn't know that!"

"I knew I would see you someday, Katie. I kept contact with your friend Patrick" He waved his hand nonchalantly.

"Parker!" She corrected spitefully.

"Parker, whatever!" He yelled and stood up. "Do you know how I felt when I heard she died? That I wouldn't see her smile again? Wouldn't see her breathe again?"

"What about how I felt!?" She stood up angrily. "You left me in the hands of Mum. With fucking Steve!"

Steve was the guy her mother had married after her dad left.

"Language, Katie" her dad warned.

"To hell with language! I begged you, Dad! I cried. I pleaded. Just so you could take me with you. Do you have any idea what I went through in that house!?"

"I'm sure it wasn't that bad"

"Wasn't that bad?' she scoffed in disbelief and turned away from him, pulling at her hair.

"I suffered, Katie!" Her dad yelled. "I took the alcohol so it could eventually take me! I wanted nothing but to die!"

"And then leave Alec just like you left me." She completed for him spitefully. "You didn't think for one second how Alec would feel, did you?! Just like you didn't think of how I'd felt"

"Katie-pie" her dad reached for her but she pulled away.

"Don't you dare call me that!" She glared at him.

"I had to leave your mother, Katie. She cheated on me"

"So did you!" Kate spat. "You cheated on her with Alec's mum and she cheated on you with Steve. You're both the same! But you know the difference between you two?" She asked as she looked at the person she called dad with disgust and embarrassment. "The difference is that mum didn't get pregnant for fucking Steve and leave her family"

"I never meant for this to happen!" Her dad paced around. "You could have come with me, Katie. You could have but you didn't"

"I could have..." She chuckled drily as she scratched her head. She felt like she was burning. Burning in all her hidden anger. "I was fucking 10! You, Dad! You could have taken me with you. You could have but you didn't" she mimicked him purposely. "You left me. Left me with mum, with Steve, with everything he did to me. Everything." She held her head. The ugly memories of her childhood that still hunted her came flooding in, and all because her father was too selfish to care for her. She started panting heavily so she moved away from him.

"Katie..." Her dad came to her but she slapped his hand away.

"Don't you dare touch me!" She regained her posture a little and walked into the house.

"Katie-pie"

"Don't call me that!" She glared at her dad with teary eyes. She knew she was about to cry, and she wouldn't let him see her.

She grabbed her bag and moved to wear her shoes. All the while, her dad watched her without saying a word. She snuck some money into Alec's shoes and then stormed outside. She was angry. So angry...and hurt. Her best friend had betrayed her by still being in contact with her dad, the said dad had turned out to be the most selfish being on Earth. Wanting to die when he had an 8-year-old to take care of.

Oh, Alec. She felt so sorry for her. She would do everything in her power to get her away from this selfish man so he wouldn't decide to die one day and leave Alec in a foster home.

Kate sobbed as she threw her bag into the back seat of the car and got inside. Her dad was at the front door, watching her as she zoomed out angrily.

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Sorrows, sorrows, prayers😭
Can you all remember this line from 'Queen Charlotte'
I almost cried as I reread this.
Almost 😂💔I have no heart.
Let's give Kate some support with our vote and comments 😩❤️

Your Shady Writer ❤️