Kathleen ~ Van McCann

11

I turn off the hot water and step out of the shower. My shower was only about five minutes long since I don't want to waste all their water. I use the towel to dry off and then wrap it around my long, blonde hair to prevent it from dripping on the floor everywhere.

The sweatpants that Van gave me are a little big, but it's fine because they have ties in the front that I pull tightly. The shirt, as you can probably guess, is also very big. It reaches my mid-thighs.

I take the towel off from my hair and open the door, walking to Van's room, which was slightly opened. The door creaks a little, causing Van to look over from his bed and notice me.

It looks as if he's holding back a laugh when he sees me. "Hey," I pout. "Are you laughing at me?"

"No, it's just my clothes are really big on you," he chuckles. "I think it's cute."

"Sure you do," I joke, rolling my eyes at him.

"Aw, you think I'm lying, don't you?" He asks.

I shrug my shoulders.

"Well, whatever," he sighs. He flops back down on the bed. His head is resting on the side of the pillow as he watches me. "You can leave the towel on the chair. Come get in bed with me."

I shyly nod my head, feeling heat rush to my cheeks. Of course, Van's just being nice and all by letting me sleep with him tonight, I know. It just sounds so weird.

Van's laughter fills the room. "You go all red, like the first time," he mumbles. I'm not sure if he's trying to talk quiet enough so I can't hear or if he wants me to hear, but, whichever it is, I understand every word he says.

I glance over at him with an 'are you serious' expression on my face before tossing the towel on his chair and walking to his bed. "I hate that lyric," I groan.

"Really?" He asks, sarcastically. "Well, that's unfortunate, considering I love it," he emphasizes the 'love' in his sentence.

He sits up in his bed and reaches his hand out to me. "Come here," he says with a small, friendly smile. "Let's talk, no?"

I nod my head and get in the bed with him, his big hand holding my small one. He tosses his comforter across the two of us with his free hand and we both lay facing each other.

"I love having you with me, I hope you can tell," he says, squeezing my hand slightly. "Can I just ask what happened at your house? Only if you feel comfortable telling me, though." The nervousness in his voice is present. I can tell he doesn't want to upset me.

"Yeah..." I whisper. "Um, before I tell you, Van, I just want you to know you can ask about my family. I'm not going to overreact and get mad at you for no reason this time," I chuckle to hide how anxious I was at the moment. Feeling safe around Van is very easy, don't get me wrong, it's just, I've always been a little hesitant speaking to others about my family.

"Thank you for telling me that. And, I don't know what you're talking about by saying you 'overreacted.' If anything, I pushed my boundaries too far," he explains to me. Why is Van so understanding? I most definitely don't deserve him.

"No," I pout. "Don't blame my problems on yourself, please." I almost feel bad that he feels bad for asking questions about my life.

"I won't. I'll blame my problems on myself," he says.

"You're difficult, you know?" I reply with a sigh.

"I have been told that a few times before," he smiles, showing his crooked teeth, making me find him even more attractive. He's probably the only guy on earth who looks better with crooked teeth than straight ones. "Anyway, you were telling me about your house," he says.

I nod my head. "Yeah. I should probably start by telling you that my father passed away from cancer," I say, taking a deep breath in to prevent myself from crying. "So, it's just my mom and me in the house."

"I'm so sorry, Kat. I can't imagine what it's like growing up without a father. I know he'd be very proud of how well you're doing," Van sincerely tells me.

"I... I don't think he would be... at least, that's what my mom told me," I say, moving my eye contact away from Van. Having low self confidence sucks.

"Hey, now why would your mom tell you that?" He asks me, concerned.

"Because... I dropped out of college. She doesn't think I can support myself in the future without a college level education," I tell him. This is the first time I've told anyone about this. Not even Liv knows.

"That's complete bullshit. Most of the people I hang around were high school dropouts and they are all successful," Van tells me. It seemed that he felt pretty opinionated on his stance.

"I know... but my mom is crazy. She... She just kicked me out of the house," I tell him, burying my face in one of the pillows on the bed so Van couldn't see the tears beginning to fall from my eyes.

VAN'S POV

I can't believe what Kat just told me. Her mom kicked her out. What kind of sick parenting is that?

Kat buried her head in my pillow and I could hear her fighting to silence her sobs.

I bring my hand to her back and rub it in small circles to comfort her. "Kat, that's a huge mistake on your mom's part. I hope you know that. A good parent would never do something like that," I tell her.

"I... I know. I'm just worried," she whispers. "I don't think I can afford a hotel room for more than a week or two. And I know I can't go back home... I know it." Her voice gets weaker as she continues to talk and I can tell she is crying even more, despite her not facing me.

"Kat, I don't want you to worry about things like that. Stay here for a while, would you? I know the lads all love you, and I sure as hell do too. What do you say?" I ask her, causing her to look up at me.

She looks confused as she clears her throat and wipes her eyes. "Van, I'd feel terrible. I would barely be able to pay you guys anything. I'm sure I can figure something out," she says.

I shake my head, a small smile on my lips. "You're too sweet for your own good. I don't want your money, I want you to have a place to stay. I want your company. I want you to feel safe. Stay as long as you need, hm?"

"Fine," She says, hesitating before she spoke. "But you can kick me out whenever you get tired of me," She says. I don't know what makes her think I'd ever become sick of her.

"You know that will never happen," I smile at her.