Chasing Bad✔[Rewritten][Currently Being Edited]

Chapter 8

     His beard was combed through and everything. The only question I have is who is this woman? How did she make my dad look so.. so much like him?

     "Hi."

     "Cathy, Cathy come here!" Dad grins, a yellowish tint to his teeth. "I want you to meet my daughter, this is Noelle. Noelle this is my friend Cathy."

     Cathy turns and stares at me, her eyes begin to water as she studies me. Shifting from one foot to the other, I can't help but stare right back at her. Is she judging me, in my own hou- she engulfs me in a bone-crushing hug. I stand there, stunned. Meeting Dad's gaze his eyes fill with a warmth that I thought was lost forever.

     "You look so much like your mother." Cathy murmurs, rubbing my back lovingly. "Oh she was so pretty, a real beauty when she was your age. I miss her everyday."

     Pulling away from me she grabs my shoulder, staring at me with a gentle tenderness only Mom had shown me. "You've brought up a beautiful young lady, Richard. Why you ought to be proud!"

"I am."

      Who is this lady and what has she done with my dad?

     Cathy pries her eyes off me and turns her gaze onto Dad. "I'm going to go and get the rest of dinner prepared so we can all eat. Richard, there's no need to get your hands dirty after all these years, I know you can't cook to save your life."

     Beaming she heads off to the kitchen, I swear to God it feels as though I've stepped into The Land Of Oz. At this point I'm just waiting for a bunch of munchkins to pop up. Then my life would be complete.

     "Isn't she wonderful?" He whispers, blushing. Dad pulls me into a hug, this one lasting a lot longer than Cathy's. "I'm so sorry, what I did to you was wrong. I will never lay a hand on you again. You have my word, Noelle?"

      Yeah, right.

      "I can't forgive you, you won't even fight for a chance to get better. You-"

      "I'll try.. for you."

     I don't know if he's actually fighting for me, or if he's fighting for Cathy..

      "So you have no clue who this chick is?" Marcus repeats for the umpteenth time, stuffing the rest of his banana into his mouth.

     "No," I sigh. "I don't. I just walked in and she was in the kitchen making us dinner. It's weird."

     "Your life would make a good story." Marcus chuckles, tossing the banana peel into the nearest trash can and wiping his hands onto his pants. "You talk to Paige?"

     "Yup."

     "Why she'd go ham on Heidi?"

     Stealing one of his grapes off his plate, I bite into it. "Not my place to tell you, ask her yourself."

     "You are seriously no fun."

     Heidi sets down her tray and sits across from us, picking at the food on her plate. Marcus and I glance at one another before turning our undivided attention onto Heidi. Sliding the envelope across the table, she looks up at it, then at me.

     "What's in it?"

     "Her pride, dignity, self-respect, her soul. Oh wait - she has none of those things! What do you think is in it, a card!" Marcus retorts, smacking my hand away from his plate.

     Heidi glares at him before reaching for the envelope, she rips it open and stares at the card with the ghost of a smile tugging at the edge of her lips. She opens the card, taking her time with reading each line word for word. I hope she forgives us..

      "I love you guys."

      Getting up and hurrying over to me, she squeezes me tight. Gosh, so many people are in a hugging mood lately. I'm to the point where I am just gonna ban physical contact.

     "We..love..you..to." I struggle to get out, she pulls away from me and I release a breath I didn't realize I was holding.

     Marcus opens up his arms, expecting a hug, but instead, he gets a handful of his own grapes chucked at him by yours truly. He called me soulless, which might be true, but still is rude! Only I get to rip apart my self-esteem, no one else!

      Before he can launch an attack on me, Heidi takes both of our plates and tosses them into the trash. I stick my tongue out at her and she plops down in the seat next to mine.

     "So, anything new happen?" Heidi inquires, leaning forward.

     "Her dad got a new bird in the picture."

      "What a wonderful way to phrase it," I reply, drily.

      He shrugs in response, chucking the rest of his milk. "Get to talking, I wanna hear this dramatic story all over again."

      What a great friend I have.

A/N

Thank you so much for reading this chapter, it really means a lot to me! What do you guys think of Noelle's father probably seeing someone after only a year?

Can't wait to see all your comments and read all of your opinions.

Love you all.

( ˘ ³˘)❤