*Edited and Completed Copy*
Catherine's POV
The next morning, I woke up early and got dressed, ready to head out to the grocery store. While lying in bed last night I decided that before going across the street to apologise, I'd take a peace offering with me to apologise. It was bad enough I made the poor lady feel guilty, going empty handed seemed somehow wrong. However, what to take was the problem. So, in my state of doubt I decided to just head to the grocery store and decided once I got there. I spent the next two hours deciding, ridiculous I know. In my defence though, I had to take into consideration that everyone in that household was an adult so I couldn't just go over there with cookies and hope for the best. For some reason I wanted to make a good impression after the crappy one I made yesterday.
After hours of staring at the different varieties of foods, I was finally on my way home. I had decided to grab some steaks and potatoes with some extra ingredients for a salad. I also grabbed a case of beer and a bottle of wine. I may have gone a little overboard but when I called my dad for advice, he said it was best to grab something for the boys and also for their mother. As I pulled up into my driveway, I noticed that the three brothers were all outside, each working on some part of their house. Not that anything was wrong with the house, at least not that I had noticed but who knows.
I got out of the car and started unloading the groceries. I managed to get everything in the house but the case of beer on the other hand was a little harder to unload, however, two attempts and one fail later I managed to get it inside. Why had I decided to grab a whole case? Right, impressions. I placed the heavy, over weight case by the door and grabbed a six-pack tray and placed it in the fridge. Then I got started on lunch.
An hour later, everything was ready. Potatoes were roasted, the steaks were cooked and salad was done. The beer was cold and the wine was set to go. Now I just needed to figure out how I was going to get everything there. "I should of thought about this before I started" I said to myself. "Maybe I should call dad." I thought out loud. After a few minutes, I decided against it. "No, you're a big girl Catherine, just figure it out and walk over there and get this over with." I scolded myself. I had placed the steaks and roasted potatoes on a serving platter and covered it with foil. The salad was in a bowl covered with cling wrap. I just couldn't figure out how to take everything over across the street.
Just as I was about to give up and quit this whole idea, someone knocked on the door. "Coming!" I called out. I opened the door to find Jacob's smiling face staring down at me through the screen door. "Hey neighbour!" he says smiling. "Hey, you couldn't have come at a better time! Come in." I say as I throw open the screen door and yank him inside by his arm. The surprised look on his face was nothing compared to the embarrassment on mine. "Oh god, I'm so sorry, I'm usually not like that." I say stepping away, my cheeks burning with humiliation. I had no idea what came over me, it just felt so natural to act that way with him. I had no idea why since this was the first conversation I was having with the man. "Don't be sorry at all. I don't mind being dragged; hell, you can drag me anywhere you like." He says with a wink. My eyes widen at his brazen comment "Um...I'll keep that in mind." I stutter. "So, what did I come here in time for? He asks "Oh right, I need help getting a few things over to your place, see I had this whole plan and well the first half I managed, the second, not so much. At least not until you got here." I say nervously. "Well, I'm glad I can help, what do you need me to do?" he says rubbing his hands together, with a smile in his face. "Follow me" I say as I start to make my way towards the kitchen. "Woah!" he says in shock. "I think I went a little over board" I say shyly. "You don't say?" he asks jokingly with a laugh. "Come on little lady, lets get these things over to my place." He says as he grabs the steaks and beers. I smile at him as I grab the salad and wine then follow him out of the house. On my way out, I make sure to grab my phone and keys and head out, locking the door behind me.
As we made our way across the road, I couldn't help but wonder why Jacob stopped by in the first place. "Hey, if you don't mind me asking, why did you come by my place?" I ask hesitantly. I didn't want to sound rude by I couldn't seem to help myself. I was curious. "Mum asked me to come over and see if you wanted to have lunch with us but looks to me like you were planning to do that anyway." He says with a smirk. "I'll have you know...oh never mind." I say with a sigh. We walked up the steps of their porch and I followed Jacob inside. The scent of freshly cooked food permeated the house. The smell had my mouth watering. I took a minute to look around as I stood by the door, the loungeroom looked so cosy and inviting. The plump cushioned couch sitting in the centre of the room across from a large flat screen T.V that was mounted to the wall. Two lazy boys on each side of the couch and a coffee table in the middle. A knitted throw was adorning one side of the couch and fluffy rug lay on the floor. On the other side of the lounge room there was a large book case that was filled with books, photographs and other trinkets. The view made me realise how empty my place really was in comparison. "You coming?" Jacob calls out, I shake myself out of my thoughts of self-pity. "Um yeah" I say softly as I follow him towards what I assume will be the kitchen.
As I step in, I see Mrs Decker at the stove dishing something out into a platter, while Jackson is setting the table. I noticed that Damien wasn't in the room and felt a pang of disappointment. Wait what? Why would I be disappointed. Jacobs voice pulled me from my thoughts, yet again as he spoke to his mother. "Hey Ma, little lady over here had plans of her own, cooked us some food too." He says with amusement. "Hush now Jake! Go on and place the food on the table and stop your yapping.' She scolds him teasingly, a loving smile gracing her face. "I'm glad you could make it dear, I wanted to apologise for what I said yesterday, I felt awfully terrible for upsetting you." she says sympathetically. "Oh god now please, I actually came by to apologise to you myself. I don't know what came over me and I'm so sorry for how you must have felt. I just..." I was cut off by the stomping of feet heading in our direction. I look over my shoulder to see Damien standing by the dining table glaring at me. "What is she doing here?" he asks, his voice husky and bitter. "Mum invited her over, now be nice hulk and let us eat or would you prefer to smash everything first?" Jacob says with amusement. I see Jackson smirk and I couldn't help but smile myself but when I look over at Damien, I don't think he found the humour in what he had said since he was now glaring at his brother. "Don't be rude Damien, I invited Catherine over for lunch to apologise for upsetting her yesterday" Mrs Decker says in a slightly scolding tone to her son. "Mrs Decker honestly its fine you didn't..." I was cut off again by Damien's angry voice "apologise? What the hell are you apologising for, she was the one who was rude to you, she should be apologising to you." he says angrily. "DAMIEN!" his mother shouts in shock. I stood there wide eyed, shocked staring at him as his icy blue eyes glared at me. I turn back to Mrs Decker "Um...I'll get going. I just wanted to bring the food by and apologise. I'm sorry." I say as I hand over the salad and wine to Mrs Decker and rush out. Just as I was about to walk out the door I hear "What the hell is wrong with you dude?" I recognised Jacobs annoyed voice, then I heard Mrs Decker "You will go and apologise to her Damien Carter Decker!" she yells at him. I walk out and shut the door softly and make my way down the steps and across the yard back to my place. I felt something trickle down my cheek, as I wiped it away, I realised I was crying. I don't know why but his words hurt me. I wiped furiously at my face as I stomped up my front steps angry with myself for crying yet again over a man's words.
I walked inside and slammed the door shut, now angry not only at myself for crying but angry at him for being so rude and callous. As I stood there leaning against the front door, I took a few deep breaths trying to calm myself. I couldn't seem to rid myself of the anger towards the ginormous man and for once I wanted to get angry and speak my mind. Without thinking twice about it, I turned around and yanked the door open pushing the screen door so hard it almost came off its hinges. I stomped back out and down the steps and made my way over to his place. As I was half way there I saw the door open and out came the devil himself.
"You!" I yell pointing my finger at him. Hr stops mid step and glares at me as he crosses his huge delicious arms over his chest. Delicious? "God get a grip Catherine! Your angry at him." I mentally scold myself. "You had no right to say what you said in there!" I say angrily. "I didn't? I think I did, after the way you treated my mother. Running out like a spoilt brat because she asked you a question." He says in a cold tone. "I didn't treat your mother in any way, I may have acted rudely but it wasn't intentional and...and I have my reasons." I say "And what reasons might they be?" he snaps back "That's none of your business" I snap back "So what every time someone asks you a question you run out of the room while your dad cleans up after you? Are you that spoilt you can't face things on your own?" he spits back at me in a bitter tone. His words were like a punch to the gut. "Go to hell" I say angrily "You have no idea what I've had to face." I say my voice filled with venom. Just as I was about to turn and walk away, I look over his shoulder and realise we had an audience. With a sigh I turn and walk home, god I'd just made a food of myself again in front of the only neighbours I had.
Damien's POV
After years of contemplating my mother finally decided to move out of the shitty town we lived in and start fresh. I have no idea what took her so long but I'm glad she finally made her mind up. It's been years since the asshole who unfortunately happens to be my father divorced her for another woman, leaving her alone to raise three young boys on her own. At the time my brothers were too young to understand what was going on but I was older, 10 years older than them to be exact, and I could se that him leaving had taken a toll on my mother in more ways then one. The first two months after the divorce were the worst. My mother had become a recluse, instead of the bubbly woman we would wake up to, she was quiet, acted as if she was on auto pilot. Sometimes she'd forget we existed at all. Those days I knew she wasn't coping too well. One day she decided to lock herself in her room and wouldn't come out. That was the first time I was scared. Not knowing what else to do, I called my Uncle Ben and told him what was going on. In no time Uncle Ben and Uncle Michael were at our place. Uncle Michael took my younger brothers out while I stayed back to help Uncle Ben. He wasted no time breaking my mother's bedroom door down. He found her unconscious and rushed her to the hospital. They said she had suffered something called broken heart syndrome. They'd said she was lucky to be alive. Turns out some people actually died after suffering the same thing.
After she'd spent a couple nights at the hospital, my Uncle Ben had come over and stayed at our place for the week. If it wasn't for him, I don't know how my mum would be today. Uncle Ben was the eldest, ever since that day after he went back home to his place, he made sure to call every night to check on her. They'd have long talks, sometimes he wouldn't talk and just let her vent. He'd stay on the other line and just listen to his little sister unburden herself of her sorrows and troubles.
As my brothers and I got older, we did everything we could to make life a little easier for her. The older we got, the more we were able to do around the house and outside of the house. We each stayed in school and kept our grades up but also took up jobs to help her with the bills. A month ago, when she told us that she wanted to move and find somewhere quiet, we thought she was going through another rough patch. However, after she sat us all down and explained that she didn't want to stay in a town that held lingering memories that constantly haunted her. That she didn't want to stay somewhere, where every place she looked reminded her of the asshole she'd married.
The next day I called Uncle Ben and told him what was going on, he'd said he would talk to Uncle Michael and get back to me. After a couple of days, Uncle Michael had called and said the he found a place that was up for sale but was on the outskirts of the town that he lived in. Wasn't far from our town either. My mother jumped at the opportunity and a week later, here we are unloading three trucks of all our household possessions.
I was about to grab the next piece of furniture when a black truck pulled up into the drive way of the house across the street. The petite woman I'd noticed earlier who'd been working on the garden stood up just as the truck pulled up. A tall older man got out and approached her and they began chattering away. It was obvious they were familiar with each other. I take one last look and turn away and continue with the task at hand. "Boys come on, let's go over there and introduce ourselves." My mother says excitedly. "C'mon mom, seriously what for? We're busy now unloading all your furniture, that can I say you don't need half this stuff. I mean who needs a massive bookcase to store...what the hell do you even put on this thing? You don't even have that many books." My brother Jacob says, teasing my mother as he always did. "Just so you know, it's not just my small collection of books that I put on there. I put your childhood photo's on there too but since you're not very appreciative of my "massive bookcase", I think I'll be putting less pictures of you on there and more of your brothers." She says with a smirk. This was their usual banter and I enjoyed listening to it, with a smirk of my own I clap my hands and get rid of the dust and grit that had got on them from moving furniture all day. "You heard her, let's go" I say in a no-nonsense tone. Jackson wasn't much for talking but he put aside the box in his hands and came over to my mother, gesturing for her to hold onto his arm. Always the gentleman the sneaky prick. As we made our way across the street, I noticed that the woman wasn't there anymore, only the old man that had shown up. I watched as he stood up from his seat to greet us. "Hi there, we just moved in across the street and we just came by to introduce ourselves." Says my mother with a smile on her face. "Welcome to the outskirts! My names James" the old man says as she stretches his hand out for a hand shake as he introduces himself. "Nice to meet you James, these here are my sons. My eldest Damien, my youngest Jackson and my middle son Jacob." She says shaking his hand. "Do you live here?" she asks. "Oh no not me, I live in town with my wife. He says as he looks over at the door then continues on. "My daughter actually lives here, I just stopped by to make sure she was okay." He says in a softer tone as though he was trying to tell a secret. I caught a glimpse of worry in his eyes before it vanished. I couldn't help but wonder what was going on. "Um hi" a soft raspy break into my thoughts. I look over at the door and had the breath knocked out of me. She was breathtakingly beautiful. I watch as she looks over at my brothers, I took the time to do the same with her. She was petite, a small woman about 5"4 with curves in all the right places. Her long brown hair was pulled up into a messy bun with a few stray bits falling around, framing her face. She had beautiful big brown eyes and luscious lips. It took everything in me to stop myself from walking over and tasting them. No, I needed to control myself. The last time I let a woman in, she screwed me over. I wasn't letting that happen ever again. Her eyes catch mine for a minute before they look away and her father starts talking again. I was distracted again and wasn't really paying attention to what was being said, my mind began to wonder what it would feel like to have this woman in my arms. God, I needed to stop acting like a turned-on teenager and get a grip. Trust was something I didn't hand out easily. I didn't let just anyone in. especially after what happened the last time, like hell I would make the same mistake twice.
I was pilled out of my thoughts again when I noticed everyone began to shuffle inside the house. I look over to my brothers who are looking at each other and smirking. What the hell were they smirking about. Clowns. I watched as they followed my mum and the old man inside. As I went to follow, I watch as the woman whose name, I didn't catch, stands there taking a deep breath before grabbing the tray she had carried out earlier. I walk over to the door and hold it open for her. Our eyes held each other for a few seconds, before she walked in. Her eyes held all her emotions. I could see a hint of sadness swimming within them but she was quick to mask it. She was just asking quick to walk by me and step inside. As she did, she whispered a soft thank you. I couldn't seem to get any words out, instead I heard myself grunting instead.
I followed her into the small house and couldn't help but notice how much work it needed. Seemed like it wasn't only the outside that needed a lot of work but inside as well. What the hell was she thinking living in a place like this? I looked back at her small frame and noticed the sway of her hips as her plump ass swayed side to side. I wonder what it would feel like to grab it and give it a squeeze. I really needed to control myself. This was getting out of hand.
While she made her way into the kitchen, I took a seat at the dining table along with everyone else in the adjacent room. As we sat there her father turned to look at me before asking. "So, what do you for a living?" in his deep baritone voice. I clear my throat before I answer, "I work in construction and carpentry." I sit a little straighter, as I notice he's still staring at me, as though he is assessing me. "Well, I guess that works. I'd say you were in the marines but guess I was wrong." He says looking me over one last time before turning to my mother, "You wouldn't happen to have Scottish ancestry in your family, would you? Maybe Viking? The mans a giant!" he says with a laugh. My mother burst into laughter before she clears her throat "I couldn't tell you James, you see Damien here is a splitting image of his father. Size and all, so maybe he got it from his father's side but definitely not mine." She finished with a far away look in her eyes. I glare at James before turning to her and grabbing a hold of her hand. She gives her head a little shake and gives me a small smile, letting me know she was okay. I look at my brothers who are both looking at her as well making sure she was okay. Our exchange didn't go unnoticed. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bring up old unwanted memories." James apologises. "oh no, you did no such thing." My mother tries to lie but my brothers and I know the truth and by the looks of it so did James. "It's okay, I know that far away look. It's something I've had to watch my daughter do every time she..." he stopped abruptly when he noticed his daughter walking in with a platter full of fresh made sandwiches. What was his daughter going through? I wondered.
She set the platter full of sandwiches that were filled with different meats, on the centre of the table. She sure knew how to pack a sandwich that's for sure. I notice her sit on the chair next to mine and couldn't help but notice how close she was to me. My being the size that I was didn't leave much room for space. She was almost pressed up against my arm. There was no point in trying to move, I'd only make things awkward. I look at Jackson to see him smirking my way, he knew my discomfort and was enjoying it, so I glare right back at him. "How long have you lived out here dear?" my mother asks her. "Just a little over six months now" the beauty beside me replies as she leans forward, slightly brushing my arm as she reaches out for a sandwich. "That's not very long, explains why your still settling in. I noticed the moving boxes by the door. I hope your husband doesn't mind us being here." My mother says. I felt her entire body stiffen beside me and watch as her hand completely freezes half way between the platter and her plate. I see my brothers are also watching her and noticed her reaction to my mothers' statement. My mother opens her mouth to say something just as I notice James's worried expression. I grab her hand on the table and give it a small squeeze. My mother looks at me and I shake my head indicating for her not to say anything just yet, from where I was sitting, I noticed the woman beside me struggle to say or do anything. Her eyes were water with unshed tears, was she about to cry? "Catherine" James calls out to her in a worried voice but she doesn't respond. Catherine, that was her name, I know it was mentioned earlier but I was to busy ogling her, savouring her beauty to catch on until now. Her name was as beautiful as she was. God, I need to get my head on straight, this woman was already consuming me and it was the first time I'd met her! I should have learnt my lesson the first time I decided to give my heart to a woman, I wouldn't make that mistake again. Everyone was awkwardly silent; James grabs the tongs for her hand and says her name once more. Just like that she flinches and shakes her head as if trying to rid herself of something. "I um...I..." she mumbles as she tries to get a coherent sentence out. Her eyes are now full of unshed tears "Excuse me..." she chokes our and instantly she's out of her chair and running out of the room, hand over mouth to muffle the sob I hear come out. What the hell just happened.
"I am so sorry, so sorry, I didn't mean to upset he. I didn't know her husband was dead. Dear god that poor child, she must be suffering and now I just made it worse." My mother says in a panic. I could hear the guilt she was feeling in her voice. I look at her like she's a mad woman, what the hell was she apologising for and who cares if she hurt the brat's feelings! She asked a question, how was she supposed to know that miss goody two shoes would have a cry and run like a child! Okay I was being a little harsh but seriously what the hell was that? "He isn't dead but I sure as hell wish he was." James says as he stares in the direction his daughter ran off too. He turns back to face us and I notice the savage scowl on his face. My mother's eyebrows shoot up in shock while my brothers and I stare at James like he'd lost the plot. I on the other hand am curious to know what he means by his statement and go right ahead and ask him "Why's that?" "My Catherine was happy once, she used to smile all the time. Laugh, listen to music, read. Damn it she used to be different person." He says angrily. "Now she's like that." he says with a sigh gesturing in the direction his daughter had just run off. "He left her." my mother whispers, loud enough for all of us to hear. Her words were like a ton of bricks. My head snaps in my mother's direction. I grab her hand and give it a soft squeeze. I love over at Jackson and Jacob and notice that they both heard her as well. "Yes, he did" James answers sternly. I love over and glare at him. "I think it's time we leave." I say through clenched teeth. Like hell, I'd let anyone talk to my mother that way. "I think that's best" my mother says before looking over to where Catherine had run off too.
We get up and make our way out of the house. As we make the walk back acrossthe street to our house I look over at my mother before I ask "are you okay?"she doesn't answer at first, then looks over at me with sad eyes. "I will be"she says as we hit the first step of our porch. She walks inside without anotherword and we continue the rest of the day as we were earlier, unloading thetrucks. Just as Jackson, Jacob and I sat on the porch with beers in hand, I watchas the door across the street opens and James steps out followed by Catherine.I watch as she says her goodbyes to her father then looks over in ourdirection. Our eyes meet and we stare at each other for what seems like a lifetimebut was only mere seconds. She really was beautiful, too bad she was a brat. Igive a glare and watch as she takes a deep breath and goes inside.