Chapter 41
Half an hour later, Castle was sitting in deep thought, his posture showing restlessness. He was fidgeting and couldn't relax. It was just about then Jo came running downstairs.
"Jo, where are you off too?" Castle asked.
Kate came into the living room to see what was happening.
"Mom, I'm going to the prom. Any of you want to stop me. Try. I'll see you later."
"Jo..." Castle tried.
But the girl opened the door and walked out without a glance.
Castle and Beckett had a quiet dinner together on the couch. They made minimum conversation. Little Rebecca was their entertainment on evenings like these. She always knew the right things to say and do to help make the mood lighter. But soon enough she would get distracted with her toys and busy herself with them. Today she was playing in her dad's study.
So when Kate brought out the glasses and a bottle of wine, Castle had an extra glass.
"I'm a fool" he said to her.
"You're not a fool. You're a father who cares too much" she kissed him softly, trying to comfort him. She knew how much it hurt him to hear Jo say that she hated him. She knew exactly the point of time when he realized he had done too much. She saw it when he flinched at the sound of the door slamming after Jo left.
The front door suddenly swung open, and their attention was drawn to Jo running inside, her mascara ruined, and tears falling down her cheeks again. Kate was quick. She ran to step in front of her daughter, and Jo crashed into her arms and sobbed softly on her shoulder.
Castle stood, not knowing what had happened and what he should do next.
Nate came in running behind her.
He was panting. Kate's questioning look had him answering "I don't know what happened, she just wouldn't tell me"
Kate ran her hand down her daughters hair, comforting her and trying to get her to calm down. She was shaking with sorrow. And Kate stole a glance towards Castle who looked helpless.
And then the young girl finally spoke between sobs "He was kissing another girl… I searched for him all around the school hall for an hour, and finally found him in a corridor, kissing another girl."
"Oh baby..." Kate began, but the girl pulled away.
"No just... I don't want to hear anything. I just want to be alone" and she ran to her room.
"Nate where are you going?"
Kate heard Castle say. And she turned to find Nate had disappeared out the door in a second.
"I'll text him" Castle said.
Castle came closer to Kate.
"What do we do now?" he asked.
"Now we wait for a while. Give her some space to herself. And after sometime, we'll go do what we do best. Be her parents"
Kate walked away then to clear the table and take the wine glasses away. Castle just stood there. Waiting for a good interval until he could go upstairs and maybe hold his baby girl.
There was a knock on her door. And she couldn't care less. She just wanted to hide her face into her pillow and cry herself to sleep. She ached. Her heart ached. And the images in her mind that broke her were still too fresh.
"Sweetheart, can we come in?"
"No, go away"
"Honey, we need to talk"
"I don't want to talk. And especially not to dad"
"then let me do the talking honey, but you got to let us in"
"Why is dad here?"
Kate opened the door and stepped in, and Castle walked in behind her hesitantly.
"I... uh... your mom's here for the talking. I cause a lot of damage when I talk... so... uhh. I'm here to do the hugging"
Jo just looked on at them, and Kate took that moment to step closer and sit beside her daughter.
"How are you feeling?"
"Miserable"
"Tell me what happened"
"I took a cab to the prom, and I didn't tell him that I'm coming. It thought I'd surprise him. But when I reached there, I couldn't see him anywhere. I searched the entire hall for him mom. And then I was afraid maybe he didn't go at all because I wasn't coming. So I tried calling him. But who was I kidding!"
Kate took her daughters hand in hers.
"The guy was too busy to pick his phone. He was busy taking a girl against the lockers! I saw him mom! And he didn't look one bit ashamed that I had caught him red handed."
Castle's blood was boiling. He wanted to go right now and strangle this unworthy teenager. But his wife is a cop, he reminded himself.
"I walked up to him and slapped him. And then walked away."
"How bad does it hurt?"
"Too much!" she said and broke down again. Kate pulled her into her arms.
"Go on... I know you guys are here to give me the 'I-Told-You-So, 'You-Should've-Listened-To-Us' speech'"
"We're here to do nothing of the sort"
Just then Kate's phone began to ring. "I got to take this" she said, and excused herself.
Castle sat down in her place. And Jo looked at him.