Never Want to Let You Go

Thank you Lils!!! This is so adorable! And so fitting! =) I love it! Happy Valentine's Day!


KATY’S POV

Why had I even bothered to call my mom?

I should’ve known that it would end in heartbreak and devastation. That’s how things always ended.

Not once had good come out of a conversation with her. But Joe meant everything to me and I wanted her to meet him, the person who I had fallen in love with and had hoped that I would spend the rest of my life with.

And the fact that he had spent the entire day trying to cheer me up only increased my feelings.

He had ordered me happy face pancakes for lunch and watched a few of my favorite movies with me, even a girly chick flick.

It meant the world to me that he was willing to try so hard just to get a smile on my face. He was amazing.

And just a mere twenty minutes before he was going to head over to his concert, the best gift arrived.

We were in the middle of an episode of Full House when there was a knock on the bedroom door.

I gave Joe an odd look, wondering who it could’ve been. It was weird that someone would be knocking on the bedroom door.

Before Joe could answer my puzzled face, the door creaked open to reveal an excited bundle of life, running quickly in the room with a wagging tail.

“Noodle!” I squealed as the puppy ran to the edge of the bed waiting to be picked up. I quickly leaned over the bed to pick her up, instantly greeted by wet kisses.

“Oh, I see how it is,” a deep voice came from the door. “You’re more excited to see the dog than you are me.”

I glanced up at the older man. “Daddy!” I exclaimed before hopping up from the bed to give him a hug.

I couldn’t believe that they were here.

I took a peek over at Joe, who was sitting quietly on the bed with a huge grin.

He was beyond amazing. I couldn’t believe that he flew my dad and dog all the way over from California.

At this point, my mother was completely forgotten.

“I’ll leave you two to catch up,” Joe spoke as he stood from the bed. “I gotta head over to the arena for the show.”

“Okay,” I smiled at him, giving him a quick hug. “Thank you.”

His mouth turned upward in a grin. “You’re welcome. See ya, Mr. Cowndrie.”

My dad chuckled. “See ya, Joseph.”

I watched as Joe left the room with a wave. My dad watched him leave as well before looking over at me. “I’ll be right back,” he told me before exiting the room quickly.

I was tempted to stand next to the door and listen to whatever he was going to say to Joe, but I felt that they deserved their privacy. And plus Rita entering the bedroom and stealing Noodle from my arms had me distracted.

--

JOE’S POV

“Joseph,” I heard Katy’s father call after me. “Wait a second.”

I paused my walking to turn around and face him, feeling a little anxious as to why he wanted to talk to me. “Yes, sir?”

He chuckled. “Please Joe, call me Dan.”

I smiled, feeling slightly at ease. “I’ll try.”

“I just wanted to thank you for flying us over here. Katy’s mother being gone has never been easy on her and I appreciate you doing all you can to cheer her up,” he told me sincerely.

“You’re welcome, sir-“ I paused. “I mean- Dan. I know how much you mean to her and I know she’s missed you a lot.”

“I’ve missed her, too,” he replied with a nod of his head. “But she’s really fond of you. She has called me everyday since she’s been on tour with you and I can just tell how much she cares about you; you make her really happy. I want to thank you for treating her so well.”

I smiled. “You raised an amazing girl. How could I not treat her like a princess? I really care about her and I want the best for her.”

A genuine smile came across his face. “Thank you for your care and sincerity. I trust you with her and I trust that you will take care of her.”

“I will do my best,” I replied with a respectful nod. “I should probably get going, though.”

”Break a leg,” he told me as he extended his hand for me to shake.

“Thanks,” I chuckled before shaking his hand and heading out the door.

Talks with the father of a girlfriend were always intense and intimidating, but it definitely felt enlightening. I felt an extra bounce in my step knowing that I had my girlfriend’s father’s respect and approval.

--

“It’s nice that Dan and Noodle are here,” my mom spoke with a warming smile as she filled herself a glass of water.

It was later that evening, Dan and Noodle already off to bed, Katy hanging in her room, Rita in Nick’s room, and I in my parent’s room telling my mom goodnight.

“Yeah, it is,” I replied in distraction, my thoughts wandering back to Katy and her mom. I just couldn’t believe the whole situation. It wasn’t fair to Katy. Even though she seemed okay, I still felt bad.

“What’s going on?” She asked as she took a sip of her water.

“What?” I lifted my head to look at her. “Nothing.”

“C’mon Joseph, I’m your mother,” she replied. “I can tell that something has been bothering you all night.”

I sighed heavily in defeat. Of course my mom could tell that something was wrong. “I found out today that Katy’s mom left when she was nine. She just up and left.”

My mom’s eyes went wide. “What?”

“Yeah. She lives in North Carolina now and Katy was hoping that I could meet her while we were there in a few weeks, but her mom said she was too busy with work and remodeling her house to see her, she was too busy to see her own daughter.”

“Oh my god, poor thing,” my mom’s face bore sympathy. “That’s awful.”

“Yeah, I know. And it has been bothering me all day,” I admitted. “I feel so bad.”

“Gosh, me too. That’s terrible. She’s such a sweet girl, she doesn’t deserve that,” my mom looked down at her glass of water. “They’ve stayed in contact, though?” She asked with raised eyebrows.

“Yeah, I guess they talk a few times a month, but it’s been years since they’ve seen each other,” I informed her.

“Wow,” she replied in amazement.

“I know and I feel absolutely terrible and I want to do something to help, but I don’t know if there’s anything for me to do,” I admitted disappointedly. “I’ve tried to cheer her up all day, but I don’t feel like that’s enough.”

“Oh honey,” she sighed. “All you can do is be there for her and make her smile when you can. This isn’t something that can be fixed. Just be supportive and let her know that you’re there.”

“Alright,” I sighed in defeat, knowing that mom was always right.

“Is that why Dan and Noodle are here?” She asked as a light bulb went off in her brain.

“Yeah, I thought it would cheer her up,” I told her with a shrug of my shoulders.

“Well, you did good. Katy is having a blast with them here. You’ve done more than you think,” she sent a smile my way. “You should get to bed darling.”

“Ok,” I replied. “Love you.”