Messed Up Youthful Innocence

{Chrissy's Point Of View}

“So, do you know what happened to Katie?” Andy asked walking into the front room.

“Something happened?”

“Yeah.”

“What makes you think that?” I asked curiously.

“She’s smiling.”

He was right.

“No clue.”

Just then Katie bounded down the front stairs. She was dressed, well, like she was looking
for attention, nothing too revealing, but she still looked like she wanted attention. Tight jeans, snug fitting shirt, hint of eyeliner.

“Where exactly are you going?” Andy said before I could.

“That’s what I wanted to talk to you about…” Katie trailed off.

“No”

“What? Dad, that’s not fair you didn’t’ even hear what I had to say.”

“No, you’re too young.”

“Andrew” I warned.

He looked over at me giving me pleading eyes.

“Mom, will you at least listen?” Katie exclaimed.

“Shoot.”

“Oh, um… Shit, well, uh, so I was talking to Jake and he sorta asked me if I wanted to go out
and I told him sure. So he’s taking me out somewhere tonight.” she said very quickly and unusually high pitched.

“You’re still not going.”

“DAD!!”

“She can go.” I said

“She’s not going anywhere with him.” Andy said in a matter of fact voice.

“Yes, she is. Katie when is he coming?” I asked nicely

“Half an hour.”

“Go finish getting ready, I’ll talk to your father.”

She nodded before sprinting up the stairs. Andy turned to me.

“She can go?” He asked slowly, his voice shaking.

“It’s going to happen sooner or later. At least it’s not someone like Petey; Jake will probably remember her name the next day.”

“So you’re all for letting our daughter go out gallivanting with some guy on a Saturday night?”

“Did you just use the word gallivanting? Seriously, when did you turn into a 70 year old guy?”

“It doesn’t matter what word, it’s the concept!” Andy’s temper was getting the best of him.

“She’s going to grow up sometime”

“Not if I an help it.” he mumbled menacingly

Drew came in the front door and stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Andy and I glaring at each other. Andy descended on him like a hawk on an injured field mouse.

“Did you know Katie was going out with Jake?”

“I knew he asked her, I didn’t know whether or not she said yes.” drew said slinking towards the staircase.

“And you didn’t do anything?”

“I didn’t know she was going out with him, I mean, it was kind of out of the blue, I thought she was going to hook up with Wil in all honesty.”

Andy exhaled, but it sounded more like a bull ready to charge someone. Drew, not wanting to take that chance, ran up the stairs. For a second I thought Andy was going to follow him. Andy instead, without a sound disappeared down the basement steps. I couldn’t hear anything, so apparently he had shut the studio door. I sighed and walked up the stairs to Katie’s room. Her door was wide open but she was on the phone. I knocked on the door and she looked up at me.

“Hey Kay, can I let you go? My mom’s here. Bye. Hi mom” she whispered the last part.

“Can I come in?”

“Yeah.”

I sat down on the edge of the bed and Katie sat cross-legged facing me.

“Anything else you want to tell me before your dad finds out and attempts to kill the other person involved?”

“Not that I can think of”

“You and Wil?”

“Just friends.”

“You and Jake?”

“More than friends.” She mumbled looking down at her feet.

“How long?”

“Only a week or so” Katie avoided eye contact with me.

“Okay. For future reference, you should probably have told me first, though it was nice that you were going to tell us and not have we just find out.”

“Okay mom, thanks for talking to dad.”

“You’re not in the clear yet Katie, he’s still going to be overprotective.”

“I know, he always is.”

“He’s been overprotective since the day you were born, so be nice, he just doesn’t want to see you get hurt.”

The doorbell rang and I heard someone open the door. Katie’s eyes went wide and she mouthed ‘dad’. I left the room and got to the top of the staircase to see Andy answering the door and Jake nervously mumbling something along the lines of ‘date’ and ‘Katie”
Katie ran down the stairs as soon as I reached the bottom and Jake turned his attention to her.

“Have her home by 8.” Andy said hoarsely.

“Eleven is fine Jake” I said glaring in Andy’s’ direction.

“Okay Mrs. Hurley.”

He grabbed Katie’s hand as they left the house. I closed the door and Andy pathetically watched them go to Jake’s car.

“We need to talk.” I said interrupting his staring at the car driving off into the distance.

“About what?” he asked lightly.

“You and Katie.”

“And how she’s going to get hurt by Bryar?” Andy asked, clearly pissed off but trying
unsuccessfully to hide it.

“No, well… no, just go to our room.”

“As long as Katie doesn’t punish Jake the same way you punish me.”

“ANDREW!”

“Fine I’m going.”

Andy stomped like a two year old up the stairs which caught Drew’s attention. He saw me
glaring at Andy and scampered down the other set of stairs. I closed the bedroom door behind me and walked over to the window to sit on the window seat.

“I can’t believe you let her go” Andy said angrily pacing the room, finally breaking.

“She has to grow up sometime.”

“No, she doesn’t.” He snapped back at me.

“Andy, she can’t stay your little princess forever, I’m not sure if you noticed, but she is
growing up. She’s fifteen already.”

“I know what you were doing at fifteen”

“Because of you” I gently reminded him.

“I know, and Jake is like me”

“Not that much”

“Oh really? Last time he checked, he’s a guy. Guys only want one thing.”

“Pretty little girls to hang out with?”

Andy wanted that at like, five, and he had it.

“Don’t even act that innocent.” He snapped

“I was once.”

“Once, and Katie is still innocent, plus she’s my baby girl” he finished his voice cracking.

“I know she’s your little princess. She’s perfectly aware that she is your daughter.”

“I don’t want anyone else touching her.”

“You do realize you married Daddy’s Little Girl right?”

Andy looked me in the eyes from across the room, he took a few steps towards me. He did, he knew it, and he couldn’t deny it.

“So?”

“Think of what my dad had to go through.”

“But we were friends”

“So are they”

“We were meant to be”

“You have to give her a chance.”

“What if he hurts her?”

“Then I’ll act the part of mom and make her feel better about herself, and you’ll threaten to
kill him in any case, she’s allowed to make her own mistakes”

“Since when?”

“Since she was born”

“Don’t pull that on me.”

“What?”

“I helped make her too.”

“She was your idea”

“Which is why I say she shouldn’t date.”

“I think if she wants to, she can.”

“This isn’t the end of the story.”

“Andy” I stood up and made him look at me “let her go, just little, she’s moving on but she
still might need you. If you try and hold her back, worse things are going to happen.”

“What could be worse?”

“Name one way you rebelled against your parents”

“Me and you...”he trailed off smiling.

“Do you want to be a grandfather?”i asked standing up and crossing the room.

“HELL NO”

“Then” I kissed Andy’s cheek “let her stretch, let her explore a little, she knows we’re here for
her.”

“She better not explore too much.”

I sighed and rolled my eyes

“I wonder if falling for drummers is genetic?” I wondered out loud.

“I don’t know… but… Shit… drummers do it better.”

“Didn’t you have a shirt that said that?”

“Yes, Jake is a drummer, think of what they could do.”

“Think of what we did” I said wrapping my arms around his neck.

“Don’t say that” he wrapped his arms around my waist.

“She’s a big girl now, if we couldn’t be stopped, she definitely won’t be able to be stopped.”

“And what are you going to do when she comes home pregnant?”

“She won’t”

“Are you so sure about that?”

“I’m positive” I said before kissing Andy.

“Oh so we’re going to play the ‘let’s distract Andy with a make out session game’”

“Yes”

“It’s not going to work.”

“It’s not?” I asked before kissing Andy again and sliding my hand from the side of his face
down his chest.

“I swear to God I hope you’ve learned to be like this and it’s not genetic.” he said closing his eyes.