Hey everyone, yes I finally get to update, and props to my friend Abby who was nice enough to help me write this chapter! I only one a copy of the DVD.

It was a few weeks later at the grill before me and Abby's shift started so we were hanging in the back alley arguing about when I should tell Priestly that he was my father. She still wants me to go with the whole bomb dropping approach . I've day-dreamed about it a couple times and it always ends with me screaming, peeing my pants and me running away simultaneously . I on the other hand wanted to go with the whole slipping a note under the door and running like hell and possibly peeing my pants. I have bladder control issues if you haven't noticed.

" I don't see why you just can't tell him. If he were MY dad then he would have already known by now, and we would live happily ever after in our little made up world of facial piercings, kilts and dyed hair." said Abby waving her hands in the air.

"Well as fanciful and carefree as that sounds, there's also some sort of aftermath where he could reject me and send me into my only little world of brooding, depression, and ice cream." I rebutted, "Oh and speaking of ice cream, I heard there's this cute little ice cream shop around the corner and we have 15 minutes until-"

"Kadince! Stop changing the subject! You are going to march your little white ass in there and tell that man with the green Mohawk you are his daughter!"

"Abby! For the last time! I am not going to tell Priestly he is my father until I am damn well ready to!" as soon as I shouted this at the top of my lungs, which in retrospect was probably a bad idea anyway, I heard a sort of 'ker-splunk' behind me. I turned slowly and winced as I saw that the cause of this ker-splunk was the man I was hoping to avoid. It was Priestly, er, my dad now I guess. Tears welled up in my eyes and my feet suddenly took off and I willed myself to go anywhere, any place, any place would be better than here.

Oh. My. God. Did she really just say what I thought she said. It all makes sense now, that connection I feel whenever I talk to her, like I'm talking to….Katie. Myself. Both of us at the same time. Which probably makes sense since she is the product of both me and Katie. I know what I've got to do. I have to go after her. I have to find her. I have to let her know that its going to be ok. That I'm….happy with this. With her. And that I'm going to be here for her from now on, because I wasn't there for her before. I turn to Abby unsure of the sort of excuse to use.

"Ah! Abby! New daughter! Must find! Gotta go! Make things right! Back in 20!" My feet started to storm the ground unsure of where the girl could've possibly dreamed of going, but knowing that I would find her, that I wouldn't let her down like I already have.

Seeing as now I was the only one working the shift for at least the next 20 minutes I decided I should go and tell Trucker I was in need of reinforcements.

"Yo Trucker! Two of your fave employees are M.I.A! I'm gonna need some assistance! For at least 20 minutes anyway."

Trucker came out of the storage room that doubled as his office for bills and stuff.

"What's up?" he asked.

"Kadince accidentally let slip that our mohawked -wonder is her father. Then she took off running, and then Priestly told me he had to go find her, and then he went off too. I would've left, but someone had to be the responsible one." Trucker smirked at me as he tied an apron around his waste.

"Take the orders I'll make 'em." was all he said.

"Aren't you shocked? I mean it's been fifteen years and all of a sudden he's a dad! That doesn't shock you? A family has been working together here for weeks now and you didn't know, and you aren't even surprised?" I yelled.

"I knew, I just didn't tell them I knew." he replied.

"How could you've known? I didn't even know until she told me when we were applying for here." I was officially confused now.

"What can I say? They're just each other, two tripping peas in the same far our pod."

"You're a weird one Mr. Trucker." I replied wondering where my wayward friend had gone off to and deciding that I'd have to text Teresa as soon as possible.

I gasped for air falling into the sand, I cried, I cried for being stupid, how could I have done that? I just messed everything up for myself now, there was no way to make this work now. Why didn't I just tell him before? Why couldn't I be as courageous as my mom? Why couldn't I just walk up to him and say, "Hi Priestly, I'm Kadince, and I think you're my father."

"Kadince!" I heard someone yell. I looked up it was him. I tensed ready to hop back up and take off again but he got to me too quickly, I couldn't out run him now.

"Kadince, why didn't you tell me?" Priestly asked as he grabbed my arm.

"WHAT DID YOU WANT ME TO SAY?" I screamed, "DID YOU WANT ME TO JUST COME AND YELL AT YOU AND BE PISSED AT YOU FOR A THING YOU COULDN'T CONTROL? IS THAT WHAT YOU WANTED? What did you want me to do Priestly?" I started crying again.

He pulled me in close and held me to his chest. I sobbed, I buried my face into the crook of his neck and I cried like a toddler that stumbled to the ground and hit their head. With some amazing feat of strength he hoisted me up and wrapped my legs around his waist. He whispered into my ear and lowered himself to the ground. He rocked back and forth.

"It's ok Kadince, I'm here now, it's gonna be ok, I'm here. Shhh, you're ok, you're fine. I'm here now Kade. I know it took a while but I'm here now." he whispered as he ran his hand through my hair tucking strands behind my ear, kissing the top of my head as he muttered various happy thoughts into my ear. I felt like a six year old again, but I didn't care. I didn't care anymore, as much as I tired to fight the idea, as much as I tried to convince myself that I was fine without a dad, that I was only looking for him for the sake of my mom, I knew it was a lie. I was doing it for me, it was selfish I knew, but I just wanted to know. I wanted to know what it was like to have a dad. I love my mom. I swear to God that I do, but it's just, after so long, after going to school day after day and seeing dads pick up their kids after school and swing them into their arms with a smile or a laugh. After seeing Teresa's dad comfort her after she got stood up. I just wanted to know what that was like. What it was like to have a man in your life that wasn't trying to be your buddy, or act like he should be father of the year, just to get in your mom's pants. I suppose the simplest way to put it was that, since I was little, I wanted a daddy. I wanted a guy in my life to hug me when I was sad, to mutter meaningless things to me when I was sick to make me feel better, a dad to be there and make all the hurt go away. And as I sat here, I realized, what I had wanted since I was five years old, the dream that I had always held onto no matter how much I tried to mask it, to try to make it seem less like a selfish, childish thing, it was finally coming true. I'd waited so long for this. And here it was, just all of the sudden, out of the blue, everything I pictured could happen if I had a dad, it was all happening now, and it felt beautiful.

I rocked Kadince back and forth, and I whispered into her ear. I didn't know what else to do, but it just felt like it was what I was supposed to do, so it was what I did.

It hit me then, that this wasn't just the teenage girl that was here for a summer job that was sitting on my lap. It was my daughter, my freaking daughter. I have a daughter, I have a little girl, who isn't little anymore. God I've missed so much, hell I've missed everything! I never thought I've screwed up that bad in my life, but I was wrong. I ruined this girl's life, I ruined Katie's life, hell I probably fucked up my own life. And why? Because my parents were nut jobs? I couldn't stick it out for Katie? I am such an asshole.

"I'm so sorry Kadince, so so sorry." I whispered to her.

"It's ok." her voice was choked up and quiet, not what I was used to. It hurt me, I did this, I made her hurt.

"I'll make it better, it'll be better." I laid us back in the sand trying to get more comfortable. Almost reflexively she laid her head on my chest, and everything just…clicked. It felt right. This girl, my baby girl, was hurting, and I was trying to make it better, trying to hug away the hurt. It was just it was…beautiful.

Wow ok so….if you read any of my other stories you understand that I currently reside, and am matriarch, of the Land of Update Failure. I can't even believe it took me this long, but hey it's summer, far into summer, and I have some time so I'll try to get a few more chapters up hopefully.