Alright folks this chapter is a little controversial so lcomment and et me know who's side you're on.

       Jake's P.O.V 

        I was driving down Kayla’s street Monday morning trying to figure out how I was going to clear up my little outburst when I dropped her off on Saturday.  I don’t know why I got mad, but there I was trying to tell her how much fun I had with her or trying to just have a normal conversation and she wouldn’t stop talking about the plan.  Sure the plan went great, but it’s like she didn’t even notice I was there and I don’t know why that bothered me so much, but it did. 

               As I approached Kayla’s driveway I saw her open her mailbox, sift through the mail and then violently slam the mailbox shut before chucking a letter into the dirt.  She proceeded to kick it several times before picking it up and sinking to the ground in tears.  I had never seen Kayla cry.  Not when those jerks repeatedly insulted her at one of our matches and not when I accidentally kicked her in the head.  But there she was, the girl with more self-control than anyone I knew sobbing uncontrollably on the ground.

               “Kayla are you okay?  What’s wrong?” I climbed out of my truck and rushed over to her.  She glanced up with a panicked look on her face.

               “Nothing I’m fine.  I’ll go get Charlotte so we can leave” Kayla stood up and picked up the letter before brushing the dirt off her shorts.  She wouldn’t look me in the eye and she quickly wiped the tears from her face. 

               I grabbed her arm before she could walk away.

               “Kayla what happened?” I begged for an explanation.  She still refused to look at me.  She brushed off my hand and mumbled some excuse about stubbing her toe before stalking back into the house.  She emerged five minutes later with Charlotte in tow looking as if nothing had ever happened.

               We dropped Charlotte off at the Y like usual and went to practice like usual and did the same drills as usual, but Kayla’s actions were very unusual.  She kept an awkward distance between us and barely spoke, but if she did it was with some forced joke or laugh. 

As I drove her home we sat there in silence.  When she didn’t complain about the country music I knew something was really wrong.  I abruptly pulled over onto a random side street a few minutes from her house.

               “Okay we need to talk about this.  Can you please tell me what the hell has you so angry?” I stared at her expectantly.

               “Jake nothing is wrong.  I have everything under control.  Now can you please drive me home?” Kayla scowled and turned to look out the window.

               “Right of course you have everything under control.  Because you always have to have everything under control” I spat back.

               “What is that supposed to mean?” Kayla glared at me.

               “It means you never let anyone help you with anything which is not only stupid but also extremely annoying.  You never tell anyone anything.  I haven’t done anything to lose your trust and you still blow off any questions about anything deeper than volleyball” I didn’t understand how this had escalated so quickly, but now that the door had opened everything was flooding out.

               “Why do you want to know so badly?  I don’t owe you any answers” Kayla was just as angry as I was at that point.  She must have caught on that I wasn’t going to drive her home until we finished this conversation because she got out of the car and started walking.  I ran after her, grabbed her arm, and spun her around.

               “Damn it Kayla it’s not about owing people answers.  This is how friendship works you can’t stay guarded so much” I was so frustrated with her for not understanding such a basic concept.  Trust me I knew more than anyone that trusting people wasn’t easy, but I didn’t understand what I did to betray her trust.

               “Maybe I have my reasons and you need to respect them.  You’re not exactly an open book yourself.  I know there’s stuff you’re not telling me, but I’m not constantly harassing you about it.  Why the heck do you care?  Can’t you just leave me alone?” Kayla looked defeated, pleading with me to drop it. 

               “Why do I care?  Because like it or not I care about you and I know that scares you, but you’re just going to have to deal with it” My voice gradually lost a lot of its harshness.

               “My dad’s not dead okay?  That’s what’s wrong” Kayla said each word flatly with no emotion.  She didn’t look away, but stared right at me as she said it.

               “What?  Why is that a bad thing?” I was extremely confused.  First I was shocked she opened up and second I knew there was more to the story about her dad, but I never would have guessed that he was still alive.

               “He’s dead to me.  He left us right after Charlotte was born” Kayla turned away and went to sit on the curb.  I followed her after I got over my initial shock.

               “Do you want to tell me what happened?  I understand if you don’t” I sat down next to her.

               “There really isn’t much to the story.  He was a great dad, he told us he loved us constantly, he taught me how to surf, he helped us paint Charlotte’s nursery, then one day he was just gone.  I found his wedding ring on the counter and a note that said he wasn’t happy and needed to go ‘find himself’.  I was eleven and my father who claimed he loved me just left without a goodbye because we weren’t good enough for him.  Every year on the first of August he sends a letter saying he’ll be back soon.  Every year for the past seven years and I haven’t seen him since the day he left” Kayla kicked a rock with her shoe and looked off down the street probably remembering happier times as a kid.

               “Kayla I’m sorry I had no idea.  That explains why you assaulted your mailbox today.  I’m sorry your dad didn’t realize how lucky he was to have such an amazing daughter.  He’s an ass for leaving you guys, no child should ever have to go through that” I looked down and saw my hands had formed into fists.  I had a pretty horrible dad, but at least he was around.  I didn’t understand how someone could just leave their wife, daughter, and newborn baby.

               “It’s partially my fault.  Every year I get my hopes up and every year I’m disappointed.  I don’t know why I still miss him or why a small part of me wishes he would come back and things would go back to the way they used to be.  It’s stupid, I know” Kayla was writing words in the dirt with a stick.  I had never seen her so distraught, but she was still trying to hide it.

               “It is not your fault at all.  He’s your dad of course you miss him and that’s perfectly okay.  It’s okay to miss him and it’s okay to hate him a little too, feelings don’t make you weak Kay” I grabbed her hand and held on even when she tried to pull away.  She just nodded.  I don’t know if she believed me, but she didn’t say anything else.  We just sat there for a while, her head on my shoulder as she drew pictures in the dirt.

So what do you think?  Was Jake justified here?  Were you suprised by Kayla's story about her dad?  Comment and let me know what you thought and don't forget to vote!