Fated Dinner Part 1:

Chapter 6

Chapter 6:

When she woke, Katherine slowly opened her eyes to see no one other then Tom sitting in front of her.

"Hey," he said gently.

For a second, just a second, Katherine allowed herself to believe that the past few months had just been a dream. Tom had never left, she hadn't been pregnant, she hadn't had a miscarriage and she hadn't tried to kill herself.

As that feeling of hope hit her, she spied the long scar on both of her arms. It was real… all of it… including this bastard abandoning her for no damn reason.

"Hey?" she said, feeling the fury building in her chest. "You f*****g vanish on me for months and leave me to deal with losing our child on my own and you come back like it's no big deal?"

"Hun, I know that I didn't…"

Smack…

Katherine hit him hard across the face with her open palm. It stung her hand… a lot, but if the angry red mark starting to show on Tom's face was any indication, it was well worth it. She mustered up the strength she had again and hit him again.

Smack!

"You do not get to call me that you son of a b***h!"

"I… I just wanted to say I'm sorry."

"I'd f*****g hope so!"

"Look!" Tom said, standing up. "I wouldn't have come here, but she said I should."

She…

"She who?"

"I… meet a girl on our way back from the show… and I… I didn't mean to, but she's just so amazing. I love her."

Katherine practically heard the blow to her heart.

"You love her?"

"I'm sorry…"

Anger flew through her fresh, and raw.

"You f*****g blow!" she said, feeling pathetic in her insult. "You could've at least called me and broke it off like a man. Instead you acted like a cowardly little s**t!"

Tom winced.

"Goodbye," he said softly, taking his key to her house out of his pocket and placing it gently on the table. Katherine watched him walk out of the door, seething. She had an appointment with a new therapist at four, and she checked her phone. It was still one in the afternoon. Plenty of time for a good drink.

Stretching, Katherine got up from the couch, and found her coat and head off to find the strongest drink she could.

What right did that asshole have to try and pretend to be the right one in that situation? He had f****d her over, in pretty much every way he could. Asshole!

She didn't even really know the bar she ended up choosing, some sports bar that she often passed on the way to work. What made her settle on it was the boasted Half-Priced Drinks 10-2 on Oct. 5th. After checking it was the right day, she went in and sat down at the bar, mentally noticing how more than a few pair of eyes lingered on her as she walked through the room.

Your loss Tom, f*****g d**k!

She began nursing her second seabreeze and was feeling the alcohol start to pass through her mind, numbing the anger. It was nice, honestly, not to feel everything quite so freshly. It allowed her to start compartmentalizing some of what had been happening to her lately.

Suddenly, and without warning, she started to laugh lightly to herself. How could she not? All the f****d up s**t life had handed her lately. Seriously, what was going to happen next?

The bartender cast her a concerned look.

"You alright lady?"

Katherine smiled brightly.

"Not at all!" she said, still smiling. "Another drink please!"

"Katherine!" came a voice behind her.

Katherine turned slowly. It had been a male's voice, but she hadn't recognized it. She scanned the tables slowly and saw one man looking at her. He wore a black hoodie and blue jeans. He sported a slightly rugged beard and had dark hair, and even from across the room she could see his piercing green eyes.

She looked at him for a full three seconds without speaking. She felt like she knew the man from somewhere but couldn't place it. How could she know this man? Had he been a patient of hers? No, he would've known her as Dr. Miller.

She also felt like he wasn't part of her life in college. So how was it she knew this man? Part of her feared him. Strangers that knew you on a first name basis were dangerous, but was he really a stranger? She knew that somehow, she'd once met him before, but why couldn't she remember him?

"Please, have a seat," he said, moving the chair across from him out a little.

Despite the slight fear in her, Katherine moved to his table slowly sliding in the chair he'd moved out for her.

As she sat down she examined him more closely. She looked deep into his eyes, the deepest green pools she'd ever seen. How on earth did she know this man, and why couldn't she remember?

"Do I know you?" she asked slowly.

The man looked up at her with the softest, saddest smile she'd ever seen. It made her uncomfortable. He was looking at her like a parent who hadn't seen their child in years.

"You did, once," he said softly. "You should order some food, it'll combat all that alcohol you've been drinking. You've got an appointment at four, right?"

"…Yeah, how did you know that?"