My Unexpected Love

Chapter Eleven

So its officially everyone! I survived my first week of school! I am already in week two and I'm already trying to keep my brain from exploding. I really hope it doesn't cause that'll be a very unfortunate mess to clean up. . . Anyway, here is chapter eleven. Hope you enjoy!

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Chapter Eleven

It's been two weeks since her dad was in the hospital. After speaking with Dr. Crabtree, they decided on the Anything Is Possible Rehab Center here in Pennsylvania. The rehab center was about two hours away. It helped because while in rehab, he would remain close enough in case anything was to happen, yet it was also far enough away so he wouldn't have those small-town distractions.

From the hospital, Kendall called Jess and asked if she could stay with her family for a while. Jess said she would ask her parents and call back before hanging up her cell. Kendall went back to the hospital waiting room and sent Darrell home. He was initially reluctant to leave, but she appreciated his presence, and thanked him for being here with her.

Jess called her back while she was on her way back up to her dad's room. Her family had readily agreed to let her stay with them for as long as she needed. Her dad was relieved to know that she would be taken care of while he was away.

The next few days were spent looking after her dad while he remained in the hospital. They spent those couple of days talking, spending time together, and getting to know each other again. This was a fresh start. He was trying to make up for lost time, and Kendall could see that.

After he was released, Darrell drove them back to their house. Walking into the house, Kendall expected to find the house in a state of chaos. Only that wasn't what she found. The house was spotless. All the furniture that the EMT's had pushed out of the way to get to the bedroom was straightened. The bottled were cleaned up and tossed out. The house was dusted and aired out. The floors were swept and vacuumed. It was amazing, only Kendall had no idea how it got that way.

She turned to Darrell and raised a questioning eyebrow.

He smiled. "Justin, Jess, Nicole, Lyle, and I all came over the other day and cleaned for you. We didn't want you both to come home to the house in disrepair. We wanted you to feel like it was home again."

Kendall's dad stepped forward and shook Darrell's hand tightly. "Thank you," he said. "You've helped my daughter so much lately. I don't know how I can ever repay you."

Darrell shook his head at him. "It's no problem sir. Your daughter is a very dear friend of mine. I'm happy to help."

Her dad went upstairs to begin to pack and left them alone. "Thank you for this. It means a lot to me," Kendall told him sincerely.

"It really wasn't a problem. You mean a lot to me, Kendall. How could I not help? You said at the hospital that you didn't have any other family. Well, we're your family too, and we'll always be there for you."

Their eyes met, and she could tell that he was being honest. Still in disbelief, Kendall leaned up and kissed Darrell on the cheek. His hand traveled to his cheek shocked at the act. Before he could say anything, Kendall walked up the stairs to her room to pack her things.

She leaned against her bedroom door and sighed. A lot of surprising things had happened lately. But one of the most surprising things, was that kiss. She hadn't meant to do that. She just wanted to and did it. She placed her hand against her quickly thumping heart. When did this happen? Her heart didn't use to react like this when she was around Darrell, so why now?