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A New Life
-Chapter 15: Happiness and Death–
Alex was strolling down the hallways of Sea View High School with his new girlfriend between classes. She wasn't the girl he had pictured as his first girlfriend. In fact he hadn't pictured himself with any number of girls. Up until a month ago he had only imagined himself with one girl, his now very distant best friend Rose. They had grown apart lately because they were now dating other people and didn't seem to have any time for each other. Dating Kristen wasn't exactly what he had imagined. She wouldn't go skateboarding with him or surf the waves on the beach like Rose did. But he was willing to part with those things for the chance to be with someone that made him feel the way Kristen did. She inspired so much joy and confidence in him that he didn't know how he could be happier. He wasn't as awkward anymore and he was much more outspoken. When he wanted to be heard he spoke instead of sitting back and minding his own business as he had in the past. He had even adopted a slightly different look. He had gotten his hair cut slightly shorter and spiked it in the front. It made him feel more like a cool kid and it reflected his newfound cheerfulness.
"So have you and Rose spoken lately?" Kristen asked.
"No, not really. Maybe just a little bit. We haven't really had any time for each other." Alex said.
"Well then don't look now cause here she comes with Ben."
As if by impulse and not his own will Alex defiantly turned to see them as they walked nearer. They were walking very close together. Ben his hand firmly clutched around Rose's in a manner that slightly resembled a leash. He seemed to be giving gloating and cautionary looks to all the other boys they passed. It was as if he was saying "Back off she's mine." When they passed by Rose shot Alex something that resembled a smile. But no sooner had she done that had Ben pulled her into a kiss that looked to be just a little forced. When they were out of earshot Kristen spoke up.
"Wow, he seems really possessive of her. He gives off really ugly vibes."
"I'm trying not to pay attention. Besides it's not that bad anyway."
"But doesn't it bother you the way he's treating her. You do love her, don't you?"
"I did love her. I'm with you, so my feelings for her aren't important."
"She's still your best friend. It should bother you a little. I mean you can't hang out with her at all. I don't think Ben would allow that. He's such a jerk. He thinks he can control her like that."
"Well if there's anything I've learned about Rose it's that she won't let anybody dominate her life like that. It's twenty thirty-five. Girls don't let boys treat them like that. And Rose is no exception. She'll put him in his place soon enough. And if that doesn't work she make his place be not with her."
"You really think so? She looks like she's so into him that she'd let him be whatever way he wants with her."
"Yeah, that's not Rose. She'll get over how brainwashed she is by him and then she'll either make him see reason or dump him."
"And if she does dump him, I suppose you'll want to be free to 'go after her'. Right?"
"No, not at all. I really like you. I'm not gonna split up with you just cause of that. I'm not that kind of person. I want to stay with you as long as you want to stay with me."
Kristen turned to him and ran her hand around the front of his long, thin stomach, around his sides and wrapped them around his back. She pulled him into an affectionate hug and wrapped her face around the side of his neck. "You're so amazing Alex. I feel really lucky being with you. I guess it's a good thing you didn't get Rose to go out with you…no offense." He didn't respond but Kristen assumed she hadn't offended him.
"So why did you wanna be with me anyway? It's not like I'm some perfect looking surfer dude, like…Ben."
"Looks aren't everything. But just so you know you are cuter than Ben Linus by a mile." Alex smiled from ear to ear. "See that's what I mean, that smile is breathtaking." He kept smiling which forced her smile and give him a small kiss on his lips without losing her smile.
"Besides, if you where one of those guys I might think you where just as brainless as most of them. I might imagine you wearing a shirt that has arrows pointing to your arms that reads 'Wish these where brains'."
"Just so you know that's not true about all guys like that. Rose's older brother isn't 'brainless', he's at the top of the junior class, he's always been like that. And he's way stronger than Ben."
"We'll there's always an exception to the rule. But my point wasn't that surfer boys are dumb. My point was I like you for who you are and not what you look like. You're cute so that's a bonus. So why did you want to be with me?"
"I think it's cause…you know I was in a lot of pain cause I knew I couldn't date Rose, right? You where the only one that seemed to understand it. And you always make me feel really good about myself. So you like the perfect girl to me. By the way you are beautiful. I can't go a day anymore without staring at your dimples."
"Hah, you are so corny. You know that? Just one more reason I can't get enough of you."
They walked to class together with brilliant smiles the entire way. Life was good for Alex for the first time in what seemed like forever to him. He wasn't sure, but he didn't see how things could get any better for him, but at the same time he knew they would.
A man in his early seventies was in dire straits. He had been taken to the hospital when his neighbor had noticed him having a heart attack outside his apartment. He was now in a hospital bed having a second heart attack and wishing with all that was left of his heart that it would just end and he could go in peace. But there was no such luck for him. As such his life had been the same way. It had been a series of events which led to his utter and inexorable failure. This day was no different. He felt a stabbing sensation in his chest which he realized was a doctor sticking a very large needle into his heart. He knew what would happen next and he wasn't disappointed. His heart slowed down promptly. Once he found the strength to speak again he looked to the doctor for answers.
"So am I gonna live doc or am I just gonna hafta beg for it one more time?" He said in a perverted kind of resentment.
"Sir, I'm sorry to say but this one was much worse than the first. I'll have to run some tests but I don't think you'll make it past the end of the weekend. Is there anything I can get you?"
"No, no, nooooo." He rasped in a blood curdling guttural voice.
"Then is there anyone you wish to see? Do you have any children you wish to have with you?"
"My older son won't want see me. So maybe I can get my younger son to guilt him into coming along. So, yes get me my son. Get me Owen."
Jimmy woke up on Saturday with a smile on his face. He was planning on spending the entire day with Alice. They were in love and he wanted to spend as much time with her as possible. He went over to his closet and extracted a pair of jeans that he pulled on quickly. Then he slipped into a white shirt that fit in a way he knew Alice would find impressive. He then bounded down the stairs in a hurry to get started. His sister was even quicker than he was. Her new boyfriend Ben was sitting with her at the table in the room just off of the kitchen. They where kissing each other to what seemed to be no end.
"Do they really have to? There are people here that like to keep food inside their stomachs." Jimmy remarked.
"I know. They're so gross! You're way cooler than Rose. You and Alice don't so stuff like that."
"Thanks little bro. You're cooler then her too." Jimmy said patting his brother on the back.
"You two are right. I am gonna tell them to cut it out in a minute. But, Jimmy, you where the one that I caught with your soon to be girlfriend trying to take your shirt off."
"You know that was an accident. It was during an earthquake and she fell on me."
"I believe him mom. But that in there, that's no accident. If he says his lips fell onto hers, he's lying and you should make him leave." Michael said, his eyebrows raised in disgust.
"You let me take care of that, okay?" Lilly said.
Behind her back Jimmy and Michael high-fived and threw each other grins of approval. Unbeknownst to him Michael's long black hair was dipping into the milk as he was eating his cereal. Jimmy found it amusing so he said nothing. But when Michael noticed it he whined inaudibly and started wiping it off with a wet paper towel.
"Why did you say anything?" Michael complained, a look of annoyance focused at Jimmy.
"You're just too funny little bro!" Jimmy laughed heartily.
All of a sudden something dawned on Jimmy. "Hey mom, where's dad?" He asked.
"He's over at your Uncle Owens' house."
"Why? They've had Ian for two years, you'd think he and Aunt Lisa could handle him by now." Jimmy joked.
"Not funny Jimmy. Besides I'm sure that isn't why your dad's over there."
"You mean you don't know?"
"No, he just told me Owen had something pressing he needed to talk about and he'd be back as soon as he could."
"I wonder what it is." Michael commented, in a highly uninterested tone of voice. No sooner had he made the remark there came an answer. Their father along with their Uncle Owen and Aunt Lisa, who was carrying their son Ian in her arms, came through the front door.
"What's going on you guys?" Lilly asked innocently.
"Our dad's dying." Oliver said referring to Owen and himself.
"So you need to go down there and be with him?"
"Yeah, but I'd like you to come with me."
"Then who's gonna watch the kids?"
"Jimmy can do it. He's sixteen. I think he's responsible enough."
"Ok, if you're sure about that."
"It'll be fine. Jimmy I need you to do something for us."
"Sure what is it dad?" Jimmy asked, not knowing what he was about to get himself into.
"I need you to watch the house till we all get back. My father's dying and I need to be there."
"But dad, I was gonna go on my first official date with Alice since we got back together. We've been really busy with work and stuff lately. This was our first chance."
"Sorry Jimmy, but I need you to do this. I need you to watch your brother and sister and your cousin while we're gone."
"But dad, Ian's two. What if he…well… what if anything happens with him?"
"You're a smart guy, I'm sure you'll figure it out."
"What? Are you serious?"
"Yeah, you're in charge. I'll call you later. Hopefully we'll be back later tonight."
"I'm getting major points for this, right?"
"Of course. Rose, Michael, you're brother's in charge. Do everything he tells you. And remember, he'll tell me if you didn't." Oliver said. Rose only partially heard. She was still mostly focused on Ben. When they had all left, Jimmy sat down and thought of what to do. There was one thing he knew he was going to do since he was now in charge.
"You heard what dad said I'm in charge. In case you don't know what that means, I'll help you figure it out. Ben! Get lost!" Jimmy bellowed causing Ben to jerk to attention.
"Huh? What did you say?" Ben said, acting as if he hadn't heard what was said.
"I said: make like a tree and leave. Now."
"Who's gonna make me?" Ben asked, in a belligerent and albeit foolish manner.
"You really wanna find out kid?"
"Whatever. See ya later Rose."
Ben got inches from the door when Jimmy grabbed him by the wrist and stopped him. "What gives man?"
"Just so you know, I don't like the way you're treating my sister. Don't let me see you giving her a tonsillectomy in front of me again. And loose the attitude."
"What makes you think you can talk to me like that?"
"I'm her big brother, that's what makes me think it. So watch what you do with my sister. Now get outta here." Ben left without any further argument.
"Well you just ruined my day Jimmy. What gives!?" Rose scolded him at the top of her lungs.
"I don't want that creep messing around with you right in front of me."
"Whatever, I hate you!" Rose screamed and stormed up to her room.
"Well I don't hate you. I'm glad you did that. That guy was freakin' me out." Michael said cautiously just in case Rose was still near.
"You would, wouldn't you, ya little lug nut." Jimmy said grabbing Michael and pulling him into a head lock.
"No wait, stop, come on!" Michael pleaded.
"Yup, you know what's gotta happen now!" Jimmy laughed deeply. He took his knuckles and rubbed them against Michaels head.
"Ah, you're messing up my hair, stop it." Michael begged. Jimmy reluctantly released him, but on his own terms.
"So, what are we gonna do with Ian?" Jimmy asked, as if he expected Michael to give him a good answer.
"I don't know what you're gonna do with him. I'm gonna go play baseball with my friends."
"Umm, sorry Michael you gotta stay here. Mom and dad aren't home and I've got Ian, so I have to have you here cause I can't come get you if something happens."
"But nothings gonna happen. Trust me."
"Sorry little bro, you gotta stay. But if you want they can come and hang out here as long as they behave."
"Fine, okay. But you were a lot cooler before."
Within the next hour Alice came by, knocked on the front door and was promptly let in by Jimmy. "What's going on? Aren't we gonna go out? Why are Michael's friends here?" Alice asked quickly.
"Umm, my parents and Aunt and Uncle had to go take care of something. They left me in charge. So I hafta stay here and watch everybody, and apparently that means everybody." He said gesturing to Michaels' friends.
"So, no date?"
"I'm sorry, but I have to take care of my cousin too. I'm really sorry."
"Oh, don't worry about it. You didn't say anything about your cousin. He's so cute."
No sooner had she said that Ian became restless and began to cry and say things that where unintelligible baby talk. "He was fine until just now. He was just sitting there playing with his toy."
"Maybe he just needs to be held." Alice suggested. She went over and lifted Ian into her arms. But this only made him more irritable so she quickly placed him on his feet back on the floor. "I don't know, he doesn't seem to like that."
"I want mommy." Ian mumbled. He began to walk toward Jimmy.
"Hey, come here Ian." Jimmy coaxed him.
"Jimmy!" Ian exclaimed with a smile on his face.
"Yeah, that's right. Come here buddy." Jimmy said scooping Ian up. Ian promptly settled down. He put his arms around the back of Jimmy's neck and rested his head on his shoulder.
"Awe, he likes you. Looks like a crisis averted." Alice said.
"Yeah, I don't know what it is he's always liked me a lot. But don't let that fool you. In a little while when he's not tired anymore, he'll need something to do. That's where we have to get creative." This took even less time than Jimmy had expected. After only ten or fifteen minutes Ian woke up again and he was looking to Jimmy to provide him with entertainment. "Buddy, can't you see I've got all these other people I have to deal with?"
"I can help; I'm really good with little kids." Charlie said, walking up to Jimmy.
"You're an only child Charlie. How do you know anything about little kids?" Jimmy asked.
"I was in the kids ward at the hospital for a long time. Some of us played with the toddlers. It's not that hard I think I know what he wants."
"Okay, have a two-year-old." Jimmy said placing Ian on the floor. Charlie grabbed Ian by the hand and led him over to the middle of the rug in the living room and sat down with him. They began to play with one of Ian's toys. When Ian got restless Charlie did things that made him laugh like tickle his stomach or make funny faces. "Wow, Charlie's definitely one of a kind." Jimmy said.
"So, what can we do since we're not going on our date day?" Alice inquired.
"I know this I gonna sound boring but I still need to fill out the form for my driver's license. So I guess I could do that now."
"Sure, sounds like a good way to kill some time." Alice replied. Jimmy pulled out an envelope and a pen, and then extracted the forms. He began filling them out.
"Eyes blue. Hair black. Date of birth June twenty-second twenty nineteen. Height five foot nine. Weight one hundred sixty pounds…" Jimmy ran off his information.
"Wait, you where only one forty five when you got your learners' permit six months ago. What happened?"
"I've been working out a lot. Since I was single I threw myself into my school work and worked out a lot. I mean, I do that anyway. But I had a lot more time to work out, so I put on a lot of weight in muscle."
"Well that's good that that what it is."
"You know I wish I was more like you Jimmy." Michael interjected.
"How's that little bro?"
"I wish I had muscles like you. I'm skinny and puny."
"Don't put yourself down like that. I won't let you. You're my brother, you can't. Besides what do you need big muscles for anyway?"
"Well I'm pretty good at baseball. But the other guys are better cause they're stronger than me."
"First of all they're not that much stronger. But that's not even the point. You don't need strength as badly as you think to be a pitcher."
"What d'you mean? It helps for throwing the ball harder."
"That's true, somewhat. But really for pitching you need height."
"Well that's nice, but I'm not that tall. I'm twelve and I'm not even five feet tall."
"Have you seen the other guys. They're all shorter than you. You're in the eighty-ninth percentile for height. When I was your age I was in the fortieth."
"So… you're not anymore. I need to get taller quickly."
"Well that's not gonna happen, not for another year at least. But I'll let you in on a secret little bro. I'm almost certain you're gonna be a good bit taller than me in just a couple years."
"How can you tell? There's no way you can know that."
"Well, actually yes there is. I've been working in a hospital long enough to pick some things up. And one thing I can say is, when your sixteen and your twelve year old brother wears the same size shoe as you, chances are he's gonna be taller than you one day."
"You really think that? Wow that would be great!"
"Yeah, little bro, I know it's gonna happen. And don't worry about it right now. You're doing great in baseball. Just keep doing what you're doing; you've got nothing to worry about."
"Thanks! I take back what I said. You're the coolest big brother ever!" Michael said hugging Jimmy quickly.
"Hey Michael get back over here." Susan said. She walked over and led him back with her hand on his backside.
"You're a really sweat big brother Jimmy." Alice smiled at him.
"You're a really nya nya nya." Jimmy said mockingly. Alice slugged him in the arm. Moments later Charlie came over carrying Ian who was once again asleep.
"He's a fun little kid. I should come over here more often." Charlie said.
"I'll bet my Aunt and Uncle would let you babysit him if you wanted."
"That's alright…here ya go." Charlie slipped Ian into Jimmy's arms. Jimmy started rubbing him on the back. He didn't wake up; however a small smile did form on his lips.
"You'd make a good father someday Jimmy." Alice noted.
"Yeah, you'd make a good father too Alice." Jimmy said obnoxiously.
"Cut it out!" Alice said, smacking him in the shoulder.
"Stop, you'll wake him up. And I'll have you know I only make fun of you because I love you."
"Awe thanks." Alice said. They leaned in and began to kiss each other on the lips.
"Hey, not in front of the kid!" Michael said, causing them to pull apart abruptly.
Hours later nothing out of the ordinary had happened. Jimmy was tired from the day of watching a house full of kids so he and Alice and Ian where all sound asleep on the couch when Jimmy's parents came in through the door. "Jimmy wake up, we're back." Lilly said shaking him on the shoulder.
"Wha…what time is it?" Jimmy moaned as he woke.
"It's almost five in the evening. Can you take Ian home?" Oliver asked.
"Sure, no problem. What happened? Is everything alright?"
"Everything's fine. My father is dead though, if that's what you where asking."
"I'll never understand why you're always so cold about him. But I guess I wouldn't want to."
"You better get going, I told them you'd be on your way by now."
"Okay, I'm going. Wow, Alice looks cute when she's sleeping."
"Wake her up, she can't stay here all night. I'll take care of Michael's friends."
"Okay…hey Alice wake up." Jimmy said shaking her on the shoulder, she didn't stir. So Jimmy tried waking her with a different approach. He leaned in and kissed her on the cheek. Her eyes fluttered open.
"Oh…hey, it must be late. Wanna walk me home?"
"Sure, I hafta take Ian home though."
They walked over to Owens house. This time Alice carried Ian who couldn't walk the entire way on his own. "See he likes you just fine." Jimmy said. When they had left Ian with his parents they headed for Alice's house.
"You know we made a good team today, I like that." Alice commented.
"I'm glad we're back together. I missed you a lot Alice."
"I missed you too Jimmy." They shared a long kiss and then went their separate ways.
Notes to the readers:
*Reviews are much appreciated!!
** This is the fifteenth chapter of my story "A New Life". If you haven't read my first saga you may not know where these characters are coming from. So you might want to read it, or at least "Meant to Be Parts 5-9". This story takes place before the end of "Meant To Be".
***Lilly and Oliver, and Miley and Jackson are in their thirties/forties. Jimmy is 16. Rose is 14. Michael and Susan (Miley's daughter), and Robbie Rod (Jackson's son) are all 12.
****If you want to find my other stories (My first saga) click on my screen name on the top of this page, and you can find my stories on my profile. If you want to stay updated as to when I post new chapters, please subscribe to my username!!
*****There will be more in the near future. So I hope you will continue reading. I have no idea how long this saga will last. I have ideas for somewhere between 21 and 25 chapters or more. So it will be longer than "Meant to Be" probably quite a bit longer.