Haven
KyleGranger
Chapter 6
Zach returned home. The rain continued to pour down and lightning lit the sky a couple of times. On the kitchen counter was a note:
Zach,
Hope everything went okay. I had to meet with my publisher. Took Cody with me. Be back around 5ish. Call me if you need me. Love you.
-Shaun
Zach glanced at the clock on the stove in the kitchen. It read: 3:41.
He continued forward passing the dining room table. He walked out onto the balcony to look at the storm. The dark clouds above made the area around him dark, however, in the far distance Zach could see sunlight trying to pierce through the clouds.
Zach slipped his phone from out of his front pocket and glanced at the home screen. He'd done this about thirty times now since he left his dad's house. In a dream world, he wanted his dad to try his hardest to get in touch with him after their horrible conversation to apologize, beg forgiveness, and accept him. However, even if he did call, Zach would ignore him. Either way, he didn't call.
After returning inside, he went to his room and kicked off his shoes and peeled off his shirt. He walked over to the window and took one last look at the storm before closing the blinds. Hopefully the storm would be long gone by the time he reopened them. He then moved towards his side of the bed and lied down on top of the covers. A chill moved up his back and he crossed his arms and tucked his body in closer. He gazed over at the blinds he just closed and stared at a single stream of light that came through a small opening.
The conversation Zach had with his father played over and over in his mind. He then thought about when Zach brought Shaun over before Jeanne left. Both situations were the worst experiences. Zach just wanted to be happy and wanted everything to be okay.
He remembered back to the day that Jeanne came home with some equally surprising news. It was Saturday and he was a sophomore in high school. He laid in his bed staring at a stream of light that shown through his window shades. Then the light beamed extravagantly as it filtered through a tear in his eye. His mom was sick; she was dying.
The previous day, his mom and dad sat down with Jeanne and him and told them about it. Jeanne was heartbroken, but it in no way compared to the pain that Zach felt. He turned and stared at the ceiling. How could she be sick? She looked completely healthy. Yeah, she was tired and took naps everyday, but she's also getting older. She'd be forty-nine in a couple months. It would be completely normal for her energy to go down. Zach didn't understand, but, at the same time, he didn't want to understand.
A knock came from his bedroom door.
"You okay, bud?" his dad's voice called.
"Fine," Zach choked.
"Okay. Well, your mother has some breakfast ready if you want some."
"I'll be there in a minute," he replied. He glanced over at his alarm clock: it was nearly ten. He's not usually up this early on a Saturday, but he didn't go out partying with Gabe the night before after this bombshell was dropped.
Zach got out of bed and slipped on a t-shirt from the ground and a pair of shorts before heading out for breakfast. As he walked into the kitchen, the smell of French toast hit him. What would the house be like without the smell of home cooking? His dad couldn't cook worth a damn. Then his eyes moved to his mom who was washing dishes with her back towards him and his dad was already helping himself to some eggs.
"Morning, son," his dad said looking up at him.
His mom turned on her heel. "Good morning, honey. You're up early today. You do know today is Saturday, right?" She smiled a fake smile, unsure of how to act in this situation. That's how all three of them felt.
"Well I didn't sleep well as you can imagine," he said sadly. "Where's Jeanne?"
"She went out a little earlier for some big drama emergency. Had to go talk to Caitlyn, you know," his mother said sitting down next to him. She placed her hand on Zach's knee and massaged it with her thumb. She then gave him a comforting smile before turning to the plate of French toast.
After breakfast, Zach stayed in the kitchen and read Friday's paper while his mother washed the dishes. His dad went out to mow the front lawn quickly so he could come in to watch TV. Zach wouldn't normally do this, but knowing that his mom would soon not be around anymore, he felt the need to be with her and feel her presence.
Out of nowhere, Jeanne came barging through the backdoor from the driveway. Her eyes were red and puffy, but she acted as normal as she could.
"Honey, what's wrong? Are you okay?" her mother asked concerned. She rushed over and put her hands on her shoulders.
"Can I talk to you and dad alone, please," Jeanne asked stone-faced.
"Er..., of course. What's wrong honey?"
"I just want to talk to you and dad," she repeated.
"Okay, okay," she backed off. "Zach, honey, can you go to your room please?"
Zach was concerned, but obeyed. He followed his mother into the living room where she opened the front door and called for his dad. Zach continued to his bedroom, which, unfortunately, was the furthest room from the living room. He stepped into his room and closed the door behind him, leaving it open just a crack. He listened as hard as he could through the crack.
He'd done this many times before while listening to his parents argue about their financial troubles. His dad would yell the typical, 'you need to find a steady job, I can't keep working overtime.' It made him slightly resentful towards his father over the years. He tried to click with him the best he could, but they were never as close as a father and son should be.
Zach could hear mumbling coming from the living room down the hall, but couldn't make out any of the words they were saying.
'She probably just got pulled over again,' Zach thought. Jeanne wasn't the best child. Not that Zach was that great either. But Jeanne already had a DUI and had been caught smoking pot twice by the cops. This was either DUI number two or arrest for possession number three.
Just then Zach could hear select words from down the hall. Their voices now loud and angry.
"-LOVE HIM!" Jeanne yelled.
"ROY-. MY DAUGHTER-. ABSOLUTELY NOT!" he could hear his dad scream.
"I HATE Y-" Jeanne yelled once more before Zach heard the bang from the front door. He shifted from the door to the window and opened the shades he was staring at earlier. Jeanne was running towards a beaten up car parked on the curb out front with her hands covering her face. Jeanne's boyfriend, Roy, was in the driver's seat. Roy leaned over and hugged her before they drove off.
Zach stepped out of his room and walked in the living room to find his mom in the armchair, frozen. His dad was standing in front of the bay window staring at the spot where the car once sat.
"Everything okay?" Zach said.
Zach's dad sighed. "Your sister's pregnant," he said calmly. He moved back to the couch beside the armchair where his wife sat and put his hand on her knee. She was still frozen, but there were tears in her eyes.
Zach retreated to his room and got back in his bed. If only he knew what the future had in store. His parents and Jeanne talked again a few days later. They decided to go through with the pregnancy. The bad thing was that Roy was hoping she wouldn't keep it. When she told him she was, he left and they never heard from him again.
Cody was born surprisingly on the day he was expected. The entire family gave him a warm welcome. Jeanne's room was redecorated with Zach's help to include a small crib and changing table. Jeanne and Zach took turns taking care of him throughout the day and night. Their dad cared for their mom as she became weaker and weaker over the months.
Two months after Cody was born, Zach's mom died in her sleep. It was the hardest thing he ever had to go through. The funeral consisted of a very small group of friends and family. Their dad had a hard time with the loss. He became very depressed and that didn't mix well with the stress of having to care for the family on his own and work overtime to pay the bills.
Zach got the part time job at the diner to help out. He worked Saturday and Sunday mornings and then would go home to help with Cody. He rarely saw Gabe anymore and the only surfing he got to do was in his dreams.
Zach compared the way his dad handled Jeanne's news to the way he handled his news. Eventually his dad came around to Jeanne. Hopefully the same would happen for him.
"Zach," said a familiar voice. He felt a hand moved up and down his arm. "Zach."
Zach blinked awake to see Shaun sitting on the edge of the bed. The light streaming from the doorway to the living room made Shaun appear as a silhouette.
"Hi," Zach stretched.
"How did it go?" Shaun asked.