My Boys: Bright Future – Chapter 6
"You can just say what you're dying to say, babe." Owen looked at Amelia with a smile, while they both changed clothes to get ready for bed.
"There's nothing I want to say," Amelia lied.
"Oh, but you do…" Owen teased her, seeing how evident it was on her face and attitude that Amelia had a lot to talk about.
They had gone out to dinner earlier that evening with their five children and Thomas' girlfriend, Missy. It was the first time she had ever spent time with Thomas' family and Amelia, who'd had a very firm bad impression of the girl before, didn't seem to want to change her mind now.
"Ok, I'll just go ahead and say it, then." Owen started, "You're angry because even though you had built on your head this image that Missy was a monster trying to steal your son from you, it turns out she actually seems like a really nice girl."
"A really nice girl?" Amelia repeated with sarcasm.
"What's so wrong about her?" Owen rolled his eyes. At the same time he was satisfied she was finally going to say what she obviously wanted to say, he dreaded that with Amelia, things always had to be deeply analyzed. "Just face it, babe, no girl will ever be good enough for you. She could have been the most perfect girl in the world and you'd still think she's not good enough for Tom."
"But that's exactly it," Amelia stopped unbuttoning her shirt and looked at him. "Owen, no one is that perfect!" She stated, sighing heavily. "I can't explain it…I just don't like this girl. There is something about her. She speaks too politely and has perfect manicured nails and that humble attitude… She doesn't fool me."
"You can't be serious!" Owen laughed at his wife's predicament. "Now you're complaining because she is too good?"
"She is not real," Amelia stated, very firmly. "No one is that good. No one is that perfect. She seduces everyone by painting that girl next door portrait but I know better. I've seen it before, many times."
"Amelia," Owen held her shoulders with both his hands, making her stop what she was doing to look at him. He understood where she was coming from but he disagreed with his wife. "Despite your antagonism towards this girl, stop plotting and stop planning. If she is a mistake, then she is Thomas' mistake to make. Stop meddling."
"That's easy for you to say," Amelia was clearly worked up. "You're a guy. You're thinking like a guy. He is sixteen and there's this pretty girl who wants to show him off like a prize, what guy wouldn't like that?" She fiercely asked "But answer me honestly…" She took a step in his direction and grabbed his index finger, painfully twitching it as if punishing Owen because he was a man. "If when Meg is sixteen, she brings home a boyfriend who you think is a jerk," Amelia saw the expression of pain on his face and she wasn't sure if it had to do with the twisted finger or the supposition that Megan would someday have a boyfriend, "would you tell me to chill because he's her mistake to learn from?"
Owen looked at her with fire in his eyes and sighed in defeat.
"I'd point a scalpel to his throat and make him leave the state in five minutes," Owen admitted.
"Good," Amelia smiled sincerely, finally letting go of his finger. "Now you get it, then."
Owen watched as she got away from him, going towards their closet in search of clean pajamas.
"You're mean when you're angry," He complained, furrowing his eyebrows. "Nasty woman."
Amelia chuckled and dug deeper into the closet, completely satisfied to have proven her point.
"You're laughing now, but you've been a nightmare to me all week," Owen went on, impatiently. "I forgave you this time, but don't think I always will."
Amelia turned around, her jaw dropped at his impertinence.
"You forgave me?" She slapped his arm. "I forgave you. You got a dog and didn't tell me."
"You treated me like a dog all week," Owen engulfed her with his presence in the tiny closet, on purpose letting his size intimidate her. "You're too angry for someone so small."
"Oh stop the act," Amelia tried to push him with her hands. "You know how stressed I've been with the kids, the house and my job… I've been working seventy hour weeks, you expected me to what, rejoice in it?"
"So, you're stressed, huh?" Owen bent his head forward, on purpose approaching hers. He knew they weren't seriously fighting, but he also knew they needed to lash out sometimes, even about the little things. "Take off your clothes."
"What?" Amelia frowned.
"I said," Owen punctuated every word, speaking calmly and very demandingly."Get naked."
Amelia looked up at him and saw the fire in his icy blue eyes. His jaw was hardened and he was dangerously close to her. When Owen talked to her so possessively, she found it absolutely exciting. Amelia could clearly see where he was trying to go and his attitude was becoming a big turn on.
Slowly, she finished unbuttoning her shirt, seductively biting her bottom lip. Amelia could see he noticed it, because his eyes immediately went from her own to her mouth. Just as she thought Owen was about to kiss her, he grabbed the clean pajama top she'd been holding and commanded:
"Go to bed and lie on your stomach," His voice was nearly a whisper. "You won't need this." Owen added with authority, as he threw the piece of cloth back on the shelf.
Amelia was completely seduced by the way he was looking at her and slowly, she finished stripping her clothes and went to bed, doing exactly as she'd been told. The room was dark after Owen turned off the lights so she couldn't see his movements around her. Only when she felt the mattress softly descending on her left side, she sensed where he was.
Amelia felt shivers running down her spine when his breathing touched her back. She knew his lips were very close to her body because she could feel his breath on her skin. When she least expected it, his teeth mercilessly scratched her, making Amelia twitch her muscles in response. Soon after, she felt Owen's enormous hand rubbing her shoulders, slowly. What he was doing was amazingly relaxing and erotic at the same time. She could very well feel the blood flowing to her lower abdomen while the stress of the entire week dissipated as he continued to touch her.
Owen took his time massaging her back, slowly descending to her hips and then making it back to her shoulders. He could feel her melting under his touch and he smiled with pride, knowing she deserved to be spoiled after the long weeks she'd been having. Gently, he bent down and leaned over her shoulder, kissing the side of her face, with adoration in his eyes.
"How did I ever get so lucky to have such a gorgeous woman in my bed every night?" His hand ran on her neck and jaw, gently turning her face to him, while he forced her to slightly roll over.
Amelia opened her eyes and met his. She smiled lovingly at him, able to look into his eyes despite the darkness of the room.
"You deserve the very best," She lifted her arms and wrapped them around his neck, bringing his face closer to hers. "You know what?" She gave him a peck on the lips before pulling apart slightly, just to look into his eyes. "I love you."
Owen's lips curved into a smile and he chuckled before crushing her lips with his own. His tongue searched for hers before he could think about it, losing trail of every thought as he deepened their kiss. Amelia felt his hand closing on one of her breasts while her finger dug into the curls on the back of his neck, gently scratching his scalp. Owen broke their kiss and lifted his head up, looking into her eyes very suggestively.
"I am not done with you yet." He affirmed playfully, letting his hand trace the path from her breasts to the middle of her thighs. "Our massage is just getting started," He added with a dirty grin, before touching Amelia on the most sensitive spot of her body.
When she moaned his name in response, Owen pressed his finger harder against her, seeing how delirious with desire he was driving her. Her eyes were closed and her chin was slightly up as Amelia bit her bottom lip, trying to keep what little control she had left. Owen couldn't help himself and glued his lips to the side of her neck, nipping and sucking her skin while he felt her instantly wrap her arms around his head again, pulling him even closer.
"I love you too," Owen whispered against the curve of her chin, keeping his hand steadily working on her body. "So damn much…"
His words added to the amazing sensations his finger were causing on her body, making Amelia explode in fits of pleasure that reached her entire being. When she felt it finally subsiding, she was about to gasp for air when Owen's lips covered hers again.
Amelia felt him shifting to her top while he got rid of his own clothes. In a matter of seconds, Owen was fully inside of her, moving his hips with experienced ease while caressing the sides of her face.
Amelia touched her forehead to his and smiled against his lips.
"Nothing feels as good as having you inside me," She confessed, feeling his body harden at her words. "Keep going, babe, I'm almost there again…"
Stimulated by her gentle plea, Owen struck her harder and faster, reaching his own climax seconds before she did. After a few minutes, when the rush was finally over, he moved from her top to her side, keeping his wife firmly trapped in his arms.
"I love it when we have dirty sex," Amelia confessed, chuckling against him. She bent over in his direction, resting her head on his chest while his fingers gently caressed her hair. She took her hand to his stomach and slowly rubbed her thumb on his skin, enjoying being so close to her husband. "But it's amazing how you can perfectly tell when I'm in the mood for it, or when I'm in need of something like what we just did today."
"I'll save the dirty sex for the weekend," Owen smiled at her, seeing the love in her eyes. She had been distant from him for the past week and he fully intended to make up for it. "Get some rest now, babe. You've been working too much. You deserve it."
Amelia didn't need to hear it twice. She closed her eyes at the sound of his voice, almost instantly embarking on a calm, restoring sleep in the loving arms of her husband.
.
Thomas felt his breathing get heavier. His girlfriend had met him in the school library, in one of the most distant corridors so they could have privacy and now that he was pressed between her and a heavy book case, he felt his entire body tingling with sensations that were completely new and intensely exciting.
Without much thought, his hand made its way from her waist to her back and slowly to her bottom. He couldn't help feeling frustrated when Missy suddenly pulled apart.
"I'm sorry," He sighed heavily, angry at himself. "I didn't mean to."
Thomas was embarrassed to explain he had lost all his rationality because of how his body was responding to her touch.
"You know we can't do that," Missy looked at him with disapproval but her voice was overly sweet when she added. "I want to wait, you know that."
"I know," Thomas watched her take one step back and bent down to get his school bag, completely mesmerized to pay close to her actions. "I respect it… I just," He blushed, not knowing how to feel. "I got too caught up. It won't happen again."
"Okay," Missy smiled at him.
"I have to go now," He took a peek at his wrist watch, seeing he was running late. "Lit project."
Missy's expression went from satisfied to obviously irritated.
"With your friend Kate?"
"Missy…" Thomas sighed impatiently. He knew the girl was jealous of Kate and he couldn't help feeling crossed at the idea. After all, Kate had been his friend much longer than Missy had been his girlfriend and it was unfair of Missy to ask him to not see or talk to her anymore.
"I know, I know…" Missy nearly pouted. "It's not your fault you got paired up with her. I just don't like the idea of sharing you," She seductively said, leaning in to kiss him. When Thomas was sure his body was going to betray him again, Missy pulled apart, looking at him with innocence as if unaware of what she was doing. She blew him a kiss before saying goodbye, leaving with a mischievous smile on her face after turning around.
Thomas was frustrated and disappointed when he finally made it to the familiar house next to the hospital where both his parents worked. He rang the doorbell, surprised to see a familiar face opening the door.
"Hey Tommy," Jo Wilson greeted him. "I haven't seen in you in a while. Come in."
Thomas nodded with a smile and entered the living room which he'd been in countless times in his life.
"Kate is upstairs in her room," Jo added, joyfully. "You can go there. I'm taking the night shift today but there's stuff in the fridge if you guys get hungry," She pointed to the kitchen while she grabbed her purse. "It was good seeing you."
"Same, Dr. Wilson."
Thomas watched as his best friend's mom exited the house and then slowly made his way upstairs. Gently, he knocked on the door, hearing a muffled "come in," in response.
"Hi," He sheepishly started, not sure of what else to say.
Kate was lying down on her stomach with headphones in her ears, but quickly sat down on the bed when she saw him.
"Hey," She greeted him, too formally. She stared at him, waiting for his next move but since Thomas stood silently watching her, the tension was becoming almost unbearable, so Kate had to say something. "Have you started writing the reports?"
"Hm, not yet," Thomas unhooked his bag from his shoulder and sat down on her study chair, going through his things while he added. "I supposed you'd want to do it together?"
"Well, it is a team project, after all." Kate said, more to herself than to him.
Thomas looked up at her and she shrugged.
"Let's just get this started, ok?" The girl suggested.
For the following two hours, Thomas worked on their reports alongside Kate. She never failed to impress him with how smart and creative she was. It was easy working with Kate because she always improved his suggestions or added more thoughts to his own. Tom felt like they complemented each other's work and it was invigorating to be around someone who could intellectually challenge him.
"I'm going to the bathroom and then I can get us some snacks, how do you feel about a sandwich?" Kate asked with her usual practicality.
"As long as you wash your hands in between, I'd love that." Thomas smiled at her.
"Very funny," She rolled her eyes at him but Thomas could swear he saw her smiling as she turned around.
When Kate left, Thomas couldn't help scanning his eyes around her bedroom. Everything was decorated in lavender and white and all the furniture and objects were harmoniously organized and tidy. He had been in that room many times in his childhood, but he had never really stopped to notice the details.
Turning around on Kate's chair desk, Thomas noticed a small pin board with some notes and photos attached on it. He saw an image of Kate right in the middle, realizing it had been taken on her trip to New York. Her dark brown hair, delicate figure and chestnut eyes looked even prettier with the intense scenario around her and Thomas couldn't help looking further.
He noticed among some handwritten quotes and a colorful calendar that, hidden beneath the pinned objects, there was a small photograph of him with Kate. They shouldn't have been older than eleven or twelve in that picture and attached to it, he found an old piece of wrapping paper. It was emerald green and Thomas frowned for a second, thinking he had seen the object before. It had a distinct quote stamped in bright yellow and Thomas smiled when he read the lines of one of his favorite poems: I carry your heart with me. I carry it in my heart. Then he noticed his own handwriting on the top corner of the piece, where he'd marked it Kate in black letters.
"What are you doing?"
Kate's voice sounded sharp and angry and Thomas turned around very fast, feeling as if he had just been caught in the act.
"Nothing, I was just seeing your pictures."
Kate put the tray of snacks she was carrying on her own bed and stormed to her desk, frowning when she saw the discovery Thomas had made beneath all the layers of notes and pictures. She seemed embarrassed and frustrated, but mostly, she seemed very angry.
"Don't you know the concept of privacy?"
Thomas looked down, feeling ashamed of himself but then he thought about the situation and realized he had nothing to be sorry about.
"It's a pin board, Kate, it's exposed there for people to see it."
"No, it's not."
"Why do you have that piece of wrapping paper there?" He frowned, seeing the candy brand stamped on the back of the object. They had eaten dozens of candy bars like that, laughed about the quotes and thrown them in the trash not too long after. He wondered why Kate had held onto that one.
But when Thomas remembered his own handwriting had been added to it, supposing it must have had a special meaning, a flash of memory came to his mind.
"You should keep this one forever," His twelve year old self told Kate.
"Why?" The girl asked with a smile.
"Because when we're grownups and I marry you, I'll read that entire poem to you on our wedding day."
He looked again at Kate and had no doubts that same scene was playing in her mind. She looked embarrassed and furious at the same time, as if she was finding it hard to contain her anger and her shame.
"Maybe you should go," Kate added, turning her back to him. She felt too embarrassed to look at Thomas at that moment.
Thomas gathered his notes and books, ready to do so. But he was feeling his heart so constricted, he couldn't help himself. He had to know.
"Why did you keep it, Kate?"
"It's old and it doesn't matter, Thomas. I think you should go now, it's late." She tried to distract him.
"If it's not important, then why did you keep it?" He took a step in her direction, even though Kate had her back turned to him.
"It's been there ever since you gave it to me, I didn't think about it and it just stayed there."
"But there must be some reason why you put it there once." He stated the obvious, knowing he was pressuring her. "Why did you?"
Long seconds passed before Kate finally turned around. And when she did, Thomas noticed how red her eyes had become and how anguished she looked. Her voice was filled with hurt and hurt only when she finally spoke.
"Because when you gave it to me," Kate confessed, feeling like a fool. "I actually believed what you said."
Thomas was taken aback by her blunt confession. He didn't know what to say but he was feeling like the worst person on earth. Kate was visibly on the verge of crying and nothing had ever made him feel as bad as seeing her like that. Especially knowing he was the one causing it.
"I did mean it then." He confessed. When they'd been kids, he was absolutely sure he would grow up and marry her. Kate was his best friend and his favorite person to be around. His innocent childhood brain had always assumed that when people found their favorite people, they married them.
"It doesn't matter now," Kate pulled herself together. She walked over to the pin board, collected the wrapping paper and tore it in two, throwing the pieces in the trash like it was an insignificant token. "It was great working with you, Thomas. I'm sure we'll get an A. I'll get back to you on that last report no longer than tomorrow, ok?"
Thomas knew that was her way of telling him to go. With no other choice but to leave, he agreed with her plan with a head nod and silently made his way to the door.
"I'll be waiting for it," He said, finally leaving.
And when Thomas reached the door, never in his life would he have thought he'd leave that house even more frustrated and disappointed than when he had first arrived.
.
Amelia heard her cell phone insistently ringing. Excusing herself from the morning rounds, she went to the hospital corridor, worrying when she noticed the call was coming from their children's school.
Thirty minutes later, she was driving back home with Danny by her side in the car. He had complained of throat pain and muscle soreness to the school nurse, and by the time Amelia got there she noticed that in fact he didn't look very well.
"I'm sorry you had to leave work because of this, mom." Danny said, honestly. He knew his mother was often very busy and it wasn't midday yet. She probably had surgeries to perform and patients to see.
"Oh, honey, don't worry about it, you are way more important," She confessed, caressing his hair gently, worried about his condition. "I'll get you some medication for the pain," Amelia added while she helped him get off his school uniform to put on his more comfortable clothes. "Wait, baby, turn around."
As Danny had stripped down to his underwear, Amelia noticed the slight rash that was forming on his abdomen and already present on his back. Unsurprisingly, all of her children had very fair skin, which made the red spots look even more evident.
"Oh, sweet lord," She was torn between amusement and worry. "Danny, open your mouth."
Amelia picked up one of her flashlight pens from her bag and examined her son's throat with care.
"Yup," She admitted, somberly. "Looks like we've got ourselves a pretty bad case of Mono."
.
When Owen made it home that evening, things weren't looking better for Danny. In fact, his fever had spiked several times and the skin rash had spread all over his body.
"How are you feeling, buddy?" Owen crouched down before him on the living room couch, seeing how terrible his thirteen year old son looked.
"Like I'm about to die," Danny hoarsely confessed, finding it hard to talk. "My throat hurts. Everything hurts."
"Well, that's what you get for sharing saliva," Robbie teased, laughing at his brother's predicament. The twins had learned not long ago in science class that mononucleosis was typically called "The Kiss Disease" because of the way it spread.
"You're very supportive," Owen chuckled, ruffling Robbie's hair playfully before leaving both boys to keep watching their show.
He made his way to the kitchen, seeing Amelia sorting out medication on the kitchen counter while Megan did her homework by the table.
"He is not looking good," Owen commented.
"Yeah, poor Dan," Amelia looked up at him. "I spent the entire day trying to make his fever go down but you know the drill. He's going to be like this for a few days."
"Did he eat?" Owen asked, concerned.
"Not much," His wife sighed heavily. "Do you want to see if you can get him to eat at least a snack or some piece of fruit? I know his throat hurts but he can't starve himself."
Owen laughed at Amelia's exaggeration. She was a typical mother, and he was proud of her for it.
"Did Danny get sick because he kissed a girl?" Megan asked from the corner she was sitting. When both her parents looked conspicuously at her, she confessed. "That's what Rob said."
"Well, Robbie is a smart mouth," Amelia censored, taking one pill from the drug box. She and Owen exchanged looks and she knew he was thinking the same thing he was: Danny's date.
"Give me," Owen stretched out a hand to get the pill from Amelia's hand. "Maybe some chocolate milk will help? You know he loves that stuff."
To Amelia's satisfaction, Owen was right, because Danny drank almost all the chocolate, together with his medicine. Owen helped him get upstairs and after picking up Lucas and Thomas from soccer and tennis practice, respectively, he finally relaxed in his bed at the end of the day.
Much to his surprise, it was almost 11 pm when the door to his room opened. Expecting to see Amelia, he turned around ready to ask about Danny but saw the other twin getting inside the room with a heavy frown on his face, obviously frustrated.
"What?" He asked, seeing Robbie sighing impatiently.
"Mom kicked me out," He confessed, "of my own bed."
Owen couldn't help cracking up with Robbie's irritation and watched in silence as his son got into his bed, on the spot Amelia usually slept him. It didn't surprise him his wife would want to spend the night close to their sick son in case he needed something.
"You don't snore, do you?" Robbie looked sideways to his father, smiling mischievously.
"Only when mom isn't here," Owen looked at him, teasingly, making his son laugh.
"This is a pretty comfy bed," Robbie bounced up and down, obviously enjoying himself. "I had never noticed how cool it was."
Owen looked at the dark brown wooden bed. Even though they had changed the mattress a few times, the bed had remained intact during all those years. He could vividly remember the day he'd bought it and his mind was assaulted by countless memories of things that had happened on there.
"Have I ever told you about the day we got this bed?" He turned his neck to look at Robbie, completely forgetting about the book he'd been reading. When his son shook his head in denial, Owen continued. "We had an older one but mom found out it was infested with termites. She nearly set fire to it."
"She what?" Robbie asked, laughing in surprise.
"She was very emotionally attached to it because of your uncle Derek." Robbie hadn't met his uncle but he'd heard about him during his entire life. "So she didn't want to get rid of it. But after exhaustively talking her into it, we got a new bed that very same day. And right now you're sitting right on it."
"That's so cool, dad." Robbie confessed, inspecting the bed frame. "It's awesome that it lasted all these years."
"A lot of things lasted all these years, bud," Owen stated with a proud smile, more to himself than to Robbie. When he thought back about the time he and Amelia had first started their lives together, he reveled in how far they'd come, even when the odds hadn't been in their favor. "But now you need to close your eyes and get some rest, alright? Do I need to ask how much I love you?"
"Too much," Robbie replied automatically, pulling the covers.
"That's right." Owen leaned over and gave him a kiss on the head before finally turning off the lights in the room.
Hey guys, thank you all so much for your support. I'd love to hear what you all think about this!
Also, if you want to read about the time Amelia nearly set fire to a bed, you can read it right here:
s/12106163/2/My-Boys-Drabbles