Let The Fire Die
Chapter 20
"I can't believe it's been two years, Bridgette." I said, looking at my small toddler playing with my toes as we celebrated her second birthday with Bridgette, Gwen, and Trent.
"I can't either." Gwen said, taking my hand and giving it a light squeeze.
After a few weeks of staying with Courtney through her craziness, I couldn't stand it anymore. She wouldn't do anything for Eliza, and it was impossible for me to take care of the baby, Courtney, and work. I moved out when Eliza was a month old, and I began living with Bridgette, because she worked at home, and she offered to take care of Eliza while she did that. Nothing went on between the two of us, because we were both too heartbroken to even think of anyone besides Courtney and Geoff.
"I've, uhm, I've actually got a surprise for you, Duncan." Bridgette said, wiping her arms on her jeans and looking more nervous than I'd seen her in a long time.
"What's going on, Bridge?" I asked, as she got up and went to the door.
"You have a visitor." She said, opening the door, and revealing a dark haired woman and a little boy with dark hair, and blue eyes.
"Hello." She said cautiously, her presence seeming to put a chill over the entire room, "I know, this probably is extremely shocking, but I needed you to see him. I needed you to believe me." The woman before me, allowed tears to collect in her dark, black lined eyes.
"You're saying, this is him?" I asked, looking at the little boy, who did look suspiciously like my little girl.
"Yes." She nodded, the tears beginning to fall as I walked over to him.
"Where was he? How did you find him?" I asked, leaning on one knee and staring into the face of the toddler in front of me, wondering how I'd written him off as dead or nonexistent so quickly.
"He was adopted, the hospital gave him away." She said, just as I noticed that everyone else has disappeared from the room, leaving us alone with our two children.
"How? That's illegal! Who did they give him to?" I asked, picking up the little boy and carrying him over to the couch where I'd been sitting, and where Eliza was still sitting.
"They were bribed." She said simply, looking out of the room nervously over her shoulder.
"By who?" I asked, wondering who would want a child stolen from his parents.
"Drew. It was a last ditch attempt to have me." She smiled out weakly, and that was when I noticed it. A bright, gleaming rock on her ring finger.
"Courtney, please tell me that this is a cruel joke." I said, my head falling into my lap, as I realized that this was not a reunion, instead, it was a ditching. She was giving me the children, and running off with Mr. High Society.
"I really wish it was. I really wish this wasn't how things have to be." She said, looking down at the ground, little diamonds of wetness reflecting light in the corners of her eyes.
"It doesn't have to be this way, you know that. You know you have a choice in everything that happens to you." I said, reaching out for her, but she stayed rooted to the entranceway.
"You don't get it Duncan, the only way either of us can have our son, is if I marry him. And the only way he'll keep me is if you take Brendon. I need you to do this. I can't let my little boy grow up, thinking that he's unloved. Especially not if there's something I can do about it." Courtney said, looking me in the eyes and pleading with me.
"Courtney, just stay here." I said, looking into her eyes, and knowing this was impossible.
"You know I can't. You know it as well as I do. You know he's waiting out there for me." She said, waving her hands at the children, and trying to pretend to be happy for them.
"Courtney, you can't just walk out on your kids." I said as she turned to go.
"Everything in my life is my choice, remember?" She said, poking fun at me, before turning blowing a sad kiss at me, and then walking out the door.
XXXX
That night, as I put my two little children to bed, I felt a large emptiness in my heart, and I knew it was because I'd always held onto the hope that if Courtney ever found Brendon, then we would be able to be a family again. Now, that hope had been completely crushed.
After Courtney had left, Bridgette had told Gwen and Trent that it would probably be best if they left. Then, she'd sat down and explained everything. Courtney had called the house a week ago, asking if Bridgette knew where I was, Courtney never told her what the surprise was supposed to be, but she sounded so happy, that Bridgette just figured she had finally accepted that Brendon was gone and was ready to be a family again.
"Daddy?" Eliza whispered in her bed beside Brendon.
"Yes?" I asked smiling at my little daughter who was constantly thinking and whose mind reminded me of her mothers.
"Who is he?" She asked looking at her brother quizzically.
"That's your brother." I answered, smiling at her once again.
"Okay." She said, before putting her extra blanket and an extra pacifier beside the boy, who quickly grabbed the object and put it in his mouth. The action made my eyes fill with tears, and I quickly kissed both children's foreheads before going across the hall and losing it in my room.
"Duncan?" Bridgette called, timidly knocking on the door.
"It's okay, come on in." I said, not even caring that I was crying. Bridgette and I were too closer to keep up my tough façade all the time.
"You're not holding up as well as you let on." She said knowingly.
"Well, what do you expect?" I asked, laughing slightly at Bridgette's comment.
"I expected you to breakdown as soon as she was gone. You really are a great father." She said, coming over to me and lightly squeezing my hand.
"What are you talking about?" I asked, turning to her, and for the first time in a long time, being surprised by her.
"You kept up this image that everything was okay, all day while you were with your kids. You kept your feelings hidden, and held back the hurt because they're so important to you." She said, giving me a light hug.
"Yeah, well, that's parenthood." I said, sighing and sitting down on my bed.
"So when are you going to save her?" She asked, looking at me hard.
"What do you mean?" I asked, looking into Bridgette's eyes, and being surprised once more.
"Duncan, you have a compulsive need to save Courtney from every danger she's entered since you met. I know it's only so long before you leave to save her. I just want to know so I can take off work. Because you will not take two little toddlers with you." She said, laughing in the beginning but becoming stern by the end.
"Bridgette, I'm not going to save anyone." I said, running my hands my overly long hair that hadn't been cut in over a year.
"Never say never." She said smiling, before walking out the door of my bedroom, leaving me to ponder my next move.
XXXX
"I'm so glad that you're going to do this, especially after so long!" My mother squealed, watching my every move as I tried on wedding dress after wedding dress, looking horrible in each and every one.
"Yup. Me too, mom. Fucking ecstatic." I said dully, turning in the newest gown, a gaudy thing with sparkles and beads everywhere.
"Look here young lady." My mother said, grabbing my arm and putting her face right in front of my own, "You will be happy about this, understood?"
"I don't have to do anything you say. I'm only doing this because my son deserves to be loved, and he will never get love from the cold man you're selling me off to." I said, lowering my eyelids at my mother.
"I wouldn't be so quick to judge said man." Said a deep voice that made me cringe from behind me, "That dress looks fantastic on you, by the way." He said, before nibbling on my neck, making me feel nauseous.
"It makes me want to puke." I said, sticking my tongue out and pushing him away.
"Then we'll get it." My mother said, smiling politely at Drew and completely ignoring my comment.
"Good. Look at our new announcement in the papers." Drew smiled out, handing me a newspaper where there was a large photo of the two of us when we younger.
Underneath it read; After many complications, like two little children born from another man, Courtney Elderson and Drew Grayson will be married later this month. Of his two future stepchildren Drew says "They are adorable! I hope to spend as much time as possible with them, as I already feel like they are mine."
"Oh, that's just great. Really paints the picture of happiness." I said, rolling my eyes and being sarcastic, but neither of my 'companions' caught on.
"I know! Doesn't it?" He asked, excitedly showing my mother the announcement.
Instead of continuing to listen to their craziness, I went into the dressing room, and began doing what I was best at lately. Silently sobbing.