Hey friends!
First off, a HUGE THANK YOU to all that reviewed last time. I got an awesome turn out! (and to everyone that told me to study or bade me good luck for my finals- thanks! It has been life-saving.) That being said, we got a lot of new friends in the last few days. So welcome! I'm glad to have y'all here! Make yourself at home. I look forward to stalking your profiles to see what y'all are into and have written!
Second, I've been meaning to tell you guys something. I know my stories always deal with some pretty serious topics. Abuse, bullying, anxiety, etc, etc. These issues aren't just in fanfiction, unfortunately. They're real, and I'm sure a bunch of you deal with them on a daily basis. I just want you to know that you can always talk to me. I can't fix anything, but if you just need someone to talk to, I'd really like to be there for you. Y'all have supported me and I think I should try to return that favor.
I love you guys!
-M
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Kevin was able to sneak back home without his dad confronting him. It was a pain to walk around so quietly, and the redhead cursed himself for hiding, but he figured he'd had enough heart-to-hearts for the night. He crept up the stairs and into his room, making his way through the darkness. He closed his door as quietly as he could, quickly changing into a pair of pajama bottoms and a loose t shirt before slipping beneath the cool covers. He sighed in relief that he hadn't been caught and fell asleep thinking about what had happened that day.
Little did he know that his father was well aware of his little sneak-in. The man had fallen asleep on the couch waiting for his son, and was woken when the door shut behind him. He waited until he heard the padded footsteps cease before getting up. The man then got up and walked to his room, slipping inside and turning on a lamp at his bedside. On the nightstand was a photograph, one that Kevin's father tried to avoid looking at on most occasions. It was an old snapshot, showing three smiling faces in it. There was the man himself, arm outstretched with the camera, his arm slung around a beautiful woman who held an ecstatic six year old in her arms. The woman had a soft, kind smile that never reached her eyes. The boy, however, could barely contain his joy.
It was the first and last vacation they had ever taken together. To celebrate the boy's graduation from his first year of school, the family had driven many hours to one of the biggest amusement parks in the country, somewhere none of them had ever been, save the man himself, many years ago. They had spent the entire day riding silly rides, eating bizarre and delicious foods, introducing the boy to fairy tale creatures and princesses alike, ending with a fireworks show that the man swore started his little boy's passion for making things tick.
In the picture they were a perfect little flock. And, the man always assures himself, at the time they were perfectly happy. The man told himself that he had never been happier that day. That his little vacation with his little family had been a little piece of Heaven. He tells himself that up until that point, there had been nothing to worry about.
The man sighed, wondering if he'd ever stop lying to himself.
Sure, things had been close to the perfect that day- the weather was warm and sunny, his little boy was the most excited he'd ever been in his life, running and jumping and laughing at the wonder of the place, and his girl had been smiling at him all day, but...
That was when it started.
It had been little things- arguments happening more than they had been, little shakes of the head as she sighed, sending his boy off to bed early every night so they could 'talk it out', empty beer bottles in the trash, and long car rides he didn't know she was taking.
Little by little, she began to distant herself from him, first emotionally then physically. After she stopped talking to him about what was bothering her, she would brush him off, denying him little physical affection if any at all. He remembered sitting up in bed after realizing they hadn't even hugged each other in over two weeks- he was worried she was suffering from depression. After all, they had gotten together young and he sometimes feared she was afraid of being a parent...
"Hey," he whispered, shaking her shoulder lightly. She moaned, turning over and ignoring him. He tried again, being as gentle as possible. She gave him a sleepy scowl, turning over to squint at him.
"What?" she demanded, not happy to have been awoken.
"I-I just wanted to know what's up," he stammered, not sure how to word what he was saying.
"You woke me up this late to ask me what's up?" she challenged.
"No! I just-" he sighed, running a hand through his hair "-I'm worried about you. You've been...distant."
Her face dropped, and she wouldn't look at him.
"Babe?"
"I don't know what you're talking about."
Her voice was curt, almost plastic sounding.
"Yes you do. You won't talk to me about anything anymore. You just disappear for no reason at all for hours and you started drinking, even though you said you were done with it after you got pregnant."
"I'm fine."
Now he was getting frustrated. "No you're not! Why won't you just talk to me?"
"And tell you what, exactly? That I'm cheating on you? Is that what you think is going on?"
"What? No! That's not-I wasn't thinking that! Why would you suggest that? What-how-are you?"
"Of course not!"
"Then why-"
"I just don't wanna do this anymore!" she said, before covering her angry face with a pillow.
"Huh? Do what?" he asked rhetorically before his face drained a bit of color. He gently lifted a corner of the pillow to reveal the woman's arms that were covering her tear stained face.
"Hey, hey, c'mere," he said, his voice laced with concern as he moved behind her and pulled her into his lap, her hands covering her face. She continued to sob, her small frame shaking. Instinctively, she buried her head into his shoulder and cried, as she had done many times before. His arms went around her, rubbing her back and shoulders comfortingly.
"Shh. Shh. Hey, it's gonna be alright. Promise. Don't worry, you're okay. You're okay. Just tell me. What can't you do anymore?" he asked cautiously, silently praying she wouldn't say what he thought she was going to. The woman slowly peeked out from her hands and her guilty expression gave her answer before her mouth did.
Apparently God had been a tad too busy that night.
She opened up to him that night, confessing that she had been meeting up with someone for a while. They had never done anything, but she felt deeply connected to him, and even claimed that she was in love. The man had found out she was with someone and had refused to see her again, telling her that she would have to choose one or other, and not contact him unless she was sure. Kevin's father respected him for that. The woman continued to weep as she told him that she wanted to badly to see him again, to the point where she considered running away. She knew she was being horrifically selfish, and she hated herself for it, but she couldn't deny the attraction she felt towards the other man.
In that moment, Kevin's father knew he had two options. He could easily tell her that she was being selfish and that she would be betraying not only him but their son as well by leaving them for someone she just met. He could yell at her for being unfaithful, for being greedy and even threaten to find the man himself and teach him a lesson for taking her heart away.
But, just as these thoughts were overtaking him, he remembered his own mother. The man's father had worked long hours in a factory to raise money for the family, only coming home of the weekends and leaving his wife to raise the family. She was a kind, but strong woman who wasn't well accepted into the small town. People thought it was wrong for a woman to have so much power in her own household, but his mother had never relented.
"Never question a woman's motives- she only does what her heart says is right. She may not please everyone, but I'd be damned if she doesn't do what she thinks is right."
In remembering those words, the man's cold demeanor thawed. He knew she was suffering from guilt- that explained the alcohol. She wasn't doing it to hurt him or their son, he knew. She had gotten caught in a bad situation, and she was torn. She ached to be the person their son could look up to- but she would have to sacrifice her own happiness. The man knew he had no right to force that upon her.
With such thoughts in mind, the man held her even tighter, his vice catching as he whispered something in her ear that she would never forget.
"I will never, never, clip your wings."
She had cried with more fervor after that, thanking him repeatedly for his understanding and his compassion on her even when she believed she did not deserve it. His heart ached, but he knew it was the right thing to do. They fell asleep in each other's arms, spending their last night together with a new perspective. His being fear, and hers being newfound freedom. The next morning, she packed her things and was gone before the sun hit high noon. In the spur of the moment, she told their son she was going away for a bit and hugged him tightly. Ever so trusting, the freckled boy hugged her back, smiling, telling her to be back soon.
The man had sent the boy off to a friend's house before breaking down. He broke every empty bottle he could find, punched a hole in the wall, tore down the curtains, and broke every picture in the house. As he was about to break the last one left, his mother had appeared unexpectedly. He never found out why she came.
"What are you doing?" she asked, her voice surprisingly calm as she looked at her son who stood with the bat hung over his head. He dropped the wooden weapon, tears streaming down his face.
"She left."
His mother said nothing.
"This morning. Last night she told me she's in love with someone else, and now she's gone." his voice was rough from screaming, barely above a whisper.
"What are you going to do about it?"
The man looked at his aging mother, confused.
"What?"
"Are you going to continue breaking things or are you going to do something about it?"
"She's gone, Ma. Long gone."
"I'm not telling you to go get her back, dear. I'm asking you what are you going to do about that?" she said, pointing to the man's chest where a broken heart beat.
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He sent his son to live with his mother, hugging the boy with a tear stained face and promising him he would be back soon. He knew his mother would help explain the situation to the boy, because he simply couldn't make himself.
It took him three months, twenty therapy sessions, fifteen hours in a church, ten half-written letters, five completely sleepless nights, and an innumerable amount of time thinking about what he did wrong to feel like himself again. He wasn't doing it so he could say he recovered, he wasn't doing it do he could find someone else, and he certainly wasn't doing it because he was worried for his own well-being.
He did it all for his little boy. When he appeared on the front porch of his mother's house, on his knees with his arms outstretched, part of him feared the boy wouldn't respond. But, as if God was making up for ignoring him the first time, the boy lit up when he saw his father's face and he charged into the man's arms, both of their eyes wet with tears.
"You came back!" the boy cried happily, his voice making him hiccup, "I-(hic)-thought you'd-(hic)-never-(hic)-come back!"
"I wouldn't leave you, buddy. Never ever. Never again."
The boy came home the next day. And, despite the man trying to hide it, the boy eventually found the one picture they had left of the boy's mother. He insisted they keep it, just so they never forgot what she looked like.
So there it stayed, sitting on the man's dresser like a broken record, useless and replaying the same thing over and over again.
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Kevin called Nat the next day, hoping for a change in scenery. That, and he was hoping that the teal-haired boy would have some advice for him on what to do about Edd. He wasn't ready to tell Nazz yet, and he figured the situation was weird enough the strange teen would know exactly how to help. After a phone call or two ("hey sweet cheeks! I am DYING to see your cute face again! Let's go on a date!"), Kevin had agreed to meet Nat in a restaurant located in a city somewhere between their two houses. His father was still in his room, and Kevin figured he was sleeping. He left the man a note and rode away without a second glance.
When Kevin arrived to the address Nat had given him, pulling up to a fancy looking coffee shop. He shut the engine off and poked his head in, looking for his friend. In a corner booth sat the teal haired boy, his arm slung around a very annoyed looking employee. Kevin approached cautiously, not wanting to interrupt anything.
"Kevin! Babe! Long time no see!" Nat hollered, waving the ginger over. Kevin quickly walked over and slid onto the bench seat across from the two other boys, one looking like he couldn't be happier, and one looking like he'd rather be anywhere else.
"Kev, this is my incredibly hot friend-"
"Fuck off, Goldberg," the boy replied, hotly, crossing his arms. "If I thought you'd be here today I would have called in sick."
"Nah, you missed me. Don't play hard to get," Nat countered, raising his eyebrows suggestively. "So, Kev, how's it hanging? I know you don't just call me for the kicks and giggles- I know you have something to dish, dontcha?"
Kevin nodded, looking from Nat to the other boy, wondering if he should confide in him with both of them there. However, neither of them moved, in fact, the one boy even raised an eyebrow in curiosity.
"Well," Kevin bega, clearing his throat, "so there's this kid.."
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When he finished, both he and Nat had finished their drinks, and the angry had gone back to work, although he came back to listen every time he was free. Both had been relatively silent as Kevin told them the story, aside from a few grunts from the boy and a few snickers from Nat.
"...and then I left, because I didn't know what else to do. I'm just really confused, yknow?"
"Well, this Edd guy seems pretty complicated, K," Nat started, speaking seriously for the first time since they had met. The angry boy nodded, agreeing with Nat for the first time since they had met.
"The kid's a shithead. Stay away," he instructed curtly.
"Now, now, babe, I don't know. He seems to really benefit from Kevin being there. But I would agree that he's a total jerk." Nat said, ignoring the glare the boy next to him.
"I just- I feel so bad for him. I don't know. It hurts," Kevin admitted, putting a hand to his chest. The angry boy rolled his eyes, flipping his short auburn (almost magenta?) hair out of his eyes. Nat smiled.
"Kevin..."
"What?"
"Do you like him?"
Kevin looked at him innocently. "I mean, yeah. I guess we're friends now or something."
The angry boy scoffed. Kevin gave him a confused face.
"Please excuse James, here. It seems to be his time of the month, if ya know what I mean."
"Rave," the boy corrected angrily, socking Nat on the arm as the teal haired boy broke out laughing.
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry, I couldn't help it!"
Nat pulled the boy closer, forcing him to rest his head on his shoulder, and while he didn't look pleased, the boy didn't move.
"Kev, I meant do you like like him. As in, do you have a crush on him."
Kevin blinked.
"No! No, of course not! I don't-I'm not-" Kevin stammered, not wanting to be offensive. Nat raised a hand understandingly.
"Hey, it's cool. I was just wondering. It seems weird that you would be so forgiving to someone you didn't, yknow, have feelings for."
Kevin considered this. It was weird, wasn't it?
Did he like Edd?
Kevin shook his head. He didn't even want to consider it. He had enough complications to worry about.
The angry boy announced he was getting off work, and Kevin used the moment to announce that he was going home. He didn't want to impose on the boy's time any further, as he sensed that they were planning to hang out after Rave was done working. Nat got up and hugged him affectionately, assuring him that all would be well. Rave was next, giving Kevin a nod and an offhand "if he hits you again, beat the shit out of him". With that, Kevin exited the shop and got onto his bike, riding back home where his distraught father sat in the living room once again, waiting for him.
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Well?
What did you think of the background story for Kevin's father?
Didja miss Nat? (I'm sorry he wasn't being super flirty and silly in this chapter-but he'll be back!)
Predictions? Thoughts? Worries? Wants? Anything?
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Until next time!