*Thank-you for the reviews on the last chapter they were greatly appreciated. Thank-you so much*
"I can do this," I say as I take a deep breath as Seth, Jonah and I are standing on the front porch to my parents' house in Phoenix, Arizona for Thanksgiving dinner. Everyone else arrived a couple days earlier but we didn't arrive until last night because Seth was out on his first of many trips for his job. He made his WWE debut Sunday night in Indianapolis, Indiana at the Survivor Series pay-per-view. He, Dean and Roman came out through the audience and wreaked havoc after the main event. NO one had any idea who they were and what they were doing, they continued the same process Monday Night and then again on Thursday night attacking more superstars making a name for themselves in the business that they are not to be messed with and they are to bring justice to WWE. Even though Seth is sacrificing his time to be with Jonah and me to do what he loves I am incredibly proud of him. I never really watched much of WWE but now I will watch it religiously to support my future husband. "I can do this," I say.
"Are you going to ring the doorbell?" asks Jonah.
"Give Mama a little bit of time," says Seth as he holds my hand. "It's a little difficult for her. She's about to see some of her sisters and brothers that she hasn't seen for years. It's a little hard for her."
"Okay," he says as he looks up at me. "Don't be scared, Mama," he says making me smile as he hugs my leg tightly reminding me that despite all the wrong things I have done in my life he is the one thing I have done right. He is the best thing to come out of the worst times of my life and most importantly he saved my life. He made me into the person I am and the person I am becoming. He makes me want to be better than I was. Everything I have done has been for him and everything I continue to do will be for him.
"Thank-you, Jonah," I say with a smile before I take one last deep breath and let it out before ringing the doorbell. "Are you ready for this?" I ask Seth.
"I'm ready," he smiles before he kisses my cheek softly. "Let's just leave out the part where you stopped taking your birth control so we don't get your dad upset."
"I would never tell him that," I smile. "Just the engagement and we are getting married in San Diego in private. That might be hard for him."
"I know," he says as the door opens.
"Jordyn," says my mom with a smile on her face. It's like a reflection of myself as she stands in front of me with her dark brown hair hanging down to her shoulders and her dark brown eyes meeting mine. I am definitely her twin. "I am happy to see you," she says making me smile.
"Hey, Mom," I say with a smile before she wraps me into a hug and I hug her back.
"And Seth," she says greeting him with a hug. "I'm glad you could join us for Thanksgiving dinner."
"Thanks for having me," he says with a smile.
"Hi, G-Mama!" says Jonah excitedly.
"Hey, Jonah!" she says scooping him up in her arms and giving him kisses making him giggle. "Jordyn, he looks just like you."
"That's what everyone tells me," I say as we walk into the house. Seth shuts the door behind us as he wraps his arm around my shoulders. "It smells amazing in here," I say.
"Thank-you," she says, "how long are you two in Arizona for?" she asks.
"Just a couple days, Seth goes back on the road soon and I have to get back to school."
"I see," she says. "I wish you could stay longer. Everyone is here. Jonah, do you want to go meet your cousins? They are all here."
"Yes!" he says as she puts him down and takes him to the living room to meet his cousins. He has yet to meet Libby and Langston even though they live in Florida with us he has yet to meet them. He has yet to meet Ben's 2 year old daughter Kenna and his 5 year old son Benji.
"Okay, let's go meet them," says my mom with a proud smile. I think it's good he's meeting our family especially since most of us that do have kids live fairly close to each other yet never take the time to get together. Ben lives in Orlando with his family, Chelsea lives in Tampa with her family, my older sister Athena lives in Miami with my niece and nephew while my older sister Keilani lives in Tampa with her sons. Keilani just never really talked to us. She never wanted anything to do with us because she doesn't consider us her siblings and I am okay with that yet my dad tells me I remind him of her all the time. I am not sure if that's good or bad because I never met her. We walk into the living room and all the kids are playing a game on the floor while my twin brother Josiah is talking to some girl I never saw before, my brother Ben is talking to Cody while Kaylee and Chelsea are talking with Ben's wife Alyssa. It's unusual because Kaylee and Chelsea never got along. Chelsea always called her fed ex. Then there was Sicily sitting on a chair listening to her I-pod. I suddenly feel nervous as all eyes turn to us. "Look who's here," announces my mom. "Seth, Jordyn and Jonah," she introduces us.
"That's Jordyn?" asks Josiah as he stands up with the girl he's with as if he doesn't know me. We used to be best friends until I turned into an addict.
"Yes," I say with a smile as he comes over and hugs me catching me by surprise. "You act like you don't know me."
"I haven't seen you for a long time, since you were 15 before you went to Tampa," he says. "You look really good. How are you? Are you doing good?"
"I'm good," I say with a smile and tears in my eyes. In the instant that I hug him I feel our bond and our connection. I have missed him. "Thank-you."
"I hear you're almost done with college, how did my little sister get to be 3 years ahead of me in college?" he asks.
"Because I got my GED at 15, started college when I was 16," I answer with a smile. "I'm happy to see you."
"I'm happy to see you too," he says, "and this is my girlfriend, Laura."
"Hi, Laura," I say with a smile, "I'm Jordyn."
"Nice to meet you," she says as we shake hands and a line has gathered to see me.
"Where is Dad?" I ask as we are all in the living room as I hug my brothers and sisters. "Seth and I have an announcement we want to make."
"He's in the kitchen," says my mom. "I'll go get him," she says with a smile before she leaves the room.
"Kaylee," I say hugging my favorite older sister. "I missed you. How is Penn State?"
"Good," she says with a smile. "You look like you're doing well and Jonah he's a heartbreaker," she says as we look on to see him playing with my nieces and nephew it's good for him. "You're almost done with school and you have a boyfriend. I heard you moved out of Grandma's house too."
"I did," I say with a smile. "Seth, Jonah and I live together now. I rose above my past circumstance to make myself better for Jonah. I am over 3 years clean and sober."
"That's wonderful," she says with a smile. "I'm so proud of you. You're doing amazing for yourself."
"Thanks," I smile as my dad and my mom come into the living room.
"G-Peezy!" yells Jonah as he runs over to my dad.
"Hey, Buddy," he says scooping him up in his arms. "How are you?"
"Good," he answers.
"And how are you?" asks my dad as he hugs me and then shakes Seth's hand.
"Good," I say, "we have some news for you so if everyone could sit down that would be great."
"Are you pregnant?" asks Kaylee. "Is Jonah going to be a big brother?"
"Am I?" asks Jonah as he sits on my dad's lap. "Am I getting my baby sister?"
"No," I say with a smile. Jonah wants his baby sister so bad. He asks us every day for one and we keep telling him it doesn't just work like that. I could get pregnant but he could end up with a brother. "We are not having a baby but we are getting married," I say proudly. "Seth asked me to marry him last weekend when we were in the Keys. It was beautiful."
"Congratulations!" says my mom as she stands up first to hug us.
"Congratulations," says my dad giving me a hug, "welcome to the family, Seth," he says.
"Thanks," says Seth. Everyone takes turns hugging us and some shaking hands with Seth telling us congratulations.
"So when's the wedding?" asks Chelsea, "did you two pick a date yet?" she asks.
"Well, about that," I say looking at Seth and he looks at me. "We decided we are going to get married over Christmas when Seth is off for a couple days."
"That's a month away," says my mom. "You don't have time to plan anything in a month, how are you going to find a dress and plan an entire wedding in a month? What about your guests?"
"There aren't going to be any guests," I say. "It's going to be a private wedding between Seth and I. It will only be Jonah, Seth and I on the beach in San Diego."
"There are plenty of beaches in Florida," says my dad. "Why wouldn't you get married at one of them?"
"Because there is a specific beach we are looking at in San Diego."
"Why don't you want a big wedding?" asks Chelsea.
"Because we don't, I don't want a big show for all. I want it to be special. I want it to just be Seth, Jonah and I in San Diego."
"I was hoping to help you plan your wedding," says my mom.
"And I wanted to walk you down the aisle, who is going to give you away?" asks my dad.
"Jonah is walking me down the aisle and he is giving me away. I know how special that is for you dad but this is what I want and mom how could you ever help me plan a wedding when you're in Phoenix and I am in Tampa. It would be difficult to do. This is what Seth and I decided to do and this is what I want. I don't need a fancy dress although I am probably going to buy one just because and I don't need a big wedding. I just need the priest, my son and the love of my life."
"I understand," she says, "as long as that makes you happy."
"It does," I say with a smile. "It's what I want."
"Then that's what we want," says my dad, "as long as you are happy with your choice."
"Thank-you," I say. "I'm happy to be getting married," I say with a smile as I look at Seth. "I love him so much."
"I'm glad you found happiness," says Kaylee with a smile.
"Thank-you," I say with a smile as I catch my parents look at each other and nod. I have no idea what that's all about. I finally sit down with my nieces and nephews to play a game with them while Seth talks with Cody and Ben about wrestling before we sit down to have a nice family dinner.
Dave's Point of View:
"Are you going to talk to Jordyn?" asks Alex as she is cutting up some of the pies for desert.
"Yeah, I don't know what to say without sounding like an asshole though," I say. "What do you want me to say?"
"Ask her if this is really what she wants to do. She is only 18, Dave. Mentally she is stuck at 15 from all of her trauma even though she's smart as she is mentally she's 15, Dave. I don't think she's ready to get married at 18. I don't think she's ready."
"Alex, there's nothing we can do about it. Her mind seems to be made up. I don't like it either but Seth does seem good for her."
"If he loves her he should be able to wait a year or two, wait till she graduates from college and is settled with a decent job. No offense to you but I regret dropping out of college almost every day of my life. I wish I had stayed in school or at least gone back. Chelsea finished college thankfully, Ben decided to go the wrestling route I wish he had gone to school but it was his choice, Josiah and Kaylee are both in college and right now Jordyn is so close to being done. I don't' want marriage or a pregnancy happening to make her walk away. She's done so well up until now."
"Yeah but I don't think we are in any position to tell her what to do. She's been emancipated since she was 15. She's an adult we can't do anything about it. I just hope he treats her right but I agree this is all so soon."
"Listen to Dave Bautista talking about a man treating a woman right should I mention Bella, Sasha and Melina to you or did you forget how you used to treat me."
"I know and I am aware that I hurt you. You don't think I want better for my daughters? I never want a man to treat them the way I treated you. I wish I could change all that I did but I can't. I just learned from it. I'll talk to Jordyn and see where she's at with this whole thing."
"Okay," says Alex. "Please."
"I will," I say as we take the pie into the dining room so we can enjoy desert. "Hey, Jordyn, can I talk to you for a few minutes?" I ask her as she sits down to eat pie.
"Um, sure," she says. "Where do you want to talk?"
"Let's go out to the patio to talk. It's not too bad of a day."
"Okay," she says taking her pie with her as we make our way out the sliding glass door to the patio. She takes a seat on the stairs and I take a seat next to her. It's like old times when she was a little girl and we would sit on the patio eating ice-cream together. I missed so much of her life I wish I could get some of the time back. I wish I could have saved her sooner. I didn't protect her like I should have and at 15 she was a mother and a drug addict because I allowed her to get involved with the wrong guy. "So what's up, Dad?" she asks as she looks at me with her dark brown eyes that match her mother's and she eats some of her pie.
"So you're getting married?"
"Yeah, that's the plan," she says, "is something wrong with that?"
"Are you sure that's what you want to do?" I ask. "I mean are you sure you're ready to get married. You and Seth haven't been together that long. It hasn't even been a year. Don't you think you're moving a little fast?"
"No," she says. "I love him and he loves me, Dad."
"Sometimes loving someone isn't enough there's more to a marriage than just loving one another. It takes a lot of work, commitment, trust, loyalty it's a lot of work to keep a marriage together. Trust me I know I have been married 3 times."
"I don't think that's anything to be proud of, Dad and why are you lecturing me on what it takes for a marriage to work after everything you have done to mom. I think you should take that advice."
"I learned it the hard way. Your mom and I had some hardships but we're good now. IT took a lot of work to get here but we made it."
"After you screwed up several times," she says. "I remember the fights, Dad."
"I know but I want to make sure you're ready for the commitment of marriage."
"I'm ready, Dad."
"You're only 18 and you haven't been with Seth that long to even be getting married."
"Dad, when did you propose to mom?"
"6 months after we started dating BUT we didn't get married for at least a year after that," I say. "We took our time."
"And you two moved in with each other right away too. I don't think you should tell me what to do, Dad. You made a choice and mom made a choice. You two are still married. You two still seem to be in love and look at all the kids you have together to show for it and all the kids you have with different women, Dad."
"Jordyn Neveah," I say.
"It's the truth. Look, Dad, I'm happy with Seth. He makes me happy. You may think I don't know him but this was three years in the making. He's my best friend. I know him. We started dating and got together after 3 years of getting to know each other. I think we're okay. I know I'm 18 but I know what I want, Dad."
"You just grew up really fast, Jordyn. You were living with a 35 year old man at 15, you were pimped out and drugged up at 15 and became a mom at 15. You had your GED by the time you were 16 and you were in college. I am proud of you for that. I'm glad you did that but what if you get pregnant? You still have some schooling left."
"Then I guess Seth and I will deal with it. It's not like I can't be a mom and be in college. I have Jonah and I am at a 4.0 in school. Dad, don't worry about me. I know what I'm doing."
"I was 18 when I got married too and look where that marriage got me."
"That's different, Dad you married because you got someone pregnant and you thought it was the right thing to do. I'm getting married because I truly love, Seth. Didn't you just know that mom was the one for you when you proposed after 6 months? Didn't you know she was going to be your wife and the mother of some of your favorite children? You knew you were going to share a lifetime with her, right?"
"Well, yeah."
"How did you know that, Dad? And wasn't mom like 21 when she met you. Mentally I am 21. I go to school with 21 year olds and Chelsea she was 22 when she got married and Ben he was 18 when he married his wife. How did you know that mom was the one?" she asks looking at me with her dark brown eyes. She looks so much like her mother it's incredible. Jordyn has always been a wild child, a free spirit ever since she was little. She is Alex's curse, she always has been. I told Alex one day she was going to have a daughter just like her and I am looking at her in the flesh. Jordyn couldn't be any more like her mother than she is.
"Everything just felt right. She made me want to be a better person she made me want to change my life. She brought me so much happiness. She was like the missing puzzle piece in my life. It was like everything was falling into place. I loved her the moment I saw her. I knew in that moment she was going to be my wife and we would have a happy life together. We went through so much and came out stronger than we had ever been. She has always supported me and she could have left me so many times but she didn't. She kept fighting. I knew she was special. Your mom was once like you."
"She was?"
"Yes, Jordyn, you two don't just look like you're more alike than you think. She was wild I'll tell you that much. She kept me on my toes yet I had some of the best times with your mom. She had a similar past to yours. She got involved with the wrong guy, he beat her up, tried to kill her he put her through hell. The day I met her she had just been beaten up by him. She didn't have it easy. I wanted to protect her and I wanted keep her safe. She was so wild though and I loved that about her. I loved her being a free spirit. It was one of her best qualities it still is. She was my best friend she still is and I love her more every day. I once told her I love her more and more each day. She makes me the happiest I have ever been. She gave up school to be my fiancée and to be my wife it was also to keep her safe but she regrets walking away every day. She was so close. I don't think our lives would have turned out the way they did had she not walked away but she's worried that you getting married will make you give up school and make you walk away. We don't want that for you. We want you to be successful. You walked through fire and are still standing. You have worked so hard for this and we don't want to see you throw it all way to get married. Why can't you wait a year and get married then? IF he loves you now he will love you then," I say. "You have just grown up so fast you need to slow down and enjoy life the way it is don't rush. Seth will love you next year, he's going to love you forever. I think you two should wait."
"Dad," she says. "I know you care but Seth supports me. He wants me to finish school. He wants me to get my degree and I am going to finish school. I'm not going to walk away because I get married or because I have another baby. I'm going to finish because I want to help people like Mom helps people. I want to change lives like my mom does. I know I'm just like her and I am glad that I am. But you should know that if I am just like her I love the way she does, I forgive like she does and I have her determination. I know what I am doing, Dad. I love Seth so much and I want to marry him next month it's not going to ruin my life or ruin me. It's going to make me stronger and make me happier. I love him, Dad. I love him so much. I know he will love me next year but like you dad I know he's going to love me more each day. I want to do this next month because it's my life and I will be happy. Just be happy I found someone that loves me the way you love mom and someone I love the way mom loves you. I learned from the best," she smiles. "Dad, don't worry. I know what I'm doing. It may seem crazy but it is the best thing I can do for Jonah and me. He's so good with Jonah and he treats me like a Queen. It's okay, Dad. You can let me go I'll be all right."
"I know, Jordyn," I say. "I just want to make sure you're happy. I haven't always been around like I should have but I have always loved you and cared about you. All I ever wanted for you was happiness. You deserve the best. I guess sometimes you just know who you will spend the rest of your life with and sometimes love at first sight is real."
"It definitely is," she smiles. "I love you, Dad."
"I love you too," I say with a smile before I wrap my arm around her and kiss the top of her head. "I'm proud of you, Jordyn."
"Thanks," she says with a smile. "And why would I drop out of school you paid for it. You're getting your money's worth and I am almost done. I just have internships left then I am a college graduate. I defeated the odds, Dad," she says with tears in her eyes. "I defeated the odds."
"You sure did," I smile as I hold her tightly in my arms. She's not lying there was a time we didn't think she would even make it to 18 but sure enough she's sitting here talking about helping people, finishing college and marrying the man that stole her heart. She did defeat the odds against her to get where she is right now. I could not be any prouder of her.
*A/N: What did you think of Jordyn seeing the rest of her siblings? Do you think they can all have a better relationship now? What did you think of Dave's talk with Jordyn? Does it surprise you that she's just like Alex? Do you see Alex in her actions? Do you think marriage will interrupt her schooling? Please review and thank-you for reading.