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The Family

Chapter 36

After making some coffee and watching twenty minutes of TV, I felt I was awake enough to leave Randy's room and go to my own. I slid on the clothes I was wearing last night, folding the shirt Randy had lent me and setting it on the bed. I yawned as I gently closed the door behind me and took a couple of steps away from the door.

"You know, if I didn't know about how close you two were, I'd be a little jealous about you walking out of Orton's room early in the morning." I heard Cody say from behind me. I stopped and my face curled up in anger. I shook it off and decided to pretend I didn't hear him and keep walking. He was the last person I wanted to talk to right now. I walked fast, hoping he wouldn't try to come after me, but he did.

"Hey, Elle, wait up." I heard but I just kept walking faster until I felt his hand close around my wrist and he spin me around to face him.

"Hey, what's wrong?" He asked, running his hand up my arm. I jerked away from his touch.

"Nothing."

"Something is obviously wrong. Is it Randy? Did he do something?" Cody asked, stepping closer to me.

I crossed my arms over my chest and looked at him angrily. "I don't want to talk to you."

He looked confused. "Why not?"

I laughed bitterly. "Oh please, don't play dumb. It was only a matter of time before I found out."

"Found out about what?" He asked.

I sighed and forced a smile. "I know about everything Cody. I know about the bet."

He was stunned. He hadn't expected me to find out until after he won. "Elle…"

"No I don't want to hear it, asshole." I said, pausing to take a deep breath. "You know, when my dad and uncles would called you names, I stuck up for you. I told them you were nothing but a kind gentleman and I wanted to get to know you better. I thought this might develop into something. They tried to tell me but I didn't want to hear it; I told them it didn't matter to me because you hadn't done anything wrong." I paused and cleared my throat. "Then I find out that they were all right. You're nothing but a selfish pig." I turned to walk away but again, he grabbed my wrist and turned me around.

"Wait, Elle, let me explain." He tried but I shook my head.

"Absolutely not," I spat at him. "Randy told me everything. What kind of man doesn't take responsibility for his actions and instead tries to force someone into terminating the problem without having any consideration for what she wants? I don't know what happened to that girl or what was going through her mind. Who knows, maybe she wanted an abortion. But the sad thing is, even if it had gone through her mind, she probably thought that you would assure her it would be ok and that she should keep the baby. You shoving a check down her throat could have potentially pushed her into eliminating your baby." Cody was silent and looked down at his shoes. "Honestly, you placing a bet on me, I can deal with; but you doing what you did to that poor girl…that's just despicable." I turned to walk away but stopped, thinking of something. I turned back to face Cody and put my hands on my hips. "Tell me Cody, Was the guys' attention worth humiliating all those girls the way you did? Was your popularity in the back worth putting that girl through all that trauma? Was it worth making a baby then rejecting it?" He was still silent. "Sure you may have regretted what you did, but regrets only make you stronger. Do yourself a favor Cody, get in touch with that girl and hope that she kept your baby. If she didn't, that's going to be the biggest mistake you'll ever have made." I turned and walked away, hoping he would take my advice.

Once I got to my room, I hopped in the shower, washing myself off. When I was done, I dried my hair and put on some makeup. When I was done, I went into the bedroom and slid on a pair of skinny jeans, putting the ends inside gray knee length scrunched flat boots and put on a black long sleeve shirt. I went back into the bathroom and packed up all my toiletries. Today we were traveling to the next city and I still had to pack. After I was done packing, I sat on the bed watching TV. I braided my hair to the side in a single braid as I waited for my family to come get me so we could head to the airport. Once they got here, I double checked that I had everything and grabbed my purse, allowing them to wheel my suitcases out for me. I checked myself out as the guys loaded the car and I met them in the parking garage.

Once we got to the airport, I sat by the window with my dad and watched the planes come and go. It was a real pain that you had to get to the airport extra early before your flight because there was nothing to do. I yawned and laid my head on my dad's shoulder, telling him to wake me up when we could board.

After my dad woke me up, we got in line and boarded the plane. I took a seat in the middle of a row, next to Uncle Shawn who had the window seat and my dad, Uncle Mark and Uncle Kev were across the aisle from us.

"Where's Dave?" I asked my dad who had the aisle seat across from me.

"He was running late, told us to leave without him and he'd be a bit late." Dad explained and I nodded. I only hoped Cody or Ted didn't sit next to me, which would force me to spend the entire flight only facing the right and ignoring the left, where he would sit. I looked up when someone stood next to the aisle and sighed in relief when Randy sat down next to me.

"You look relieved. Happy to see me?" He asked with a smile.

I smiled back. "More like happy to not see a couple people." He laughed.

"I think I have an idea who you're talking about." He said, buckling his seat belt. "So when are you going to talk to him?"

"I already have." I said. He turned to me intrigued.

"When?"

"This morning when I was walking back to my room." I said.

"What happened?"

I sighed. "I told him what a sad, sad human being he was and that if he was smart he would call that girl and make sure she didn't get an abortion." I said with my voice lowered.

"You know." I heard from my right and smiled sadly at Uncle Shawn. I nodded. "It's about time you heard it from someone. What made you listen?"

"Well I was on a date with Ted, I wouldn't sleep with him, he got angry and spilled the beans."

"So she came to me and demanded to know everything." Randy said then smiled at me and winked. "You're hot when you get demanding." I blushed and looked down at my hands.

"Ew Randall, ew." Uncle Shawn said, grimacing. "Well, anyways, I'm glad you know. It's about time."

I smiled and nodded. "Yeah, I feel like such an idiot though."

"Elle, like I told you last night, it's not your fault; you had no way of knowing." He said, putting a comforting arm around my shoulders.

"I know, I know." I said. Ten minutes passed and people were still boarding the plane. I smiled when Dave was the last one and my eyes followed him as he struggled to find a seat. I snorted when I saw the only seat left was in a row with Cody and Ted. His eyes found mine and I shot him an apologetic smile, wishing him luck on this flight.

"What's so funny?" Randy asked, nudging me with his elbow.

"Look who Dave's next to." I said, grabbing the Sky Mall catalog in front of me. Randy turned around and laughed when he saw Dave sitting next to Cody, nodding politely at something he was saying to him.

"Man, that sucks." Randy said, letting out a yawn.

As I was unpacking and getting situated at our new hotel, I came across a wrapped package that I didn't notice while I was packing. I sat down on the floor and glanced around, looking for my dad. (Yes, we were back to sharing a room.) I heard the shower turn on and I focused back on the package in my hands. I opened the card on the top and read it carefully. It was from my mom. She said she had asked Stephanie to give me my birthday present because she didn't know when she would see me again. Her letter explained that after our last visit, she had realized that she had already missed out on most of my life, on account of her being drunk 24/7, and she didn't want to miss out on the rest. She said she was getting help and pouring all her money into a good rehab center. She said she loved me and was sorry for all the pain and sadness she had caused me. She signed the letter and left an address I could reach her at. She explained that at the place she was going, phones weren't allowed to be used everyday, so letters were encouraged. She said she hoped to hear from me and that again, she was sorry and loved me.

I sat in that position until I heard the bathroom door open and my dad come out.

"Hey, what are you doing?" He asked, stepping closer to me. I looked up at him and smiled sadly as I wiped away my tears. He sighed. "You found it."

I nodded. "I'm happy for her. She needs this."

He nodded and crouched down, massaging my scalp. "Yeah, she does. Hopefully this will be a wakeup call." I nodded in agreement. "Why don't you open the gift?" He suggested and I nodded. I had been so engrossed and stunned by the letter I forgot about the gift. I tore it open and sighed when my hands held a small gold locket. I was very familiar with this locket. It had been my great grandmothers and when I was younger, I would watch my mother put on her makeup and jewelry at her vanity and everyday I would touch the locket and ask my mom if I could wear it, just this once. And every time she said it wasn't for kids. The fact that she gave this to me was a big sign that she didn't think of me as a child anymore; I was a young women and I was glad she realized it. I just hoped she could get over her daemons and get well so we could redevelop our relationship. I just knew if she couldn't do it now, it would never happen.