A Surfers Love
Chapter 38
"Natsu...Dragneel..."
"Reia?" My mom immediately jumped up from the couch as she grabbed the sakura haired woman, "What's wrong?"
Everyone gazed at her with worried expressions as she continued to cry into her hands, shaking her head in what seemed to be disbelief.
"Is it something to do with Natsu?" I asked, my expression soft, yet stern.
Her body stopped shaking as she stiffened. Slowly, she lifted her head as she turned to me. I nearly gasped at the torn expression on her face, her runny nose, and swollen, puffy eyes. She looked completely different to how she was when she walked in.
Hurt...guilty maybe? Why? Why would she feel guilty about Natsu?
"Who...who are you?" I asked, feeling my hands begin to tremble. Could she have something to do with his past?
"I'm his...his mo-" she choked on a sob, desperately wiping the tears from her eyes.
"I-I'm sorry, this is just really hard to take in...you're his girlfriend, right?"
I nodded my head. The whole room had gone deafly silent, waiting for the truth to unfold.
Reia pushed her hair out of her face, letting out a deep breath. She slightly glanced around the room, before looking my mom in the eye.
"Layla, would you mind if me and Lucy discussed something?"
My mom's eyes slightly widened before they narrowed in a look of seriousness. "It's something you can only tell someone who's close to Natsu, right?" She whispered, softly.
Reia solemnly nodded her head, her ruby eyes glistening with unshed tears. "I'm sorry, I was suppose to have come and had a good time and I'm just messing everything up..."
My mom smiled as she lightly squeezed the woman's shoulders. "It's alright, do what you need to."
"Lucy, do you mind me taking you somewhere more private?" Reia asked me.
Hesitanty, I glanced towards the T.V. screen, "But..."
"It's alright, Lu-chan, we'll watch for you. This seems really important," Levy smiled.
"I'll record," Gray stated, lifting up his phone as he softly grinned towards me.
"We'll relay anything that happens," Erza told me, nodding her head.
A smile spread across my lips, thankful for such friends. My attention redirected to the rosy haired woman, us staring each other in the eyes.
"Okay."
.
.
We sat on my bed, a thick atmosphere surrounding us. It was completely silent, seeing as we were quite a few doors down from the living area.
"How much has Natsu...told you about himself?" She asked, "Anything about his past?"
"Everything," I replied, "I know his inner turmoil enough to where it even pains me to think about it."
"So you know," she stated, glancing at me, "I wonder, where should I start?"
"How about telling me how you know Natsu?" I asked, quite eager to find out.
She softly laughed, running a hand through her hair. The notion gave me a sense of déjà vu, because it sort of reminded me of Nastu. Afterall, it was a habit he exhibited quite a lot.
"How do I know him?" She laughed a bit, before continuing. "I knew him before he was even born. He's apart of me."
My eyes widened. It couldn't be...but then again it could. She did have pink hair, and her skin was tanned..."Are yo-"
"I'm his mom's...elder sister. His real aunt."
"B-but.." I stuttered, the information completely taking me off gaurd, "You're...his birth mom's sister? I thought you were-"
"His mom, right?" A sorrowful smile spread across her features, "I got that a lot. He doesn't share many of his mother's feautures. With her fiery red hair, bright green eyes, and pale skin. Although, he got his eyes from Sophie, and his hair from me," she slightly grimaced, "Luckily, he didn't inherit any of his fathers vile traits."
"Sophie?" I questioned.
She sighed, a flush of sadness spreading over her, "That was my sister's name," she gazed at me, placing her hand over mines, "I guess I'll begin with how we met Igneel in the first place," A melancholy twinkle gleamed in her eyes. "Back then, we had no idea what was bound to happen in the future..."
She shook her head, erasing the thoughts.
"When we were little, we were neighbors. Her and Igneel were the same age, while I was two years older than them both. Naturally, we grew up together. We all were the bestest of friends."
She lightly laughed as a nostalgic smile spread across her lips. "Everyone used to always believe Igneel and Sophie were twins. They looked identical, with the same eyes and hair, it was ironic because their personalities were totally different. Igneel was hot-tempered, loud, and a complete idiot, while Sophie was a quiet, yet joyful girl. I was always in between the two, breaking them up in arguments, or joining in."
"Everyone thought they'd get married when they got older, but hence, their relationship was purely platonic. Now, I wish they would've gotten together... but, we both shared a brotherly love with him, and we wanted to stay that way forever. We were quite the comical trio," she smiled.
"Did you guys separate?" I asked her worriedly.
Reia shook her head. "Although, I guess you could say that. When we got older, in our later teens, Sophie got a boyfriend. Igneel also found someone he liked. Grandine was her name. She had the prettiest aqua colored hair, and her eyes shimmered as brightly as the sea, matching her glossy personality. As for me, I never found a lover, because I didn't believe in love, and didn't want children."
"If you don't mind me asking, why didn't you?" I questioned, curiousity nagging at me.
Reia sighed. "I just didn't see the need for anything so bothersome, and it was nothing I desired."
"Oh..." I muttered, then a thought flashed through my mind, "Wait, I thought Igneel's wife's name was Europa?"
Reia's eyes slightly widened, before a soft smile graced her features. "That name brings back memories...Of course you know, Grandine was a musician. Anything that made a sound, she could always find a way to play it. For some reason, she was always infatuated with Greek mythology, especially Europa. She thought the name was beautiful, and if she ever set music as an official career, it would be her stage name. Often, she liked us to call her that, because she insisted Grandine sounded too old. But...even then, we called her Euri. Both Grandine and Europa were just too long."
"Oh, I never knew that!" I exclaimed.
Reia laughed, "Back to the story," she began lightly, "I liked Grandine, but Sophie's boyfriend was another story. I had a bad feeling about him, because I always thought he was hiding something. She fell for his good looks, raven hair, gentle, dark eyes, and his nice personality. He was extremely gentle, and had great manners. Yet sometimes...he would just change. He would get violent, or angry, but my idiotic sister always dismissed it for him being under too much stress."
"Years passed, I believe I was 24 when Igneel and Grandine finally got married. It was beautiful...to say the least. Yet, when they began trying to have children, everything went haywire. Every attempt ended in failure, and we later found out that Grandine was incapable of bearing. This happened about two years after their marriage."
"Meanwhile, Sophie was still with that other guy, they hadn't married yet, thankfully, because he had...issues. Yet, she refused to take notice of them and always dismissed it as nothing. I always told her to leave him and find someone else, yet she insisted that she loved him, and that she could see past his flaws."
Reia looked down, a shaky breath wafting from her trembling lips. "As time went on, we noticed Sophie beginning to change. She got paler every day, she was beginning to look frail. Yet, that soft smile she always wore never waivered. Eventually, we took her to the doctor, and he told us that she...she was ill, and two months pregnant. Of course just that news alone both shocked and devastated us. But that wasn't the worst of it..."
Reia trembled as she sniffled, wiping her eyes. "The doctor asked is if she'd been taking any drugs, and she told him she didn't, but that her boyfriend smoked and drunk alchohol. It was...it was horrible when he relayed to us just what he'd actually been doing."
"It seems that you have a small amount of various types of deadly drugs flowing through your system. Yet, with a baby, any amount could be fatal. Meth and cocoaine, which is the worst of it. It seems that when you and your partner had sexual intercourse, he transferred what was in him, to you. The baby your body is trying to provide nutrients to is only making you weaker, and at this point, both you and the offspring are at risk of dying. If you were to have an abortion, your body would stop trying to supply for two people, and we could better cure you."
Sophie, Reia, and Igneel's eyes widened at the news. Reia grabbed her sister's hand, tears threatening to fall out.
"I want to...to have this baby," Sophie coughed loudly, before faintly smiling, "There is no way I could...c-could kill such a small, valuable life. I'll take the risk."
"You could die!" Igneel yelled, lightly grabbing her shoulders. "Why would you want to have a child made from that man?! He's done nothing but hurt you!"
Reia stood there numbed, the information still trying to sink in.
A smile crossed Sophie's chapped lips. "I still love him, no matter what he's done. The baby will be born, and he'll live on."
Tears slipped down Igneel's cheeks, as he buried his head in her neck.
"Why...why do you love him so much that you've been so blinded? Sophie, you have poeple who care for you."
The red haired woman coughed, lightly cupping Igneel's hair. "I love you, Igneel, Reia, mom and dad, everyone. That will never change. You'll learn someday. Real love...never dies."
Igneel shook as he cried into her neck, Reia staring down at her sister blankly, unable to cope with the situation.
Sophie turned to look at her older sis, smiling. "Just in case I don't get to tell you when that time comes, Thank you for everything. I lived a great life."
Reia slightly shook her head, rivulets of tears finally streaming from her eyes.
"No, Sophie! Please don't..." She sobbed as she wrapped her arms around her younger sisters slender neck, crying into her soft hair. Sophie held her bestest friends, old, yet happy times flashing through her memory. In that instance, she finally realized that they would never share those moments again. Silent tears slid down her own cheeks as the three held each other, crying together, just like they'd shared so many other emotions. Growing up together, experiencing hardships, laughing during happy times, cheering as they graduated and became adults... It hurt, having to separate from family...knowing you'd never see them again.
"Natsu..." She whispered, "I want the baby's name to be Natsu. Whether it's a boy or a girl. The name...reminds me of us," the cherry haired woman laughed, "Hot and fiery like the summer, wild and timid like the bloomed buds of flowers, and as gentle as a breeze that blows through, countering the warm rays of light that shower down, flower petals dancing in the wind as they sway to the soft harmony."
"I want this child to be free, like the clear, blue summer sky. Their will be no limit to how high he can go. Has a nice ring to it, dosent it?" She asked softly, trying to cheer them up, yet not being able to stop her own tears.
They responded by gripping her tighter, not wanting to let their only little sister go.
"As time went on, both Sophie and her boyfriends conditions only got worse. He openly began to inject drugs into himself, not caring about anything anymore. Then, seven months later Sophie went into labor," Reia wiped a few tears from her eyes, before continuing.
"She passed. They said she died before the baby was even delivered. They had to do a C-section to get him out. Although, it was a miracle. When he came out, he was perfectly healthy, a bit underweight, yet crying. We cried also, for the loss of my sister and good friend, and for the birth of a new life."
"By the sixth month of her pregnancy, Sophie knew she wasn't gonna make it, so she entrusted the boys life to Igneel. He humbly accepted the responsibility, and took pride in raising him."
Her lips pressed into a firm line as she grasped a strand on her hair. "Sadly, Grandine didn't want a child in which she hadn't bore herself, and she refused to stay with Igneel if he took Natsu in. It was a hard decision for him...I remember him coming to me so frustrated and confused, he even began sobbing like a baby. Yet, in the end, Igneel decided he couldn't possibly abandon Natsu, not the son his little sister had died to have. So...she left him. I still don't understnad why she would go to such an extent..."
"Eventually, Igneel pursued his career in surfing, and as Natsu grew older he began to teach him. I stayed with Igneel and helped around when Natsu was a baby, but eventually I left for Japan to pursue my own career in fashion. Of course, I always sent postcards to check up on them, but for some reason, they stopped coming. I think around the time Natsu became a teenager. I recieved news that Igneel had went missing while getting caught in a wave, and that they'd never found him."
Tears streamed down Reia's cheeks as she began crying again. "I had no idea what to do. I didn't know where Natsu was, and at the time, I couldn't afford a flight back to Hawaii. So, I sent letters and called, yet they always got sent back to me, and calls were never answered," she sniffled some more, wiping her eyes.
"I had no idea what had happened to Natsu...and I was so scared. Everyday of my life I've thought about him. I've felt guilty since I wasn't there when Igneel went missing, I hated myself because I couldn't care for him, and give him the life my sister wanted him to have. So...to see him today, alive and healthy with so many friends, and even having someone by his side...it's more than overwhelming."
"Yes...he has many people who care for him, so you no longer have to worry. I'm really sorry for your loses...it must be really hard to lose the people who are closest to you." I mumbled, not sure how to comfort her.
"No...it's alright," she whispered, "It's been years now. I'll never get over it, but I've learned to accept what can't be undone. I can finally look forward now that I know Natsu is alright."
"Does Natsu remember you?" I asked her.
She shrugged her shoulders, "Really, I don't know. I stayed with Igneel and Natsu till he was about three, then came back to visit when he was six or seven. It's up to him if he remembers or not..."
"Lucy!" Erza yelled, bursting into the room, a panicked expression on her face, "Natsu's fell into the water, and he hasn't come back up!"
My heart skipped a beat as the news flooded into my ears, then began to pound against my chest rapidly as I sprung from the bed, down the hallway, and into the living room.
"What's happening?!" I yelled, Reia standing beside as she gazed at the screen worriedly.
I looked at the T.V. only to see a huge crowd around the shore and lifeguards padding through the waves.
"He was surfing up a wave, and then it just crashed down on him," Gray explained.
"No, no, no, not again..." Reia mumbled into her hand, her eyes widened.
"Dragneel has fell off of his board and hasn't resurfaced!" The speaker shot into the microphone, panickedly.
"Natsu..." I whispered, clasping my hands together as I prayed for him to be all right. That was all I could do in this situation.
"Why hasn't he come up?" Levy asked, wiping tears from her eyes.
My mother hugged Reia as she mumbled things to herself, and I stood there, my eyes shut tightly, hoping everything would be all right.
There was a knock on the door, and immedietly, I ran over to it, it being the only thing to distract me from the terrifying acts on the television screen.
Please...please be alright!
Hastily, I unlocked the door, completely forgetting to look through the peep hole first as I swung it open, my eyes shut, not wanting the tears to fall out.
"I'm back!" The person exclaimed, happily.
My eyes immedietly shot open. This voice...
Slowly I raised my head, and tears began to fall from my eyes as tanned skin, pearly white teeth, narrow, yet bright green eyes, and vibrant, pink hair came into view.
I cried in happiness, immedietly clasping my arms around his waist. He smelled salty...fresh...yet so, so sweet...
He returned the hug, resting his head in my hair.
"Missed me?" He breathed.
A/N
Plot twist! XD In all honesty, Reia was intended to be Natsu's real mom, but then, EVERY SINGLE REVIEW was like 'that's Natsu's mom, she's Natsu's mom, OMG, Natsu's mom!' So then, I couldn't possibly make it that easy for you guys. XD
Hope you liked this chapter, and tell me what you thought!