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Warring Hearts, Part 6
It was Sunday dinner once again and it was being held at the Maxwell residence this time. Hilde glanced over her shoulder at Jonathon, who was sitting out on the lawn chairs with Morgan. She had invited the girl to come since Jonathon needed her right now. Morgan had brought some homemade ice cream from her family's restaurant. "Duo, you think this is all right?" she asked looking over at him.
Duo looked up from the grill, where he was firing up the barbecue chicken. He took a look over at Jonathon, who was staring blankly out towards the cliffs. "What's all right?"
"Having dinner here tonight? Leigh will come and I don't know how he'll react to seeing her."
"I think it's all right. He won't let her know how much their break up is really bothering him. He has too much pride."
Hilde gave her son another worried glance. "I certainly hope you're right."
Duo leaned over and pressed a kiss on her forehead. "Try not to worry about it babe. It'll be all right."
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Jonathon absently raked his hands through his hair. He looked back at Morgan, who was sitting at his side. He was grateful that she was there. He would need someone to keep his sanity intact while Leigh was here. "Thanks for coming again Morgan," he said quietly, as he squeezed her hand.
"It was no problem," Morgan said warmly as she returned the squeeze. "It was nice of your mother to invite me."
He smiled thinly. "My mom worries too much about me. She knew I would need someone else here to talk to since Leigh will be coming."
"Your mom loves you a lot and she's worried. She only wants this to go easy on you."
"I know," Jonathon replied ruefully as he raked his hands through his hair once again. He looked around at the others. The Changs hadn't arrived yet and his stomach was knotted in a tight ball of tension. "God please let me get through this night."
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Ling followed Wufei up the long curving driveway. He took a quick look over at Leigh, who was nervously twisting her hands on her lap. He had noticed that she had been apprehensive since she got in the car this evening. He had been invited Wufei to this family get together and Leigh had reluctantly agreed. He didn't know why she was acting like this. "Are you all right Leigh?"
"I'm fine," Leigh said in a breathless tone, her eyes shifting back and forth, her nerves set on edge. "Damn dad for getting me into this mess. This is not the best thing to do. I have absolutely no idea how he's going to react. Damn you dad."
He noticed the number of vehicles parked in the circular drive. There were cars, trucks, and SUVS of all makes parked in the shade of the large tree in the middle. He parked behind Wufei's dark green Expedition. He was slightly awed by the sight of the house before him. It was a mixture of American colonial and it's antebellum south. The silvery stone façade shone dimly in the setting sun. He opened her door for her and tucked her hand through his arm. "So this is the Maxwell residence?"
"Yeah," she replied faintly, as she followed her parents around to the back of the house.
"I'm impressed by the architecture."
"The house was built specifically for them. Duo spared no expense in having this house built. It was more of a gift for his wife, Hilde. He let her have her way."
Ling nodded his head, his eyes looking at the to huge SUVS and the motorcycle, and in the back garage, a convertible, a truck, another SUV, a Jeep, and another motorcycle. "They have a lot of cars."
"The convertible belongs to Chris, the truck to Jonathon, the SUV to David, and the Jeep and motorcycle belong to Randy."
"I see." His eyes went to the gate, where two dogs were barking uproariously. A woman was also approaching the gate, her shoulder length black hair swinging as she walked.
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Hilde smiled at Sally and Wufei as she opened the gate. "Hello you two." The dogs barked again and she shushed them. "Duo call your dogs, they're making a racket!" she yelled over her shoulder.
"They're only my dogs when they're barking, aren't they babe!" Duo yelled back from the grill.
Hilde rolled her eyes and she turned to look back at Sally. "Forgive those two, you know how excited they get when we have guests."
"That's no problem Hilde," Sally, smiling as she bent down and scratched the Border collie, Lucky, behind the ears.
Hilde smiled, but it congealed some when she saw Leigh behind Wufei and Sally, holding onto her young man's arm.
Leigh felt uncomfortable as she saw Hilde's eyes flicker with apprehension. "Hello Hilde, I would like to introduce you to my…" she trailed off, not able to find the words.
Wufei immediately filled it in for her. "Her new boyfriend Ling. Ling, this his Hilde Maxwell."
"Nice to meet you ma'am," Ling said respectfully, giving her a short bow.
"No need to call me ma'am, just call me Hilde," said Hilde as she noticed Leigh's jumpiness.
Ling smiled at her as he walked through the gate with Leigh.
Sally saw Hilde's worried expression and immediately went over to her as they walked up towards the deck behind Wufei. "I'm sorry Hilde. This was Wufei's idea, I swear. I told him not to, but the hardheaded man never listens to me."
"It's all right Sally. Don't worry about it. I'm just scared of how Jonathon's going to react. He already got in a fight Friday night because I think he saw Leigh out with Ling at Le Belle."
"Oh dear, this really wasn't a good idea. What did Jonathon do?"
"He got drunk and started the fight down at the Garter, on the waterfront."
Sally cringed, thinking of what a Maxwell was capable of when drunk and pissed. "God I hope nothing happens. This is all Wufei's idea. He fixed Ling up with Leigh."
Hilde looked at Wufei's back. He was walking up the steps of the deck. "So that's what he did? What is he trying to pull?"
"I think he wants only the best for Leigh and he thought your son was breaking her heart way too much. So he took it upon himself to fix her up with him. He thinks that Ling is perfect for Leigh."
Hilde's lips parted slightly. "He's playing matchmaker?"
Sally nodded.
"God help us all if Jonathon loses his temper," Hilde said, her eyes clouding with apprehension as she looked towards the pool, where Jonathon hadn't taken notice of the Chang's arrival.
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Wufei leaned against the railing, where Duo was grilling the chicken. "Your woman is letting you cook the chicken?"
"I can cook, you know. I'm not that bad," Duo replied mildly, keeping his eyes on the chicken.
"That's an overstatement," Wufei said, rolling his eyes.
Duo childishly stuck his tongue out at him.
"That's mature Maxwell."
"Go away Wuffie."
"Not yet. Leigh, come on over here for a moment."
Leigh walked over, her hand still in Ling's possession. "Yes dad?"
Duo turned around and was brought up short by the young Chinese man holding onto Leigh's hand. He knew instinctively who he was. His eyes went to Wufei, chilling considerably. "And who's this Leigh?"
"This is Ling, he's my…"
"He's her new boyfriend," Wufei supplied, noting the look that he was receiving from Duo.
Leigh saw the glacial look her dad was receiving from Duo. It made her shift uncomfortably on her feet.
Duo returned his eyes to Leigh. He could see that she looked like she wanted to bolt. His gaze softened a little towards her. "It's nice to meet you Ling," he said, shaking his hand.
"Nice to meet you too Duo," Ling said, smiling broadly, unaware of the tense undercurrents flowing around him.
"Why don't you two go down to the pool, where all the other's are," Duo said, smiling faintly.
Leigh nodded her head. "Come on Ling. I'll introduce you to everyone else," she said woodenly as she pulled him down the steps.
Duo turned his eyes back to Wufei, who was smirking slightly. "Are you trying to cause an insurrection by bringing him along with you?"
"No, not at all. I thought it would be good for Ling to get to know everyone since he's going to be around a lot," Wufei said innocently.
"Is that so?"
"I'm positive. Ling is a doctor. He's the perfect match for Leigh."
Duo's eyes darkened imperceptibly.
Wufei noted the change, smirking again. "Anything wrong with that?"
"Did you invite Ling to lord this over my son?" Duo practically growled.
"Of course not. You think I would do that?"
"Yeah, I think you would Wufei since you made it no secret that you disapproved of Jonathon dating Leigh in the first place."
"I'm only ensuring my daughter's happiness Maxwell. You would have done the same for Randy," Wufei pointed out smugly.
"I wouldn't have done this."
"Ling is good for Leigh. He won't break her heart like your second born has done numerous times."
Duo gritted his teeth, keeping his temper in strict check. "You know with that look on your face, I would say you're getting a perverse amount of pleasure doing this."
"Maybe just a little. But wouldn't you want someone better for Randy if Miles had broken her heart numerous times. I'm sure you would, considering what she went through with him."
"Yeah, I would want the best for Randy, but not at anyone else's expense. And that's exactly what you're doing Wufei," Duo bit out. "I wouldn't go as far as fixing her up with somebody. She has a free choice."
"And see where that led her in the first place? But I suppose with Donavon, you won't have to worry about that since he's head over heels in love with her. But I'm making sure that my daughter is happy and I won't have her going back to your skirt chasing son only to be hurt again."
"Are you that determined to get Leigh away from Jonathon, that you would risk instigating my son's temper?"
"Damn right I am! I won't have her hurt anymore by him! He's just like you."
Duo's eyes narrowed, flashing murderously.
Wufei could see that Duo was on the verge of losing his temper. He smirked again as he turned on his heel and walked away.
Duo fumed silently. He felt like choking Wufei within an inch of his life. "Damn bastard," he muttered under his breath as he went back to grilling the chicken.
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Leigh knew what her father was up to when he had called her over to him and Duo. She knew he was taking a gross amount of pleasure in lording it over Duo. And it had worked. She had seen the glacial look in the cobalt eyes and the barely clipped words she had caught as she and Ling had walked away. She almost gasped in surprise when she recognized Morgan Valenti sitting next to Jonathon, loosely holding his hand. "What's she doing here and why is she holding his hand?" She felt eyes following her as her and Ling walked on, especially those of the Maxwells, which were almost bordering on hostile. She had introduced Ling to most of the others, who were polite, but sending her looks of puzzlement at the same time. Now she had to introduce him to the Maxwells and their significant others, who were all gathered near Jonathon and Morgan. She cleared her throat as she made her way towards them, Ling's hand riding her back as she walked.
"So are they all the Maxwells over there?" Ling asked quietly as he followed her.
"Not all of them. The one with the long braid is Chris, the one sitting on the grass is David, Randy, the only girl, is sitting on the bench, and the one in the chair…is Jonathon," she said faintly.
"I see." He observed them as he walked towards them and was surprised that they were observing him right back with the exception of the one in the chair she called Jonathon.
Randy turned and gave Chris a look, as he leaned against the tree. She nodded slightly and looked back at Jonathon. He hadn't seen Leigh, since he was looking down and Donavon was thankfully standing in his line of vision.
Chris saw the look his sister had sent him. He sent the same one to David, who nodded back. "Now the shit is going to hit the fan."
Leigh reached them and paused for a moment. "Hi everyone, this is Ling," she said motioning to him as he stood slightly behind her.
Donavon cast a glance at Randy, who nodded her head. "Nice to meet you Ling. I'm Donavon Barton, and this is my girlfriend Randy Maxwell," he said nodding in her direction.
"I'm Kellie Merquise."
"David Maxwell."
"I'm Chris Maxwell, my wife, Victoria, and my daughter Alexandra."
Jonathon was pulled out of his thoughts as he felt Morgan's hand tug on his. He looked up and felt his throat tighten.
Morgan cringed inwardly. She gave Ling a wan smile. "I'm Morgan Valenti."
Jonathon's eyes bounced between Leigh and Ling, his heart twisting itself into knots at the sight of Ling's hand resting on Leigh's back. He stood up from his chair. "Leigh, I don't believe we've been introduced," he said looking at her, his eyes hardening.
Leigh flinched. She had never seen that type of anger directed at her before from him. His face finally registered with her as she got a better look. "Good God Jonathon, what happened to your face?"
Silence fell among the small group.
"Call it, I got into a bar fight," Jonathon said flatly. "I'm Jonathon Maxwell," he said his hand stretching out and shaking Ling's.
"It's nice to meet you too. All of you," Ling said as the other man released his hand. He didn't notice the look that Jonathon was giving Leigh.
Leigh felt like she was standing in the middle of the Arctic, with the way that he was looking at her. The anger radiating off of him was almost touchable. He was the most dangerous when he was like this. She looked back towards Morgan, who had turned apprehensive. "What are you doing here Morgan?"
"I was invited by Hilde," Morgan said evenly, noticing that Leigh was still looking at her hand, still intertwined with Jonathon's. "And I haven't seen Jonathon in a long time. You know you can never let good friends go to waste"
Jonathon was still looking at Leigh. And it hurt deeply. He couldn't take the atmosphere anymore. "I'll be right back," he said as he broke from the group and started walking briskly towards the house. He needed to get away.
Morgan was startled, as was Leigh as they watched his retreating back. I'll be right back," Morgan said as she got up from the chair and went after him.
"Is there anything wrong?" Ling asked, noting Jonathon's swift departure.
"No, no, there's nothing wrong," Leigh said hastily. "Come on let's go over here for awhile," she said leading him away from the three pairs of hostile Maxwell eyes.
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Jonathon yanked back the sliding door as he went into the kitchen. He had brushed past his dad and everyone else on the deck. He was in dire need of something and he knew exactly what it was. He walked into the dining room and opened the liquor cabinet, pulled out a bottle of red wine and then into the study. He closed the door behind him, locking the door, before slumping against it. "Dammit," he muttered as he uncorked the bottle.
"What's wrong?" Duo asked as he saw Morgan running across the deck.
"Jonathon was introduced to Ling," she replied as she ran past him. "And if looks could kill, Leigh would be dead several times over."
"Shit," he mumbled, as he made sure the chicken was ready and followed her into the house.
"Jonathon!" Morgan called out. She heard a door click closed. She walked quickly towards the sound, finding herself in front of the study door. "Jonathon!" she called again, knocking loudly on the door.
"Go away!" Jonathon yelled back as he tipped the bottle to his lips. He couldn't believe as soon as he saw Leigh, he could want to choke her and make love to her at the same time.
Duo stood next to Morgan. "He was in the liquor cabinet," he said grimly.
Morgan's face went as white as a sheet. "JONATHON!" she yelled again, pounding on the door.
"GO AWAY!"
Duo muttered several curse words under his breath, before slamming his own hand against the door. "Jonathon, open the door!"
"GO AWAY!" Jonathon yelled back. He banged his head against the door, hard enough to make it hurt. He slid down to the carpeted floor, holding the bottle to his lips.
Duo gritted his teeth. "I'll be right back," he said as he turned on his heel and left the area. A few moments later he came back and knelt down on the hardwood floor in front of the keyhole. "You'll come out of that room even if I have to force my way in Jonathon Lawrence."
Jonathon could hear the sounds of his dad picking the lock and his words, but he didn't care.
Morgan stood back, twisting her hands together as she watched. She chewed on her lip.
Jonathon heard the door click.
Duo put down his tools and pulled the door open.
Jonathon fell back onto the floor until he was staring up at his dad. "Yes?"
Morgan ran in and snatched the bottle away from him. "You baka! What the hell are you trying to pull!"
"Its call drowning myself in my sorrow," Jonathon replied cheekily, sitting up.
"You…you…" she sputtered angrily.
Duo wore a blank expression. "Take the bottle back Morgan. I want to talk to Jonathon alone."
Morgan stopped her ranting at Jonathon, who was still wearing a stupid grin. "Oh…ok," she said softly as she stood up, taking the bottle with her.
Duo closed the door behind her and looked down at his son. "Don't you have any pride whatsoever?"
Jonathon looked up at his father. "No," he said flippantly.
Duo reached down and pulled him up by his shirt collar, so they were looking at each other in the face. "I'm not going to stand by and let you do this to yourself!"
"Do what?" Jonathon snapped, pulling away from him.
"You know exactly what I mean Jonathon!"
"Oh you mean drinking myself into oblivion? It looks better then facing that hell outside!"
"Well let me tell you something, I'm not going to stand by and watch you do it! You're letting it get the best of you!"
"Well isn't that too damn bad! Because I hate what I'm feeling! I want it to go away and this is the only way that I can think of to make it stop!"
"It won't make it stop. It'll always come back after the alcohol has worn off. You won't beat it unless you want to," Duo said, keeping his temper in check, although Jonathon was doing a marvelous job at ticking him off.
"You make it sound so easy dad! But it's not! How can I go out there and face Leigh with her…her…whatever he is to her without feeling like shit!" Jonathon barked his temper high.
"Because you're Jonathon Maxwell, that's why. You have some pride, don't you! You let it get to you, and you'll never get her back!" Duo said heatedly.
"WELL IT DOESN'T HELP WHEN SHE HAS A FUCKING BOYFRIEND!"
"WELL SHOUTING ABOUT IT WON'T HELP YOU EITHER AND NEITHER WILL THE DRINKING!"
Jonathon's mouth snapped shut and he slammed his fists into the door as he turned around. "Have you ever felt like this before dad? Like the whole world has fallen out underneath you and you just don't want to fight it anymore. This is killing me dad; my jealousy is killing me. And it hurts so damn much and I don't want to feel it."
"I felt like that when your mother left me before we were married. Before Chris was born. I know how it feels, trust me. There were some days I didn't want to face it anymore because I lost the only person that I loved, who hadn't died on me. It hurt like hell. But I made myself get through it even though it was hard. I practically worked myself to death just to keep myself going, so I wouldn't have the time to think of how much an idiot I had been when I let your mother walk out on me," Duo said in a calmer, more serious tone. "You already knew that of course because your mother and I don't believe in keeping our pasts from you kids, but at the same time, there were deep emotions involved when I didn't feel like I was ready to handle them. I paid that price by missing the first year of Chris's life. Some emotions you have to deal with them. There is no turning back once you feel them and experience them. You have to voice them even though you might not think you're able to."
Jonathon listened to his father's words, his head coming to hand between his outstretched arms. "So you mean I should have come out and told Leigh that I love her?"
"Essentially. But now you won't have it that easy since Ling is now in the picture. I'm sure that man knows nothing about you and Leigh. You'll have to work hard to get her back if you want her. I know it hurts you like hell and you wish you didn't have to feel it. But your mother said to me that love is going to hurt, no matter what you do or say," Duo said gently as he came to stand by Jonathon. "It's just the way that particular emotion seems to work."
"Well it sucks."
Duo chuckled at his response. "She said that too."
Jonathon sighed and let his arms fall to his sides, his head resting on the door. "I made a complete ass of myself didn't I?"
"Not really. Depends on whose perspective."
"But you know Wufei won't like the fact that I'm trying to win Leigh back. He's never approved of me because I wasn't what he wanted for his daughter."
"Let me deal with Wufei. I've cooked his goose so good so many times, it will just make my day seeing him fizzle. You know he set up Ling with Leigh for this purpose. Ling doesn't know it, but Leigh might have figured it out."
"Yeah, she might know what's going on, but she's going along with it," Jonathon said darkly.
"I think that girl doesn't know what she wants, so she is just going along since it might be her only option."
Jonathon gritted his teeth.
Duo sighed again and placed his hands on Jonathon's shoulders. "You'll get through it, I promise. Leigh still has feelings for you, I'm sure of it."
Jonathon looked down at the floor. "I guess we should go back out there."
"Yeah, I don't want your mother to worry more then she probably already is," Duo said as he opened the door and started to leave. He looked over his shoulder at him. "Are you coming?"
"In a minute. I need to get myself under control first."
"All right," Duo said as he closed the door.
Jonathon braced his hands on the closed door. He knew he would need every ounce of pride he had left in him to get through this night. He bowed his head. "Please give me the strength to get though this. I really need to," he said to himself as he took a deep breath and opened the door.
A/N: Did you enjoy this installment? Aren't I evil? Stay tuned for more! XOXO!
