Chapter Nine: Happiness

Anthony took Erin out of my house that night and I refused to speak to him. I wouldn't let him back into my life. I had given him a second chance but I was no saint I couldn't forgive everything. He could be happy with Erin and their baby. I went to the doctor's office in town and found out that I was definitely pregnant. 2 months pregnant. Tyler went with me and he hugged me when I cried. I still had to tell Derek to news. I didn't know how he would react. Would he take me back? Would he want a child? One day in late April a little while after Anthony left I decided it was time to pay Derek a visit. I drove over to his house slowly. I was not looking forward to this visit. I knew he had become somewhat of an alcoholic after I ended our affair. I stepped over a couple beer bottles on my way up to the door. I knocked on the door loudly but it swung open before he answered it. I peeked inside tentatively. "Derek?" I called out. I heard a crash in the bedroom and he came stumbling out holding a glass full of what looked like whiskey. For goodness sakes, it was ten o'clock in the morning. He took a gulp of the liquid and smirked at me. He had bags under his eyes and a beard that looked like it had pieces of food stuck in it. I almost gagged at the smell in the house. There was broken glass on the floor and a few bags of garbage that was overflowing onto the carpet. Dirty dishes and beer bottles littered the living room. "What have you done to yourself?" I asked in disgust. "Nothing!" He said sounding offended. "Well can you take a minute out of your busy schedule to talk to me?" I asked. "That depends," he said. "On what?" I asked. "Are you going to dump me again?" he asked, and then he burst out laughing hysterically. Some of the whiskey splashed out of the glass onto the floor.

I picked up some beer bottles form the floor and grabbed a bag of garbage. I had to be careful not to breathe through my nose so I wouldn't pass out. I took all the garbage out to the road so the garbage men would pick it up. Derek stood watching me as I cleaned his house for him. I scrubbed the stains on the carpet and picked up the broken glass. I washed his sheets and dusted every piece of furniture he owned. I did the dishes which took me about two hours because of all the caked on food. When I finally finished I sat down on the sofa, which was as good as new thanks to my scrubbing. "We have to talk," I said. He was sober now. "You didn't have to do that," he said sitting down on a chair. "You can't live in that kind of filth, it isn't healthy, you could have gotten bugs or rats in here," I told him. He looked down at his hands in what looked like shame. "Anthony and I are getting a divorce," I said. He looked up in surprise, "Oh? Well.I'm sorry," he said "No you're not, and neither am I," I said. He stared at me in confusion and then he broke into a wide grin, "Does this mean.?" he asked. I nodded, "I love you Derek, I'm sorry for leaving you, and I hope you can forgive me," I said. I truly didn't know if he could find it in his heart to take me back. I had left him twice. Could he forget about that? I hoped with all my heart that he could. "Of course I can!" he cried happily. He started over to embrace me but he wobbled a little from all the alcohol he had been drinking. "But, you have to stop drinking," I told him seriously. "Of course," he said. He looked down at his feet for a minute and then he dove at me and kissed me passionately. I giggled into his mouth and he giggled back. Now this was true happiness.

Derek moved into the house by the lake in late May. He slept beside me in the same bed that I had with Anthony. But I no longer thought of it as that. It was as if Anthony had never been there. I still hadn't told Derek of my pregnancy. I didn't know how he would react to it. Would he still want to be with me? Get married? Finally I decided I had to tell him, I couldn't put it off any longer, and he was starting to worry about me getting sick all the time. I sat him down out on the balcony one day when Tyler was at school. He looked concerned. I had told him I had something very important to talk to him about. "Derek, I don't know how you will react to the news I have but I have to tell you," I said. "What is it Skye?" he asked, "You can tell me," He took my hand and smiled reassuringly. I felt my heart start pounding at the sight of his beautiful smile. I took a deep breath and let it go, "I'm pregnant," He stared at me for a minute in shock then he jumped up and laughed out loud. "I'm sorry," I said. "Don't be sorry! This is wonderful!" he cried. My heart leaped into my throat. He wanted to have the baby! He wasn't going to leave the house and go back to drinking again! I jumped into his arms and cried in joy. "Now we'll be a real family," Derek said.

Tyler was very excited about the baby once he got over Erin leaving him. He had come a long way since the day he arrived here clinging to his sister's shirt. He was a very good skateboarder now. He and Keely were always together and I suspected they were going out. I asked him about him and his face turned beet red. "No, we aren't dating," he said. But I could tell that wasn't the truth. "You don't have to lie to me Tyler, I think it's great," I told him smiling. He hesitated before admitting, "Okay, we are kinda going out," "I knew it!" I cried out. We laughed and hugged eachother. Tyler and Derek got along very well. Tyler still didn't have many friends at school. I suspected that someone was bullying him but I didn't say anything about it. He didn't come home looking like someone beat him up so I was sure he was handling it himself. I was so proud of him. Nikola visited often and sometimes gave me updates on Anthony and Erin. She said they had found a small house in town and seemed to be doing ok. I can't really say I was happy for them. They had both betrayed me in the cruelest ways. Rachel and Wesley were very happy together and they did I wonderful job around the house. I went to a lawyer in town one day and he helped me draw up the divorce papers. They were sent out and sent back within two weeks. I was surprised when they came back so quickly. I guessed that Erin might have pressured Anthony into signing them right away. I knew Erin had dropped out of school and for that I was sorry. I had done my very best with her but Anthony just couldn't be a responsible adult. He had to give into her charms. I thought about our days in Monkton once in awhile. The times before Mama left us. I wondered if I would ever find out where she was. If she was even alive. I couldn't wait to have the baby. Then Derek, Tyler and I would truly be a complete family.