I know it's been a super while since I've updated, but I've been sick a lot these past couple of months and will be having surgery later this year. I'd appreciate it if those readers who sent not-so-nice PMs / anon reviews (yes, I can delete before they reach the public) take a step back and be patient.
Alongside my medical issues, I work three jobs, am taking a class, and am in the process of finding a new job. Unless for some reason I decide to discontinue any my stories, all of them at some point will be updated. Please don't beg me to write new chapters asap, and then send me complaints when I don't.
Okay, rant done. On to the story.
"And maybe we're just like the sun and the moon - deeply in love with each other but too different to exist side by side." – Unknown
Fading
Chapter Six
~ SCORPION ~
Walter and Ralph eventually made their way back to the farm an hour or so later, but neither saw Paige in sight. Ralph pursed his lips together, feeling a little guilty for what he had said to his mother earlier. "Do you think she actually left?"
"No," Walter shook his head, giving Ralph a small, encouraging smile. "She's your mother. She wouldn't leave unless you were going back with her."
"But I said all those terrible things…"
"Hey," Walter touched Ralph's shoulder gently as they saw his mother, Louise, walking down to greet them. "Trust me. Paige wouldn't leave you behind. Ever."
The young teen seemed to have found solace in Walter's response and nodded slowly, but before he could say anything, Louise said, "Dinner'll b'ready soon. Be sure t'wash up."
As Ralph ran ahead and inside the house, Walter shoved his hands into his pocket, unsure how to ask the question that's been on his mind since he didn't see Paige outside.
Somehow, though, his mother knew exactly what he was thinking and grinned slowly. "She's restin' in Megan's old room. I figured the boy would be stayin' in yor room, but where'll you stay? On the couch?"
Walter shook his head. "I'll sleep in the loft… Are my things still there?"
Louise nodded. "I asked yor da not to touch the loft… that he could do whatever he wanted to the barn, as long as he left yor things alone."
"Thanks." Walter gave his mother a small nod and a light smile. "I don't know how long they'll be staying, but if overstay their welc—"
"Don't be ridiculous," Louise laughed quietly, rolling her eyes dramatically. "We have the space; it's no bother at all. Besides, yor bed is too small for yeh now; the loft will be more suitin' for the time bein'."
Walter grinned a little wider with gratitude. Before Louise could walk away, Walter tugged on her sleeve a little bit and quietly asked, "After I ran off to fetch Ralph, how did she seem?"
Louise's smile faded a little. "The poor dear was a wreck, and I don't blame her for reactin' so. I overheard what her son said, and I'd be a broken soul too if I ever had to bear such cruel words from me own flesh 'n blood."
Walter nodded, expecting as much. "I spoke to Ralph; he was upset and hurt, and he lashed out because of it. He feels guilty for what he said, but I don't think he'll forgive her right away."
"Have you forgiven her?" His mother cocked her brow, and he immediately recoiled.
"No…." If he was being completely honest.
"Perhaps the boy takes after you more than you think," Louise winked as she rubbed Walter's left shoulder. "I have a feelin' that if you and Paige forgive each other, then Ralph will learn to forgive his mother."
"Maybe…," was all Walter said as he absentmindedly kicked at the dirt. "Anyway," Walter glanced towards the second floor of the O'Brien house and added, "I need to clean up. I'll move my bedding to the loft after dinner."
His mother replied with a simple nod and a smile as he walked away and disappeared inside the house. Walter raced up the stairs and slipped inside his old bedroom to grab a clean pair of clothes, but he was surprised to find out that Ralph wasn't there. Curiously, he walked about the halls and ventured towards Megan's room. He pressed his ear against the wooden door and overheard Paige and Ralph talking, but he moved away when he heard Ralph's apology, not wanting to invade on their privacy.
Since he had a little bit of time before dinner, after cleaning up, he began packing his things back into his suitcase so that he could haul it over to the barn later, but as he neatly placed his favorite tie into his bag, a soft creak sounded behind him. He pretended he didn't hear it but paused when he heard Ralph's quiet voice.
"A-Are you leaving again?"
Walter turned and smiled, touched that the boy cared for him so much.
"Of course not," Walter chuckled as he zipped up his bag. Before the boy could ask any further questions, he said, "I'm taking my things to the barn… there's a loft there with an extra bed. I used to use it as a private sanctum when I was younger when I wanted to escape the house."
"Can I see it?" Ralph's eyes lit up, eager to know what it looked like.
Walter reached over and patted the boy's shoulder before nodding. "We can go over there after dinner, okay?"
Ralph nodded swiftly, beaming. "Knowing you, there's probably a telescope and some great books up there, right?"
Walter smirked as he placed his bag on the floor and sat down on his bed. "You know me so well. When I was your age, I often studied the stars up there and wrote down all of my astronomical observations. After Megan got sick, I also used it as a place for research so that my parents wouldn't know what I was doing."
"Is that why you called the upstairs part of the garage 'the loft?' Because it reminded you of the one in your family's barn?"
"Something like that," Walter replied as Ralph took a seat next to him. The boy suddenly glanced at the floor as his fingers fidgeted in his lap. "Something wrong?"
Ralph was silent for a moment, but eventually, he said, "I spoke to my mom…"
"How did that go?"
"Better than I thought," Ralph replied, glancing upward towards Walter. "She apologized for everything… for putting me in an awkward situation and for keeping me from seeing you… I didn't actually think she would ever apologize… but since she did to me, maybe one day she'll apologize to you." Ralph offered Walter a small smile. "And if she did…, would you forgive her?"
Walter didn't even have to think about his response. He only smiled and said, "In a heartbeat."
"… And if the two of you forgave each other, would that mean you two would date again?" Ralph asked with hopeful eyes, but Walter's smile fell, and his shoulders dropped.
"I don't know… A lot went wrong when we were together; I see that now… I didn't pay attention to your mother as much as I should have… She would invite me to do things with her, things she really enjoyed, and I would sometimes turn her down because I didn't want to disappoint her if I found what she liked boring. But in the end, not spending extra time with her, no matter what we were doing or where we were, ultimately hindered our relationship even though I thought I was protecting her. After these past few months of self-reflection, I realized that Paige's outburst about Florence and me wasn't completely unfounded…"
"What do you mean?" Ralph asked, fearful of the older genius's answer.
"What I mean is… if I had chosen to go to that lecture alone… if I hadn't invited Florence to the garage outside of casework to go over different theories… If I hadn't neglected Paige when she invited me to go somewhere with her, then maybe we wouldn't be where we are today… At first, I didn't understand why Paige was upset about me going to see the lecture with Florence, because even though the evening was completely innocent in my point of view, but after thinking about all of the different variables Paige mentioned, I can understand why she reacted the way she did." Walter frowned and leaned forward, his elbows resting on his knees.
"Ralph… I don't want you to have false hopes… Your mom and I… we… while our friendship might recover, our relationship might not… Because of what your mom said," Walter rubbed his eyes with his thumb and forefinger, "she saw our relationship as an experiment… and maybe she was right. Maybe being together made us realize we're just too different. If I'm being honest… the type of man Paige wants in her life obviously isn't me… There's a lot of things she wants in a relationship that I'm not qualified to fulfill on an emotional level. She made that pretty clear the night we broke up. She might be the love of my life, but… it's pretty clear I'm not hers…"
Ralph lowered his head and glanced at the floor, dejected. "So… are you saying… there's absolutely no chance you and my mom will be together again?"
Walter paused to think about his next response before answering him. "I'm not saying that it won't ever happen, Ralph… but the likelihood is very low. Like I said earlier, your mother wants someone in her life that meets all her needs, and I don't. We both thought we could work our differences out, prove Mark Collins wrong, but in the end, Mark was right… we're very different people…."
Ralph slowly slid off the bed and nodded in defeat before making his way to the door. "Dinner will be ready soon. I'm going to wash up."
He was out the door before Walter could make a reply, leaving the older genius alone, feeling like a fool.
Ralph slipped himself inside his mother's interim bedroom door and sat down on the corner of the bed next to Paige's feet as she woke up from the nap she apparently was taking. She slowly sat up in the bed, and Ralph scooted closer but didn't say anything.
She leaned forward and reached out to touch his knee before muttering, "What is it, honey?"
Ralph cut straight to the chase. "Are we leaving back home tomorrow?"
Paige tensed for a moment and considered her answer carefully. She slowly smiled and took Ralph's hand in hers as she squeezed it gently. "No."
The young genius cocked an eyebrow, unconvinced. "But I thought you came here to pick me up and bring me back home…. Has the reason for your visit changed?"
Paige shook her head and decided Ralph had a right to know the truth. "I did come here for you, Ralphie, but… there are some things I need to tell Walter before we go home… and depending on how he reacts will determine when we'll return."
Ralph climbed onto the bed and laid down in front of her without breaking eye contact. "What sort of things?"
Paige grasped Ralph's hand again and smoothed her thumb over his small knuckles. She leaned closer to him and quietly whispered, "Can you keep a secret?"
The boy nodded swiftly and vowed never to tell a soul.
Paige hesitated for a moment before relaying the truth. "While you snuck onto the plane yesterday when you should have been at school, I received a call from the doctor regarding my tick bite… and thankfully, I'm in the clear. No Lyme Disease."
"But?" Ralph pursed his lips and cocked an eyebrow, waiting for his mother to share the actual secret.
"But they wanted to run some more tests as a follow-up so I went back to the doctor. They ran the tests, and all of them came back negative except for one." Paige inhaled a deep breath, unsure how to phrase the big reveal to her young teen. "Ralph," Paige gently squeezed his hand, "I'm pregnant…, and Walter is the father."
The boy's eyes grew wide, and a smile colored his lips. "Really?!"
"Shhh!" Paige covered Ralph's mouth swiftly. "Keep it down! I don't want anyone to know yet."
Ralph nodded underneath her palm before she lift it. "When are you going to tell him?"
"I don't know," Paige shrugged and brought her knees to her chest before hugging them with her arms. "When the time's right, I guess."
"And when will that be?"
… "I'll get back to you on that," Paige laughed lightly, wrapping one arm around her son's shoulders as he sat up. "But you must promise me, Ralphie, that you won't tell a living soul. I will tell Walter when I'm ready…, but I'm not going to tell him just yet."
"Why not?" Ralph asked, curious.
"Because if I told him he was going to be a father," Paige lowered her voice, then he would more than likely return out of duty for being the child's father…, and I don't want that, Ralph. I want Walter to stay because he wants to stay, but… a lot has happened so I don't think he'll want to stay…, and I won't force him to. When the time's right, I'll tell him, and if he wants to walk away, I'll let him go…, and I'll raise this child," she mindlessly placed her hand on her lower belly, "by myself."
"You're wrong."
Paige lifted her eyebrows towards her son. "Hm?"
Ralph shrugged. "You said you would raise the baby alone if Walter doesn't want to help… That's not true. You have me," the boy beamed widely. "I'll help you every way I can."
Paige blinked back the tears forming in her eyes and smiled as her nose burned. Quietly, she enveloped her son in her arms tightly and closed her eyes as one tear streamed down her cheek. "Thank you."
And she didn't let him go until Louise yelled for supper.
WriterFreak001: This chapter was more Ralph-centric. Next chapter will focus more on Walter and Paige. Thanks for reading! Please review! :)
