~*AN*~
I haven't written in a while because I've been distracted by my current hobby, which turns out to be designing gowns. Not in a professional manner of course, I just doodled on my sketchpad and all of a sudden I got hooked. They are based on the designs from my story, which are actually my own creations! Anyway, hope this chapter gets your approval!
~*Chapter XVII: Secrets Revealed*~
I woke up lying next to something extremely warm and soft, which alarmed me to no end. Then out of nowhere, an arm drapes over me, freaking the crap out of me. Where was I? This didn't look like my room. Looking around, I noticed my clothes thrown about the room messily and that is when it dawned on me. I was in Andrew's bedroom! Turning around, I saw Andrew smile and snuggle closer to me. It was just too darling, so I slowly inched out of his embrace and ran for his closet, surely there would be a camera somewhere.
"Aha!" I cried grabbing the camera and making sure there was film loaded in it before sprinting back out to the bed. 'Where did he go?' I wondered, looking around the room. He wasn't lying in the bed where I had left him.
"Looking for someone?" asked Andrew from behind me. I screamed upon hearing his voice and threw the camera into the air before bolting forwards. Andrew only laughed and caught the camera with his free hand, the other holding a cup of coffee.
"You scared me!" I pouted, crossing my arms as I sat back on the bed.
"At least I wasn't sneaking up on you on purpose," Andrew said back, smiling as he jumped on me. "What were you up to anyway?" he asked, arms wrapping around my waist as he kissed my shoulders, sending shivers down my spine.
"Well, you looked so cute lying there that I couldn't give up on the opportunity to snap a picture to keep for memory sake," I answered sheepishly.
"Oh really now?" asked Andrew, eyeing me suspiciously.
"Honest!" I defended myself before he could assume anything. "Why else would I have a camera?" I asked, waving the camera in his face.
"To take humiliating pictures of me and black mail me with them later?" laughed Andrew as I punched him and turned away. "Sorry Sere, you know I'm just teasing, but were you seriously going to take a picture of my in my sleep?" he asked, pulling me into his lap.
"Yes, I was! After all, I need photos for my album," I told him, drawing circles on his chest. I let my hand go and suddenly found myself playing with the strap of his boxers. 'Oh my god!' I squirmed before letting go quickly, causing it to snap back and pop him.
"Okay, if you wanted to get rough, you couldn't warned me," Andrew groaned, rubbing his stomach. I poked him in the side and kissed him after mouthing a quick sorry. "Anyway, we should get dressed, I'll bet Keith is wondering where you are right about now," said Andrew, snapping me back to reality.
"You're probably right, I'll go change and we can head over to my parent's house," I answered, pulling myself out of his embrace and running to the bathroom before he could catch me. As I turned on the shower, I could hear him bang on the door and yell for me to not take long since he too had to shower. I smiled and hopped into the warm shower and quickly cleaned myself. I always thought it was odd that he was so rich, yet his house only had one bathroom, but I guess that is because he's a bachelor.
~Tsukino House~
"Grandma, where's mama?" asked Keith, walking around the house.
"Honey, she's not here yet, but I'm sure she'll be here shortly," answered Ilene, smiling at the little boy. "Here, why don't you have breakfast while we wait for her?" she suggested him persuasively.
"Sweetie, Serena is here!" called out Ken from the hallway. Keith quickly dropped his fork and ran for the front door.
"Mama!" cried Keith, running into my open arms as I scooped him up and kissed his forehead. "I woke up this morning and you were gone, so I thought it was a dream!" said my son in a scared tone. I couldn't help but laugh and squeeze him even tighter.
"No baby, it wasn't a dream," I told him, setting him back on his feet.
"Hey kiddo!" greeted Andrew, rubbing Keith's hair with a smile.
"Hi Andrew!" Keith replied, tugging on Andrew's hand as I walked into the kitchen to greet my mother. I was touched knowing that the bond Andrew shared with my son was so strong that it was almost hard not to mistake them for father and son.
"Morning mom," I whispered and hugged my mom tightly.
"Sere have you seen this morning's newspaper?" asked Jason, walking briskly into the room. It totally caught me off guard that I stumbled backwards and almost tripped!
"How'd you get here so fast?" I asked, confused.
"I just got here, but that's beside the point. Look!" answered Jason, throwing the stack of paper onto the table with a loud thud. To my utter shock, there on the front page of the newspaper in bold letters were the words "Keith Moon or Keith Forbes?" written across the headline. When I saw that, my only reaction was simply to shut down, which I did as I fell to the floor in a dead faint.
"Sere!" everyone cried in unison. Jason, who was closest, jumped forward and caught me in his arms. Quickly, he hurried into the living room and laid me down on an empty couch before stepping back to give me some air.
"Oh god," I mumbled, rolling onto my stomach and rubbing my head in pain. How could this have happened? I thought this whole ordeal was over with? How the hell did someone get into my personal files?
"Sere, are you okay?" Andrew asked worriedly. Not only was he concerned but also completely clueless as to why I had fainted.
"Keith Forbes? Isn't that your last name Andrew?" I heard my son ask to my dismay as he entered the living room with the paper in his hands.
"Yes, why Keith?" asked Andrew, wondering what the heck was going on.
"Look," Keith answered, handing him the paper and pointing to the title. "What the..." I heard Andrew mumble and his eyes skimmed through the story, dilating when realization hit him full force. "Oh my god..." was all Andrew said as he dropped the paper and looked at me.
"I'm so sorry," I managed to say, turning away from everyone and crying. My secret was out now, and everyone that didn't need to know it, already did. What made it worse was that Andrew was practically the last person to find out. "Andrew, I..." I started saying as I turned around to face him, only to find him standing by the hallway.
"I... I have to go," was all Andrew said before opening the door and slamming it shut.
"Oh god, what have I done?" I cried harder as my mom came and wrapped her arms around me. 'Andrew, please forgive me,' I prayed, letting the tears flow freely now.
~Raye~
"This is just great," laughed Raye wickedly. She looked at the paper in her hands and laughed even harder. 'Now her world will come crumbling down," she thought evilly. She reached for her phone and dialed a number, waiting casually for it to connect.
"Hello?" answered the voice tiredly.
"Darien, it's me Raye. Have you read this morning's newspaper?" she asked him coolly.
"No, why. Something interesting you wanted to point out?" he asked grumpily.
"Yes, why don't you check the front page, I assure you that you'll love it," she replied, hanging up before he could respond.
"Peachy, now he'll finally get over that stupid obsession with her and move on to a more worthy woman," whispered Raye, before dialing another number. "Hello, Mr. Livingston? Yes, this is Raye. I just wanted to thank you for a job well done," said Raye, laughing as she spoke. The man on the other end thanked her before bidding her good bye. "No, thank you. Really, you don't know how much I appreciate all your help," she said wickedly.
~Darien~
"What the hell was that woman thinking, waking me at such a damn hour to say something so redundant?" muttered Darien, walking out to his kitchen to grab the morning newspaper. With that, he picked up his coffee mug and sipped on it while he scanned the paper. Suddenly, he started coughing horribly as his coffee got caught in his throat. "What in the name of god?!" he cried, slamming his coffee mug down before storming to his room to dress and head out of his home quickly. "I'll kill him, that bastard!" he seethed, slamming the door to his car harshly and speeding off. 'How could he do this to me, I thought he was my friend,' Darien thought in pure rage and he sped to Andrew's home.
~Andrew~
"Keith is my son? I slept with Serena all those years ago?" Andrew kept repeating the same two lines over and over as he walked through the streets of Tokyo.
He couldn't believe his very eyes, there on the newspaper was evidence that he was the man who fathered Keith. After all these years of wondering who Keith's father was and wishing it was him, he finally found out that it was him all along! 'Why didn't she tell me? Did she not think about how I would feel?' thought Andrew sadly, his eyes not really looking where they were going. When he finally stopped, he looked up and saw that he had walked to the park. Taking a seat at one of the benches, Andrew looked around and saw the various couples and families enjoying the beautiful day that it was.
"Oh Sere, why couldn't you have told me back then. We could've been a wonderful family, just like I had always dreamed of us being," mumbled Andrew, his tears on the verge of spilling. He buried his head into his palm and sat there, listening to the sound of the people around him as he thought about everything.
~Tsukino House~
"Serena, why didn't you tell him?" my mother asked me, rubbing my back as I sobbed in her arms. I couldn't believe that everything was happening to me, first I almost lose my son, now the man that I love.
"I couldn't mom, I didn't want to ruin his life!" I cried, getting up and running out of the house away from everyone and all the questions. I didn't know what to do anymore, it seemed as if everything I had worked so hard for was finally falling apart. My tears blurred my vision and my feet didn't want to stop, because then I would just have to face my reality all over again. "Why me?! Why me damn it?!" I yelled angrily, falling to my knees in the middle of the street. I didn't care if people were stopping and looking at me oddly, nothing mattered anymore. Wiping my tears, I slowly pulled myself up and headed over in the direction of the park. It was the one quiet place where I could go to escape all my worries.
~Park~
"I'm so sorry Andrew," I said, sniffling as I sat down with a sigh. I didn't know what else to do so I just sat there crying to myself. 'What am I going to do now? I can't go back there and face him or anyone else anymore," I thought to myself. Then I realized that there was only one answer to al of my problems and that was to leave it all behind once again. After sitting there for another half hour, I finally decided to head back home so I could pack up and go home, to the only home I've had ever since that fateful day five years ago. "I hope you can one day learn to forgive me Andrew, but until then, good bye..." I whispered to the air as I left the park not noticing anyone else but myself.
Little did I know, Andrew was sitting at a bench nearby the exit I had taken to leave and had heard my last words. After I had long disappeared, Andrew just sat there quietly, wondering why I had said good-bye to him. "There isn't much I can do here in this state, might as well go home too," muttered Andrew, loosening his tie and heading back to his place. "Maybe tomorrow I can go over and talk to Sere about everything, we can get everything out in the open and discuss what we'll do now that things have changed," he thought while walking along the sidewalk. Just then a black Porsche pulled up and someone stormed out, rushing at him full throttle and slammed into him roughly.
"How could you Andrew?! How could you do this to me?!" yelled Darien angrily. "She was my girlfriend! The women I loved more than anything, how could you sleep with her behind my back?!" he added furiously as his fist came flying at Andrew's face.
"What the fuck is you problem?" asked Andrew as he fell to the ground and clutched his jaw. He looked up and saw Darien's eyes, full of rage.
"What's my problem? You knocked up my girlfriend and ruined my life you asshole!" accused Darien, seething with rage as he stood there in front of Andrew.
"Darien, I didn't even know until today! I'm going through a lot in my life right now all right, I don't have time to put up with your shit. Besides, it's not like you gave a fuck, you freaking tow timed her with Raye you sick bastard," replied Andrew, wiping the blood away from his lip.
"I didn't cheat on Serena damn it, it was Raye!" Darien defended himself. "It doesn't matter anyway, she left me after you slept with her! You're my best friend too! How could you do this to me?" asked Darien, beginning to wonder how in the world this even happened.
"I don't know Darien, I have no idea when it even happened. As far as my knowledge, we never even slept together until last night! And I was your best friend, not anymore. I don't associate with bastards who cheat on their loved ones," answered Andrew.
"Last night? You slept with her again?!" yelled Darien, lunging at Andrew once more.
"Oh shove it asshole, it's not like you're still with her stupid," retorted Andrew, rolling his eyes. "Besides, I love Sere, more than you ever did. I was even going to ask her to marry me, but now that some asshole put our business on the news, I don't know what's going to happen anymore," he added, sighing as he looked up at the sky, which was slowly getting darker.
"You love her?" asked Darien, not believing his ears. His best friend and the woman who was his only family and love, the news was all too overwhelming for him that he had to grab something to lean against. "I can't believe this, my world as I know it is slowly falling apart and going crazy," he mumbled before walking away from Andrew. He got back into his car and drove away without even saying a word to Andrew or even good-bye.
"I'm sorry Darien, I really am. I never thought things would turn out this way for all of us," whispered Andrew, turning back and heading towards his home.
~Sere~
"Mama, you're home!" cried my little boy as I entered my parent's house. I smiled and picked him up, kissing his forehead before carrying him into the kitchen where he had come from.
"Hi mom, dad," I greeted my parents with a faint smile before taking a seat. "I have something I need to talk to you both about," I said calmly.
"Sure sweetheart, let's talk," replied my mother in her soothing voice as she and my dad sat down across from me at the dinner table.
"Baby, why don't you go wash up and I'll come tuck you in later okay?" I asked Keith, pushing him in the direction of the stairs.
"Okay, but you have to read me a story too!" answered my precious baby.
"So Serena, what did you want to discuss with us about?" asked my dad in a more serious tone.
"I'm leaving tomorrow morning with Keith. Let me finish before you say anything okay? There is just too much happening here for us to stay, I can't face the public eye or put Keith through all the fuss. It's best if we just leave so that the press won't bother any of us," I told my parents.
"Why must you always leave when there is a problem sweetheart?" asked my mother sadly.
"Mom, it's not that simple anymore. I can't face Andrew or put Keith through the agony of being rejected," I replied on the brink of breaking down in tears.
"How will you know if you leave before he can respond to the sudden changes?" asked my dad quietly. My family had known Andrew's family for as long as I can remember, so of course he was quick to defend his "second" son. "Besides, I don't' want my little girl being so far away from me again," he added quietly. I smiled, knowing that even though I was a mature woman and mother now, he would always view me as his little girl.
"Dad, I'll be back, trust me. I just need some time for all the public attention to die down. When that time comes, Keith and I will be back here to stay with you. I want for Keith to have grandparents in his life just like any other normal kid out there, I just don't want the whole world knowing about his background and chase after him with questions that he won't have answers to," I answered truthfully.
"We understand sweetheart, just promise us that you won't stay away too long. We don't want Keith to become estranged to us again," replied my mom, quietly sniffling.
"I know mom, thanks for understanding my situation. I promise we'll call often and be back before you know it," was my reply. I wasn't even sure when I'd come back, I just knew I had to leave this place before things got any worse.
"Okay, it's late, you should go up and tuck Keith in and make those calls to set everything up before it gets any later," said my dad, getting up to pour himself a cup of coffee.
"I already called before I got home. Jason is going to be leaving with me tomorrow, but he's coming back to work at the new company while I'm back in New York," I told my parents before heading upstairs. "Keith, are you ready for bed honey?" I called out, slowly entering his room.
"Yup, all set mama. Look, I even picked out my favorite story!" giggled my son as he sat up in his bed and held up the book for me.
"Great, let's get started then!" I replied in a cheerful voice. My eyes began to tear up slightly as I looked at my son and saw so much of Andrew in him. I read him his story and we snuggled close to one another as the story carried on.
"Mama, why did you and Andrew run out this morning?" asked my son when I had finished the story and shut the book. It caught me off guard that I dropped the book on the floor when I jolted back to reality. The book hit the floor with a loud thud and shook me out of the state of shock.
"Well, it's a long story honey. I'll tell you someday baby. Anyway, I wanted to tell you that we're going home for a little while tomorrow morning!" I answered my son and told him the news.
"Why? I like it here with everyone. You're a lot happier too," was my son's response to the news. I know he was very confused, and truth be told, I was so much more happier here than back home.
"It's for business baby, and just for a short time," I told him quietly. "I know you don't like it, but I don't want to be apart from you again, so bear with me for a little while okay baby?" I compromised with my son. "We stay until my business is done and you can have anything you want when we get back here okay?" I told him, hoping he'd take the bribe so I wouldn't have any problems.
"Okay," whispered Keith quietly. "But you have to promise that you'll try to hurry up so we can come back here as soon as possible," me son said, trying to compromise with me in return, which only made me laugh.
"You're turning into Jason!" I said, holding my stomach as the laughter continued. We both laughed and talked for a little bit before Keith fell asleep. I tucked him in and packed his bags before heading to my own room and packing my own belongings.
~Next Morning~
"Good morning Mrs. Tsukino," greeted Jason as he stepped into the house and waited for Sere and Keith by the front door. Suddenly he saw a bag come tumbling down the staircase and someone yelp in pain. "Need help Sere?" he asked, chuckling as he saw me run frantically down stairs to check on my suitcase which was sitting by Jason's foot by then.
"Thanks," I replied, smiling at my own clumsiness. "Can you help me get Keith's bag upstairs? I need to go finish getting dressed," I asked Jason, running back upstairs into my room and slamming the door shut. I hurriedly put on some make-up and slipped into a crème colored suit before grabbing my purse and heading back down.
"Finished baby?" I asked my son who was eating breakfast with my parents at the moment.
"Yeah," Keith replied, wiping his face and running over to hug my parents quickly before we had to leave. "I'll miss you," he whispered to them as a tear slid down his cheeks.
"We'll see you soon Keith," replied my mom, smiling brightly at him as she wiped his tear away.
"Yeah, grandma and I will wait for you to come back so we can take you to the kimono festival!" said my dad, ruffling his hair and patting his head.
"Okay!" cheered Keith happily as I took his hand and we headed out to Jason's car.
"Bye mom, bye dad! I'll call you when we get there!" I called out after hugging them and stepping into the car. Jason put Keith into his car seat and we took off towards the airport.
"You sure you don't want to call Andrew first?" asked Jason as we started heading towards the gate where the plane was waiting for us. There was still half an hour left before our flight was going to depart, so I guess he was trying to do some last minute persuading.
"No, he needs his time to think things through," I replied quietly, not wanting to talk about Andrew because it would only make me cry and I didn't want to worry Keith at the moment.
~Andrew~
"I should head over to the Tsukino's house to talk to Sere, she's probably up by now," said Andrew, slipping his blazer on and finishing off his coffee before heading out to the garage. He drove over to the Tsukino's house but stopped by a local floral shop to pick up a bouquet of roses before he neared their house. "Hopefully she won't be too upset about me running out on her yesterday," prayed Andrew as he got out and straightened his tie. Walking up to the door, he rang the bell and took a deep breath before waiting for someone to open it.
"Oh, hello Andrew," greeted Ilene, looking somewhat shocked to see him.
"Morning Mrs. Tsukino, I hope I didn't wake you," replied Andrew, stepping inside after Ilene opened the door and led him inside.
"No, not at all, we've been awake for hours now," answered Ilene.
"Really? Wow, so is Sere and Keith up too?" asked Andrew, a little shocked to hear that Serena's parents woke up so early.
"Well, they woke up before we did actually," began Ilene, only to be interrupted by Andrew.
"Great, now I can apologize to her and we can talk," said Andrew, sighing in relief.
"Actually, they left just twenty minutes ago," answered Ilene sadly.
"Left? Did the go somewhere?" asked Andrew, not liking the sound of things. He saw the sad look in Ilene's eyes and it worried him.
"They went home," answered Ken as he entered the living room. "Hello Andrew," he said.
"Morning Mr. Tsukino," replied Andrew a little confused. "What do you mean they went home?" he asked them, hoping to get an answer.
"New York," whispered Ilene, tearing up as she told Andrew the news.
"No," mumbled Andrew as the bouquet slipped from his hands and fell to the floor. "I need to go," he whispered, quickly getting up and running out the door towards his car. He sped off in the direction of the airport, determined to catch up with Sere.
"Poor boy, he's been through so much these past two days, now he's about to lose his son before he'll even get to acknowledge the fact," said Ken, shaking his head as he comforted his wife.
~Airport~
"Flight 1904 to New York, now boarding at gate 21. All passengers please head to gate 21, boarding has already begun. Flight 1904 to New York departs in ten minutes." Announced the speakers throughout the airport as I sat there with Jason and Keith on either side of me. I looked around and took in the sight one last time before getting up and walking into the gate.
"Welcome aboard," greeted the stewardess as Jason handed her our tickets. I grabbed Keith's hand and we headed into the plane toward our seats.
"Good bye Andrew," I whispered as we buckled our seats and prepared for departure.
~Andrew~
"Please let her still be there," Andrew prayed as he ran through the terminals toward the information booth. "What gate is the plane for New York at?" he asked quickly.
"Gate 21 sir, but they've already boarded and are pulling out soon," answered the clerk.
"Thanks," said Andrew, running as fast as his feet could towards the gate. When he reached there, the plane had already backed out from the gate and was on its way down the runway to take off. "No," said Andrew, not believing that he missed them by a minute. "Fuck!" he cried, slamming his fist into a pole, startling a few bystanders. There was no way he could catch up with Sere now, he couldn't even tell her he was sorry and that he wanted to be a family with her and Keith.
"Excuse me sir, did you miss the flight?" asked a flight attendant.
"Yeah," answered Andrew quietly.
"Well, you can take the next available flight the New York in two hours," she informed him.
"I don't know," Andrew muttered, not really caring what she said anymore. Then it hit him, if he took the next flight out, he could go find Sere and make her talk to him! "You know what miss, why don't you book that flight for me," he turned back and told the flight attendant.
~AN~
So, what's going to happen? I wonder.
I haven't written in a while because I've been distracted by my current hobby, which turns out to be designing gowns. Not in a professional manner of course, I just doodled on my sketchpad and all of a sudden I got hooked. They are based on the designs from my story, which are actually my own creations! Anyway, hope this chapter gets your approval!
~*Chapter XVII: Secrets Revealed*~
I woke up lying next to something extremely warm and soft, which alarmed me to no end. Then out of nowhere, an arm drapes over me, freaking the crap out of me. Where was I? This didn't look like my room. Looking around, I noticed my clothes thrown about the room messily and that is when it dawned on me. I was in Andrew's bedroom! Turning around, I saw Andrew smile and snuggle closer to me. It was just too darling, so I slowly inched out of his embrace and ran for his closet, surely there would be a camera somewhere.
"Aha!" I cried grabbing the camera and making sure there was film loaded in it before sprinting back out to the bed. 'Where did he go?' I wondered, looking around the room. He wasn't lying in the bed where I had left him.
"Looking for someone?" asked Andrew from behind me. I screamed upon hearing his voice and threw the camera into the air before bolting forwards. Andrew only laughed and caught the camera with his free hand, the other holding a cup of coffee.
"You scared me!" I pouted, crossing my arms as I sat back on the bed.
"At least I wasn't sneaking up on you on purpose," Andrew said back, smiling as he jumped on me. "What were you up to anyway?" he asked, arms wrapping around my waist as he kissed my shoulders, sending shivers down my spine.
"Well, you looked so cute lying there that I couldn't give up on the opportunity to snap a picture to keep for memory sake," I answered sheepishly.
"Oh really now?" asked Andrew, eyeing me suspiciously.
"Honest!" I defended myself before he could assume anything. "Why else would I have a camera?" I asked, waving the camera in his face.
"To take humiliating pictures of me and black mail me with them later?" laughed Andrew as I punched him and turned away. "Sorry Sere, you know I'm just teasing, but were you seriously going to take a picture of my in my sleep?" he asked, pulling me into his lap.
"Yes, I was! After all, I need photos for my album," I told him, drawing circles on his chest. I let my hand go and suddenly found myself playing with the strap of his boxers. 'Oh my god!' I squirmed before letting go quickly, causing it to snap back and pop him.
"Okay, if you wanted to get rough, you couldn't warned me," Andrew groaned, rubbing his stomach. I poked him in the side and kissed him after mouthing a quick sorry. "Anyway, we should get dressed, I'll bet Keith is wondering where you are right about now," said Andrew, snapping me back to reality.
"You're probably right, I'll go change and we can head over to my parent's house," I answered, pulling myself out of his embrace and running to the bathroom before he could catch me. As I turned on the shower, I could hear him bang on the door and yell for me to not take long since he too had to shower. I smiled and hopped into the warm shower and quickly cleaned myself. I always thought it was odd that he was so rich, yet his house only had one bathroom, but I guess that is because he's a bachelor.
~Tsukino House~
"Grandma, where's mama?" asked Keith, walking around the house.
"Honey, she's not here yet, but I'm sure she'll be here shortly," answered Ilene, smiling at the little boy. "Here, why don't you have breakfast while we wait for her?" she suggested him persuasively.
"Sweetie, Serena is here!" called out Ken from the hallway. Keith quickly dropped his fork and ran for the front door.
"Mama!" cried Keith, running into my open arms as I scooped him up and kissed his forehead. "I woke up this morning and you were gone, so I thought it was a dream!" said my son in a scared tone. I couldn't help but laugh and squeeze him even tighter.
"No baby, it wasn't a dream," I told him, setting him back on his feet.
"Hey kiddo!" greeted Andrew, rubbing Keith's hair with a smile.
"Hi Andrew!" Keith replied, tugging on Andrew's hand as I walked into the kitchen to greet my mother. I was touched knowing that the bond Andrew shared with my son was so strong that it was almost hard not to mistake them for father and son.
"Morning mom," I whispered and hugged my mom tightly.
"Sere have you seen this morning's newspaper?" asked Jason, walking briskly into the room. It totally caught me off guard that I stumbled backwards and almost tripped!
"How'd you get here so fast?" I asked, confused.
"I just got here, but that's beside the point. Look!" answered Jason, throwing the stack of paper onto the table with a loud thud. To my utter shock, there on the front page of the newspaper in bold letters were the words "Keith Moon or Keith Forbes?" written across the headline. When I saw that, my only reaction was simply to shut down, which I did as I fell to the floor in a dead faint.
"Sere!" everyone cried in unison. Jason, who was closest, jumped forward and caught me in his arms. Quickly, he hurried into the living room and laid me down on an empty couch before stepping back to give me some air.
"Oh god," I mumbled, rolling onto my stomach and rubbing my head in pain. How could this have happened? I thought this whole ordeal was over with? How the hell did someone get into my personal files?
"Sere, are you okay?" Andrew asked worriedly. Not only was he concerned but also completely clueless as to why I had fainted.
"Keith Forbes? Isn't that your last name Andrew?" I heard my son ask to my dismay as he entered the living room with the paper in his hands.
"Yes, why Keith?" asked Andrew, wondering what the heck was going on.
"Look," Keith answered, handing him the paper and pointing to the title. "What the..." I heard Andrew mumble and his eyes skimmed through the story, dilating when realization hit him full force. "Oh my god..." was all Andrew said as he dropped the paper and looked at me.
"I'm so sorry," I managed to say, turning away from everyone and crying. My secret was out now, and everyone that didn't need to know it, already did. What made it worse was that Andrew was practically the last person to find out. "Andrew, I..." I started saying as I turned around to face him, only to find him standing by the hallway.
"I... I have to go," was all Andrew said before opening the door and slamming it shut.
"Oh god, what have I done?" I cried harder as my mom came and wrapped her arms around me. 'Andrew, please forgive me,' I prayed, letting the tears flow freely now.
~Raye~
"This is just great," laughed Raye wickedly. She looked at the paper in her hands and laughed even harder. 'Now her world will come crumbling down," she thought evilly. She reached for her phone and dialed a number, waiting casually for it to connect.
"Hello?" answered the voice tiredly.
"Darien, it's me Raye. Have you read this morning's newspaper?" she asked him coolly.
"No, why. Something interesting you wanted to point out?" he asked grumpily.
"Yes, why don't you check the front page, I assure you that you'll love it," she replied, hanging up before he could respond.
"Peachy, now he'll finally get over that stupid obsession with her and move on to a more worthy woman," whispered Raye, before dialing another number. "Hello, Mr. Livingston? Yes, this is Raye. I just wanted to thank you for a job well done," said Raye, laughing as she spoke. The man on the other end thanked her before bidding her good bye. "No, thank you. Really, you don't know how much I appreciate all your help," she said wickedly.
~Darien~
"What the hell was that woman thinking, waking me at such a damn hour to say something so redundant?" muttered Darien, walking out to his kitchen to grab the morning newspaper. With that, he picked up his coffee mug and sipped on it while he scanned the paper. Suddenly, he started coughing horribly as his coffee got caught in his throat. "What in the name of god?!" he cried, slamming his coffee mug down before storming to his room to dress and head out of his home quickly. "I'll kill him, that bastard!" he seethed, slamming the door to his car harshly and speeding off. 'How could he do this to me, I thought he was my friend,' Darien thought in pure rage and he sped to Andrew's home.
~Andrew~
"Keith is my son? I slept with Serena all those years ago?" Andrew kept repeating the same two lines over and over as he walked through the streets of Tokyo.
He couldn't believe his very eyes, there on the newspaper was evidence that he was the man who fathered Keith. After all these years of wondering who Keith's father was and wishing it was him, he finally found out that it was him all along! 'Why didn't she tell me? Did she not think about how I would feel?' thought Andrew sadly, his eyes not really looking where they were going. When he finally stopped, he looked up and saw that he had walked to the park. Taking a seat at one of the benches, Andrew looked around and saw the various couples and families enjoying the beautiful day that it was.
"Oh Sere, why couldn't you have told me back then. We could've been a wonderful family, just like I had always dreamed of us being," mumbled Andrew, his tears on the verge of spilling. He buried his head into his palm and sat there, listening to the sound of the people around him as he thought about everything.
~Tsukino House~
"Serena, why didn't you tell him?" my mother asked me, rubbing my back as I sobbed in her arms. I couldn't believe that everything was happening to me, first I almost lose my son, now the man that I love.
"I couldn't mom, I didn't want to ruin his life!" I cried, getting up and running out of the house away from everyone and all the questions. I didn't know what to do anymore, it seemed as if everything I had worked so hard for was finally falling apart. My tears blurred my vision and my feet didn't want to stop, because then I would just have to face my reality all over again. "Why me?! Why me damn it?!" I yelled angrily, falling to my knees in the middle of the street. I didn't care if people were stopping and looking at me oddly, nothing mattered anymore. Wiping my tears, I slowly pulled myself up and headed over in the direction of the park. It was the one quiet place where I could go to escape all my worries.
~Park~
"I'm so sorry Andrew," I said, sniffling as I sat down with a sigh. I didn't know what else to do so I just sat there crying to myself. 'What am I going to do now? I can't go back there and face him or anyone else anymore," I thought to myself. Then I realized that there was only one answer to al of my problems and that was to leave it all behind once again. After sitting there for another half hour, I finally decided to head back home so I could pack up and go home, to the only home I've had ever since that fateful day five years ago. "I hope you can one day learn to forgive me Andrew, but until then, good bye..." I whispered to the air as I left the park not noticing anyone else but myself.
Little did I know, Andrew was sitting at a bench nearby the exit I had taken to leave and had heard my last words. After I had long disappeared, Andrew just sat there quietly, wondering why I had said good-bye to him. "There isn't much I can do here in this state, might as well go home too," muttered Andrew, loosening his tie and heading back to his place. "Maybe tomorrow I can go over and talk to Sere about everything, we can get everything out in the open and discuss what we'll do now that things have changed," he thought while walking along the sidewalk. Just then a black Porsche pulled up and someone stormed out, rushing at him full throttle and slammed into him roughly.
"How could you Andrew?! How could you do this to me?!" yelled Darien angrily. "She was my girlfriend! The women I loved more than anything, how could you sleep with her behind my back?!" he added furiously as his fist came flying at Andrew's face.
"What the fuck is you problem?" asked Andrew as he fell to the ground and clutched his jaw. He looked up and saw Darien's eyes, full of rage.
"What's my problem? You knocked up my girlfriend and ruined my life you asshole!" accused Darien, seething with rage as he stood there in front of Andrew.
"Darien, I didn't even know until today! I'm going through a lot in my life right now all right, I don't have time to put up with your shit. Besides, it's not like you gave a fuck, you freaking tow timed her with Raye you sick bastard," replied Andrew, wiping the blood away from his lip.
"I didn't cheat on Serena damn it, it was Raye!" Darien defended himself. "It doesn't matter anyway, she left me after you slept with her! You're my best friend too! How could you do this to me?" asked Darien, beginning to wonder how in the world this even happened.
"I don't know Darien, I have no idea when it even happened. As far as my knowledge, we never even slept together until last night! And I was your best friend, not anymore. I don't associate with bastards who cheat on their loved ones," answered Andrew.
"Last night? You slept with her again?!" yelled Darien, lunging at Andrew once more.
"Oh shove it asshole, it's not like you're still with her stupid," retorted Andrew, rolling his eyes. "Besides, I love Sere, more than you ever did. I was even going to ask her to marry me, but now that some asshole put our business on the news, I don't know what's going to happen anymore," he added, sighing as he looked up at the sky, which was slowly getting darker.
"You love her?" asked Darien, not believing his ears. His best friend and the woman who was his only family and love, the news was all too overwhelming for him that he had to grab something to lean against. "I can't believe this, my world as I know it is slowly falling apart and going crazy," he mumbled before walking away from Andrew. He got back into his car and drove away without even saying a word to Andrew or even good-bye.
"I'm sorry Darien, I really am. I never thought things would turn out this way for all of us," whispered Andrew, turning back and heading towards his home.
~Sere~
"Mama, you're home!" cried my little boy as I entered my parent's house. I smiled and picked him up, kissing his forehead before carrying him into the kitchen where he had come from.
"Hi mom, dad," I greeted my parents with a faint smile before taking a seat. "I have something I need to talk to you both about," I said calmly.
"Sure sweetheart, let's talk," replied my mother in her soothing voice as she and my dad sat down across from me at the dinner table.
"Baby, why don't you go wash up and I'll come tuck you in later okay?" I asked Keith, pushing him in the direction of the stairs.
"Okay, but you have to read me a story too!" answered my precious baby.
"So Serena, what did you want to discuss with us about?" asked my dad in a more serious tone.
"I'm leaving tomorrow morning with Keith. Let me finish before you say anything okay? There is just too much happening here for us to stay, I can't face the public eye or put Keith through all the fuss. It's best if we just leave so that the press won't bother any of us," I told my parents.
"Why must you always leave when there is a problem sweetheart?" asked my mother sadly.
"Mom, it's not that simple anymore. I can't face Andrew or put Keith through the agony of being rejected," I replied on the brink of breaking down in tears.
"How will you know if you leave before he can respond to the sudden changes?" asked my dad quietly. My family had known Andrew's family for as long as I can remember, so of course he was quick to defend his "second" son. "Besides, I don't' want my little girl being so far away from me again," he added quietly. I smiled, knowing that even though I was a mature woman and mother now, he would always view me as his little girl.
"Dad, I'll be back, trust me. I just need some time for all the public attention to die down. When that time comes, Keith and I will be back here to stay with you. I want for Keith to have grandparents in his life just like any other normal kid out there, I just don't want the whole world knowing about his background and chase after him with questions that he won't have answers to," I answered truthfully.
"We understand sweetheart, just promise us that you won't stay away too long. We don't want Keith to become estranged to us again," replied my mom, quietly sniffling.
"I know mom, thanks for understanding my situation. I promise we'll call often and be back before you know it," was my reply. I wasn't even sure when I'd come back, I just knew I had to leave this place before things got any worse.
"Okay, it's late, you should go up and tuck Keith in and make those calls to set everything up before it gets any later," said my dad, getting up to pour himself a cup of coffee.
"I already called before I got home. Jason is going to be leaving with me tomorrow, but he's coming back to work at the new company while I'm back in New York," I told my parents before heading upstairs. "Keith, are you ready for bed honey?" I called out, slowly entering his room.
"Yup, all set mama. Look, I even picked out my favorite story!" giggled my son as he sat up in his bed and held up the book for me.
"Great, let's get started then!" I replied in a cheerful voice. My eyes began to tear up slightly as I looked at my son and saw so much of Andrew in him. I read him his story and we snuggled close to one another as the story carried on.
"Mama, why did you and Andrew run out this morning?" asked my son when I had finished the story and shut the book. It caught me off guard that I dropped the book on the floor when I jolted back to reality. The book hit the floor with a loud thud and shook me out of the state of shock.
"Well, it's a long story honey. I'll tell you someday baby. Anyway, I wanted to tell you that we're going home for a little while tomorrow morning!" I answered my son and told him the news.
"Why? I like it here with everyone. You're a lot happier too," was my son's response to the news. I know he was very confused, and truth be told, I was so much more happier here than back home.
"It's for business baby, and just for a short time," I told him quietly. "I know you don't like it, but I don't want to be apart from you again, so bear with me for a little while okay baby?" I compromised with my son. "We stay until my business is done and you can have anything you want when we get back here okay?" I told him, hoping he'd take the bribe so I wouldn't have any problems.
"Okay," whispered Keith quietly. "But you have to promise that you'll try to hurry up so we can come back here as soon as possible," me son said, trying to compromise with me in return, which only made me laugh.
"You're turning into Jason!" I said, holding my stomach as the laughter continued. We both laughed and talked for a little bit before Keith fell asleep. I tucked him in and packed his bags before heading to my own room and packing my own belongings.
~Next Morning~
"Good morning Mrs. Tsukino," greeted Jason as he stepped into the house and waited for Sere and Keith by the front door. Suddenly he saw a bag come tumbling down the staircase and someone yelp in pain. "Need help Sere?" he asked, chuckling as he saw me run frantically down stairs to check on my suitcase which was sitting by Jason's foot by then.
"Thanks," I replied, smiling at my own clumsiness. "Can you help me get Keith's bag upstairs? I need to go finish getting dressed," I asked Jason, running back upstairs into my room and slamming the door shut. I hurriedly put on some make-up and slipped into a crème colored suit before grabbing my purse and heading back down.
"Finished baby?" I asked my son who was eating breakfast with my parents at the moment.
"Yeah," Keith replied, wiping his face and running over to hug my parents quickly before we had to leave. "I'll miss you," he whispered to them as a tear slid down his cheeks.
"We'll see you soon Keith," replied my mom, smiling brightly at him as she wiped his tear away.
"Yeah, grandma and I will wait for you to come back so we can take you to the kimono festival!" said my dad, ruffling his hair and patting his head.
"Okay!" cheered Keith happily as I took his hand and we headed out to Jason's car.
"Bye mom, bye dad! I'll call you when we get there!" I called out after hugging them and stepping into the car. Jason put Keith into his car seat and we took off towards the airport.
"You sure you don't want to call Andrew first?" asked Jason as we started heading towards the gate where the plane was waiting for us. There was still half an hour left before our flight was going to depart, so I guess he was trying to do some last minute persuading.
"No, he needs his time to think things through," I replied quietly, not wanting to talk about Andrew because it would only make me cry and I didn't want to worry Keith at the moment.
~Andrew~
"I should head over to the Tsukino's house to talk to Sere, she's probably up by now," said Andrew, slipping his blazer on and finishing off his coffee before heading out to the garage. He drove over to the Tsukino's house but stopped by a local floral shop to pick up a bouquet of roses before he neared their house. "Hopefully she won't be too upset about me running out on her yesterday," prayed Andrew as he got out and straightened his tie. Walking up to the door, he rang the bell and took a deep breath before waiting for someone to open it.
"Oh, hello Andrew," greeted Ilene, looking somewhat shocked to see him.
"Morning Mrs. Tsukino, I hope I didn't wake you," replied Andrew, stepping inside after Ilene opened the door and led him inside.
"No, not at all, we've been awake for hours now," answered Ilene.
"Really? Wow, so is Sere and Keith up too?" asked Andrew, a little shocked to hear that Serena's parents woke up so early.
"Well, they woke up before we did actually," began Ilene, only to be interrupted by Andrew.
"Great, now I can apologize to her and we can talk," said Andrew, sighing in relief.
"Actually, they left just twenty minutes ago," answered Ilene sadly.
"Left? Did the go somewhere?" asked Andrew, not liking the sound of things. He saw the sad look in Ilene's eyes and it worried him.
"They went home," answered Ken as he entered the living room. "Hello Andrew," he said.
"Morning Mr. Tsukino," replied Andrew a little confused. "What do you mean they went home?" he asked them, hoping to get an answer.
"New York," whispered Ilene, tearing up as she told Andrew the news.
"No," mumbled Andrew as the bouquet slipped from his hands and fell to the floor. "I need to go," he whispered, quickly getting up and running out the door towards his car. He sped off in the direction of the airport, determined to catch up with Sere.
"Poor boy, he's been through so much these past two days, now he's about to lose his son before he'll even get to acknowledge the fact," said Ken, shaking his head as he comforted his wife.
~Airport~
"Flight 1904 to New York, now boarding at gate 21. All passengers please head to gate 21, boarding has already begun. Flight 1904 to New York departs in ten minutes." Announced the speakers throughout the airport as I sat there with Jason and Keith on either side of me. I looked around and took in the sight one last time before getting up and walking into the gate.
"Welcome aboard," greeted the stewardess as Jason handed her our tickets. I grabbed Keith's hand and we headed into the plane toward our seats.
"Good bye Andrew," I whispered as we buckled our seats and prepared for departure.
~Andrew~
"Please let her still be there," Andrew prayed as he ran through the terminals toward the information booth. "What gate is the plane for New York at?" he asked quickly.
"Gate 21 sir, but they've already boarded and are pulling out soon," answered the clerk.
"Thanks," said Andrew, running as fast as his feet could towards the gate. When he reached there, the plane had already backed out from the gate and was on its way down the runway to take off. "No," said Andrew, not believing that he missed them by a minute. "Fuck!" he cried, slamming his fist into a pole, startling a few bystanders. There was no way he could catch up with Sere now, he couldn't even tell her he was sorry and that he wanted to be a family with her and Keith.
"Excuse me sir, did you miss the flight?" asked a flight attendant.
"Yeah," answered Andrew quietly.
"Well, you can take the next available flight the New York in two hours," she informed him.
"I don't know," Andrew muttered, not really caring what she said anymore. Then it hit him, if he took the next flight out, he could go find Sere and make her talk to him! "You know what miss, why don't you book that flight for me," he turned back and told the flight attendant.
~AN~
So, what's going to happen? I wonder.