Disclaimer: I would like to dedicate another song to this story. Better Man by Jamie Campbell Bower.

Ch. 7 Family Dysfunction

Duluth MN, 8:02 am Cabin #18

Sunlight poured into the cabin from the windows as the two teenagers who had spent last night there were waking up. Jackie looked over at Hyde who was still sleeping and smiled to herself. He looked so peaceful while he slept. She thought back to the night before. The afternoon had been terrible but she didn't regret a thing about last night. With a glowing smile on her face she crept out of bed and into the kitchen. Forty minutes later Jackie crept back into the bedroom and tickled Hyde awake. "Hey what's going on?" He asked her groggily as he set up shaking his head awake and pushing her off of him.

"Hmm...well I don't know," Jackie replied with a sly smile "but I think some elves snuck into our kitchen last night and made us homemade bacon omelettes, with caramel rolls and fruit for breakfast."

He looked at her with a smile on his face then jumped out of bed and ran into the kitchen. Jackie hadn't been lying, there was quite a spread. The little formica table was covered with food. "This is all for us?" Hyde asked. "and you made it?"

"I did!" Jackie said excitedly jumping up and down. "We had a private chef at our house when I grew up, and whenever he caught me in the kitchen he'd sit me down for a lesson, I can do breakfast, lasagna, and a variety of slow cooker meals."

"Ok well let's eat." Hyde said sitting down.

"Yeah I figured we should have a good meal after last night." Jackie said, then upon realising what she had just said her cheeks blushed and she quickly added "because of the alcohol! Of course. Don't want a hangover." She mumbled and shoved a bite of omelette into her mouth.

An hour later Jackie and Hyde were back in the car on their way to Jackie's father's other place. They had cleaned up the cabin and checked out early. Jackie was feeling nervous and scared about seeing her father. She fidgeted in her seat as Hyde drove, determined to remain calm. Soon her father's house came into view and Hyde parked in the driveway. "Ready?" He asked her.

She was not, but still she said "Yeah ok let's do this ." And so the two walked up to the door and rang the doorbell. A few moments later the door was by the blonde woman from yesterday.

"Jackie!" she said enthusiastically, "Please do come in!"

The woman led them into a small but beautifully done living room. There was plush white carpet, with two dark cherry leather wingback chairs, a red velvet settee, a heavy oak coffee table, a spectacularly ornate oriental rug, and a fireplace on one side. At night the room probably a bit intimidating, but at the moment with sun streaming in through the gossamer curtains hanging open in front of a big picture window it looked pleasant and welcoming.

"Please have a seat I'll go get Jack!" The blonde woman said and then "Oh how rude of me! Would you guys like something to drink? Tea, coffee, pop, water?"

Hyde was tempted to say beer just to see what she would do, but he knew he had to try to keep the peace and be civil for Jackie so instead he just said "Um yeah coffee's fine."

"Could I have a cup of tea ?" Jackie asked.

"Oh yes of course! Ok I'll go get the and Jack." She said and swept away.

"That was a little weird right?" Jackie asked Steven.

"Yeah but she seems nice, she seems like she wants to get to know you ." Hyde smiled encouragingly at her.

The blonde women returned along with Jackie's father. Since Jackie and Hyde were sitting on the leather chairs. The blonde woman went to the settee and sat down.

"Jackie!" Mr. Burkhart said "I was hoping you would come back, I have so much to tell you-

"-Why don't you start with the fact that you're not only cheating on mom, you have an entire family in another state!" Jackie accused, her anger rising.

"You're right kitten of course." Hyde noticed Jackie flinch at her father's pet name for her.

"Well I guess we should probably start at the beginning, Linda" He gestured toward the blonde women. "Linda and I dated off and on for a while before I met your mother. When I met your mother it as a hospital benefit and she was the most beautiful woman there. I had no idea what to say or how to approach her but then luck struck and I was assigned to her table. I could barely catch her attention there were so many other guys around fawning on her. So I decided subtly to have my friend who happened to be up there come "congratulate" me on my new position as the new president of the bank, and of course when he did, I think it caught her attention but what really sealed the deal is my response him: "Oh yeah Neal I'm real excited, I'm just a little worried about how I'll manage that with the partnership of my law firm." Jack smiled at that.

"She and I danced, laughed, and hung out the rest of the night. After that we began seeing each other every day and night. We fell in love quickly and I asked her to marry me. She was from a strict catholic background so we had to do lot of marriage counseling before we could finally do it. A few days before the big event I thought to myself, 'Yes, yes this is perfect I'm going to marry Pamela and I'm over Linda!' Well that night I need to get some groceries before I went home, so I stopped at the Quick Mart and ran into Linda. We ot to talking and decided to go get a drink and catch up. Well it turned out that old chemistry was still there and one thing led to another and we ended up back at her place. The next morning of course I felt horrible about it and vowed to make it work with Pam. So I went home and that's just what I did! A few months later we found out Pam was pregnant, and then on the same day I found out Linda was too. I felt like my whole world had fallen apart. I wanted to be there for both of my families, I didn't know what to do or who to tell. Then Linda called and told me she had found a house to live in with her and the baby, and she told me she knew how important pam and my child was to me so she said: 'you stay with your wife and baby; work it out with them and if and when you can, come see us, we'll be waiting for you always. " Jack finished his story with a smile.

At first neither Jackie nor Hyde knew what to say and then,

"Who is the baby or where is the baby," Jackie asked incredulously.

"What baby now?" Jack asked

"The baby that Linda had, it can't be Audrie she's too young."

"That's my son," Linda spoke up. "He's your half brother his name is Paul, he's your half brother, just like Audrie is." I'll go get them.

Linda went off into hallway to find her kids and Jack sat down on the floor beside Jackie's chair."Listen kitten I really am sorry about all this, I didn't want you to find out like this." Jack hung his head in hands looking morose. Jackie wanted to comfort him but then all her anger came bubbling up.

Jackie hated the way she felt, she was so furious that she could barely contain it, angry that her father would not only do this but that he'd keep it from her for so long. but she also felt a sadness so heavy she could barely move with it, sadness for her mother, sadness for herself, and for Audrie who was the sister Jackie never got to know. (What would have happened to them if Jackie had never followed her father yesterday, would they have ever met?) And on top of everything she felt guilty; guilty that she hadn't told her mother, guilty that she still wanted to comfort her father.

As she watched him stand there looking worried and a bit heartbroken waiting for his girlfriend or whoever Linda was to him, to come back into the room. Jackie could feel the anger building up inside of her. How come he cared SO much about this family but NOT ours? Jackie thought to herself. She gripped the side of the chair and started to stand up, but then Hyde's hand came over on top of her and when she looked over at him she saw that he looked so calm, so zen. So instead of venting her anger at her father she took a deep breath and tried her best to be zen.

Linda came back into the room followed by Audrie, her other son Paul was not there.

"I'm so sorry, " Linda began "I couldn't find Paul, but Audrie is here. Audrie this is your sister Jackie."

"Hi, nice to meet you." Audrie said reaching her hand out to Jackie.

Audrie was dressed in jeans and a flowered top, her hair in low pigtails. She had big black rimmed glasses that somehow worked with her whole aesthetic. Jackie looked her over and smiled thinking, this girl is cute, but she could definitely use a makeover. Jackie took her hand at shook it. "Its nice to meet you too. Oh and this is my friend Steven. He was nice enough to give me a ride here to meet you."

"Neat! Thanks Steven."

"Well Jackie we'd love it if you could stay for dinner, it should be ready in about twenty minutes. Maybe you and Audrie could get to know each other better." Linda suggested.

"That would be awesome! Jackie come on I'll show you my trampoline!" Audrie grabbed Jackie's hand and was pulling her out the door when Hyde turned to Jack and Linda and said, "Thank you for the invite, it looks like we're staying." He followed the girls outside.

Audrie had a giant trampoline in her backyard so all three of them jumped on it. Audrie was very good; she showed off her trampoline gymnastics knowledge while Jackie tried to keep up with her. They learned that Audrie was 12 years, loved horses and fashion, and was a cheerleader like Jackie. She was also really into cars, and was helping her brother fixup his old Chevelle. She liked to read and had two best friends Ellie and Ashley. She seemed to Jackie like a pretty cool kid. Jackie was glad to have found her but was still saddened and angry at her father for keeping them apart.

"Foods ready kids!" Linda called. The three of came into the dining room and sat down. Jack was already seated. Linda came in and finished setting a ham on the table. They ate ham, potatoes, corn, and stuffing. Linda asked Jackie about her school activities and complimented her on her outfit. When Jackie told her father and Linda that she had gotten an A on here Econ project they both congratulated her and said well done. She wasn't sure how to react. The moment was bittersweet for her; her father hadn't complimented her or told her she'd done a good job since she was a little girl. He couldn't say that around her mother but with Linda smiling down at Jackie with her hand on Jack's arm then it was easy for him.

"I'm sorry," Jackie said standing up, "I don't think this was such a great idea, Steven and I are just going to go."

"Honey what's wrong?" Her father asked.

"Nothing, it's, I just think Steven and I should probably get going, talking about all these school things reminded me tomorrow's Monday and I have cheerleading practice and a test right away in the morning and I need to get home and study for it."

"Are you sure kitten?"

"Yes, sorry."

"Oh Jackie it's ok let me just make you both some leftovers for the road."

"Oh thanks Miss Conlan-"

"Call me Linda dear."

"Right Linda that's really nice of you but we don't need any left-" Jackie was cut off by Hyde kicking her leg under the table.

"Erm, on the other hand I guess it is a long drive back to Point Place."

"Oh good!" Linda said and headed off to the kitchen.

"Honey is everything alright are you sure you can't stay?" Jack asked searching her face for answers

"Yes, sorry daddy."

"Well you be safe getting back to Point Place." He turned to Hyde, "You've got precious cargo here."

"I know sir, " Hyde replied winking at Jackie.

Linda came back in with their food to go and they all said their goodbyes. Audrie ran up to Jackie and gave her a hug and then when her mom wasn't looking she slipped Jackie a piece of paper. Jackie and Hyde got back into the El Camino and headed out of town. Once they were safely on the highway, Hyde asked "So what was with us leaving in the middle of dinner? Not that I'm complaining since we did get leftovers but still..."

"Pull over somewhere, let's have a circle."

Hyde looked sideways at her "Ok...but I'll have to find somewhere a little secluded like-" He watched the signs on the highway. "-That scenic outlook coming up!" He pulled on to the road to follow the signs through the trees. Once they got to the over look they both got out of the car and stared at the view. They were on top of a large hill, (there are no mountains in MN or WI) that looked over a beautiful spring-fed lake. There were large pine and oak trees surrounding them and there was a bench with a little plaque in front of it explaining the history of the outlook. Jackie sat down on the bench as Hyde rolled up some "film".

H: So...you wanna talk about it?

J: Notif you don't want to and it sounds like you don't.

H: No its cool, you need to vent and I'm...in a state to listen *grinning*

J: Ok...*long pause* It's just... I guess the cheating wouldn't bother me so much, and don't get me wrong THAT is deplorable, but...I don't know I guess the thing that really gets me is that he has KIDS! A whole other set of kids! A whole other family!? Who does that? And then at dinner, the way he congratulated me?! He NEVER does that, not since I was a little girl but there it's perfectly fine to do?!

H: Well...I don't know about a whole other family but I do know what it feels like when your perfect ideal of your family crashes and burns right in front of you and there's nothing you can do about it.

J: How did you get over it?

H: Honestly I don't think I ever did. Having your family break up...it's something you don't really get over. But it gets better. Especially when you see them out living their lives and you know you ended up better off.

J: Yeah but Hyde, you're better off because the Forman's took you in...

H: True. They did help a lot, but I also got a job and I'm paying rent, I help out around the house, and I got to school, well, somewhat regularly.

J: So what am I supposed to do?

H: You are supposed to take some time and figure out what you feel, and what you're going to do. You'll have to decide if you want to tell your mom or not, and I think more importantly if you want to get in touch with that little sister of yours, or your brother I guess.

J: I don't want to break my mother's heart. I think she knows he's cheating but I don't think she knows he has a whole other family and I don't know if she could handle that. I think that would definitely be grounds for divorce...

H: and your sister? I think she already really likes you and looks up to you.

J: *smiling* Yeah Audrie is really sweet...and I always wanted a sister.

H: Well there you go! Maybe don't decide anything right now and just get to know your sister.

J: I suppose we better get going.

H: Yeah we should but first I'd just like to remind you that the camino has a spacious back cargo area and I do happen to have a couple blankets if you like to look up at the stars...

J: Steven it's like one o'clock.

H: *grinning* I know...

Jackie smiled back at him and they spent the next 45 minutes really getting to know the El Camino's cargo area as well as all the nature around them. Once they had finished they pulled out Linda's leftovers and had a sort of picnic lunch in the Camino. As they drove off home, Jackie smiled to herself thinking that even though she had learned some awful things about her family, she had more fun this weekend, with Steven, than she'd had in a long time.