The Ruins of Our Lives Chapter 22

"Reunion"

Jill's POV

When we walk into the living room, I almost have a heart attack when I see Tim sitting on the couch.

'Wh-What's going on?' I stammer.

'A couple of days ago, Tim rang our doorbell. He was seeking shelter from the blizzard we was having at the time. He didn't know who he was at the time, but then he got hit on the head with a clock, and when he came to his memory was back' Heidi explains.

'I'm so happy you're alive' I say through tears, sitting down next to Tim now. We embrace each other in a hug that seems to last forever.

'So I take it that you haven't gone to Boston to get Mark yet' Tim says after a couple of minutes. I close my eyes for a second, open them, see the look on Tim's face, scan the room for something to rest my eyes on so I don't have to look at Tim's face, and finally settle on Heidi.

'I'm sorry Jill, looking back on it now, it wasn't my place to tell him about everything, but he asked about you and the boys so…' Heidi apologizes.

'No…He needed to know. He deserved to find out, whether it be from me or you' I say slowly.

'I must sound like a real tramp right now, huh?' I ask Tim after a moment, forgetting Brad and Randy are here to hear this all. I don't know, maybe they kind of do need to hear this.

'No. No, I didn't marry a tramp. Heidi told me about your drinking, and Brad's violence, but she also mentioned how you stopped when you realized what was happening. I feel so guilty, so very very guilty for having caused all this. Yours and Brad's drinking, Randy and Mark's pain, having Randy and Mark on two opposite ends of the country, everything' Tim says.

Brad's POV

I can't believe after everything that's happened, after all the pain, suffering, and rage I felt that caused me to become a…an alcoholic prick for lack of a better term, dad is alive.

Dad doesn't ask me how I've been doing, but he gives me a look that I take to mean "we'll talk later, one on one".

Randy's POV

'What have you been up to Randy?' dad asks after he finishes talking with mom.

'Well, I guess you found out about me moving out to Los Angeles a year ago' I say.

'Yeah. So what have you been up to out there?' he asks.

'Well, it's kind of strange actually, I went to this comedy club on amateur's night one night, and long story short, I'm starring in an ABC sitcom with Jonathan Taylor Thomas now' I explain.

'So you have your own TV show now too?' dad smiles. I nod.

This all seems so unreal. I wonder if our lives will ever be able to go back to normal again. I mean, I doubt we can just go back to living together again and act like nothing ever happened. I especially doubt we'll be able to go back to living normally again as long as I'm a star on a primetime sitcom that is number one in the Nielsen ratings.

'When are we going to get Mark' dad asks.

'As soon as we get plane tickets out to Boston' mom answers.

'Good. Then we can be a family again' he says.

'I have one question. If you didn't die dad, who did we bury three years ago?' I ask, already having a good idea who died and was buried three years ago.

'It must've been Tim Allen. I guess after we get Mark we can explain to his wife and daughter what happened. I'm sure they're worried sick. He's been missing for what, about three years now?' dad says.

A/N: Forget everything I've said in the past. I don't know how many chapters are left in this story. When you read the words "Yours truly, Randy Taylor" in the chapter that says "The Ruins of Our Lives Epilogue", then this story will be done.

To mischieftheblackwolf, if you're still reading: I swear that I really do have some brotherly fluff coming. It will probably be in the chapter after the next one.

So anyways, this is probably the longest it's ever taken me to write a chapter. It's taken me longer to update, I know, but I have actually been writing this chapter since September 29. And I mean that literally. I have been writing on this every day since then, even if it's only a sentence or two. I probably would've updated sooner, but about three weeks ago, I went back and deleted everything except the first three paragraphs, because the rest of it was just absolutely horrible. (And that's not an understatement, either).

Please R&R if you're reading this. It was originally my goal for this story to get to 50 reviews, but I'd settle for 40 right now.

Thanks for reading.

-Yours truly, Randy Taylor