Chapter 24- Whispers in the Dark
Paul pulled up to the house where the party was being hosted. Randy, Shawn, and Chris met him outside. "Hey buddy! How have you been?" asked Shawn as he patted Paul's shoulders. "Good, Shawn, just been hanging out with Stephanie and Aurora lately. You know, being a father" said Paul as he pulled his hair into a ponytail. Shawn nodded. "That's cool, man! How is Aurora anyway?" asked Shawn as he leaned on Paul's car. "She's great man! She's actually not as hard to take care of as I expected her to be. She is a complete angel" said Paul with a smile thinking about his daughter. "Look at Paul, becoming a 'Bill Cosby' on us!" joked Chris. The guys laughed and then Paul hit Randy on the shoulder. "So, Randy how is Stacy?" asked Paul. Randy's demeanor changed. "I don't know how Stacy is and frankly I DON'T CARE!" said Randy as he ran his hands through his hair. "She hates me for no reason at all! I have been nothing but faithful to her! I brought to every summer party with me and she still throws a fit, so I am done with relationships. I have all my life to give my life to one girl, but for right now time to party, so let's go!" said Randy as he began to walk towards the party. All the guys looked at each other and then followed Randy into the party.
Stephanie's home
A baby's cry could be heard throughout the house. Stephanie walked into Aurora's nursery and picked Aurora up. "It's ok baby girl. Mommy is here" said Stephanie as she rocked Aurora. Aurora kept screaming and Stephanie began to get frustrated. "This is the time when I need your father" said Stephanie as she searched Aurora's crib for her pacifier. "Where is that damn thing?" said Stephanie agitated by Aurora's screams. Linda and Vince heard Aurora crying and walked into the nursery. "Stephanie, do you need help?" asked Linda as she held her arms out for Aurora. Stephanie nodded and handed Aurora to her mom. "I can't find her pacifier, mom" cried Stephanie as she searched the whole nursery. Vince walked over to the crib and started to search for the pacifier. Vince finally found it under Aurora's pillow. "Here it is baby girl" he said as he handed Aurora's pacifier to her. As soon as Aurora got her pacifier she began to stop crying. Aurora cuddled into her grandmother's arms and began to fall back asleep. "Thank you so much, mom and dad!" said Stephanie as she ran her hands through her hair. Stephanie rubbed Aurora's back and headed towards her room to go back to bed.
Party
Paul was chilling on the living room couch with a beer in his hand. All he could think about was Stephanie and Aurora. He was thinking about leaving until this blond came over to him. "Hi Paul! You probably don't remember me but I'm the girl from the party last summer. I am Barbie but people call me Kelly" said Kelly as she sat next Paul. "I missed you. You never really called me after that night. Is it because you lost my number?" said Kelly as she began rubbing Paul's shoulders. Paul shoved her off. "I have a girlfriend now, Kelly. I am not the same guy that fucked you at the party last year. Sorry, to hurt you but I really don't even want to be at this party" said Paul as he ran his hands through his hair. Kelly's eyes filled with tears. "Sorry, Paul I didn't meant to make you angry" said Kelly as she wiped her eyes and started to get up but Paul stopped her. "I'm sorry, Kelly. I'm just a little frustrated right now. If you want, you can chill right here with me for a bit" said Paul as he patted the seat next to him. Kelly nodded and sat down. They began talking and letting the night take its course.
Stephanie's room
Stephanie was tossing and turning in bed. She couldn't sleep. She got up and went downstairs into the kitchen. Stephanie made herself some warm milk and honey and then sat down on the counter. All she could think about was Paul. She saw her father's car keys on the kitchen table and got an idea. She grabbed them and snuck out the house hoping to see Paul.
Party
As the night went on, Paul had consumed many drinks while talking with Kelly. They talked about many things such as her life and his. "So you are a father still in high school and you still are going back to school after summer? What about the mom?" asked Kelly in slurred words and giggles as she was drunk. "Yep and she is going back too. She is one strong lady, that Stephanie!" said Paul in a drunken manner. "I love her to death. No other girl could compare to my Stephanie. She had my baby and put up with all the bullshit I put her through and still find it in her heart to love me. I am not perfect but I can honestly say she is. I (Paul felt tears in his eyes) was going to leave her when she became pregnant with my daughter. She was 15 and I was going to give her the deuces and continue on with my life while she turned into a mother. How could I be so cruel?" said Paul as he began to cry. Kelly wrapped her arms around him and held him close trying to comfort him.
Stephanie
Stephanie drove around and then stopped in front of Paul's house. She picked up her phone and called Paul. When Paul's phone went straight to voicemail she called Randy. "Hello" said Randy moaning as he was "busy". "Hey Randy, sorry to interrupt but do you know where Paul is?" asked Stephanie. "Yeah, he is at Todd's house for the party. The house is on 54th street" said Randy. "Ok, thanks and bye" said Stephanie as she headed towards Todd's house. Stephanie couldn't believe Paul would go to a wild party after he promised her he would get rid of his wild ways. When Stephanie arrived to the house, she parked and headed in.
Party
Paul cried in Kelly's arms as he thought about all the things he put Stephanie through. "It's ok, Paul. Stephanie forgave you and she obviously loves you so don't feel bad. I say, you should just let go of the past and don't make the same mistakes again" said Kelly with a smile. Paul looked up and frowned at her. "That is easier said than done. I have made the same mistake twice in a row and I hate myself for it. My ex-girlfriend, Melina, was the love of my life at a time. I loved her and I thought she loved me. Melina cheated on me with her ex-boyfriend and became pregnant. She was using me to make him jealous and when her plan worked, he took her back and she dropped me quick, fast, and easy. You wanna know what the funny thing is though. I cheated on Stephanie twice with Melina. I still have a piece of me that still cares for Melina and I let it get in the way. I didn't sleep with her on purpose. I was angry with my parents for them planning on kicking me out and I couldn't go to Stephanie about it because she couldn't handle any more stress because of having a high-risk pregnancy. I went to Melina, who I had made up with months prior, and we talked, had drinks and then one thing led to another and we slept together. I regretted it so much, but we both promised each other that we wouldn't speak of it ever again for Stephanie's sake and for Melina's sake. I wanted to tell Stephanie every time she mentioned how much she loved me and how great I am or how lucky she is to have me. Every time she said those things I was breaking down inside. After our baby was born, I thought I would just forget about it and focus on our baby girl. I love Aurora so much and wouldn't want anything to hurt her which is why I never told Stephanie. I didn't want Stephanie to leave me and me never being able to see my daughter again because of a simple mistake" said Paul as he ran his hands through his hair. "I just hope that the memory vanishes from my brain fast and soon" said Paul as he pulled back from Kelly's embrace. As he pulled back, his heart broke as he saw Stephanie staring at him with tears falling down her face. Before he could say a word, she ran off. "Stephanie, wait! Baby please wait!" screamed Paul as he chased after her. He caught her after she stopped by her car. "How could you, Paul? I thought you loved me! You cheated on me! You are the biggest asshole on the face of this Earth! I hate you and I am done!" screamed Stephanie as she began to reach for the car door. "Stephanie, listen please as to what I have to say" said Paul as he grabbed her arm to pull her to him. "I did some horrible things in my life. I admit it I'm an asshole. But the one thing you can never say I didn't do was love you. I love you more than life itself. I know I have a horrible way of showing it and I admit that too. I cheated on you and I regret it every day. I never told you because I wanted you, Aurora and me to live as a happy family. My parents told me they were putting me out soon because they wanted me to learn to be independent and some other bull I really didn't care to hear. I was pissed because instead of them telling me, they were going to just spring it on me after Aurora was born. After your incident with Maryse and learning that you have a high-risk pregnancy, I didn't want you to have my stress on top of yours, so I went to Melina to talk and only talk. I ended up doing way more and I hated myself. I didn't want to tell you because after saving all my money up, I was planning on moving out of my parent's house my senior year. I have a new job and I already am working towards an apartment for us. I knew you wouldn't want to stay with me if you knew about what happened, so I tried to forget about it and act like it didn't happen. Instead I ended up coming to this stupid party and letting my heart out to this girl I slept with last year. Alcohol is really something else" said Paul as he cried to Stephanie. "Please understand that I never planned on hurting you. If you don't forgive me now or ever, I understand. Just please don't stop loving me and please don't keep me away from my daughter" said Paul as he broke down in front of Stephanie. Stephanie looked him in the eyes and cried too. How could he hurt her like this? She was getting fed up with all his mistakes and apologies. Stephanie had finally made her decision. "Paul, I love you and will probably always will. You was my first love and my first everything. I will never forget you. As for our daughter, you are a great father to her and I don't think I could ever keep you from her. You can see her whenever you want and we can keep the same schedule we had. But as for you and me! We are no more. Maybe further down the line, we could try to work out this relationship. But for right now, I don't think this could work. I can't take it anymore. I am only 15 and you have me going through the stress of a 30 year old. I just need to focus on my schoolwork, life and Aurora. I thought I could handle a relationship right now, but I was wrong. My father was right. All this relationship has brought me was heartbreak. Don't get me wrong, we had amazing times too but there is always that one dark cloud ready to bring down some rain on a beautiful sunny day. Don't take this as a break-up just take it as a break. I just need some space to find myself. I rushed into a relationship too quick after Andrew and I think that was my downfall. I love you, Paul but I just need to be alone right now. Are you ok with that?" said Stephanie as she wiped her tears. Stephanie would've never thought the day would come that she would let Paul go, but this had to be done for her and Aurora's sake. Paul nodded in response to Stephanie. Paul knew this day would come when Stephanie would find out about Melina. What is done in the dark will always come to the light. Paul walked up to Stephanie and caressed her cheek. "I will always love you too. So I guess since this isn't goodbye, can I give you one last see you later kiss?" asked Paul as he let one tear fall. Stephanie nodded and Paul put all his emotions into that last kiss as so did Stephanie. When they both finally pulled away, Paul kissed Stephanie on the forehead and opened the car door for her. Stephanie got into the car and started it. Paul closed her car door and backed away from the car. "I guess I will see you then" said Paul as he watched her drive off. "Yeah, see you later, Paul!" said Stephanie as she rolled her window up and drove off. Paul watched as she disappeared around the corner of the street. Paul got into his car and just sat there and broke down. "I lost her! I lost the best part of my life. It's safe to say that I lost my life" said Paul as he wiped his eyes and headed home.
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