Chapter 2

Chapter 2- What the hell? Are you Insane?

 

"Excuse me? Your kids? Hah! If they were your kids, you'd actually visit. Call. You don't. Your not a dad. Your a b*****d. Not a father. You dont deserve to be a father. These are my kiddos now. Fine! Take me to court you drunkie. I should win this easily. I will do my all for these kids. I will win them. you will not touch them. You hear me? You will not touch them!" I said, realizing one second too late that I was crying. And even worse, all 3 little heads in the backseat popped up with questions. Questions that didn't need to be answered. Not now, not today, not ever.

"was that Daddy? Daddy never calls." Clara said.

"Dad? We have a dad?" peter said.

"Yes we have a dad stupid. He's just, not around." Chris said in return.

I shook my head and kept driving. I would not let this worry me. There was no way he could get the kids. Right? Right. I was just overreacting. Big time.

"Hey Mommy. Do we have to see Daddy?" Peter asked me, his voice a little wobbly.

"No baby. I won't let that happen. Don't worry. Mommy-Wait, You called me Mommy. Peter, you called me mommy. Not Layla. Not La. You called me Mommy. Wow." I Said, feeling powerless. I was overcome by that. I didn't expect it. And it made me feel good, fuzzy inside. It caught me offguard. It was the first time anyone of them had called me Mommy. And at the same time, I hated it. It made me realize that my mother was really gone. She wasn't coming back. All of that hope was for nothing. It wasn't a dream. It was reality. And sometimes, reality sucked. That moment, I was flushed with emotions. I couldn't speak, I could barely breathe. And then I compeltely lost it. My head filled with images of Scott. Scott and I at the park. Feeding Scott. Hugging Scott. Kissing Scott. Changing his diapers. I felt tears slid down my cheeks once more. I felt so dry inside, considering I haven't cried to stay strong for the kids. A girl could only stay strong for so long. It was break-down point. Big time.

"Laya, don't cry. It'll be okay. Were a family. We can get through this, together." Chris's voice came on strong and clear. He was amazing. A 7 year old was stronger emotionally, than I had ever thought. Than I had ever imagined. He would make such a good father, boyfriend, husband when he was older. I was compelety postivie on that thought. "Thank you Chris.You have no idea how much better that makes me feel." I said with true honesty ringing out of my voice. I was feeling better. Already. Just because of one comment. He was right. We would all be fine. If we always had each other like this, we could all be perfectly fine. We could mourn their deaths together, and soon be able to talk about them without crying.

Home. They say home is where the heart is. My heart's in heaven. Home is up there. Not the dumpy apartment in the middle of crime central. I couldn't wait to move out. We went home and all took a nap. Then woke up, and packed. and packed. And packed. And packed.

We didn't do much the next 3 weeks. We continued packing, had a yard sale, and slept. Had the funeral. The saddest experience I've ever been through. Oh yeah, we ate too. That's it. Week after week passed. And then it was finally the day. The day we moved out of here. We got a uhaul truck and moved up to our sunnyside apartments. A good home. A clean, healty enviorment. With other kids. So they could play, they wouldn't be stuck with just me. We got everything moved that day. It was hard. But we all worked together, and it went perfectly. By the next day, we had everything unpacked. One room was completely empty for the roommate that hopefully would be staying.

3 calls happened that day. 3 stressfull, amazing, and calm calls.

"Layla Reedman? Hi, I'm Seth mccauther. I saw your ad for the roommate. I love kids, and I would be glad to move in. when can I?"

"Layla. I'll see you in court on March 24th. Don't you forget it. 11 Am. Bring the kids. I can't wait to see you. I've missed you."

"Layla,honey. Are you out of your mind? Taking the kids to court? I don't think you can win that fight. We can try though. I hope you got the information. I'll see you then. Be ready, and bring your all. And the kids."

3 Calls. I was happy, speechless, and confused. One girl couldn't handle all of this in 1 day. My roommate- a guy- was moving in, in less than a week. My dad told me he missed me. Ha, yeah right. And my lawyer doesn't think I can get my kids. Hence, MY kids!

3 calls.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3 stupid calls.

 

 

 

 

 

I wish I had 0 calls. Not 4, not 3, but 0. I hate phone calls.

I hate my dad.

 

I hated everything right then.

Well, expect for the kids of course.

 

I told the kids about the roommate and they were estatic. Jumping up and down, I told them it was a guy and he would be moving in, in about a week or so. Their reaction was hilarious. "Ohhhhh. A boy is moving in!" Peter said all flirty. They all thought I was finding a roommate was because I was lonely. They didn't know it was because I needed the money to keep them and feed them. And to pay rent, buy clothes. Everything like that. I was in a fight for my life. A fight for my kids. A fight I knew I was gonna win. I wouldn't let myself lose. I had already gone through so much that now I stood for what I wanted. I didn't and wouldn't back down. I didn't care if it was hurting the person I was battling with. It was my life, and nobody else controlled it. I was in control for once. In a scary happy way, I was glad that my mom and Scott had died. I knew it wasn't to punish me for hating everything. It was to make me realize that I had hated everything because I wasn't anyone. I didn't know who I was. It was so I could find myself. And I'm glad I finally realized that. I shouldv'e a long time ago. At the same time, it made me want to hate everything even more. I felt so lost without her. Without Scott. I felt like I had been robbed of my life. I felt like I was dying inside little by little. That's why I couldn't lose Clara, peter, or Chris. They were holding my fragile self together. And now, with the court order, I needed it alot. I was being broken. This road to keep them was very hard, it was destroying me. Mentally, Physically, and Emotionally. It was so unreal, but so surreal at the same time. It was bad and amazing combined. I kept thinking that maybe it was all an educated dream. That soon, I would wake up and everything would be okay. I would just need to make some changes. But it wasn't a dream. I was living it, and I was 225% postitive that it was all very real.

 

When you looked at my life, it had no excuse to be treated different. Bad stuff happened to everyone at some point. some worse than others. Some couldn't be solved, and some could be solved. Some people were left a disaster for the rest of their lives. Some people became normal shortly, and was on the road for the better. I didn't want pity or help. I wanted to figure everything out everything by myself. without the help. Help I probably could use but did not want at all. I was stuck in between never getting better, and getting better fast. It was like I was a car stuck in traffic. I couldn't go back, I would go forward sooner or later, but at that time I was stuck in that one place. Every night, I was caught up in thought. I couldn't move on, I couldn't go back. And it was literally killing my brain. Frying it. I knew how to make it stop. Soon, it would stop. But for the time being, it was just happening. I had to deal. It wouldn't change. Somehow, I would weave my way through. Sew up the brokenness, and be okay. somehow, someday I would.

"Sissy, the door. Sissy, wake up. Wake up." I heard and groaned. "No sissy. Get up. Come on, get up." I heard again. I rolled over and opened my eyes to look at Clara. "What honey? whatcha need?" I asked. "The door. Somebody's knocing." she said, her sweet voice ringing in my ears. I got up and looked at the clock. Oh my gosh, it was almost 12. I got up, and went to door and opened it. The sight in my doorway was mouth dropping. "Uh, hi. Are you Layla Reedman?" the guy asked me. "Yeah. That would be, I suppose. Who are you?" I asked bewildered in my own mind. "I'm Seth McCauther. I wanted to know if it was okay if I moved in later today. Maybe I should of called first?" he looked at me. God, I must of looked horrible. "Uh, no. you're fine. come in. Take a look around. your free to move in whenever. If you need us out of the way, I can take them somewhere. Or we could help. I mean, either way I'm fine with it. It's no biggie. I can do either or. Okay, maybe I can shut up now." I said embarssed. "Do you always ramble that much?" he asked me showing a perfect-tooth grin. "Well, can I not answer that?" He nodded and I smiled, and blushed. I was so embarssed. Clara ran out of her room. "PETER, IT'S THE BOY!" she screamed at the top of her lungs. Seth laughed, and Peter ran in followed by Chris. "These are my er, kids. Clara, Peter, and Chris. Say hi guys." I said introducing them one by one. They jumped up and down around him, so excited that he was finally here. He smiled and talked to them, and answered their non-stop questions. He liked kids. I could tell. He handled them so well. "I could use you guys help. I don't have much. But help would be nice. If you don't mind." he said looking up at me. "No. I don't mind. We don't have anything else to do today. So it's fine." I said. "Just if you let me take a shower first, that would be nice." Laughing, he said, "Yeah that's fine. Hey, I'll watch the kids while you go get ready. We can all go out to lunch and then back to my place to get all my stuff. My treat." I smiled and hesiasted. I barely knew the guy, and I was gonna let him watch my kids. "uh, sure. I'll be fast." I said making a decision before my brain could tell me not to. I walked off into the privacy of my own room, and took a shower. I thought about him the whole time. My kids loved him. This is great. Then, I thought about how cute he was as I brushed my teeth, applied my makeup, and did my hair. He was preppy in a chill sorta way. He wore denim jeans, and t-shirts. Flipflops, and he wore sunglasses. His perfectly tan body was muscular, and he had a few scars. Scars that told stories, and made you imagine how he got them. He had perfect teeth, and his eyes glowed. They were a warm brown. I just smiled and walked back out. Peter was watching television. chris was playing his Gameboy that he had gotten four Christmas's before. And clara was playing dolls with Seth. I giggled a bit. clara tends to do that. She loves playing dolls with people. Its quite funny. "I'm just gonna get Clara and peter ready. Chris, go get ready. And then we can leave." I said looking at Seth. I walked back to their rooms and called clara. I got her dressed in and then called Peter. Peter picked out what he wanted to wear, and of course, as usual it did not match. I giggled again, and then made sure chris had listened. We all left, and as I locked up I could of sworn I had seen Seth steal a glance at me. I smiled and told myself that today was a good day.

He took us out to Arby's. I laughed at the thought of a guy treating my family to lunch. The kids ordered something, and then I did. I thanked him over and over and over again. The kids wanted to sit at their own booth so I let them. And I took the nearest table. Seth sat in front of me. "so, explain the scars to me." I said curious. "Well, which one? They all have different stories." "Uh, the one on your neck." I said honestly. I was very curious about that particular scar. "Oh that one. Well, that would be because of a cat. I made it really mad, and it scratched at my face. It was really bad. I haven't messed with a cat since." he said lightly touching it. "Oh. That's bad." I said. Was that the best I could really do? That's all I could say, was "Oh. That's bad." I was pathetic. I was so not sympathic. "So, where do you work?" He asked me going onto a different subject. "Now that I think about it, nowhere. I need to get a job though. Have to afford these little munchins." I said. Oh my gosh, I just got so much lamer. who says Munchins?

We all went to his place, and it was very small. He had a ton of boxes though. So, we piled them up into his truck. His perfect blue truck.

I was looking at his empty apartment, and turned around only to find my lips brushd against his. "Oh. Um. I didn't mean. Uh. I. I'm sorry." I said stuttering before walking off. "Uh, wow. okay. That was odd." I heard Seth say. I so didn't plan that. I don't even know if I liked it. I didn't mean to. Was he really that close? why was he that close anyways? This wasn't all my fault. I turned around to fast, he was too close. His lips were soft though. And he kinda tasted like a cherry. But, no. He was my roommate. Now things would be all weird. Oh damn. I was stupid.

Thank goodness the kids had been outside. They would have been falling over laughing by now. They would've found it hilarious. But things would be very odd between Seth and I now. he hasn't even moved in yet. "Kids, lets go! We will meet Seth at the house." I screamed loud enough for even Seth to here. "Bye Kiddos. Thanks Layla. I'll see you at the apartments. Bye Layla. Bye kids." Seth said with a hint of confusion in his eyes. He didn't know how to handle it either. Just like him, I drew a blank. I waved, and got the kids situatued in the car. Silently, we started our drive home. The kids didn't ask any questions for once. They were silent. I heard a muffled sniffle and looked back. chris was holding Peter close. Real close. "Peter, what's wrong baby?" I asked. "since Seth is moving in, it makes things clear. Mommy and Scott are really gone. They aren't ever coming back. They are gone forever." Chris answered for Peter. "Yes, you are right. They aren't coming back. But we will be okay. It will all be fine. Don't worry. We are strong, and we can make it. They are watching over us in heavan." I said trying to calm Peter down. He nodded and let out a few whimpers. "So, La, your birthday is in like a month." Chris said, as I noticed he was the first one to mention that fact. "Well, it's only January 28th, so lets not worry about it. Thanks for remembering kiddo." I said smiling.

We got home, and turned on the TV for the kids to watch for a bit. They ended up watching Blues Clues, and when that was over, Hannah Montana. About an hour later, Seth pulled up. He came up to our door, and knocked. when I answered the door, he was carrying 3 boxes. I held the door open for him, as he put them down in his room. "Thanks. Just hold the door open as I bring boxes up." he said as he started towards the door. "That's silly. I'll help you. I can put the brick from outside at the door to keep it open." I said then told the kids I would be right back. We walked to his truck, and started to unload more boxes. As I reached for a box he said, "Layla." I looked back at him and said, "Yes?" "About earlier." he said. My throat quickly closed up. "No Seth. There isn't anything to talk about. Just, no." I rasped out. "Layla. Come on. We need to talk about it." Seth said pushing it. "Seth. I said No. There's nothing to talk about. It was just an accident!" I said more stable now. "Layla! But it's worth talking about!" he said still not giving up. "Seth! No! That's final." I said very irratied. "Layla. Look at me." he said more calm. I turned around. He cupped his hands around my face and leaned in and kissed me. I got a little too into it and I pulled away. "Now that was no accident. Let's talk about this." he said. I decided to take a different method. I grabbed a box and walked it up to his room. I didn't say a word to him. I just kept unloading boxes. As I walked down to get the last box, Seth grabbed it. "Layla. come on. Don't be like this. You know you liked it just as much as I did." he said to me. "I didn't get a roommate to start a relationship with. I got one so I could give my kids a good lifestyle. Seth, I have 3 kids! This isn't about you and me. This is about them! They are my priotery. I know I liked it. But this is about the kids. They come first. I'm sorry." I said before turning my back on him.

"Kids, what do you want for dinner?" I asked them turning off the Tv. "Grilled cheese!!!!" they all screamed. I laughed and told them the order was in. Seth walked in and I decided to actually talk to him. "Seth, do you want a grilled cheese?" I asked. He nodded and I gave him a weak smile. He turned around and faced the kids. "so guys, what would you think If I liked your mommy? would you be okay with that?" Seth asked. I stopped dead in my footsteps. He was not doing what I thought he was doing. "would you be okay if her and I became boyfriend and girlfriend?" he said. Oh but he was. I turned around angry. "No! That would be cool!" Chris said as he looked at my face. I bit my lip as the other two kids said YAY! Seth got up and turned around to face me. He shrugged and smiled. He said, "They are fine with it. What more is to it?" I put down the bread and walked over to him. I pulled him by his shirt into his room. "What the hell Seth? Are you insane? Why did you ask them that? Are you fricken insane?" I said angry. He pulled me close and kissed me gently. "Yes, Im very insane. Layla, I did that cause I want you. Mmm. I want you." He said as he kissed me again. I pushed him off. "No. I have to find a babysitter so I can go back to school. I'm sorry. Seth, we just aren't going to happen." I said before walking out. I made dinner, and everybody ate in silence. After that, I got the kids to bed and picked up the phone. There was a local babysitter that lvied in the apartments and we talked. I hired her and she said she could work as soon as that Wednesday. Then I called the school and let them know I would be back that Wednesday. Everything was happening the way it was supposed to. "Need help with the dishes Layla?" I heard Seth's voice ask me. "Uh, sure. If you want to." I said nicely. He had kissed me on the spot twice today. He had me mor confused then ever.

"So, your going back to school? Wednesday? I can watch the kids some too, for free. While you do homework, study, ya know. School stuff. I dont mind. They are really cute. Clara looks alot like you. Peter must look like his dad. And Chris looks like his mom. Well, his real mom. They showed me pictures. And told me what happened. I'm really sorry. It must be hard." Seth said. I bit my lip and just said," It is hard." "I really am sorry. I can imagine how diffucult it must be." he said again. "Don't be sorry. Bad stuff happens all the time." I said as a single tear dropped out of the corner of my eye. He dropped the pan with a bang, and pulled me close. "Don't cry. It'll be okay. I'm here now. You have help now. I want to help you and the kids. I barely know you, and I think i'm falling in love with you." Seth said. I thought about that and It made me cry harder. I sniffled and looked up at him. I leaned in and kissed him. I don't know what made me do that. I just kissed him. And kissed him. And kissed him. As I pulled away, Seth pulled me back. Not into a kiss, but into his arms. "Seth, we are attracted to each other." I finally admitted. "Took you long enough to say. Oh Layla, I think this could work. you and me. And the kids. I want you and them. I want all of you." he said. "Oh Seth, you barely know me. Think about that really hard. Make sure it's what you want. Im something you've never dated. I'll send you into a whirlwind. You don't know what your messing with. Goodnight." I said before walking off to my room. Today had been interesting, confusing. And it took my mind off life entirely. Maybe, I was starting to find myself. Maybe everything was getting better. But knowing me, right when everything got good, it crashed. That thought made me scared. But maybe this time would be different. But hey, I doubt it. I was ready to face the unknown.

 

 

 

Reviews

[Mary Greenwell]

I really like the concept of this story. I'm finding it a little hard to believe though. Maybe you could make Layla older? I just don't see a court agreeing to let a sixteen year old even keep her three younger siblings for a little bit, especially after something so traumatic happened. Are sixteen year old's even old enough to get an apartment without a cosigner?

I think that if you made Layla older maybe eighteen then it would be a little more believable. I really like the idea though.

Also this story would be easier to read if you started a new paragraph during dialogues. You know start a new paragraph each time a different speaker starts.

Other than that it's really good. You are a great writer.