Rum and Coke

“You heard me,” Michelle said calmly, even though there was a bite in her tone.

“No, I didn’t, you must be mistaken,” Brian replied.

Michelle laughed and shook her head. “I love you, but you can be so fucking dense sometimes.”

“What are you trying to say?”

“I’m saying that you’re fucking blind, Haner,” Michelle raised her voice. “How can you not see that that girl out there looks exactly like you? How can you not remember those eyes? Those are the same exact eyes that Danni had, you twat! That’s your daughter out there, you dumbass!” Michelle nearly screamed as she pointed at the window that looked over the backyard.

“I don’t have a daughter. You never gave me one,” Brian said like the stubborn-ass he was.

“I didn’t…but Danni did. Just get it through your thick skull. She left here pregnant…with your daughter.”

Brian was speechless.

Michelle took a deep breath before continuing. “I remember the look on her face the day that I sent you off for the 2009 tour. It was filled with hurt, confusion, and betrayal. I knew then what you were doing when you told me that you were out with the guys. I thought, eventually you would tell me…but we got married and that day never came.” Michelle rubbed the chills off her arms before patting his knee.“Your past is finally coming back to haunt you. I hope you know how to vanquish ghosts and get rid of all the skeletons in your closet…because, honey, there sure is a hell of them,” she said, her eyes piercing as she made her way to the door. “I suggest you open up your eyes, maybe then you’ll see what we’ve been seeing all along.” She said before exiting the small room, leaving Brian alone with his thoughts.

Brian was completely shocked at what his wife just said. He put his head in his hands and thought about everything. That brat can’t have been mine, he mulled to himself. I refuse to believe it. But the rational side took over and he realized his mistake. Of course she’s Danni’s- they have the same eyes, the same lips, the same goddamn heart breaking smile. She’s a fighter- just like Danni…and she can fucking play the guitar- hell, she even has the same playing style!

Grumbling, Brian made his way down the stairs. He hesitated before going back outside, instead deciding to watch everyone and get a sense of his surroundings. Jimmy and Matt were nursing their beers over by the grill, chatting and laughing like they always did. The other band’s bassist was over there, too. The wives were lounging about on the pool chairs with their rhythm guitarist, most likely gossiping. Brian noticed that Michi was the loudest out of all of them- that made him smile. Zacky and the other band’s drummer were teaching a few of the kids how to catch and throw a baseball around. Kay, Bri, and David were sitting at the edge of the pool with her- the girl that was causing so much trouble- laughing and joking like they had known each other for a long time.

She flipped her hair behind her shoulder and turned to face the others so that she could see them better. Brian’s heart sunk when he saw her smile and her eyes. Brian could see her mother in the way that she acted. Brian couldn’t deny it any longer- they had the same laugh, same nervous habits, same smile…same fucking sparkling eyes. It was getting too much for him to bear.

Suddenly, a large black blur went barreling in front of Brian. He didn’t really know what was happening until he heard a splash followed by a string of obscenities.

“Ryan Michael Reynolds! I’m going to fucking kill you!” Ellie screamed from the pool before launching on her band mate and forcing his head under the water. They were both still fully clothed.

Bailey tried to hide her laughter. “Hey, Skank! Don’t kill him! We both know that you’re too lazy to find another drummer!”

“We don’t need to find another drummer! I’ll do it!” Ellie screamed back, climbing further onto Ryan’s shoulders and somehow sitting on his head.

Bailey scoffed. “So, you’re going to sing, play the lead parts on your guitar, and drum? Elle, you can’t keep a beat to save your life!”

Everyone, except Bailey, Ellie, and of course, Ryan, roared in laughter. Brian had to admit, it was pretty funny to watch, and even funnier to try and picture.

“Fine then! We’ll get Rev to fill in!” Ellie screamed back as she continued to try to dunk the drummer.

“Pft. He’s too fucking lazy!” Leanna piped up from her recliner.

Jimmy scoffed and mumbled something along the lines of “that’s not what you said last night.”

“Hey, Crazy? You realize that I can dunk you right now, right?” Ryan asked from under her. He was laughing as he tried to look up at her. He was pretty unsuccessful.

“Hey, dumbass, you realize that I can kill you with my thighs, right?” she shot back, trying to force him under again. It was obviously an inside joke. She quickly gave up and settled on her drummer’s shoulders.

“Alright guys, knock it out,” Mark said, a hint of worry creeping into his voice.

“Pft. I’m not complaining. I got a hot chick on me!” Ryan shouted as he turned to talk to Johnny, who moved to the side of the pool.

“That is a yes, he does like girls that can outperform him and dominate in bed,” Ellie giggled, wiggling around and making her friend turn scarlet.

“Ellie! Not in public!” Ryan yelled, slapping her upper thigh.

“Not my fault that you like your girls on top. Besides, you opened yourself up willingly to that one, my dearest twin.”

Twin? Brian questioned in his head. Ryan looks nothing like Danni or I.

“True,” Ryan said with a shrug as he started to sway back and forth.

Everyone returned to their original conversations.

“Hey, how deep does this pool go?” Ellie asked as she looked around.

“Eighteen feet by the board. Why?” Matt replied.

“I wanna try something,” she replied with a shrug. Brian could tell that it was all an act. Inside, she was screaming in excitement. She was so much like her mother, that it hurt Brian to look at her now. “Hey, loser, turn around so that you’re facing the shallow end.” He complied. By the look on his face, you could tell that he wanted to protest, but had lost so many arguments to her already that he had just given up trying to instill reason into her. “That’s good, don’t move.” Before anyone could protest, her feet were on his shoulders and she was standing up. On instinct, he held onto her feet to provide her with some more support.

“Damn, I’ve never seen anyone move that fast! Are you a gymnast or something?” Gena asked, her eyes big as she leaned forward.

“Or something. My mom made me take every single dance class that I could when I was little. I was a child dance prodigy- I could do any move that you could think of and then some all by the time I turned twelve.” Ellie replied from her perch on Ryan’s shoulders. She was clearly fearless, a trait that comes when you are completely secure in your abilities and willingness to push your body past it’s physical limits over and over again.

“Ellie, get down now. It’s not like you’re showing off at school in your one piece. You’re soaked and so is Ryan,” Mark shouted.

She glared down at the bassist. “When are you going to learn how to live?” she asked before doing a back-flip off of the drummer’s shoulders and landing perfectly in the water. She came out a few seconds later by the stairs. Shoulders tense, she snatched the towel that Val offered her and continued stalking toward Brian as she dried herself off.

“Nice dismount,” Brian told her with a small smile.

“I suggest you move before I make a habit out of punching you every damn time I see you,” she growled under her breath.

Taken a back, Brian stepped out of her way and watched as she trudged into the house.

“You should know better by now, man,” Ryan said to Mark after she disappeared. Once he got out of the pool, he graciously took a towel from Val. He pat the bassist on the shoulder before returning to the field with Zacky and the kids.

“Is it me, or was that a little uncalled for?” Matt voiced all of our silent questions.

Ryan shrugged and turned around to face the group. “Ellie has a mind of her own. If you tell her not to do something, then she’ll do it. She has this insane drive to piss everyone off. I don’t know, that’s the best I can explain it,” he added with a shrug.

“Oh, because that makes perfect sense,” Brian said with a roll of his eyes, finally emerging from his hiding spot. He walked over to Mich and knelt down beside her. “I’m so sorry,” He whispered in her ear. “For everything, but I promise that I’m going to try to make it better.” He waited for her to nod in agreement before he kissed the top of her head.