Status: slowly active O:
Romance and Regrets
CUATRO
“Kindle, you’re on in five,” Noah informed, as I sat in Paige’s break room, strumming chords on my guitar as my stomach is twisted into a very intricate set of knots.
I looked up at him and gave him a weak smile, “Shoot me.”
He sat down next to me on the couch. “You're nervous.”
“Good observation, Sherlock,” I teased.
“Well,” he said. “You shouldn’t be. You're amazing and I know they’re gonna love you.”
“You're not such a good liar, Noah,” I patted his back and laughed.
“I'm not lying!” he protested. “Now get your skinny little butt out there and blow those people away!”
I stuck my tongue out at him, picked my guitar up, and headed out into the dinning room of Paige’s. I made my way to the front where our make-shift stage was set up. I sat down on the stool and looked out at the crowd. There was about a good fifty people here. Mostly younger, college kids, but there were some high school kids, and parents. But the two people that caught my eye were John O’Callaghan and the person sitting in his lap, my daughter Emilee.
My hands gripped my guitar tightly when John's eyes met mine and he sent a devilish smirk my way. I wanted to march right off the stage and smash my guitar on his head!
How did he even find Emilee? She lives with my mother. She thinks my mother is her mother. Which may or may not have been such a good choice, but I just wasn’t ready to be a mother at eighteen and we decided that was the right thing to do. And now, I'm pretty sure John's just ruined everything.
Trying to ignore John and his incredible knack for being an asshole, I put on a smile and said into the microphone, “Hey everybody. I’m Kindle and I'm really thankful you guys all came, you’re all in for some really good music, and coffee, I promise. Well, I’ll get this thing started off by singing a song by a wonderful little band called The Ready Set. This song’s called ‘Soular Flares’.”
My shaking fingers strummed the first cords and I began to sing.
~
After I was done singing, I had done two encores; I stomped right over to John, took Emilee off of him, and asked, “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
“I think we need to talk, Kindle,” he said, giving me a serious look.
“Well, start talking,” I balanced Emilee on my right hip and smoothed out her dirty blonde hair.
He stood up from his chair and got close to me, “Alone.”
“I can't just leave Em here all by herself, genius” I told him. Clearly he didn’t have what it took to be a father.
“Give her to Garrett,” he motioned to the boy who was sitting in the chair next to him.
That was Garrett? I didn’t even recognize him!
“Oh, Garrett, I'm so sorry—I didn’t know that was you!” I felt myself flush a light pink.
“It’s alright, Kin-Kin,” he smiled at me and I couldn’t help but smile back. Garrett and I were really close friends, but we drifted apart when John had decided he no longer wanted to be part of my life. “I didn’t even recognize you either.”
“Now is not the time to catch up,” John interrupted, taking Emilee off of me, and handing her to Garrett. “Let’s go,” he grabbed my hand and dragged me into the kitchen.
Once the doors were closed, John grabbed me by my shoulders. “You're Emilee’s sister!?”
“I wasn’t ready to be a mother, John,” I explained, shaking his arms off of me.
“So you just lied to your daughter?” he hissed, looking down right furious.
“At least I have been a part of her life!” I snapped.
“Get over that, Kindle,” he said, calming down. “I'm here now, aren’t I?”
“It doesn’t matter, John. Maybe if you would have just been her father from the start, she wouldn’t think I'm sister now.”
“You weren’t ready to be her mother, either,” he defended himself.
“I would have been if I wasn’t all alone!” I could feel the tears streaming down my cheeks. “I can't tell you how many times I've cried myself to sleep because of you, how many times I wished that you wouldn’t have left me, how many times I felt like the biggest idiot in the world because I thought I actually meant something to you.”
Before I knew what was happening John crashed his lips onto mine.
I looked up at him and gave him a weak smile, “Shoot me.”
He sat down next to me on the couch. “You're nervous.”
“Good observation, Sherlock,” I teased.
“Well,” he said. “You shouldn’t be. You're amazing and I know they’re gonna love you.”
“You're not such a good liar, Noah,” I patted his back and laughed.
“I'm not lying!” he protested. “Now get your skinny little butt out there and blow those people away!”
I stuck my tongue out at him, picked my guitar up, and headed out into the dinning room of Paige’s. I made my way to the front where our make-shift stage was set up. I sat down on the stool and looked out at the crowd. There was about a good fifty people here. Mostly younger, college kids, but there were some high school kids, and parents. But the two people that caught my eye were John O’Callaghan and the person sitting in his lap, my daughter Emilee.
My hands gripped my guitar tightly when John's eyes met mine and he sent a devilish smirk my way. I wanted to march right off the stage and smash my guitar on his head!
How did he even find Emilee? She lives with my mother. She thinks my mother is her mother. Which may or may not have been such a good choice, but I just wasn’t ready to be a mother at eighteen and we decided that was the right thing to do. And now, I'm pretty sure John's just ruined everything.
Trying to ignore John and his incredible knack for being an asshole, I put on a smile and said into the microphone, “Hey everybody. I’m Kindle and I'm really thankful you guys all came, you’re all in for some really good music, and coffee, I promise. Well, I’ll get this thing started off by singing a song by a wonderful little band called The Ready Set. This song’s called ‘Soular Flares’.”
My shaking fingers strummed the first cords and I began to sing.
~
After I was done singing, I had done two encores; I stomped right over to John, took Emilee off of him, and asked, “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
“I think we need to talk, Kindle,” he said, giving me a serious look.
“Well, start talking,” I balanced Emilee on my right hip and smoothed out her dirty blonde hair.
He stood up from his chair and got close to me, “Alone.”
“I can't just leave Em here all by herself, genius” I told him. Clearly he didn’t have what it took to be a father.
“Give her to Garrett,” he motioned to the boy who was sitting in the chair next to him.
That was Garrett? I didn’t even recognize him!
“Oh, Garrett, I'm so sorry—I didn’t know that was you!” I felt myself flush a light pink.
“It’s alright, Kin-Kin,” he smiled at me and I couldn’t help but smile back. Garrett and I were really close friends, but we drifted apart when John had decided he no longer wanted to be part of my life. “I didn’t even recognize you either.”
“Now is not the time to catch up,” John interrupted, taking Emilee off of me, and handing her to Garrett. “Let’s go,” he grabbed my hand and dragged me into the kitchen.
Once the doors were closed, John grabbed me by my shoulders. “You're Emilee’s sister!?”
“I wasn’t ready to be a mother, John,” I explained, shaking his arms off of me.
“So you just lied to your daughter?” he hissed, looking down right furious.
“At least I have been a part of her life!” I snapped.
“Get over that, Kindle,” he said, calming down. “I'm here now, aren’t I?”
“It doesn’t matter, John. Maybe if you would have just been her father from the start, she wouldn’t think I'm sister now.”
“You weren’t ready to be her mother, either,” he defended himself.
“I would have been if I wasn’t all alone!” I could feel the tears streaming down my cheeks. “I can't tell you how many times I've cried myself to sleep because of you, how many times I wished that you wouldn’t have left me, how many times I felt like the biggest idiot in the world because I thought I actually meant something to you.”
Before I knew what was happening John crashed his lips onto mine.