Shattered By Broken Dreams

Sydney walked into the kitchen with the intent to give Johnny a piece of her mind, but what she ended up giving him instead was not only a piece of her mind, but a little purple box. One that he’d only seen once before many many many years ago and as the years went by since, he’d never expected to ever see that box again.

She set the box down on the counter in front of him and folded her arms across her chest waiting silently while he opened it. He already knew what the box held, but to appease her, he opened the lid revealing the Skeleton Key.

“What do you want, Sydney?” something told him that by her returning the key to him, this wasn’t going to be a typical request. It was Sydney after all and she was anything, but typical.

She sat down on a stool at the counter and tried to think of the right way to say what was on her mind without letter her emotions take over knowing it would get ugly if they did.

“Remember when I came here, Johnny? How you were the one who was too stupid to check the bathroom of the gas station to make sure no one was inside?”

“Yeah, I remember” he nodded.

“Do you regret that day?” she asked.

“No even for a minute” he shook his head as he took the key out of the box.

“Because of your stupidity, I found a home and a man who loves me with all his heart and in truth I will be forever grateful to you for that. However, there is something else that is about to happen because of your stupidity and I wont ever be able to forgive you for it.”

“What are you talking about?” he asked

“Well, let me ask you this. Do you think Kelli would be proud of you right now?”

“Sydney, don’t go there.” He warned.

“Oh, I am going to go there and you will listen to me. It may get me in hot water with my husband, but I am willing to risk it. Kelli is dead Johnny. Has been for over 20 years and you have to let go! Riley has been the one constant in your life and I know she isn’t by any stretch a replacement for your first wife, but she deserves to be loved just as much if not more.”

“Sydney” he said her name with a hint of a warning in his voice to let her know she was about to go too far.

“Jonathan” she said mocking him. “That key entitles me to one request and as I recall that request was what ever I want it to be.”

“Well, get to it so I can get it over with because you are really beginning to piss me off” he said putting the key in his pocket.

She stood up and leaned over the counter speaking in a low, but serious tone. “I want you to go upstairs and stop your wife from making the biggest mistake of her life. In one hour she is leaving for her doctor’s appointment, but this isn’t your regular pre-natal visit Johnny. She’s having an abortion because somewhere in the back of her mind she really believes it’s what you want and through your whole marriage all she has ever done is what she believes would make you happy. I have never met anyone who sacrificed everything for love the way that girl has and this is the ultimate sacrifice, one I know she wont be able to recover from. If you don’t wake the fuck up, you will lose another wife.”

Having said her peace, she got up and walked out of the kitchen leaving him there dumbfounded. He did tell Riley he didn’t want the baby, but he figured once the idea of her being pregnant set in he would eventually change his mind, the thought of her having an abortion was not something he was expecting nor was he ready for.

---

In their bedroom, Riley was sitting on their bed putting her shoes on when Johnny walked through the door. When she finished she got up off the bed and walked across the room as if he never even entered and picked up her hairbrush. As she stood in front of the mirror, she brushed her damp hair while he walked over and leaned against the wall.

“Going out?” he pretended to act curious while knowing where she was going all along.

“Yeah, but I shouldn’t be long” she said.

“Want some company?”

“No thanks” she smiled weakly.

She put down the hairbrush and walked back over to the bed to pick up her purse.

“Can you give me a few minutes?” he asked.

She turned to face him. “Johnny, I really don’t have a few minutes. I have to leave in 10”

“10 is good” he nodded and held out his hand for her to take. “I want to show you something”

She took his hand a little leery and wondered what he was up to. He simply pulled her over to where he was standing and stood behind her. “What is it Johnny?” she asked before looking down at her watch.

“That” he said pointing to a photo of him and Kelli. A photo that sat on their dresser every day for as long as he could remember, yet there was not a single photo of the two of them.

She sighed uncomfortably “What about it?” she asked feeling like he was rubbing her nose in happier times.

He moved up closer so that her back was now to his chest and put one arm around her waist and with the other he took the photo and laid it face down. “What are you doing?” she asked confused.

“Loving you for a change”

She turned to face him still with his arm around her waist. “I don’t understand” he was acting a little to strange for her taste.

“I, by all counts am a complete moron. At the worst time in my life when I thought it was over in walks this one person who did everything she possibly could to make things easier for me. Loved me, cooked for me, took care of me and raised a baby that wasn’t even hers and I never once said than you.”

“Johnny, you….”

“Shhh” he said and put his finger up to her lips. “All you did was love me and I held back the love I should have given you in return all along. I’m sorry, Riley. I do love you more than you could ever know, but how would you know because I never showed you how much? Is it too late? Do you still love me?” he asked afraid of what she would say.

“Of course” she nodded.

“Good” he smiled and breathed a sigh of relief. “From today on, I promised I am going to spoil you rotten and I’ll never take you for granted again.” He hugged her and kissed the top of her head. “I want a son this time” he whispered.

“What?” she said looking up at him.

“I want a son” he smiled

“Would you love it any less if it were a daughter?” she asked afraid that if it were a girl he wouldn’t want it.

“Not a chance. I may need to retain a therapist though” She laughed and hugged him tighter.

After he pulled back from her he looked at her very seriously. “Now, you were going somewhere?”

She lowered her gaze to the ground. “Johnny, I was…” she started to say

“I know” he smiled weakly. “Its ok” he said and kissed her like he never kissed her before.

She never made it to her “appointment” then again, neither one made it out of the room for the rest of the day.

--

Brian…

“How could you do this to your mother!” he shouted on the other end of the phone.

“Dad, stop yelling at me or I will hang up”

“Melody, you are coming home. I am flying out there tomorrow to come and get you.”

“NO!” she yelled. “I wont be here when you get here if you do.”

“You’re 16 not 26. I am still your father and you still have to do what I say!” he warned.

“Yeah, like sit in my bedroom for the rest of my life being grounded?”

“Melody, you can’t stay there by yourself.”

“Dad! All of the kids here are living away from their parents. Why cant I? Why can’t you let me have this one thing? I never ask you for anything! I never once complained that you were never around when I was a kid because your band took priority. I never once felt sorry for myself when all the girls at school brought their dads to the father daughter dance and I got stuck with Lyric. You owe me this, dad. Did you even bother to look at my sketchbook? I left it there on purpose.”

“Mel…. I”

“Of course you didn’t. Well, dad. I have to go, I have a class in 10 minutes. Tell mom I said hi and I’ll call her later.”

She didn’t even wait for a reply from him. She hung up the phone before he could say anything.

He set his phone down on the coffee table and looked over at his wife who still hadn’t gone to sleep.

“She isn’t coming home” he said and Stormy nodded wiping a tear from her face. “We can go visit and make sure she’s ok. If she’s not then we will bring her home, I promise ok?”

She still hadn’t said a word. She just moved over and rested her head in his lap and closed her eyes.
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