Brave the Storm and Embrace the Rain

The skatepark the next day was seeming to be quite uneventful. The guys weren't there and my little brothers were reeking havoc on all the other little kids. So I sat in the B Park and watched as they skated around, calling out to me the names of the tricks that they were attempting to do.

"Wyler! Watch out!" I shouted when I noticed him skating right towards a younger boy.

"What?" Wyly replied, not paying any attention to where he was going.

I closed my eyes when he rammed into the other kid. I could hear them both fall to the ground and luckily, they were wearing helmets. I jumped up and ran over to Wyler as a concerned mother raced over to her child as well.

"I'm so sorry," I apologized to the woman. Then I picked up Wyler and set him on his feet as Maddox deserted his skateboard and raced over to see if his brother was okay.

The lady, after making sure her little boy was okay, smiled. "It's alright. No harm done."

I breathed a sigh of relief and smiled. "Same here. Wyler is just too much of a reckless skateboarder sometimes."

She laughed, covering her mouth while she did so. "Well, your boys are adorable. Twins, wow, I don't know how you handle the both of them."

My jaw dropped and I wondered if I actually looked old enough to have five year old boys. "Oh no, they're my brothers not my sons."

The woman looked embarrassed for a moment and then spoke. "Oh, I'm sorry. They just look so much like you and all. I've seen you and a man around town before and since he's usually with a kid by himself, I just figured that these were the older brothers. A family."

I was confused. What was she talking about? Eadon? With a baby? It all made no sense to me. I was noticeably stuttering as I thought of the words to say. To ask. There were so many questions on my mind but I couldn't spit one out. I couldn't comprehend anything that my brain was telling me.

"I'm sorry, I don't think I heard you right, can you repeat that?"

The lady looked a little frightened herself. "It's not like I watch you or anything. It's hard not to notice when you and he are together, you're obviously in love. It makes me remember when Fletcher's dad and I were young." She motioned to the light haired little boy before picking him up. "Well, I should be going. I'm sorry if I freaked you out. It's just that you and your husband," she stopped for a moment then corrected herself, wondering which was true, "boyfriend are cute together and your son is adorable."

"Neither of us have children!" I shouted after her, my heart moving so fast in my chest. The next thing I knew I had my cell phone in my hand and I was dialing Eadon's number. It rang, and rang, and then went to voicemail.

Then I got a text, Can't talk right now. I'm busy so text me."

I glared at the message and hit the call back button. Once again it went to voicemail and I got another text from Eadon saying the same thing as the last one.

I replied to this one, my hands shaking as I did so. "Where are you? We need to talk. Right. Now."

It took a while, but Eadon's name started flashing on my phone, signaling a call from him. I answered quickly and angrily.

"What's wrong?" his voice asked on the other end of the line, before I could even say anything.

"Do you have a son?" The words left my lips without any thought over them. I was hoping for a quick, easy reply. A two letter word that starts with 'N' and end with 'O', but that wasn't what I received. Instead, Eadon was silent on the other end, he didn't say a word for two whole minutes and then my world came crashing down.

"Who told you?"

I ignored his question as my heart leapt out of my chest and landed in a bloody mess on the floor. "Why would you keep this from me? Lie to me?"

This voice was quiet as he spoke, and I knew that he was trying to calm me down. "Meet me somewhere so we can talk about it in person. So I can explain."

I shook my head although he couldn't see it. I felt tears in my eyes, threatening to fall and show all the parents who were watching me, what was going on. "I don't want to see you, Eadon."

Eadon sucked in a breath. "Indy, don't do this. Remember, I love you, baby. Don't say that."

The tears were on my cheeks now as I walked out of the little skatepark room. I walked past my Dad and his friends, one of them noticing that I was crying, and alerted my Dad. I walked outside and stood there, staring up at the gray sky. "How do I know that you love me? You've lied to me, Eadon. I just..." I trailed off for a moment as I watched my Dad walk out the front of the building, looking for me. "I just," I continued, "I thought you really did. I thought that I'd be more then a summer fling. I thought that when you told me you loved me, that it meant we'd be together, get married someday, and have babies together."

"And we will!" Eadon shouted into the phone. I could hear the desperation in his voice and it made me cry harder as the sky opened up and began to rain. My Dad was standing beside me now, trying to pull the phone from me. My sobs made it hard to be strong so the phone slipped from my finger tips.

"Who is this?" My Dad asked into the phone. I couldn't hear Eadon's reply but when my Dad spoke next, I knew Eadon was asking for me.

"No, you can't talk to her. She's busy." Then Dad hung up. I lunged forward and wrapped my arms around my Dad's waist.

"Oh baby girl. What happened?"

I just shook my head as my father lead me into the skatepark and to the employee lounge. I laid down on the couch, remembering that this was where Eadon and I hung out the first time. These thoughts made me cry even harder. I watched as my Dad ignored a call on my phone, shut it off, and then slipped it into his pocket.

"I'll be right back," Dad muttered before leaving the room. I laid there for awhile, thinking about Eadon. His face, his hair, his slim body, the way he held me at night. I pictured him standing in front of me with a beautiful smile, then all of a sudden he transformed into something ugly. A monster. He was big, green, with black beady eyes and sharp teeth, then the picture changed again and it was Eadon holding a baby, a little boy with auburn hair and green eyes. A baby that looked like him.

I cried some more. Wondering why this had to happen to me. Why I had to let him in and then get my heart broken by lies. My Dad returned minutes later with the boys in tow. They seemed to be whining about having to leave, but when they noticed me, curled up and crying, they became concerned and ran over to me.

"Indy! What's wrong?" Wyler questioned.

"Why are you crying?" Maddox echoed.

I ignored them as Dad helped me up off of the couch. He wrapped an arm over my shoulder and lead me outside, calling goodbye and thanks to the rest of the guys. I sat in the passengers seat with out tears falling from my eyes. After a few minutes I was able to talk to my Dad, tell him everything.

"That was Eadon on the phone," I told him.

He nodded, "I realized."

I continued, "Well, he told me he loves me a few days ago. He stayed the night and I didn't tell you. He snuck into my room and slept in my bed with me on Sunday. I'm sorry. It won't happen again."

My Dad looked appalled, disgusted, and worried all at the same time. "Did you two..." he trailed off.

My eyes grew wide. "Dad! No! I would never while you guys are home!"

Dad looked relieved for a moment and then his eyes grew wide. "Have you while I wasn't home?"

I rolled my eyes. "No."

Dad sighed with relief and then told me to continue telling him about my phone call with Eadon.

"I found out that he has a kid. A little boy."

The car was silent as my Dad took in this new information. I knew that my Dad had no idea what to say. I mean, what do you tell your 17 year old daughter when she falls in love with someone almost four years older than her? What about when you find out that he has a kid that you didn't know about?

"I'm sorry, Indiana..." Dad grunted, "You know Karli and I didn't like you with him in the first place. He's too old for you, too mature."

"Yeah Dad, I get it, okay? You were right, I was wrong." I sniffed and wiped more tears from my eyes. "But I can't help it. I'm in love with him."

Dad glanced at me. His eyes were concerned and angry.

When we pulled onto our street, I gasped. There was a cherry red mustang parked on the curb outside our house. I could see Eadon sitting in the driver's seat, his head laying back against the seat. As Dad pulled into the driveway, Eadon got out of his car. I studied him. He was wearing ripped up blue jeans and a sleeveless Bulls Jersey. His hair was messy on his head and his hands stuffed into his pockets as he walked towards my Dad's car.

"Stay here, Indiana," Dad demanded as he unbuckled his seatbelt and pushed open his door. Dad hurried toward Eadon who started to speak. Before Eadon could even get one word out my Dad's fist connected with his face.

"Dad!" I screamed as I hurried out of the car and ran over to Eadon on instinct. I stopped, though and turned to glare at my Dad.

Eadon was bent over, holding onto his eye and when he stood up, I gasped. There was already a bruise forming around his left eye. Eadon looked to my Dad, then me, then my Dad again.

"I deserved that," he said honestly.

Dad sneered, "You deserve more then that. I should beat your ass until you can't walk."

I glared at my Dad even harder and he just shrugged, his arms crossed over his chest and his fists clenched tightly. Then I turned to Eadon.

"What do you want?" I asked, begging myself not to cry.

He looked at me with a sad expression, a pleading expression. "Just to talk to you. To explain."

I folded my arms over my chest. "Why should I?"

Eadon sighed and closed his eyes for a minute. When he opened them I could see pools of salt water there, making his green eyes hazy. "Because I'm in love with you, Indy."

His words made tears run down my cheeks and drop to the cement. I was silent as my brothers clambered out of the car and stood beside my Dad. "Go in the house, Dad. Take the boys with you."

Dad's jaw dropped as I looked to him. "You're really going to waste your breath on him, Indiana?"

I shrugged, "I guess so."

My Dad pointed towards the house. "Boys, go inside." The boys whined, but did as they were told. Then my Dad turned back to me. "Indy, you're not allowed to see him anymore. Get in the house, now."

I was shocked. "What?"

Dad nodded, "It's obvious that you're so stuck on this boy that you'll let him get away with anything. So I'm doing what's best for you. Get in the house, now. You're grounded."

My jaw must have hit the ground when he said that. "I deserve an explanation, Dad! I deserve to know why he lied to me!"

Dad shrugged and reached out for me, "Is it really going to make a difference? He still lied to you, it doesn't matter why."

I pulled away from my Dad with a glare. "It matters to me, Dad. I'm in love with this kid and I'd like to know why he ripped my heart in halves."

I noticed Eadon grimace in my peripheral vision, but other than that, he didn't say or do anything.

"I don't care. Sometimes you fall in love with the wrong person."

I sneered, "Like you and my Mom?"

Dad looked hurt for a moment. "Go in the house, Indiana. I'd like to speak with Eadon alone for a minute."

I glared. "No, you'll hit him again."

"And he'll deserve it. Now stop acting like a child and get your ass in the house before I make you."

I looked between my Dad and Eadon, worried that my Dad might go insane and kill him right here in the driveway. But after a few stern looks from my father and a nod from Eadon, I went in the house and stared out of the living room window at them. I couldn't hear anything but I could tell that my Dad was yelling at Eadon and pointing to his car.

"Get out of here!" My Dad shouted twice as loudly, "I don't want you near my daughter!"

I could see Eadon pleading with my Dad, begging him to let him talk to me but my Dad wasn't having it.

I was crying as Eadon got in his car and drove off. I was crying as my Dad came in the house and lead me to my room, telling me to get some sleep. I was crying when I woke up to hear Dad and Karli shouting downstairs. I stopped crying when my brothers ran into my room with tears on their cheeks because they were scared that Mommy and Daddy didn't love each other anymore. But I started crying again when the twins and I were laying in my bed, them sleeping, me reading a text from Eadon.

"I love you. I'm sorry."