Beautiful Disaster

I sat listening to my parents argue about my mothers infidelity. I felt ashamed and hurt knowing that she would do that to my dad. He was a good man, he worked hard and gave both of us everything we ever wanted and more. Then I heard her say she married him for his money and I couldn't take it anymore, I had to leave the house.

I didn't know where I was going, I was just going. My dad had given me this car, a jeep for my birthday this morning. I didn't think he would mind if I took it out. He would understand that I needed some space right now.

For a while I just drove around not knowing what to do. I stopped at the beach, my favorite little spot on the rocks, my dad use to take me here when I was younger. I sat down and just watched the waves splash up onto the rocks.

"I thought I might find you here." Leland says to me.

"You scared me." I say, clutching my chest and then scooting over so he can sit down with me.

"I'm sorry... for everything I said." he tells me as he looks out at the water.

"Why now? Why did you say it while everyone was there, even the cameras were there Leland." I say turning to face him.

"I don't know what came over me baby, I regret it, I promise you I do." he said with a sad look on his face.

"Well you cant take it back now. It's done, and nothing will ever be the same." I say quietly. We sat there in silence just watching the waves roll in and out.

"Are you really my father?" I ask, after a while.

He just shakes his head yes and turns to me and says "I didn't mean for things to end up this way. I thought it would be different. I wanted..I wanted to wait until you were older, or ... just... not tell you at all."

"I wish you wouldn't have told me. Now I feel hurt and betrayed. I don't know what to think about my mother... or you. I feel sorry for my dad. He's a really good dad Leland. You shouldn't try to take that away from him." I say brushing my legs off and standing up.

Leland follows me in silence as I walk back to my Jeep. I climb in and reach for the door as he says "I would never take that away from him Layla, I just needed you to know. I love you very much and that will never change."

I just nod and drive away.

Leland's POV

I knew exactly where I would find her when Duane Lee called my house looking for her because she wouldn't answer the phone.

"Let me find her brah. I want to talk to her." I told him over the phone.

"No, you've done enough talking." Duane says as he hangs up on me.

I left the house in a hurry so that I could get to her before he did. I reached the spot on the rocks I knew she would be at in less than five minutes.

I had struggled year after year, watching her get older. I spent a lot of time with her, teaching her to surf, we even went snorkeling together a lot. She was right in between Dakota and Cobie so they all loved one another, which made it even harder to let her go back home everyday. So I watched, almost from a distance as another man, my brother raised my child. There were times when I would cry because I felt like I was being denied something that was rightfully mine.

It wasn't until a few years after she was born that Emma confirmed what I already believed, that Layla was mine. She had been over to my house after a particularly heated argument with Duane Lee about having more children.

FLASHBACK:

There was a knock on my front door, I opened it to find Emma standing there. "Leland, I cant do it anymore, I cant have this same argument over and over again." she said crying.

"Come in and tell me what's happened this time." I say pulling her into a hug. My hands lingering a little longer than they should. I couldn't deny I was attracted to her and she to me.

"I don't want to talk about it Leland." she says, her lips a whisper away from my neck. "Will you please make love to me..." she says as her tongue reaches out to lick my collarbone.

"Are you sure you want to do this again. I thought you said last time was a mistake." I say as she moans into my ear. "I said, it would be a mistake not to do this again." she tells me running her hands under my shirt and up my back, making me moan.

"Don't you want a reminder of what it tastes like Leland. Don't you want to taste the forbidden fruit?" She says as she pulls her shirt and bra off, then running her own hands across her breasts saying "You wont deny me, will you?"

"You know I can't deny you Emma, I never could." I say kissing her hard on the lips.

We had amazing sex that night. As we lay in the bed she turned to me and said. "Leland, there's something that you need to know." she says hesitating. "Layla...she's yours."

"So it only took you three years to tell me I had a daughter. You didn't think I could already see myself in her?" I say walking away from her. "I knew as soon as you told me you were pregnant, that it was mine."

She looks at me surprised. "You cant tell Duane Lee. Promise me you wont tell, Leland. We haven't been married that long and I don't want to look bad getting divorced after just three years." she says pleading with me.

"Fine, I wont say anything." For now... I think to myself. "I don't want to hurt my brother."