The Pain I've Grown to Know

Lea was pulling the back door open with her right, whilst balancing a twin cup holder in her left, attempting not to drop the organic oatmeal cookie she had gotten for Zion. There was no one in the working area in the back, but she could hear her son’s giggle from the front. She was about to walk towards the reception area, when she froze in her movements, her heart skipping a few beats upon hearing voices from the front.

“Dude Zack, this kid could be your son, man, look at the eyes!”

She was just about able to place the coffee holder on Bill’s desk and let herself slide unto the padded bench, as she realized who’s voice she was hearing out there.

“Don’t say shit like that! I was only with one girl apart from Lea back then, and she was certainly not from Florida! He seems to take a shine to your aviators though Shads!”

What the hell where Matt and Zacky doing here? In Florida! My city! My shop!

Lea thought to herself, as she tried to shake her head, hoping that this was a bad dream. But it wasn’t!!

“Yeah, I am sorry, but Zion is rather interested in shiny things. Keep telling his mom he might become a thief one day! But hey, don’t I know you guys? You’re from Avenged Sevenfold, no?”

Why the fuck was he asking this question! Sonny knew damn well what the guys looked like, he had seen the pictures when he had opened a box of random pics years ago!

“Yeah, that’s right! I am Zack and that guy over there toying with your son is Matthew. He loves kids! You like our music or what?”

Zack’s voice once again cut her heart into pieces, it brought p so many memories that she had tried to subdue in her mind. She sipped on her coffee absent mindedly.

“Don’t flatter yourself man! I gotta friend who used to be into you guys big time a few years ago, but she stopped a while ago. Guess she grew out of it. What brings you here anyhow?”

Lea was biting the inside of her cheeks, preventing herself to giggle. She could have hugged Sonny for this comment! Imagining her son in the same room as Zack made her fell odd though, especially since Matt had mentioned the resemblance of Zack and his son.

“We are shooting our new video clip here in the next 4 days and then kick off the Warped Tour. But we were thinking of getting some new ink done and were told that this is the place to go! You think you could squeeze us in these next few days?”

Matt’s deep voice brought back memories. Good memories. He had always cared about Lea, and for some reason she felt like going out there, hugging him! 2 years were a long time, but she couldn’t do anything, knowing that this was a bad time. And that she wasn’t ready to face any of the guys.
She knew as well that the planner was full, and that there was no way that Sonny or Bill and Tony would be able to squeeze any of the two in. He would tell them that he was sorry, and they would leave.

“Well, we are quiet busy, but I guess I can squeeze in 2-3 hours around lunch time. I was supposed to meet Zion’s mom for lunch in a bit, but seen that you guys are in need and made it all the way here….I guess I can call her and drop him off with her.”

She couldn’t believe her ears! He was making time for people he knew she couldn’t be around! But him talking about Zion as if it was his kid made her smile. Sonny was the most amazing guy that she had met in years, since meeting Zack, and she knew that he was more the father to her son than Zack would ever be.
She jerked as she heard her cell go off right next to her. Looking at the called ID, she seen Sonny’s name flash up a few seconds, before it stopped.

“Ah that damn woman would forget her head if it wasn’t screwed on! Left her phone here again! Just come back in an hour’s time. By then I’ll have Zion at home and might be able to get them aviators back from his hands, so I can hand them back to you. Give me your number, just in case I’ll have to cancel.”

Gods, she sometimes loved Sonny for his little lies!

“Yeah, no problem. Even if he keeps the glasses, don’t worry , he seems to have too much fun with them. Could it be that a Lea Hernandez was taking some of those pictures from this folder?”

Lea stopped breathing as she heard Matt’s question.
Why had he even looked at the copyright signature!

“Yeah, she used to be a friend of mine doing work for me but I haven’t heard from her in a while, as if she disappeared from the face of the earth!”

Lea could analyze the tone of voice Sonny was having, though Matt and Zack never would: he was being right in their faces and lying to them! And she was more than grateful that he did.

“Yeah…we knew her as well, and she kind of did the same thing to us…disappearing acts were always her specialty! Anyhow, we’ll just come back in an hour and bring some more cash with us…if your boy lets go of Zack. Damn, I have never seen him interact with a kid this way!”

Her heart jumped…she had once known Matt so well, she knew that he had something going on in the back of his mind speaking those words.

“Yeah, cool, no problem. I’ll try get your shades back off him before I get him back to his mom anyhow. Don’t even wanna know how much they cost you.”

Both their giggles were heard in the back room. The a round of good byes, and Lea’s little boy was kissing the cheek of someone, she knew the sound of his little sloppy kisses!
--------------------------------

“You do realize that this is your kid, right?”

Matt said in thoughts, as soon as him and Zack were sitting I n a taxi towards their hotel. Zack had been infatuated by that little boy for one reason or the other, and was carrying something that looked like a piece of fabric with a lot of holes in it, stuffing spilling out some of them.

“Stop saying this! It’s the second time you mention this, and I swear, the only time I cheated on Lea was back in Georgia…and apart from that I had no sex that would have spawned a kid!”

Zack was annoyed. Ever since the night in Vegas that Lea had taken off, he was blaming him for everything. Amongst other people, like Sandra and Dave. Brian had been surprised at her taking off like this, too so he didn’t think that it was his fault. This little boy at the tattoo shop however had made him feel a way, that he had felt the night he had asked Lea to become his wife, hoping that she would once have his children.

“So you didn’t see the picture on the wall behind the counter?”

Zack turned around to his friend, not knowing what he was talking about. He had had a look at pretty much all tattoo pictures put up at that place, so he didn’t know what Matt was referring to.

“Zack, it was a recent picture of that toddler and Lea man! A black and white picture, just the way she likes editing pics that mean something to her! I swear to God, it was a picture of her and that kid kissing her cheek, and she had that motherglow around her! Plus, her skull bag was behind the counter on that bar stool. Did you not listen to me when I said he has your eyes!”

Zack’s head snapped around to Matt, his green eyes showing confusion.

“Are you trying to tell me that she is here and this kid is hers and mine?”

Zack said under his breath. He was confused, saying the least!
The last thing he had heard was about 1 ½ years ago, from Dave. Stating that his sister had gotten a post card. That Lea was alive and well. From New Orleans. He had gone down there as soon as he had heard this, with Matt and Brian, but no one in New Orleans seemed to know her, apart from 2 guys that had said she looked familiar,and that she must have been a tourist.

“That is what I am trying to tell you Baker, yes!”