I stared blankly at the blury passing scenery as it whipped past, the low grumble of the engine the only thing keeping me connected to the world. I was exhausted. Exhausted from all the traveling, and the worry. I kept telling myself things were going to be alright, but in my heart I couldn't be certain. All I could do was pray that Drake was safe. Wherever he was.

Half a year had passed since Ben and I broke up. A lot had happened in that time, some of it and good and others not so.




Immediately after I moved in with Aidan to rid myself of the memories that had settled into my house, and later into my bed. I couldn't stand the thought of sleeping there, knowing my 'husband' had exchanged bodily fluids with someone where I lay everynight. I kept in contact with him nonetheless, for Drake's sake. After much bickering Ben finally agreed to my presence at all visits until I felt I could trust him enough. I wasn't sure if that would ever be possible.


A short time later I put the house up for sale, and Aidan and I began looking for a place of our own. He was eager to leave the confines of his uncle's house to get back into the routine he'd left behind in pursuit of me, and we started looking near Sim State University so he could transfer and resume classes. When my mother was informed of the plan she had a shit-fit, wanting us to come back to Tifa Island. I was wary of this of course, whether she'd gotten Aidan and I back together or not. There was still something that told me not to completely trust her, and in any case, Pleasantview was home now.


It wasn't long after that I was surprised by a certain redhead at the door. I wanted to lunge at her the second I opened the door, grabbing a fist-ful of her hair and yanking repeatedly on it. Delivering blow after blow to the face would have suited me fine as well, but despite all the boiling hatred I kept my cool. What bothered me the most was that she had known all along that Ben was married, and she pushed me to date him anyway. Two hours and much watery apologizes later, she finally went home. Looking back on it now, I should have known she was up to something. Her arrival out of the blue had been strange, and she seemed to know an awful lot about things.


The house sold fairly quickly and we resumed the search for the perfect home. Just down the street from campus we found a gorgeous two story home with a large yard, pool and garage. I fell in love with it the moment we stepped inside; we just had to have it! We immediately got the ball rolling and soon it was officially ours. While we were ecstatic, Ben ranted and raved about how far he would have to travel to see Drake. He'd gone from a short walk down the street to a ten minute drive across town; oh no! To me ten minutes was better than not seeing him at all. So, I suggested he and Kennedy check out an apartment complex down the street. Kennedy not so politely declined. Meh, their loss.


In less than a month we had moved in and were quite happy. Drake really seemed to adjust well in his new surroundings and spending a lot of time with Aidan. It was unbelieveable how well they were hitting if off in such a short time; Aidan didn't seem to harbor any reservations about him anymore. In fact, he took him out a few times while I was at work; he'd tell me all the funny things Drake had done the moment I stepped in the door. Although he would never admit it, I knew this bothered Ben so.




Things between Aidan and I were only getting better. I felt more in love with him than ever, even despite his bad habit of leaving dirty clothes all over the bedroom floor. A small part of me had feared all the time apart had made us different people, and when we moved in together our personalities would clash. Luckily any disagreements were very minimal, hardly enough to cause a stir. We were much more relaxed in our place; I felt as though I was finally truly settling down.


Soon I was met with some interesting news courtesy of my doctor; I was pregnant! Much to my surprise, Dr. Weaver informed me I was further along than first thought, and placed conception around the time Aidan came to town. Although I had a slight sinking feeling about not being married, I was excited that he and I would soon have the family we'd always wanted. When Aidan came home from class that night, I met him at the door and burst with the news. He cried; it was the most adorable thing I'd ever seen! We later set the wedding date a couple months away.


I'll never forget how hard the nausea hit me almost immediately after getting the news; I could hardly get out of bed some mornings, and keeping up with Drake proved even more troublesome now that he was walking. My boss was less than understanding, unfortunately. Missing a week of work landed me fired and broke, and Aidan was barely scraping by with the little money he got at the campus cafe between his late classes. I didn't know how the heck we were going to keep paying the bills, much less have a baby. Aidan's solution arrived on our front doorstep the following weekend.


"But darling, you need this," my mother pressed, sitting neatly on the couch in her dress suit. "I just want to help during your time of need."

I didn't want her money, and I didn't want another reason for her to be hanging around and cooking up new ways to further destroy my life. She hadn't been there to help me when I needed it the most as a teenager, why should I believe things would be different now? Aidan tried so hard to assure me my mother had changed; she was sorry for what she'd done. Maybe, but she hadn't tried to find my daughter now had she? In the end I didn't have much choice but to give in to Aidan's pleas. They were the only way we'd keep the house and survive; I knew he was right. I just didn't like it.


The first thing my mother did after paying off the bills was trade my old rusting jeep in for a sleek family sedan; it just wasn't ideal she said. I fought with her for what seemed like hours over the bills that would come from a brand new car, but she waved me off and insisted she'd take care of it. The wedding she'd also decided, was going to be their gift to us. This news made me want to vomit. It further ensured her presence in my home, and I just couldn't get rid of her fast enough. I was mostly mad at myself for letting our life together slip the way it had. We'd started out wonderful, and there we were having to live off my parents.

My health seemed to improve as time passed and the wedding drew nearer. I was able to do more things without taking breaks, and Drake was delighted to see my return to our daily walks and playtime. My mother didn't believe I was ready for all of it and insisted upon staying with us longer but I wouldn't have it. She settled for shacking up in a motel nearby. It certainly wasn't far enough for me, but I knew they wouldn't go back to the island.


Pretty soon the little bean nestled in the warmth of my belly was growing enough for me to appear pregnant and not just chubby. My mother dragged me out to look at maternity clothing and wedding dresses, while Drake stayed behind with his grandfather. It was an excrutiatingly long day I have to say, and although I really hated trying on clothes that didn't quite fit my ever expanding bump, it was actually not that bad to be out with my mother. It was weird, her new civil behavior. It was almost as though nothing had happened.


My mother and I came home that day to find my father and Aidan in the backyard building a platform, Drake playing quietly in his new sandbox. It seemed that Aidan had some bright idea of building a gazebo for the ceremony, which he later confessed he had originally planned to do all on his own as a surprise for me (can you say awww?!). I was a little worried what all the work could to do to my father, but he promised us he wouldn't over do it.

My fears were not irrational, however. The following week he was rushed to the hospital exhibiting early stages of a heart attack. My mother, Aidan and I left the building that evening never to see him again. He was 58.




Understandably all interest in the upcoming nuptials were lost. My mother and I had been torn apart with grief; my daddy would not be there to give me away in a couple weeks. My children would grow up without knowing or remembering him. Worst of all, I had spent most of my teen and adults years wishing he had more of a backbone to go against my mother, and saying horrible things to him. I had never told him I loved him. And despite all that had transpired, I truly did. Now he would never know.

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