Final Chapter.
Thanks once again to my fellow writer, Rapperbs for helping edit!
I appreciate all of the support that I've received throughout this series and hope to have more coming to you soon!
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10 years later...
My eyes tried to open as I quickly reached for the phone. "It must be 3am, who's calling?" I asked myself. Tyler's name popped up on the screen.
"Hey Ty." I said in a groggy voice.
His words were unrecognizable as he uncontrollably sobbed.
"I need you to calm down and take deep breaths okay?" I tried coaching him. Filled with worry, l was suddenly wide awake.
"Iβdon't know βwhat to do." He managed in between his crying and breathing.
"What happened? I need you to calm down and talk to me!"
"I thought I could handle this but I can't, it's driving me crazy!" He managed to say.
"What is it babe?"
He managed to clearly tell me his dad passed and he didn't know how to deal with it.
"I shouldn't be bothered right? I should feel relieved, right? I shouldn't care but my brain can't stop bringing back all these memories and thoughts and what if's."
Over the next several hours, I helped him talk through his emotions. We spoke til the sun came up and he finally fell asleep on the phone after making me promise at least nine times that I'd be coming to town for the funeral.
We spoke over the next few days on the phone until I finally saw him the day of the funeral. He was very handsome in his black suit. His hair was now cut short. I walked up to him and hugged him tightly, kissing him on the cheek before fixing his tie.
"I'm here for you!" I reassured him.
Brad, Megan, myself and a few of Tyler's friends all respectfully stayed at the back, giving the family their space. There was very few people there other than close family relatives.
Later that night, I had no luck falling asleep. I tossed and turned all night. When did Brad's guess bed get so uncomfortable? I stumbled downstairs and through the house to the kitchen. I didn't sleep a wink all night. My mind was racing non stop with thoughts that kept me up. I opened the refrigerator and poured myself a glass of water when I noticed the lights were turned on out on the back deck.
I retied my robe and walked out, noticing it was Tyler hiding out back there. I walked over to him and sat on the porch swing beside him. His eyes puffy, I could tell he had been crying and only God knows when last he had actually slept. He had a bottle of scotch sat beside him and a pipe bowl to his lips as he lit up, taking a hit.
"I thought you were driving back home tonight? He asked, passing me the bowl and lighter.
"Brad said I could stay a few days here, I figured I'd stick around and spend some time with family." I responded, refusing his offer.
"Where's the little devil man?" He asked referring to my three year old.
"He's with his dad. He gets to meet daddy's new girlfriend while I'm away." I said sarcastically excited.
"God! That guy is such a fucking scumbag, I can't believe you married him!" He said, after taking a swig out of the bottle of scotch.
"Wow! I'll let that slide because you're drunk and high but that doesn't matter now. He is what he is as long as he's not with me."
"Heard." He responded then finished up his last hit.
"Why are you here? Shouldn't you be at home?" I asked while combing my fingers through his hair. I knew he liked that when he was upset. It was a little weird now that he wore his hair short. Just not what I was used to.
"Are you trying to say that I'm not welcomed missy?
"Oh shut up! You know I'm simply asking a question, you dick!" I joked.
"Julia and I had a fight."
"What? Why would she fight with you on a day like today?"
"She's a fucking selfish bitch!" Tyler angrily stated, "That's certainly not the same woman I married, she has turned into a raging cunt!"
"Hey, don't talk about your wife that way!" I slapped his shoulder.
Alcohol was Tyler's truth serum. He bottled things in so much that when he was drunk, it all came out, the good, the bad and the down right disrespectful. Which is exactly why I couldn't just disregard his next statement.
"There's not a day that goes by that I don't regret letting you walk out of my life. I should have fought for you."
"That was ten years ago Ty, you had just found out you had a son, with a junkie mom and you had to do what was right by your son. I just wasn't ready to be a twenty-three year old full time mom to a five year old child that wasn't mine. I was trying to build a career. Besides, you were able to get your son out of that situation, get Julia the help she needed and you two have made a wonderful life for your son." A silent tear trickled down my left cheek as I spoke. Truth was, I regretted leaving.
He opened his mouth to speak but I quickly shushed him, "Pass me the scotch!" I needed it.
I will always remember that day. I had moved in with Ty at his apartment a few months before and I was still getting unpacked. He was helping me unbox my last box of winter stuff when there was a knock on the door. I opened it to see an older woman standing in the breezeway.
The woman apologized before asking if Tyler still lived here. He overheard as the lady mentioned his name and came to the door. The next minute of interaction changed our lives forever.
"My name is Joy, I don't know if you remember me but I am Julia's mother. You dated her for a while when you guys were about twenty-one."
"Yes I remember you. How can I help you?" He responded.
"Well, I just figured you deserved to know. Julia got pregnant around the time she cheated on you. The guy she cheated with, Jared, stuck around because he wanted to be there for his son but when Alex had gotten sick and needed blood, his blood type rose questions. After doing tests, we found out Alex wasn't his and he left. Julia met another guy, who I came to find out dealt drugs, she was constantly gone and I have been caring for Alex but I've gotten a job offer that's going to take me to London and I cannot take Alex with me. I needed to find his father."
"Wait wait wait.. are you saying that I have a son?" He asked confused.
I was motionless, thoughtless, surprised and shocked. I didn't know what to say or what to do or even what to think.
"I understand this is all much. I wanted to give you my number so take a few days for it to sink in and then reach out to me. I would like you to meet Alex and of course I understand if you want to do a DNA test."
We were both awed by the encounter. "Could this be true, Ty?" I asked.
"It's possible!" He was stunned. We both sat on the couch in silence, shocked with thoughts and questions piling high in our brains.
After Tyler decided to take Alex in, I had to make a tough decision. I had just gotten promoted two years into my career and was going to be running my own district office. I couldn't care for a five year old. I didn't know shit when it came to kids. I got scared and I broke things off. I needed to focus on my career.
Tyler and I still lived together while he was going through the process of legally becoming Alex's dad. I helped with the paperwork and supported him every step of the way.
I moved out a few days before Alex was able to officially live with Ty. I occasionally would go over and make them dinner or baby sit or just help whenever Tyler needed me and we did somewhat stay friends with benefits until Julia came back to town.
Tyler sent her to rehab, she got clean and Tyler moved her in with him temporarily. That was when I met Mike. Julia and Tyler reconnected and got married two years later. Mike and I married one year after they did and we moved out of state. During the second year of our marriage, I had Dustin, but Mike started cheating. We divorced soon after.
Tyler and I always kept in contact, I'd make sure to visit whenever I was in town, we'd talk all the time on the phone.
The last phone call was when he called and told me his dad past. He was crying but angry and sad at the same time. We spoke for hours. He said Julia just didn't get it nor did she care to. He hadn't spoken to or seen his dad in 20 years and all these emotions, thoughts, rage, regret, sadness came to him all at once.
I knew I had to be there for him at the funeral. I just though Julia would be a better support system for him. She was distant all throughout that day and never once comforted him at the cemetery. His mom, who he was then trying to rebuild his relationship with, was the one to hold him and console him. I just had to watch from a distance. It broke my heart to see him like that.
As we sat there passing the bottle back and forth, we talked about the fight Julia started as soon as they got back from the reception. She expected Tyler to not be affected by his dads passing because he "hated his dad" but she didn't understand the memories it conjured up, the hurt, pain and confusion, the feeling of having so much left unsaid, having no closure.
"Stop acting like a baby for attention, you weren't close to him!" He repeated what she said, slurring his words at this point.
"I was going to wait til Alex was done with High School to divorce her but I don't think I care to wait any longer!" He stated.
"Do you know, I would have had a 4 year old daughter?" He looked at me, tears in his eyes.
I was confused. "What?!?"
"Julia was five months pregnant with our little girl and had a late term abortion. I didn't know a thing until two years ago. Things between us was never the same after that."
I was horrified, who can do such a thing to an innocent life? I wanted to ask Ty all of these questions in my head about it but I didn't want to conjure up old feeling, he was already dealing with a lot.