TENNESSEE WHISKEY -corpse husband-

TALK (8)

    Killian was sleeping on the couch, with Weston and Corpse drinking wine at the dining room table like they had done the night prior.

    "So, Corpse... you're either insane with imaginary friends in a freaky room or you've got a sex room like in Fifty Shades of Grey, and I would hope that you wouldn't show that to my son," Weston laughed, already tipsy from the wine they've had.

    "Neither of those," he laughed with her, slightly out of entertainment but really just from nerves. God, this could go so incredibly wrong.

   "Uh, I um... I don't even know how to begin..." he took another long drink, before letting out a long sigh. "So, basically I'm kinda famous, and I hate saying it like that, but recently, I've blown up online because I stream games a lot, and when Killian was here, he uh, he spilled his juice in the living room while I was working in my room, so I had to clean it up and he was crying and he looked sad, so I let him play with me and my friends, and they all loved him so now he's kinda famous too."

    Weston stared at him, eyes wide. "Are you drunk?"

    Corpse shook his head. "No, Weston. I'm being serious. You can look me up, if you'd like."

    Weston kept staring at him, looking for a sign that he was joking, but his face held nothing but sincerity. She pulled out her phone hesitantly, typing 'Corpse Husband' into the search bar. She scrolled through the information, in complete shock. Not only was he famous, he had made Killian famous too, to some degree.

    "You make music?" she asked, after seeing a link to Spotify and Apple Music.

    "That's what I do, really. The gaming stuff... it's just for fun. But I make music."

    "Is it any good?"

    "I'm.. I'm proud of it," he admitted.

    "Can I listen?"

    "Not when Killian is sleeping; it's loud."

    She nodded, smiling at him amused, before continuing to read his Wikipedia page. What she couldn't find though, was any pictures of him.

    "Why can't I find-"

    "The reason I hid this from you, and why it's still hidden from everyone else, is because I um... I'm known as a faceless internet personality. No one knows what I look like, and no one knows who I am. Not really." He stared into her eyes deeply. "I would really like to keep it that way. No one can know who I am, no one can know you're even Killian's mother. They know we're neighbors and they'll ruin everything," he said seriously, sobering her quickly.

    She could tell this was serious for him. It was his job, his livelihood, and surprisingly, she was understanding.

    "Okay. I won't tell anyone," she agreed, easier than he had expected. She took a sip of her wine, leaving her lips stained red.

    Maybe it was how easy going she was, or he was just slightly too tipsy, but he wanted to kiss her. He had feared her reaction all day, but now, she was so nice to him, and so incredibly understanding.

    "Killian isn't being exposed to anything bad, though, right?" she wondered.

    "No, I make sure that he doesn't see or listen to anything particularly bad."

    Weston nodded, appreciating his honesty. "You're good with him," she took a sip. "I expected worse honestly," she admitted.

    Corpse laughed at her quietly. "Now that you know my biggest secret, tell me something about you." He poured her another glass right as she finished.

    "There's nothing interesting about me. Not something like you," she dismissed, but Corpse wasn't allowing it.

    "I know something interesting. Where is Killian's father?"

    Corpse didn't realize how rude he sounded until the words had already left his mouth.

    "I'm sorry, Weston. You don't have to answer that, I'm so sorry," Corpse retracted immediately.

    She shook her head, "No, it's fine. You'd probably learn eventually anyway." She finished her glass in a few gulps. She knew it wasn't the classiest thing to do but she hadn't talked about Nathan since she had to explain there wouldn't a father on Killian's birth certificate. She took a deep breath.

    "I don't know where he is now. I guess I'll just explain everything, because it all kinda pieces together," she let out a deep sigh again.

    "Weston, you don't have to-"

    "It's fine," she insisted. "Nathan, Killian's biological father, and I got together when I had just started high school. He was a senior and I was 14, and completely naive. It was just like the relationships everyone warns you about. The guy is older and manipulative and the girl is gullible and impressionable. When he graduated, everyone thought he would go off to college and leave me alone, to finish high school, and honestly I expected that too, but he stayed. We lived in a small town in Tennessee so going to college wasn't really viewed as something necessary when you finish high school. He decided to stay until I graduated, even though I had three more years of school. He worked full time in construction for awhile; he could afford expensive dates and his own apartment. It was all I could've dreamed of at the time, I guess. I spent every weekend with him, separating myself from my family to play house with Nathan for the weekend, then I would go back home to misery. Everyone at school thought we would break up any day, or get married; there was no in between."

She kept a watchful eye on Corpse's facial expressions, making sure she wasn't going too far. He was genuinely interested, though, which she appreciated. She hadn't been able to talk to anyone about this entirely since Killian was born.

"I made it through sophomore year, still with him, but when summer came, Nathan got this "business opportunity." He promised success and money, and a life we had dreamed of, but we would have to go to California. He said he wouldn't go if I didn't come with him. My home life was already shit, so I dropped out, even though I had good grades, and would easily get into any college. I was a fucking idiot. But at the time, I was happy. I was growing up too fast, but it felt like everything I had wanted was right in front of me. We moved right before I was turning 17. He paid for everything, and started working, and I got a few part time jobs in retail and fast food to help out. We were here for a little over a year before I got pregnant when I was 18. I never saw him as someone who was afraid of commitment but after I told him, he left. I should've known, honestly. He had never talked about marriage, or kids or anything like that. It was always me. I always made the promises to stay with him. After I told him, he said he was going to work, and never came back. I didn't have time to worry about it. Rent was due, I didn't have any money, and I was supposed to start buying things for a baby. Luckily, I had turned 18 and could get a full time job so I did. I was alone when I had Killian, and I've been alone since then."

    She felt emotionally exhausted. She hadn't talked about her biggest regrets in over five years and here she was, telling someone she barely knew.

    "Your parents never reached out to you?" Corpse asked, trying not to prod too much, but wanting to get the story set.

    "No, they don't even know Killian exists."

   

NOTE!!
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love you all dearly
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