Home Away From Home

Chapter 21

As they drove home, they held each other's hands and Valerie's other hand was on her stomach.

"I can't believe I'm going to be a father."

"And you're going to be a great one."

"Thank you." Nick looked at her with so much love.

"For?"

"Being there for me. Not leaving me even though I'm a total mess."

"You're not a total mess, you're just going through a lot of pain right now."

"Yeah, well I wish it would stop." He sighed.

"It will, just give it time."

"Mom's funeral is tomorrow." He whispered as if it was a secret, a secret that he hoped wasn't true.

"Yeah, we're going to be okay. We're going to be okay." They parked in front of Nick's house.

"Where's Zack?"

"I don't know..."

"Didn't you leave him at your house?"

"Yeah."

"Come on, let's see." They walked out the car and into the house. "Zack!"

"Hello? Anyone home?"

"Check upstairs." Valerie ran upstairs to Zack's room. She opened the door and saw him sitting against the wall with a bottle of vodka in his hand.

"Oh my, Nick! Nick! Come up here!" Nick appeared right beside her in seconds. He saw sight of Zack and walked up to him. He snatched the bottle out of his hand and Zack looked up.

"Zack, why are you drinking?" He just looked at him. "Answer me!"

"I-I keep losing people. All the time. First I lost mom, then dad, then my best friend, then Sally, and now I'm losing you guys. I always fu- oh right, no cursing." He rolled his eyes. "Why does this keep happening to me? What did I do to deserve this? Am I that bad of a person for everybody to leave?" Zack stood up; he tried reaching for the bottle, but Nick snatched it away. "Whatever." He tried walking away, buy almost fell. "I've learned that no one will ever be there for you. You have to learn to be there for yourself. No one cares." He almost fell again, but Nick caught him. He started crying hysterically. "No one fucking cares!" Nick turned him around and hugged him tightly.

"We care. We care about you, Zack. You are everything to us. We love you so much." Valerie continued crying quietly. "We're going to be happy now. We are going to be a family. A happy one." Zack cried louder. "I promise. I promise, little man. We will never leave you. I will never leave you. I promise." They hugged each other tighter. Nick calmed him down a few minutes later and placed him on his bed. "Get some rest, little man." Nick and Valerie walked out and closed the door. They walked into Valerie's old room. She sat on her bed.

"He's only 15. He has his whole life ahead of him and it's already going downhill." She cried and hugged her knees to her chest. "It's my fault; I'm not there for him."

"It's not your fault. So much is going on, don't blame it on yourself. We're all having a hard time." Nick grabbed Valerie and held her.

"But he's having a harder one! He's 15! Only 15! He's lost so many people in his life, so many... he's only a kid. He's supposed to be happy." Her voice rose.

"Hey, do you remember what you were like when you were 15?" He tried to look into her eyes, but she kept moving.

"Yeah..." She wiped her tears with the back of her hand.

"Were you happy?"

"Sometimes." She sniffled.

"Exactly, sometimes, not all the time. You know why, because that's what being a teenager is about. You have so much to worry about. You have family, friends, school, the past, the future, and on top of that you have yourself. Being a teenager is hard, but we have to be there for him. Zack deserves to be happy. You're right, he does have his whole life ahead of him, and we're going to make it great. We're going to make it great for our baby, too. We are going to be a happy family. Things are going to change." He promised.

"Did you mean it when you told Zack you won't leave?" She finally met his gaze.

"I made a promise, didn't I? And I always keep my promises. I will never leave you." He kissed her.

"Can we lay down for a bit?" He nodded and they held each other tightly, promising themselves that they would never leave each other.

When they all woke up, they realized it was Sally's funeral. They all tried their best to smile for others, but they couldn't, today was the day of their final goodbyes. They all dressed in black and Valerie covered her eyes with a veil so that her tears and baggy eyes wouldn't show as easily. They walked to the car and drove to the graveyard, silently. No one could say a word. Finally, surrounded by her casket and everyone else, Nick went up to the podium and said some words.

"Today is the day we say goodbye to an amazing woman, my mother. Throughout my whole life, she has been the strongest person woman I knew. She was the greatest mother of all times. After my father left, my mom had no choice but to be both roles. She is my hero. She tried her hardest to stay alive, but death has its own clock and it was time for her to go. I've realized that people don't stay forever and there's nothing you can do about it. You have to learn to let go. But I will never let go of my mother, I will never forget her. She is the best thing that has ever happened to me, aside from the love of my life. Heck, she helped me realize that I love her. She was the only one who never let me go. Ever. She was always there for me. Even when I hated her and loved her again. Because that's what mothers do, they love you unconditionally. No matter who I was, she understood. She let me be whoever I wanted to be. She just wanted me to be happy. I know she's looking down at me today, and I just want to tell her that I love you. I will always love you, mom." Nick wiped his tears and walked next to Valerie. He grabbed her hand and she grabbed Zack's. The priest said his words and then they put the casket down in the hole. "Bye mom." They covered it with dirt and everybody left, except for the three of them. They all just stared at her tombstone. Nick walked up to it, kissed his hand and put it on the tombstone, they did the same. "We will always love you." They stared at it once again and walked away.

Y۱:ϝ!