Have Faith in Me (Ianthony)

Chapter 15: This is an Intervention!

“Ian, what the hell are you doing?” Mari asked him one morning, a few weeks after the worst day of his entire life. 

He shrugged. “Watching TV.” 

“You’re watching an informercial for a turkey roaster,” she observed, a hand on her hip. 

“So?” he inquired, knowing full well what his friend meant. 

She shook her head, plopping down on the light blue sofa beside him. “Ian look, I know that you’re hurt right now. You’re angry and even a little bit lonely. I know you miss Audrina a lot. I also can’t imagine what you’re going through, but here’s what I do know: you’re one of my best friends and absolutely killing me to see you like this.” 

His blue eyes remained glued to the plasma television mounted on the wall across from him. “So?” 

She sucked in a breath. “So, you really need to make up with Anthony. I really feel like if you two teamed up, you could easily get Audrina back and-”

Slowly, his eyes ripped from the TV screen to the girl beside him. “Hell no, Mari! Do you not remember what he did to me?! To Audrina?! He fucking asked for Kara to take her back and he never, ever mentioned it to me!” 

“I know, Ian,” Mari reasoned, “but-” 

“And you know what else, Mari? Here’s something I never told you: he told me he loved me, that he always has, that he needs me. That he loved Audrina, too. I thought were were gonna be a family! And I had tried so hard before to push that idea out of my mind and I almost did. I…I almost did.” With that last word, Ian choked up and began to sob. An ugly, wracking sob that forced tears to stream down his cheeks and he pressed his palms into his closed eyes to hinder the flow. 

Sighing sadly, Mari wrapped her arms around Ian. “I’m so sorry, Ian. I’m so sorry that Anthony did this to you. But here’s the thing: Audrina really needs you guys. And if you don’t act fast, you’re gonna lose her forever. I know for certain that you love that baby more than your own life and to be perfectly honest, you’re gonna need Anthony to get her back. As much as it pains me to say it to you right now, he is her biological father.” 

Ian shook his head, sniffling. “Why would he ever forgive me?” 

Mari furrowed her brow in confusion. “What you did to him?” 

Ian sighed, looking down at the dark hardwood floors beneath his feet and hiccuped. “Y-yeah…I punched him right before I left. And he begged me not to leave, b-but I was too angry to stay. I was afraid of what I might do.” 

Right about that time, the front swung open, revealing Sohinki. “We’ve heard just about enough!” 

“We?” Ian questioned. 

“Yep!” Wes announced, bounding into the room after Sohinki. Flitz followed soon after him. Sohinki settled onto the couch on the other side of Mari. The door shut as Lasercorn and Joven ambled in slowly, hands interlocked. 

Ian frowned. “W-what?” 

“This is an intervention,” Mari explained. “We’ve all come together because we love you and we’re going to knock some sense into you.” 

“No,” Ian corrected, wiping his cheeks dry with his shirt sleeve, “I figured that much. I’m just wondering what’s going on over there.” He pointed at David and Joshua. 

Joven blushed, looking away as Lasercorn grinned at them. “We’re together, Ian! We have been for a long time.”  

Joven then added, “although, it’s quite possibly not the greatest and most ideal time to tell you, we thought it might…,” he trailed off, looking for the appropriate word, “it might help you see what it’s like to date a friend. You see, we’ve been together for a few months and we couldn’t be happier.”