End Of Passion Play - {James Hetfield/Metallica}

Chapter 29 | "I'm Not Going Anywhere"

"The silicon chip inside her head
Gets switched to overload
And nobody's gonna go to school today
She's gonna make them stay at home"

I Don't Like Mondays by the Boomtown Rats played on the radio; a reminder that it was in fact Monday.

"Morning, dad." Blair said, coming into the kitchen and sitting at the island. She grabbed an apple out of the bowl of fruit.

"Hey, kiddo." I replied.

"Um, dad?".

"Mhm?".

She bit her bottom lip nervously, blushing. "What's an… orgy?" she asked.

"Uh…" I started to say, shocked that she asked. She must've heard Lars talking about it on Saturday night. "Well, it's, uh, where there's… a lot of people, and, uh, they all… have sex… together.".

Blair nodded, not making eye contact. "Hmm. Okay.". She glanced at the clock on the stove and hopped off her barstool. "Fuck! I'm gonna miss the bus!" she exclaimed, picking up her backpack from the floor and rushing to the front door.

"Bye, hun. Love you." I called as she stepped out the door.

"Bye, dad! Love you, too!" she called back. I stood at the front window for a moment to make sure she got on the school bus.

I heard light footsteps and felt a hand on my shoulder. Sarah let out a sigh of pleasure and wrapped her arms around me.

"Good morning, angel." I said.

"Morning, James." she smiled up at me.

"I made coffee for you." I told her, leading her to the kitchen.

"Oh, thank you.".

I poured her a cup of coffee and sat down at the island with her, reaching my arm across and holding her hand in mine.

"Hey, babe?" I sighed.

"Yeah?" she asked, her eyes wide with wonder. "What is it?".

"Are you- are we ever gonna tell Blair that I'm not her real dad?".

Sarah sighed and looked down into her steaming mug of coffee. "Yeah." she nodded. "I mean… it just wouldn't feel right to never tell her, y'know?".

"Yeah, I get it." I replied, gazing into her eyes.

"I think she might know by now.". Sarah chuckled, smiling to herself. "Once, she asked me if she had three parents!".

"Seriously?!".

Sarah nodded, giggling. "Yeah! The thing is, she looks a lot like Cliff, I mean A LOT.".

"Mmm, true.".

Sarah took a sip of her coffee and let out a sigh. "She must think I'm a real slut. And, I'll admit that I used to be. But not anymore.".

I gave her hand a loving squeeze. She actually seemed to be a little bit happier than she had been lately, and it was really good to see.

Later that day, I went to the mall by myself, in search of an engagement ring. I went to the same place I'd gone to last time, the one where the latino girl worked.

"Oh, hello, sir!" she said when she saw me walk in. I gave her a friendly smile and waved.

Every ring I looked at, I could picture on Sarah's finger.

Ever since I'd first met her, I'd always thought about her being my wife. Back in the eighties, when we'd all have our chicks with us, and Sarah was Cliff's girl, I'd always envied him so much. I'd been madly in love with her and wanted her so badly. And now, there I was, so fucking close to being her husband.