I Will Follow You Into the Dark

CHAPTER 60

giggles at everyone's predisposition to blame Steve for everything

Here's a longer update to shed a little more light on things. This one was fun to write. I think dwelling on Daddy Derek has helped me not hate him as much this week. And forgive the loose references to annoying things........just enjoying the irony a bit.

The next morning, Trent woke up and wandered into the kitchen. Derek looked up from his work making pancakes and shook his head in frustration at his son, "You OK?"

"Yeah."

"You scared the crap out of us—you know that, right?"

"Yeah. Sorry. But he's not my dad. I want to move here and live with you."

"It's great that your want to be here, and I'd love to have more time with you, but we can't be selfish about this and hurt your mom."

Trent's face fell. He could tell his father wasn't going to budge.

"If you were here, you'd be mad at me, too. Being a teenager is hard. Parents limit your choices and keep you from being independent. We'd be butting heads, too, if you were here more because we're too much alike. Plus you'd miss your friends and your baseball team......"

Trent said nothing. The reality of that part of the situation only beginning to dawn on him.

"We have a flight tomorrow. It costs a small fortune. You'll have a lot of work to do to pay Steve back."

"But you're paying for the tickets. Can't I work for you?" Trent asked hopefully.

"No. I've decided that working for Steve will be good for you."

Trent looked down at his plate miserably. Derek would have laughed if he hadn't been so frightened out of his mind by the stunt his son had pulled.

"So.......I took the day off. You eat and take a nap, and then we'll go out later today and flirt with some hot women."

"C'mon, Dad......."

"What? You think the chicks don't still dig your old man?"

Trent laughs, "I don't want to flirt with women."

"You are my son. You flirt with women. It's what we do. We're good at it."

"I'm in love with a girl back home. I don't want to flirt with some stupid bimbo when I have Allison at home."

Derek looked at his son thoughtfully before responding, "Trent, you're only 15."

Trent cut him off, "Dad, this is what caused the fight at home. Can we talk about this later?"

"OK," Derek said, "We'll go fishing."

"OK."

"Trent?"

"Yeah?"

"I love you."

"You, too, Dad."



**********



Later, down at the docks, they started talking as Derek loaded their gear into the boat, "So, what started this big fight back home?"

Trent looked at his dad as if he were gauging what his reaction might be. Then he shuffled his feet a bit and muttered, "momfoundaboxofcondomsinmyroom."

Derek paused a moment and looked up from his work, cocking an eyebrow in his son's direction.

"I hadn't used them........I.......I just had them........just in case."

Derek said nothing. He finished loading things into the boat and stood, turning to face his son and trying to figure out how to have this conversation.

Trent took his father's silence as a positive sign and continued, "I don't see what she's so upset about. I know she's my mom, but it's not like she was a virgin when she got married."

Trent never knew what hit him. Before he realized what was happening, he was pinned against the wall of the store with Derek's forearm across his chest. Derek's face was right up in Trent's, and he spoke angrily through gritted teeth, "Don't you dare talk about your mother like that. EVER. Do you hear me?"

"Yes, sir. Sorry," Trent said, truly afraid of the anger he rarely saw from his father.

Derek let go of him and paced around a few minutes, running his hands through his unruly hair. Then he got in the boat and sat, waiting but not speaking to Trent.

They rode in silence to the spot where they cast their lines.

Quite a while later, Trent spoke up, "You still love her, don't you?"

"I'll always love your mother."

"She loves you, too. Why don't you fight for her—man up and win her back?"

Derek grimaced at his son and raised an eyebrow before saying, "Because I love her. I really love her. And she's happy. And I get to spend time with you. That's enough."

"You're settling."

"No. I'm letting your mom be happy. When you really love someone, their happiness is all that matters."

"I don't get it."

"I didn't think you would."

"But I do love Allison, Dad. It's real. It's.......it's the way you love Mom. She's.......everything."

Seeing the look on Trent's face and recognizing it clearly as one so often on his own when talking about Meredith, Derek responded, "I believe you."

"Mom doesn't. She says I'm too young."

"She's overprotective, remember?"

"I know I was way out of line before. I love Mom. I don't think of her that way at all. I just thought she'd understand......."

"She understands. She just worries. Sex is a big deal. A huge deal at your age. The younger you are, the more it matters. Wanting it is normal. Having it? Well, it would be great, but it's a huge step, a big responsibility."

"Dad, please tell me you're not trying to have THAT talk."

"No. I'm sure you know the concepts. But you should wait. A long time. If you really love Allison, you should wait. It will be hard, but you won't regret it."

"Yeah, right."

"Trent, I dated your mother for three years before we had sex--and we were finishing college, not in the middle of high school. I never wanted anyone as much as I wanted her, but I waited. I channeled all of my pent up energy into showing her how much I loved her. So when we finally made love, it was making love. It was about so much more than just sex. And it was really worth the wait—for both of us."

Trent sat quietly considering what he had just heard.

"So if you really love Allison—and I believe that you do, then wait. Even if she doesn't want to wait. You'll appreciate more about her, and you'll treat her like a princess. She'll love you more if you do."

"You're sure?"

"Promise."

"I'll think about it."

"OK."

They sat in silence for a long while. Neither had a nibble, but they were each lost in thought. Trent was mulling over what he had just heard, and Derek was lost in memories he didn't allow to surface very often.

"So chicks still dig you, huh?" Trent asked, smiling at his father. Derek laughed heartily, "You have no idea."