Those Nights

Twenty-Six: Broken

Drake and the doctor left me alone with my mother; I slept on the little couch in the room with her. 

My dreams started sweet and caring.  They were about my mom.  Then the dreams melted into a horrifying nightmare.  I woke up the next morning drenched in my own sweat. 

I looked at my phone it was already 11.  I quickly got off the couch and went to the room Nathan and Natalie shared.  The nurse was getting Natalie ready to go.  "Are you ready?"  She asked me.

"Sure let me call someone to come get us,"

I called Drake but it went straight to voice mail.  How strange.  I called Ethan and he happily agreed.  Within 30 minutes, he was there. 

We got on the road and Natalie was asleep quick.  Nathan would be coming home in two more days.  I'd keep visiting if Drake would watch Natalie for me.  "Drake knows," Ethan said.

I looked at him.  "Knows?"

"I told him about that night.  I told him about how the girls might not be his."

"YOU WHAT?!"

"He has a right to know.  You know that.  "

"Yeah I know, but I didn't want him to find out now,"

"Better now than later when he gets more attached to the girls."

We pulled into the parking lot outside of the complex.  I gently woke Natalie up and Ethan carried her inside for me.  Drake was sitting at the kitchen table waiting for me.

"Why didn't you tell me?"  He asked.

"I couldn't"

"That's a damn lie and you know it Danielle!"  He stood up and got closer to me.  Ethan put Natalie on the couch and put his hands in between us.  "Watch it Ethan," Drake warned.

"I couldn’t tell you and hurt you!"  I cried.

"Get out!  Ugh!  You are such a lying whore; I can't even look at you."

"Drake please don't say that."  I pleaded.

"Get out, get your stuff.  I'll leave and you can get out.  I don't care where you go I just can't look at you the same anymore."

He stormed out and I started crying.  "Danny you can stay with me," 

I nodded and started packing my stuff.  I got my books, laptop, CDS, movies, blankets, and clothes.  I didn’t feel like moving today, not again.  Ethan helped carry my stuff to the car and then helped Natalie in.

"Danny he isn't worth it,"

"I know…  I should have told him before,"

"That would have just made you more stressed out.  You don't need more stress."

I leaned my head on his shoulder.  Exhaustion filled me and I slowly felt myself drift to sleep.  Then too soon, we were at Ethan's. 

We unpacked my stuff and got into Ethan's tiny house.  It was cute I guess, but small.  Ethan suggested we watch a movie to get my mind off everything.  I agreed even though I knew it wouldn’t work.  The girls started kicking the hell out of me again, one baby would kick my side, and then the other would kick my front.  They seemed to be having fun kicking me and making me squirm.  I fell asleep during the opening of The Notebook.  I woke up to Ethan's arms around me on the couch.  The girls were kicking again and I'm pretty sure one of them was sitting on my bladder.  Sadly the second trimester hasn't been easier on me, the nausea was getting worse it seemed.

The days passed and I managed to get Nathan and all my stuff moved into the house with Ethan.  He didn’t mind having the twins here.  He said that they would be good practice for our future.  Our future. 

My mom wasn’t getting any better or any worse.  The doctors said she probably wouldn’t wake up for months, if ever.  I kept praying for her though.  When I called my family to tell them my grandmother said she'd come down when and if my mom died, but she'd keep praying.

  My uncle said he'd be down in a week with his kids and wife.  He hadn't seen my mom since last year at my 16th birthday.  He cried when we were on the phone.  My uncle is known mostly as the strongest in the family, he never cried.

 My grandparents disowned my other uncle, Tommy, when he came out of the closet 10 years ago.  After he was kicked out, he came stay with us for about a year.  When I told him the news, he said he'd grab the first flight he could.  Ethan was going to drive me and the twins to go get him in about an hour. 

I stood in the crowded air port looking for Tommy.  "Danielle?"  I heard a familiar voice say.  I spun around to see him standing in front of me.  No wonder I hadn't recognized him!  He has changed a lot in the past year.  Instead of light brown hair, he had it dyed black with a blue streak in the front; his clothes reminded me of how Drake dressed.  Tommy was only 26 but looked so much younger.  Tommy was the baby of their family. 

I ran up and hugged him.  "Oh I've missed you!"

"I missed you too kid!"  He looked me over and smiled at my belly.  "And what is this?"

"Our future daughters," Ethan answered.  "I'm Ethan," He said and shook Tommy's hand.

"So I take it as you are the baby daddy?" 

"Yes sir,"

"Don't call me sir!  It makes me feel so old.  Let's go see your mom."

I helped Nathan on his crutches and Ethan took Natalie's as we walked out of the airport.  I explained the whole situation to Tommy.  He didn’t like Chris is the first place and now he really hated Chris.  Tommy said that Chris should have been more careful. 

He got in the room where my mom was at and gasped before crying his eyes out. 

It was so hard watching Tommy cry like that.