Honey Tea Lemon Tree

Chapter Three

Putting Oceanus to bed that night may have seemed like a bonding experience, but for the rest of the week he gave me a hard time. He wouldn't let me in on what he wanted, and would cry for hours at a time without stopping. Thank goodness for Lorraine, who'd come to the rescue when I needed her most.
  I sat down with her after she put Oceanus down for an afternoon nap. "It's just not fair," I said.
"Well, children with special needs do require special attention," she replied.
"No, what I meant was that it's not fair that he gets to act all obnoxious and no one will care. Special kids can get away with anything without consequences!"
Lorraine gave me a motherly look. "When you and Oceanus first met, didn't he try to grab at your glasses?"
"Yeah...."
"And what did you tell him?"
"I told him not to touch them."
"And has he tried to touch them since?"
I sighed. Lorraine was right.
Just then my daddy came into the room. "Hey Carli, your phone's ringing." He held it out to me, and I took it. "Thanks Daddy," I replied, and went to my room. 

I opened my phone and saw that I got a voicemail. It was from Dylan. "Hey, uh, Carli," he said. "This long distance thing, it's just not gonna work." 
At that moment, I felt my stomach tighten. Was he breaking up with me?
"Truth is, uh, I've kinda been cheating on you with that girl Mallory. It's just that...I feel it's easier to have a relationship with a girl and can see and touch. That's all. Sorry, babe."
That was it. My heart shattered, and I was fuming with rage, something I hadn't felt in quite some time.  I dialed his number, and after a few rings, he picked it up. "Hello?"
I then let out all my rage on him. I said some pretty awful words and called him some nasty things, not caring if I was loud or if Oceanus, Lorraine or Daddy heard me. After about a minute or so of vicious ranting, he hung up on me. Good, I thought. I'll never see him or talk to him ever again, and if he wants to shut me out, then good riddance. 
 
I closed my phone and put it on my nightstand. By now, not only was I angry at Dylan but I also felt anger toward my mother. She had done the same thing to my daddy, and I realized that this must've been exactly what he felt when he found out she was cheating. Before I realized it, there were hot, fat tears forming in the corners of my eyes, and streaming down my cheeks. I hadn't cried in so long. I flopped down on the bed and let myself cry, sobbing like a little girl. I heard a knock at the door. 
"Come in," I bawled, thinking it was Daddy. Surprisingly enough, it was Oceanus. I wiped my tears and gazed at him for a second before he took a couple steps in. Now that he was closer, I could see a look of sympathy on his face. I sat up and he took my hands as if to say, "Don't worry. I'm here."

I began to cry again, and he did something I wouldn't have expected to do; he hugged me. Without hesitation I hugged him right back, burying my face into his shoulder and sobbing. I needed his shoulder to cry on so badly, and that was the first of many moments that I would be grateful for him.