The Beat Of His Drums

Chapter 16

Graduation day was finally here.
Ghaust and I stood in line, waiting to be called on stage.
I looked towards the back seeing Jack standing in line talking to a friend of his. "I can't believe it's finally graduation day." Ghaust said, looking horribly pale. "It's going to be okay big bro." I patted his shoulder with a confident smile. "We aren't ever going to see our friends again. And we'll be so busy with our lives we'll forget each other. And we'll have to spend the rest of our lives working and paying bills..." He gulped. "How can we forget each other. We're twins. I won't spend a second without seeing you. And you'll still have Em and I'll still have Jack. Sure we won't see Luke or Tony or Akatski again. But we'll also still have Oscar. Everything is going to be just fine. You'll see. And eventually we'll get used to it. Everyone always does." I smiled. Oscar was behind us. "You know you bring me up in conversation but did you forget I was here?" He asked. We both laughed and pulled him into a group hug. "Promise me no matter what, we'll always be together." Oscar demanded. Ghaust and I promised hugging him tightly. Ghaust's name was called and we patted him on the back. Next Oscar's name was called. Then mine. I looked back one more time. Jack sent me a confident smile and a nodd. I nodded back and walked out. Receiving my diploma and a hand shake from my former principal. People clapped and I heard my family screaming my name. I took a seat next to Oscar. I looked out. In the middle row sat my little sister, my mom and dad, aunt and uncle, Emily's grandparents, and Jack's parents and brother. I smiled at the people who came to support us.

After the ceremony everyone made their way outside. Friends were hanging out and saying their goodbyes. Parents were taking pictures of their kids. Akatski, Luke, Emily, Ghaust, Oscar, Jack and I stood in a group as our parents took pictures of us. We through our graduation caps in the air for the final picture.

Out of no where, Jack gets down on his knee. Everyone around us stops. "What the hell?" Ghaust blurts out. My mom and Emily start to squeel and I'm completely oblivious to what's going on. "Siren, I've been waiting forever to do this. I'm not usually into this sappy romantic stuff, and it often makes me feel really awkward. Which is kind of why I'm rambling right now. I'm also a little nervous, so I'm just going to jump to the conclusion." He pulled out a tiny black box. "So I had a talk with Ghaust and Emily And we decided that we could have a double wedding." Ghaust face palmed and said, "oh my god I forgot! I'm so stupid!" Emily laughed and rubbed his back. "Will you marry me?" He finally asked. I chuckled, "of course." He stood up, and kissed me. People start clapping and I started to blush at the sudden scene we caused. Our families seemed to be really happy about the sudden engagement.

When we got home I rushed Jack up the stairs to my bed room. Planting kisses on him over and over again. I pushed him on the bed and climbed over him, straddling his waist. I continued to kiss him as he pried off my shirt, repetitively kissing my neck and other sensitive places. I'll spare you the extra details. Leave the rest to the imagination.

I lay on his chest, listening to his heart beat, and admiring my engagement ring. I'm finally in the place I've longed to be in. I glanced up at his beautiful face. He was sound asleep. I couldn't help but to blush at the thought of what just happened.

When I woke up the next morning, he was already wide awake, watching my every move. "You are amazing in bed." He chuckled kissing my forehead. "I am too." I laughed. "I love you. And I can't wait until you take my last name." I smiled, "I love you too. And when I do, no one else can have you. You're all mine." He laughed, his voice was groggy and scratchy from the morning drowsiness."No one else can have me now. I've always been all yours, and I always will be. I don't want anyone else to have me. Just you and only you." I yawned, "promise?" I allowed him to kiss me softly. He then pulled away and said "promise."

My brother burst into the room, his face looked pale and he was freaking out. "DUDES! EMILY AND I WERE ON THE PORCH WHEN SOME ASSHOLE PULLED OVER, PUSHED HIS PREGNANT DOG OUT OF THE CAR, AND HIGH TAILED IT OUTTA HERE! I CAN'T BELIEVE HE HAD THE NERVE TO DO THAT! SHE'S IN THE HOUSE NOW YOU HAVE TO COME DOWN STAIRS! SHE LOOKS LIKE SHE'S ABOUT TO GO INTO FUCKING LABOR!" He didn't seem to notice we were naked nor do I think he'd care at the moment. "Okay, let us get dressed." I said, noticably angry. It seemed that he finally noticed and his face flushed into a bright pink, "r-right...uh...yeah... But hurry, I don't know how to deal with these things." He left in a hurry. I quickly slipped some shorts and a tank top on. Jack followed my lead. "So mind telling me why you look so pissed off all of a sudden?" He asked, pulling a shirt over his head. "How the fuck can someone dump off an innocent animal. Especially when it's pregnant." I growled. "People are assholes." He sighed.

We ran down the stairs to see the family surrounding a pharoah hound. I heard Akamaru scratching and begging to be let out of Lyric's room. Mom brought out a bowl of dog food and water. "Can anyone guess how far a long she is?" I asked. Dad looked up at me, "I just called the vet, he's going to come up and look at her. He should be here in less than thirty minutes." The dog panted and yowled. Something tells me she's about to go into labor and there is no time left to prepare.

Moments later, the vet knocked on the door. My father let him in and he didn't hesitate to check her over. "It's time. I wasn't expecting this. I figured when you called she had a few weeks left, but, the puppies want out right now." He said. "Everyone must leave the room immediately, but Dave, you have to stay here with me in case there's any trouble and we need to intervene. Dogs usually give birth on their own and don't need assistance. However, things don't always go as planned. She needs a quiet and calm environment for this kind of thing to be successful." Everyone obeyed his order and left the room, aside from my father who stayed behind like he asked. We all decided it'd be best to go into the kitchen and wait.

Mom closed the living room door that lead to the kitchen. She leaned against the counter after prepping the coffee maker and sighed in exhaustion. I guess she's not used to the commotion. I sat on the island with my hands propped on my knees, supporting my head as my legs swung lazily. Oscar sat at the head of the table twiddling his thumbs. Ghaust and Emily sat next two each other on the side of the table holding each others hands. Jack stood beside me. Oscar took Lyric outside to play. So little she understands. It must be nice to be an innocent child.

I don't know why we're all acting so nervous. It's just a dog giving birth. But what can you do.

Dad comes in the room, signalling the puppies had been born. We all piled into the living room. Mom went to get Oscar and Lyric. Five puppies lined up for their milk. A sixth puppy kept getting shoved out of the group. Without hesitation, I swooped the puppy up in my arms. The vet stepped out of the house, coming back with puppy formula. "May I use your sink?" He asked. I shook my head and followed him into the kitchen. "It's definantly a mix. But what?" He prepared the formula, "pharoah hound and Australian Shepard." I stared at him in awe.
He looked at me and chuckled, "I love dogs. I used to be a breeder and when I was younger, I spent a lot of time studying them." I laughed, "oh." He handed me the formula. I took it gingerly and hung the bottle over the puppies mouth until it finally started drinking. It was such a cutie. Jack walked in and smiled down at the puppy who was still blind. "This one is ours." He said, gentally petting it. "Ours?" I asked, slightly confused. "Yours and mine." He chuckled. "Like kind of our first child?" I laughed. "Kinda, yeah." He smiled. "Okay. What should we name him?" I asked eagerly. "I don't know. We could go by Brock, Six, Brownie, Sherlock?" I laughed, "why Six?" He looked at me, "because he was the sixth puppy to be born." I smiled, "I kind of like Brock best." He kissed my forehead, "then Brock it is."