Oh, hell no!

Chapter 13

Chapter 13.
After the laughter calmed down, Jake enclosed Grace in his arms again and even though she struggled to get away from his bare chest, he held her even tighter. When she finally relaxed onto his chest Jake asked Grace if she wanted to talk to him about what her mom told her. When Grace’s mouth opened she could not stop the words. She spoke about what happened that night seven years ago and what Darren tried to do to her. She spoke about her mom and how she realized that maybe her mom weren’t as weak as she thought. She spoke about her dad and said that she now understood the way he acted. She spoke about what her mom told her and she thought of how heart ache was caused by other. She spoke about the contract and what will happen to her father if she refused. Lastly she asked Jake how he felt and what where they going to do. Jake kept quiet the whole time she spoke, gently rubbing circles on her thigh, calming her without even knowing it.
“What do you mean what will we do?” Jake asked and Grace sat up, Jake instantly knew Grace took it the wrong way, so he pulled her closer to him again and chuckle slightly. “Of course we are getting married.” He said giving her a kiss on the side of her head where her hairline started.
“I cannot ask you to marry me Jake; it is not your problem. You are an innocent bystander.” Jake shook his head and Grace gave him a questioning look.
“So when will we get married then?” He asked as if he did not hear her.
“Jake I can’t ask you to do this…” Jake silenced Grace by pressing his finger to her mouth making a shhh sound.
“I want to Grace. I want to help you and I know I’m the only one that can help you and your family out of this. You don’t have to ask me.” He looked her in the eyes so she could see how serious he was.
“Thank you, Jake.” Grace was drained by then. All the new information and revelations she made today made her tired and Sleepy. They sat in silence and before she knew it she dreamt of Jake kissing her tip of her nose and saying “Go to sleep, baby.”

*_*

The next morning Grace’s mom came to make some morning coffee for Grace’s father. She stopped in her tracks and turned around. She quietly went to fetch her husband. “Come with me.” She said softly. She led him down the hallway to the entrance of the living room. She motioned for him to look when he gave her a questioning look.

On the sofa laid Grace wrapped in Jakes arms a small smile lingered on her lips, she looked happy and relaxed. Jake held her with his one arm under her head as a pillow for her head to rest on and holding on to her opposite hand. His other arm was slung over Grace’s midriff and his hand held her other hand. Their legs where tangled together with Jake’s leg over hers. His face was nestled into her hair and he too had a peaceful and tranquil expression on his face. To the ones looking at them they looked like two puzzle pieces that fit perfectly together. The two onlookers quietly made their way back to their room.
“He makes her happy.” Mr. Hayward said. “You could see it on her face. You use to have the same look on yours when we just got married.” He sat on the bed and hung his head in his hands supporting his arms with his knees; Mrs. Hayward new better then to interrupt. “I’m so sorry Maggie.” He said softly, but in the silence of the apartment it came out loud and clear. There were tears in his eyes when he looked up into her brown orbs. He felt so ashamed, because of the way he treated her all these years. He still loved her, but he knew that she would no longer love her after the way he treated her for the last twenty four years.  “I have to tell you something, Maggie. All those years ago when all of this started I blamed you for the way Mike looked at you and I got jealous because you never seem to mind. Later I realised you never even noticed. Then you came to me with the problem of Mary acting like you and all those stuff she did. I thought that if she continued to do so Mike would stop looking at you, so I decided to convince you that she is harmless and maybe just a bit jealous, but Mike got worse every time.” Marry could see the sorrow in his pale blue eyes and felt a tear run down her check, but she dared not to move; afraid that she will break his will to carry on.
“I tried to talk to him about the way it made you uncomfortable when Mary where acting like you and he told me that if it bothers me so much that we should swap wives. I took it as a joke until, one night just after you got pregnant; he was drinking a lot and told me and a few other people that he was going to be a father. I was happy for him and congratulated him; he gave me a hug and said sorry I could not say the same to you. I thought it was because he was jealous because I was married to you. Later that week I ran into Mary and congratulated her as well, but she told me that she was not pregnant. I did not know what to make of his words so; I decided again to just let it go and wrote it of as he was drunk. Every time he got drunk he would make remarks about how he would like to be with you again. I took it as he meant see you again. Then Mary came to you with the news that she was indeed pregnant and then when Grace was born, Mike gave Mary something to drink so Brain could get born around the same time. Mary did not know that he slipped the tablet he got from the pharmacy into her juice that morning.” Maggie could not believe what she heard, gasping she covered her mouth with her hand. Mr. Hayward patted the space beside him and to show her to take a seat. Slowly she sank onto the bed, still in a state of disbelieve.
“He knew that the pill could cause severe effects on the baby as well as Mary even cause death, but he did not care he wanted his baby to be born on the day that yours were  born. He did not care about being my friend; he wanted to be close to you. After the kids turned five months old he told me that Brian was not his son. He believed that I was Brian’s father and the more I said it could not be, the more he would tell be that he knew Mary seduced me with acting like you. I swear I never touched her. I tried to stay away from then on, but he would always find a way to get near us. If we went somewhere they went, if we did something they did. One day we were at the bar and he mistakenly said his wife’s name was Maggie. I laughed and said he must be drunk, because you are mine. That night I could not sleep I kept thinking of how weird things started to get with them around. That was around the time that Mike made this joke about our kids getting married someday. Later I found out that he got me to sign the contract on one of our drunken nights. When the first letter arrived I was already thinking in the back of my mind that maybe you and Mike had something going on, because you never wanted us hanging out with them anymore. I started to distance myself from you to see if I can catch you with him.” Maggie took in a deep breath to calm herself like she did every time she had to defend herself. She never could handle arguing. She got panic attacks when confronted.
“I never had anything to do with him. I could not stand him or her!” Maggie said strongly, she will not let him blame her for anything she did not do back then. He was to blame, he bought them into their lives and he was the one that did not listen to reason when she told him something was off with Mary. Slowly the anger she had bottled up for twenty four years started to build up inside her. She had enough of never being good enough and never doing anything right. Today she will not panic and she will not let him dominate her anymore.
“I could never catch you with him so the next time he took off early from work I decided to do the same. I made a few phone calls to get reservations for two and phoned a babysitter for Grace just in case I was wrong, I needed an alibi. When I got home you were on your way already, bags packed and you just went in to fetch Grace. I thought you were going to leave me for him. I was furious and when you said you know about me and Mary my mind shut off. I really did not mean it when I slapped you. I hate myself for ever lifting my hand to you. When you left I could not handle it any more. I got drunk and Mike showed up telling me that finally he was going to get you and I will lose you forever. When you returned I was so furious at you for being a hypocrite and I wanted to break you, like you broke me. Mike told me that Grace was his, but that he only slept with you once. He said you threw yourself at him the night you got pregnant and I the stupid fool believed him. For five years I believed his lie. I could not look at Grace and not hear his voice taunting me. I withdrew from you, convinced that you only stayed because you had to. Then Mike came to me the last day he was in town and told me that he lied about Grace and about you, but that Grace will be his daughter one day. He gave me the contract I signed and said: ‘Even if it is over your dead body she will be mine.’ I knew he meant you not Grace.” His pale blue eyes were full of shame and regret. He threw everything away just because one man wanted what was his.
“When I got home that day I wanted to see the letters you said Mary sent. I did not know of her death and did not want to hear about the woman that destroyed my life by pushing my wife straight into her husband’s arms. After reading them I could not look you in the eyes and the next day you came to see if I was ill I heard you outside the door and I could not believe what a fool I was. I love you Maggie and I’m so sorry for the way I treated you all these years. I know that telling you my side of the story will not fix any of the things I done and it will not take the pain or the emotions away that I caused. I wanted so badly to show Grace how much I love her, but I knew she would hate me when she heard about the contract. I knew he would come back and I did not know how to prepare you or her for it so I decided to push you both away. I will gladly give my live for both of you, but it breaks me that you will lose the daughter that you loved even though I was her father.” He bowed his head in shame again and could not look Maggie in the eyes any more. He was such a fool for half of his life and he was a coward for never fighting for them. He ruled his house with fear and dominance instead of love and equality.
“Peter, look at me!” Maggie boomed for the first time in her life she shouted at someone. She could not hold the anger inside her anymore. “I am done with you and your demands and your yelling and your emotional abuse. What happened years ago happened, because we let it happen. I am done with a person I don’t want in my life control my happiness. I am done feeling like I have no purpose and I am done whit your controlling ways. You are to blame for brining those horrid people into our lives. I will not let them control our relationship anymore. I don’t hate you and your daughter does neither. We love you even though you pushed us away. You are to blame for Grace leaving our house and only visiting once a year. You are to blame for Grace feeling unloved and you are to blame for her thinking that I was the spineless coward when it was you all along. I am done blaming and I am done being a spineless nobody. Stop feeling sorry for yourself about all this stuff that can’t be fixed and fix what you can now, I forgave you years ago and now it’s time you forgive yourself and let the person I married twenty-nine years ago show himself again. I know he is still in there and you owe it to me and your daughter to become him again. You owe it to her to let her know the real you!” When Maggie said all she had to say she left the room and made the coffee she was supposed to an hour ago.

Grace woke up when a voice she never hear yelling before boomed though the apartment. Shocked she sat up, hitting Jake on the chin with her head. “Sorry, babe.” She said without thinking her eyes trained on the hallway. She could hear everything her mom said and a feeling of pride rose in her. Finally her mom spoke up for not only herself, but for Grace too.
“I like it.” Jake whispered in her ear doing that tracing thing again, making the butterflies start instantly.
“What?” Grace asked confused still focused on the hallway and her mother’s yelling.
“You called me babe. I like it, but I would love if you kissed it better.” Jake said still whispering in her ear.
Pressing his face away from her with her hand she groaned. “Not now.” Still looking at the hall.
“Really?” Jake deadpanned.
“Shh…” She silenced him. She did not care that she sounded rude or that he might not understand this momentous occasion. All she knew was her mom finally had enough and she was in the seventh heaven. “She did it, finally!” She whispered and the look of amazement took over her face. Turning to Jake her face beamed and he could see that something big happened.
“I’m confused, I thought you said you’re used to the yelling and now you look like a kid on Christmas morning?” Jake said with a frown
“I’m use to my dad yelling, it was never my mom. She did it Jake; she finally stood up for us.” Excitement twinkled in her eyes.
“Oh, now can I get my chin kissed?” Jake asked teasingly.
“Oh, hell no.” she said getting of the sofa, giggling she ran to go hug her mom and tell her how proud she was of her.