The Shadows of Memory Lane (Book 2) [Gxg]

Chapter 26

The fire in his eyes burned regardless of the watery blue and the sea green.

"It's happening again Linda. The mixed emotions. The anger. The rage. The sadness scorching my insides. Betrayal flooding my veins, leaving no space for my blood to run. It's happening again."

Linda looked at the poor broken boy. Fragments broken and misplaced. The look lasted for a few seconds. They looked into each others eyes, feeling the pain, sharing the pain. She went over to the boy and hugged him. He was a shadow of a shadow. He'd been a shadow when she'd met him the first time now he was worse. She pulled back and saw the fire extinguishing in his eyes, as they were overcome by tears. Tears that dampened Linda's shirt.

But he wiped them as he laid his eyes on something... or rather someone behind her. His expression, contradictory to the previous one, was cold. He stared at his father. The nineteen year old boy, watched as his father gazed at him with love and longing.

"Alejandro..." the 'r' rolled on his tongue softly as he said the name, yet his voice was gruff as if he was holding back his unshed tears.

"Father. I think we have some things to discuss. I want to know. I can't run away. I will not. So save your apologies, if you have any in you," he muttered, "And get straight to the point."

His father sighed. Can we at least go inside and sit down. I think you might need to."

Linda stopped Juan before he could refuse, she took his hand and led him inside. And beckoned for Jimena and Amia, an utterly confused Amia who had wandered outside, to follow her. None of them objected. They all sat on the available furniture. The intensity of the father-son staring contest was giving the three girls anxiety. They all sat in an uncomfortable silence before finally Guillermo's booming voice disrupted the silence with a loud 'So'.

"So, it was the year before you were born. Your mother and I, we weren't married yet but we were engaged. We'd obviously already had Luca. That particular evening I'd had this horrible fight with her. We were screaming our heads off. I got stressed and I stormed out of the house. I still remember the night clearly. The moon had almost been engulfed by the darkness. The stars were sparsely scattered. I sought solace in alcohol. As I usually did at those times. Your mother and I were twenty six at the time. Supposed to be mature. But I never grasped the responsibility that comes with having a child. So I walked into a club that night. Drowning the rage in alcohol. At the back of the club, drowning in the shadows. But the alcohol, as suspected took it's toll on me, and when this beautiful blue eyed woman approached me, the hormones in my twenty six year old self took control. I started dancing with her. We danced for hours. I was drunk enough to forget about your mother... my true love. I even gave her my number. Then... one thing led to another... and the next thing I know a month later I get a call from an unknown number. And she tells me she's pregnant. I knew I had to come clean then but I was too scared, so I kept it secret from your mother. The worse part? You were made the next day. We'd forgiven each other. And we moved to Washington from L.A. because of my job. Anyways, nine months later I get the call again. And I told her about my family. You, Luca... your mother. She said she couldn't keep the child either. So she said she would keep the child with her parents. Five years later, I get a knock on my door. I walked to it with a smile on my face, as we'd just been playing together, Alejandro. But when I opened the door, there she was. Her blue eyes bright against the darkness of the night. She tells me that she couldn't take care of the baby anymore. That her parents were dead. And that she had a child of her own. She was only twenty one or something when the child was conceived. I argued that I had two children of my own. She argued that she'd been unfaithful to someone who'd come back, given up his life, for her. I asked her to come inside, so we could explain to your mother. But she, as you know, was a very temperamental person. She screamed at me. For lying for five years. For keeping it a secret. Yes I deserved it. I pleaded. Over and over, for her to forgive me. But she said she couldn't. She told me to get out. She told me to take the child and never look at her in the face ever again. So that's what I did. We both signed the divorce papers. She spun a story so you and Luca would hate me. I couldn't argue because what I'd actually done was worse. But regardless of the sins I loved the child. She was a girl, with her mother's beautiful ocean blue eyes and my black hair. She was the daughter that every father wants. She was my bundle of joy to say. She asked me who I was. I replied that I was her father, and the beautiful trusting child looked at me once, pulled me down and whispered in my ear, "I love you papa." Together, we escaped our problems. We left Washington D.C. and came here. We lived here for a while, and last year when she left for university, I went back to Washington. To find your mother. Beg her to take me back. I knew I was late. But I had to. And when I couldn't find her, I asked her friends, who gave me looks of detestation and replied that she was dead," his mouth went dry as he spoke the four letter word," I never told Jimena because..." he hesitated, and Jimena looked at him thoughtfully, shaking her head, "I realised that life was too short to live with sorrows. So my princess grew up the way she was meant to. Like royalty. I sent money to your mother as well, but they always came back, so after three years, I stopped trying.But Alejandro... I never stopped loving her, or you or Luca."