Chain Reaction 2.33: Maybe I'm Cursed

     After speaking on the phone with the beautiful woman standing next to me, we decided that we needed to tell Drake together that his parents are divorcing. My heart breaks anew. Here is another life I'm ruining. Maybe I'm cursed.
     He appears on the sidewalk, having just come home from school.
     "Mom! Dad!" At first, he sounds happily surprised to see us together like this. Then, he reads our faces. "What's going on."
     "Your mother and I have something we need to tell you," I say since I know Laura is too choked up to speak.

     She looks over at me, begging me to do this as gently as possible. Oh, Maker, I can't look at her beautiful eyes without having my entire being shredded to bits!
     "Well?" Drake waits for me to explain.
     "Well, you know we've been fighting. It's unresolvable. Your mother wants a divorce." Plum! I already know my mistake. She opens her mouth to defend herself, but I quickly cut back in. "That is, her grounds for wanting it are good reasons. If anyone's to blame, it's me." I look at Drake as he stares at the two of us like he's never seen us before. "I signed the papers a few minutes ago."
     "So it's... it's... it's done then? You two aren't even going to try?"
     Laura speaks. "We've been trying for a while."
     "No. You guys are in love. You love each other, right?" He waits for us to answer. "RIGHT?"
     "It's not as simple as that." I wish I could explain it better to him.
     "Not as-- Plum you!"
     "Drake!" Laura shouts back.
     "No! Neither of you get to tell me what I can and can't do anymore! If I wanna plumbing say plum, I plumbing will!" People stop on the street and stare at our son.

     His face lands in his hands as he tries to hide his crying. He's never really been one to cry, even as a baby.
     "I'm buying a house nearby, Drake," Laura says quietly. "You're welcome to live there if you wish."
     This is the first I've heard of this. How nearby? Nearby enough that I could easily swing by and...?
     I pause in my subconscious hope. It's no use. Even if I were able to woo Laura back into my arms, I still wouldn't deserve her.
     Nothing but a strange noise comes from Drake. Laura walks up to him and puts a piece of paper in his shirt pocket.
     "Here is the address. I'm so sorry, sweetie." She kisses his cheek and vanishes to her new lot.

     He pulls out the piece of paper and looks at it before placing it into a pocket of his jeans. His sad eyes, so like his mother's, look at me in question. "Why, Dad? You said it's your fault. Why?"
     "I..." I can't answer him.
     "Is it because of Emily's mom?"

     Does the whole world know?
     He reads my expression. "Forget it. I can already tell my answer. My dad, the sap." He glares at me. "I'm going to go take a walk."
      "Okay. Be back by ten."
      "Plum you," he throws over his shoulder.

Emily

     "MY PARENTS ARE GETTING A DIVORCE!"

     I have to jump back from Drake's shout. He'd asked me to meet him here, but he didn't say why. He must not have wanted to say it over the phone, but he was obviously bursting to tell me.

     "Maker, Drake! Are you serious?"

     "Yes! Do you want to know why?"

     "Yes." Well, he apparently wants to tell me.

     "Your. Mother." His voice carries a ten ton weight.

     "Mom?"

     "If that's what you want to call her. Right now, I prefer skank." He stands in front of me, looking like he's enjoying waiting for my reaction.

     My mouth drops. "What has she done?" I want to slap him across the face, and it was my first reaction. But it wouldn't get me anywhere.

     He doesn't answer my question. "You know... It's incredibly ironic. My dad can't seem to ever get over that woman, yet here I am, his son, dating her daughter."

     "Drake, this has nothing to do with us," I tell him patiently.

     "Oh? It doesn't? Well, it's got me wondering. What if that's the reason I'm attracted to you? What if it's just a set pre-programming, that the cosmos was determined for our family lines to meet?"

     "Don't be ridiculous. Are you saying you're only attracted to me because the cosmos forced you to be? Gee. Thanks." I want to leave. Drake is hurting me again. It's not my fault his parents are getting divorced, yet with the way he's acting, he's dying to have someone else in emotional pain.

     "Maybe it's your dad's fault." This throws me.

     "Huh?"

     "Your dad did everything he could to keep them apart, right? It probably just made Dad want her more. Your dad did the same thing to me with you, and it only accomplished me realizing I liked you. Yeah. Maybe it's both your parents' fault!"

     "The only people at fault here are your parents, Drake, for wanting to get divorced in the first place. Stop trying to place blame elsewhere. I'm really sorry about what's happened to you, and when you're ready to talk honestly about this instead of looking to b*tch at someone, give me a call. Until then, I don't have to listen to this!" I brush past him, and he doesn't try to stop me.

     As I march off, I hear behind me, "Running away, huh? Just proving again that you're just like your mom."

     I don't turn around. How could he know that my mom had run away from home? I'd never told him. I know Dad never told him, and I don't think Mom would've either. Did Alex tell him?

     At any rate, I keep walking. I won't give him the satisfaction of having me look back.

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