Chain Reaction 3.40: Dad

Drake

     It's Morgan's day off. I've decided to take Valentino to the park. We were both going a little stir crazy. I thought we might try one farther away from my house because I wonder if the neighbors don't like me. I'm probably on one of those 'criminal lists' that people can find online. Whatever.

     Then I see her: Emily.

     I can barely breathe, and my steps falter for just a moment. I save myself before I trip, however. Glancing at the playground, I spy what must be my brother. I haven't seen him in years. Kid does look like a Goth.

     Emily hasn't seen me. She's too busy watching her son.

     I have to talk to her. I have to see her. It's been too long.

     I say her name as I walk closer, and a smile spreads across my face. She hasn't changed at all. Being a Goth is good for her; it's just wrong she's not with me. One day, I will fix that. One day. Somehow.

     She looks at my son and then up at me. "Drake?" she asks like she can't believe it. Why can't she believe it? I called her not too long ago to let her know I was back in town.

     "Yeah. Who else?" I reply with a small laugh.

     Valentino sees Emily and starts wiggling to be let down so that he can go to her. "Gammy!"

     I look at him. Gammy? I don't want you calling her 'Gammy.' She should be 'Mommy.' 

     He runs to Emily, and she hugs him, smiling. They chat for a minute, well, as much of a chat as one can with a toddler. It occurs to me that Emily has spent more time with my son than I have, at least in recent memory. Well, I'm working at fixing that today.

     Emily sits Valentino between us. I can't help but wonder if that was a strategic move.

     "What happened to your face?" Her cute eyebrows scrunch up in concern.

     "Hm? Oh. The scar." I like the concern--just not the topic. "Let's leave it at the fact that I wound up on the wrong side of a man's fists, okay?" I smile to lighten the situation.

     "Whose?"

     I make a motion as if to brush the topic away. "Doesn't matter. It was just something crazy that happened during the little trip I took." I'd really rather not talk about this.

     She finally gets the point.

      Valentino doesn't seem interested in going and playing with Alaric. He acts like he'd rather just sit here with the two of us. Poor kid's a little clingy. I'll go and play with him on the toddler equipment in a few minutes. For now, though, I want to talk to this 'Gammy.'

      "Is Dad here?" I wanted to ask 'is my idiot father here?' but didn't due to present company.

      "He's at the law office." Emily suddenly looks away, pretending to watch the playground. Something in what she said hurt. I think. Her voice cut short at the end, and she swallowed hard.

      Are they getting a divorce? Oh, if only I could be so lucky. I don't care if it would be 'weird' for my half-brother. I want Emily back. I need to stop wasting my time with nannies, and, well... My mind drifts to other avenues wherein I got distracted from my ultimate goal: winning back Emily and destroying my father.

      "What's going on?" I watch her. She looks mouthwatering. I can't explain it because to the untrained eye, she would just appear ordinary. But she's not. She's Emily, and I want to grab her and demand what crazy thing prompted her to marry my dad.

      Her lip quivers for a moment before she can stop it. "It's Dad."

      "What do you mean?" Has Graham changed his mind and is demanding that Emily divorce Dad? He's always hated him. He knows that Emily is just a replacement for Dad and his obsession with Brielle. I wouldn't want any daughter of mine caught in a relationship where she's merely substituting for someone else. Funny to think Graham and I are on the same side.
      I'm better than Pops. At least I know who I'm obsessed with. But trying to pretend someone else is the object of my affection only ends up in disaster.

      "Haven't you heard?" She brings me out of my quick thoughts and back to the subject of her dad.

      "Heard what?"

     "Dad's in prison."

     "What?" My mouth drops. I know several reasons the man could be thrown into prison, but I never decided to use them. Someone did, though. "Why?" I ask even though I probably know the answer.

     "He's accused of espionage." She throws her hands up and slaps the backs of them on her thighs like the very idea seems ludicrous to her. I won't be the one to correct her.

     "Espee!" Valentino adds, copying Emily's movements.

     "What?!" I pretend to be outraged. I'm only outraged at one person, though: Dad.

     My blood burns. This has Dad written all over it. He's always hated Graham every bit as much as Graham hates him. The two have never fully gotten along. Specifically, though, what did Graham do this time to make Dad angry?

     The woman I love covers her face with her hands. "And Alex says it's true."

     I hate him! He went and did it! I resisted doing it to avoid the very scene I'm witnessing.

      Emily keeps going. "Apparently, it's all true. My Dad always told me he was an accountant. I believed him. If a girl can't trust her own father, whom can she trust?" She bites her knuckle to keep from saying more. After taking a deep breath, she says, "I came here today to get my mind off everything. That's not worked." She stands up to go, looking like she's about to call for Alaric to tell him they're leaving.

     No! I think desperately and bound off the bench. "Don't go." I don't know how I sound, but all I can think is that I want her to stay in the park, even if only for a bit longer. It's been so long since I've seen her in the flesh, and doing so has just made me want more so badly that it brings me physical pain.

     She turns around and sees whatever expression I have on my face--and bursts into tears.
     "Emily," I say in a comforting way and wrap my arms around her.

     "No, Drake. I just got overwhelmed for a second." She sniffs, and I can feel her trying to pull away.

     "Shh."

     "I'm okay," she insists, but she sounds far from it.

     "No, you're not."

     "I just let it get to me for a second. That's all." She has her face in my chest, and I wonder if it's in an effort to prevent me from kissing her. I wouldn't do that. Not right now.

     "You let it all build up. You need to let it out sometime." My arms are around her again. I want to sigh happily. I haven't held her since Dad stole her from me. I want to start crying and wonder how I let my life get into such a mess, but even though I just told Emily that she has to let it out, I hold it in. I'll let it out when I'm on my own.

     "Alex is trying to get the premier to give him another chance or give him a lesser sentence," she says, surprising me.

     So, Pops, what are you playing at? You get him arrested only to get his sentence lessened? My dad is nuts. At least this explains what he's doing at the law office.

     Then, it hits me. He wants to be her hero. Her dad gets put in jail and he's the one to save him.

     But I thought Pops was already her hero. Maybe something happened.

     I myself have some plumbing good lawyers...

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A/N: Gotta love that unreliable 1st person. Drake made his own conclusions, not mine. :)

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