Thank you all for being so patient. Fair warning, it starts off a little slow. This is my first story ever.
10 YEARS AGO
"Marquez! I'm not arguing with you tonight! I'm tired of having the same argument with you night after night! I am going to bed. End. Of. Discussion." Lynda shoves herself angrily into bed and pulls the covers over her head; blocking out the sound of her husband's annoying voice.
"Lynda! Lynda! Don't dare turn your back on me when I'm talking to you! This is important! We need to talk about this..." He sits at the edge of the bed looking back at the woman that he once loved more than life itself. He stands slowly, and walks to the window; tears rolling silently down his face.
Next door
"This is the third argument this week Connor, and it's only Monday. She's my best friend and Axelynn is my Goddaughter. I feel powerless." She buries her head deeper into the comfort of her husband's warm chest. "Every time I try and talk to her about it she says "everything is fine, stop worrying so much". Gabrielle says distressed. "I mean, I don't want Axelynn's childhood memories to be remembering nights full of arguments."
"I know kitten." Connor says rubbing his wife's arm in a comforting manner. "There's nothing we can do. Our involvement might only serve to make things worse. If Lynda says that it is fine, then we just have to pretend that it is, until it's not." He kisses his wife's temple in an attempt to soothe her.
A door in the hallway creaks open. Connor sits up in their bed. "Did you hear that kitten?" They both peek out of their door to find their 7 year old son Weylynn descending the stairs. They quietly follow him through the downstairs hall, past the living room, through the kitchen and out the back door, through the backyard where he disappears into the neighbor's yard and backdoor.
"We-" Gabrielle, his mother, starts after him, but Connor holds her back.
"Let's see what he's up to."
Weylynn emerges a few minutes later, hand in hand with a teary eyed Axelynn. "That's my boy." Connor says in pride.
His parents quickly run back up the stairs and into their bedroom and peek out into the dark hallway from their semi-open door. Weylynn leads Axelynn into his room, tucks her into his bed and gets in on the other side.
Axelynn sniffles. "Walez?..."
"Hmm..." says a sleepy Weylynn.
She sniffles. "Why don't mommy and daddy like each other anymore?"
Weylynn sits up facing her and wipes away her tears. "Sometimes grownups just get mad each other. Maybe Uncle Marq ate Mama Lyn's Florecitas again. Uncle Marq probably just needs a timeout."
"Daddy wouldn't eat mommy's Florecitas. The last time he did mommy put him in the doghouse. I looked for the dog house I couldn't find it." She says slightly confused.
Weylynn looks at her thoughtfully. "Axe, you don't have a dog."
"I know, but that's where Daddy was."
"Well, if Uncle Marq is in the doghouse tomorrow, we can follow him when he leaves and find out where it is." He says with a confident nod.
"Alright."
"Good, now go to sleep or mommy won't make chocolate chip pancakes in the morning." He says laying back down and closing his eyes.
"Walez...?"
He frowns slightly annoyed."Yes Axe?"
"Thanks." She gives him a kiss on the cheek, turns over and goes to sleep.
He touches his cheek and blushes. "Y...You're welcome." He smiles and goes to sleep.
Meanwhile, his mom is on the other side of the door planning the wedding. Connor ushers his wife to bed, floral arrangements, bridal dress sketches and all.
They get settled in bed. "I'll call in the morning and let them know that little hammer is here." He says in a very thick Irish accent. He kisses his wife's forehead and starts to fall asleep.
END FLASHBACK
I remember the morning after. Those chocolate chip pancakes, and bacon... Bacon... I never knew I could love something so much, until I met bacon. It was love at first bite. That morning was one of my favorites...well until my mom came to pick me up. She told me later on that night that my dad left. So much for finding the dog house. I remember asking everyday when he was coming home. She'd just look at me and say "It just going to be us for a while, okay hunny?"
My parents got divorced a few months later. Without my dad there, it felt empty in the house. I know this will sound cheesy, but other than Walez, my dad was my best friend. We did everything together. He was Superdad and I was his sidekick, Wondersquirt.
All these years, no phone calls, no emails, no letters, nothing. I used to ask, What did I do to make him want to leave and never come back?
Ma would always tell me it wasn't my fault. That he just needed to go away for a while. So, I waited. Days turned into weeks, weeks into months, months into years, and finally I just gave up all hope of ever seeing or hearing from him again.
That got depressing fast. Anyways, before I get carried away. I'm Axelynn Skylar Stone...Axe for short. I'm Dominican and Panamanian. I used to get teased about my initials up until 4th grade when I almost broke my first, and only boyfriend's nose. He teased me, I punched him and the next day he asked me to be his girlfriend. Obviously, I said yes. He was the cutest boy in our grade, and he always had the best snacks during snack time; the simplicity of Elementary School romances.
Cue sighing.
My best friend Weylynn Connor Stephens, who I've known since we were in the womb, is my partner in crime. Our moms are best friends and got pregnant at the same time, apparently, different guys obviously. Something about a wild night at some marine's boat party. I don't want to know any more details than that. My sanity and I both agree, that whatever my parents and their best friends did back then, is none of my business.
When we were about 10 years old, Papa Conz got into a really bad car accident on the way home from work. Some drunken idiot in a dodge ram ran a red light, plowed into him and kept going. Papa Conz was in the hospital for weeks. After his countless surgeries, he passed peacefully in his sleep. Walez and Mama Yellz were like the walking dead after that. Walez wouldn't talk; he didn't cry or eat, he didn't smile. But, every day I was there, no matter how far he tried to push me away, and trust me he tried to push me pretty far sometimes. And quiet aggressively, may I add. But I refused to leave his side.
One day instead of going over after school, I decided to sit in the tree house that Papa Conz built us. Walez showed up some time later. I guess he wanted to be close to him too. He didn't say or do anything at first; he just stood there and stared at the floor. Then it was like he couldn't hold it in anymore. He looked at me with defeated eyes before collapsing to the floor. He cried so hard, after a while all he could do was hiccup. I held him like that for hours in our tree house.
And then, he just snapped.
Next thing I know, he bolts out of the tree house. He finds his metal baseball bat and starts wailing on the poor tree. Mom and Mama Yellz ran out of the house trying to calm him, while simultaneously trying to not get hit. After awhile they just stopped and watched helplessly as he took all of his anger and pain out on the tree.
I waited until he got too tired to swing anymore and fell to his knees before I took the bat and hugged him as tight as I could. My arms were killing me, but I refused to let him go. Not even when our moms tried to get us inside. When he calmed down, it was way past dark out. We skipped dinner and went to sleep with me cradling his head on my chest and his arms wrapped tight around me. After that he and Mama Yellz both got better...ish. They talked finally. And we've all gotten so much closer since.
We've been through a lot together; divorce, remorse, fights, injuries, grounding, pranks, stunts gone horribly wrong, shaving incidents (you don't want to know), puberty, etc. And let's not forget the infamous birds & bees talk.
What parent invented that? When have you ever heard of a bird wanting to plow a bee? Those poor bees.
It was a traumatic experience for all of us. Especially, when Walez started with the rapid fire questions about actual birds and bees mating. That was the most disturbing and awkward conversation in my life. Our moms mostly just sat there gaping. In hindsight, it was definitely comical.
After the tree incident, our moms decided that we needed an outlet, so they started us in music classes. Soon after that we started a band. We are called Axe Con...like Ex Con; the first three letters of my first name and the first three letters of Walez' middle name/the first three letters of Papa Conz name. Badass right!! We tried Wale Axe, Sky Wale, and Sky Con, but Reyke, our drummer, just couldn't stop laughing.
We met Reyke or Reymond Steel in one of our music classes. Tall, and good looking with smoky brown hair and grayish/sometimes hazel/sometimes blue/sometimes a mix, eyes. If you ask me he sounds like a surfer Barry White, but our fans think his voice is swoon worthy. He's super handy when it comes to cars and basically anything with an engine. He tried other instruments, but his attention span frustrated the teachers. He is hyper all the time.
I think he takes meds for it.
After meeting him, we hung out with him a lot. He's like the crunchy Doritos in our PB & J sandwich (don't knock it until you try it. Trust me...sooooo good.).
Anyways, Maq or Dane MacCarter our second guitar, also plays the trumpet, the piano, and the bass guitar. He's a Russian/English pyromaniac with a heart of gold. And a slightly warped sense of fun. He always has a lighter or matches even though he doesn't smoke. He's 6'1, natural platinum blonde hair, clear... like, crystal clear blue/sometimes grey eyes, plump pink lips, flawless porcelain skin and a straight nose. He is also quiet, but don't let those innocent angelic features of his fool you. He's a pain in the ass. Remember my first/only boyfriend? Yeah, that would be Maq. We stayed together all through elementary school, and junior high, until the first year of high school. I am not going to get into why we broke up because I don't really remember. We're still friends, so it wasn't a bad break up.
At least, I don't remember it being so...
Jabb aka Jabbawokee or Jacob Knox is our bass guitar player/graphic artist. He's shy, a total sweetheart, and he's a genius; like MacGyver+Einstein on NZT= Jabb. He's nerd hot. He's like 6'2, dark brown hair, straight nose, big brown puppy eyes, also cute pink pouty lips and that jaw line...mmm. We met him during the talent show in 7th grade. Who knew my nerdy pop could rock so hard and still master quantum physics in his spare time.
I'm lead guitar/vocalist; I also play the violin, the piano, the drums, and the sax. Walez is the lead vocalist that also plays guitar, and bass, and piano, and sax. He thought Saxes were sexy in 8th grade and made me learn sax with him. We both write the songs the band plays.
We "the band" go to the same school, Grant Penitentiary-I mean Grant High School. Everyone calls us "The Pack", Wales being the so called "alpha" since he's the lead singer of the band. I personally think it's because every female in our school is in love with him, and he has either made out with, or something else equally as gross with most of them.
Way to go alpha man-whore!!
Needless to say, and I say this with no intimate feelings towards him whatsoever. But my best friend is GORGEOUS!! Like when he walks by, women spontaneously combust at first glance. He's tall; he has muscles, but not those gross popcorn bodybuilder ones. He still has his enchanting greenish hazel eyes that sometimes have grey in them, which he uses shamelessly on all females; age ain't nothin' but a number. His smile is perfection, which he also uses on said females. He grew out his envy worthy hair, which I love to play with. His voice is all deep and raspy like ALL. THE. TIME! He still has that beautiful flawless Dominican/Irish complexion. It should be illegal in several galaxies to be that good looking.
We went to the mall once and I made him wear a paper bag over his head and he still picked up girls like it was nothing. Only my best friend can look like bagged groceries and snag digits. The great thing is that he hasn't changed much personality wise. Yea, he's a little cockier, but if you looked like he did...you probably would too. He's still my Cuddly Hanky Bear though. He hates that nickname, but I'm his Kitty Fluffy Muffin so I can get away with calling him that.
Then there's me Axe aka Shorty aka Short Stack aka Kitty Fluffy Muffin. Worst nickname ever.
Thanks Walez.
I'm not tall, only 5'2, which makes everyone tall to me. Short people problems. I have caramel skin with freckles by my eyes. I like my full lips, Walez likes to pinch them. Apparently I have what "the pack" calls a "cute wittle button nose", chinky hazel-green eyes, and super curly hair, when it isn't straightened...which is a war in itself.
So yea, that's us. Anyways, we have a gig this Friday and Walez has us practicing every day after school. I haven't had feeling in my fingers since last week. Send help!
So what do you Lovies think of the revised version of this story? I need feedback. And it is very much appreciated.