Chapter 27~
*RECAP*
He slowly turned around, making my breath catch in my throat. He had the most shocking green eyes in the entire world. The guy was just gorgeous. He was probably about a year younger than me, though. His black hair fell diagonally across his eye, and there was something about his eyes that was a little strange. It was slightly glazed over, as if he was in his own little world.
Oh, and he had a fucking lip ring.
“Uh…I’m sorry, but who are you?” he asked, confused. “Uhh…I’m Ashley, Jacob Walker’s daughter,” I replied. “And who are you?” I asked him back.
“That’s weird. I’m Chris, Jacob Walker’s son,” he replied.
What. The. Actual. Fuck.
I stared at him for a few more seconds, disgesting what he said. He was my brother? I had another freaking brother? Whaaaat?! What has this world come to.
“Are you serious?” I blurted out, still staring at him wide-eyed. He nodded slowly, and outstretched his hand till he reached the chair, and then sat down on it. “We’re…we’re related?” I said softly, watching him like a creeper.
He finally tore open the cookie box and shoved a cookie in his mouth. “Mmhmm,” he replied, cookie crumbs spraying everywhere. “But how…..?” I said again.
“We’re not related by blood, if that’s what you’re talking about,” he said after swallowing. That just made me feel even more confused. “I don’t understand,” I stated after a while. He looked at me and smiled a breathtakingly beautiful smile.
“Jacob is my adoptive father,” he replied simply. My jaw dropped as I stared at Chris in disbelief. My dad didn’t mention that he had a son. Why didn’t he tell me? I didn’t know how to feel. Was I supposed to feel happy about finding out I had a step-brother-ish or should I be mad that no one told me?
“Are you Jacob’s blood related daughter?” he inquired, stuffing another cookie in his mouth. I nodded slowly, still shocked. “Umm, are you going to reply anytime soon?” he said with a chuckle. I looked at him confused. Whaaat?
“I nodded,” I said, surprised. “Oh, sorry. I’m..umm…blind, you see,” he said quietly. My eyes grew wider, and my mouth fell even more open if that were possible. As if he noticed how shocked I was, he chuckled softly.
“What-how?” I stammered. I tried not to be too rude, but I couldn’t help it. I mean, he didn’t seem blind. Well, sure his eyes were slightly glazed over, but I thought it was natural. He smiled sadly and closed his eyes, breathing in deeply.
“I mean, you don’t have to tell me. I just- never mind. No, it’s okay. You really don’t-“I stuttered. He laughed a little this time, making me smile. His laugh was adorable. He had a perfect set of pearly whites in his mouth.
“It’s alright. I was born blind, so I guess I’m used to it,” he said, shrugging. Wow, it must really suck being blind. I mean, there’s nothing you can do in life. Well, you can do stuff but…its not the same. My heart went out to Chris.
“How old are you?” I asked him, trying to hide how sad I felt. “15,” he replied. “Cool. I’m 16. Just turned 16 two weeks ago,” I said, reaching out to take a cookie.
He smacked my hand away lightly and pulled the cookie box in closer to him. “Hey! I want some too!” I complained. He just snickered and chewed on a cookie obnoxiously. I scowled at him, and watched him relish the chocolate-chip goodness…
“Hey, how’d you know I was reaching out for the box?” I asked suddenly in realization. He looked up right at me, his eyes piercing into mine, making me shudder involuntarily. It was like he could read my soul the way he looked at me like that. Especially with the slightly glazed-ness. He was gorgeous. I don’t know if that made me sound like a cougar, though he was only a year younger, but I didn’t give a fuck.
He stared at me thoughtfully, tapping his chin slowly with his forefinger. Then he leaned forward on his arms, till his face was a few inches in front of mine. I don’t know if he knew we were this close, but I didn’t move back.
“When you lose one sense, all your other senses sharpen. So, I can hear and smell everything much better than any seeing person. I could hear your hand moving suddenly in the air, so I knew you were attempting to grab my cookies. Even if you shrugged, I can hear the air around you shift, letting me know you shrugged. Comprende?” he said.
I nodded. “That’s really cool,” I told him. He simply smiled, leaned back against the chair and popped another cookie in his mouth. “So umm…tell me about yourself. Why did my dad adopt you?” I asked him.
He froze for a millisecond, but loosened up again. I cringed inwardly. Shit. Did I just tread a no-go zone? Or did I trigger some memory? Fuckfuckfuck.
“I’ll tell you my story if you tell me yours. Our dad never mentioned having a daughter before,” he said. I nodded slowly, “Deal,” I told him.
“I was a one-night stand kid. I wasn’t supposed to be born. I was an accident. As soon as my mother let my real father know she was pregnant, he bailed. And well, before he did, he threw in a few hits towards her womb/stomach area where I was. Doctors say that’s how I was blind, but I don’t think so. Anyway, I was born, and my mother raised me pretty well. She loved me. She gave me everything she could offer. She worked tons of jobs while trying to look after me. She was amazing,”
He paused and pinched the bridge of his nose, squeezing his eyes shut tightly. I bit my lower lip, unsure of what to do or say. So I decided to keep quiet and wait for him to continue. And he did.
*FLASHBACK- 3rd person POV*
Jacob Walker just finished off with Eleanor- Chris’s mom. He got out of bed to use the washroom in the morning, and when he came back out, he saw Eleanor sitting up on the bed. “What’s wrong?” he asked her, sitting beside her.
She shook her head slowly. “I…I feel sick,” she whimpered. He pressed his hand against her searing forehead and sucked in a deep breath through his teeth. “Do you need anything? Medicine? Soup?” he asked her, stroking her hair softly.
She closed her eyes, enjoying his gentle caress and whispered, “Chris needs to be taken to the nursery across the street,”
Jacob nodded and kissed her forehead before heading to Chris’s room. It was a pale blue with stickers of every single Disney animation movie one can think of. He was sitting up in his bed, his 3 year old self muttering gibberish while holding some stuffed animals. And even though he couldn’t see the toys, he seemed to know exactly what he was doing.
Jacob smiled softly at his adorableness, and then remembered his own family- the one he left. He missed them so fucking much. Tears almost filled his eyes at the sight of Chris reminding him of his own two little kids.
He picked the little baby Chris up and placed him on his hip. “Daddy!” Chris yelped, and threw his arms around Jacob’s neck. He froze. Did Chris just call him…?
How in the world did Chris think of him as a father figure after all he’s done? But looking into those innocent green glazed childlike eyes, he knew that he made a bad decision of leaving his real family. They needed him. And he abandoned them.
“Daddy?” Chris whispered into his neck, squirming. He snapped out of his reverie and focused back on taking Chris to the nursery. The nursery across the street was for special kids with- for a lack of a better word- disabilities.
There were tons of kids just like Chris. Some deaf, blind, mute and much more. Chris loved it there. Even a few of the volunteers and people were blind, making Chris feel more comfortable there. He walked into the bedroom with Chris on his hip where Eleanor was lying on the bed, pale.
“You sure you’re going to be alright for a little while, babe?” Jacob asked softly. Even if they weren’t dating, even if they had a few one night stands those past few days, they had a connection. It wasn’t love- of course not. Jacob’s love has and always will be with Sarah Walker- his real wife.
Eleanor smiled weakly and leaned upwards while Jacob bent down and pecked her on the lips. “Bye, love,” Eleanor said, as she took Chris from Jacob’s arms and kissed him.
Jacob wondered whether he should tell Eleanor about Chris calling him his dad. Would she be happy? Angry? Sad? I’ll tell her when I get back from the nursery, he finally decided.
“I’ll pick up my stuff when I get back from the nursery, alright El?” Jacob said, walking out the door with Chris in his arms. Eleanor nodded slowly and fell back into her pillow, eyes closed. Jacob wondered what got her so sick. She was fine all of through last night when they had…
He walked out of the house, shifting Chris to his other hip. “Daddy! I is thwee!” Chris yelled randomly, holding up four fingers by accident. Jacob chuckled and pushed one finger down. “There’s three, Chris. Good job! You’re so big!”
Chris grinned and puffed out his chest proudly. Chuckling, they made their way across the street towards the friendly little house-looking nursery. There were kids in the playground out at front. Even though some of them couldn’t see, hear or speak, they never ceased to have the best fun any child could have.
“Ah, Mr Walker! Nice to see you again. Hello, Chris!” said the old woman loudly behind the counter. He turned around and saw Mrs Peterson looking at the two of them, smiling warmly. Mrs Peterson wasn’t completely deaf, but she was hard of hearing, which is why she tended to yell out more than she needed to sometimes.
Chris flinched in his arms and Mrs Peterson’s face fell for a second, but was pulled back up quickly. “Hello Mrs. P, how are you?” he asked her, raising his voice slightly so she could hear him. “Yes yes, nice weather indeed,” she replied, not quite hearing him.
But he decided to let it go, since he was wasting time and Eleanor needed him. She reached out to take Chris, and Jacob let her take him out of his arms. Chris sucked on his thumb, looking at Jacob’s direction. He really was a beautiful baby.
He had green eyes just like the rest of Jacob’s family, which pained him even more to see him for it reminded him of his family. “Daddy,” he whimpered, stretching his arms out towards Jacob. Mrs Peterson looked shocked.
Jacob’s heart stopped for a moment. Oh fuck. If Mrs Peterson spreads this around, the whole town is going to go crazy. And he, for one, would know that Mrs Peterson says more than she ought to.
“My my! Did he just say candy? Well, I best be giving him some if he wants that. But be a dear and don’t tell Eleanor, she won’t approve,” Mrs Peterson said, gazing adoringly at Chris. Jacob sighed in relief.
“Well, I should get going, Mrs P. See you around. Bye, Chris!” he called out, making his way to the door. “Oh don’t be silly, dear. Stay for a while, have some coffee,” said Mrs Peterson, handing Chris over to one of the volunteers who came scurrying in.
“No, I really shouldn’t. You see, Eleanor-“
“Can wait,” Mrs Peterson finished firmly.
“No, but you don’t understand, she’s sick,” Jacob said.
“What’s that about a stick?” Mrs Peterson asked, placing a hand behind her ear.
Jacob sighed in defeat, knowing how persistent Mrs Peterson could be sometimes. He nodded slowly, giving in. “Alright. But just for about five minutes, yeah?” She smiled happily and gestured towards the main hall.
He walked in and slumped down on the couch. “So, tell me about yourself, Mr Walker,” she said, pouring some steaming coffee into a mug. “I…erm…what would you like to know?” he asked awkwardly.
“Do you have a girlfriend? Do you work? What do you like or dislike?” Mrs Peterson said, taking a dainty sip out of the mug. He cleared his throat and pondered about what to say. He didn’t want to say anything too revealing about his family, but then again, he didn’t want to hide anymore.
“Mrs Peterson, I have a f-“ he was cut off by his phone ringing. “Hello?” he said into the phone. “Jacob?! Jacob, it’s Eleanor,” said a panicky voice on the other end. He stood up suddenly, spilling coffee everywhere, but he couldn’t care less.
“El! Whats the matter, are you alright?” he asked her. “Jacob…I was making soup and….and…the kitchen suddenly set on fire. I don’t know what to do! I can’t stop it! It’s spreading, Jacob!” she said quickly, sobbing.
“El, leave the house IMMEDIATELY! I’m coming right now. Just leave the house, NOW!” he yelled into the phone, already sprinting towards the door.
“But…but….but Jacob…AHHHHH!” she screamed, and the line went dead. “El? ELEANOR!” Jacob yelled into the phone. “Fuck,” he muttered, and sprinted outside. He glanced at the house and sure enough, he could see smoke erupting into flames.
He ran with all that he could to the house. Flinging open the door, his eyes were suddenly stung with how smoky the room was. Coughing and sputtering, he kept calling out Eleanor’s name, but with no avail. There was smoke everywhere, and the fire was creeping from the kitchen to the rest of the house.
He flipped open his phone and called 911. “911, what is your emergency?” said the cool voice behind the phone. “The house is on fire, and there was someone inside. 66 Bishop Avenue!” he yelled into the phone, before snapping it close. They better get here soon.
“Eleanor?” he croaked out, shielding his eyes from the smoke. His lungs felt like they were going to burst from how much smoke he inhaled. “Eleanor?”
A tiny whimper came from the room right next to where he was. Without caring about anything else, he ran into the room. Eleanor was lying on the floor, her face covered in soot and sweat and her hair singed. She was lying on the floor, curled up in a ball, eyes squeezed shut. The phone lay next to her, burning with fire.
“Shit,” Jacob hissed. He ran over to her and knelt down beside her. “Eleanor? Eleanor! Can you hear me? Please, please stay with me! The ambulance and firetrucks are coming, don’t worry…please..no…” he cried.
He laid her burnt head on his lap and softly stroked her face. She licked her dry lips and opened her eyes slowly. Her eyes were unfocused and blurry. “Jacob…please…please take care of Chris….you’re the only one he has…please…” she croaked, barely a whisper.
“No. NO! El, please stay with me….please….PLEASE! No….don’t do this to Chris….don’t…you can’t…no….” Jacob sobbed, clutching Eleanor’s lifeless body tightly to his own, forgetting about the fire-forgetting about anything.
*END OF FLASHBACK*
“After that, he put me in an adoption center. He was so full of grief that he couldn’t even look at me,” Chris continued, fiddling with his thumbs, eyes shut. But as for me? Tears were streaming freely down my cheeks, blurring my vision. How could he have been through so much….?
“But then, he remembered what my mother told him about taking care of me. So I guess he felt like I was his responsibility, so he adopted me,” he finished, finally looking up at me. I sniffed and wiped my nose with the back of my hand.
“I’m so sorry,” I whispered softly. He smiled wistfully and reached out to take my hand. “No worries. Jacob is a great dad. You’re lucky to be blood-related to him,” he said softly, rubbing his thumb over the back of my hand.
We stared at each other, smiling for a few moments.
“I’m sorry, but I think we’re going to have to finish your story another time. I have to go. Friends calling,” he said, as his phone started ringing. He silenced it and looked back at me.
“See you around, Ashley,” he said with a small smile. “See you around, Chris,” I replied, grinning back. He walked out of the kitchen slowly, his arms a little outstretched to make sure he didn't walk into anything.
“Hey, Chris?” I called back out after him. “Yeah?” he replied, turning around once more, curiosity on his face. “Whatever happened to Mrs Peterson?” I asked him, puzzled.
He smiled sadly and said, “She committed suicide thinking that it was her fault my mother couldn’t be saved,”
And with that, he left the kitchen and me alone in it, absorbing everything in.
*************************************************************************************************************************
A.N. :)
thoughts on this one?
sorry i didnt update last night, got caught up hehe :$
anyway, hope you enjoyed this one! i best be going to bed.....its late and its monday tomorrow -_- bleh.
VOMMENT! <3
lotslove<3
XxAshikaxX