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200th Discussion!!! Like Father Like Son (Short Story)
*I've been told that this one is kind of sad so I figured I'd warn you about the tear jerking factor of this one* *also apologies if there's any accidental 'language' in it, I tried not to include them for the sake of miss clue, just let me know and I'll fix it*
___________________________________
"Love is evil, love is blind. It destroys your soul and then leaves you behind."
---
Ever since his son was born he didn't waste too much time on relationships outside the family. Instead he devoted all of his time to Reed, his pride and joy.
Reed's mother, shortly before his birth, had been diagnosed with cancer and delivering the baby took a lot of energy out of her. By each passing day, she grew weaker until the day came that there were no more.
And for a while, Blake wasn't in a good state of mind. The baby would cry in the middle of the night as he frantically tried to quiet him down. When he failed to do so, he would cry, and it was a never ending cycle of madness. Sometimes Blake would go multiple nights without sleep and it effected his work a lot.
But as Reed grew older, it got a little easier and Blake was able to sleep a little more. The days passed one after one, year after year until Blake found himself fifteen years older. Reed was now sixteen.
"Dad," he said one evening, walking into his father's office. Blake turned to look at him, taking an earbid out of his ear.
"Yes, Reed?"
"I was thinking about something," he began, "I wanted to know about mom…you never talk about her." Blake froze, keeping his eyes trained on his son. Why did he have to choose today of all days to ask about her? Reed frowned at Blake's lack of response.
"You don't need to know about her," he said softly, "Just know that you look just like her." As usual, Blake avoided Reed's questions about his missing parent. It still hurt for Blake to think about it and on her birthday he wouldn't come home with left Reed alone.
"But dad-"
"Reed," he warned. Eventually his son sighed and nodded, turning to leave the man's office. And maybe if Blake would've told him about his mother that day, what happened later wouldn't've.
-
Another year passed and Reed was now seventeen. Blake noticed that lately Reed had been on his phone for several hours at a time, his fingers always moving. Then on the weekends there were several days at a time that Reed wouldn't come home and Blake was concerned. He tried asking but Reed never said anything and Blake wondered if it had been just to spite him.
"Reed," his father said quietly as they sat on the couch next to each other. The tv was playing on a low volume and for the last hour, Reed hadn't glanced up from his phone.
"What dad?"
Blake sighed, glancing at his boy. "Where have you been?"
"It doesn't matter," he answered immediately and Blake sensed the hostility in his voice, making the man flinch.
"Please, Reed. Talk to me..." Blake begged. Reed sighed, turning the screen off on his phone.
"I met someone," Reed answered, "I've been hanging out with her and sometimes with Eric as well." Eric was his son's best friend who practically lived here with them since he was over so often. But with the mention of a girl, Blake froze.
"No," Blake said suddenly, "You're not hanging out with this girl every weekend-"
"Dad," Reed sighed, "Seriously? You're really going to do this now? I'm seventeen!
"I'm sorry but if I would've known it wouldn't have been happening! I'm not going to allow you to stay the night at her house every weekend! What made you think this could possibly be a good-"
"Stop!" Reed snapped, "What the hell is wrong with you?"
"Don't you dare yell at me Reed! I was a teenage boy once and I know what teenage boys do. I can't allow it."
"So now you're just assuming I'm sleeping with her?" Reed asked in annoyance. "I don't believe this. You can't stop me, dad."
Blake grit his teeth as Reed tried to get up from the couch. When he did, Blake grabbed his wrist and pulled him back down. Reed glared pulled out his phone, immediately brightening up when he received a text.
He knew that look. Blake was being irrational but he couldn't help it. He didn't want Reed to make the same mistakes that he did when he was a kid. When Reed's own mother passed away, they were no more
than children. Blake wasn't going to allow him to get hurt.
"I don't care what you have to say," Reed said suddenly, getting up again and moving out of reach so Blake couldn't pull him back down again. "I'll see you later. I have stuff to do."
-----
That was a couple of months ago. Since that day Reed hadn't spoken to him unless he had to and it hurt Blake. He was trying so hard to protect his son but he couldn't, Reed didn't listen. He decided it would be time to explain to him the story of his mother. So around midnight, when Blake got home from work, he went up to his son's room and sighed in relief when he saw the light was on.
He knocked lightly on the door and he heard Reed sigh. "Come in," his son said and Blake nodded, entering the room.
"Son, I'm sorry," he began, sitting on the edge of Reed's bed. "I'm trying so hard to be a good father but without your mother.…I know you've been asking about her and I never told you. It's not easy to talk about, son. But if you want to know, I'm ready to tell you."
"Okay," Reed said, "Can you tell me, please?"
Blake nodded and shifted on the bed, taking a deep breath. "When I was your age, I wanted to fall in love like my parents had when they were young. It was my main priority and I'd spend a lot of time trying to find the perfect girl and...that's when I met your mother. I was hardly home because I was too busy spending my free time with her and since I didn't have many friends, there was no one else I could spend it with."
"There's a park that's on a hill, down on Emerson. That's where most of our time was spent, each of us taking turns stealing our parents' liquor. They never noticed it was missing anyway. Some nights we'd be so wasted that we laugh at anything in sight and to us, the stars were a funny sight. Other nights, we'd just lay on a blanket and talk about everything."
"After the first few dates she told me that she knew about my secret. I couldn't understand what she was talking about because I didn't have any secrets. 'You're in love with me,' she said with a smile and she was absolutely right." Reed listened carefully. Never taking his eyes off of his father who's eyes were already teary. He placed a hand on his father's shoulder, urging him to continue.
"After a couple of months I was sure that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her but I waited until I was eighteen to propose to her. I did it in the park where we spent most of our time. And from that day on, we were inseparable. A couple of months after we got married, she told me she had a surprise for me and when I closed my eyes, she placed a photo in my hand. A picture of you in her womb. I was so happy." Now a tear escaped Blake's eye and he choked up.
"Everything was going well until she told me one morning at breakfast on my way to work. She had just gone to the doctor last week and we were waiting on an answer. It was revealed that she had stage four breast cancer, it was too far gone to treat and…..and giving birth took the last bit of strength out of her." Reed felt awkward as his dad cried. He didn't know what to do except give him a hug. He now knew why his father yelled at him like he did. Blake didn't want him to get hurt.
Little did the two know, though, that Reed's fate was inevitable and there was nothing either of them could do to stop it.
______
"She's pregnant," Reed whispered as he sat with his back against the wall, a hand lodged in his hair as he tried to make sense of what had just happened. "Sadie's pregnant…" He'd been careful. Too careful, in fact. They'd only done it once and they used all the precautions they've always been taught to use but even then….even then Reed learned that they could fail. He figured it out the hard way. And now he must pay for it.
His bedroom door opened and his father walked in. Blake looked startled to see him there, sitting against the wall. Reed was crying. Why was his son crying?
"Reed," Blake breathed, slowly getting down on the ground next to him, ignoring the slight ache in his knees. "Bud, are you okay?"
Reed shook his head. He wasn't okay. The boy had no idea how to tell his father what he'd done, what had happened. Reed knew that Blake wouldn't respond well. His father would be so disappointed in him….he was only seventeen. She, sixteen.
"What's wrong? Talk to me." But Reed refused, keeping his eyes trained on his shoes. Blake grew worried and he reached up to feel his son's head just in case he was sick. It was sweaty.
"I can't," he choked, "I can't tell you…."
"Why can't you tell me?" Blake asked softly, putting his hand on his son's shoulder. "You can tell me anything, you know that right?"
Reed didn't know that. But he decided to take a chance and tell him because he knew Sadie would need a place to stay. There was no way her father would let her continue living there.
"She's pregnant," he whispered under his breath, not daring to look at Blake. "I messed up…I messed up bad." His father frowned, letting out a heavy sigh. He knew what Reed was trying to say and he understood why his son was hesitant to tell him. Instead of getting angry, though, he answered calmly.
"It's going to be okay, son. I'm not mad," Because he wasn't. He was just a little disappointed in his son's carelessness but Reed was already forgiven. What's done is done and now all there was left for Blake was to help him.
After having a long talk with his father, Sadie had moved in with the two, having been kicked out by her parents like Reed suspected she would. The air was tense these days but it was tolerable. Reed knew it would take a while for his father to get used to it.
"Do you know the gender of the baby yet?" Blake asked one morning at breakfast. Reed glanced up from his bowl of cereal and nodded.
"About that..." Reed drawled. His father frowned, wondering what could've went wrong now. Reed laughed slightly and said, "A boy. And a girl."
"Twins?" His father exclaimed. Reed nodded slowly and Blake sighed, running a hand down his face. Seriously, why couldn't Reed listen to him? This wouldn't have happened months ago if he'd just listened to Blake.
"Yeah…"
You've got to be kidding me, Blake thought. He was only thirty three years young, he was ready to be a grandpa, much less a grandpa of two! It was too late now to do anything about now, though, and he knew he'd just have to accept it even if he didn't approve. Just like he always had.
Was he a bad father?
"Reed," he sighed once more, "What am I going to do with you?"
"Help Sadie and I raise the kid?" Blake threw his head back laughing. It was cute how Reed actually thought that would happen.
"Very funny Reed. You and Sadie are on your own with that one. I'll baby sit when you're not available but that's about it. You'll live."
Reed rolled his eyes and placed his now empty bowl in the sink after drinking that was left over after his cereal. "Right. Can you make sure Sadie eats later? Lately she hasn't been wanting to but she needs to eat for the baby. I've got to get to school."
"Yes, Reed. Hurry along."
----
Months later Reed sat in class listening to his teacher ramble about something unimportant when he received a text.
The baby's coming- Dad
"Shit," Reed exclaimed, grabbing his things and shoving them into his bag. Everyone in the class, including the teacher, froze and stared at Reed.
"Is there a problem, Reed?" The teacher asked dryly. Reed didn't answer as he struggled to zip his bag. His friend, who sat next to him, got up and took Reed's hand, moving it away from the bag so he could help.
"The baby," he breathed, dialing a number on his phone. Eric handed Reed his bag, who slung it over his shoulder.
"I'm sorry teacher, we've gotta go," Eric said, "Baby's coming." It wasn't a secret that Sadie was pregnant. Everyone knew about it. Even though Reed only had one true friend, it didn't mean he wasn't popular. And when you're popular, nothing stays a secret.
The two boys ran out into the hall and hurried to the office where Eric signed them out. Soon enough they were speeding down the street in Eric's car. Reed was going to be a father in just a few short hours.
When they made it to the hospital Reed rushed inside, telling the woman at the desk the name of the woman he was looking for. "Who are you in relation to Sadie Roberts?" She asked. Reed huffed, tapping his foot impatiently.
"The father," he snapped.
"Aren't you a little young to be-"
"Just tell him where his girl is!" Eric shouted at her. The woman looked startled and she nodded quickly, rambling off the floor and room number where Sadie was being kept.
The two boys ran to the elevator, startling a couple inside of it. "Sorry, baby's coming," Eric apologized for Reed, "My niece."
"And nephew," Reed cut in. Eric stared at him, mouth agape. Why hadn't anyone informed him of this small detail?
"Aw, congratulations!" The woman smiled brightly, "I remember when my boy was born. It truly was amazing. Good luck."
"Thanks ma'am," Reed laughed nervously. When the elevator dinged he grab Eric's arm and ran down the hall. When he reached the delivery room, he was immediately pushed back out.
"Hey!" Reed exclaimed, staring at his father with wide eyes. "Why can't I go in?"
"Son, you don't want to be in there right now," Blake said breathlessly, "Please, Reed."
"What's wrong?" He asked, "Is something wrong? Why can't I talk to her?" Reed didn't understand what was going on. What was Blake trying to hide from him?
"Sadie … they, uh…they have to do an emergency C-section. They're prepping her for surgery now. Nobody's allowed in there, Reed. Please."
"No!" He yelled, trying to fight off his father. "Let me see her!"
"Son," he breathed, "Calm down. Let's wait in the waiting room, yeah? She'll be out in about an hour." Reed wasn't happy about it but eventually he calmed down and sat on a chair in the waiting room, doing just that. Waiting.
The minutes passed by slowly. Eric attempted to make conversation with his best friend but Reed refused to speak. Blake sighed, feeling anxious. This day was bringing back memories from when Reed was born and he didn't like it. This was all too familiar.
And when the doctor finally came out into the waiting room, Blake just knew. He knew that Reed had sufferes the same thing just as Blake had.
It was inevitable.
___________________________________
"Love is evil, love is blind. It destroys your soul and then leaves you behind."
---
Ever since his son was born he didn't waste too much time on relationships outside the family. Instead he devoted all of his time to Reed, his pride and joy.
Reed's mother, shortly before his birth, had been diagnosed with cancer and delivering the baby took a lot of energy out of her. By each passing day, she grew weaker until the day came that there were no more.
And for a while, Blake wasn't in a good state of mind. The baby would cry in the middle of the night as he frantically tried to quiet him down. When he failed to do so, he would cry, and it was a never ending cycle of madness. Sometimes Blake would go multiple nights without sleep and it effected his work a lot.
But as Reed grew older, it got a little easier and Blake was able to sleep a little more. The days passed one after one, year after year until Blake found himself fifteen years older. Reed was now sixteen.
"Dad," he said one evening, walking into his father's office. Blake turned to look at him, taking an earbid out of his ear.
"Yes, Reed?"
"I was thinking about something," he began, "I wanted to know about mom…you never talk about her." Blake froze, keeping his eyes trained on his son. Why did he have to choose today of all days to ask about her? Reed frowned at Blake's lack of response.
"You don't need to know about her," he said softly, "Just know that you look just like her." As usual, Blake avoided Reed's questions about his missing parent. It still hurt for Blake to think about it and on her birthday he wouldn't come home with left Reed alone.
"But dad-"
"Reed," he warned. Eventually his son sighed and nodded, turning to leave the man's office. And maybe if Blake would've told him about his mother that day, what happened later wouldn't've.
-
Another year passed and Reed was now seventeen. Blake noticed that lately Reed had been on his phone for several hours at a time, his fingers always moving. Then on the weekends there were several days at a time that Reed wouldn't come home and Blake was concerned. He tried asking but Reed never said anything and Blake wondered if it had been just to spite him.
"Reed," his father said quietly as they sat on the couch next to each other. The tv was playing on a low volume and for the last hour, Reed hadn't glanced up from his phone.
"What dad?"
Blake sighed, glancing at his boy. "Where have you been?"
"It doesn't matter," he answered immediately and Blake sensed the hostility in his voice, making the man flinch.
"Please, Reed. Talk to me..." Blake begged. Reed sighed, turning the screen off on his phone.
"I met someone," Reed answered, "I've been hanging out with her and sometimes with Eric as well." Eric was his son's best friend who practically lived here with them since he was over so often. But with the mention of a girl, Blake froze.
"No," Blake said suddenly, "You're not hanging out with this girl every weekend-"
"Dad," Reed sighed, "Seriously? You're really going to do this now? I'm seventeen!
"I'm sorry but if I would've known it wouldn't have been happening! I'm not going to allow you to stay the night at her house every weekend! What made you think this could possibly be a good-"
"Stop!" Reed snapped, "What the hell is wrong with you?"
"Don't you dare yell at me Reed! I was a teenage boy once and I know what teenage boys do. I can't allow it."
"So now you're just assuming I'm sleeping with her?" Reed asked in annoyance. "I don't believe this. You can't stop me, dad."
Blake grit his teeth as Reed tried to get up from the couch. When he did, Blake grabbed his wrist and pulled him back down. Reed glared pulled out his phone, immediately brightening up when he received a text.
He knew that look. Blake was being irrational but he couldn't help it. He didn't want Reed to make the same mistakes that he did when he was a kid. When Reed's own mother passed away, they were no more
than children. Blake wasn't going to allow him to get hurt.
"I don't care what you have to say," Reed said suddenly, getting up again and moving out of reach so Blake couldn't pull him back down again. "I'll see you later. I have stuff to do."
-----
That was a couple of months ago. Since that day Reed hadn't spoken to him unless he had to and it hurt Blake. He was trying so hard to protect his son but he couldn't, Reed didn't listen. He decided it would be time to explain to him the story of his mother. So around midnight, when Blake got home from work, he went up to his son's room and sighed in relief when he saw the light was on.
He knocked lightly on the door and he heard Reed sigh. "Come in," his son said and Blake nodded, entering the room.
"Son, I'm sorry," he began, sitting on the edge of Reed's bed. "I'm trying so hard to be a good father but without your mother.…I know you've been asking about her and I never told you. It's not easy to talk about, son. But if you want to know, I'm ready to tell you."
"Okay," Reed said, "Can you tell me, please?"
Blake nodded and shifted on the bed, taking a deep breath. "When I was your age, I wanted to fall in love like my parents had when they were young. It was my main priority and I'd spend a lot of time trying to find the perfect girl and...that's when I met your mother. I was hardly home because I was too busy spending my free time with her and since I didn't have many friends, there was no one else I could spend it with."
"There's a park that's on a hill, down on Emerson. That's where most of our time was spent, each of us taking turns stealing our parents' liquor. They never noticed it was missing anyway. Some nights we'd be so wasted that we laugh at anything in sight and to us, the stars were a funny sight. Other nights, we'd just lay on a blanket and talk about everything."
"After the first few dates she told me that she knew about my secret. I couldn't understand what she was talking about because I didn't have any secrets. 'You're in love with me,' she said with a smile and she was absolutely right." Reed listened carefully. Never taking his eyes off of his father who's eyes were already teary. He placed a hand on his father's shoulder, urging him to continue.
"After a couple of months I was sure that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her but I waited until I was eighteen to propose to her. I did it in the park where we spent most of our time. And from that day on, we were inseparable. A couple of months after we got married, she told me she had a surprise for me and when I closed my eyes, she placed a photo in my hand. A picture of you in her womb. I was so happy." Now a tear escaped Blake's eye and he choked up.
"Everything was going well until she told me one morning at breakfast on my way to work. She had just gone to the doctor last week and we were waiting on an answer. It was revealed that she had stage four breast cancer, it was too far gone to treat and…..and giving birth took the last bit of strength out of her." Reed felt awkward as his dad cried. He didn't know what to do except give him a hug. He now knew why his father yelled at him like he did. Blake didn't want him to get hurt.
Little did the two know, though, that Reed's fate was inevitable and there was nothing either of them could do to stop it.
______
"She's pregnant," Reed whispered as he sat with his back against the wall, a hand lodged in his hair as he tried to make sense of what had just happened. "Sadie's pregnant…" He'd been careful. Too careful, in fact. They'd only done it once and they used all the precautions they've always been taught to use but even then….even then Reed learned that they could fail. He figured it out the hard way. And now he must pay for it.
His bedroom door opened and his father walked in. Blake looked startled to see him there, sitting against the wall. Reed was crying. Why was his son crying?
"Reed," Blake breathed, slowly getting down on the ground next to him, ignoring the slight ache in his knees. "Bud, are you okay?"
Reed shook his head. He wasn't okay. The boy had no idea how to tell his father what he'd done, what had happened. Reed knew that Blake wouldn't respond well. His father would be so disappointed in him….he was only seventeen. She, sixteen.
"What's wrong? Talk to me." But Reed refused, keeping his eyes trained on his shoes. Blake grew worried and he reached up to feel his son's head just in case he was sick. It was sweaty.
"I can't," he choked, "I can't tell you…."
"Why can't you tell me?" Blake asked softly, putting his hand on his son's shoulder. "You can tell me anything, you know that right?"
Reed didn't know that. But he decided to take a chance and tell him because he knew Sadie would need a place to stay. There was no way her father would let her continue living there.
"She's pregnant," he whispered under his breath, not daring to look at Blake. "I messed up…I messed up bad." His father frowned, letting out a heavy sigh. He knew what Reed was trying to say and he understood why his son was hesitant to tell him. Instead of getting angry, though, he answered calmly.
"It's going to be okay, son. I'm not mad," Because he wasn't. He was just a little disappointed in his son's carelessness but Reed was already forgiven. What's done is done and now all there was left for Blake was to help him.
After having a long talk with his father, Sadie had moved in with the two, having been kicked out by her parents like Reed suspected she would. The air was tense these days but it was tolerable. Reed knew it would take a while for his father to get used to it.
"Do you know the gender of the baby yet?" Blake asked one morning at breakfast. Reed glanced up from his bowl of cereal and nodded.
"About that..." Reed drawled. His father frowned, wondering what could've went wrong now. Reed laughed slightly and said, "A boy. And a girl."
"Twins?" His father exclaimed. Reed nodded slowly and Blake sighed, running a hand down his face. Seriously, why couldn't Reed listen to him? This wouldn't have happened months ago if he'd just listened to Blake.
"Yeah…"
You've got to be kidding me, Blake thought. He was only thirty three years young, he was ready to be a grandpa, much less a grandpa of two! It was too late now to do anything about now, though, and he knew he'd just have to accept it even if he didn't approve. Just like he always had.
Was he a bad father?
"Reed," he sighed once more, "What am I going to do with you?"
"Help Sadie and I raise the kid?" Blake threw his head back laughing. It was cute how Reed actually thought that would happen.
"Very funny Reed. You and Sadie are on your own with that one. I'll baby sit when you're not available but that's about it. You'll live."
Reed rolled his eyes and placed his now empty bowl in the sink after drinking that was left over after his cereal. "Right. Can you make sure Sadie eats later? Lately she hasn't been wanting to but she needs to eat for the baby. I've got to get to school."
"Yes, Reed. Hurry along."
----
Months later Reed sat in class listening to his teacher ramble about something unimportant when he received a text.
The baby's coming- Dad
"Shit," Reed exclaimed, grabbing his things and shoving them into his bag. Everyone in the class, including the teacher, froze and stared at Reed.
"Is there a problem, Reed?" The teacher asked dryly. Reed didn't answer as he struggled to zip his bag. His friend, who sat next to him, got up and took Reed's hand, moving it away from the bag so he could help.
"The baby," he breathed, dialing a number on his phone. Eric handed Reed his bag, who slung it over his shoulder.
"I'm sorry teacher, we've gotta go," Eric said, "Baby's coming." It wasn't a secret that Sadie was pregnant. Everyone knew about it. Even though Reed only had one true friend, it didn't mean he wasn't popular. And when you're popular, nothing stays a secret.
The two boys ran out into the hall and hurried to the office where Eric signed them out. Soon enough they were speeding down the street in Eric's car. Reed was going to be a father in just a few short hours.
When they made it to the hospital Reed rushed inside, telling the woman at the desk the name of the woman he was looking for. "Who are you in relation to Sadie Roberts?" She asked. Reed huffed, tapping his foot impatiently.
"The father," he snapped.
"Aren't you a little young to be-"
"Just tell him where his girl is!" Eric shouted at her. The woman looked startled and she nodded quickly, rambling off the floor and room number where Sadie was being kept.
The two boys ran to the elevator, startling a couple inside of it. "Sorry, baby's coming," Eric apologized for Reed, "My niece."
"And nephew," Reed cut in. Eric stared at him, mouth agape. Why hadn't anyone informed him of this small detail?
"Aw, congratulations!" The woman smiled brightly, "I remember when my boy was born. It truly was amazing. Good luck."
"Thanks ma'am," Reed laughed nervously. When the elevator dinged he grab Eric's arm and ran down the hall. When he reached the delivery room, he was immediately pushed back out.
"Hey!" Reed exclaimed, staring at his father with wide eyes. "Why can't I go in?"
"Son, you don't want to be in there right now," Blake said breathlessly, "Please, Reed."
"What's wrong?" He asked, "Is something wrong? Why can't I talk to her?" Reed didn't understand what was going on. What was Blake trying to hide from him?
"Sadie … they, uh…they have to do an emergency C-section. They're prepping her for surgery now. Nobody's allowed in there, Reed. Please."
"No!" He yelled, trying to fight off his father. "Let me see her!"
"Son," he breathed, "Calm down. Let's wait in the waiting room, yeah? She'll be out in about an hour." Reed wasn't happy about it but eventually he calmed down and sat on a chair in the waiting room, doing just that. Waiting.
The minutes passed by slowly. Eric attempted to make conversation with his best friend but Reed refused to speak. Blake sighed, feeling anxious. This day was bringing back memories from when Reed was born and he didn't like it. This was all too familiar.
And when the doctor finally came out into the waiting room, Blake just knew. He knew that Reed had sufferes the same thing just as Blake had.
It was inevitable.
"I'm not great with advice, may I offer a sarcastic comment instead?"
Comments
GOLDENPUPPY
THANKS TACOCAT!!
I'll be watching in case you post another!
Also Congrats on your 200th Discussion!!