Chapter 19
Clarke keeps her eyes closed like Tim asked. She’s so excited she can barely contain herself. It’s not every day that a house comes up for sale that has so much they’ve been searching for. They've been driving for about fifteen minutes and the anticipation is killing her. All Tim said was that it's an estate sale that hasn't gone on the market. He said it needs a lot of work, but has good bones. It has everything on their checklist and more, plus it's on a good amount of land.
With Tyler in the backseat being a good distraction, Clarke loses track of twists and turns along the way. "Is the realtor meeting us here?" She inquires.
"Supposed to be. He said he's pretty certain we can convince the owner to sell. It’s an estate sale.”
Tyler speaks up from the backseat. “Whoa, is that the place?”
“Yeah, man. Pretty cool, huh?”
“Mom, open your eyes, there’s a tree house.”
When Clarke hears the excitement in her son’s voice, her eyes shoot open to reveal a house she’s not only familiar with, but one she’s spent quite a lot of time in. Before she’s able to protest, Tyler jumps out from the back seat and runs toward the back yard. Clarke turns to confess to Tim that this is not a house they can buy when she spots two things that send her into panic.
Eli comes around the corner of the house carrying some tools and materials.
Tyler barrels into him from not paying attention.
She steps out of the car and watches like it’s playing out in slow motion. The tools dropping to the ground. Eli looking around for the culprit. A confused look crosses his face. He stares at the boy.
She’s now running in their direction, so fast she can hardly catch her breath. Once there, she shields the boy’s body with her own. “Eli…”
“That’s not Jonny.” He seems like he’s asking instead of making it known. Clarke knows the boys look alike, enough that in a split second they could be confused for one another. After all, they’re blood related, possibly even brothers. “I can explain.”
Tim comes to stand beside her. He reaches his hand out to Eli, unaware what’s going on. “Sorry about my boy, he gets excited and clumsy. My name’s Tim. The real estate agent was supposed to meet us here. This is my fiancée, -.”
“Clarke,” Eli answers for him. “We go way back.” He’s not taking his eyes off of Clarke, and she can’t think of a single thing to say to make this situation better.
Tim is confused. He looks from Eli and then back to Clarke. It hits him suddenly. “This is the guy? The one from your past?”
Clarke nods, tears filling her desperate eyes.
“Tim, do you mind giving us a second?”
At this point Tim doesn’t know what to do. He’s well aware Eli is seeing Tyler for the first time. He knows Clarke is about to lose it.
Eli is staring down the barrel of a gun. He feels the air being sucked out of him. It's not possible. It can't be.
Clarke is acting afraid. Why would she do that if she has nothing to hide?
He's running through the conversations they had, his confessions to her, her possible forgiveness, but never once was a child mentioned. It's unreal, impossible in every way. Someone would have told him. His father, Siobhan, someone.
"I need you to tell me what's going, Clarke. Tell me I'm not seeing what I think I'm seeing."
Her tears only prove her guilt. "Eli, I'm..." she wipes her face and turns to guide the boy to stand in front of her. "Tyler. This is my son, Tyler."
She turns to Tim, who is wondering how this is going to play out. He tries to put himself in this other man's shoes and it's unimaginable.
Clarke holds onto her son's shoulders like there's a chance she'll lose him if she lets go.
There's a moment of silence before Eli crouches down in front of Tyler and looks him in the eye. Tim can feel a tightness in his throat as he witnesses a man seeing his son for the first time. It's so powerful he can't begin to interfere. He places his hand inside of Clarke's and hopes to hell she won't pull away.
Tyler starts to get antsy. He has no idea what's going on, and why some strange man is kneeled down in front of him with real tears falling down his cheeks.
When he turns to look at his mother he discovers the same reaction. She’s distraught and stumbling on words. Seeing her this emotional makes him uneasy and terrified.
Tim senses that it may be too much, and inserts himself in the situation. “Why don’t we go check out the playhouse while Mommy talks to her friend?”
Neither Clarke nor Eli protest when Tim takes the boy by the hand and walks away. It’s hard for him to leave Clarke, but the boy’s best interest is at stake, and if he knows Clarke like he thinks he does, he’s well aware she wouldn’t want Tyler to witness what’s about to go down.
Eli stands, towering over Clarke. His pained eyes give her an idea of how ugly this is about to get. “All these years, never once did you try to contact me.”
“Siobhan told me you knew about the pregnancy and wanted me to get an abortion. That’s why I never said anything to anyone. I thought you left because you were upset with me over the pregnancy. It’s not until I learned your side of the story when I realized we’d both been lied to.”
“I can understand that you believed what she said to be true, but what the hell, Clarke. I’ve been back for weeks. You’ve sat right in front of me and heard me pouring my heart out about Jonny, all while knowing damn well you had just as big of a secret. Did my dad know?”
She shakes her head. “No. I told people I didn’t know who the father was. He was so distraught about you leaving and then having a baby at home that he never once questioned it. He barely said two words to me when he saw me, and never asked about my child. You need to understand that I don’t flaunt my child around. I’d do anything to protect him.”
“The boy has family he doesn’t even know about. What did you tell him? Does he think his father is dead? Is that guy he’s with who he calls Dad?”
“No. Tim has nothing to do with this. You have to believe me. I wanted to tell you. We talked about it last night. I was going to arrange a meeting where I could explain it in a way you’d understand.”
“All I know is that you lied to me. I’ve been gone all these years and come home to find that I have not one, but two sons I knew nothing about. Do you have any idea how it makes me feel? How terrible it is that I’ve never had the opportunity to voice my opinion? I left to protect the people I love. I come back to be screwed royally by the one person in the world I thought I could trust.” Eli shakes his head, ignoring the tears dripping down his cheeks. It’s all too much to handle. He feels like he could punch his fists through the beams supporting the new porch. He’s so angry he wants to say things to Clarke that will cause her to want to run as far away from him as she can, with her child in tow.
Eli points right at her. “From this moment on, I’m going to know everything, do you understand?”
She nods, a uncontrolled weep bellowing out. “I’m so sorry, Eli. I never meant to hurt you.”
“Well you did. This cuts like a knife, Clarke. This is the worst I’ve ever felt in my life.” He looks out in the yard when he hears the boy playing and laughing as if nothing is wrong. He’s nothing but a stranger and it appalls him. It’s not fair. He’s been gone for six years, not twenty. How could he not have known about Clarke’s condition? Why didn’t she go straight to his father and demand help? What made her think she’d be better off raising him alone?
Eli takes a step back and shakes his head. He’s upset, sick to his stomach, and enraged all at once. As a Marine he learned to think before making a rational decision, but this is beyond the extent of his ability to remain calm and collected. He’s a ticking time bomb waiting to explode.
A local real estate agent who’s been contacting Eli about his house pulls into the driveway. Eli ambles over to his car and prevents him from getting out. “This house isn’t for sale, and it’s never going to be for sale. Get off my property before I make you leave.”
His threat warrants a fast reaction from the innocent bystander. He backs down the long driveway and pulls away.
"Obviously your boyfriend knows who I am. What were you going to do when the kid gets older and sees his birth certificate? What then?"
"I didn't list a father."
Clarke knows this only digs her grave deeper. She lowers her head and stares at her trembling hands. The man in front of her is someone she loved deeply. She would have married him if he'd only stuck around and asked. To this day there's something between them.
"Siobhan did a shitty thing to save her marriage, but this coming from you, it's fucking low, Clarke."
"I was scared. You show up back in town after years of not a single word. I didn't know what you'd be capable of."
"You know me. I'm the same guy. I'd never hurt you, not like that. Not like you've just done to me."
"Don't do that. Don't judge me and put words in my mouth."
Eli grits his teeth and speaks full of rage. "Take your little family and get the hell off of my property. From now on we're going to communicate through an attorney. I'm done with this shit. My sons are going to know me. They're going to know each other, and not you or Siobhan are going to be able to stop me."
Clarke quickly gathers her guys and rushes to their vehicle. As they pull away Tyler stares out at the strange man wondering what's going on. He has no idea he's just come face to face with his biological father, or that this won't be the last time they see each other.
It's not until Eli is back inside the privacy of his home that he breaks down and lets his emotions finally take control of him. He's devastated. He can't believe that he's had another son out there and never known. Furthermore, how Siobhan could have been so heartless that she could rip Eli away from his unborn child. There's a special place in Hell for people like her, and Eli hopes she'll go there sooner than later.