Forbidden Desire

A few hours later, when she was fast asleep again, and the rest of the house was quiet, I listened for the sound of Lisa waking up in the nursery. I knew dad had already had his turn getting up with her, and now was Justine’s. I waited until she’d been in the nursery long enough to feed my little sister before leaving Lora’s room and heading in that direction.

I tried not to scare her by lurking in the dark hallway, but she still almost jumped out of her skin when she saw me standing against the opposite wall across from the nursery room door. “Tyler, you scared me half to death.” She rubbed her chest with a slight smile that I could barely make out in the dark.

“Can we talk?”

“Sure, let’s go down to the kitchen. I’m thirsty.” I followed her downstairs and sat at the kitchen table while she went to the fridge for a bottle of water before joining me. “What’s up?” I think she was trying to make things easy for me by acting relaxed and composed, but she has her daughter’s nervous tic in her cheek that was a dead giveaway that she was anything but.

“How do you really feel about Lora and I? Be honest.”

“I’m terrified.” Yeah I know, I saw it written all over you all night even though you tried hard to hide it. I didn’t say any of that out loud though there was no point.

“Tell me why.”

She rubbed her fingers up and down the condensation of the water bottle before lifting her eyes to mine. “I was her age when I fell in love or thought I did with her dad. I know that no two situations are ever alike, but I can’t help but feel…”

Her words faltered, and I reached for her hand and squeezed to let her know that I understood. “What kind of person did you think I was before yesterday?” She took her time answering this time. “I thought you were an amazing kid. You have a kind heart and a strong moral compass not easily found these days. I see a lot of your dad in you there. I like your take-charge attitude and the fact that you are mature beyond your years, something I’m sure we have your dad to thank for as well.”

“Are any of those things, not something you want for your daughter?” She gave it some thought before slowly shaking her head. “No, those are all good points, it’s just…”

“It’s just that things didn’t work out between you and her dad, and you’re afraid that we’ll be the same. I can’t give you any guarantees about life; I’m not sure that there’re any.” I saw her flinch at my words and, for the first time, realized how hard it must be to be a parent.

“I can only tell you that what I feel for her isn’t something that can be erased, not even with time. I won’t ever let anything hurt her again; I’ll protect her heart for as long as I live. I want to grow old with her, only her. What I want from her isn’t something that can change, it’s not her body, not even her mind, it’s who she is that I’m in love with, the being that she was made into is what I see as the perfect package, does that make sense?”

She had a strange look on her face. “Oh wow, Tyler, that’s… I think that’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever heard in my life.”

“Oh no-no-no-no-no-no, don’t do that.” She was starting to tear up, and I tried to cut that shit off quick. If her pain in the ass husband knew that I made her cry, there’d be hell to pay.

Lora

He’s one slick customer this Tyler. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but I get the feeling he’s been up to something; he’s way too relaxed for someone who’d just told our parents that we were a couple. I’m pretty sure the first thought on their minds was sex; it was the first thing mom had asked when he’d left the room with his dad yesterday, which is embarrassing. But he wasn’t acting the least bit perturbed.

As soon as he took my hand inside the house, I knew something was going on, but it wasn’t until he’d left us alone with each other, and mom’s face kept getting redder and redder that I caught on to what that something was. I could’ve done with a little warning, but then again, maybe I would’ve worked myself into a nervous fit if that had been the case.

Although mom said that it was Sherry who came to the house and ratted us out, I got the feeling then and still do now, that Tyler had something to do with it, and it started with that kiss in the cafeteria. That’s as far as I got in my assessment, though, because anything beyond that was just a blank.