Battlescars: A Rock & Roll Romance Page 20

  I loved being skin to skin with him. It almost made us feel like we were one. I lifted up and slowly slid down onto his hardness. I kissed him passionately and started moving, slowly and deliberately. He wrapped his arms around me and held me close the entire time. We found our release together, and it was such a powerful moment for me. After everything we've been through in such a short time, we were here. We were going to get married and had a growing family on the way. Jake kept kissing me, refusing to let me off of him. Finally, he helped me out of the tub and dried me off, kissing where the babies were.

  When I woke up the next morning, I hurried to get dressed. We had to go into town to obtain our marriage license. I picked out a yellow sundress with white flowers and threw on a pair of flip-flops. I added a yellow flower clip into my hair and walked to the kitchen. Jake was drinking a cup of coffee with Ron and laughing. As soon as he noticed me he came over to kiss me good morning. I said hi to Ron and poured a glass of orange juice. Jake already had my vitamin ready and popped it in my mouth.

  We ate breakfast together before heading to town. We walked into the court and filled out all the necessary paperwork. They said we could pick it up in two days. Jake helped me back into Ron’s Chevy pick-up truck and started going in the opposite direction from where we came from. We drove for fifteen minutes before Jake came to a stop in front of a run-down apartment building.

  “This is where I grew up.” He said solemnly.

  I looked around at the dilapidated, gray building covered in graffiti. My heart sank thinking that a kid actually had to grow up in a place like this. Not just any kid, but Jake. I knew he was born into a set of circumstances beyond his control, but it still hurt. You could clearly see that this place was shady, even during the daytime. I could only imagine what it looked like at night. He leaned on the steering wheel and looked at the building that was once his home. I think he was looking for some sort of closure. I reached over and put my hand in his. I interlaced our fingers, and he brought our hands to his lips and kissed mine. He took one last look before we drove away.

  He said he wanted to make one last stop before we went back to the ranch. He stopped at a stand on the side of the road and picked up a bouquet of flowers. We drove to the other side of town and pulled into a cemetery. He kept going until we were almost at the end before he stopped. He got out with flowers in hand. He walked around to my side and opened the door. I climbed out and took his hand. He led me down the path. We stopped at a pink headstone. It was his mom’s.

  Crystal M. Parker

  May the angels lead you home

  11/3/1970-12/22/1997

  I did the math in my head. She had been gone sixteen years, which was how old she was when she had Jake. She was almost his age now when she died and would have been forty-three. I looked at the date of death. She died right before Christmas. As usual he knew what I was thinking.

  “She died right before Christmas. I didn’t even know what Christmas was other than what I saw on TV and what the kids in class used to talk about. They used to get really excited about it, but I never had one Christmas as a little kid. She would make me pancakes as long as she wasn’t too strung out. My first real Christmas was with Ron when I was twelve. He got me this shiny, red Gibson guitar. I’ll never forget it. He gave me a couple beginner’s books and helped me learn all the cords. When I was ready, he showed me how to write music. Someone broke into my and Blake’s apartment when we first moved to LA and stole it. I literally searched everywhere for months to see if I could find it. I checked every pawn shop in LA but never found it.”

  He kneeled down and placed the flowers in front of the headstone. I knew even though he didn’t have a lot of pleasant memories with her he still loved her. A child’s love is unconditional. Unfortunately, some parents don’t deserve it. I think she wanted better. She just didn’t have the skills to achieve it. She loved the drugs more. I think that’s the main reason why Jake just funded a rehab center for mothers with young children near Phoenix. He was hoping it be open by year-end. It’s going to be a safe place with a playground and lots of support for the mothers. It’s going to be named The Crystal Parker House in her memory. His main goal is going to be getting the people that want the help out of their situation and give them coping skills to build a better life. I loved his humanity. He always thought there was more to do and said that was the main perk of being really famous. If you attached your name to something it would get done.

  I watched as he paid his respects. I wanted to say something to comfort him, but I was at a loss for words. I never liked the word ‘sorry’ when it came to instances like this. It seemed to lack meaning. Instead, I placed my hand on his shoulder showing my support. He placed his hand over mine. He looked deep in thought.

  “I don’t know you if you can hear me or not. I know I haven’t really come here much, but I want you to know I’m okay. I don’t hate you. If anything things worked out the way they were intended to. I wish that you were able to turn yourself around, but I’m going to try and help others like you in your honor.” He wiped a tear from his eye. “I’m getting married in a couple days to the strongest girl I’ve ever met. Her name is Aubrey, and she’s amazing. I don’t know that we would have met if things were different and I wouldn’t want to have a life without her. I’m going to be a dad in a few months, too. I won’t make the same mistakes that you did. I’m going to be the best dad I can for my kids. More importantly they’re going to know how much I fucking love them. I know you loved me in your own way, at least I think that you did. I don’t know when I’ll be able to come back, but I just wanted to let you know that I forgive you.”

  I wiped the tears from my face with my free hand. He had been carrying around that burden for a long time, and he was finally able to let it go. We didn’t talk too much about the past because it was of little consequence anymore. I let him know about Jeremy, and we never talked about it again after that. I was grateful he understood and never pushed me to talk about it again. I’m sure there will always be triggers that set me off. But, for the most part I have been able to get back to a normal life. He’s taught me what a gentle loving touch is, and I know that he would never hurt me. I think it’s the same thing with his mom, but he’s been holding on to that burden for a lot longer. He had to deal with the situation for a lot longer than I did, essentially his entire childhood.

  I wondered what life would have been like had I we never met. What if he had a normal childhood with normal parents? Would he be the same person that he is today? Would he still be the lead singer of Battlescars or would he be doing something else? I thought the same thing about if that night with Jeremy never happened. How would my life have been different? Then I realized it doesn’t matter because our pasts were exactly that. We have each other now and that’s all that matters.

  Jake

  We were at the airfield waiting for Aubrey’s family to land. We officially picked up our marriage license on the way here. I can’t believe it’s only a couple days away! I looked over at my beautiful bride to be and smiled. Aubrey and Ron were getting along awesome, and he adored her. I knew he would. We had a chance to talk last night after Aubrey went to sleep. It brought me back to when I was a teenager, and he would lecture me relentlessly about the way of the world. I would look at him like he was a crazy, old man, but I would listen to him anyway. It turns out he was right about 99… make that 100% of what he told me. I thanked him for being the dad I never had and for all of the opportunities he afforded me, from my first guitar and lessons, to giving me the money to move to LA and follow my dream and everything in between.

  I was lucky to be surrounded by such selfless people, Aubrey included. She was always thinking about others before herself, which would be one of her best qualities as a mother. Nothing is going to be about us anymore because we’re going to have little people to worry about. I can’t wait until she starts getting a bump. Her dress arrived last night. She was hoping it was still going to fit because s
he gained two pounds since the original fitting. I offered to help her into it, but she said it was bad luck and that she would wait for her mom and Piper to help. I was looking forward to introducing Tim to Ron and vice versa.

  I watched as the small plane landed on the tarmac. I got out to help Tim load the luggage into the truck. Once everything was loaded up we had to cram everyone inside. We had Tim, Caroline, Piper and Mark in the back and Aubrey and Granny Jean were up front with me. Luckily it was a roomy truck. I started the ignition and headed back to the ranch.

  Aubrey was animatedly talking with her mom and Piper about the wedding plans and how she wanted everything set up. She was so excited, and it was contagious. I would have been excited anyway, but seeing her like this just pushed it up a couple notches. Granny Jean was bitching about wanting to stop at a reservation so she could get cheap cigarettes. Tim and Mark looked like they were surrounded by too much estrogen and needed a beer, or several. When we pulled into the ranch, everyone practically jumped out of the truck, except Aubrey.

  “I love you.” She grinned and pulled my face to hers.

  “I love you more.” I whispered before kissing her like a madman.

  There was a knock on the window. Tim stood outside the window holding his wrist up and tapping on his watch. Aubrey turned bright red and started giggling. I shook my head and kissed her one last time before opening the door.

  “We’re waiting.” He teased.

  I grabbed a couple suitcases and led them to the front door. I held it open so they could all go inside. Ron rolled into the foyer with a huge grin on his face. I put the suitcases down and did introductions. Aubrey and I showed everyone to their rooms and told them to get cleaned up for dinner. We were going to do a BBQ out back tonight since I was cooking. We told them to meet us in the living room in an hour.

  Aubrey grabbed my hand and led me back to our room. She closed the door and locked it. She pushed me back until I was on the bed. She leaned in and started kissing me again. She was purposely rubbing her ass against my crotch making me hard enough to crush diamonds. She had a short, little skirt today, so I moved her panties aside and started caressing her gently. She moaned in my mouth a couple times before I moved so that she was on her back. I unzipped my pants and felt bad for not taking my pants off, but it was an afternoon quickie after all. I slowly sank into her. I slowly built a rhythm. Her hands grasped handfuls of the comforter before grabbing onto my ass and making me move at her pace. I felt her detonate around me, and I knew that I couldn’t hold out much longer. She leaned up and whispered in my ear.

  “Fuck me, Jake!” She purred. “Please…you’re always so gentle with me. I want you to fuck me hard and fast. Please.” She pleaded.

  Just her talking like that was enough to make me lose it. At first I didn’t want to because I was worried about the babies, but we talked to the doctor and I did my own research. It all said it was perfectly fine. So I reared back and slammed into her. I picked up the pace and if her moaning was any clue she liked it, a lot. I’ve created a monster. I continued to thrust into her, and I could tell she was close again. Three more thrusts and I felt her like a vice grip squeezing me. My balls tightened, and I found my release deep inside her.

  “Holy shit! That was amazing…” She grinned.

  “It’s always amazing as long as it’s with you, baby. I love you.”

  Every time with her seemed better than the last, except for our first time. I don’t count that because it goes down in history as being the best night of my life so far, bar none. I held her close for a couple minutes before running to the bathroom to get a washcloth. I went back into the bedroom and cleaned her up. Seeing her spread out on the bed like that just made me want her again. I looked at my watch. We went at it for almost forty-five minutes and everyone would be waiting for us. I helped her to her feet and led her to the living room before I changed my mind.

  Thankfully we were all the way at the other end of the house so no one could hear us. I think even though we’re getting married and Aubrey’s already pregnant that Tim would want to kick my ass. I’m probably going to have all daughters just for karma’s sake. In fact, we should probably just name our first Karma and save everyone the trouble, they can just say Karma did it. I’ve been trying to pay restitution in the form of good deeds for a long time, but I can’t even imagine how many broken hearts I led to…

  We arrived the same time as Piper did.

  “Oh my God, you guys just totally did it!” She shrieked.

  “Shut up.” Aubrey whisper yelled. “At least I’m getting some.” She smirked.

  “You’ve got me there.” She teased.

  We walked into the kitchen and gathered all of the ingredients for dinner and set everything up outside. I started the grill while Aubrey went to get Ron up from his nap. Piper was setting the table. Everyone else came out a couple minutes later. I put on Ron’s Kiss the Chef apron and threw some burgers on the grill. I handed Tim and Mark a much needed beer from the built in fridge and popped the caps. Granny Jean was sitting off to the side with Ron drinking her whiskey sours and smoking a Lucky Strike. Those two hit it off right away, probably because they both had a quick-witted charm about them. Aubrey was talking with her mom and Piper. I made the food and looked at my happy extended family. I was beyond grateful.

  “Do you want some help, honey?” Caroline asked.

  “Caroline, grilling is a man’s job. Ain’t that right, Jake.” Tim teased.

  “Whatever he says.” I laughed shaking my head.

  Son-in-law rule #1: Always side with the father in law.

  “That a boy.” He clapped me on the shoulder.

  The girls just cracked up.

  “Timothy Andrew Thompson, you behave yourself or I’m gonna come over and spank you.” Granny Jean yelled from across the way. “I might be almost eighty years old, but I’ll still take you over my knee.”

  Ron looked at her thoughtfully. I know that look…

  I put everything on plates and set it on the table. Everyone dug in, and I even got some compliments on my grilling skills. Okay, just Aubrey commended me, but she counts too. We sat around talking into the night. I started a fire in the fire pit and went inside to get the S’mores supplies. I handed everyone a skewer and a handful of marshmallows. I roasted Aubrey’s to perfection and handed it to her. I noticed Ron staring at me. When I looked at him, he nodded his head letting me know he thought I was doing a good job. His approval meant more to me than anything. I only hoped I could be half the man that he is one day. Around eleven everyone turned in for the night. We needed to be up on the early side since we had venue people coming to do some pre-wedding set up.

  The next morning I got up before dawn and went to the kitchen. I set up the coffee pot so that it would be ready when everyone else got up. I grabbed some fruit out of the fridge and cut it up to snack on. Then I decided to try my hand at making a breakfast casserole. I was almost finished when Ron wheeled into the room. He looked at me and smirked.

  “Whatcha doing?” He asked.

  “Trying to make breakfast.” I laughed.

  I finished sprinkling some cheddar cheese over the top and put it into the oven.

  “Looks like you did a good job. Let’s just hope it tastes as good as it looks.” He teased.

  “We can only hope.” I took a seat at the table.

  “Jake, the difference I see in you from the last time you were here is nothing short of amazing. You’re like an entirely new person. I know you’ve always been uncomfortable with hearing about your self worth, but dammit boy I’m not getting any younger, and I don’t know how many more opportunities I’ll have. I’m going to tell it to you straight. You deserve everything you’ve got going on right now. I’ve watched you learn, struggle, fall and pick yourself back up. I’ve watched you succeed and fly to new heights, but this is what life’s all about. I’m so happy that I’m here to see it. I’m humbled that you’ve chosen and allowed me to be a father figure fo
r you. If I had a son you’re exactly who I would have wanted.”

  He pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket and wiped his eyes. I went over and hugged him. I got emotional too.

  “If I could have had anyone to be my dad I would have picked you too. You’ve shown me how to be a man. Even through my mistakes you never criticized me. You only offered advice when I asked for it or when you thought I truly needed it. I will never be able to repay you for what you’ve given me. I love you Pops.”

  “I love you too, son. I’m glad we got this chance.”

  “Me too.”

  The timer went off for the casserole, and I took it out of the oven. It was a southwest egg bake sort of thing. It had cheese, eggs, peppers, onions and sausage, and I pushed a can of biscuits down in the bottom of the pan for good measure. It smelled good. I poured us each a cup of coffee and cut up the casserole. I walked over and placed the plate down hoping to get a stamp of approval from the old man. He cut a small piece off with his fork and sniffed it before putting it in his mouth. He nodded in approval, and I tried a bite. It was actually pretty good. I was proud of myself. Tim was the next one to come to the kitchen. He was another early riser. He grabbed a mug of coffee and sat at the table.

  “Did you make that?” He asked skeptically.

  “He did, and it’s actually edible.” Ron teased.

  “Well what the hell are you waiting for? Go get me some and no I will not kiss the damn chef.” He laughed.

  I put the dirty dishes in the dishwasher and made him a plate. I brought it over to him and waited for his response.

  “I’ll be damned, the boy can cook.”

  I grinned happily.

  Pretty soon everyone, except Aubrey, was up. They all seemed to enjoy my casserole too. I excused myself to go wake my girl up. I opened the door and saw she had somehow sprawled herself across the entire bed. I walked over and sat on the empty part of the bed. I moved her hair out of her face and shook her lightly. She scrunched her face and swatted at me.