FicWad

HURRICANE

CHAPTER NINE

“What?” Shannon asked her.

“I-I made a mistake in marrying Jared. You and I... we were meant for each other. I should have known that from day one, but my feelings for both you and Jared got mixed.” Skyla hurriedly put her clothes back on and ran back to the beach house.

“Wait! Skyla, wait, please!” Shannon put his pants on in the dark; he grabbed the rest of his clothes and ran after her.

“What?” Skyla asked him. She looked at him, breathless and exhausted from the run back to the beach house.

Shannon grabbed her. “I don't care about you or Jared or any of that shit. I never have. But Skyla... I can't return your feelings. Jared is my brother, and if the situation were different, I would choose you. But I can't. Not now. Not ever. I'm sorry.” He grabbed her and kissed her hard.

Skyla went limp in her arms; she just knew that Shannon had picked her up and carried her back to the beach house, but didn't know when. When she woke up, she was in her bed and could hear muffled arguing downstairs through the closed door. She went and cracked the door open to see who it was downstairs; suddenly she heard the front door slam shut and something that sounded suspiciously like glass fall and shatter.

“Jared!” she heard Shannon yell. “Next time, watch it before you slam the door! That was an expensive vase that wasn't even mine...” she stopped listening after that.

“Well, why is it even here if it isn't yours to begin with?!” Jared yelled back at him.

They continued arguing for the next ten minutes, until Skyla ran downstairs and screamed at them, “Shut up, both of you just shut up! I can't take it anymore, you're driving me insane!” She ran out the door and took off down the street.

“I'll get my keys,” Jared stated.

“I'll get a blanket,” Shannon said.

Together the two of them started driving down the road after her, calling her name. After about a mile, they started talking again.

“So,” Shannon looked at his hands in his lap. “I, uh, know about what happened. You don't have to hide it from me.”

“Listen, okay? I know I got Skyla pregnant, but I didn't want that to be nobody else's business but our own,” Jared told him harshly.

“Are you sure about that?” Shannon asked him.

“Yes, yes, I'm positive!” Jared forgot about the entire situation.

“What if it is a false positive?” Shannon asked him.

“We'll think about that as it gets here.” Jared leaned out the window and yelled for Skyla again. “Skyla!”

“She's not coming. I'd be amazed if she could even hear us talking right now,” Shannon told him. Jared nodded his head as Shannon leaned out of the window and yelled for Skyla.

“This is not working. Maybe if we just... head back to the house and either wait there or call the police, she might show up,” Shannon said out of the blue.

Jared groaned. “Yeah. Let's just keep keep driving, okay? Maybe we'll find her.” They took the left in a fork and kept driving, yelling for Skyla and talking about their runaway girlfriend.

“I know you're seeing Skyla, Shannon.” Jared turned the wheel as he went around a curve. “I don't blame you. She's awfully pretty.”

Shannon's forehead began breaking out in a cold sweat as he realized his brother knew he was seeing Skyla. He took a breath in and out, and then said, “Yes. But she told me last night that she thinks she made a mistake in marrying you, that she knew from the beginning that she and I belonged together. And then she didn't even say anything else after that, she just took off running toward the beach house.”

“So you were on the beach when she told you this?” Jared asked him.

“Yes.”

“Where, exactly?”

“A little ways away from the beach house, under a pier in the sand.” No way was Jared going to blame this whole thing on him.

A few miles from their house, Jared suddenly stomped on his brakes as he saw a couple of deer dart in front of him. He clenched his eyes closed as his car slid toward the closest ditch. The next thing they heard was a loud metallic crunch.

“Emergency brake! Pull the emergency brake!” Shannon was yelling at him.

“I've already pulled it! Call the police!” Jared yelled. He opened his eyes as he realized his car had just hit a metal telephone pole. He sighed with relief as he realized both him and Shannon were okay. He broke his window and began trying to get out. Shannon did the same, but he was stuck.

“Jared? A little help?” he begged him. Jared reached through and pulled him out. They brushed themselves off and called Tomo to come and pick them up.

“Get everything out. All of my registration, my car titles, everything. And call the insurance company and tell them we have a friend coming to get us.” Jared said. Shannon reached into the glove box and pulled everything out.

“Got it. Wasn't much but I got it.” Shannon walked over to him as he was on the phone with Tomo. Shannon waited until he got through before handing everything to Jared. “It's your car. You can call the insurance company.”

As they sat down and waited on the side of the road for Tomo, they started talking about Skyla.

“So she told you-” Jared began.

“Yes. She did.” Shannon picked up a few blades of grass and twisted them into knots.

“Did she tell you that-?”

“Yes.”

Jared sighed heavily. “I mean, she-”

“Helllooooooo!!!” Tomo pulled up just then, honking his horn.

“Hey, dude. My car's a wreck.” Jared stopped talking to Shannon about Skyla and motioned to his car for Tomo to see.

“Yeah I saw it as I pulled up. Hop in and I'll take you back home.” Tomo leaned over and opened the passenger's door on his truck. Jared and Shannon went to jump in, then they noticed there was a bench seat.

“Jared, you're smaller, you get the middle,” Shannon told him. He hoisted Jared up into the seat and climbed in after him.

“So you called the insurance company?” Tomo asked him.

“Yes.”

“Okay. Should be here soon with a tow truck.” Tomo watched the road as he was driving; he wanted to ask Jared something about Skyla but he didn't dare mention her name while he had both Jared and Shannon in his truck. He took a deep breath and let it out. “So where were you guys headed?”

“Looking for Skyla,” they said simultaneously.

“Since you're going to have to go back to the house now anyways, how about I help you look?” Tomo asked them.

“Thanks, but she's our problem, no offense,” Shannon explained.

“And our includes me so let me help,” Tomo said. “We can just switch cars, I can drive, and you guys can lean out the windows yelling her name.”

Jared and Shannon thought it over. “Okay, let's go back,” Shannon agreed.

When they got to the house, they saw Emma and Vicki comforting an upset Skyla.

“I didn't know she was here.” Tomo threw his hands up in surrender as he walked inside.

“Jared, wait.” Shannon held up a hand to stop Jared from following Tomo inside. “I have to tell you something.”

“What?”

“I told Skyla that I couldn't return her feelings because you're my brother and if the situation were different I probably would have chosen her. But it's me and you and her. And I chose you,” Shannon explained in a rush. Jared reached over and hugged him.

“I knew Skyla was right,” Jared said.

“Yeah,” Shannon said.

They headed inside and sat down. Vicki turned and looked at them. “What did you guys say to make her this upset?”

“Ask Shannon,” Jared said quickly. “It was all his fault.”

Emma and Vicki looked at him. “All Shannon's fault?”

Shannon sighed, and looked at Skyla. He scratched his head as he said, “Yeah. I told her I couldn't return her feelings because Jared is my brother and he comes first. But if the situation were different... I'd choose her.”

Skyla stood up and whispered in Vicki's ear, who promptly leaned over and whispered in Emma's ear. They followed her upstairs to her bedroom while Jared, Shannon, and Tomo stayed downstairs.

“Skyla, are you sure?” Emma asked her when Skyla shut the door behind them.

“I took four!” she told them.

“Take four more!” Vicki demanded.

“It doesn't matter how many tests I take, they'll all be positive!” Skyla cried.

They all looked at each other. “She's right. Who's the dad?” Emma asked Skyla.

“I can tell you two out of three people that it isn't,” Skyla said. Vicki covered her mouth.