Chapter 1
"Hey!" Jessilyn called, walking through the door from the garage entering the house, "I'm home!"
Her call was met by silence.
"Tommy!" called Jessilyn, as she walked into the living room and laid her bag and jacket down on the couch.
A minute later, a tall teenage boy came tearing into the living room from upstairs. Jessilyn reached out and grabbed the sleeve of his shirt.
"What did I tell you about running in the house?" she asked him.
The boy looked guiltily down at her. "Not to do it," he mumbled.
"Then why were you doing it?"
"Sorry Mom," said the boy.
"Did you do all your homework?" asked Jessilyn.
"Not yet," her son said.
"Well?"
"Going."
He headed back up the stairs, muttering something under his breath. As soon as he was upstairs, Jessilyn sat down on the couch next to the endtable, where the phone was. The red light on the answering machine signaling a new message was blinking. She pressed the button and sat ready with a pen and notepad just in case there were any important calls. There were the normal, a message from her mother, one from the doctor reminding her of Tommy's appointment the next day...and then one that she wasn't at all expecting.
"Hi...Jessilyn?" a male voice asked, "This is Nick...Nick Carter. Wow, I really hope I got the right number. I know I'm probably one of the last people you expected to hear from, I mean, it's been so long, but I heard from your mom that you moved to Florida. I'd really like to catch up and everything with you. Please call me..." He left his phone number.
Jessilyn sat back, stunned. She didn't know how to react. This was Nick Carter. Tommy's father. It took a minute for Jessilyn to regain her composure. She took a deep breath and reached for the phone, having decided that she was going to call Nick and tell him about his son. The phone rang once...twice...three times...and then the answering machine clicked on. Not wanting to leave a message, Jessilyn hung up quickly.Later that night, as she was cooking dinner, Tommy came walking into the kitchen.
"Do you have football practice tomorrow?" Jessilyn asked him.
"Uh huh," said Tommy.
"I have to ask Shawn's mom to pick you up and bring you home," said Jessilyn.
"Why?" Tommy asked, "You have to work?"
"Yeah," Jessilyn said, "I'm sorry."
"You always have to work," said Tommy, slouching in his chair.
"I know," Jessilyn said, "But there's nothing I can do about it."
As he son stood up and stormed out of the kitchen, Jessilyn sighed. She had to work so much so that Tommy could have the things he wanted so he would forget about not having a father around. After failed relationship after failed relationship, she had given up on ever finding someone to spend the rest of her life with.Right after dinner, as Jessi was cleaning up the kitchen, the phone rang. "I'll get it" she called upstairs to Tommy as she reached for the cordless phone in the kitchen. "Hello?"
"Hi," came a slightly familiar male voice, "Jessilyn?"
"Speaking."
"This is Nick," said the voice, "Nick Carter."
Jessilyn almost dropped the dish she had in her hands. "Ni...Nick?"
"Yeah," said Nick, "Wow...it's been such a long time. How are you?"
"I'm fine," Jessilyn said, "And you?"
"Not bad," said Nick, "I was thinking about you one day so I called your parents' house in Hawaii. Your mom said that you had moved here to Florida with some guy named Tommy. Is that your husband?"
"I'm not married," said Jessilyn, hoping he'd catch the hint.
"Is he your boyfriend?"
"Actually, no..." Jessilyn took a deep breath, "He's my son...our son."
"Our...son?" Nick asked, "As in yours...and mine?"
"Yeah," said Jessilyn.
"I have a son?"
"Uh huh."
"Why didn't you tell me you were pregnant?"
"Would it have stopped you from breaking up with me?"
"I don't know," said Nick, "I was 16. I didn't know what I wanted. Wow...a son. And his name's Tommy?"
"Yeah...well, Thomas."
"What's his middle name?"
"Gene," Jessilyn said, "After you and your dad."
"Can I meet him?"
"Yeah. I guess you should. I have to tell you, though. He knows nothing about you."
"You didn't tell him about me?"
"My parents wouldn't let me," said Jessilyn, "They wouldn't let me contact you or anything because they thought that since you broke up with me, you also gave up all parental rights."
"They didn't think I'd want my own child?" Nick asked.
"I don't know," I said, "I really don't."
They talked for a few more minutes, making plans for Nick to come for dinner the following night.
When Jessilyn hung up the phone, a wave of shock washed over her. She couldn't believe that Nick had found her and Tommy.
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