“You sound like Michael.” Carly complained. “You are not a child, Sonny.”
Mike smiled. He hadn’t been thrilled when Sonny announced he was seeing Carly. However, Carly never bowed down to Sonny. She stood up to him. She wouldn’t let him get away with anything. Mike hated to admit it; but Carly was good for his son.
“Who asked you?” Sonny retorted. He was too upset to realize it made him seem even more childish.
“That was a mature response, Sonny.” Carly answered. What did she see in this man? Okay he was handsome, intelligent and he had great taste. He had a sense of adventure that she craved. Really she saw a lot in him. However, when he got stubborn, it was hard to remember why.
Mike held on to the pictures. While Sonny focused his energies onto sparing with Carly, he loosened his grip. Mike pulled them away triumphantly.
“Great!” Sonny exclaimed sarcastically. Why did he always let Carly get to him? Now he would have to face the consequences.
“What is the big deal? They are just pictures.” Carly said. However she moved around the room hoping to get a better look at them.
Mike studied them long and hard. “Why are you hiding these? “Who are the people in these photographs?”
Sonny stared at the floor. He spent sixteen years trying to keep anybody from seeing those photos. All at once he would have to show them from the two people he wanted to hide them from the most. “Nobody.” He lied.
Carly and Mike looked at one another and then at Sonny. “Yeah right.” Carly said sarcastically.
“Why would you fight so hard to hide ‘nobody’?” Mike asked. “Try again.”
Carly moved towards Mike and grabbed the photos. She felt a knot growing in the pit of her stomach as she looked at them. She prayed they weren’t real. She knew they were. The first picture depicted Sonny and an attractive young woman. He was young, handsome, and slightly boyish. She was beautiful, lighter than Sonny, but dark. A sincere look of happiness played across her face. Her eyes shined with love for her companion. He held her close, lovingly, protectively. Carly’s voice trembled as she spoke softly. “Who is she?”
--
V closed her eyes against the pain of Ned’s simple question. He wanted to know how to reach his daughter. “You know how, Ned. You spend time with her, play with her, and talk to her. She will open up to you.”
“What if she doesn’t?” Ned asked softly. Brooke was the most important thing he was ever given. He had to get it right.
“You try harder. When she trusts that you will be there everyday, she will open up to you. When she knows that you love her, she will trust you.”
Ned’s emotions were close to the surface. He rarely let any negative emotions out in public. However, he fought back tears as he spoke. “She knew Lois loved her.”
”Oh Ned. I know it hurts.” V ached for him. Her words didn’t seem like enough. “It isn’t fair. Brooke didn’t deserve to lose her mother.” V worked hard to keep her emotions in check. At times like these she missed her own mother even more. She couldn’t dwell on that now. Ned needed her to be strong. “You can’t bring Lois back. However, you can help Brooke to get through it.”
“Why don’t you understand? I don’t know how. I don’t know how to be a father. I don’t know how to help Brooke.” Ned said almost desperately. His dysfunctional family failed to train him for parenthood.
”I think you do. You show her that you love her. You do the best you can. You just have to remember that if you need help, you can ask for it.” That was key, V thought.
“Will you help me?”
--
Nikolas stopped moving when he spotted Emily. She sat Indian style on the attic floor. A pile of yellowed paper lay strewn across the floor around her. Partially opened boxes filled the remainder of the room. However, Nikolas only really saw Emily. Her dark hair fell gently framed her face. He ached to feel the soft strands between his fingers.
Emily felt a presence behind her. Turning to survey the room, she found Nikolas. She couldn’t help but smile. “You could have said hello or something.”
Nikolas blushed. He hated being caught. “Hello.” He tried to recover.
“Hi.” Emily said softly. Thinking it sounded dumb, she blushed. “Come in. “You don’t mind it up here, do you?”
Nikolas stepped in closer. “It’s fine.”
Fine wasn’t much to go on. “Did you bring the food?”
Nikolas held the bag towards her. “I did.” He smiled. “I brought your favorite.”
”Really?” Emily smiled. “Can I have some?”
Nikolas thought about it. Yes was too easy. “You have to give me something first.”
Emily looked at him curiously. “What do you want?”
~~~~~~~
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