Life - Message From The Past

16-Seriously?

Jeremy's Defiance

"Get up. Damn it!" Jeremy pushed against his left knee. "Get...up!" Finally, his body listened. "Now keep moving!"

He grabbed his backpack, a jacket from the hall closet, and an old faded Blue Jays baseball cap. He rolled the bill of the once discarded cap and pulled it on. "It'll have to do."

He walked into the kitchen, picked up the ancient note, the translation, and headed out the screen door. He didn't even bother to lock his house.

After being told of the encounter at the clinic between her mother and Jeremy, Chastity felt hope for her mother. But as Jeremy stepped down from his back deck Chastity watched yet another man disappearing from Gwen's life.

"So ~ you're leaving too?!" Chastity stood face to face with the man who claimed to love her mother. "I've had enough of men coming into my mother's life and leaving the same way ~ with a backpack full of clothes." Frustrated, she slapped Jeremy's backpack. "Go!"

"How do you know what I told your mother?" Jeremy deflected with a question for the teenaged girl knowing his leaving looked bad.

"Maddlie filled me in. Claim you love my mom and now you leave just when things get rough." Chastity slid the door open to her uncle Bobby's van then slammed it shut.

Bobby spoke from the driver's seat. "Jeremy, I have to admit, it looks pretty bad."

"I know what it looks like, Bobby." Jeremy opened the door to his rental car, threw his backpack in, then looked at Chastity ignoring him. "I don't know what to say. I just know I have to do something."

"Jeremy." Bobby lowered his voice and leaned out his window. "It's a crappy hand you've been dealt. I get it. But don't take it out on the kids."

Jeremy agreed. "You're right, Bobby. But this is something I need to do! I don't know any other way!"

"Just don't take too long doing whatever it is you need to do." The uncle suggested. "Gwen deserves that much. And the kids deserve it too."

Jeremy nodded. "Got it." He turned to his rental car as Madeline and Harmony walked up the driveway with Charlie.

Harmony clearly looked dejected as she leaned on Charlie when they stopped next to the rental car. She looked up to Jeremy with tears in her eyes crushing the man.

"We had a deal." Harmony frowned at Jeremy. "Now you are going away!"

Madeline crouched beside the devastated girl. "You can come by to brush Charlie whenever you want, Harmony. I will stay here with Charlie."

Madeline walked Harmony to Bobby's van. "You must be, uncle Bobby." He nodded. "I will be here until Knucklehead gets back from God knows where. Harmony is welcome anytime."

Madeline turned back to Jeremy and spoke with spite. "What are you waiting for? Run!" She looked down at Charlie, patted her leg and his dog followed her without hesitation.

Jeremy slammed the door of the rental car. Yeah, I know it looks like I'm running away but I feel I am running headfirst into something. His mind began to churn with a plan leaving nothing to fate. Fate seemed to be leaving the decision to chance and he would have nothing to do with chance.

He watched Bobby back out of Gwen's driveway. The uncle gave Jeremy a nod as if he understood life is complicated and choices are hard.

Jeremy nodded back and started the rental car. He looked into the rearview mirror to see Charlie sitting next to Madeline. He knew she didn't understand his reasoning and he couldn't blame the doctor. Modern medicine has saved many people from cancer and he wouldn't give it a chance. He put the car in gear and slowly drove away.