Waves

Part 19

Wow, what a rollercoaster of emotions we rode today! From the excitement of the first day of Bengals camp to Joe's unfortunate surgery news, we felt it all! This chapter is a bit of a transitional one before things ramp up next chapter. Don't forget to vote and comment!

Eve and Joe walked through the next 72 hours in nothing short of a daze, each passing hour tightening the clamps on the suffocating situation they found themselves in. After crying on the couch until sunrise, Eve drove Joe to the lab for his paternity test, Joe's knuckles white as they gripped her free hand.

Within a day, the results confirmed that Joe was indeed the father of Lana's baby; Eve gulped back a sob reading the lab report before folding it up and setting it to the side. "Okay. Let's text your Mom and drive out there later today," she said softly, leaning her head on Joe's shoulder while tears streamed down his face.

The drive out to Athens was mute, both Eve and Joe trying to muster the strength to face his parents. He hadn't told his Mom what their impromptu visit was about, so when Robin swung open the front door, she wore a cheery smile and an apron; the smell of her famous cherry cobbler wafting through the air.

There was nothing that could have prepared Eve for the reaction his parents had, both of them inconsolable at the news Joe brought. "How is this possible? I-I don't understand. This isn't like you Joe. How could you jeopardize your future like this?" Robin sobbed, her face incredulous. Not her son, the kid who had always been the responsible one among his friends; the one who never drank or smoked in high school; barely had kissed a girl before he met Eve.

"I'm sorry Mom. I didn't mean for this to happen. I never meant to hurt you guys or Eve," Joe choked out, wiping his nose on the cuff of his sweater. "Well you did!" Jimmy roared, standing up so fast his chair fell behind him. Standing over his son, Jimmy's screams shook the windows in the kitchen; for a second, Eve was certain he was about to hit Joe across the face.

"Jimmy," Robin chirped, her voice weak as she reached for his hand. "We did everything for you. Treated you like a little prince. Made sure you had every opportunity to succeed. I've spent hundreds of hours talking to you about life in the NFL; the pitfalls, what to look out for, who to look out for. And you just threw it all in the toilet for a damn cocktail waitress?!" Jimmy's face was nearly purple when he stormed out of the kitchen, leaving the rest of the group sitting in stunned silence.

Robin started to get up from the table when Eve stopped her. "I'll go," she offered, walking out into the garden to find a teary-eyed Jimmy sitting under an old oak tree. Pulling over a patio chair, Eve handed him a Kleenex and gently patted his arm. "You're where I was three days ago" Eve joked.

"I'm so sorry sweetheart. You deserve so much better than my jackass son," Jimmy lamented. He'd always adored Eve, and though he'd never admit it, she was his favorite of all of the partners his sons had brought home over the years. Part of his rage at Joe's indiscretion was the inevitable pain he'd caused Eve.

"I wish I believed that but I can't seem to throw in the towel on him," Eve chuckled. "You know you can right? There's not a single one of us would fault you for walking away from this mess," Jimmy insisted. "I know that. And to his credit, Joe does too," Eve admitted, "but I didn't come this far to turn around now. I can't give up on a future with him Jimmy."

Jimmy rubbed his hands over his face, a migraine building behind his eyes. "Has he called John? Does the team know? The media is going to have a field day with this nonsense," Jimmy fretted, his mind racing with salacious headlines all centering around his son's sex life. "John knows, so does Emily. They're meeting with Mike and Zac tomorrow. I told Joe he had to tell you guys first," Eve replied.