Evolved

23. Back From the Past

We spent the rest of our vacation lounging around the room. All too soon, we had to leave. We were on a plane back home. Just like the last time, I slept the whole plane ride. Cadence woke me up when we landed. We grabbed our stuff and headed to my house. Once our stuff was all put away, we ran to Ian's. I walked in smiling with my hand in Cade's. Everyone looked over to us when we came into the living room. Ian gave us a sympathetic look. Kylie quickly looked away. Even the twin looked oddly sad. I immediately felt another person I didn't know in the room. I looked around, but couldn't find whoever it was.

"What's going on?" I said just as Cadence did. I released his hand and walked further so I was closer to Ian. My eyes begged him to say something, but he didn't.

"Cadence?" an unfamiliar voice said from behind me. I turned to see someone touch him. I automatically had my hand around their throat with their feet dangling off the ground. The man tried to pry my hands off of his throat, but I wasn't budging. He looked at me shocked.

"Ellie stop!" I heard Ian order from behind me. I placed the man back on the ground and released him. He took a few deep breaths and continued to look at me shocked. I looked back at him curiously.

"Ian... what's... going... on?" I asked again sternly all the while keeping my eyes on the unfamiliar man. Ian still didn't answer me. I turned my question to the man. "Who are you?" I asked heatedly. I was getting anxious from the silence. The man looked at Cadence a bit wistfully.

"I'm Cadence's father," he replied.

I went into shock. I could only stare at him frozen where I was. Cadence seemed shocked as well. He didn't move or talk; I don't even think he was breathing. I snapped out of it first. I walked over to Cadence and rubbed his arm gently. He looked over to me before he dashed up the stairs. I flinched when I heard a door slam. I looked at Ian.

"A little head's up would've been nice," I muttered. "I'm going to go check on him." I said finally before I went up the stairs after him. I didn't even bother with knocking. I walked in to find him pacing. He looked at me, but didn't stop pacing. I walked right in front of him and stopped him. He looked angry. I placed a hand on his cheek and moved my thumb in an effort to calm him down. He looked at me and sighed brokenly. His face turned to one of sorrow.

"How could this be possible? My parents left me when I was just a baby," he said quietly and hurt. A tear escaped his eye and I wiped it away.

"Cadence, he's back now, and I think he wants to make it up to you," I whispered. "The least you could do is try." I encouraged. He shook his head stubbornly.

"No. No, he left me. He didn't care about me enough to keep me," Cadence replied with tears coming down his face.

"You don't know that Cade. He might not have had a choice. Think about it. There was the war going on. My parents sent me away to protect me; he might've been doing the same for you," I tried again. This time, my eyes were starting to water. He sighed and sat on the bed in defeat. I sat next to him and he rested his head on my lap as he cried. He clutched my waist tightly. I comforted him any way I could. I rubbed his back, tried to tell that it was going to be okay, and kissed him repeatedly. Finally, he cried himself to sleep. I tried to move him under the covers, but he held onto me tightly even in his sleep. I pulled the covers over him and got him further onto the bed. I managed to release his grip on me. A tear fell from my eye at how pained he was over all of this. I wiped it away quickly before I went back downstairs. Everyone's mood was gloomy. I looked at Ian.

"He's asleep," I replied quietly. I picked up the twins and sat on the couch. They both rested their heads on my shoulders and stayed quiet. They had grown a lot since I saw them last. Tessa gave me a sympathetic smile. I looked at the man.

"What's your name?" I asked.

"Oh, I'm John," he said.

"How did you find us?" I asked again. He smiled.

"Well, I was in Russia when somebody killed Shiatvzi," he started explaining. Like always, my hands trembled. "Anyway, when it was safe, I figured he would be in America. I was looking everywhere. I saw him in Utah and followed him back here, but then you guys left. I asked Ian if it was okay if I stayed here till he got back. He agreed and... well, you know the rest." He finished. I sighed and calmed my trembling hands.

"Well, he's really upset. He thinks you just abandoned him for no reason," I explained. He nodded gravely.

"Yeah, I kind of got that," he mumbled. He looked at me curiously. "If you don't mind me asking, how do you know Cade?" he asked. I was almost insulted.

"I'm his fiancée," I replied calmly. He motioned to the twins.

"Are they... yours?" he asked. I laughed once and shook my head.

"The twins? No, they're Tessa's kids," I said. His eyes widened.

"They're twins?" he asked shocked. I nodded. "How did they all survive?" He asked again. I saw Damon cringe.

"I figured something out," I replied vaguely.

"I wish you were there when Cadence was born," he mumbled quietly and sadly. I scrunched my eyebrows on confusion.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Cadence was a twin, but his mother and his twin didn't make it. We managed to save Cadence though," he explained sadly. I frowned and looked at the twins. I was just glad that things worked out differently for Tessa and the twins. I was also glad Cadence made it through okay.

"I'm sorry to hear that," I said quietly. He shrugged.

"Thanks," he said. I dropped the subject and turned my attention back to the twins. Raleigh yawned and Roman did the same after her. Damon saw it as well and stood up.

"I'll go put them down for the night," Damon said quietly. I handed them to him and relaxed back into my chair. I fell asleep right there.