Deaf Ears Ring

Chapter 1

Chris walks into his house. He shuts the door behind him and drops his things, then flops face down onto the couch.

"Uuuuuuuggggggghhh...." Chris groans, tiredly.

His phone then starts ringing in his pocket.

"Uuuggghh!" Chris groans again, "Dammit."

Chris grabs his phone and answers it without even looking at the caller ID.

"Hello?" He asks, sitting up.

"Hey, Chris. We heard back from Lindsey and her lawyer." Chris' lawyer says through the phone.

"So then they got our response to our message, I presume."

"They did."

"I want a DNA test."

"Done."

"And I - wait, what?"

"Done. They expected that you'd want a paternity test. It can be done."

Chris blinks. This just became terrifyingly real.

"Okay..."

I was nervous, but acted like I wasn't. I still didn't believe it anyway. I was almost positive that Lindsey was just playing some kind of sick and twisted game with my head. I wanted to take the DNA test, find out Kaitlin wasn't mine and get on with my life.

For some reason, I didn't give much thought as to what I would do if I were to find out that Kaitlin was mine. I guess I was just really in denial about the whole thing because I was so afraid.

I remember the day of the paternity test. I wasn't too nervous for the rest itself, but I did become a bit more afraid of the result. I must have stared at the pictures of Kaitlin in that email for hours before putting my phone down because the more I looked at her, the more I could see myself in her.

I'd found a photo album with some old pictures of me and Lindsey in it from this New Years party we met at. She was the girl I'd kissed at midnight, and...we just sort of never stopped. I couldn't believe she was dying...

Anyway, the paternity test came and happened and I did my best to continue my life normally until I got the results. I tried not to stress myself out over it or even think about it too much because I was in denial that Kaitlin was really mine...God, I was an idiot.

The guys were over at Chris' house. Chris leaned against the door frame that connected the living room and the kitchen and watches as Ryan and Vinny battle it out at Mario Kart. Chris takes a sip of his Coke, then thinks of something. He sets the soda down and quickly slips on a pair of shoes.

"Where you going?" Ghost asks.

"Mail." Chris says before walking out.

Chris walks back in a minute later, looking through some envelopes. His eyes suddenly widen.

"Oh my God."

"What?" Ricky asks.

"The paternity test results came."

Everyone stops what they're doing and looks to Chris.

Chris swallows, then sets the envelopes down.

"I'll, um...I'll look at it later."

"Dude, are you sure?" Ryan asks.

The guys were all just as worried about this whole thing as I was. We didn't talk about it much, but it was always on everyone's mind.

"We can leave if you want us to - "

"No no no, i-it's fine." Chris says, cutting Vinny off, "Balz, you and me, rematch. Let's go."

x

The guys walk out of the house later that day. Chris shuts the door and exhales. He stares at the envelope a minute.

What would happen if Kaitlin was his? His family knew about this situation too; what would they think? What about the band? The fans? Chris supposed that the only way to find out was to open the envelope.

My hands were shaking just holding the damn thing. This had suddenly become very...real. I remember it took me a really long time to get the envelope open because I was just shaking so much. It felt like my heart was going to burst out of my chest or explode out of my ears because the sound of it pounding was so loud. This was probably the most terrified I'd ever been in my entire life, and that's saying something. Nothing could compare to the fear that was going through me right then though.

Chris eventually gets the envelope open and takes out the papers inside. He slowly unfolds them and his eyes scan the sheet, searching for the answer.

And that was when I saw it. She was mine. Kaitlin was mine.

Chris drops the papers to the ground and pulls his hair, already stressed. What was he supposed to do?! This was not good.

Chris took a minute to take a few breaths and let himself relax. He called his lawyer, and in the following days, was basically informed of this:

Lindsey and Kaitlin lived on the edge of Albuquerque, New Mexico. A court hearing in New Mexico would be scheduled for Lindsey and Chris so that they could see a judge and discuss how it would be decided as to whether Kaitlin was to end up with Chris or in foster care. The judge would likely have Chris spend time with Kaitlin before a decision would be made. This would help make the decision easier, as Kaitlin was legally old enough to have a bit of a say as to where she'd prefer to end up after Lindsey passed. (A/N: I'm not sure if it varies by state, but I'm pretty sure in my state the legal age for kids to have a say in this kind of thing is twelve, so that's what I'm going by here as Kaitlin is 13 in the story.)

However, that didn't mean that Kaitlin's decision, Chris' decision, and/or Lindsey's decision would all match the judge's. So, if Kaitlin were to decide she wanted to be with Chris, she still potentially could end up in foster care, and so on.

"Wow, that's a lot to take in." Chris says to his lawyer over the phone.

"Well, there's more."

"Of course there is." Chris deadpans.

"Look, it's very likely that the judge will have you spend time with Kaitlin before any decision is made. So, it's necessary that you have all of the...information, on Kaitlin."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Well, Kaitlin is...special."

"You mean, like, autistic?"

"No, not that."

"Then what is it?"

A/N: He he he...So how do you guys like this so far? And what do you think it is that makes Kaitlin "special"? Let me just say that the thing that it is made this a REALLY hard story to write, haha! It was so worth it though because it turned out great! Just wait and see ;)

xoxo, Scissorhands.