4Ever & a Day : The Next Generation of R5

A Ghost From the Past

Romeo

I sighed as I followed Embry around the nine hundredth store today. I think he had bought everything that had to do with peacocks in all of LA. The boy was obsessed. This wedding was going to look like a peacock threw up feathers everywhere. I was so glad Bentley had planned the elopement because this wedding business was too much work and hassle. It's like my brother had become bridezilla. I wish I hadn't agreed to come along. Why did Juliet have to pick now to go away for a stupid romantic weekend with Christian? Why had I not let someone else come?

"Dude what the fuck is with all the peacock feathers?" Montague asked me.

"It's his theme," I said with finger quotes.

"Why did I agree to come do this again?" Montague sighed.

"Because you wanted to spend quality time with your big brothers," I laughed.

"No, Lilliana is grounded so I couldn't make out with her like I wanted."

I rolled my eyes. "Just how far have you gotten with her?"

I couldn't help but ask. My morbid curiosity got the best of me. I worried about him sometimes. I never thought about the things he did when I was thirteen. I had been fourteen the first time I even kissed a girl and this kid was talking about making out.

"You know kissing, touching each other, and she really likes it when I..."

"Whoa, dude stop it I get the picture," I cut him off,

"What you have a husband you know how it works," Montague joked.

"Yeah but two guys works differently than it does for you," I tried to explain.

"Yeah I never understood why you and Embry like guys and not girls. Girls' bodies are remarkable."

"Dude wait till she actually gets boobs. Talk about remarkable," I teased him.

He looked at me with his mouth open and I smiled. "What I was with some girls before I married Bentley remember?"

"Are the two of you going to actually help me or gossip like a bunch of teenaged girls?" Embry interjected.

I rolled my eyes. I wasn't sure what exactly he wanted us to do. I was tired of chasing him all over the store as he ran around like a mad woman. I would be so glad when this wedding nonsense was over. I knew though we still had four months of this shit! We had so many weddings coming up in this family and if this was any indication for what we were in for I didn't want to be a part of any more.

"Why don't we pay for this stuff and go get some lunch?" I said trying to calm Embry down.

Twenty minutes later we were all sitting at a table in Veggie Grill. I really hated this restaurant. Embry and his fucking vegan lifestyle. I would have been happy with somewhere like Taco Bell and I knew Montague was with me on that one. I stared at the menu trying to figure out what to order that wouldn't taste like shit. This was Embry's favorite restaurant and I had made the mistake of letting him choose. God I hate myself for doing that, but I knew he wouldn't eat anywhere Monte and I wanted to eat.

"Can I just run across the street and get something?" Montague asked.

"No this is good for you and you need to eat more things that are good for you," Embry answered.

"Mom, is that you?" I asked.

Montague started laughing so hard he almost fell out of his chair and on to the floor. Embry however wasn't laughing. He looked like he was about ready to throttle me or punch me. I couldn't decide which one. Dude had no sense of humor whatsoever. He was such a drama queen sometimes. He reminded me a lot of Bentley in that aspect.

"That's it. I am not eating any of this shit! I am going across the street to Taco Bell," Montague said as he went to get up.

As he got up he ran right into a little boy knocking him to the ground. The little boy started screaming at the top of his lungs. Montague stared at him like he had two heads. He looked at me and Embry like we were supposed to help him. My little brother had come a long way since his spying days but he hated kids with a passion. He never knew what to do with them.

"Who does this belong to?" he asked really loudly.

The little boy screamed even louder. A woman approached and picked him up off the floor. All I could do was stare at her. She looked so familiar. I had seen her somewhere before but I couldn't place it. Embry looked up from his menu to see what I was staring at and his eyes got really wide as I looked from him back to the woman.

"Frankie?" Embry asked. "You probably don't remember me huh?"

"Wow, I'd know you anywhere, Embry right?" she asked. "How have you been?"

"Great, I'm getting married in September," Embry said.

I tuned out their conversation. They were chatting like they were old friends. I stared at the little boy in her arms. He looked like he was about three or four and he looked a lot like me. I started trying to do the math in my head and depending on how old he was it was possible he was mine. I hadn't seen her since that week on the cruise ship. Hell I hadn't talked to her again after we had sex. She was kind of ditzy and I didn't want anything to do with her afterwards. To be honest it wasn't even that great. I knew now though that was partly my fault because I wasn't really into girls and I was trying too hard to deny that.

I looked over at Montague and he was staring at the little boy too. He looked back at me then at the boy again. He was thinking the same thing I was; this could be my kid. I didn't want to believe it. I didn't know what to say to Frankie. She was still talking to Embry like he was her long lost best friend and she had yet to even look my way.

"Well we gotta go," I heard Frankie say.

"Wait, Frankie," I said.

She turned around and noticed me for the first time. She got a scared look in her eyes like she had seen a ghost. We locked eyes and I could tell by the look on her face I was right. The little boy in her arms was my son.

"Look I..." she started. She struggled like she was trying to find the right words but couldn't.

Just then Bentley came up behind me and hugged me. "Hey babe thought I'd surprise you," he said as he kissed my cheek.

"Wait I thought he was the gay one," Frankie asked.

"Um...I'm gonna leave now...if you need me I'll be at Taco Bell," Montague said smiling as he made the peace sign and left.

Frankie looked at Embry like she was lost. I knew she had no idea Embry and I even knew each other. I knew she had hit on him first on the cruise ship and he had told her he was with Cameron.

"Oh yeah you didn't know Romeo was my brother did you?" Embry asked.

"Your brother?" Frankie asked like she was confused. How could she not have known? I mean we looked alike!

"Yeah and this is his husband Bentley," Embry introduced them.

"So it's nice to finally meet the infamous Frankie," Bentley said. "And who is this little guy?"

"This is Brandon," Frankie said.

Brandon hid his face in Frankie's neck like he was suddenly shy.

"Yeah apparently he's my son," I announced.

Frankie, Bentley and Embry all stared at me.