Surviving Home | Completed

Chapter Fifteen

           

"You couldn't leave it alone, could you?" Callum asked his wife as soon as he broke out of his shock. His wife loved to meddle in their children's lives, and Callum had always gone along with it, even when he knew that it wasn't the right thing to do. Their daughters usually let their other do it out of respect and love for her. But Abigail must have known that she couldn't take the same tactics with her sons. They had lives of their own, away from her. As much as they would always love her, she was their mother after all, her tricks wouldn't work on them. Declan's outburst had proved that. Abigail deserved his rage, they all did; And, Callum wasn't about to allow Abigail to wallow in her hurt pride. She needed to know that their children were not little anymore, most of them, anyway. She couldn't coddle and emotionally blackmail the anymore. Wasn't that why they had Dahlia? Abby could do all this with her for a few more years. Callum hoped that by the time Dahlia was old enough, his wife would have gotten over her need to be overly involved in their children's lives.

Sensing that she was about to throw a tantrum, Callum dragged his wife out of the kitchen and into their bedroom. Anymore drama she wanted to engage in would have to happen in private. He knew Abby well enough to know that she reserved her drama only for show. In the confines of their bedroom, she wouldn't dare create a scene. Callum would put her to bed so that she could calm her nerves, and by the time she was awake, he hoped that all would be okay. It usually was, but with Derek and Declan, he didn't know what would happen. He had to simply risk it.

Elsewhere in the house, Declan was pacing the room, unable to calm himself down or even sleep. He had shocked even himself at his outburst. Not that he lied for the sake of hurting his mother. Everything he had said was true. He just didn't expect for it all to come out like that. He certainly didn't plan on going to that extent of revealing what he thought and felt. He knew his mother was hurt. He wanted nothing more than to comfort her, but he also knew that his anger had to be brought in check first.

A knock sounded on his door. Derek and Alicia knew to stay away from him when he got like this, and they usually kept Aria occupied as well. It had to be Diana. They had gotten close enough over the last two days where she was comfortable enough with him to do this. She also didn't know how he could get. Declan decided to save her the revelation. She had been through enough already. Taking a deep breath in an attempt to calm himself down, he swung the door open before stepping back. Diana paused for a second. She didn't expect Declan to open the door, and here he was, inviting her in. She cautiously took a step into the room, trying to gauge his reaction. Declan's face remained stoic. She decided to chance it and stepped completely into the room, walking to sit on his bed. Declan quickly closed to door and sat on the bed next to her. They stayed there in silence for a while.

"Well, that was something," Diana was the first one to break. Just as Declan opened his mouth to defend himself, Diana continued, "How does it feel getting all of that out in the open?"

"Like shit!" he replied.

"It was bound to come out sooner or later. Derek and Alicia accepted your generous offer, by the way, although I suspect that Alicia is still in shock."

"I figured. I think she's still getting used to a big, crazy, loving family. It was just her and her dad. She had a step-mother, but given how her relationship with her father was, you know that there wasn't much of one with his wife," Declan explained.

"It was really nice of you to do this," Diana said, looking at Declan. He simply nodded.

"No, I mean it. Not just what you're doing for Derek and Alicia. I mean all of it. My wedding, the trust funds and shares, getting me to talk, telling mom off... just, handling everything," she explained. "I don't know how you do it. Your actions make me forget that you're only 17-years-old. I'm over 10 years older than you, and I don't have my shit together. How are you like this?" she asked.