The Reason Why

Chapter 19: From This Dream

2014

"Mommy's got a real bad temper... and daddy's got a shotgun!" The right chords got hit on the small guitar. "Welcome to the family!" 

"Why is he singing that song?" Karen asked.

"I don't know." Jimi took Karen's hat off.

"Hey, don't do that!" She hit the hat out of Jimi's hand and it fell on floor. Karen sighed.

"I want to see your eyes."

"Sunday Hatday."

"It's just Sunday."

"It's not, James."

"Ooh, do I have to watch out now, Karen Renee?"

"Always, James. Always."

A phone rang and a one eye got open.

"What?" Karen snapped. Who the Hell dares to call her at 6 In the morning?

"Karen, it's Kelli. Mom and dads house, asap." Typical Kelli, never saying the whole sentence.

"What? Why?" Karen asked but her sister already disconnected the line. She moaned and got out of bed. She put on a sweater and jeans. When she was done with doing her hair and make up, she woke Jimi up.

"Clothes are on the bed. We have to go to Georgia."

Ten minutes later they sat in their truck, ready to drop Elijah off at Phillip and Rebecca's place and drive to Georgia.

"Any idea what's going on?" Jimi asked when the cross the State line from Tennessee.

"No, but I don't think there's any good news." Karen looked into Jimi's eyes, it was like looking into a mirror. Eyes filled with fear.

"What the heck is going on?" Karen tripped over the door matt and crashed into the door to the living room.

She looked up and everybody was there. Her mother, her father, Kelli, Geor, Kerry, Lilly, Matthew, Cassadee and even her new baby niece Delta.

"I'm getting scared now, who's dead?"

Then she noticed a girl standing behind her sister. She'd never seen her and looked like the same age as Cassadee. If she wasn't that curious about what was going on, she would have introduced herself to the girl.

There was a long silence but Kelli took a deep breathe. "This is Brooklyn, our new niece."

"What?" Jimi asked. "How's that possible? Who's daughter is she?" He looked to Karen, who was shocked as well.

"Mine." Kerry said.

Lilly, his wife, started to cry.

"Eh, we're waiting." Karen frowned.

He took a deep breathe and started to talk. "Remember when I had a thing with Dakota? It was just for the summer. Apparently she got pregnant, I mean this is the living proof" he pointed to Brooklyn. "but she never told me that. She died in a car crash a week ago and the police found me and brought Brooklyn to me."

"So you didn't cheated on Lilly?"

"No."

Jimi looked at Brooklyn, who tried to hide behind Kelli. She looked at her boots but he could see that tears were streaming down her face.

"I can't believe this!" Lilly yelled. "We just got our own family and now it comes out that he already has a daughter for sixteen years!"

"Hey, relax!" Karen shouted. "It's not his fault, like he said he didn't knew it! And stop yelling okay? Don't you realize how this is for Brooklyn?" She walked to the girl and wrapped her arm around her. "Just lost her mom and now in the middle of a damn useless family fight." She turned to Brooklyn. "Where are you from?"