Damaged Not Broken 3/7 + Epilogue
Title: Damaged Not Broken
Author: ariafree (Moria)
Rating: R
Characters: Jensen Ackles, Jared Padalecki, OFCs, Tom Welling, Chad Michael Murray, Michael Rosenbaum, Adrianne Palicki and Christian Kane
Pairings: Jared/Jensen; Jensen/Tom
Disclaimer: I do not claim to own any of the individuals mentioned above (with the exception of my 2 OFCs), I'm merely a writer wanting to tell a story.
Warnings/Spoilers: AU; MPREG; FEMSLASH
Summary: Jared Padalecki was a real player in high school. When 15 year old Aly knocks on his door claiming to be his daughter he soon realizes he has to confront his past head on. At the top of that list? Jensen Ackles. Aly's other father.
AN: I've made Jensen and Jared roughly the same age in this fic just so you're aware.
It was past time I started posting this 'verse to my LJ. Also, this 'verse is incredibly special to me. It's one of my absolute favorites that I've written and I just love living in this world. :)
Chapter 3:
Maryvale, Texas
Summer 1994
Adrianne Palicki was Jensen’s best friend. And she still had no idea who’d impregnated him and it was driving her crazy!
The two of them lay on Adrianne’s bed one afternoon listening to bad pop music on the radio.
“Jensen, you know I’m gonna find out sooner or later who made an honest man out of you. You might as well tell me now to save yourself an entire summer of constant badgering. Don’t think for a minute that I won’t call and wake you up at three in the morning to ask who the lucky guy was,” Adrianne said. Jensen sighed heavily, averting his gaze briefly.
“It’s not that I don’t want you to know, Adrianne. It’s just…I’m pretty sure you won’t believe me when I do tell you,” he finally admitted. Adrianne raised an eyebrow in her friend’s direction.
“Try me,” she insisted.
“Jared Padalecki,” he mumbled.
“No shit!?” she crowed gleefully. Jensen flashed her a wobbly smile, feeling heat rise up his neck and to his cheeks as he blushed.
“See, I told you that you wouldn’t believe me,” he said.
“Oh, I believe you, Jensen. I’m just trying to imagine it,” Adrianne said with a soft sigh. Jensen’s nose wrinkled and he nearly gagged.
“Um, eww. Why!? I’m like your brother, Adrianne. That’s just disgusting.”
“Oh, trust me. It’s not,” Adrianne insisted, a devilish smirk on her face.
“God, I think I’m gonna be sick,” Jensen moaned, throwing an arm over his face.
“Would you shut up, you drama queen?” Adrianne teased, poking Jensen lightly in the side.
“No, seriously, Adrianne, I’m gonna be sick!” Jensen exclaimed, before jumping off her bed like a shot and just making it to the bathroom in time.
“God, Jen, I’m sorry,” Adrianne empathized, leaning against the doorjamb. She cringed, watching as her friend’s morning sickness hit. A few minutes later he slowly sat up, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.
Jensen gave her a weak smile.
“What the hell are you apologizing for? It’s not your fault I’m pregnant.”
“Yeah, I know, sweetie. I just wish there was more I could be doing to help you out,” Adrianne murmured.
Jensen shook his head, continuing to smile as he got to his feet. “You’re unbelievable, you know that? Adrianne, you just being here for me, continuing to be my best friend after everything. Supporting me. It’s incredible. You’re incredible. Trust me if there’s something I think you could do I’ll let you know, all right?”
Adrianne nodded, returning the smile. “Okay. Um, Jensen? Have you told him about the baby?”
Jensen chewed on his lower lip, swallowing hard as he finally shook his head.
“No, I haven’t,” he admitted softly.
~*~
Maryvale, Texas
Summer 1994
Later that night, Jensen drove over to Jared’s house. He parked across the street from the other boy’s home. He cut the engine so he wouldn’t be wasting gas money, but he couldn’t bring himself to climb out of the car. Especially considering it appeared that a party was in full-swing at the Padalecki residence. Cars were parked up and down the block, and teenagers spilled out onto the front lawn in different levels of drunkenness. Jensen watched the scene with mounting unease. It wasn’t until he saw Jared darken the doorway of his own front door, groping and making-out with a strange boy that Jensen’s hand instinctively covered his belly.
Feeling his stomach lurch uncomfortably at the sight that met his eyes, Jensen did his best to fight back the tears that were threatening to fall. That had been him a mere two months ago. With his body trembling, he drew in a shuddering breath before coming to grips with his surroundings.
“What the fuck are you doing here, Ackles?” Jensen whispered to himself, biting back a sob. And without glancing in Jared’s direction a final time before he left, Jensen gunned the motor and headed home, all the more determined to keep his pregnancy a secret from the boy who’d impregnated him in the first place.
~*~
Maryvale, Texas
Spring 2010
Jared had just pulled on his robe after his shower when the doorbell rang the next morning. Not wanting to wake either of his friends or a still sleeping Jensen sacked out on the couch, Jared quietly yet quickly made his way to the front door.
He found a pretty blonde woman, with her arms crossed at her chest, scowling at him as she stood on his front porch.
“Can I help you?” he asked hesitantly.
“Jensen spent the night here? Jesus, that boy never learns,” the woman muttered to herself.
“You know Jensen and Aly?” Jared asked conversationally.
“You could say that. I’m Adrianne Palicki. Aly’s surrogate aunt,” Adrianne replied, her gaze remaining guarded the longer she looked at Jared.
Jared stepped aside, letting Adrianne into his apartment.
“Well, I’m sure you want to get Jensen home. I’ll go wake him up,” Jared said, struggling to ignore the disappointment washing over him. He’d hoped he and Jensen would have more time to talk. About Aly. About their future together as a family.
“Not so fast, Jared,” Adrianne said, her voice low but full of warning. Jared slowly turned toward Adrianne, confusion flooding his features.
“How do you know my name?” he asked. Before Jared fully registered what was happening, Adrianne had pulled back her arm and punched him in the face.
“Because you’re the douchebag that broke my best friend’s heart, that’s how,” she snapped, her chest heaving from a mixture of adrenaline and anger.
Jared covered his throbbing cheek with his hand, glaring at Adrianne.
“Don’t you think I know I hurt him? It was pretty obvious after discovering I have a fifteen-year-old I only just met yesterday.”
The two of them turned their attention toward Jensen who had stumbled into the room. His hair was mussed and his clothes were wrinkled from having slept in them all night. Slowly taking in the sight of Adrianne and Jared standing in the same room, Jensen raised an eyebrow in their direction.
“What the hell is going on?” he demanded. Adrianne and Jared continued to glare at one another. Finally after several minutes of tense silence Jared began talking.
“She hit me,” he spat, glowering at Jensen’s best friend. Jensen stared at Jared for several long minutes before turning his focus to Adrianne. He carefully maneuvered his way in between the two of them until he was standing right in front of Jared. He blindly reached out, his hand grabbing a hold of Jared’s wrist, and he began stroking the inside of it with his thumb.
“You hit him?”
Though the disbelief in his voice was softly spoken underneath was hidden the anger and disgust just below the surface. And being his best friend, Adrianne recognized all of the warning signs. Instead of backing off like her gut was telling her to, she opened her mouth, letting her own anger and fear over the situation out.
“Of course I hit him, Jensen! Have you suddenly forgotten what he did? He got you pregnant and then abandoned you when you needed him the most. I’ll be damned if I let you make the same mistakes you made in high school, Jen. Aly deserves so much better in a father than a two-timing asshole like Jared.”
Pressing a hand against Jared’s chest, holding him back from lunging across the kitchen and attacking Adrianne, Jensen struggled to keep his own anger in check. But looking back on the past twelve hours Jensen found he couldn’t do it anymore.
“First of all, let me make something incredibly clear to you, Adrianne. No matter how she came into my life Aly was never a mistake. And yeah, I’ll be the first to admit that there are parts of high school I wish I could forget. But being with Jared that night fifteen years ago wasn’t one of them. It got me Aly. And secondly, Jared never had the opportunity to abandon me because he never knew I was pregnant. I never gave him the option of choosing one way or another. And thirdly, are you fucking delusional? Jared and I were nothing more than a one-time deal to one another. There’s nothing deeper between us and there never will be.”
Adrianne’s eyes quickly darted over Jared’s features, her own shock over Jensen’s revelation apparent in her face. Jared on the other hand remained silent, continuing to glare at Adrianne with all of his righteous indignation. On the inside though he was screaming, crying out for Jensen to see the man he’d become not the boy he used to be.
He’d fooled himself when he’d heard Jensen use that word: Family. He thought it’d meant that he, Aly and Jensen would… Well, it didn’t really matter now what he’d thought (hoped actually) would happen. Breaking the silence that had enveloped the room by loudly clearing his throat, Jared couldn’t even crack a smile as he felt Jensen jump slightly from the noise he hadn’t been expecting. Sucks to be surprised, huh, Jen? Jared thought, stepping away from the warmth of Jensen’s body that’d been surrounding him by a single touch.
“I don’t mean to sound rude, but the two of you need to find somewhere else to have this fight about my part or lack thereof in Aly’s life. Or whatever the hell you want to call it. Chad, Mike and I have this thing we need to get to, so, yeah a better argument locale needs to be found quickly. Adrianne, sweetheart? You’re a bitch, and I figured it’d be a shame if you went through one more minute of life without knowing that. And Jensen? Always a pleasure. Truly. Aly has my number if she needs to get in touch with me. Now the both of you get the fuck out of my house before I remember I’m from Texas and my mama raised me better than this,” Jared snarled, ushering the two of them through the front door before slamming it in their faces.
~*~
Maryvale, Texas
Spring 2010
With her dad having spent the night over at Jared’s Aly figured it’d be the perfect time to have Ashley spend the night with her. She woke up the following morning to Ashley kissing her neck, slowly making her way down Aly’s exposed, bare back.
Smiling into her pillow, Aly turned over facing her girlfriend.
“Remind me again why we don’t wake up like this every morning?” she asked, stretching out her body as she pulled Ashley closer, kissing her languidly on the mouth for several minutes.
“Because your dad would kill you if he knew you were having sex already,” Ashley pointed out, running a hand through Aly’s hair watching it fall gently between the space in her fingers.
“Yeah? Well, what the hell does he expect? I’m fifteen for Christ’s sake. Just a few years younger than he was his first time. Not to mention the fact that my girlfriend is a total knockout,” Aly grumbled.
“You’ll get no complaint from me,” Ashley said, smirking at Aly. Aly returned the smile, kissing Ashley again. They broke apart when they heard the front door slam.
“Jensen? Aly? Anybody home?”
“Shit! No, no, no, no. Why is Tom here? Goddammit, this is gonna ruin everything,” Aly ranted softly, jumping out of bed and quickly pulling on her clothes from the day before.
Ashley grabbed a hold of her hand, pulling her back onto the bed for a minute. She gently held Aly’s face in her hands, her lips brushing her girlfriend’s forehead.
“Relax, baby. If you go down there acting like something’s wrong then Tom’s going to suspect that something’s up. I’ll meet you around front,” Ashley said, pulling on her own clothes before climbing out of the second story window via ladder outside Aly’s bedroom.
Taking a deep breath, Aly made her way downstairs, making her way into the living room where she found Tom sitting on the couch.
“Hey, Tom. Did you come over to see my dad? Because he’s not here right now,” Aly said, crossing her arms at her chest.
“Oh, good, Aly, you are home. So, your dad isn’t home, huh? Do you have any idea when he’ll be back or where he is?” Tom asked her. Aly flashed him a tight-lipped smile, shaking her head.
“Nope, Tom, I can honestly say I haven’t heard from him. So your guess of where he might be is as good as mine,” she replied with a shrug.
Tom nodded, letting out a sigh of frustration as he stood up.
“All right. Well, when he gets home would you have him call me?”
“Sure thing,” Aly promised, barely restraining herself from slamming the door behind him. Once she made sure Tom had left she threw the door open again to find Ashley standing there waiting for her.
“So, what’s the plan?” Ashley asked, stepping into the front hall. Aly glared at the front door for a moment before grabbing her jean jacket off of the coat rack.
“I don’t care. I just need to get out of here,” she muttered, this time slamming the door as they left the house. Ashley gently grabbed her girlfriend around the waist, pulling Aly close as they began to walk down the front steps of Aly’s house.
~*~
Maryvale, Texas
Spring 2010
“Just check me the damn ball, Mike,” Jared grumbled. Mike raised an eyebrow in Chad’s direction as he and Jared started another round of one-on-one basketball. The three of them had been coming to the Maryvale Elementary School playground every Sunday morning to play one-on-one ever since they were in high school. Some things never changed. And others seemed to be changing at lightning speed. Especially recently.
Once Mike had control of the ball again he called time-out. Jared glared daggers at both him and Chad as Mike set the basketball down on the asphalt next to Chad, taking a swig of water from his water bottle.
“Take a seat, Jared,” Mike finally replied, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. Jared grunted, finally making himself comfortable next to Chad.
“Is this the part where the Inquisition starts? Because honestly y’all can just skip it, okay? Straight from Jensen’s lips to my ears: we’re nothing to each other. So, hopefully now you guys can understand why I’m not going out of my way to tell him how I feel about him.”
“All right, so you’ve experienced a few setbacks. Don’t give him an ultimatum. The two of you and Aly need to become a family. Prove to him that you’re in this for the long haul. And don’t just tell him how you feel, Jay. Figure out a way to show him,” Chad said. Jared sighed heavily, running a hand over his face.
“That’s a lot easier said than done,” he pointed out.
“Well, the question you need to be asking yourself is whether Jensen’s worth the trouble,” Mike countered.
Jared’s chest constricted painfully as he thought of the alternative of Jensen and Aly not being a part of his life now that he knew the truth. Swallowing hard, he wiped at his eyes as he struggled to pull himself together.
“Yeah, he’s worth it. Jensen’s definitely worth it,” he admitted softly.
~*~
Maryvale, Texas
Spring 2010
After Jared had kicked him and Adrianne out of his apartment, Jensen began walking back home. Adrianne had tried to give him a ride but Jensen repeatedly refused and she finally gave up, heading home herself. Jensen was still too upset to even begin thinking about forgiving Adrianne at the moment.
Once he got home Jensen wasn’t too surprised to find that he had the place to himself. Aly had been spending as much time as she could with Ashley lately, probably in an attempt to avoid encountering Jensen’s wrath over throwing Jared into their lives. But Jensen wasn’t upset with his daughter. She had every right to have a relationship with her other father if she wanted one. Jensen just wished that he could avoid having a relationship with Jared as a result. It was just too painful.
Later that afternoon, after he’d showered and changed his clothes he heard the doorbell ring. Making his way to the front door, Jensen opened it to find Jared standing on his front porch.
“Jared? What’re you doing here?” he asked in surprise.
Jared shuffled his feet, giving Jensen a half-smile, his bangs falling into his eyes.
“I’m giving you fifteen minutes to pack. Then you and I are gonna get into my truck and head on down the road,” he said.
“Do we have a destination or am I just supposed to put all my faith in you?” Jensen asked, smiling in return.
“We’re going to San Antonio,” Jared replied.
TBC...
Author: ariafree (Moria)
Rating: R
Characters: Jensen Ackles, Jared Padalecki, OFCs, Tom Welling, Chad Michael Murray, Michael Rosenbaum, Adrianne Palicki and Christian Kane
Pairings: Jared/Jensen; Jensen/Tom
Disclaimer: I do not claim to own any of the individuals mentioned above (with the exception of my 2 OFCs), I'm merely a writer wanting to tell a story.
Warnings/Spoilers: AU; MPREG; FEMSLASH
Summary: Jared Padalecki was a real player in high school. When 15 year old Aly knocks on his door claiming to be his daughter he soon realizes he has to confront his past head on. At the top of that list? Jensen Ackles. Aly's other father.
AN: I've made Jensen and Jared roughly the same age in this fic just so you're aware.
It was past time I started posting this 'verse to my LJ. Also, this 'verse is incredibly special to me. It's one of my absolute favorites that I've written and I just love living in this world. :)
Chapter 3:
Maryvale, Texas
Summer 1994
Adrianne Palicki was Jensen’s best friend. And she still had no idea who’d impregnated him and it was driving her crazy!
The two of them lay on Adrianne’s bed one afternoon listening to bad pop music on the radio.
“Jensen, you know I’m gonna find out sooner or later who made an honest man out of you. You might as well tell me now to save yourself an entire summer of constant badgering. Don’t think for a minute that I won’t call and wake you up at three in the morning to ask who the lucky guy was,” Adrianne said. Jensen sighed heavily, averting his gaze briefly.
“It’s not that I don’t want you to know, Adrianne. It’s just…I’m pretty sure you won’t believe me when I do tell you,” he finally admitted. Adrianne raised an eyebrow in her friend’s direction.
“Try me,” she insisted.
“Jared Padalecki,” he mumbled.
“No shit!?” she crowed gleefully. Jensen flashed her a wobbly smile, feeling heat rise up his neck and to his cheeks as he blushed.
“See, I told you that you wouldn’t believe me,” he said.
“Oh, I believe you, Jensen. I’m just trying to imagine it,” Adrianne said with a soft sigh. Jensen’s nose wrinkled and he nearly gagged.
“Um, eww. Why!? I’m like your brother, Adrianne. That’s just disgusting.”
“Oh, trust me. It’s not,” Adrianne insisted, a devilish smirk on her face.
“God, I think I’m gonna be sick,” Jensen moaned, throwing an arm over his face.
“Would you shut up, you drama queen?” Adrianne teased, poking Jensen lightly in the side.
“No, seriously, Adrianne, I’m gonna be sick!” Jensen exclaimed, before jumping off her bed like a shot and just making it to the bathroom in time.
“God, Jen, I’m sorry,” Adrianne empathized, leaning against the doorjamb. She cringed, watching as her friend’s morning sickness hit. A few minutes later he slowly sat up, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.
Jensen gave her a weak smile.
“What the hell are you apologizing for? It’s not your fault I’m pregnant.”
“Yeah, I know, sweetie. I just wish there was more I could be doing to help you out,” Adrianne murmured.
Jensen shook his head, continuing to smile as he got to his feet. “You’re unbelievable, you know that? Adrianne, you just being here for me, continuing to be my best friend after everything. Supporting me. It’s incredible. You’re incredible. Trust me if there’s something I think you could do I’ll let you know, all right?”
Adrianne nodded, returning the smile. “Okay. Um, Jensen? Have you told him about the baby?”
Jensen chewed on his lower lip, swallowing hard as he finally shook his head.
“No, I haven’t,” he admitted softly.
~*~
Maryvale, Texas
Summer 1994
Later that night, Jensen drove over to Jared’s house. He parked across the street from the other boy’s home. He cut the engine so he wouldn’t be wasting gas money, but he couldn’t bring himself to climb out of the car. Especially considering it appeared that a party was in full-swing at the Padalecki residence. Cars were parked up and down the block, and teenagers spilled out onto the front lawn in different levels of drunkenness. Jensen watched the scene with mounting unease. It wasn’t until he saw Jared darken the doorway of his own front door, groping and making-out with a strange boy that Jensen’s hand instinctively covered his belly.
Feeling his stomach lurch uncomfortably at the sight that met his eyes, Jensen did his best to fight back the tears that were threatening to fall. That had been him a mere two months ago. With his body trembling, he drew in a shuddering breath before coming to grips with his surroundings.
“What the fuck are you doing here, Ackles?” Jensen whispered to himself, biting back a sob. And without glancing in Jared’s direction a final time before he left, Jensen gunned the motor and headed home, all the more determined to keep his pregnancy a secret from the boy who’d impregnated him in the first place.
~*~
Maryvale, Texas
Spring 2010
Jared had just pulled on his robe after his shower when the doorbell rang the next morning. Not wanting to wake either of his friends or a still sleeping Jensen sacked out on the couch, Jared quietly yet quickly made his way to the front door.
He found a pretty blonde woman, with her arms crossed at her chest, scowling at him as she stood on his front porch.
“Can I help you?” he asked hesitantly.
“Jensen spent the night here? Jesus, that boy never learns,” the woman muttered to herself.
“You know Jensen and Aly?” Jared asked conversationally.
“You could say that. I’m Adrianne Palicki. Aly’s surrogate aunt,” Adrianne replied, her gaze remaining guarded the longer she looked at Jared.
Jared stepped aside, letting Adrianne into his apartment.
“Well, I’m sure you want to get Jensen home. I’ll go wake him up,” Jared said, struggling to ignore the disappointment washing over him. He’d hoped he and Jensen would have more time to talk. About Aly. About their future together as a family.
“Not so fast, Jared,” Adrianne said, her voice low but full of warning. Jared slowly turned toward Adrianne, confusion flooding his features.
“How do you know my name?” he asked. Before Jared fully registered what was happening, Adrianne had pulled back her arm and punched him in the face.
“Because you’re the douchebag that broke my best friend’s heart, that’s how,” she snapped, her chest heaving from a mixture of adrenaline and anger.
Jared covered his throbbing cheek with his hand, glaring at Adrianne.
“Don’t you think I know I hurt him? It was pretty obvious after discovering I have a fifteen-year-old I only just met yesterday.”
The two of them turned their attention toward Jensen who had stumbled into the room. His hair was mussed and his clothes were wrinkled from having slept in them all night. Slowly taking in the sight of Adrianne and Jared standing in the same room, Jensen raised an eyebrow in their direction.
“What the hell is going on?” he demanded. Adrianne and Jared continued to glare at one another. Finally after several minutes of tense silence Jared began talking.
“She hit me,” he spat, glowering at Jensen’s best friend. Jensen stared at Jared for several long minutes before turning his focus to Adrianne. He carefully maneuvered his way in between the two of them until he was standing right in front of Jared. He blindly reached out, his hand grabbing a hold of Jared’s wrist, and he began stroking the inside of it with his thumb.
“You hit him?”
Though the disbelief in his voice was softly spoken underneath was hidden the anger and disgust just below the surface. And being his best friend, Adrianne recognized all of the warning signs. Instead of backing off like her gut was telling her to, she opened her mouth, letting her own anger and fear over the situation out.
“Of course I hit him, Jensen! Have you suddenly forgotten what he did? He got you pregnant and then abandoned you when you needed him the most. I’ll be damned if I let you make the same mistakes you made in high school, Jen. Aly deserves so much better in a father than a two-timing asshole like Jared.”
Pressing a hand against Jared’s chest, holding him back from lunging across the kitchen and attacking Adrianne, Jensen struggled to keep his own anger in check. But looking back on the past twelve hours Jensen found he couldn’t do it anymore.
“First of all, let me make something incredibly clear to you, Adrianne. No matter how she came into my life Aly was never a mistake. And yeah, I’ll be the first to admit that there are parts of high school I wish I could forget. But being with Jared that night fifteen years ago wasn’t one of them. It got me Aly. And secondly, Jared never had the opportunity to abandon me because he never knew I was pregnant. I never gave him the option of choosing one way or another. And thirdly, are you fucking delusional? Jared and I were nothing more than a one-time deal to one another. There’s nothing deeper between us and there never will be.”
Adrianne’s eyes quickly darted over Jared’s features, her own shock over Jensen’s revelation apparent in her face. Jared on the other hand remained silent, continuing to glare at Adrianne with all of his righteous indignation. On the inside though he was screaming, crying out for Jensen to see the man he’d become not the boy he used to be.
He’d fooled himself when he’d heard Jensen use that word: Family. He thought it’d meant that he, Aly and Jensen would… Well, it didn’t really matter now what he’d thought (hoped actually) would happen. Breaking the silence that had enveloped the room by loudly clearing his throat, Jared couldn’t even crack a smile as he felt Jensen jump slightly from the noise he hadn’t been expecting. Sucks to be surprised, huh, Jen? Jared thought, stepping away from the warmth of Jensen’s body that’d been surrounding him by a single touch.
“I don’t mean to sound rude, but the two of you need to find somewhere else to have this fight about my part or lack thereof in Aly’s life. Or whatever the hell you want to call it. Chad, Mike and I have this thing we need to get to, so, yeah a better argument locale needs to be found quickly. Adrianne, sweetheart? You’re a bitch, and I figured it’d be a shame if you went through one more minute of life without knowing that. And Jensen? Always a pleasure. Truly. Aly has my number if she needs to get in touch with me. Now the both of you get the fuck out of my house before I remember I’m from Texas and my mama raised me better than this,” Jared snarled, ushering the two of them through the front door before slamming it in their faces.
~*~
Maryvale, Texas
Spring 2010
With her dad having spent the night over at Jared’s Aly figured it’d be the perfect time to have Ashley spend the night with her. She woke up the following morning to Ashley kissing her neck, slowly making her way down Aly’s exposed, bare back.
Smiling into her pillow, Aly turned over facing her girlfriend.
“Remind me again why we don’t wake up like this every morning?” she asked, stretching out her body as she pulled Ashley closer, kissing her languidly on the mouth for several minutes.
“Because your dad would kill you if he knew you were having sex already,” Ashley pointed out, running a hand through Aly’s hair watching it fall gently between the space in her fingers.
“Yeah? Well, what the hell does he expect? I’m fifteen for Christ’s sake. Just a few years younger than he was his first time. Not to mention the fact that my girlfriend is a total knockout,” Aly grumbled.
“You’ll get no complaint from me,” Ashley said, smirking at Aly. Aly returned the smile, kissing Ashley again. They broke apart when they heard the front door slam.
“Jensen? Aly? Anybody home?”
“Shit! No, no, no, no. Why is Tom here? Goddammit, this is gonna ruin everything,” Aly ranted softly, jumping out of bed and quickly pulling on her clothes from the day before.
Ashley grabbed a hold of her hand, pulling her back onto the bed for a minute. She gently held Aly’s face in her hands, her lips brushing her girlfriend’s forehead.
“Relax, baby. If you go down there acting like something’s wrong then Tom’s going to suspect that something’s up. I’ll meet you around front,” Ashley said, pulling on her own clothes before climbing out of the second story window via ladder outside Aly’s bedroom.
Taking a deep breath, Aly made her way downstairs, making her way into the living room where she found Tom sitting on the couch.
“Hey, Tom. Did you come over to see my dad? Because he’s not here right now,” Aly said, crossing her arms at her chest.
“Oh, good, Aly, you are home. So, your dad isn’t home, huh? Do you have any idea when he’ll be back or where he is?” Tom asked her. Aly flashed him a tight-lipped smile, shaking her head.
“Nope, Tom, I can honestly say I haven’t heard from him. So your guess of where he might be is as good as mine,” she replied with a shrug.
Tom nodded, letting out a sigh of frustration as he stood up.
“All right. Well, when he gets home would you have him call me?”
“Sure thing,” Aly promised, barely restraining herself from slamming the door behind him. Once she made sure Tom had left she threw the door open again to find Ashley standing there waiting for her.
“So, what’s the plan?” Ashley asked, stepping into the front hall. Aly glared at the front door for a moment before grabbing her jean jacket off of the coat rack.
“I don’t care. I just need to get out of here,” she muttered, this time slamming the door as they left the house. Ashley gently grabbed her girlfriend around the waist, pulling Aly close as they began to walk down the front steps of Aly’s house.
~*~
Maryvale, Texas
Spring 2010
“Just check me the damn ball, Mike,” Jared grumbled. Mike raised an eyebrow in Chad’s direction as he and Jared started another round of one-on-one basketball. The three of them had been coming to the Maryvale Elementary School playground every Sunday morning to play one-on-one ever since they were in high school. Some things never changed. And others seemed to be changing at lightning speed. Especially recently.
Once Mike had control of the ball again he called time-out. Jared glared daggers at both him and Chad as Mike set the basketball down on the asphalt next to Chad, taking a swig of water from his water bottle.
“Take a seat, Jared,” Mike finally replied, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. Jared grunted, finally making himself comfortable next to Chad.
“Is this the part where the Inquisition starts? Because honestly y’all can just skip it, okay? Straight from Jensen’s lips to my ears: we’re nothing to each other. So, hopefully now you guys can understand why I’m not going out of my way to tell him how I feel about him.”
“All right, so you’ve experienced a few setbacks. Don’t give him an ultimatum. The two of you and Aly need to become a family. Prove to him that you’re in this for the long haul. And don’t just tell him how you feel, Jay. Figure out a way to show him,” Chad said. Jared sighed heavily, running a hand over his face.
“That’s a lot easier said than done,” he pointed out.
“Well, the question you need to be asking yourself is whether Jensen’s worth the trouble,” Mike countered.
Jared’s chest constricted painfully as he thought of the alternative of Jensen and Aly not being a part of his life now that he knew the truth. Swallowing hard, he wiped at his eyes as he struggled to pull himself together.
“Yeah, he’s worth it. Jensen’s definitely worth it,” he admitted softly.
~*~
Maryvale, Texas
Spring 2010
After Jared had kicked him and Adrianne out of his apartment, Jensen began walking back home. Adrianne had tried to give him a ride but Jensen repeatedly refused and she finally gave up, heading home herself. Jensen was still too upset to even begin thinking about forgiving Adrianne at the moment.
Once he got home Jensen wasn’t too surprised to find that he had the place to himself. Aly had been spending as much time as she could with Ashley lately, probably in an attempt to avoid encountering Jensen’s wrath over throwing Jared into their lives. But Jensen wasn’t upset with his daughter. She had every right to have a relationship with her other father if she wanted one. Jensen just wished that he could avoid having a relationship with Jared as a result. It was just too painful.
Later that afternoon, after he’d showered and changed his clothes he heard the doorbell ring. Making his way to the front door, Jensen opened it to find Jared standing on his front porch.
“Jared? What’re you doing here?” he asked in surprise.
Jared shuffled his feet, giving Jensen a half-smile, his bangs falling into his eyes.
“I’m giving you fifteen minutes to pack. Then you and I are gonna get into my truck and head on down the road,” he said.
“Do we have a destination or am I just supposed to put all my faith in you?” Jensen asked, smiling in return.
“We’re going to San Antonio,” Jared replied.
TBC...