We Are One

"You'll still have all of your stuff. Don't worry. You know your Apple ID and password, right?"

"Yeah?"

"You'll be fine. Let's go shopping."

***

After a long day of waiting for doctors and shopping for things I never imagined needing, it got too late to visit my lawyer. I moved the appointment to the next day and took the ladies to a nice dinner.

"Blaine, you don't have to do this. I can make us spaghetti or something. You've already spent too much on us."

"Oh, this dinner is for me. I figure I've earned a good steak."

She laughed for the first time since I'd taken her in. It was music to my ears.

"Do you want a big steak, Bella?" I asked. She still hadn't warmed up to me and shook her head no.

"Okay, how about big chicken nuggies?"

She smiled and nodded.

Kennedy laughed. "Chicken nuggies, huh?"

"Hey, I may not have kids, but I've seen all the baby Yoda memes."

We laughed and it finally felt like we were getting comfortable.

She kept touching her cheek, and I knew she was uncomfortable being seen like that.

"It's hardly noticeable. You covered it up with makeup well."

She nodded and looked away.

"Do you like wine? I've discovered I'm a wine guy as I've matured."

She laughed. "Yes. I never would've pegged you as a wine drinker or mature. I remember you puking up that cheap wine we had at Jack's graduation party."

I laughed at the memory. "Yeah, what can I say? I'm cultured in my old age."

As the night went along, we reminisced and laughed. It was like the old days. Then she ruined it.

"I never meant to hurt you, Blaine."

I chugged the last of my wine and tried to calm myself.

"Oh yeah? You didn't think it would hurt me that you fucked my brother two days after I told you I was in love with you?"

She sniffed back a tear, and I stopped. It wasn't an appropriate place for that conversation.

I looked at Bella, and asked, "Do you like chocolate chip ice cream?"

She smiled and nodded.

"I have some at home. I have whipped cream and extra chocolate chips too."

She smiled wider. How easy it is to win a child over.

"Okay," I smiled. "Let's go home for ice cream."

***

I sat in my office as Kennedy put Bella to bed. I had a bottle of wine open and was waiting for the inevitable. I knew we had to talk. We had to have the big talk. The talk about her killing my soul.

I was surprised to hear Bella screaming. I ran upstairs and found her having a meltdown in her mother's arms.

"What's the matter?"

"It's nothing. She just misses her room."

Bella looked at me and yelled, "I want Ariel!"

Then the tears fell again.

"Ariel?" I asked. "Teddy bear or something."

She shook her head. "No, I'll be down in a minute. It'll be okay."

I walked away wondering what it was all about.

When she finally came down, she grabbed her glass and drank a large gulp.

"Ariel was my first daughter. I have a picture of her next to Bella's bed. She likes to believe Ariel watches over her as she sleeps."

"Oh, Jeez."

"Yeah. Jack told me he stayed in touch with you. I assume you know the story?"

I nodded. "I was at my mother's funeral."

She looked up in shock. "I didn't see you."

"I waited until everyone left before I walked over to the graves."

"I see. I tried to find you. Steff and your dad told me not to bother, but I felt you needed to know."

"I know. I got all the messages after the funeral. Jack was the one who told me about the accident."

"It destroyed your father. He's been angry and mean ever since the accident. I think he's more of an alcoholic than your brother. I won't let Bella be near him."

"Oh well."

She shook her head. "Did you know I found my mother?"

"Really? No."

"Yep. She tends bar at one of the dives in town. It was an accident, you know. I was looking for Steff and saw her at the bar. It was like looking at an older me. She froze when she saw me. We both knew immediately."

"I'm happy for you."

I knew she grew up as a foster kid. The last family she was with for all of high school.

"Don't be so happy. Once we talked and I confirmed she gave a girl my age up for adoption, I slapped her. I told her to rot in hell and walked out of the bar."

"I'm sorry. I know how badly you hoped to find her. Why'd you do that though?"

"She ruined everything. I blamed her for the biggest mistake of my life."

"What was that?"

"Lying to you."

I looked at her having no idea what she meant. I filled our glasses and she continued, "When you told me you loved me, I already knew Steff wanted me. He'd been coming after me since I turned eighteen. We'd been on a few dates, and I was planning on accepting his advances when you told me you loved me."

"Why, Kennedy? Why did you..."

"He was my ticket out!" She snapped. "I had no family. No one wanted me. I had no scholarships, so college was out. I got a job waiting tables and was about to be homeless. I figured he was my only chance."

"I would've taken care of you. If you'd only loved me..."

"I did love you, damn it. I loved you with all of my soul. I died when you walked in on us. That was his condition. I could move in with him if we told you together that I was choosing him. He wanted to show you he beat you again. We were alone in the house, and he wanted me. I felt like I had no choice but to do it. I didn't know that you would be home that early. I swear."

She broke down in sobs. I watched her with my own tears falling.

"If my mom wouldn't have abandoned me, I'd have never moved in next door to you when the Singh's fostered me. I would never have fallen for you. I'd have never grown up thinking I needed a meal ticket instead of love. It was all her fault."

"I wish you'd have told me that before you did it. We'd have left right away. I had my own apartment all set. We could've..."

"I would never have lost my little girl."

She was in full-blown hysterics. I rushed to her and hugged her. She felt so good in my arms. I had no idea what I was going to do.

"Easy, Kenz, easy. I think that's enough for tonight."

She looked at me and said, "You called me Kenz."

"So?"

"You haven't done that since I broke your heart. I always loved it when you called me Kenz."

***

I hardly slept that night. I was dying trying to come to terms with the last twenty-four hours, and more importantly my feelings for Kennedy. I never stopped loving her. I always knew that. It killed all of my attempts at relationships.

I would get to a certain point with a woman and the relationship would blow up when we got too close. No one measured up to Kennedy—it wasn't even close.

As I lay in bed, I watched through my open door, and her door slowly opened. Little Bella poked her head through the door and smiled. I thought that was a good sign. I waved and she walked across the hall into my room. She looked around and saw the picture on my dresser that never left its spot. I kicked myself for not putting it away.

Bella pointed and said, "Mama."

I sat up and said, "Yes, it is. That's me and your mom when we were friends."

She looked at me with the cutest look of confusion.

"What's the matter?"

"Mama says you knew her when she was little."

I laughed and patted the bed. She climbed up and sat against the headboard.

"I did know your mama when we were little. We were friends all the way up to when we were big, like in that picture."

"She looks happy."

"She was very happy. That picture was taken the day she got her driver's license."

She shrugged her little shoulders.

"We have to have a driver's license so we can drive a car."

"Do you have any kids? Sookie lives next door, and she has a kitty named Benson. He's orange."

"No, I don't have any kids."

"Do you have a kitty?"

"No, I'm sorry. I don't have a kitty either."

"Does next door have kids or kitties?"

I laughed.

"No. I don't have any neighbors. I live on a big piece of land because I like to be by myself."

"Who do you play with?"

"Well, mostly I play on my computer."

"We have a 'puter. Daddy doesn't like me to play with it, but mama lets me when daddy's at work. Do you know my daddy?

"Yes. Your daddy is my brother."

"I have a sister. She's an angel."

"I know. You have a picture of her next to your bed."

She nodded. "I miss her."

"Would you like me to get your picture for you?"

She nodded. "I want to go home."

I sighed. "I know it's different here and that's scary, but I can make you feel just as safe and happy here. You're my niece and I love you."

I heard a sniffle and looked up; Kennedy was standing in my doorway.

"Look, mama," she pointed at the picture. "Uncle Bane has your picture."

I cringed as I watched Kennedy walk to the dresser. She picked up the picture and started crying.

"Why are you sad, mama?"

"I'm not sad, baby. I'm very happy. This was a good day."

"Uncle Bane, I'm hungry."

"Ah! Someone wants chocolate chip pancakes, does she?"

She giggled. "Can I have whipped cream this time?"

"Oh, no! Whipped cream too? There's only one way to get whipped cream."

"How?"

"You have to pass the test."

"What test?"

"The tickle test."

It took her a second, but she shrieked, "NO!" and tried to get out of the bed. She was too slow, of course, and I tickled her until I heard the magic words.

"I'm gonna pee."

I immediately let her go and she ran off to find the bathroom with Kennedy following, laughing.

I took the opportunity to get myself out of bed and get in the shower. I took the time to continue thinking about what was happening. Bella came out of her shell and was not only talking to me, but she called me Uncle Blaine. Okay, she called me Uncle Bane, but it was close enough for me and cute as hell.

The ice around my heart was melting more by the hour. Damn, if that little girl wasn't pulling me into her heart. All of a sudden, I broke down in tears. I was shaking uncontrollably. I was an uncle. It hit me hard.

I sat down on the bench in my shower and put my head in my hands. I realized I wasn't crying for Kennedy or Bella. I was crying for the loss of my first niece. The one I couldn't let myself love—Ariel.

I don't know how much time passed, but I heard Bella calling out for me in my bedroom. I stood and rinsed myself. After I turned the water off, I called out, "I'll be out in a second, honey."

I did shave that morning, and then I dressed to impress. Collared shirt, khaki pants—I even put cologne on. I looked in the mirror and asked myself, "What the hell are you doing? Don't be a fucking idiot."

***

When I walked into the living room the girls were dressed and watching cartoons. Bella saw me and said, "Uncle Bane, I'm ready for pancakes now."

I laughed and said, "Okay, sweetie. I'm gonna talk to your mom for a minute and then we'll go, okay?"

She nodded and I walked into the kitchen.

"What's on your mind, Blaine. I'm sorry if..."

"Will you please stop apologizing to me. You know what? I never said that I forgave you. I forgave you a long time ago. I hate what you did to me, and I'll never forget it, but I got over it four years ago."

"Okay. What's on your mind, Blaine." She smirked.

"I'm going to your house today. Is there anything you want me to get for you besides, Ariel's picture for Bella?"

"Oh, God! Blaine, there's so much. Please, don't. Let's get the lawyer and get a restraining order and get a police escort into the house."

"I'll have police with me. I'm gonna have Jack with me, but not to protect me. He'll be stopping me from killing my brother."

"Blaine, don't. He's not worth it."

"No, he's not. That little girl in there is though, and she wants her sister's picture. I promised to get it for her."

"I won't tell you where we live."

I laughed. "Do you seriously think I don't know where you live? Cherry Lane, right? White house, gray shutters, rose bushes in the front."

"How?"

"Doesn't matter."

***

I took advantage of her putting Bella down for her nap and snuck out. I called Jack and told him what I was doing.

"Are you a fucking idiot or what?" He shouted into the phone.

"That's why I'm calling you, dumb ass. You're going with to make sure I don't cut his balls off and feed them to him. I'll be in town in two hours. Meet me at Steff's house at three."

I ended the call before he could argue with me.

As I drove, I thought about what I was going to say to my brother. Six years I had to think about it, and I always figured I'd never see him again so it wouldn't matter. After all that time I never softened my stance on my parents either. I never wanted my mother to die. Sure, I wanted her to be miserable, but not dead.

I decided I wasn't going to say anything to him. I was just going to break his nose and walk past him into his house. I hoped Jack wouldn't take me in for that, but who knew?

I saw Jack's police cruiser parked two houses down from Steff's when I pulled into the subdivision. I waved as I slowly drove past and pulled into his driveway. I knew where the asshole lived because of easy internet searches. I admit to being curious as to how the prick was living and with the new info I was given by Kenz, I had a better insight than I ever would have found myself. I was glad he was suffering.

It had to destroy his ego to be unemployable. The mighty financial advisor. The whiz kid who made six figures right out of college. He had no idea my net worth was far beyond his before my third and final year of college and I wasn't even working. I got lucky and made some simple crypto purchases, and when it blew up, I pulled much of it out and put it into the stock market. I wasn't a stock market genius, but I did well enough to fund my simple life with a chunk of it. I wanted to brag to my brother about my net worth, but I decided to hold that info back.

"You ready?" Jack asked as he walked up. I noticed he had a Billy club in his hand.

"Expecting trouble?" I asked with a smile.

"I'm hoping not to have to hit you with it."

I laughed as we walked up to the door. I rang the bell and waited. After a minute there was no answer. I rang it repeatedly for another minute and there was still nothing. Jack walked over to the window and looked inside.

"Looks like he's passed out on the couch. There's an empty bottle of scotch in his hand."

"Well, it'll be easier then." I smiled, turned, and kicked the door in next to the handle. I was surprised that it broke with no issue. I expected to have to do it more than once. Even on TV it's not that easy sometimes.

I shrugged and walked in while Jack looked around as if someone would see us. I shook my head as I walked past Steff's fattening body on the couch.

"Pathetic," I said as I spat on him.

I looked around the room and saw that there was a painting of two babies smiling above the fireplace. I realized it was Ariel and Bella. It was sad, but a really cute painting.

I walked upstairs, unsure of which room was Bella's but I knew it wouldn't be too hard to figure it out. I saw the small bed with a rail on the side first, and then the picture of a baby next to it. I grabbed the picture and cried when I saw that Ariel was smiling happily and dressed up like cupid. She had wings and a plush bow in her hands. There were heart pillows around her, and the backdrop was clouds. She was an angel.

"Sad, what happened to them. No one should ever know that kind of pain," Jack said from behind me.

All of a sudden, we heard a shout from downstairs.

I turned and handed Jack the picture. "Grab her teddy bear, pillow and blanket as well," I said as I walked past him.

"Who the fuck is up there?" Steff shouted from the bottom of the stairs.

The look on his face was priceless when he saw me walk into the hall.

"Hello, Steff."

"Son of a bitch," he snorted.

"Mother would smack you for calling her a bitch if you hadn't killed her."

"I didn't kill her."

"Of course, you did. You were driving. I know all about it. You killed her and your daughter."

He tried to run up the stairs and fell on the first step. I laughed at him and walked down, as he tried to push himself up.

"I'm gonna kick your scrawny ass, Blaine."

I used my foot to push him back. He didn't like the sole of my shoe on his forehead but couldn't stop me and he couldn't get his legs to stand.

"Shouldn't have drunk so much, Steff. I would've preferred a fair fight."

I walked past him, and he missed when he tried to grab my leg. I walked to the fireplace and pulled down the painting of the babies.

"I wasn't going to take this, but I like it. Oh! I'm sorry about the door, but we had to bust it in to check on you. We didn't know if you were dead or alive. I'll make sure to send you a check for the damage. Come on, Jack. That's all."

Jack followed with the items from Bella's room and said, "Bye, Steff. Good to see you again."

We laughed as we walked out the door.

"I'll see you around, Jack."

"You aren't gonna swing by and see the missus? She'll be pissed," Jack asked.

"No, Kenz doesn't know I'm here, and she didn't want me to come, so I better get back to her."

"Holy shit! Your ass is grass, bro."

I laughed, "Yeah, I'm pretty sure it is. I'll be in town again soon. I'm sure when Kenz is in a better frame of mind she'll want to get her and the kid's stuff."

"Okay, drive safe, bud."

***

"Honey, I'm home," I shouted as I opened the door from the garage.

It wasn't unexpected when she burst into the kitchen ready for battle. She froze when she saw what I was carrying.

"Oh, my God!" Her hands flew to her mouth as tears streamed down her cheeks.

Little Bella bounced into the kitchen from behind her and she shrieked, "Teddy!"

She grabbed the bear out of my hand and didn't notice what I carried in the other hand.

"Here, Bella. I brought you this too."

"Ariel!" she shouted and dropped the bear. She hugged my leg so hard, I thought she was going to cut off my circulation.

"Honey, go put the picture by our bed," Kenz ordered.

"Okay, mama."

She took the picture, kissed it, and bounced away. I raised my hand in a stop motion, to slow down whatever Kennedy was going to do next and turned back into the garage. I came back with the pillow, blanket, and painting.

When Kennedy saw the painting, she shook her head. "How did you get him to let you leave with that?"

"I didn't ask, and he was in no condition to stop me. He was piss drunk and passed out when we got there. He woke up while we were in Bella's room, and he tried to walk. He was too drunk for his legs to function and kept falling. I took what I wanted and left. His ass was on the ground most of the time we were there."

She took the painting reverently and stared at it for several moments.

"I miss her every day, Blaine. You have no idea."

I nodded and led her to the living room. Above my fireplace, I had a painting of an Irish landscape. I said, "Put it here. As long as you're staying with me, that painting should be here."

She lifted it reverently and placed it onto the mantle. "Thank you, Blaine."

I hugged her and said, "My home, is yours. I need you to feel welcome and safe here."

"I do, Blaine. I do."

"Good. I'm starved. What are we gonna do about dinner?"

***

A few days later, Steff was served with divorce papers. We had arranged with the Sheriff's office to have an escort present when Kennedy went to get her things. I stayed in the van I rented while she brought things out. Once there was enough starting to pile up, I started loading the van.

It didn't take long for Steff to realize I was there. When he saw me, he ran up, and before the sheriff could stop him, he pushed me from behind and into the van. I spun around and was able to sidestep the punch he threw at my head. He missed and hit the van instead.