What Measures a Heart, ch. 5
#5 of What Measures a Heart
Chapter 5 - His Mother's Secret
"Hello... uhm... miss Reigner?"
"Yes?"
"I... I... your son..."
"What is it!? I woke up to hear the police came to your house! Did he get arrested for drinking!?"
"Uhm... about that... someone else kind of got arrested for that..."
"Was he drugged?"
"Well... my brother showed the cops the evidence on-scene. Bella and Andres got arrested for drugging him."
"Did anything happen to him?"
"Uhhhmm... I... uhmmm..."
"What happened to him!?"
"Uhhmm...."
"Sis... do it or I call off my 'not it' statement."
"You know I should be doing this..."
"WHAT HAPPENED TO HIM!? DID SOMEONE TAKE ADVANGE OF HIM!? GOD HELP ME IF THEY DID ANYTHING TO MY BABY...!"
"Sis, don't hang up!"
She didn't listen.
"You know this will be even harder now, right, Sis?"
A knock was heard on the door.
"Don't open it!"
"Sis, you're going to have a baby no matter what, so you and bro' oughta' fess up before it hits the fan worse than it already has."
The 35-year old crimson-scaled dragoness stood in the doorway, the piercing gaze of her green eyes meeting Eric's fearful yellow ones.
" Who took advantage of him!? I swear I will give them a mandatory_tube-tying _and or vasectomy, shove a rock up their ass and then have them arrested!!!" the mother dragon screamed in a seething fit of rage.
Sobbing was heard from the living room after this.
The mother dragon's eyes softened.
Although certain she didn't want the answer to the question she would ask, the mother dragon spoke in a concernedly somber tone, "Did someone... take advantage of Erica too...?"
"No, mom...," Levi sighed, exiting the living room and approaching the door, his left arm roped around Erica's back and his left arm in front of him as his open hand softly rubbed her stomach.
This was a revelation which caused the mother dragon's heart move to her throat.
Through shaken breath, the dragoness could only say six words, "Whatever you do... don't leave her."
" What?" Levi's tone was that of shock, surprise, and slight insult.
Bidding them into the living room, the dragoness heaved a sigh of regret along with a self-despising, "I think it's time you learned the truth, Levi."
After sitting down, on the antique stools, the three began to stare into the mother dragoness's eyes.
"So... what's up Leva?" Eric asked nonchalantly, stretching in his chair.
Taking a few moments of mental preparation, the mother dragoness began her tale, "Levi... I'm your mother. Your biological_mother. I got pregnant at sixteen years old after drinking at a New Years' party. Your spoiled seventeen-year old 'father', who will remain **_nameless** , didn't want to deal with his 'drunken mistake', so he left a million gold and left town as soon as he turned eighteen. He's probably off with some gold-digging hussy, for all I know."
"So.... You're... you had him when you were sixteen?" Erica rhetorically asked in a dumbfounded tone, unbelieving as to exactly how Leva had kept this a secret for so long.
With a somber nod, Leva continued, "I promised myself I would_never_ let him know unless my hand was forced... and now it is."
The four were silent for little over two minutes, only to have the quiet atmosphere broken by Levi's worried, "What do I do? I'd be a horrible parent. I'm so weak..."
This caused Eric to roll his eyes. Weak was an understatement for Levi's personality. When it came to himself, he was a pushover. However, when his friends and family were in the slightest danger of being harmed, his personality could range anywhere from a mother wolf to vengeful demonic beast which would devour anyone who attempted it.
"Oh, and I suppose that time five years ago when you were all like, ' screw the police, you're getting a bloody snout whether you like it or not' and nearly got yourself arrested for whaling on that Chimera bully who tried to bust Erica's beak was a fluke?" Eric asked in sardonically inspirational humor, grinning at his best friend confidently.
Remembering that event caused Erica's heart to warm. The very moment Levi stood up for her she began to feel for him. The problem was, she was over eighteen at the time. Until now, she had forgotten all about her feelings towards him. Now, however, they were being released in a gale-force blizzard beyond anything she had experienced in reality.
Without a thought, Erica leaped from the chair, throwing her arms around the male she now realized was meant for her all along, tears streaming from her eyes.
"I love you... I've always loved you since that very moment _, Levi!" Erica sobbed in worry, " **_Please** promise to marry me!"
Eric's response was a gulp.
Levi's response was a gasp.
Leva's response was a groan.
Placing her hand upon Erica's back, Leva spoke in a motherly and compassionate voice, "Listen... you_don't_ need to marry him. He can be a father even if you don't marry him. We don't need a wedding. We don't need fancy church documents. All that truly needs to happen is my son giving you love and taking care of the child. That's all , okay?"
"This is my responsibility. I have to do this."
"Please let him take care of us..."
"Dude, you're gonna' be a righteous dad, guaranteed."
"Son... I wish you father would have been like you..."