Chapter 107 - Kings Will Be Kings

It wasn't hard for Jon to see the writing on the wall, he didn't really want to read it but he knows that he has no choice.  

He knows that there are a million other things that he would rather be doing than try to explain and make the kids understand that his line had been drawn.  They have beat the horse to death, they have looked at it all from every angle, but the fact remains the same.  He's stuck.  "Fine, I'll over night a check to the shelter.  Can we put this to bed now?"  He asks the family, exhausted.  "I can't believe that I'm going to do this, but if this is what you want me to do, than that's what I'll do."  He takes a few steps toward Beth and reaches for her hand.

She takes his, gives him a wink and slowly falls into him.  Under her breath, she tells him, "You're doing the right thing."'

"Why doesn't it feel that way?" he mumbles, sliding his arms around her waist, pulling her tight, "Why does this one feel like she won?"

"DAD, it's not a contest."  Stephanie blurts at him as she stands to leave, "This is the best way to make this go away, so we can get our lives back."  The young girl starts to leave the family room, "Give the assholes what they want, help some under privileged people and lets put this behind us."

"Where do you think you're going Stephanie?"  Jon asks her, over Beth's head.  "We aren't done here."

Stephanie stops in her tracks and spins on her heels, "What do we need to do NOW dad?"  The young woman is irritated and just wants to do her thing.  Jesse looks at her and kind of laughs, "What's so funny Jesse?"

"Stop being so dramatic, Steph."  Jesse tells her, again with a laugh.

"Shut up." she snaps at her little brother, "This whole thing is getting tired."  She exhales loudly, "Life like this is getting tired."

Beth gently pulls away from Jon and turns her attention to Stephanie, her arm around Jon still.  "Stephanie, you know that if we could change any of this, we would."

"Then make it stop." she snaps at Beth.  "If you could change any of this, and you can, than change it.  Jesus Beth, this is all because of you.  You and no one but you."

"Stephanie!" Jon barks at his oldest daughter.

"What dad?"  She shrugs her shoulders, "What did I say wrong dad?  Nothing!"  Stephanie looks down at Jesse, who is sitting on the ottoman watching the exchange of words as if he was at a tennis match, "Jesse was right!  NONE of this would be going on if you had not cheated on mom."

Jon can see the tears swell in her eyes, and yet he knows that he can't let her continue to act like this.  He moves away from Beth and gets closer to his daughter.  He reaches for her and she steps back.  Beth can only stand there and watch.  "Stephanie, this is not because of Beth."

"Yes, it is!"

"Steph, this is because your mother can't get on with her own life and she needs to make me hurt as much as she does."

"If you didn't cheat on her, she wouldn't feel like this."

"Our marriage was over long before I met Beth, you have to know that."  He reaches for her again, and she puts up her guard.  "You have to remember how bad things were before I met Beth.  Your mother was out of control."

"And you still left her!"  the young woman screams at her dad, "you left her and you left us with her!"   Jon gasps for air.  "You left us with her and started your new life with your new girlfriend."

"Stephanie, I went on tour."

"Yeah dad, just like always.  Things got bad and you always had to go." she can't control the sarcasm that's starting to flow from her mouth, "Mom got a little crazy and dad had to hit the road.  Thank God for Pete and grandma!"  Jon can't respond.  At this point, he's having trouble forming a thought.

Jon looks over at Jesse and he's just as shocked as Jon is.  Jon then looks at Beth.  When he sees tears falling from Beth's eyes, he can finally see what's going on.  He takes a step back, wrings his hand together and asks the room, "How long have you felt this way?"  he looks at each of them, one at a time, making contact with all three.

"Felt what way?"  Jesse mouses, resting his head in his hands.  He can't look at his dad, he can hear the pain in his dads voice.

"How long have you blamed Beth for all of this?"  he can feel his heart start to race and his face flush.  "How long have you felt that she is the reason for every terrible thing that happens in our life?"  His voice gets a little louder with each word that he says.  

Stephanie, still feeling like an adult with a valid point starts in on her dad, "What was the worst thing that ever happened to us when you were with mom?  How much heartbreak did we really have before you met Beth?"  she starts to get her Italian animation going.  With her arms flailing she throws in, "What was the worst thing we ever had to deal with dad, huh?  What?  The death of a dog?"

"Ste..."  Jon starts to talk, but Rose isn't letting that happen.

"Since we have know Beth, and it's only been a few years, we have had to deal with your divorce, you being gone all the time, mom trying to kill herself, we've had to bury siblings, deal with a car accident, Beth was raped, she was beaten up and now we have some crazy fucking people from her past that want to what..........kill us all?"

Jon interrupts her, "Stephanie Rose......"

Her hands go up stopping her father, "Shut up dad, let me finish!"  Jon can't believe what he just heard, and neither could Beth.  

Feeling overwhelmed by what she was listening to, Beth couldn't help but sit down.  The words that she just heard come from Stephanie, shortly after she heard them from Jesse are ringing true in her ears.  She's thinking to herself that maybe both kids are right.  Maybe, just maybe she is the curse that has been brought to the family, but Jon's love is too blind to see it.  In a daze, Beth looks at Stephanie and listens to what else she has to say.  

Jon nods slightly, "Go ahead."

With one deep breath, Stephanie starts in again, "Let's not forget how all of this has affected our mother.  Our MOTHER, dad.  No matter what, she's our mother and we love her.  You and Beth, "  Stephanie points to Beth, "The two of you are only worried about what all of this has done or will do to you - but you both fail to remember that you, THE TWO OF YOU, drove my mother to try to take her own life."  She inhales hard.