Don't Forget I'm a Lightweight

Alex’s POV

*Ten years later*

“Jack are we ready for this? We’re so young!” I ask my husband as we sit in the adoption center, getting ready for our new baby girl.

“Of course we are, and we’ll be the best parents we can be. We have the money, we have our love and that’s all we need. We can even send her to a uptight private school just to make sure she can get the best education possible.” He tells me, rubbing the back of my hand with his thumb and going over my Tanzanite wedding ring.

We decided on going with my birthstone instead of a regular wedding band, I didn’t like the look of the ones in the store so Jack personally took his private jet and me to Tanzania, Africa and mined for the perfect rock for my ring. Crazy but he wanted me to feel like I was a prince and wanted the best of the best for me, even if he had to get down and dirty.

“Or you could teach her, you got your degree and it’s not like you do anything anymore. You just sit at home admiring me while you think I don’t notice.” I giggle.

“I could, but I’d rather have her at school, I want to see her grow up, get a lover, just like how we did. Life is magical, she should live her life perfectly.” Jack speaks and they call our names.

“Jack and Alexander Barakat?” The brunette asian calls us through the open door just waiting for us to enter and see our new horizon.

We walk in through the colorfully painted hallway and then after a few turns we reach the baby center.

She takes us in and I rush towards the little girl in the pink crib with the name “Vicky” on the chart.

“Jack, look she’s perfect. She looks just like you, can’t you see the nose?” I say, whispering as I gather her in my arms so I won’t wake her up.

“I wish she had a nose like you, now boys will tease her because of it.” Jack sighs jokingly but then she wakes up.

“Gaah!” She screams happily.

“Now you guys can go sign the paperwork and you can get on your way.” The woman says and we go ahead to sign the papers, then leave Baltimore Adoptions and head down the road to our house right across from Hayfields Country Club.

Over the years after I graduated Jack decided we should live farther out from town, and closer to where the rich live, wanting a nicer house than what he had before after living there for a few months.

He said it wasn’t feeling as homy as it did when he first moved into it, that it would better to feel more free from the past I once had when I was younger. It was a surprise to be honest, but with all of Jack’s money, he could buy the world if he wanted to.

I stare out the car window on the long drive back home, looking out towards the dawn has always fascinated me. I don’t know why but it just has.

“You must be thinking a lot, what’s on your mind’ Jack snaps me out of my thoughts.

“Just thinking about how far we’ve come. Everything just seems to fit into place and I don’t want it to end.” I say honestly.

“Nothing will have to end when you’re with me.” He whispers and we finally get to our house.

Everything just can’t be better than this. It’s, it’s perfect.

*Sixteen years later*

I’m working on the computer trying to plan out Vicky’s next doctors appointment to get her cast off, trying to do a toe-touch on top of the pyramid isn’t the smartest bet to do as head cheerleader, but once four o’clock hits the front door slams and rumbles the house, Vicky crying tears and running straight towards me, knocking the laptop off my lap and onto the crystal table next to me.

“Vick-Bear, what’s wrong?” I sooth, trying to calm my black-brown haired daughter down.

“Daddy, they kept making fun of me, they kept calling you names, and Papa, I don’t know why! I don’t understand it. Plus Justin broke up with me! He made me so happy, what did I do wrong?”
She cries into me, kicking off her prep school shoes off her feet with them flying across the parlor.

“You didn’t do anything wrong, it’s Justin’s loss, he just can’t have my perfect angel anymore. You’re better than everyone who hurt you. Now I can’t change the fact that they hurt you, they’ll kill you with words but we all know it’s what you don’t deserve. Do you want me to leave you alone, or we can order anything you like for dinner. Daddy will make it happen, Daddy will make everything happy once again.” I try and calm her down and that’s when Jack comes down the stairs from his working room, it’s soundproof since needs to be in total silence when he tries to listen to music, after all he is the head of signing at Hopeless Records in California but does his work here in Baltimore.

“What the heck is all this crying?” Jack yells with a bit of slur within his voice, I should’ve known, of course he’d do this when his daughter would really need him.

Jack lead into alcoholism for no reason, when Vicky was two it just happened, like something in him just snapped and because very violent with us. He’s hurt me before but I’ve never let Vicky get touched by him. I’ve been her warrior and I’ll keep her safe from all harm.

“Jack, go back upstairs, you have work to do.” I say to him with my daughter still on my lap in her Baltimore Preparatory High School uniform.

He doesn’t respond but just throws his arm at me, almost hitting me and bruise me once again.

“Papa! Why did you do that to Daddy!” Vicky cries and says in more of a statement.

“Daddy did bad stuff, he needs it Vicky.” Jack slurs some more and Vicky still being oblivious to her Dad’s problem.

“What did he do wrong? He’s amazing!” She says, getting rid of all fear and standing up for what she believes in, doing what I’ve always told her. Stand for what you believe in, even if it means standing alone.

Once again Jack takes a swing and this time hitting my daughter. This is time for us to leave, lay any hand on me but touch my baby girl and it’s hell to pay.

“Jack, we’re leaving, we’ll come back when you get better but until then I want you to stay away
from Vicky and I.” I say, helping Vicky up the stairs to get her stuff as well as mine.

In twenty minutes we’re out and I take my car as well as the money in the safe in the garage and then we’re gone.

“Daddy, where are we going?” Vicky asks me in all seriousness.

“I don’t know and I don’t know if we’ll be back darling, I really don’t know. Papa hurt the both of us and I don’t want you to live that way. It’s not right. For now we’ll just ride the roads until we can’t go any farther.” I tell her, driving the black Volkswagen down I95 to who knows where.

*Two years later*

Vicky turns eighteen today and all she’s been asking for is if we can go to Baltimore to see Jack again for the first time since we left. I kept telling her no but I can’t keep running away, Jack is where I want to be, he’s where I need to be.

We’ve been living in a an apartment building in London, Ontario with a friend of Jack’s who he never speaks to anymore after what I told him what he did to Vicky and I.

“Matt?” I call throughout the apartment, JoJo staring at me like I’m crazy as always, silly kitty.

“Yeah Alex?” He replies back, coming back from the kitchen with a Monster Energy in his hand.

“It’s Vicky’s birthday today, we’re leaving for a bit and I don’t know when or if we’ll be back.” I say as he plops on the couch.

“Oh, where are you guys going?” He asks me as I see the clock strikes midnight, my daughter fast asleep in the other room.

“To Baltimore.” I say and Matt just stares at me in shock.

“Why would you need to go there? Oh don’t tell me you’re going back to that scumbag, or are you going back to your parents?” He says with anger tinted in his voice.

“We need to go back to Jack, Matt you know she’s been asking about him. She’s been dying inside for him. Can’t you see her silent tears?”

“Long live and let it die. For all you know you’re going back for nothing, if he’s been drinking for sixteen years he possibly just drank himself to death. But if you go, I need to come with you. I can’t let you go alone.” Matt says, laying off his anger and I go to wake up Vicky.

“Vicky-Bear, wake up. We’re going back to Baltimore, to see Papa.” I tell her as I shake her awake and she wakes up in a matter of seconds.

“Are we really going to see Papa?” She says with hope.

“Yes we are, and Matt is coming as well. Now you can stay in your PJ’s, I don’t mind. Your stuff is already in the car, let’s get going.” I say, seeing her happy for the first time in years.

Matt grabs a bag of stuff and goes next door to see Timmy, giving him JoJo to take care of when we’re gone.

We drive down all the roads back to Baltimore by the time it’s seven pm, driving back down the roads we used to know oh all so well.

“This is the old house, everything all looks the same, even the Duncans are still here.” I say looking at the breathtaking scenery.

“Can I go ring the bell?” Vicky asks me in her black skirt and grey top.

“Go ahead.” I say as I kneel down to touch the soft green grass on the summers night.

She goes and walks up the steps, only to ring the bell and a man who doesn’t look like the man I married.

“Who are you?” He asks.

“Who are you?’ My daughter asks.

“I asked fir-” The man says but cutting himself off as I reach the top of the steps.

“Alex, is that really you?” He asks me.

“Are you Jack Barakat?” I wonder aloud.

“I am, wow you even kept the ring. Please come inside.” He talks fast.

“Not until I get answers. I need my answers.” I say sternly.

“Okay, look I already know what you’re going to say. I’m a bad husband, a bad father, that you
only came to yell at me.”

“No, I wasn’t going to say that at all. I was going to say that I only came here because Vicky kept asking me for us to come back. It was her eighteenth birthday wish but I also came back because I really couldn’t go on back without you. I missed you despite all the pain you caused me.” I start to tear up and go back into my husbands chest and he rubs my back.

“Vicky, darling come to Papa, he missed you and was wondering if you’d ever come back. I’m sorry for that night. Please forgive me.” Jack says, making the hug a bit bigger for her to come in too and she starts crying as well.

“Papa, please never go back to that again!’ She cries.

“I won’t ever do that again. I’ll never hurt my little girl and baby boy. You guys can live here,
please don’t leave me.”

And in that moment, I look at Jack in the eyes, knowing he’ll never hurt us again because he learned from his mistakes. He learned that everything could be perfect, even if it took a few years.

Us leaving made him feel like me when I was in my teen years, he fixed me and I guess it was my turn to fix him.

Things do get better in time, we all hurt, we hurt other people but in the end everything turns out the way we want it to be. It just may take longer or shorter than other people’s pain.

“I love you Jack, and I’ll never leave you again. Not for anyone or anything. I promise, don’t forget, I am a lightweight.”

Notes

And this is the official ending, I wrote it for two hours straight just for all of you!
Now I want to say thank you all for sticking around for this story even with all my breaks in between.
It's been an amazing run with this story but it had to come to an end.
Strangely I don't feel as sad at the ending when I wrote More Specifically, Me Maxine. Possibly because I had a much more greater connection with the character, Maxine, as she was me in many ways more than I can say. The whole plotline for that story was based on a dream I had for real life but I can shove it away possibly.
Overall I did enjoy writing this story and I just have one last thing to say.
What do you think "Don't Forget I'm a Lightweight" means?
I think it means that you can't forget that even though you think you're so strong but you really aren't and you need help but are too scared to admit it.
Oh! And Matt isn't Flyzik, it's MattG124 from YouTube
Till darkness completes us,
Sarah's Butterflies