Chapter 18: Chapter 17

Chapter 17

*Victoria*

The hour ride home was silent. The dinner with Aaron’s dad didn’t go at all as planned, and Aaron’s been in a bad mood since. He pulled into my driveway and parked the car. Without a word, he turned the car off and got out. I sighed before climbing out and following Aaron up to the front door. He’d grabbed my bag for me and carried it on his shoulder.

I unlocked the door and we went inside. We found my mom sitting on the couch with Sophie. They both looked up when we entered. A large smile spread across Sophie’s face as she hopped off the couch and ran to Aaron.

“Daddy!” she exclaimed.

“Hi sweetheart.” he said, picking her up and kissing her cheek. “I missed you.”

“I missed you too.” she placed her small hands on either sides of his face. “We go home now?”

“Yeah, we’re going home now.”

“She was a perfect angel.” my mom said. “She didn’t complain, much. And she slept through the night. I took her to the park a couple of times and we played a few games. She only cried right after you left and hasn’t cried since.”

“Thanks again for watching her for me. It really means a lot.”

“It was my pleasure. How was your weekend anyway?”

I looked at Aaron, who seems in a better mood, but it’s probably so Sophie won’t pick up on his bad mood.

“It was great.” Aaron replied with a smile. “We really got to know a lot about each other.”

I furrowed my brows. Is there a reason he’s lying? This weekend wasn’t perfect, but it definitely wasn’t great. Maybe he doesn’t want her to know about the party?

“That’s good. I’m glad the two of you had some time alone together.”

“It’s getting late and we have school in the morning.” I said.

“Ready to go Sophie?” Aaron asked.

“Yeah.” she nodded.

Aaron put her down and picked up Sophie’s bag beside the door. He placed the bag on his shoulder and took Sophie’s hand.

“I’ll walk you out.” I said, following after them.

I gave Sophie a hug before Aaron lifted her into her car seat and buckled her in. He shut the door and faced me.

“See you tomorrow?” he said.

I furrowed my brows. He’s been ignoring me since we left the restaurant and that’s all I get?

“Actually, I’d like an answer as to why you’ve been ignoring me for the last hour or so. Are you upset with me?”

“Why would I be upset with you?” he took my hand in his. “I’m just extremely pissed off at my father. I didn’t mean to take it out on you. Forgive me?”

He poked out his bottom lip as he gave me a pleading look. I sighed and rolled my eyes. He knows there’s no way possible for me to say no to him.

“Of course I do.” I responded.

“I love you.” he gave me a quick kiss before saying goodbye.

***

I arrived to school and was met by Aaron at the entrance. He gave me a long, lingering kiss that made me slightly uncomfortable.

“I’m sorry I can’t hang around. I have practice with the team this morning. So I’ll see you at lunch, okay?”

“Yeah, sure.” I nodded. He gave me one last kiss before leaving me.

When I arrived to my locker, I found Fawn waiting there. I sighed deeply before going to face her.

“What do you want, Fawn?” I asked her, as I opened my locker to get my books.

“You thought you were pretty clever insulting me like that, didn’t you?”

“There was nothing clever about it. It was the truth.”

“Well don’t think that this will make me back off. If anything, it’s made me more pissed than ever. So you’d better watch it, miss goodie goodie. Because whether you like it or not, I’ll get what’s rightfully mine, and that’s Aaron.”

She turned quickly, hitting me in the face with her blonde hair. I sighed and rolled my eyes as I closed my locker. She thinks I’m going to submit to her cruelty, but she’s wrong. I’m sick of being bullied by her and I’m not going to sit back and take it anymore.

*Aaron*

I slipped on my clean shirt over my wet hair. This was a long, and much needed practice if we plan on going to the championships. Besides, I missed two class periods.

“Hey, Aaron.” Caleb said. I looked at him to see he had an apologetic look on his face. This is the first time we’ve actually spoken since before the party happened. The party that was caused, because he told Connor, the worlds ultimate party planner. “I want to apologize for the party the other night. Connor asked if you were coming and I told him about the beach house. He was out the door before I could tell him that you reserved the weekend for you and Victoria.”

“Okay, but you came to the party anyway?”

“Well I’d already planned to go to Connor’s party. It’s just got moved to your dad’s beach house.” he shrugged.

“Well because of that party, Victoria and I had a terrible weekend. Thanks for that Caleb.”

I grabbed my bag and pulled it onto my shoulder. I turned and left the locker room. I’m a little pissed at Caleb for not stopping the party, but I can’t blame it on him completely. Once Connor decides on a party, there’s no stopping him. But Caleb knows how Connor thinks, and he knew that Connor would come to the beach house to throw a party. So for now, Caleb can wallow in guilt.

***

Victoria tried to break from my grasp, but I don’t want to let her go. I was hoping we’d be able to hang out after school, but instead she has to work.

“Stay with me.” I said, kissing her neck. “Not even just for a little while?”

She let out a sensual sigh and I smiled. I love it when she makes that sound. She gently pushed me away and looked me in the eyes.

“I’m going now, before you make me change my mind.” she said with a smile. “I love you.”

“Love you too.”

I kissed Victoria goodbye before she climbed in her car and headed to work. I headed across the parking lot to my car, but before I was even halfway Fawn blocked my path.

“Hey there handsome.” she greeted me with a smile. “Where are you off to in a hurry?”

“Home.” I responded, moving past her.

“Can’t you talk for just a second?” she came to block my path again.

“A millisecond would be too long.” I moved past her again.

It’s a little strange being so mean to Fawn all the time, but what else can I do when she’s always threatening Victoria or trying to break us up?

“What happened to us?” she asked, blocking my path once more. “We used to be friends. Occasionally I’d flirt a little, and you’d flirt back. I miss that connection we used to have. Ever since you started dating that girl, you’ve changed. She’s changed you.”

“I’ve already told you that we can be friends, only if you stop hitting on me and stop harassing Victoria. You refuse to stop either, so now I’m left with icing you out.”

“What makes her so special? What does she have that I don’t?”

It’s obvious that she’s hurt. She’s been hurting ever since Victoria and I started dating. But I’ve never had a thing for Fawn. Yeah I’d flirt back, but it didn’t mean anything. I feel sorry for her now. I lead her on to believe she had a chance, and it was like a slap in the face when I started dating Victoria.

“Look Fawn,” I sighed. “I want us to be friends. But that can’t happen if you hold onto that jealousy you feel towards Victoria. There are plenty of good guys in this school, take your pick. You deserve someone who will care for you, not someone who will raise your status.”

I gave her a small smile before moving past her and continuing to my car. I climbed into the driver’s seat and my phone buzzed. I looked at it and saw a text from Grace. It read:

I’m finished with my classes for today. Can I come over?

My first thought was to say no. But I promised that I’d give this a try. Can’t keep Sophie from Grace. Especially since Grace seems to really want to be involved. Why ruin that?

I arrived home and was met by Sophie at the door. My mom was currently getting ready to go to her nightshift job. She wore her work uniform, consisting of khaki pants and a white t-shirt.

“Right on time.” she said, as she put her hair up and grabbed her coat. “I’ll see you later.”

My mom left and I was left alone with Sophie. I put her down and she ran off to play. I sat on the couch and started on my homework while Sophie played quietly.

***

The doorbell rang and I stood to answer the door. Grace stood wearing skinny jeans, knee high boots, and a sweater.

“Hi.” she said with a smile.

“Come in.” I said, gesturing with my hand.

She came in and stood in the center of the room, looking at Sophie. Either Sophie doesn’t realize Grace is here, or she just doesn’t want to acknowledge her presence.

“Sophie,” I started. “Grace came to see you.”

“No.” Sophie said, shaking her head.

“Sophie.” I said, hardening my voice. I walked over to her an knelt beside her. “Look at me.” I tilted her chin up. “No more of this, okay? You can’t be mean to Grace. Now, go talk to her please.”

Sophia pouted as she dropped her toys, stood and walked over to Grace. She gave her a hug, and Grace quickly hugged her back.

“Thank you.” Grace said with a smile. “That was really sweet of you. What were you playing?”

Sophie took Grace’s hand and lead her over to her toys. Grace sat beside Sophie as Sophie told her about each of her dolls. I sat on the couch and watched as they bonded. I can tell Sophie isn’t too pleased with the fact that Grace is here, but she’s always excited when someone is interested in her toys.

“Victoria, give me this one.” she said, holding up the bear Victoria bought for her.

“Oh really?”

“Yeah, she really nice.”

I could see the annoyance on Grace face, although she’s keeping up a smile. Of course it would bother her that Victoria is so close to Sophia, and she’s not.

“Are you hungry, Sophie?” I asked.

“Yeah!” she exclaimed, dropping the bear and standing up.

I gave Sophie a juice box and a sandwich bag of chopped apple pieces. She sat on the couch and watched a cartoon.

“Please let me tell her.” Grace said, looking at me with pleading eyes.

“Not yet. She’s not comfortable around you yet.”

“Because she’s comfortable around Victoria. Do you see the way her eyes light up when she talks about her? It’s only a matter of time before she starts calling her mommy.”

“I told you I won’t let that happen.”

I know she’s right. But if I tell Sophia the truth, it means Grace will be a part of her life no matter what happens. At the moment, there’s still a chance for Grace to disappear again and Sophie wouldn’t be bothered about it.

“I’ve missed out on so much. Her first words and her first steps. The inches she grew over the weeks. I can’t believe how big she is after 3 years.”

“You didn’t have to abandon her.” I shrugged.

“I told you what happened.”

“And you made it seem like you got over your anger after a couple months, but you didn’t come back until three years. What kept you away?”

She was silent and my curiosity grew. What isn’t she telling me? What did she leave out of her story?

“My parents want nothing to do with her. Therefore, I wasn’t allowed to mention her, or see her. And I was also afraid of your reaction. Would you hate me after all that time? Would you even know who I was? And my worst fear was that you gave Sophia up for adoption, leaving me to wonder where she ended up and if she was treated the way she deserved. What made you keep her?”

I thought back to the night Sophia showed up on our doorstep. I instantly doubted she was mine all because I wasn’t up for the responsibility.

“I wanted to.” I admitted. “But my mom insisted on a paternity test, just in case. When it came up positive, I kept her and began raising her with my mom’s help. It’s been that way ever since, and I fall in love with her more and more every second of everyday. She’s my little girl, and always will be.”

“And she’s mine. Can we please figure out a visitation plan? I know that you want to spend time with Victoria, but I’m really trying to be a part of our daughter’s life. You have to let me see her. Can we go out to dinner some time? Just the three of us?”

I want to see Grace and Sophie get along. But I don’t want to see Sophie get hurt by her. What if she gets attached and Grace doesn’t lead up to her expectations? But if I don’t take a risk, Sophie may not be able to know her real mother.

“We can go this weekend.” I responded. “Just let me know ahead of time when you’re free so I can plan ahead.”

“Thank you.” she smiled. “I really appreciate it.”

*Victoria*

Charlie greeted me with a large smile and hug. I’ve actually missed Charlie. It’s been four days since I’ve been to work, and given that she’s my only friend, I missed not talking to her for a few days.

“So how’d your weekend go? Did you two…” she waggled her brows.

“No, we didn’t.” I smiled. “And we hadn’t planned to. But Aaron’s friends kind of threw a party at his place, ruining things, but it’s fine. We still had the chance to spend the weekend together.”

“You two are the cutest couple. I’m really happy for you. You were like obsessed with working. It’s about time you got a life outside of work. It was my idea.” she smirked.

“Yeah, I’ll remember that.” I smiled.

***

Aaron wrapped his arm around my waist as we walked through the mall. Sophie held on tightly to his other hand.

“Daddy, I hungry.” Sophie said, shaking his arm.

“Okay, we’ll get something to eat.” he told her.

We headed towards the food court and my stomach began to growl. I didn’t feel hungry before, but now that Sophie said something, I’m a little hungry.

We entered the food court and went to stand in line at one of the pizza places. Sophie jumped up and down in excitement as we waited patiently in line.

“Uncle Caleb!” Sophie exclaimed, releasing Aaron hand and running off.

Aaron and I quickly ran after her and was surprised to see her in the arms of Caleb, Aaron’s friends surrounding him. I looked up at Aaron’s face and saw the nervousness clear in his eyes.

“Awe, she’s so adorable!” Fawn exclaimed. “You never told us you were an uncle.”

“I’m not, technically.” Caleb replied.

“Look daddy, it’s Uncle Caleb.” Sophie said to Aaron.

“Yeah I see sweetie, but you can’t run off like that.” Aaron replied.

The looks on his friends faces were all the same. Shock. Caleb put Sophie down and she returned to Aaron, taking his hand in hers.

“This is a joke, right?” Connor asked, his eyes still wide with shock. “There’s no way you’re this kids dad.”

“Actually, I am.” Aaron said, taking my hand and squeezing it lightly.

“And are you her mother?” Fawn asked me.

“No.” I shook my head. “I’m just Aaron’s girlfriend.”

“So who’s her mother?” Fawn demanded.

“You wouldn’t know her.” Aaron sighed. “Look, can we discuss this another time?”

I looked around and noticed people were beginning to stare. Fawn noticed too and backed off.

“Tomorrow then.” Fawn said.

“Don’t think we’ll forget.” Connor added.

The three of us turned and left the others. I know that this is what Aaron had feared for years now. He’s never told anyone about Sophie except Caleb and me. I know it’s because he’s afraid of what others may think. And by the look on his face, it’s exactly what he expected.

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Finally I've got this updated! I feel like I've been trying to get this updated forever! I began to get writers block at the end, but I finally made it through. Tell me what you think and did you expect his friends to react that way?

Please comment, vote, and/or fan (follow)!! ;-)