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Chapter Twenty
My heart is hammeringin my chest.
I haven’t been sure if we would reunite in the same way that we had before.
The secrets that he withheld, such a large part of his life that I wasn’t aware of, are all now out in the open. Now I understand a little more why he prefers to not be around his parents. I saw with my own two eyes that night, just what they thought of him. The amount of blame they put on him, even though he’s accomplished so much is ludicrous.
Then there’s his ex.
It takes two people to make a relationship work and when one person drops the ball, it’s stressful on the other to pick up the slack. And then sometimes, relationships don’t work out. I don’t know the entire story, but I do know, now, that he carries a lot of guilt. He’s been fighting this battle in silence and alone, with no one to confide in.
Even though he has me.
Regardless of feeling like I can’t trust him, I crave him. Just to talk to me, to help me understand better. And now that everything is out in the open, despite feeling like I was in the dark, and pissed off—I needed that time away to come to terms with everything.
I love him. That’s a fact, that hasn’t changed. Is there still more that I need to learn about him? Yes, but that’s every relationship as it grows.
And then there’s the fact that it’s not just him. He comes with a package, and that’s a kid. A kid that I didn’t know existed and now, that second bedroom in Quinn’s place will be full of pinks and purples, instead of boxes with her name. I recall seeing it before and now it all makes sense.
After that dinner with his parents, he tried to talk to me. But I felt lied to, there’s no denying that. After two weeks, of glances at the office and ignored texts. I walk into his office and close the door.
“What’s her name?” I know it already but hearing it from him made it new.
Her name was Kady. She was huge on superheroes and hated princesses.
And now, I’m sitting at a kid-friendly restaurant that serves amazing burgers, tater tots, and craft beer. I came early, to make sure that we got a seat by the hollowed-out school bus, just in case Kady wanted to play on that.
I sit anxiously and feel like I’ve sweat through my deodorant and could use a good shower.
Why am I so nervous?
She’s only five years old, and from what I understand is that kids are pretty accepting.
I see Quinn first, he looks nervous as he stands at the entrance looking around. My eyes fall to the little girl holding his hand. She’s wearing a purple shirt with something girly printed on the front and jeans ripped at the knees. She has her dark brown hair in pigtails and a wide smile as she looks up at Quinn and asks him a question.
I watch as they talk briefly, then Quinn looks up again and our eyes meet again. A smile covers his face and he points in my direction before they start walking towards me.
I stand up and nervously teether on my feet.
How do I act? What do I say?
“Daddy, you were right,” I hear her say as they come to a stop right in front of me. I put my hands in my pockets, not sure what I’m supposed to do with them.
“What’s that, kiddo?” he asks.
“She is really pretty. She kind of looks like Black Widow.”
Quinn looks at me and grins, “now that you mention it, she kind of does.”
Kady holds out her hand and I do the same. “It’s very nice to meet you, are you my new mommy?” she grins.
“Um– I– Well–” I stutter.
“I’m just kidding, I already have a mommy. But maybe we can be best friends? Do you like Marvel or DC?” she cheerfully says.
I’m not on the up and up with pop culture, but I do know that Marvel is where Black Widow is from, and I did see some of those movies.
“I’m Avengers all the way.” I tell her with confidence.
