Page 6 of James

“I can’t believe you kept him from me,” he says.

“Well, I'm sorry for that too, but I know you have a girlfriend, I don’t want to cause complications in your life,” I tell him .

James shakes his head at me. “Do you think so little of me?”

Before I can respond he says, “I’ll be here tomorrow.” Then he turns around and leaves.

***

James

I have a son. And he's amazing. He looks just like I did when I was his age, except for that mop of jet black hair. Sasha’s hair. The two of us have created something so perfect, and I had no idea.

I have a son, and I don’t even know him. I feel heart-broken and elated at the same time.

What does he like to eat? Does he sleep through the night? What's his favourite toy? I know nothing. I want to blame Sasha but it isn’t her fault alone. I should have rung her back, fuck. She could have tried to contact me again, though, but I guess there’s no point playing the ‘what if’ game.

My phone rings, it’s Tatiana. I was supposed to be at her house an hour ago. I press reject on the phone because I need some time to think before talking to her. I decide to head straight for my mother’s house. She needs to hear that she has another grandson. Then, I’m going shopping. I have over a year of making up to do.

I get out of the car, and I see the front door of my mum’s house open. She stands just outside of the door, waiting for me.

“James!” she says, her eyes brightening with pleasure as they do whenever she sees any of her children. I walk up to her and envelope her in a warm hug.

“Is everything okay?” she quickly asks.

I sigh. “Come on, let’s go inside and talk."

We both walk in and take a seat in the living room. Mum’s eyes are full of concern and worry. I run my hands over my face, “I don’t even know where to start.” She remains quiet, waiting patiently for me to gather my thoughts.

“You remember Sasha?” I ask her, already knowing that she does. When Sasha and I dated, she and my mother were close. Her eyes light up at the mention of Sasha’s name.

“Of course, how is she? Are the two of you back together?” she asks, her words rushed in excitement. Mum knows all about Sasha and what happened. How she thought I was cheating. I ended up telling my mum everything when she caught me in a moment of weakness.

“Well you know how she was at Kade’s wedding,” I start.

“Oh, yes, we spoke for a bit. She looked stunning, didn’t she?” my mother digresses.

“Yes, she did. We ended up hooking up that night,” I say a little awkwardly, rubbing the back of my neck.

“What does ‘hooking up’ entail exactly?” she asks bluntly.

I groan. She’s actually going to make me say it. “We had sex.”

“Well then just say that, you don’t need to call it something else. The youth of today…” she huffs in exasperation.

“So, Sasha is back in Perth. I told you she was overseas, remember?” I ask her.

“I remember,” she says.

I palm my face. “I got her pregnant that night. She had my child.”

Her eyes snaps to mine, pulling her thoughts away from what I suspect were wedding plans. “Kade’s wedding was, what? Over two years ago?” she asks, her eyes narrowed.

I nod, inhaling deeply, as I watch an array of emotions cross my mother’s face.

“So do you have a son or a daughter?” she asks quietly.

“A son. His name is Jye, and he's amazing, mum. You'll love him,” I say.

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