Page 10 of Addison

"Did you know I was a cop when I saw you that first time?"

"Of course I did. It's one of the reasons Hollister made sure to tell me not to screw it up. I had to please you no matter what you wanted."

"Did you think of trying to get some help? Maybe telling me so I could get you out of there?"

"Look, I know you mean well, but it really wasn't that simple. There were a few men I met in my time who seemed like nice people. Stand-up guys in their normal lives. But there's no telling what would've happened to me or them if I had decided to ask any of them for help. I've seen what Hollister would do to girls who started trouble. I didn't want to chance it."

It bothers me that she had to go through all this mess on her own. More so, it bothers me that she didn't trust me to help her. I understand why though. She'd only just met me that day, and I was a job to her.

"Are you only staying with the MC because you think they are the only people who can keep you safe? That's not true. I can keep you safe too. I can-" She gives me a half-smile and I clamp my mouth shut. Talk about coming on strong. "Not me, I can set you up somewhere safe. I have connections all over the place."

"I'm sure you do, Hardy, but I'm not only with the club because they can keep me safe. I'm with them because I'm learning how to keep myself safe as well. They're my family, and we all look after each other."

I nod my head and lean back in my seat. I've already asked all the outside questions I can. Now I need to get to the real matter at hand.

"I know you don't want to talk about it, and I hate to press, but I have to. It's eating at my very soul not knowing for sure." I peer up into her eyes, taking a breath and praying that she doesn't get offended again and try to leave. "Is your son mine?"

I watch her jaw flex and her hands ball up into tiny fists on the table. She's upset and probably a bit scared. Quickly, I add on to my question, hoping to ease some of her worries. "I'm not asking you because I think you're a bad mom or that I want to take him away or anything like that. You're doing a great job raising him from what I can see. I just want to know if he's mine."

"And what if I don't want you in his life?"

"Why would you not? It's not like I'd try to turn him against you or anything like that. The courts don't have to get involved. I would be just an added support here when and for what you need."

The silence slices through the air, scratching against my skin with every second that ticks by that she doesn't answer.

"Well, is he?"

Addison closes her eyes, takes a deep breath, and whispers something so softly I can barely hear the words.

"Addison?"

"I said yes. Yes, Hardy, he's yours. After our time together, Harrington only let me out for one other person, and he used me for something different. I wasn't as marketable as I once was because I had gotten fat. I didn't even know I was pregnant until I gave birth to Glenn."

"Glenn? That's his name?" I say more to myself than to her.

I heard the atrocities that she went through, and I'm sorry for them, but I'm also relieved to finally have an answer. By some form of magic, it feels like my heart triples in size. The few images I have in my memory of the small baby replay on a loop in my mind's eye.

"Glenn seemed like a fitting name." She replies, pulling me out of my daydream.

"It's perfect. Great choice," I say a little too happily. There's nothing special about the name itself. I have no attachment to the name one way or another, but the moment I attach it to that sweet boy's face, it is the most perfect name in all existence.

"Can I... Do you have any pictures?" I ask, and she actually chuckles at that.

"Have you met any mother who doesn't have pictures of their child? Here, look..." She pulls out her phone and quickly gets to the camera roll. She pulls up the latest one. Glenn has a face full of what looks like cheese sauce from mac and cheese. He's smiling wide and reaching for the camera. She flicks through picture after picture, and suddenly along with my happiness comes a fresh wave of guilt. I've missed so much of his life already.

"Addison, I know you don't know me, but I swear you can trust me. I'm not going to hurt you or Glenn." My tone is serious, and I grab hold of her hand. The first real contact I've had with her since I met her the second time. "Please don't cut me out of his life. I just want to know my son."

"I hear you Hardy and despite the way you approached me I want to believe you're just trying to do the right thing. The problem is I've been wrong about people before. Until I can trust you, which I may never, I don't feel comfortable with you around my son." She shrugs and my heart drops just a bit.

It's not the answer I want but I'll accept it for now. It's a problem but there's also a solution. "Then get to know me. Let me prove to you that you don't have to keep your guard up around me."

"How do you suggest we do that?" Addison asks, hitching an eyebrow.

"Let's start by getting to know eachother a little better..." before I can finish my sentence I hear her stomach growling from across the table.

"Oops, sorry." She giggles and presses a hand against her midsection. Her cheeks flush red and she looks away.

"Have you eaten today?" She's laughing but I'm dead serious.

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