Page 35 of Return To You

I stand, placing my guitar down, ready to hit the fucker, when Cameron sits forward and says, “Okay, say you’re right, say that the photo he saw was out of context, which yes, we have all,” he gives a pointed look to me, “questioned over the past two years, but what about the child she had at seventeen no less, Bar. Surely that would mean she was seeing someone pretty fucking soon after Noah left….”

I place my hands on my hips and furrow my brows. “No, that’s not right. It was a year ago Gina told me she was four months pregnant, so that would have made her eighteen when she gave birth, not seventeen.”

Cameron frowns, and Barnett butts in, “Actually, according to your mom, she had her baby one month before her eighteenth birthday, exactly three days before yours, Noah." He tilts his head. “How sure are you that the baby isn’t yours?”

I shake my head in denial. “We’ve been through this, Bar. We were protected, and she would have told me if she was pregnant.”

He nods. “You're right, she would have, but you blocked her number, banned me from speaking to her, and even denied your mother's calls. You blocked her out of your life, so how could she tell you, Noah?”

I shake my head again. "Still, we were protected the whole time, and even then, it was only two weeks from prom to graduation that we were that intimate together, Barnett.”

He nods again. “And condoms fail, Noah,” he says. “And from what your mother has told me, from her actual due date and the fact she delivered two weeks early, she would have conceived prom night.” He raises a brow. “Tell me again, Noah, how the baby can’t be yours? Tell me how your sister and Piper didn’t fuck up everything for you, and you allowed it? Because from my recollection, you spent five hours drunk outta your mind, crying about how special getting to be inside her when you woke up the morning after prom, condom still on from the night before.”

Denial runs through me, not willing to believe it. It’s been nearly two years of me going back and forth about that damn photo, second guessing myself, but not once did I question the child’s paternity, except that one day Gina said she saw her.

Fuck, did Rose have my kid?

Cameron stands and I look his way. “Noah, how did Gina know she was four months pregnant? Did someone tell her, or did she see a bump and decide to say she was four months, hoping you wouldn’t question her?”

My body starts to shake, and I look between the boys, now both questioning the past.

I can’t….

Swallowing hard, I storm out of my studio, down the curved staircase, and out of the house, straight to my car. Neither following, giving me my space.

I quickly grab my phone and see several missed calls from my mother and some from Gina, Piper, and Joel. I swipe them away and press the number I need.

He answers instantly and states, “Noah, she’s gone. As soon as she saw you and saw her brother, she left. I think you need to leave things be.”

I grit my teeth. “Where does she live, Rafael?”

I squeeze the steering wheel as he admits, “I promised her I’d keep you from her, Noah. Despite her leaving again, I plan on bringing her back.”

If she cheated, he wouldn’t be trying to keep me from her; he’d be trying to keep her from me….

Fuck, fuck, fuck….

I swallow hard. “Please, Rafael, I’m being told one thing by several people and another by others. Please, I just need to find out the truth. You disowned her and now, suddenly, want her back in your life. I need to speak to her. I need answers….”

He’s quiet for a few minutes, then asks, “Do you think you deserve them? You left without a word to her, Noah. The reasons why I did what I did had nothing to do with you, son, and everything to do with her choices at the time. I pushed her away out of fear.”

Them...he said…them….

My heart races, and I admit, “I may not deserve them, but I think we both need answers, for closure at least.”

He sighs. “She’s in Fremont, Grave’s Hill.” I squeeze my eyes tight, and he continues, “You never deserved her, Noah, not after the way you left, and me, well, I never deserved such an amazing daughter. I’ll text you her full address.”

With that said, he hangs up, and I throw my phone, before starting my car. Without thinking, I leave my driveway, heading to the airstrip, only getting my phone out again when he messages the address.

It’s time questions get answered; it’s time for us to move on from the hurt of the past, and for me to figure out if she was, in fact, pregnant when I left, and whether I’m a fucking father and the biggest idiot in the world.

eleven

Rose – Two Days Later

“I cannot tellyou how happy we are you got back early, Rose. It’s been so busy with tourist season; my feet feel swollen as hell,” Natalie groans as she sits on the stool, and I chuckle a little.

We’ve finally got a quiet blip after five hours of constant movement, and we’re taking advantage of it. No one is here except for old man Tom, who is happy with his six pancakes and cup of joe.

---