I’ve called Connor and Allie, telling them I need some time off as I have some personal things I need to sort out. It was Allie I spoke to, and I instinctively knew she doesn’t know about mine and Liam’s bust up. She was really nice about it, telling me to get myself sorted and hoping I was okay. Even went as far as to say they would miss me and for me to hurry back. I didn’t have the heart to tell her, that I didn’t know if I would be going back at all.
For the entire week I’ve stayed at my parents’ house, moping in the day whilst Beth was at school. Then when she came home, I plastered a big fake smile on my face and pretended everything was hunky-fucking-dory, when it’s been anything but I miss him. I miss his arms around me. I miss the way he would wake me up with soft kisses along my jaw, but most of all I just miss him. I’ve had to keep it together for Beth’s sake, though, she’s too young to understand fear and a broken heart.
The longer I can protect her from the shit that happens out there in the big bad world the better.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Liam
Driving away from her parents’ house that day was the best thing I could have done.
If I had gotten out of my car I would’ve done something I know I would end up regretting. In all honesty, meeting my daughter for the first time whilst I was that angry and pissed off would have had her hating me before she even got to know me. If I stood any chance of a relationship with her I had to leave, clear my head and figure out what the fuck I was going to do about all this mess.
Was I going to fight for custody?
Was I just going to walk away and pretend she didn’t exist at all?
Or was I actually going to do the right thing and be a proper father to her.
Be the father she needs.
Fuck if I had any answers to any of those questions. I don’t even know her name, that’s how shit I am at this. So instead of facing my problems, I did what I do best - buried my head in the sand and pretended it wasn’t happening.
After the third day of getting pissed, then followed up by a slap around the face from Johnny. Along with a string of profanities spilling from his mouth, I finally showered and found myself once again sitting at my kitchen island, telling all the guys what happened the day after we returned from Croatia. Only this time Connor didn’t try to break my face, instead he sat there with a look of sympathy staring back at me. He didn’t know what to say to me, none of them did really. Except for Max, who as per usual, had to open his trap with a sarcastic comment.
“Dude, rule number one, you always shrink wrap your dick.”
The minute he finished talking I pushed him off his stool making him fall on his arse. I love him like a brother, but sometimes that fucker just doesn’t know when to keep his gob shut.
It’s now been a whole week since I sped off and left the two girls I can’t stop thinking about behind. The amount of times I’ve picked up my phone and typed out a text to Mel and then deleted it again, doesn’t bear thinking about.
I’m a coward.
I’m scared that I won’t be good enough… for either of them. That I will let them both down just like I did Steph.
Melissa may have kept this from me, but no matter what, I will always love her. She’s the one who’s brought me back to life. She’s the one who made me realise that life does go on and when you find the right person, you want them to be your entire world. She’s my everything now, there is no going back. She’s got my balls in a vice like grip and I don’t want her to let go.
Ever.
Sitting on the sofa with a beer, I’m staring blankly at the television watching mindless shitty daytime crap whilst the bloke I’m paying a bucket load of cash to, is getting rid of the last of the ripped wallpaper in my Steph room. Only when it’s all finished it will no longer be the Steph room. I’m having the same dude redecorate it in neutral colours and I’m turning it into a room for my daughter. Just in case one day she does decide she wants me in her life. I would love nothing more than to barge over there and have her run to me and tell me she loves me, only I can’t do that, it wouldn’t be fair.
My front door opens and slams shut only a split second after.
“Yo, Twatbag. Where you at?”
Max.
Fucking brilliant, just what I need. This numpty is gonna drive me even more insane.
“In here,” I reply.
Gracing my sofa with his stinky arse, he sits next to me. Only he doesn’t say anything.
Nothing.
Zilch.
Sweet FA.
I think he’s ill. This man always has something to say, I’m actually starting to worry. He’s just looking at me, his eyes giving nothing away.
Pulling my head back, I look him up and down, trying to see if he’s taking the piss or not.
“Dude, you're starting to freak me out. Are you okay?” I ask him, and yet he still just stares at me.
Leaning over me, he takes the tv remote that’s perched on the arm of the sofa and puts on the news. That’s when my world stops. My stomach falls through my arse, and my chest starts to constrict itself. There in front of me all in fabulous technicolour is my face alongside that of the little girl that I saw at Mel’s parents’ house. The bottle of beer I was holding slips through my fingers. Only I don’t give a flying fuck when I feel the wetness start to spill out, because all I’m seeing right now is the words that are flashing across the screen of my tv.
Liam Williams, Syren’s drummer has a secret child.
It’s then the tv anchor goes to a reporter who is out of the studio.
“What can you tell us about the child in question, please, Rich.”
“All I can say right now, Sally, is that Bethany Wright is eight years old, and has been raised by her late mother's parents, along with her Aunt. At this moment in time the family isn’t commenting on the situation and Liam Williams hasn’t been seen at all.”
The cameras then turn to a scared looking Melissa, who has her head bowed down and huddled to her side is a petrified little girl. They’re trying to fight their way through a crowd of reporters, who are making it very difficult by not giving them much room. Each one of them throwing questions at them left, right and centre. Flashes from the cameras are going off in their faces, no doubt blinding them, which brings my already heated blood to boiling point.
She’s a kid for Christ sake. She didn't ask for any of this.
Without even having to think about what I’m about to do next, I jump up from the sofa, kicking the empty beer bottle that’s still lying at my feet. I look at Max, who just grins at me, he knows what I’m about to do without me even having to voice it.
He jumps to his feet, pumping a fist in the air
“Fuck yeah, my little Liam is finally growing up. Let’s go get your girls dude,” he says with a big shit eating smirk on his face.
Grabbing my keys, I hightail it out of my house and into the car so fast I have smoke coming off my shoes. Max is hot on my heels, I want to thank him for coming and showing me the TV but that doesn’t seem enough. Instead, I look at him and give him a quick, short nod. No words are needed, he knows I’m grateful.
Thinking back to what I saw on TV, I’m guessing that Mel was picking Bethany up from school. So instead of going there, because let's face it, I have no fucking clue where there is, I make my way to her parents’ house, hoping to god I get there before them. Whilst I’m driving, I press the button on my steering wheel to connect my phone and tell it to call Vin. Within seconds he’s picking up.
“I’ve already seen it, L. Where do you need me?”
God love this man.
“I need you at 482 Inglewood Drive…” I don't get to tell him the rest of the address before he cuts me off.
“I know where it is, L. I’ll be there with some guys in ten.”
The phone goes dead, it’s then I notice Max is on the phone to who I’m guessing is either Connor or Johnny.
“Yeah… we’re on the way over now… he�
��s got Vin on the case. Yeah, okay. See you both in five.” He looks across at me. “The boys,” he tells me, as if I didn’t already know.
No less than five minutes later, I turn into Mel’s parents’ street. Parking my car down the bottom so it’s not spotted, I get out and inhale a deep breath. This is it.
I’m about to get what I’ve always wanted.
A family. My family.
Chapter Thirty-Three
Melissa
I just knew my time was limited before the would shit hit the fan.
What I didn’t expect was for it to come and hit me like a bulldozer. I’ve had that horrible niggling feeling of being watched for the last twenty-four hours, but I just thought I was being paranoid so I let it slide. That was until an hour ago, there was a knock on my parents’ front door and I was blinded by camera flashes and screaming voices demanding I answered their questions. Not that I could answer a single one, as everybody was shouting at the same time.
My first thought was that something had happened to either Allie and Connor. With them being my bosses, the press might have thought I knew something, but the minute I heard Liam's name mentioned along with Beth’s, I just knew that the shit storm I had been waiting for was happening.
I just didn’t expect it to happen on this big of a scale.
Slamming the door shut in their faces, I lean my back against the wood, relishing in the way it cools my burning skin, and praying they will fuck off and leave us alone.
Half an hour later, I have no such luck. They are all still camped outside, and I have to go and collect Beth from school.
What the fuck am I going to tell her?
Grabbing the nearest thing I have here to a hoodie, I throw it on and pull the hood up over my head and make a run for my car. If I thought I could lose them on the drive to the school, then I was sadly mistaken. They followed me all the way here, going as far as trying to get into the school yard. Only to be stopped when the caretaker locked the gates for me, stopping them from entering. Seeing my distress, the teacher took pity on me, suggesting that Beth and I leave through the main reception door, but, as per usual, even that couldn’t go to plan, because just as we’re heading to my car they all surround us, caging us in. A petrified Bethany is huddled up into my side, probably wondering what the fuck is going on. I haven’t had time to explain everything to her, just that we had to get out of there and quick. I was terrified, for the both of us. Not knowing if we would make it to my car in one piece. Shielding Beth the best I could from the camera’s and covering her ears, from all their questioning.
Who's her dad?
Did Liam know he had a daughter?
Where has Liam been all her life?
Finally by some fucking miracle, I manage to get us both through the crowd of reporters and into my car.
“What’s going on Aunty Mel? I’m scared,” Beth's little voice croaks out.
“Don’t be scared, kiddo. I’ll tell you everything when we get back to Nanny and Gramps house.” I try to placate her. “Now get your seatbelt on, this is gonna be fast.”
Doing as she’s told, we both ignore the shouts outside the car and I put my foot on the accelerator, revving the engine in warning. When I see a gap in the crowd, I lift the handbrake and pull off into the road. With my heart pounding and adrenaline pumping through my veins, I don’t care if I hit one of them in my effort to get away – it’s the least they deserve for causing so much uproar in other people's life. We leave them all with the dust from my tyres, but just when I think they aren’t following us, I look into my rear-view mirror and see a string of cars and motorbikes trying their best to keep up with me.
“Fuck,” I say under my breath.
When I see the turning for my parents’ street, I sag in relief that I can finally get Bethany to safety. She’s my priority right now. Nothing else.
Pulling up to my parents’ drive my mouth drops open like a bloody goldfish, there, standing in the middle of the grass is Liam. In front of him is Vin and a few other guys who I’m assuming are security as well. My heart deflates, knowing I can't have him anymore, it’s pure torture to look at him, he’s never looked so bloody gorgeous.
“Who’s that man, Aunty Mel?” I hear Beth ask from the back seat. I don’t answer her, I can’t. My mouth has gone dry and it feels like I’m swallowing cotton wool.
What in god's name is he doing here?
Having him here, is only going to make the whole circus behind me even crazier. For a moment I'm paralyzed, unable to move or see clearly, that is until I feel Beth's hand on mine that is gripping the steering wheel so tightly, my knuckles have gone white. I’m scared to leave the car, because once I do, that’s it. Not only am I going to lose him, I’m going to lose my niece as well. Snapping myself out of it, I know I only have a couple of minutes, if not seconds, before they hound us in the front garden.
“I'll explain later, Beth, right now I need you to do what I say, when I say. Okay?”
She gives me a nod of her head, not saying anything else on the matter.
“Good girl. I’ll come around and get you, hold on.”
I get out of the car, on extremely shaky legs- how I've not fallen down I don't know. From the minute I open my door Vin is by my side, for a big bloke he sure can move quickly.
“We need to move quick doll, open her door and run straight to L the second she’s out,” he tells me.
Not answering him, I give him a nod of my head instead, so he knows I understand. Standing to my left with his back to me, he holds a ‘don’t fucking mess with me’ stance just as the fuckers start piling down the street. Bending at the waist, I pop my head into the car making Beth look at me.
“I want you to get out of the car slowly so you don’t hurt yourself, but the minute you’re out I want you to run to that man there.” I point to Liam before carrying on. “You don’t need to be scared okay? He won’t hurt you, I promise.”
Seeming to take everything I’ve told her on board, I step back and allow her to get out.
“Now Beth, run now,” I shout as I shut the door.
The cameras have already started going off everywhere again, the voices are shouting out the unanswered questions that I’ve already heard a thousand times today. I make my way to the middle of the grass, where I find a frightened looking Bethany staring up at Liam. The petrified look on his face tells me he’s seen it, he can see himself in the little girl standing at his feet.
Now I just have to see if he stays or runs.
Please stay, please don’t hurt her, I silently beg.
“Hey, you look like me, you have my nose.” I hear Beth whisper.
The crowd is getting louder and multiplying by the second. I don’t know how much longer Vin and his guys can keep them at bay for, but right now from what I’m seeing nothing is going to break the magic of this moment for these two. I see Liam quickly wipe the sleeve of his t-shirt under his eyes, my heart is breaking, I can see from here how much he already loves her.
I watch Bethany step forward, who then very tenderly takes his hand before she speaks.
“It’s okay to cry, it means you care and that you aren’t dead on the inside.” Liam chuckles at her statement that my dad once told her. “I’m guessing you’re my daddy, and these bozos want to know all about it?” She throws a thumb over her shoulder, clearly not impressed with the congregation on the other side of the garden wall. She’s eight-years-old and all I want to do is protect her but watching and listening to her handle all of this, makes me so proud of her. She’s just like her mum, strong and confident as well as beautiful. Her attitude to all of this shouldn’t surprise me, but it does. Just then my mum and dad come walking out of the door, they knew this day would come and by the looks on their faces they know it’s time to let her go. My dad and Liam do that silent exchange thing men do with sharp nods of the head, and it’s then I realise my dad is giving Liam permission to claim Bethany as his daughter. With tears streaming down my face, I don’t
care if I look like shit, because this is about them - Liam and Beth.
Liam falls to his knees in front of her, taking both of her hands in his.
“I am your daddy, I hope that’s okay with you?”
“Are you kidding me? I’ve had your latest album on constant repeat for weeks. I actually think I’m driving Nana crazy with it.”
We all laugh at her response, only Bethany could be that forward.
“So do you fancy going to tell those bozo’s with me, you know just so they can leave Nana’s front garden?” he asks her.
“Of course.” She smiles at him.
Getting up from the lawn, he dusts off bits of grass that have stuck to his knees before taking her hand in his.
“Come on little lady, let’s go tell the world that you’re mine.”
Chapter Thirty-Four
Liam
I don’t need a DNA test to tell me that this little spitfire is my daughter. I knew it when I saw pictures of her, and now I can feel it in my bones.
She is mine.
That love you get when you become a parent is like no other, the moment I saw her run from the car I knew then that I would do anything and everything in my power to protect and provide for her. The way she’s handling all the press being here is amazing, most kids would freak out but not this one.
She’s something else.
The whole time I was talking to Beth, I could feel Mel’s eyes on us. I could hear her sobs and for as much as I wanted to take her in my arms and tell her that she is also my life, I couldn’t, not yet anyway, it wouldn’t be fair on Beth.
Taking her hand in mine once I’m standing, I take a quick glance at Mel who’s re watching us with tears flowing freely. Bethany sees me staring at Mel and as we take a few steps towards the garden wall I feel her tug on my hand.
Syren's Rebirth (Syren Series) Page 15