“Yep.” Lucas nodded and looked at Nick.
“That sucks man. She was hot, for a brunette.” Nick frowned. “But somehow, I picture you with a blonde.”
“A blonde?” Lucas frowned.
“Yeah, a blonde with killer legs and a nice set of…” Nick said, before Lucas shook his head and scowled.
“Dude, seriously!” Lucas frowned.
“What? I was going say a nice set of wheels.” Nick looked at his friend.
“Of course you were.” Lucas shook his head.
“We should go out tonight, find a hot blonde for you to play with.” Nick said.
“I don’t think that’s such a good idea.” Lucas shook his head. “Besides, it’s Thursday night. Dunedin isn’t exactly pumping with nightlife on a Thursday night.”
“You’re no fun.” Nick laughed. “It’s your first night off since forever. Let’s just go out, have a couple of drinks. Please?”
Lucas studied his expression for a second and felt himself cave. “Okay fine.”
“Fantastic! Flanagan’s here we come.” Nick smiled. “But first you have to stop for cigarettes.”
“But I don’t even smoke.” Lucas looked over at Nick.
“For me, dude.” Nick shook his head and looked out the window.
“Sure, why not. We’re going to Hell anyway.” Lucas sighed.
“That’s the spirit, Luke!” Nick laughed and Lucas drove into the parking lot of the convenience store.
“Mommy!”
Hayley's head snapped up when she heard Owain's voice behind her and looked at him. He was standing in front of the open kitchen cupboard, looking inside. "Yes, Owain." She said and carried on mixing the cupcake batter.
"Did you buy sprinkles?" He asked, still peering into the cupboard.
"Yes, baby, I did." Hayley sighed and turned to him.
"Mom, I'm not a baby!" His small face shriveled up like a prune. "I'm almost six."
"Wow, almost six! Isn't that something?" Hayley grinned and ran her fingers through his straight dark hair. “Maybe we should get your almost-six-year-old eyes checked.”
"There’s nothing wrong with my eyes. If I don’t see it, then its not there. I don't see it, so its not here!" Owain exclaimed, ignoring her sarcasm, still searching the contents of the cupboard.
"Look harder, it has to be there." Hayley frowned as she scooped the batter into the baking pans.
"It's not here, Mom!" Owain whimpered and Hayley turned to him.
She knelt down beside him and peeked inside the cupboard. She scanned the cupboard and sighed. “Really!”
"I told you it wasn't there!" Owain frowned. "What are we going to do now?"
"What do you mean, what are going to do now?" Hayley put her hands on her hips.
"We can't have cupcakes with no sprinkles." Owain said and looked at her.
"What do you want me to do?" Hayley looked at him.
"We can go get some!" Owain looked at her.
"Owain..." Hayley shook her head and he crossed his arms.
"Cupcakes aren't cupcakes without sprinkles, Mom." He pouted.
"Okay, I'll tell you what. You go grab a jacket, while I get some shoes and we can go to the store quick." Hayley tilted her head at him.
"Okay." Owain's face lit up and he ran down the passage to his room.
Hayley ran her fingers through her blonde hair and let out a long sigh.
"Mom, are you ready?" She heard him behind her.
She turned around and he had his black jacket on and was holding her boots. She walked over to him and took the boots from him. She bent down to kiss the top of his head and he squirmed away.
"Sprinkles, Mom." He said. “No time for kisses.”
“Okay, smart guy.” Hayley laughed as she put on her boots and grabbed her keys from the counter.
"Can I sit up front?" He asked as they left the house.
"Just this once." Hayley sighed tiredly and rubbed her eyes.
It had been a long day for her at school. The kids were busy with exams and she had spent most of her free periods grading papers. Owain was exceptionally demanding today for some reason, and even though it was only seven o'clock, she was already exhausted. Owain was excitedly getting in the front seat, not being able to stop smiling. Usually he never sits in the front seat, to Hayley's preference, but she thought what harm could it do tonight? Tonight of all nights! They have been 'celebrating' cupcake Thursday for the last four years, and no cupcake was complete without sprinkles. She frowned as she wondered what had happened to the sprinkles she bought the other day.
"Mom." Owain said next to her.
"Owain." She said.
"I think you should have another baby." He said, just as she stopped at a red light.
She looked over at him and frowned. "What on Earth makes you think that?"
"Well, you keep calling me baby, and I am not a baby. So if you have another baby, then you can call it baby, and I'll be off the hook." Owain said.
"It's not that simple, Owain. I can't have one by myself." Hayley laughed at the absurdity of the thought of having another baby. She thought back to Owain’s birth and shivered slightly.
“Oh my god! This hurts!” She screamed and grabbed onto the metal railing of her bed.
“Deep breaths, Lee.” Her father wiped strands of damp hair from her face.
“I don’t want to do this anymore!” She panted.
“Lee, you’re doing well.” One of the nurses said to her.
“Just get it out!” She screamed again. “Get it out of me! Right now!”
Hayley shut her eyes briefly and looked at Owain, not knowing what to say.
"I don't understand." Owain frowned impatiently.
"What don't you understand, baby?" Hayley asked, trying to recover her train of thought.
"You are all by yourself, and you had me." Owain looked at her.
She looked back at the road and sighed to herself. She had no idea how she was going to explain this to him.
"I had help, baby." Hayley said simply.
"Well, just call him and ask him to help again.” Owain said.
Hayley felt a chill run down her spine at the thought of that and shook her head. “I don’t know where he is.”
“Can’t you find out?” Owain asked.
"How am I supposed to do that, Owain?” Hayley asked.
“I don't know, you’re the grown-up. You’re the one that knows everything." Owain said and Hayley grinned slightly. “Don’t worry, Mom, I’ll find someone else for you."
Hayley's jaw dropped and she let out a laugh. "As easy as that?"
"Yes." Owain nodded.
Hayley shook her head at her son and continued driving to the convenience store.
"Mom?" He looked at her.
"What is it, Owain?" She asked.
"Can I wear my Spiderman suit to school tomorrow?" He asked.
"No, I threw it in the wash. You wore it yesterday." Hayley shook her head.
"But Mom..." He whined next to her.
"Not buts, Owain." She shook her head. "Do you want people to think that I don't love you enough to buy you decent clothes?"
"No." Owain frowned. "They will be wrong if they think that."
"Exactly." Hayley smiled slightly and patted his head. "Okay, we're here."
"Sprinkles! Sprinkles!" Owain chanted as Hayley parked the car.
"Okay, okay. Calm down." Hayley frowned as she undid his seatbelt and he reached over to open the door. "Wait for me, Owain."
"Yes, I know. Someone might steal me." Owain got out the car and waited next to it.
Hayley climbed out and locked the car. She walked over to him and held out her hand. He took it and walked with his mom into the store.
"Who would want to steal me anyway, Mom?" He looked up at her.
"Bad people, baby." Hayley frowned.
"Well, if they ever steal me, I'll be so bad, they'll bring me right back." Owain said.
"Let's hope that
never happens." Hayley smiled and walked towards the baking aisle.
"Mom, can I go look at the toys?" Owain asked. Hayley hesitated a second and he picked up on that immediately. "I'll be careful."
"Okay, I'll be quick." She let go of Owain's hand and watched as he ran to the other side of the store towards the toys. She stood there for a few seconds and sighed to herself. She walked into the baking aisle, grabbed two containers of sprinkles and headed towards the toys. She turned into Owain's regular aisle, but he was not there. "Owain?" She called but here was no answer. She felt a shiver run up her spine and her blood froze in her veins.
"Owain?" She called out again and walked a little faster, checking all the aisles. Panic consumed her body and she ran through the aisles. She came to a stop, as she felt tears in her eyes and ran her fingers through her hair. She heard voices and she walked towards them. As she rounded the corner, she saw Owain, talking to a dark haired man at the end of the aisle.
"Owain!" She called and he looked at her, with a look that showed he knew he was in trouble. The man looked over his shoulder at her and she froze momentarily. The guy looked really familiar but she could not place him at all. She took a deep breath and walked over to them.
Lucas stared at the beautiful, yet frantic, blonde woman heading their way and he instantly knew it was the little boy's mother. Even though the little boy had no resemblance to her whatsoever, he knew it was his mother by the way the little boy was looking at her. She was beautiful, with long blonde hair and bright blue-green eyes, unlike the little boy, with his dark brown hair and chocolate eyes. She had an air around her, even though she was panicked and clearly fuming. Her hips swayed in her jeans and her fitted white shirt created curves in all the right places. She was carrying two containers of sprinkles and Lucas grinned at the little boy.
"Your mom?" Lucas looked at the little boy.
"Yes." The boy said.
"I figured." Lucas grinned and they looked over at her.
"Owain, oh my god!" She exclaimed as she got to them. "I told you..."
"Mom, it's okay." Owain rolled his eyes at her. "I was talking to this man about..."
"You know I don’t like it when you wander off, or talk to strangers." She frowned.
"He said he doesn't want to steal me, Mom." Owain said and Lucas chuckled.
"That's what they all say, baby." She raised her head and looked at Lucas. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean..."
"It's okay. He's quite a kid." Lucas smiled at her.
"Yeah, he knows it." She nodded and held out her hand to him. "Hayley."
Lucas shook her hand and smiled at her. "Lucas."
"And I'm Owain." Owain said.
Lucas, still holding on to Hayley's hand, looked down at Owain and grinned at him. "Nice to meet you, Owain." Lucas nodded and looked back at Hayley. "Hayley."
"You too." Hayley gave him a small smile and waited for him to let go of her hand.
"Oh, sorry." Lucas smiled apologetically and let go of her hand.
"Come on, Owain, we need to go." Hayley grabbed hold of Owain's hand.
"But Mom...." Owain whined.
"Now, Owain." Hayley said firmly and he simply nodded. She looked at Lucas and gave him a small smile. "Nice to meet you, Lucas."
“Likewise." Lucas nodded. "See you around."
Hayley gave him a slight nod and Lucas watched as they walked away from him.
"Hey, where did you disappear to?" A voice said behind him and he turned around.
Nick was beside him with a carton of cigarettes and he looked at Lucas. He looked at Hayley and Owain and grinned at Lucas.
"Were you hitting on the mom?" Nick asked with a laugh.
"No, I was talking to the kid actually." Lucas said and looked back at Owain, standing by the cash point with his mom, looking at Lucas. The little boy's face lit up and he waved at Lucas. Lucas grinned and waved back at him.
"Look who made a friend." Nick laughed and Lucas lightly shoved him. “Plus, we found your blonde.”
"Do you have everything?" Lucas frowned and ignored Nick’s comment. Nick nodded to him with a laugh and Lucas started walking to the cash point. "Let's go then, I double parked."
"Please don't ever do that again." Hayley frowned at Owain as she was buckling him up in the backseat.
"I didn't do anything!" Owain protested and pushed her hands away.
"Don't fight me, Owain." Hayley said calmly and looked at him.
"I was just talking to the man!" He said.
"You know how I feel about you talking to people you don't know." She frowned and closed the door.
"But Mom..." He whined.
"But nothing, Owain!" Hayley exclaimed and got into the driver's seat.
"I wanted to help you." Owain crossed his arms and she looked at him in the rear-view mirror.
"Help me with what?" She asked, but there was no answer. "Fine, don't talk to me." She started the car and opened her window.
"I was trying to find someone who can help you get a baby." Owain called out and Hayley turned to look at him.
"What?" Hayley frowned and switched the car off. "Why?"
"Because you're alone." Owain said.
"I'm not alone, Owain, I have you." Hayley reached over and touched his knee.
"We both know that's not the same." Owain looked at her. "You need a friend, Mom."
"I have friends, baby." Hayley laughed.
"I meant men friends, Mom." Owain rolled his eyes.
Hayley opened her mouth to say something, but she had no words. She looked at Owain's face and took a deep breath.
"I was just trying to help, I swear." Owain said. "I didn't mean to make you angry."
"I'm not angry at you." Hayley frowned.
"Then why were you yelling?" He asked.
"I wasn't yelling..." Hayley shook her head.
"Yes, you were." Owain argued.
"Okay, I was yelling, but you gave me a fright." She admitted. "I thought I lost you."
"You'll never lose me, Mom." Owain put his hand over hers and she felt all her anger melt away.
She smiled at him and took her hand away. "Thanks, baby."
"Can we go now?" Owain asked and Hayley nodded at him.
"Of course." Hayley turned around in her seat and started the car again. She looked at Owain in the rear-view mirror and grinned to herself. Even though she was still a bit upset and her heart was still racing from panic, she knew she could not stay angry at her son for very long. He was the most important thing in her life and even though the first year was the hardest, she would not trade him for anything in the world. She put the car into gear and reversed out of the parking.
Across the road, a black car was parked in the shadows. Two men were sitting in the two front seats and looked at each other.
“That can’t be her.” The dark one said.
“I’m telling you, it’s her.” The bald one handed him a photograph and nodded confidently. “Definitely.”
“What would she be doing here?” The dark one asked.
“Probably hiding the kid.” The bald one frowned.
“Here?” The dark one asked.
“This place is as good as any.” The bald one nodded and took out his phone. He dialed a number and held the phone next to his ear.
“Hey, it’s me. Guess who I just saw?” He said.
“Who?” A deep voice asked over the speaker.
“Lee-Ann Harrington.” He answered.
“Are you sure?” The voice asked.
“Positive.” The bald one said. “There’s something else.”
“What?” The voice asked.
“There’s a kid.” The bald one said. “He’s about six or so, looks just like him.”
“Call the boss, and let him know.” The voice said. “Don’t let her out of your sights.”
“No problem.” He heard the call disconnect and looked over at Hayley’s black Cadillac pull away.
“So what do we do now?” The dark one ask
ed.
“We tail her.” The bald one frowned and started the car. “For now.”
Chapter 3 – Collisions
After her last period the next day, Hayley walked down the passage towards Grace's class, to pick up Owain. She was thankful that it was Friday, it had been one very long week. Grace mentioned at lunch that they should go out tonight, but Hayley politely declined, as she usually does. She opened the door and walked inside.
"Hey." Grace smiled at her. "He's been waiting since twelve."
"I never pick him up at twelve." Hayley looked over at Owain's seat and saw him sitting quietly, his backpack on his back. “What happened?”
"He's a little upset with me." Grace pulled a face.
"Why?" She asked and looked at Grace.
"I asked the class to make paper Mache paperweights for their dad’s. Owain didn't want to participate. He threw a bit of a fit and said that he didn't have a dad to give it to. He packed his stuff and has been waiting since." Grace said apologetically and crossed her arms. "I'm so sorry, Hayley."
"Grace, it's okay." Hayley looked at her and gently touched her shoulder.
"I feel so bad about it...” Grace shook her head.
"Well, don't. Really, it's fine. I'll talk to him about it." Hayley nodded.
Grace nodded and Hayley walked over to Owain. She knelt down next to his and kissed the top of his head.
"I've been waiting for you. What took you so long?" He looked at her.
"I'm sorry, baby. I had to finish with my class." She sighed slightly and looked at him. "Let's get you home."
“Okay.” Owain stood up slowly and looked at Grace.
"Say good-bye to Miss Oliver, Owain." Hayley said.
"Bye Miss Oliver." Owain dropped his gaze and headed for the door.
Hayley could see Grace's eyes started to water and she gave her a reassuring nod. "Its fine, Grace."
Grace nodded and dropped her hands to her sides. "Bye guys."
"Owain, wait." Hayley ran her fingers through her hair with a sigh, catching up to Owain walking towards the exit. “Whatever happened in there, it can’t be that bad!”
“I don’t want to talk about it right now.” Owain shrugged his shoulders and kept walking.
Hayley decided to give him some space and they walked through the hallways towards the parking lot. The short drive home felt like hours and when Hayley stopped the Cadillac in front of the garage, she decided she needed to talk to Owain about the whole “no daddy” situation. She switched the car off, climbed out and walked to the back door, where Owain was sitting quietly, staring at his lap.
Never Say Never Page 3