by Laiza Millan
Drake frowned but rolled his eyes. "Another wedding surprise. Stupid." He turned around and walked away. "I'm off to work now."
Alona and Ian watched as he disappeared, holding their breaths at the sound of his departure. Alona turned around to face Ian. "Why did you do that? I was going to tell him about us, Ian."
He shook his head, leaning down to peck the corner of her lips. "You're right. We'll wait until the time is right."
She smiled and nodded. "We'll know when the time comes. Then we can do it."
"Yes," he said mischievously, "but at this time, I can think of something else we can do."
"Really? Like what -" Alona screeched with laughter and surprise as Ian launched himself towards her.
.
.
"Miss Collins."
Emma looked up and groaned. "What do you want, Rogers? I didn't call you here."
"As if I wanted to be here," Drake scoffed, tossing a packet on her desk. "Here, Mr. Baker wants you to go over this and make sure everything is correct."
She grabbed the packet and began to flip through the papers. As she scanned the papers, Drake looked around the small desk and smirked. "Well... not a bad place for someone who only works here temporarily. Aren't you just another mere assistant?"
"No," she said, trying to calm her temper, "I work for a department, whereas you work for one person."
"Oh, look at bad ass Miss Collins!" Drake said sarcastically, waving his hands obnoxiously. "She works for a department!"
Emma sighed for what felt the millionth time that day. She didn't need this right now. She needed to hurry up with the documents so she could go home to Aidan. "What do you want?"
Drake dropped his hands and threw himself on the chair in front of her desk.
Ignoring Emma's dirty looks, he grabbed the nearest file of paperwork and absently scanned the pages. "Are you dating Richard?"
Emma stopped reading mid-sentence and glanced up. "What?"
"You heard me," he said, throwing the papers back on the desk and leaning against the back of his chair, throwing his hands over his head.
Emma blinked, clearly taken aback by the most random question he had ever asked her. "No. We're just friends."
"Good," Drake said, rocking his seat back and forth on its legs. "Listen Collins, I told you to stay away from us -"
Then why won't he stay away from her? "I did," Emma said instead, glaring at him. "it's not my fault he started up a conversation with me. He's actually quite nice to me and -"
"I don't know why," Drake interrupted, "you're not even appealing. Seriously, you've got the same attraction as a fucking troll. He's just using you for a fuck, not because he respects you."
Immediately, he regretted saying that. Drake wanted to take back what he said when he saw the hurt flashed in her eyes.
But he can't help it!
Rich is not good enough for her! Drake doesn't want her to see his friend, and he wants his friend to stay away from her.
Why? He doesn't know why, but he just does.
Whenever he sees them together or whenever Richard mentions her and Aidan, he feels this fiery pit in his stomach that just wants to burst. His fist inching for a good punching bag.
But if this is the way to keep her away from Richard...
Emma tried her best to ignore the stinging pain forming in her chest. No, screw this, and screw him. She is not going to show him any weakness anymore. With that thought in mind, she lifted her chin up and simply said, "Get out."
"Excuse me?" Drake asked, bringing the front legs of the chair back to the floor. "What did you say?"
"Get out," she repeated in a strained voice. "Don't come here again unless -"
"No!" Drake snapped. The nerve of her! "You had no right telling me what to do."
"What the hell is wrong with you?" Emma shouted, her anger getting the better of her. "You have no business with my -"
"When it concerns my son, I think it does!" Drake argued back, his voice rising as his anger grew.
"No, don't play that 'he's my son' bullshit card with me!" Emma snapped, glad that no clients are in today. Otherwise, how awful would it look for the company if they saw two employees having a shouting match?
How dare he?
Does he seriously think she's going to immediately forgive him after the pain and hurt he put her through during her pregnancy and the way he treated Aidan as if he was merely a thing? Now he wants to play daddy?
She had enough.
Now that she was no longer in a very fragile state, she felt free to say and do whatever she wanted without worrying about her being pregnant. "I am tired of you bossing me around! You have no right to treat me like this. I blame my hormones at the time for being so weak -"
Drake rudely scoffed, "Emma -"
"But bother me again, Drake, after I told you to leave us alone, I will not hesitate to -" She stopped, catching her breath as she feels her temper increasing.
Calm down, Emma. Be the bigger person, she reminds herself. But finally...
Finally. Finally, she's standing up for herself. Finally, she feels this sense of womanly liberation where she tells the guy to fuck off after all of his wrongdoings.
Drake wanted to scream. He strode towards her, their faces only inches apart. Emma stubbornly maintained her stance. Now was not the time to back down.
"Do it, Collins," he hissed, his breath hitting her face harshly, "do it and I'll tell my own lawyer that you refuse to let me see my own son -"
Emma gasped, clearly infuriated by him. "Excuse me -"
"I want to see my son, and you're not letting me!" Drake pushed on, "I'll tell him that I just want to meet our son. I have the right as his father and -"
"NO!" Emma screamed; her throat beginning to burn from all the heavy breathing and force she was applying to it.
Drake paused; shocked that she still had the voice to scream that loudly, at him too.
"Don't even bother finishing that sentence. Did you honestly forget the few days after Aidan was born? Do you remember when I kept begging and asking you to change your mind, even kept pushing you to? And what did you say?"
Drake was quiet, unable to perform coherant thoughts.
"You said you wanted nothing to do with us, indirectly disowning your own son. Apparently the doctor called you? Whatever you told him, he ended up putting Withheld on Aidan's birth certificate." She continued on, taking advantage of his stunned silence. Does she sound harsh? Who cares. That's nothing compared to the shit she had to go through.
Fuck. Of course. Why the hell did he do that? He faintly remembered the doctor calling him to confirm about something but at the time, he didn't give a shit what was happening so he simply told the doc to leave him alone....
"I offered you so many chances, Drake. You made your choice." Emma raged on as she stood up. "So deal with the consequences."
She knows she's probably overreacting, but honestly? She's doing this for Aidan's protection as well. Any mother would protect their baby from any possible harm. She's not going to risk it.
"So, you're letting Richard Huck get to know Aidan instead of his real father?" Drake asked, wanting to hurl something at the wall.
"Huh?" Emma blinked, clearly confused with what the hell he's talking about now. "What are you saying? Besides, in case you haven't noticed, Jason and Tom had been helping me. They've become great father figures -"
"Oh two fathers!" Drake laughed back, sarcastically. "Bloody fantastic; let's see how that will affect him -"
"They're way better than you! They were there since the beginning." Emma snapped, needing to stick up for her friends. "You think you can just barge in here and -"
"What are you going to do when he grows up and starts asking you who his real father is, huh?" he snapped back, their noses practically touching, but neither of bothering to move apart. They were both too consumed in their fight to even notice how close they were.
"I'll tell him the truth," Emma said simpl
y, lifting her chin up challengingly again. "I'll tell him how you didn't even care -"
Drake groaned, "Well, I just asked now if I can -"
"No you didn't." Emma scoffed, crossing her arms. "You didn't even ask me, more like demanded me."
Drake stopped and swallowed down his insults.
He was so close he could count each freckle sprinkled across her face, and the way her eyes were bright from anger. Her forehead remained in the stubborn scowl of hers, her lips were pursed, and her arms were crossed over her chest.
Wait... had her eyes always been that color? And the way her chest was heaving up and down was kind of a distraction...
"Well?" Emma snapped suddenly. "Oh honestly, Drake, just please leave. I have loads of paperwork to do, and I'm sure you've got more work to run."
The overgrown spoiled brat was giving her such a headache. After all the times he demanded her to leave him alone, now he wants to bother?
Drake blinked, his thoughts reorganizing themselves as he took a step back away from her. He stared down at the floor for a minute before looking up at her, his determination set on his face.
"You're right," he said calmly. He took a seat again and kept his eyes trained on hers.
Whoa there. Emma's breath caught in her throat as she stared back at him in shock. Did he...? Did he just...?
"You're right," Drake repeated, noticing Emma's surprise. "Can I see him? Aidan, I mean. Can I see Aidan?"
Seriously? Does he seriously think she's going to just forgive and forget that easily? No. She's not going to give him any possibility to hurt Aidan. Emma shook her head. "No, you can't."
Drake's calm expression remained, but she caught the annoyance on his face. "May I ask why not?"
Because he can still carry a threat. Because she's still scared that he might hurt both her and Aidan. Because she's afraid he's going to revert back to his ways and change his mind once again, hurting Aidan in the process when he grows. And maybe because she's afraid of something else...
She rolled her eyes at him. "You're seriously asking that question? No. I warned you that I wasn't going to let you see him, remember? Don't get mad at me because I'm keeping my word. Like I said, you made your choice and I'm making mine."
Drake stood up angrily, but didn't move towards her. "That's not fair, Collins."
Emma laughed, sitting back down. "That's rich. Coming from a man who has been treating me and Aidan like crap."
Drake swallowed hard , "As his biological father, I have the right! I have -"
"Are you daf? Do I have to keep repeating myself?" Emma rolled her eyes, bringing back the documents closer to her. Hopefully he takes that as a sign to leave. "Thanks to you, you're not on the birth certificate. You lost that right to call him your son when you left him. Besides, who cares if you're the biological father? A child can grow perfectly normal with having a step-father too, you know. It's not like they're any different."
"I can always take the paternity test to prove I'm his biological father. I can get full custody on him." Drake threatened, but he suddenly felt like the world's biggest asshole.
"Do you realize how you sound right now?" Emma stared at him with that disappointing look on her face. She even appeared sad, somehow, much to Drake's confusion. "Do you seriously think that would be a good idea? Do you think they're going to ignore the fact that you're still on limitations due to your gang's crime and that you still have a bad record against your name, versus someone like me who is completely clean? I'm pretty sure they'll find me safer than your background."
Drake stared.
And then, he felt it.
The tiny yet heavy sensation that had formed in his chest for days had grown incredibly. Everything was crashing down on him. That uncomfortable feeling in his chest... Almost as if an invisible large hand had roughly smashed through his chest, reaching his heart with a tight fist, squeezing it until he couldn't breathe.
Why is he feeling like this?
He didn't realize he was breathing roughly, until Emma looked at him with a raised brow.
He was losing his grip. What a fool he had been, to have this hopeful thought that maybe, just maybe, Emma would give him the benefit of the doubt and give him a chance. That she would let him see his own son.
He knew it was too good to be true. Has it really been months since she left? Since them both left?
He felt angry, confused, and helpless. He wasn't angry towards her, no. He was angry at himself. He wanted to go after her that day, he did. But his confusion stopped him.
"You have to let me see him." He tried again, trying to appear calm again. Though inside, total opposite.
Emma could feel herself weakening, but she is determined to keep a strong facade. She has no idea if he's serious or not. She can't truly tell if he's willing to try. She was hurt by him already, she doesn't want her little boy to go through the same thing.
Drake stood back up and took a step closer to her but stopped.
What is he doing? He's doing this all wrong...
He glanced at Emma and cleared his throat. "Collins -"
"Leave," Emma repeated. "I'm not kidding, please leave me alone in peace. Please."
She was beginning to feel overwhelmed with his whiplash of strange attitude. Can he not understand that she can't just simply say yes to him like some woman who easily gives in?
Drake took a step closer again and shook his head, "Not until you let me see my son. Please, let me see him."
Emma couldn't help it. She let out a loud laugh at his nerve. "I feel as if the tables has turned. Wasn't I the one who kept begging you?"
Drake flinched. What the hell is wrong with him? Fight back! He could feel the anger rushing through his veins, but pushed it down. Hurting her wouldn't help him now.
Besides... he's done that a lot already and look where he is now.
"What are you still doing here?" She sighed, suddenly tired. "Don't you have to do some more errands Mr. Baker asked you to do?"
He could see the fight draining her. If he wanted, he could keep pushing and pushing until push came to shove. But no.
For once, he's going to listen to her. So with that, he turned around and did as she asked.
.
.
"Guess what?" Tom asked, kicking her house door open.
Jason and Jenna followed behind him, looking apologetic but equally as excited.
Emma looked up from feeding Aidan and laughed at Tom's excitement. "What is it, Tom?"
"My parents surprised us with tickets to see a soccer match!" Tom grinned. "Come on, Emma, you have to come!"
She grimaced. She wasn't too fond of these sports. "What's so exciting about seeing people kicking a ball around --"
"Come on, Emma," Jenna pleaded. "Please? My parents won these tickets from my dad's work. You need a little break anyway!"
"What about Aidan?" Emma sighed, shaking her head as she looked back at her child. "I can't just leave him -"
"Ask Rich to baby sit him," Jason shrugged. "He's proven to be a decent man these past few weeks. Plus, for some bizarre reason, Aidan likes him."
He was right.
Ever since Rich had been hanging around with them, Aidan had found a playmate. He would always bring new toys and play with the baby whenever he was awake. She was glad; Rich was a nice guy, after all.
But still... she didn't know if she could just leave her son with him while she was away.
"I'll go with you. But if nothing exciting happens for like fifteen minutes, I'm gone." Emma said, trying to bargain with her friends.
But they complained some more.
"No!"
"Where's the fun in that?"
"That's not how it works!"
"Fine!" Emma laughed, reluctantly giving in. "I'll stay for three hours tops. Only three hours because I'm sure you guys want to hang out after the game."
Once they knew they couldn't persuade her any longer, they agreed.
"Finally!" Jenna said, p
lacing an arm around Emma's shoulders. "It's about time you had a day off to yourself."
"Yeah," Emma agreed, still hesitant. "Fine, I'll ask Rich to watch Aidan for a few hours, okay?"
"Sure!" Tom said, nodding. "I mean it's only two hours. What can that loser do in that time?"
.
.
Drake lay on the bed, his hands under his head as a pillow, as he stared mindlessly to the side at the open window.
These past few days had not been a good day for him. He didn't know why, but the image of Rich with Emma and Aidan made him want to do something rash.
It was... unsettling, those foreign feelings.
Why won't she let him see Aidan? Is he really that bad?
An alert from his phone interrupted his thoughts. He looked at the direction of the sound and frowned. Way to ruin his relaxation. Sighing, he threw his blanket away from him and rushed towards the table to grab his phone.
"Richard." He muttered, looking at the name of the sender.
Great, what does he want now?
He rushed towards his bed and roughly threw himself on top of it, wanting to feel the comfort of being warm again. Unlocking his phone, he opened the text message and grimaced at the length of it. Jeez, Rich needs to learn how to shorten his texts, this isn't a novel.
Emma asked me if I could watch Aidan next week. Do you know of anyone? I said I would, but I forgot that I promised I would work for my co worker that day. I would take him with me and place him at the daycare floor, but I'm sure the poor little boy would be too restless and tire the workers there. I asked Tom and Jason, but they're going to be gone too. I hate to ask, but do you think Nancy could watch him? Maybe even Alona? I know they're both fond of the munchkin.
Emma wouldn't mind, I'm sure.
Let me know!
Drake re-read the long text, feeling angry at first for his friend's lack of responsibility.
Why the hell did he tell Emma yes, when he had work that day? He should have thought about Aidan first and called in sick or whatever! There's no way he'll let his friend bring his boy inside a daycare!
Suddenly, a thought formed in his head.
So... she needed a babysitter?
Well, then.
He was sure his mother and Alona wouldn't mind either. He quickly hit reply and texted down his answer.