“Five months ago.”
“Fuck’s sake Steph. What date?”
“Cal, please. Keep your voice down.”
“Tell me what date my fucking son was born, Steph. Or shall I ask Justin?”
“February 3rdokay. And he isn’t your son.”
“Like hell he isn’t. Fucking look at him, Steph.” I can’t stop staring at the kid. My kid. As soon as I saw him in Trish’s arms, he reminded me of Jax. His thick black hair, brown eyes, just like all the pictures of me in my mum’s photo albums.
There’s an overwhelming pull towards him. I just know he’s mine. I still haven’t done the math, but I don’t need to.
“You lost the right to him when you abandoned us. You can’t expect to show up after all this time, confuse him, then leave us again.”
James appears behind Steph. “I think your taxi’s out front, Steph.”
I stammer back against a table. My entire body vibrates as my fists ball and my jaw clenches.
Steph’s eyes fix on mine as she speaks to James. “Thank you. Can you help me with the pushchair and car seat?”
My stomach twists like the wringing out of a wet cloth.
“Outside. Now.” I demand answers. After everything, how can she do this to me? She knows about Jax, and how hard that was. Now she has a son. Our son. Another son and doesn’t tell me. It’s like I’ve lost him all over again.
Sarah takes the kid. My kid. “I’ll get him sorted. I’ll bring him outside.”
Steph walks towards the doors, and I follow, watching her movements. She’s no longer the goddess in red, but the devil wrapped in lies and deceit.
The sun has set, and the darkness has swallowed the day, along with my soul. “What the fuck, Steph?” I shout, barging through the glass doors, letting them slam behind me.
She folds her arms over her chest. “You don’t have to trouble yourself. I told you he isn’t yours.”
“Then whose the fuck is he? Because he sure as hell ain’t bonny boy blues.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Fucking golden boy wonder. Justin.”
* * *
STEPH
My body tremblesas Cal yells, hissing each word from his lips. I’ve never seen him this angry, not at me, anyway. Usually I would kiss him to calm him down, but that’s not an option right now.
“You can’t come home and act like nothing’s changed. When everything has changed.”
“Who’s fault is that?”
“You’re not seriously blaming me. You’re the one that swanned off to the other side of the globe without a trace and never bothered to get in touch.”
“So you thought it was all right to have our kid and not tell me? Were you ever going to tell me we have a son?” He spits the words. His lips press into a thin, hard line, and his eyes pierce my heart as they throw daggers at me.
“I called you several times. You were unreachable. I even wrote you a letter, like you care. You couldn’t handle it the last time I thought I was pregnant, so I wasn’t holding out much hope this time around.” I wrap my arms around my body as the suddenly chilled air swathes my bare arms. Or is it the chill from his icy gaze sending shivers through me? “Just because you’re back now, you think you can act like you’re father of the year. I told you, don’t trouble yourself. He’s not yours.”
“Fuck off. He’s mine. I knew he was mine as soon as I looked into his eyes. Anyone can see the resemblance.” He waves a hand in the building's direction.
“Well, being the sperm donor doesn’t mean you can claim him as your son when you feel like it. You should have been here. You’ve missed so much.”