Always the Opposites {Brollins}

[ Chapter 11 ]

Rebecca watched a little girl come speeding around the corner, coming to an immediate halt after noticing the stranger standing with her father.

"Hey, baby!" Colby rushed towards the little girl, encasing her in a hug. "How are you?"

He smothered her with small kisses all over her face, and the little girl giggled as her father easily picked her up and turned towards Rebecca, "This is my friend Rebecca."

"Hi." Rebecca smiled, watching the little girl examine her.

"Hello." The little girl responded quietly. "I'm Riley."

Rebecca immediately felt her heart warm, "Nice to meet you, Riley."

The little girl giggled and covered her face, nuzzling it into her father's neck. "Ri, how bout you go clean up your toys and tell grandma I'm home."

"Okay." The little girl whispered as he placed her down, and she was off and out of sight in a few seconds.

Colby turned to see a completely elated Rebecca, with a smile on her face he's never seen before.

"You have a daughter." Rebecca marvelled, completely surprised and in awe.

"I do." Colby nodded, quietly laughing. "From the looks of things, you don't seem to have a problem with that."

"Not at all." She shook her head emphatically as Colby gestured for her to come further in. She placed her bag down, taking in her surroundings. "Your apartment is beautiful."

"It does its job." He nodded, reaching in his cupboards, "Want something to drink?"

"Water would be great." She responded, sitting down on his couch.

He walked into the small living room and sat on the couch across from her, placing her water on the table in front of her. She knew he was more of a quiet person, so she didn't push him to explain anything.

"Did you want to study?" Rebecca asked, taking a sip of her drink.

Colby shrugged, leaning back on the couch, "I think we can afford to take a break. If you're okay with that."

Rebecca nodded, and Colby watched her look around, taking in everything slowly. "Sarah, my ex, got pregnant when we were dating."

He observed Rebecca seeing her eyes make their way to his, "That's how Riley came to be. She's four years old, and lives with me full-time."

Rebecca nodded, taking in all of the new information, surprised with how open he was being. "Is Sarah-"

"She's out of the picture." He interjected, "Sarah abandoned Riley days after giving birth, so I was left to figure everything out on my own."

"With some help from me." A woman walked into the living room from the back hall, smiling warmly, "Hi, honey. You must be Rebecca. I'm Holly, Colby's mom."

Rebecca smiled, standing up politely, "Nice to meet you."

"Colby has told me a lot about you." She gave Rebecca a gentle hug, "I'd say you're a good influence."

"My mom lives down the hall." Colby spoke up before anything else was said, "Which comes in handy when I need a babysitter."

"Speaking of, I'm going to head out, sweetheart." Holly added, "I think you're good to watch her alone now that Rebecca's here."

When Colby gave her an inquisitive look, Holly continued, "I trust her more. This is the first time that we've spoken, and I already know she's less likely to burn this place down."

Rebecca stifled her laugh, and Colby rolled his eyes, "I barely burn a turkey, one time-"

"Barely? Honey, that thing was inedible." Holly laughed before waving to Rebecca, "Lovely to meet you."

"Bye." Rebecca waved, watching Colby walk his mother out.

As she waited for him to come back inside, she felt the cushion beside her dip in slightly. When she looked over, she saw Riley sitting beside her with her legs crossed, just watching her.

"Hi, Riley." Rebecca smiled, watching the little girl scoot closer.

She'd worked with children before and knew it was always better to let them warm up to you on their own. Forcing a relationship never worked out in any case. But to Rebecca's surprise, Riley already began to seem comfortable with her.

"Can I call you Becca?" Riley spoke, her brown doe eyes staring at Rebecca curiously.

"Of course." Rebecca nodded, noticing Riley look at her ear.

When she remembered her pencil was there, she reached for it, "My dad gave it to me."

She handed it over to Riley and watched the little girl inspect it carefully. She observed the little girl put it on her ear for a moment, pushing her long dark brown curls out of the way. She smiled at Rebecca sheepishly, lifting her shoulders to her ears.

She gently passed the pencil back to Rebecca, "Can I sit on your lap?"

Rebecca nodded, carefully lifting the little girl onto her lap. When Colby walked back in after a few more minutes, he stayed quiet as he watched his daughter giggle as Rebecca tickled her stomach. The little girl waved her arms back and forth, and Colby could tell that she was glad to finally have someone other than her dad and grandma around.

He saw the little girl cup the sides of her mouth and whisper something in Rebecca's ear, earning a laugh from Rebecca.

He knew the gig was up when Rebecca stood up with Riley on her hip and walked over to him. "A little birdie told me she was hungry."

"Lucky for her, I have some leftovers." Colby moved to the fridge, opening it up.

"But she also told me her dad's cooking stinks." Rebecca pressed her lips together as Colby slowly turned around with his hand over his chest, letting his jaw drop.

Riley began laughing hysterically, as she clutched onto Rebecca's arm while hiding her face. The two adults laughed, and Colby spoke up, "Why don't we all cook something together then?"

Riley quickly moved back to Rebecca's ear, and Rebecca laughed again before responding. "The little birdie says she would definitely like that."