Creve Coeur | Ahri x Male Reader

Chapter 18: See You Around

Third Person POV

"So let's talk, Mom."

Aspen Stoutamire, formerly Aspen (Last Name), winced at her son's tone, though she couldn't exactly blame him. "The first thing I'd like to say is...I'm sorry."

(Name) grit his teeth. "You think you can enter my life after nine fucking years and expect everything to be okay after a simple sorry?!"

"No," was her immediate answer, "I'm well aware that the time to reconnect with you is long gone. Even if the opportunity was still there, I doubt it would go very far." Aspen slowly sat up in her bed. "I just figured me apologizing would clear the air a bit."

"It didn't."

She shrugged. "It was worth a shot at least." She cleared her throat. "I don't know if you can tell, but my health isn't exactly the best right now."

For once, (Name) didn't offer a sarcastic remark.

"If this was about anything else, I wouldn't have contacted you...but this concerns you."

The male raised a brow. "If this is just about you being sick, then I'm sorry for the misfortune, but I hope you don't exactly think I'm going to be sobbing and bawling if you have to stay here."

Aspen let out a raspy chuckle. "Not at all, this is a bit more serious." She told him. "You know that I left when you were around nine years old, but what we never told you is that before I left, I was pregnant."

All of (Name)'s anger left him in that moment. "...what?"

"I told you father after I found out, well, after I could get him to talk to me again." She continued. "I wanted to get rid of the baby...and put my old life behind me, but I could never bring myself to do it."

"I..." (Name) gulped, "have a sibling?"

"A sister," Aspen corrected, "she's eight years old right now. She's also the reason that I called you here." Closing her eyes, she sighed. "Ever since I let your name slip, she's been wanting to meet y-"

"So you can just abandon me, but take care of another kid?"

Aspen paused. "(Name), I didn't know I was pregn-"

"Would it have mattered?" He cut her off once more. "Would you still have left if you had known beforehand? Would you have left her after she was born, or taken her and just left me?"

Aspen's expression remained blank. "I wasn't happy with my life, so I left. It's as simple as that, it was nothing against you or your father."

"You left because you weren't happy?" (Name) scoffed. "You're selfish."

"Everything that breathes is selfish. I don't see what's so wrong about me putting my own happiness first."

"What's so wrong about it is that I was supposed to come first!" (Name) responded loudly, his voice cracking as emotion overtook him. He knew he was being incredibly selfish and proving her words, but he didn't care. "Isn't that what mothers are supposed to do, put their children first? So what was so different? Did Dad not make you happy? Did I not make you happy?"

She frowned. "(Name), I'm not a family person.."

"Then why start a family?" He almost immediately questioned. "You were in a relationship for years, got married, had a child, and you're telling me that only after I was born that you realized the family life wasn't for you?"

"It isn't that easy.." She said softly.

"It wasn't that hard either.." He mumbled.

The room went quiet for a few seconds. Aspen glanced at the clock and sighed, noticing that visiting hours were almost up.

"(Name)." She called, pulling his attention from the floor. "Nothing I can say or do will fix the damage our relationship has, I realize that, and I accept it. At the end of the day, you got your personality more from me than your father, so I know forgiveness isn't an option, but this isn't about me. Your sister has wanted to meet you for years, and since I can't really take care of her right now, I'm entrusting her to Jade, but more specifically to you."

He remained silent.

"You can hate me all you want, because it's deserved, but the poor girl has done nothing but admire you whenever she hears anything about you. I at least ask that you try to be nice to her."

(Name) didn't give her the pleasure of a response to her request, simply choosing to turn to the door and open it. "See you around, Aspen.." With that, he left the room, and soon after the building.

He felt no love for his mother, he hadn't in a couple of years....

so why was he so choked up?

Timeskip

Ahri sat in the comfort of her room, finishing up homework from the week. She glanced over to her phone and placed her pencil flat on her desk. She picked up the device and stared at the black screen.

"I hope he's okay.."

Right at the words left her mouth, her ringtone stared and she nearly threw her phone at the wall. She quickly answered the call with a deep breath. "Hello..?"

"Is this a bad time?" (Name) asked. "I can call back another time..?"

"(Name)?" Ahri was put off by the sound of his voice. "No, no, it's okay, we can talk...are you okay?"

The line went quiet for a second. "No." He answered. "I...today was a lot."

Her ears flattened against her head. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"Are you willing to listen?"

"For you? Of course."

"Okay.." His voice sounded slightly nervous now, which made her smile softly knowing that her words affected him. "My Mom reached out."

If she was still holding her pencil, she would've have dropped it. "Really? But didn't she...?"

"Walk out?" He guessed. "Yeah...apparently she's really sick right now, bound to a hospital bed in fact."

Her voice lowered as if she was afraid to speak. "Does that...make you sad?"

"Not really," she heard him audibly gulp. "We had a bit of an argument...well, it was more of me arguing with her and her listening. There's something else too."

Ahri hummed to let him know she was still listening.

"I have a sister apparently." For the second time, she was shocked. "My Mom got pregnant a little while before she went AWOL. She's been raising the girl and now she wants to meet me."

The fox vastaya pursed her lips. "You don't hate her do you?"

(Name) chuckled dryly. "Haven't even met her yet. If she's anything like her mother, I don't think we'll get along, though."

They both laughed, the tension in the air alleviating a bit.

"Hey.." (Name) suddenly said. "Thanks for listening."

"You're my best friend, (Name). You don't need to thank me. Just make sure you're taking care of yourself." She urged.

"I will, I will...I should probably get going now, but before I do, I have to tell you something.."

"Being?"

She could practically hear him smile. "I'd love to be your date to prom. Goodnight Ahri." The line went dead before she could respond.

Her eyes were wide and her cheeks were practically glowing. She dropped her phone on her desk and stood up before throwing herself onto her bed and squealing. She reached out, grabbing a stuffed animal that (Name) won for her at the carnival and held it tightly, curling up into a ball.

"Oh..." She groaned out, cracking a small but genuine smile with her heart beating a mile a minute.

"What is that boy doing to me..?"