That One Ride

Chapter 56: Family

Teresa's POV

"What happened? Why are you crying? Do you have any pain or something?" Alex asked.

I was sitting on the couch with dad, watching national geography and there was a baby wolf left behind by his mother. The adorable baby was so helpless and adorable that I felt emotional and cried for the baby. Poor Wolfie. Nobody was understanding my emotions. Dad had his hands on his mouth to contain the laughter and Alex was worried sick for god knows what. But, nobody was caring for the pup, who was left behind in the jungle to be eaten alive by god knows what cruel animal.

That thought made my stomach curl into different angles and I covered my face with my palm to sob in silence. "Th-the pup. See, his mother left him and he can't find her." I rubbed my nose with the hem of dad's t-shirt, sniffing and pouring salty content on it. "It is so a-adorable."

Dad shifted away from me, giving me a glare with narrowed eyes, and I cried again. Alex rolled his eyes, and I cried more. What the hell is happening to me?

Pregnancy! That's what is happening to you, dumb bitch! My inner voice scolded.

Alex came to my front and sat down on his knees, looking at me with amusement gleaming in his eyes. "It's all right. Pups always find their mothers, or their mothers find them. He is safe, and the documentary is 5 years old, so the pup is probably a wolf."

He brushed the tears from my face and handed me a glass of water while rubbing my head. He stood up, looking down at me, as his knuckles brushed over my cheekbone, his eyes gleaming with softness. Dad cleared his throat, and I shifted in my seat, eyes moving from left to right.

"Not in front of me. Both of you." Dad said.

His flight would leave in two hours and we were waiting for all the guests to arrive. I suggested it would be great to have a wonderful family breakfast with everyone. I woke up at 6 in the morning and went to the kitchen to throw fits at Elizabeth; who did not let me step a foot inside and help her. She said and I quote, "Monsieur McOwen will take my job away, and he promised I will not get any job after that."

Alex sat beside me, his hard bicep muscle touching my arm. He was looking delicious in his black shirt, tugged in the light grey trouser. Oh, he was so edible that I could just- AND your dad is sitting right next to you!

I shifted away from him in the direction of dad and leaned my head on his shoulder. After years of separation, I could not control myself to hold his hands or kiss him on the cheek or hug him, to make myself realise he was real and talking to me. Tears welled up in my eyes, controlling the urge I took a deep breath. After a moment of silence, I tilted my head up to look at his face. He was still the same handsome dad my friends and teachers used to gush over, with visible wrinkles at the corner of his eyes and forehead. His head snapped at me, raising the brows. I gave him my prettiest, most innocent smile, and his eyes softened as he placed a kiss on my forehead. As much as I wanted to believe he was there, he wanted to believe it himself, too.

As Alex took the TV remote in his hands and changed the channels, I couldn't stop thinking about the baby wolf and mommy wolf. Something like pain flashed in my heart. All my life, I knew Eliana as my real mother and lived up to that fact. Until recently, at least.

"Dad,"

"Yes, giggle bear?"

"What was her name?"

I felt dad's chest stopping as his body went rigid like a stone. He understood whose name I was asking and I could feel with the frown on his face that it was rather a painful topic for him. Suddenly, everything around us went silent, as Alex reduced the volume to the bare minimum, keeping his ears open even if his vision was on the television. I knew he was listening intently. Sneaky, cute mushy choco pie.