Seasons (Ari AU)

Chapter 48

Ari POV

  Three days have passed since Shauna's discovery and I still haven't heard from the hospital with the lab results. 

  Most afternoons I've been able to just walk him up to the front porch, see him turn the handle and go right on in. By the time Lissy comes up to the door I'm already in my truck going in reverse out of the driveway.

  Today however, she's sitting on the step of the porch, waiting in an outfit that I remember saying was a favorite of mine on her. Right now though, I want to tell her what an ugly woman I find her to be. But, without results, I keep my mouth shut. 

  "Hey stranger!" she calls from her spot as I help Mason down from the passenger seat. "You staying for dinner?" she asks, hopeful eyes shining bright. "I thought we could finalize a couple of things for the wedding."

  I stroll over, Mason already running past Lissy and into the house, my head down, hair beginning to fall over my eyes. "Can't tonight."

  A heavy scoff falls from her lips as her hands go to her side, standing in front of me now. "What's the reason tonight, Ari? Running back to the hospital to be with your best friend's widow instead of having dinner with your son and future wife?"

  I'm so close to blowing my lid that I have to actually take a step back, a small menacing chuckle passing out of my mouth as my arms cross against my chest. The desire to tell her that I know the game she's been playing is insurmountable. It takes everything in me to keep my lips shut until I have complete proof to back everything up. "I'm not choosing her over my son, Lissy."

  "No? Just me then."

  "Holland has no one but me and Shauna," I remind her. 

  "Where the hell is her family, Ari?"

  My jaw aches at how tight I'm clenching. 'Standing in front of you,' is what I want to scream. Standing in front of you, wanting nothing more than to call you out on your own lies. 

 "Her husband is dead!" I shout instead, my anger getting the better of me. But also, my reaction allows me to see a flicker of something behind Lissy's eyes. And honestly, I'm waiting for her to scream something about the father of her son being dead as well. The flicker though, the flicker makes me feel like I've gotten my answer without test results. 

  Still, I keep my mouth shut. 

  As quick as that flicker of sadness comes, it's gone, but not before her eyes are welling with tears. "I know," she mutters, swiping at her cheeks. "I hate that she's going to experience the same thing I did, an absentee father."

  I suck air through my teeth, my head nodding only to keep me grounded, to keep me from lashing out. I still have a part to play.  "You seem to keep forgetting the difference between you and Holland," I say calmly. "Evy's father was taken from her. You," I shove a finger towards her, "you kept the knowledge of Mason's existence from me. Big difference."  I begin walking backwards towards my truck. "Tell Mason I'll pick him up for school tomorrow."

  "Ari!" she cries after me. "You can't leave like this. You can't keep throwing that back in my face! I've apologized. How many more times do I have to do it?"

  "Tell ya what, Lissy. When you figure out how I can get the last five years of my son's life back, then you can stop apologizing."

  I feed her a bold face lie, and I don't feel even slightly bad for it. My heart breaks for Mason, but I'm starting to wonder if every man that has walked into Lissy's life since his birth has been known as 'dad' to him.

  Some how, it wouldn't surprise me.

~~~~~~~~

  I step off the elevator on the maternity ward and am immediately greeted by a scowling sister leaning up against the nurse's station. "Who peed in your cheerios?" I ask, smirking but still cautious.

  "Fair warning, Casanova. She's in a mood."

  My eyes search her face as my heart slips a little further down in my chest. "Is the baby alright?"

  "Evy's fine," Shauna assures me. "But Holland? Pretty sure these walls are beginning to close in on her a bit." She looks down at my empty hands. "You don't want to go in there without something, trust me."

  I look between my sister and Holland's door just ten steps away. I could take my chances, but with the mood that Lissy has put me in, we might be a pair fit to be tied. 

  "Is it a donut day or chili cheese fry day?"

  Her eyes narrow a bit, my head jerking back slightly. "You're kidding? So, both?" She taps her finger to her nose. "You want anything?"

  "Caramel latte, double shots please."

  "Pulling a double?" I ask, pushing the down button on the elevator. 

  "Unfortunately," she answers, turning around to respond to a call from one of the rooms. "Yes?"

  I hear the whiny "Shauna" come through the speaker just as I step over the threshold of the elevator cab. When I turn back around my sister is mouthing out a "HURRY" with wide eyes and a scowl for extra emphasis.

*Shorter, don't hate me. It's been a heck of a day.