Someone To Stay [bxb]

Chapter 54

                   LUCAS

" Hey birthday boy!" Summer calls out to Tobias when him and I arrive downstairs .

The party is in full swing . Almost everyone is here . The faint background music and the chatter of people, children giggling and running around the house fills the entire living room area .

Tobias runs to Summer, taking the empty space beside her with a huge smile on his face.  " You look so grown up !" Summer says to Tobias .

Knowing how my son is, he happily accepts the compliment " Thank you Auntie Summer!" He scoots closer to her " Why do you have a huge stomach?" He exaggerates the last word with interest .

Summer looks from me in amusement to Tobias " Well, there's a baby growing inside me . " She replies softly .

" A baby?" He echoes . Summer nods . " Where did the baby come from? Did you eat the baby?" His eyes widen . Summer and I laughs softly.

" Not exactly ." Summer looks up to me for help . I'm as clueless as she is on how to approach the topic .

So when Nathan joins us, taking Tobias in his arms . I sigh in relief . " What are we talking about?" Nathan asks the giggling Tobias in his arms .

"  Oh nothing, we were talking about how Tobias wants a sibling. " Summer taunts but that only makes Tobias head quirk up in interest .

" Summer!" I mutter under my breath. Nathan just chuckles at my horrified face .

" Am I getting a little sister for my birthday?" Tobias turns to me , hope in his eyes .

" Well buddy, it's gonna take a while for you to have a little sister . We would have to travel across the country to get her ."  Nathan mumbles .

" Get her from where? "

" From where they sell babies . It might take a year or two ." Nathan glances over me for confirmation . I smile at Tobias .

" Yeah, you would have to wait a little longer ."

" Are you going to swallow her like Auntie Summer?" He whispers, scrunching up his face unpleasantly at the thought .

" Not really ." I whisper back. Picking up the fact that he doesn't want Summer to hear . However, it's kind of pointless since he's so bad at whispering. Summer just looks at our exchange with a warm smile on her face .

" Umhm Lucas?" Joshua calls out from across the room.  I excuse myself and join him .

" What's going on?" I look around the room then to his uncomfortable face . " Well..?"

" Your mother is here." He finally says with a hint of hesitation in his voice . I just stare at him . " She kind of wants to see you, she's waiting by the porch." He motions towards the closed front door .

I breathe in and out . I try to calm myself . " Thanks." I mumble. I stumble outside. My mind is filling up with questions. What is she doing here?

I find her sitting by one of the two chairs on the porch. She looks different. Her hair is short and untidy. She's on some faded jeans and a worn out blouse. My eyes immediately fall on the marks on her arms, evidence that she's been using.

" Are you going to stare or join me?" She rolls my eyes at me when I shake my head.

" What are you doing here?" I glance at her blank face . She licks the bottom of her dried lip in contemplation.

" To say goodbye and to finally tell you the truth about your father ." She looks down at the ground " I no longer need your money if you think I'm here for it ."

" But-- why? Why did you come to say goodbye? Did something happen?" I take a seat on the chair beside her . My heart dropping at the side of the prominent cheekbones under her skin. She looks skinnier .

" I didn't come here to explain my life to you . Do you want to know about your father or not?" She suddenly snaps at me .

I just nod, dumbfounded by her reaction. " How would I know that you are not lying this time?"

" You don't . You can choose to believe me or you can choose to take whatever I tell you to the grave. It's your choice ." She averts her gaze to the street in front of us . " Your father is alive and well . This is his address ." She shoves a small paper in my hand .

I look at the small writing on it . " Why are you doing this now?" I whisper weakly .

" I want you to be happy. Perhaps this will give you the answers you have been looking for since you found out that James isn't your father. "

" Happy?" The word sounds so foreign coming out of my mother's mouth . " What about Elizabeth?" I blurt out .

" I saw her .."

" You did?" I feel a tinge of jealousy at the thought of James allowing my mother to see Elizabeth and not me .

" Yeah, she's fine . Happy and healthy. She deserves that much after what I put her through . I did right by choosing James as her father . He loves her ..."

" What is that supposed to mean?" I glare at the side of her face . That's when I notice how thin she looks . Nothing like the person I saw a few years back.

" You will find out once you find your father ." She mutters eventually . She doesn't wait for me to reply . She abruptly stands up . She blankly glances at me one last time then walks down the three steps on the porch.  I just sit ,  rooted on the chair . A part of me wants to run after her, beg her to stay but what difference will that make?

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