Abandoned

chapter thirty.

I suddenly bolted up in bed, my eyes taking time to adjust to the pitch darkness of the room as I turned to find that it was 3:24 AM.

I'd had this nightmare, but now that I'm awake I begin to realize that it seems more like a lost memory than anything else. A memory of when I was young, of when my mother was still pregnant with Rose.

It was an image of my mom, huge pregnant stomach and all, sitting on the couch with me hiding under a cabinet in the kitchen. Through this slot in the wood I could see a man, screaming about bills and alcohol and child support to my mother. He was drunk and angry and eventually slapped my mom, who had been silently crying.

It wasn't so much the actions that had me freaked out, as I'd seen plenty of drunken assholes in my time on this earth, but the man himself. The man I'd seen twice in the past few days, the one whose eye's looked almost identical to Rose's.

I always remembered there being a guy around the house for a while at the time Rose was being born, I can remember hating him, but I could never remember a face. I'd never wanted to, and I'd been too young.

But now I'm almost sure that the man I'd seen is the same one in my dream, that was dating my mom when she got pregnant. The one that has to be Rose's father.

I stood up, feeling suddenly nauseous at the thought. What was he doing outside of the house earlier? Stalking us? God, he knows where we live. What if he wants to take Rose? Could he even do that, even if he is the biological father?

I walked downstairs and straight to the front door, peeking out the window. Not seeing any cars on the street, I walked over to double check that the door was locked. When I turned back around I nearly had a heart attack.

"Jesus Christ, Justin." I held my hand over my heart that was beating rapidly. "What are you doing? You scared the hell out of me." I asked as he stood at the top of the steps like a total creeper.

"Sorry." He laughed. "I couldn't sleep and I heard someone down here."

"Oh." I looked up at him. "Yeah, me neither."

"Are you okay? You look a little freaked out."

"Um, yeah... I'm fine. Just a nightmare." I lied. Well, partially lied. He nodded as she he sat down on the top step. I knew I should tell him, that he's on my side with the whole Rose situation, but for some reason I couldn't. I didn't want to involve him in more of my problems that are just that, mine. I also felt like if I said one word about the stalker creep in my dreams I'd go completely and hysterically crazy, if I wasn't already.

"Me too." He said as I walked up the few steps and sat down next to him.

"About your dad?"

"Yeah." He nodded. "They've gotten worse since I got that letter."

I frowned at that, then got entirely confused when he looked at me sideways and grinned, making a dimple appear next to the corner of his mouth.

"I'm about to say something really corny. You better prepare yourself."

"Okay." I laughed. "I'm ready."

"I don't get them whenever I'm with you. The nightmares."

"That was only a little corny. And quite possibly an attempt to persuade me into your bed." I responded once I took in what he said, shrugging a shoulder. He laughed.

"I'm serious."

"I know, that's just..."

"Embarrassing?" He finished for me.

"No," I shook my head. "It's... sweet."

"I don't want to be sweet." He looked at me and said as if I'd suggested he was something extremely offensive.