𝔪𝔞𝔡𝔢 𝔣𝔬𝔯 𝔪𝔢

𝔠𝔥𝔞𝔭𝔱𝔢𝔯 𝔣𝔬𝔯𝔱𝔶-𝔰𝔢𝔳𝔢𝔫

i love you for staying back and watching me shine.

Jacey and Tyler entered Jacey's home hand in hand after dropping Abby and Livi off at the airport and Jimmy at Tyler's mom's. "Hey, Mom, we're here," Jacey called as they took a seat on the couch. Theresa scurried into the living room from her bedroom.

"Hey, you two! Steven should be here any moment. Sorry, I had him run to the store for a few things," Theresa told them as she sat in one of the chairs. They heard a car pull up and the engine shut off. "Speaking of Steven, here he comes." A few short moments later, Steven walked into the house with a few bags in his hands.

"Hey guys," he greeted before walking into the kitchen.

"Want something to drink?" Theresa asked.

"No, thank you. Just need to get this taken care of," Tyler stated.

"Tyler if it's about that other night I'm sorry. And Steven's sorry. There's nothing really to talk about, he's moving in. I will get locks for the girls doors," Theresa explained, referring to 'the other night' as a few events that happened over a course of a month or so.

"Not like it matters, this is her house," Steven said, walking into the living room.

"Though that night was quite disturbing, it is not why I asked to speak with you," Tyler replied, almost glaring at Steven.

"O...k then." Steven looked around before taking a seat.

"Do you know a girl named Chloe? Chloe..."

"Chloe Prescott? Yeah, she was the love of my life when I was 24 and 25," Steven interrupted.

"You dated her?" Tyler asked, slightly shocked. "When?"

"Yeah, we dated a little over two years. Well, one of those years she was with this clueless rich boy at Berkeley. What he didn't know was that when she went home, she was coming home to me," Steven told them with a chuckle. Tyler's hand tightens around Jacey's. She stroked her thumb over his hand, causing him to calm down. Tyler was over Chloe and was more than happy with Jacey, but it hurt him to know the first girl he ever loved cheated on him the entire time they dated. "That rich boy was no good. All that money, and he splits once she's pregnant. I didn't want a kid, and the kid wasn't mine, but I stuck around for a while."

"You knew the child?" Jacey inquired.

"Yeah, I stayed with her until the kid was one. We both got clean during her pregnancy. She had the baby and went right back to meth," Steven paused for a moment. "Her parents gave her the boot, so we moved in together. I helped her for a year before I had to get out. I dropped the kid off at her parents' house, made sure it was safe, and left. I haven't spoken to her since."

"Wow, " Theresa gasped. "You never told me all of this. "

"I'm not proud of that time of my life. I'm a completely different person."

"So you were close to the baby?" Jacey questioned.

"Yeah, I have a picture of the kid in my wallet still," Steven said, taking his wallet from his pocket, not noticing he never mentioned the child's gender. Tyler and Jacey just sat there watching Steven and taking in everything he just told them. "Here, I have two." Steven showed them a wallet-size picture of the tiny baby with big blue eyes and a folded picture of a blonde child wearing a birthday hat. Tyler stared at the images of Jimmy, knowing this was his father. "What's with all the questions? Did something happen to Chloe?"