Dad's best friend secret baby

Chapter 16

Evie

Seven Years Ago

"Bye, Emma," I yelled, waving at her.

She yelled and waved with the same vigor. "Bye, Evie. Don't forget to do our Math homework."

I rolled my eyes, dismissing her with a wave of my finger. Once I took a turn in my direction, I could no longer see her. Sniffing nothing in particular, I clutched the strap of my bag tighter.

As I wove between the sea of people going about their daily routines, I spotted familiar elderly neighbors chatting on stoops. "Hi, Ms. Jones."

"Oh, hi darling. How was school today?"

"Fine. Thank you."

I continued weaving my way through the sea of people until I cut another corner. This was the final street that led to our house. It wasn't as crowded as the previous street, but it wasn't deserted.

I still had quite a distance to cover. I could almost smell my mother's cookies from here. The thought alone made me walk faster. Mother usually made cookies for me on certain days after school.

Most times she made them in the morning before she left for her small flower shop. But recently, she'd been around... a lot. It was because of her cancer. She was just recovering after years of battling with it.

Still, that didn't affect the cookies.

She made sure to make cookies before my arrival. I loved my mom, and I wished she'd let me have cookies every day.

Trust me, Mom's cookies were great. But her constant nag about how I shouldn't abuse snacks was her response to my everyday cookie request. It's good to satiate your sweet tooth, but it's bad to do it every time. That was her favorite catchphrase.

She barely let me have cheat days. But that's where Dad came in. He gave me cheat days... on the basis that I wouldn't tell Mom, of course. I never did.

I picked up my pace when I almost reached our apartment building. I could already taste the cookies. With a huge smile, I arrived at our apartment building.

It was a tired-looking structure squeezed between taller, more imposing buildings. Like most of the buildings in the neighborhood, its brick facade was cracked.

The hallway was dimly lit and smelled musty as usual as I jumped the steps in twos. My excitement grew higher as I made my way to the sixth floor. I entered the hallway and, alas, was standing in front of our apartment.

Disappointment struck my stomach when I opened the door to find the apartment... dreary.

My stomach flipped when I didn't see Mom in her usual spot. Somehow, I just knew something was wrong.

Mom was usually on the couch seeing her favorite Tv show. And Dad, if he'd returned from his shop, would be beside her. But now there was No one, nothing. Not my parents, not the smell of cookies.

Our cramped apartment seemed even smaller as I walked through it. The TV station was scrambled, and there still was no sign of my parents. Maybe they decided to stay in their room today.

I hurried to Dad's room to find the door ajar. When I peeked through, he was on his wooden chair, staring into space.

"Dad?" My voice was tentative as I pushed the door open. He seemed to be in his own little world.

"Dad," I called out a little louder. Instantly, he turned to me, eyes bloodshot.

I held my breath. Maybe it was the look in his eyes or the unusually quiet atmosphere, I asked. "Where's mom?"