What Connor Wants... (BWWM)

CHAPTER SEVEN : MINE

Aubrey turned around as she heard someone call her name; it was Tate, Connor's old friend. She did not know whether to smile or frown. Once upon a time, they all hung out together.

"Hey, Aubrey, long time no see!" Tate hugged her, almost squeezing the life out of Aubrey. She could hear the excitement in his voice as if Aubrey were a long-lost member of their family.

"Hey, Tate, it's lovely to see you; what are you doing at the hospital?" Aubrey asked as she faked a smile. But, she would have instead not set her eyes on him.

"My wife Beth gave birth to twins, so I am just here to pick her up," Tate replied, leaving Aubrey shocked. She remembered when Tate was a bachelor, and he would have a new woman hanging over his arm weekly.

"That's great, Tate; I am happy for you," Aubrey told him. But, deep down, she hoped that the conversation was over and that Tate would not pry into her personal matters.

"So Aubrey, where have you been?" Tate asked her and in truth, Aubrey dreaded answering that question.

"Well, you know I've been around, working and taking care of my child."

"You know what? It doesn't matter; it's just that we were looking for you and—"

"Excuse me, Tate, but what do you mean by 'we?'" Aubrey asked Tate, as she was confused about his use of pronouns.

"Come on, Aubrey, didn't you know? Connor is back" This was news to her ears, news that Aubrey did not welcome too well. She stood in the same spot, frozen and accepting the information overflow.

"Oh, and I need your number or address while you are at it. Wait for me; I'll look for a pen because I left my phone in my wife's room" Tate left Aubrey and ran towards the reception desk to look for a pen. While he looked for his pen, Aubrey quickly escaped from him.

**

After hearing that Connor was back in South Africa, Aubrey had to return to her house in their dangerous neighborhood. She hated this place and that CJ had to live here with her.

Every turn she looked, there was one bad thing after another; if it was not the drug dealers smoking live, there were drunkards hanging about.

"Mommy, mommy!" CJ called out to her, which snapped Aubrey out of her daydream; she looked at her son and smiled at him. She hoped that her smile would relax CJ a bit and keep his innocent eyes away from the dangers of their community.

"Yes, my dear boy, what is it?" Aubrey asked her son, who looked up at her.

"Mom, I made friends with a girl named Lulu, and she's seven. She's in grade one and likes math and-" CJ kept speaking as he was excited about making friends.

"Slow down, my boy, you're going way too fast," Aubrey laughed at her son. Yet, Aubrey could not help but feel sad that all it took for CJ to smile was to make a new friend.

"Mom, why don't I have a daddy?" Her son asked her, his voice filled with so much sadness that it broke her heart. The look in CJ's eyes did not make matters any better because his eyes held so much sadness. There were days when Aubrey had thought that changing the subject would make CJ forget, but today, she knew that even as they walked, they had to address the situation.

Aubrey stopped in the middle of the road, crouched down to her son's level, and looked into her eyes.

"Why are you asking Mommy this?" Aubrey asked her son, trying her best to understand where these questions were coming from.

"It's just that Lulu has a mom and daddy, but I'm the only one without a daddy," CJ responded, sending a sharp dagger through Aubrey's heart. At this time, she wished she were stronger than she appeared to be.

"CJ, is it okay if we speak about it next time because we have to go home?" She asked her son, hoping that he would agree.

"Okay, Mommy," CJ replied; his smile returned as he agreed to his mother's request. Both mother and son walked towards their rusty apartment, but deep down, Aubrey knew she had to make some changes soon.

I could face Connor for the last time. So Aubrey thought to herself as she weighed the options in her head.

Looking at her son reminded her of Connor; every time her son looked at her with those silver-grey eyes, it brought tears to her eyes.

CJ was just like his father; every action he did reflect Connor's exact behavior. She thought about meeting up with Connor, but at their last meeting, she remembered how Connor had talked down to her and labeled her as a gold digger.

The thought of meeting up with Connor and having him insult her was too much for her to bear; now, meeting him seemed almost impossible.

**

It was early morning, and Connor walked up to Tate's door and knocked, but what he saw was far from what he had expected. His friend, Tate, unlocked the door, and he looked like a wreck.

"What happened to you, my friend? You look terrible," Connor asked his friend. Tate's hair was messy, bags under his eyes, and sleep marks all over his face.

.

"Let's just say that the twins' first night home is not exactly what I had expected. Will you step in or stare at my handsome face all day?" Tate asked Connor. Both men walked into Tate's home and relaxed as they sat in the dining room.

"So Tate, can you please explain why you called me last night to get my ass down to your house this early morning" Connor smiled as he asked his friend.

"Well, Connor, my friend, I met with Aubrey yesterday at the hospital," Tate informed Connor as he froze in his seat; his mind struggled to process what Tate said.

"What did she say? Did she ask about me?" Connor could not help but ask so many questions and all at the same time.

"Slow down, my friend. In fact, I didn't get her contact detail or address," Tate replied calmly as he could, as if he had no care in the world that Connor was losing his mind.

"You what?" Connor scolded Tate.

"Hey, keep it down. My babies are sleeping and not to mention their mother as well. Before you start ripping my head off, Aubrey ran away while I was getting a pen and paper to write her address down," Tate explained.

Is Aubrey running away? That was impossible; she was often shy, but running away was not her style. Connor thought he could still remember how she would put him in his place when he needed to be put there.

"That's not like Aubrey at all; maybe she just—"

"Connor, grow up! You are my friend, and I think you need to realize that maybe Aubrey does not want to speak to you. When I told her you were back, I saw a shocked registered look on her face as if she had just seen a ghost," Tate explained to Connor, who struggled to believe that Aubrey would refuse to see him. Connor knew just how much pain he had caused her, but refusing to see him hurt him.

"No, I'll have to make sure myself" Connor stopped up from the dining room chair and looked at his friend, and Tate smiled at Connor.

"Tate Buckingham, what is that wicked smirk on your face?" Connor asked his friend.

"Well, I was just thinking of you. Would you mind accompanying me to Elizabeth's party tomorrow night?" Tate asked Connor, who stared at his best friend as if he had lost his mind. Connor knew there was no possible way he could ever return to Elizabeth's house, especially with Maria around, ready to pounce on him.

"Well, I'm not going," Connor replied as he was about to walk out of the kitchen when his friend Tate stood in his way and stared at Connor in the eyes.

"Look, Connor, I know you really do not want to be at this party but think about it; Aubrey might be there tomorrow night" The stark realization hit Connor that maybe Tate was right and that he might see Aubrey this time.

Of all the times Connor hated when Tate was right, this was when he was glad that Tate was right. He might see his Aubrey at the party if all went well.