What Connor Wants... (BWWM)

CHAPTER TWENTY : NO HOME

Two weeks later,

After two weeks of being away from South Africa and staying in New York, Connor was tired and desperately needed a break. Unfortunately, the trip to New York was not pleasant for Connor.

Deciding to travel back to New York was not easy; not communicating with Aubrey had made matters worse, and he did not know how she would react to him returning after two weeks of being away. To make matters worse, his father had not been so supportive initially, whereas his mother was thrilled that she was a grandmother.

On the other hand, his father was a different man after he found out that he was officially a grandfather. His father had demanded a paternity test, and it had taken a lot of convincing from Connor to get his father to accept that CJ was indeed Connor's son.

Ultimately, his father was thrilled that he had a grandson; a tear had almost fallen from Connor's eyes seeing how excited his father was about being called a grandfather. Connor knew that both he and his father were not the best of friends, but it seemed as though CJ was the remedy to Connor and his father's relationship.

**

Although tired from the long trip, Connor decided it best to drive out to see Aubrey and his son. He could no longer contain his happiness; he simply had to drive to her house.

Connor drove to Aubrey's neighborhood and stopped in front of her apartment; he was shocked. Connor quickly got out of his car and stared at the spot where Aubrey's apartment once stood; nothing was left except rubble.

Connor ran his fingers through his hair as his head spun, not believing what he was seeing, their apartment was gone, and Aubrey and his son were nowhere to be found.

No, this cannot be; please, this cannot be true. Connor thought to himself as the worst possible scenarios played out in his head. All Connor could think was that the building had collapsed with Aubrey and Connor in it.

Even though he was in shock, Connor walked closer to the rubble and examined it properly. Some rocks were hot and black from the fire, which had probably burned them.

"CJ, Aubrey!" Connor yelled out, hoping that through some miracle, both Aubrey and CJ would respond to him, but there was no answer from either of them. Connor went into panic mode as he looked around for Aubrey and Connor.

Only one was around when Connor spotted an old woman not far away. The woman crouched down and picked up the dismantled pieces from the rubble. Without thinking, Connor ran toward her.

"Excuse me, lady, what happened here?" He asked her with panic laced in his voice.

The older woman looked at Connor from head to toe, and the longer she took to answer him, the more impatient he got with her.

"Why do you want to know?" The older woman asked Connor.

"Because I know the woman that lived here; please just tell me what happened to her because I am about to lose my sanity," Connor explained.

Connor listened as the older woman explained to him what had happened. To Connor's understanding, the fire had broken out during the night, and it was alleged that it was due to some flaws in the electrical wire.

Hearing the older woman detail the horrors of that night sent a cold shiver down his spine. But then, the woman walked away from him, leaving Connor feeling hopeless. He did not know where he would begin looking for Aubrey and CJ, but Connor knew that he had to start looking now.

**

"Mommy, I am cold." Aubrey heard her son whine, and seeing him like that broke her heart. Likewise, seeing CJ unhappy for the past week saddened her.

Aubrey had so much to be thankful for—for one that she was fired a few days earlier. If not, her little boy would have been roasted in her apartment. Now they were in the hospital because CJ had received first-degree burns and smoke inhalation due to the fire, and worst of all, Connor knew nothing about this incident.

She could only imagine what would have happened if he found out about the fire and that he had not been informed earlier.

Even though her son was not hurt badly, the first-degree burns on his shoulder and back were enough to worry Aubrey. She watched all the bandages wrapped around her son and the never-ending tubes that went through his body that never ended.

You need to tell Connor now. For the millionth time that week, her mind forced her to tell Connor the truth about their son.

Making up her mind one last time, Aubrey picked up her phone and dialed Connor's number, and on the first ring, Connor answered the phone.

"Hello," Connor answered the phone. He sounded concerned, leaving Aubrey thinking that she had much to explain.

"Hi Connor, it's me, Aubrey."

"Aubrey, Aubrey, where are you?" Connor asked, her panic laced in his voice, and she knew it was best not to add to his worry.

"I'm at the hospital right now," Aubrey informed him; there was complete silence for just a few seconds until he spoke again.

"What are you doing at the hospital?" Connor asked her, and Aubrey knew it was best to keep some things to herself.

"Well, it's not anything serious, really."

"Aubrey, I'm not going to repeat myself again!" Connor raised his voice, a warning to Aubrey.

Aubrey took a deep breath before saying anything because she knew that deep down, he would not be too happy to know what had happened to his son.

"Well, CJ got burnt, but only first-degree and a few second-degree burns."

There was silence on the other end of the phone. Then, from Aubrey's side, she heard what sounded like Tate, his best friend, asking him what was wrong.

"What hospital are you at?" Aubrey gave him the address at the public hospital that they were at, and Connor ended the call as soon as he received the address.

Aubrey, it is best you think of ways of explaining all this to Connor. From the looks of things, he won't be happy with you. Her mind tortured her; the last thing Aubrey wanted was for Connor to be mad at her over something she could not control.

There was one thing Aubrey knew she could not get away from, and that was explaining to Connor what had happened.