Bruises ↛a.c.m

ten.

word count: 1874

| A U S T I N|

I pull into the parking lot and I park the car in its designated parking spot and I sit, contemplating what I'm really going to tell Aquila once I walk upstairs. I grip the steering wheel, watching my knuckles turn white and I sigh, before running a hand through my curls and I take the keys out of the ignition.

I walk into the building, greeting Greg and I take the elevator to my floor before watching the doors slide open and I walk down the long hallway. I stick the key into the key hole and I turn the knob, finding a usual silent home and I look for Aquila, who's sitting on the bed in my room on her laptop

"hi." she says sweetly and I smile at her before kissing her forehead and I decide to change into something comfortable. "so what did you want to talk to me about?" she asks and I take a huge deep breath as I change in the bathroom.

"uh, well, it's a little complicated." I say, throwing on a Trunkfit shirt and a pair of basketball shorts. 

"I'm sure it's not anything I couldn't handle." she laughs lightly and my self consciousness makes a sarcastic remark.

"Aquila, I know we've only been seeing each other for a few weeks, maybe a month and I know this might come as a surprise but I really want to be honest with you." I say as I walk out of the bathroom and she closes her laptop, looking at me.

she remains silent, guessing she wanted me to continue and I do so. "I lied about a few things, the other night." I say and she burrows her eyebrows.

"like what?" she asks.

"like my mom. she really isn't going to California for rehab and she really isn't an alcoholic." I say, sitting beside her and her face holds a light frown but soon recovers.

"aust-" she begins and I lift a finger, cutting her off.

"let me explain. Katya, the women who came over the other day, she came over last night. she was the women at my doorstep." I say and she nods, keeping silent. "she came over the other night because she told me that a little after we broke up, she found out that she was expecting." I say, mumbling the last part of my sentence but I know clearly that she heard me because her face falls.

"you're a father?" she asks and I nod. "austin, I don't- wow." she takes a deep breath and exhales lightly, leaving me with a turning stomach.

"I swear, I didn't know. I wouldn't have left her if I would've known. Aquila, she's beautiful." I gush at the thought of my daughter and Aquila runs a hand through her hair.

"you've met her?" she asks and I'm slightly afraid to answer her question but I do so anyway and I nod. "austin, how old is she?"

"she's two and her name is Ada." I say and she sighs lightly. a part of me knew she wasn't exactly ecstatic about the news but I also knew that she wouldn't hold a grudge. I, myself, was barely adjusting to the news itself.

"i don't know what exactly you want me to say." she shrugs and I shift in my spot beside her, turning to look at her and I reach for her hands, which she gladly let's me hold and I kiss her knuckles.

"nothing, i don't expect you to say anything. I just wanted to tell you, I wanted to be honest. I know it's a lot to handle but her mother is letting me part of her life and it's up to you if you still want to be part of mine." I say and her eyes soften at my words. she pulls a hand out of mine, only to run it through my curls and landing on my cheek.

her thumb caresses my cheek as she intensely looks at me. "I'm okay with it. just, I beg you to let me process this and we'll work something out. I eventually would like to meet her." she smiles and I swear, my heart stopped looking at her lips pull a smile.