The Halstead Freckles - [Linstead] ✓

3. - You Can Drag Me Through Hell If It Meant I Could Hold Your Hand

They walked up the stairs in silence, Jay wondering if this little kid was who he thought he was. Suddenly, he felt something tugging on his jeans. He looked down and he saw the little boy holding onto him.

"My name is Oli. What's your name?" he asked politely with a cute smile.

"Oh. Um. I'm Jay." he smiled back and ruffled his hair.

"Are you friends with mommy?"

"Yeah, I am." he smiled and looked at Erin. She smiled back. At that moment, it felt like those years apart never happened.

"Look, Jay, this is where me and mommy live!" he said when they reached their apartment number 18.

When Erin unlocked the door and let them all in, Oli was the first one to take his shoes off and then he ran down the small hall, towards the kitchen.

"Mommy, come on. You said we'll make a cake."

"I'm coming, I'm coming." she chuckled.

"What's the occasion?" Jay asked. He assumed it was something pretty important since Oli was so excited.

"It's my birthday! I am this old now." Oli said proudly and showed him four fingers, just like he did this morning.

"Wow, that's big. Happy birthday." Jay smiled down to him. "So I guess we'll talk later?" he turned to Erin.

"I'm so sorry but I promised him and..." she started but was interrupted by him.

"I've got an idea," he lowered down to Oli's level, "What if I take you to the mall and you can pick your birthday present, since I haven't brought anything for you. And your mommy can make the cake and when we're back, we can eat it together." he smiled to Oli. He liked kids and he'd love to make him happy and take the stress off Erin for a while.

"So that means I get a present from mommy and a present from you?" Oli said. He couldn't believe it.

"Sounds good to me." Erin said and smiled at her son's excitement. She was really happy that Oli wasn't too shy around new people. And she was really happy that Jay understood this was Oli's day and that their talk could wait. But she also knew that he deserved to know.

* * * *

"So, what kind of stuff do you like?" Jay asked as they parked Erin's car and walked across the parking lot towards the mall.

"Um, I really like books. We read them every night with mommy. And I like plush animals. And I really really like Nemo!" he smiled to Jay.

"Okay. I'm sure we'll find something for you." he chuckled.

They found a huge toy store and Oli was so amazed by everything that he couldn't pick only one thing. He was running from shelf to shelf to take everything in.

Jay was mostly thinking about the possibilities that Oli was his kid, so he did a little math. When was the last time he and Erin were together? He couldn't exactly remember, but he knew that he walked out on her on March 17th. He knew because that was the day he disappointed himself and her, and hurt both of them as well. That day was his biggest mistake. Oli's birthday was on November 18th, so tehnically, Oli could be his. Except... He didn't want to think about it, but it was a possibility, that's for sure. Erin could've been with someone else after he left. It didn't sound like Erin at all, but you never know.

They ended up walking out the store, Jay with a Peter Pan book in his hands, Oli carrying a big plush whale shark Destiny from Finding Dory, that was almost bigger than he was. It looked kinda funny.

"Let me help you with that." Jay chuckled and Oli handed the toy to him.

"I just really really love it. Thank you." he smiled thankfully.