One Chance: a Ted Sweeran fanfic

Ch 32

Ed's POV

"Hey mate, will you come to dinner with Cara and I tonight? We have something we want to ask you," Harry's excited voice asked from the other end of the phone.

"Sure, where are we going?" I asked, a little bit groggy from the nap I had just woken up from.

"I made reservations at Vinci's for seven, you know that place downtown?" I winced, Taylor and I had used to go there all the time when we were dating.

"Yeah man, I'd love to, see you then." The phone clicked off as I hung up, still wondering how I would be able to go to a place so heavily connected to Taylor. I sat up in bed, nervously running my hand through my hair. I was beginning to feel a bit claustrophobic, even though my room was pretty large for only one person.

A one person flat, I was still not very used to that. I had picked an apartment that overlooked a small park, which was nice to go out and sit and strum my guitar in on days where the pain became too much to bear-that is, if I wasn't completely intoxicated yet.

I honestly had no idea what I was going to wear-I hadn't been to a nice restaurant or anywhere besides some shady bar for quite some time, and I had never been great at dressing myself. Taylor had always picked out my wardrobe. I sighed, it seemed like I hadn't done anything without my wife, and now I was lost trying to do the smallest things like dressing myself.

After debating between a suit and some dress pants, I decided on the suit. I had remembered the place to be really nice, and I didn't want to go underdressed, not that I cared but I could hear Taylor's voice in my head telling me to dress up for once.

It was only six by the time I was ready, so I decided to slip into one of the bars down the street to get some liquid courage, that would be the only way of having a possibility to make it through the night.

The bar was as seedy as always, and I looked extremely out of place in my tux. I sat down and ordered my usual while trying to ignore the confused stares of every one else.

There two men next to me talking in hushed tones over some vodka, and normally I wouldn't have paid any attention, but one name caught my interest: Abigail.

"Yes, I know but I don't know if we can hide her anymore, it's getting too risky, and what's in it for us anyway?" the man to my left asked.

"You know why we can't just throw her out, the boss will be on our backs about this, we are in far too deep to get out of this unscarred," the other man argued.

Now they had my full attention, but what if they weren't talking about the Abigail? I would have to stay longer to find out, but it was already 6:30 and the restaurant was at least twenty five minutes away. I was about to get up when I heard something else, something about another job.

"Yeah, the boss wants us to finish it, too bad she's in America,' the one to my back whined, slurring his words as he spoke.

I was about to get up for the second time, but then I decided to do something reckless even for me. I tapped the guy on the shoulder and asked him about Abigail.

"Sorry mate, but I couldn't help but overhear your conversation, Abigail is a close friend of mine, and I know her mother is worried sick that she...well, you know," I began, hoping that they were much dumber or more wasted than they probably were.

They both became extremely nervous, and I could see them both tense up as if preparing to run.

The one farthest from me squinted his eyes in suspicion, but the other one began offering up information, obviously intoxicated. "Yeah, she's staying with us, we could give you her number-oomph" the guy wheezed as he was punched in the gut by the other guy.

"Shut, up, do you want to get us killed?" the man warned, then turning to me threw the fakest smile, and lied, "We don't know who you are talking about, but we have to go now, right Archie?" he basically shouted to Archie as he pulled him up from his stool, instigating a loud moan from his partner.

They hastily made their way to the exit, but I grabbed the sober guy's arm, trying to stop him. That was obviously a big mistake as he turned around and punched me square in the jaw. I was thrown back into a table, but I got up almost immediately. Unfortunately it wasn't fast enough as they were no where in sight by the time I got out of the bar.

Seeing that they obviously weren't going to be found, I begrudgingly hobbled back into the bar and paid the bartender. Before leaving, I swiped one of the guys' used napkins, hoping there would be some DNA on there to use to track down the pair that could potentially lead me to Abigail.

I glanced down at my watch, it was now 6:50 and I had a major head ache. I groaned, wondering how I had managed to screw this up too, then hailed a cab. I was at the restaurant fifteen minutes late, and I could see Harry and Cara from the window. As I walked in, neither of them noticed me as they were too enrapt in each other. Harry was whispering things to Cara as she playfully swatted his hand from her thigh, looking embarrassed of whatever he was saying in public, but at the same time clearly enjoying it. Only when I sat down did they notice me, and Cara quickly sat up in her chair to say hi.

"Hello Ed, so nice to see you, but...oh, what happened to your face, it's bruised!" she asked clearly concerned.

I touched the tender spot lightly then shrugged, "It was nothing, so what did you want to tell me?" I asked Harry who was glowing more than usual. He appeared to be in some weird state of excited nervousness and I was to curious to put it off until later.

He looked at Cara and nodded, urging her to tell me. She giggled then began, "So Harry and I decided to take our relationship a little further," noticing my confused expression she continued on, "and, well we're having a baby!" she squealed as Harry kissed her. 

The news hit me like a bullet. Cara, pregnant? Of course I was happy for her, but I had never imagined them actually having a kid. I mean, I had almost fallen out of my chair when Harry had told me he was going to be with only one woman, but now this. Commitment wasn't exactly Harry's forte, and I could only imagine how he would be as a father.

Yes, father Ed, something you were so close to being. I thought, and I choked. Harry, not me, would be experiencing fatherhood first: all the sacrifices, failures, and joys that would come with it. I was immediately saddened as I thought of my daughter, Molly, who had been born at only four months. I had held that small bump in my arms, and had known from the moment she had wrapped her tiny fingers around me that she was my one and only. But God must have needed Molly, because she had been taken from us a few hours after she was born, and I was still trying to figure out why. This had been the final blow in Taylor and my marriage, and this time there was nothing we could do to stay together. I missed her like hell every day, and though we weren't divorced, I still hadn't spoken to her in a few months, and I was going insane.

"Ed have you been listening?" Cara asked, obviously wondering if I had been checked out the whole time.

"Yeah, huh, um not really, sorry, my minds just been in other places recently," I admitted.

Her features softened, and she reached across the table to hold my hand and give it a reassuring squeeze. "Ed, I know this must be hard for you, but I'm sure that you and Taylor will work it out."

I nodded, not wanting to go any further with the conversation.

"Ed, we know this is a little early, but we would love it if you would be the godfather of our child," Cara continued. I sucked in my breath, me? I would have a part in their child's life?

I slowly nodded, then smiled as Cara and Harry both kissed again.

"So, one question, who's going to be the godmother?" I asked, wondering who I would be sharing this privilege with.

Cara pulled herself from Harry's lips with a promise for more later, and then looked behind me. "Actually, here she is now."

Suddenly I heard footsteps and a voice greeted me. "Hi Ed."

I turned around, not trusting my ears. It was Taylor.