A New Chapter

Chapter 16

I don't think I've ever be so afraid to walk down the stairs.

My mother has been making small talk with him for fifteen minutes while I hide away in my room; rehearsing a greeting to myself in the mirror for the forty third time.

A light tapping at my bedroom door sends my heart rate skyrocketing, please don't be him.

I take a deep breath in through my nose and work up the courage to open the door.

"Mommy?" I let out a sigh of relief when I see Amelia's mop of blonde hair.

I bend down to her level and straighten her collar. "Hey baby girl."

"Why is there a man in the kitchen with Granny."

"He's here to visit me and to meet you."

"Why?" She blinks up at me with her thick lashes.

"He's my dad." I give her a small smile and haul her into my arms.

"Is my daddy coming too?" I inhale sharply and close my eyes for a moment. "No sweetie, he's not." She lets out an 'oh' before we walk towards the chatter in the kitchen.

"Don't bring that up Nicholas. She's going through enough without you bringing up-"

I cut off my mom as I see the middle aged man sipping a coffee at the kitchen table; "Dad."

He quickly stands up and closes a button on his crisp grey suit jacket. "Ashley."

"I'll give you two a moment." Mom mutters and gently takes Amelia from my arms to retreat to the sitting room.

No one speaks for what feels like an eternity, no one even moves. We just stare into each others identical cobalt blue eyes, seeking answers for unasked questions.

"Ashely-" He begins at the same time I say; "Dad-" We let out similar strained laughs and bow our heads.

"You go first." I breathe out as I take a seat across from him at the table.

"I'm not sure what to say darling, it's been a long time." He scratches his chin and props his elbows onto the table interlocking his calloused fingers.

"Who's fault is that." I mumble and cross my arms.

"Ashley. You know things with your mother and I aren't amazing, I couldn't exactly come round for a visit." He states gruffly.

"You have a thousand dollar phone sitting in your suit pocket and I'm pretty sure it can make outgoing calls."

"I can say the same to you Ashley, it goes both ways young lady."

"I was busy raising my kid. Oh wait. So were you with your 20 year old new wife."

"That's enough." He clips.

"Mommy?" Amelia's nervous voice questions from behind me.

"Hey baby girl, it's okay. Nicholas and I were just having a little disagreement."

"Granny said to come say hi to the man."

I can visibly see my father stiffen at the table when Amelia refers to him. I give her a smile and pick her up.

"Okay Amelia. This is Nicholas, my dad; your grandfather."

"Hello." He greets in his monotone, business man voice.

"Hi." Amelia whispers, before hiding her head in the crook of my neck.

I give him a look, pushing him to make conversation with his only grandchild.

He lets out a forced cough. "So Amelia, what's your favourite colour."

"Pink." She responds immediately and without an ounce of hesitation.

"Wow! What a terrific colour. It would suit your vibrant green eyes I'm sure."

Amelia lets out a wild giggle before motioning to get down and skipping back to the sitting room.

"Thank you for making conversation with her."

"It's the least I could do Ashley. I'm sorry, I truly am sorry for all this time and I know that forgiveness isn't something I can be expecting anytime soon but I want to be here for you and for Amelia." He lets out a breath before awkwardly standing at the side of the table.

"You're right about the whole forgiveness thing, but I think it would be nice to have you back in my life and in Amelia's too."

"I agree darling. Thank you." He hesitates for a moment before pulling me into a strong hug.

~~

After earlier today with my dad he left for his hotel, but we organised to meet tomorrow for some father-daughter time before he left. I think he's about four years late, but I want to try and rekindle what's left of our relationship.

Right now, I'm outside Sophie's house working up the courage to knock on the door.

I raise my fist about to knock when it flies open and I'm met with a shellshocked Jake Harper.

"A-Ashley?" He stutters out and I take a moment to take in his disheveled attire and messy hair.

"Hey there Harper." I try to hold back a laugh but fail miserably and cackle loudly.

"I should- I should go." He stumbles over his words before running off towards his car.

"Jake- oh Ashley! Hey!" Sophie appears inside the door with similar messy hair.

"Hey Soph." I enthuse with a knowing smile.

"Oh shut up and get in here." She mutters before motioning for me to come in.

I follow her upstairs and watch her belly flop onto her freshly made bed.

"Is it safe to sit on this?" I ask with fake disgust.

"Shut up Merritt." She mumbles into her pillow. I let out a laugh and lay down beside her. She rolls over and mimics my position; looking at the picture covered ceiling full of memories throughout the years.

"So how long has that been going on?" I question with a smile evident in my voice.

"We haven't slept together yet, but we've done other stuff..." She trails off and I fake gag.

We both burst into hyena-like laughter before settling back into silence.

"I've missed this." She whispers. I reach over and hold her hand, no words need to be spoken for her to understand how much I've missed this too.

We made an unspoken agreement right then; to stick together from now on, because in the end when all is lost we'll have each other to go back to. So why not stick together through it all, hand in hand.

Authors Note:
Ashley's dad is posted above.
I hope you enjoyed and thank you guys for 450+ reads! :)