The Path to Love

Chapter 65 - Hunter's POV

"That could have gone better," I said to Xavier, staring at his now disconnected phone.

"You're just making things harder for the both of you. She is trying to train to take over Dawson Enterprises, she is eight months pregnant, and now you're trying to start calling her again. If you want to hear her voice so much, why not call her from your phone?" Xavier replied in a duh tone.

"What do you mean, she's training to take over Dawson Enterprises?"

"Why do you think she doesn't live here anymore? She is doing something with her life, Hunter. She wants her daughter to have a strong and independent woman to look up to. She is doing what she thinks is best for your daughter."

"I told you to tell her I would send money," I whispered.

"She doesn't want your money, Hunter. She wants you, don't you realize that? You have no idea how many nights I heard her cry herself to sleep or how I watched her force herself to eat because she has a child growing inside of her. You didn't just break her heart, you shattered it. The only difference is, she doesn't have anyone beside herself to help her pick up the pieces. She lost her parents, she lost you, I'm your best friend, and your dad is the one training her. She has had to push all of her pain aside because she isn't able to deal with it all by herself and she has an unborn daughter to care for. At least you don't have anything major to worry about, except for mending your ego."

"What do you mean, mending my ego?" I replied, glaring daggers at him.

"You don't have anything to do anymore, Hunter! You fled from being a boyfriend, you fled from being a father, and you fled from the people that were supposed to be your extended family for life," he replied, referring to the gang. "You leave, Hunter. You leave when things get tough. I understand why, I do. Your parents were never there for you, the way you needed them to be, but don't take this out on Sam and your daughter. Be a better parent than your parents, step up and be there for your daughter. Be there for Sam."

"I can't" I whispered, ashamed. "I don't know how to be what she wants me to be. I want her to move on," I lied. "She deserves someone better than me."

"What about your child together, Hunter? Are you just going to forget the existence of your daughter?"

"I couldn't if I tried," I flinched at the way he was looking at me. "My daughter means so much to me, sometimes I think too much. I left for the safety of her. I know I made some wrong choices in the past, but it isn't their job to pay for them. I wasn't going to keep them caught up in this gang shit forever. I love them so much, her and Sam. Which is why I am making the choice to move away, I'm protecting them."

"Hunter, no one is a perfect parent. Being a parent is a learning experience for everyone. I know you think you are doing this to protect them, but did you really leave because you thought you were protecting them or because you thought you would turn out to be the kind of parent your parents are?"

He attacked all the walls I built up around me, I gasped as my heart started to hurt, I could physically feel the pain of my broken heart. It wasn't a pleasant feeling. "I didn't want any of this to happen the way it did, Xav. I'm a mess. My life is a mess. I have managed to distract myself by focusing all my time and energy into planning for the charity fundraiser we have coming up in less than two weeks."

"Why do you keep putting the two of you through so much pain? Why don't you just end it for the both of you and go back to her?"

"I can't! She deserves someone better! I fooled around with so many girls since high school began. I've never had a stable relationship. My parents weren't around to teach me how to treat someone properly and now there is a kid in the picture who is innocent and pure. What if I tarnish her? What if I ruin her and make her hate me? It's better to have my daughter hate me because I wasn't there than to have her hate me as a person because I'm her father. I don't know how to be the man they need me to be." I replied, staring down at the floor in horror as I finally realized the truth.

"Hunter, you're a good person. You know more than the average teenager because you have been through so much. You survived your parents not being around, a car accident, a coma, amnesia, a gang, someone wanting to kill you and someone wanting to kill the person you're in love with. You didn't survive all that, just to become a heartless CEO." I stared at him. How did he know that? "I've kept up in the news about you," he replied.

"I survived all of that because I didn't have a choice. I know what it's like to feel like you're going to die. I want to protect them from that."

"You say you wouldn't be a good father, but your instincts have already kicked in. You've been telling me since you left in June that you left because you needed to keep them safe. That's what a father is supposed to do, Hunter. A father is supposed to keep their children safe, no matter the cost. That's what your doing now. You will be a good father; you just have to realize that yourself. And once you do, you won't be able to stay away from Samantha. I just hope you realize it before it's too late."

"You speak about all this, like you know from experience." I said to him.

I watched him as his face darkened, but then he quickly put on a poker face. "There is no way I would have a kid. I am in a gang; the kid would be killed by an enemy gang. I'm not going to put myself through that."

"Sam would be a better parent than me, any day. Besides, she'll be back here in a year or something, when her training is over, and I'll be long gone by then. I leave in a few weeks. I have to show the CEO that is replacing me everything I've done while I was here and then once I am done all that and that CEO is ready to take over, I'm out of here." I looked at Xavier with a kind of sadness I didn't know I could feel. I stood up and made my way towards the door, before I walked out, I turned back to look at him. "Besides, I never stay in one place long enough for a relationship anymore, I haven't had a home in the last 3 months. I've been everywhere and all over, never staying in one place for long anymore, and Sam doesn't deserve that." I gave him a sad smile and turned around and walked out of the gang headquarters, hopefully for the last time.
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Author's Note:

Okay! Intense chapter. I love showing the vulnerability side of Hunter, he loves Sam and his unborn daughter so much. I don't even think he realizes the depth of the love he feels for them.

On another note, what would you think about a story on Xavier? I've been hinting at some stuff about Xavier's life and I have quite a few ideas about what landed Xavier to where he is at now. Let me know what you think!