No Filter

Chapter XXXIX (39)

Ally's POV

Bear is such a sweet child. And he's so innocent too. He misses his mother, no doubt. And he doesn't feel much with his father. I wonder why.

It must be difficult for him to see his mother and father in different years. Always trading him off. I wonder what he's going through. He's shy and doesn't really speak. It took me five hours before I got him to say something. After I took him inside, I gave him a bowl of mint chocolate chip ice cream, and he devoured the treat in half an hour.

I spent my day with him, introducing myself and what I was going to teach him. He sat in his small desk. A pencil and piece of paper rested on his desk. I use a pointer and point at the sign listing the three rules I have in the classroom. "Okay, first rule is to be respectful of others," I begin. "Being respectful helps you gain respect. Number two, listen. Listening helps you understand something, and if you don't understand, raise your hand I will answer it if I can. And number three, be eager to learn. Bear, you might not like school, but be curious when it comes to learning. What you learn might not always apply to the real world, but what we cover daily will be. You got that?" Bear nods his head while playing with his pencil.

I continue to talk about expectations and do's and don't's. In the next hour, I've began teaching him some math, but I do wish Liam would provide books like I insisted. Bear could do so much more.

Pssst!

I turn around and see Liam standing in the doorway. "Yes, Mr. Payne?" I ask.

Liam speaks, "May I have a word with you?"

I nod my head. Liam walks out of the room. I look at Bear and told him that I will be right back. He nods his head obediently. I exit the room and stood in front of Liam, a few feet away from the door. I cross my arms and said, "What is important that you wanted to disrupt this time?"

"I need you to finish early," he says. "I want to take the two of you out to play at the park."

I crease my brows. "This is his first day of school, and you want to take him out," I rebuttal.

He shakes his head. "That's not what I meant. I mean that he should get some exercise. Because kids need to be fit and healthy."

I nod my head. "Okay. I'll finish up his math, but I seriously need the books."

"I'll think about it," he says.

I turn away and walk back into the room. Bear was writing on his piece of paper, jotting down the math problems on the board. "Okay," I said. He lifts his eyes and smiles. "Bear, we are going to the park in a little bit, so do you have any questions before we go?"

He nods his head. "Did you talk to my dad?"

I smile and reply, "Yes, I did. He's going to take us to the park."

"Are you my dad's girlfriend?"

My mouth drops a little. I shake my head and laugh at the thought. "No. Why would you say that?"

He shrugs. "My mom said that my dad has a girl, and she was kind and beautiful and smart. You are pretty and nice. And very smart."

I chuckle a little. "I am very flatter, but your dad and I are not dating."

"You two seem close though," he points out, and I was a little surprised. "And you two seem to be closer. What happened?"

"You are a very smart kid," I said. I nod my head. "Yes, your father and I were close when we were younger. We were best friends as he would always say. But I moved away. We haven't spoken to each other until recently."

"Was my dad a good guy back then?" he asks.

I crease my brows, wondering why he would say that. I mean, I acknowledge that Liam is more strict and has a shorter temper now, but he seemed to be almost the same - in a way. "Why would you ask that?"

He hesitates to answer, and before he finds the courage to, a knock was heard at the door. His eyes dart there, and soon, so did mine. Liam peeked his head in and asks, "Are you ready?"

I nod my head. "Y-yes." I turn to Bear. I hold out my hand for him. Bear stands up from his seat and walks around his desk to hold my hand. I lead him out the room, and we follow Liam out of the house. We walk to his car. Liam sat behind the wheels, and I stayed in the back with Bear.

In a couple of minutes, we arrive in the park. I help Bear step out of the car and lead him to the playground with the other children. Liam follows behind us. Once we reach the swing set, Bear releases my hand and joins the kids. I take a seat on the bench and watch him play. Liam sits next to me, watching him too.

I chuckle as I replay Bear's assumption of my role in his father's life. His girlfriend. No. I would never be. Maybe I did consider it once, but that was a long time ago.

"What?" Liam asks.

I turn to him, and our eyes meet. "What?" I reiterate.

"You were laughing," he says, trying to hide his own smile.

I purse my lips and answer, "Just before we left, Bear asked me if I was your girlfriend," his eyes widen a little, "but I told him that I wasn't. He was smart enough to figure out that were close friends. Your child is very observant and bright for his age."

"Really?" Liam says, surprised. "What else did he ask?"

I remember him asking if Liam was a good guy, but I shake my head. Liam was a good guy and is still a good guy. I wonder why Bear would ask that. "No. That was it," I answer. He gave me a skeptical look, but I change the subject before he could speculate anything. "Um, I'm sorry about you and Cheryl. Can I ask what happened?"

His brows furrow, and he remarks, "It happened a long time ago. And what's ever in the past shouldn't be spoken about anymore."

"Was it really that bad?" I ask.

He remains silent. His expression looked like he was going down memory lane. He clears his throat after a while. "There are sides to every story, and my side was the least popular out of Cheryl's and mine."

"I can listen," I said.

He creases his brows, intrigued by my curiosity and willingness. He opens his mouth as if to tell me, but he ended up saying, "You're not my therapist. You're not even a therapist."

I shake my head, agreeing with him. "No, but I am a friend that listens. If there's anything that you want to talk about, I am here."

He turns away and looks at the playground. I turn as well and see Bear playing on the sand, digging with his hands and using his shoe as a shovel. I chuckle at the messy but adorable sight. And for a slight second, I heard Liam chuckling too. It gave me chills of nostalgia. It was great.