The Last Goodbye (DISCONTINUED)

08

When I went to wake Aiden up the next morning, he was feeling way better than before. I left him to get dressed for school as I got ready for the day myself. I dressed in a basic tee and some ripped jeans before pulling part of my hair back to get half of it up and out of my face.

As I was working on some light makeup, I heard Marco speak from behind me. "I've got a meeting tonight, so I'll be home a little bit late," he informed me as he straightened his tie. I gave him a slight nod before I put on some mascara.

"That's fine. Luckily today will be a short day for me so I can get Aiden from school," I put the wand back in its tube then turned to give Marco a quick kiss before he left for work. As he stepped out the door, Aiden walked in.

"Mom, I'm ready!' he cheered with a new found energy.

I giggled at the bouncing child, "Okay, I'll meet you downstairs in a minute. Go put your shoes on." He gave me a nod before sprinting down the stairs. I shook my head though I know he couldn't see. I grabbed my phone from my nightstand once I was finished and made my way down the stairs.

I dropped him off at school on my way to work. I ended up arriving at the same time as Grace today, though I noticed she was alone. It wasn't until we were in the studio that I brought it up.

"No Harry today?" I asked as I was setting up to start where we left off.

"Oh he'll be by later, said he had some business to take care of first," she shrugged. I nodded, getting back to what I was doing. "You know, I know about the history between you two," she said after a moment.

I was a little taken back by the comment. I turned around in my chair to look at her, "That's not why I asked."

"Oh, I know. I'd just thought I'd let you know that I know. Harry told me a few nights ago and I felt like I needed to address the elephant in the room," she smiled.

"Um, okay," I said slowly. "So, do you want to start with some vocals today?" I made the effort to change the subject. She agreed, already forgetting about the conversation as she headed into the recording booth.

We were more than halfway through a song when Harry showed up as Grace had said. He was dressed more in a more business casual look today instead of his usual hoodie and jeans. Grace stopped singing, so I cut the track.

She quickly took her headphones off and ran out to wrap her arms around his neck. "Hey babe," she giggled. She was more handsy as if trying to make it known that he was hers as if I cared. I just shrugged it off and edited the bits that we just finished.

When she was done with her greeting, she went back into the studio to continue where she left off. For the first time since he started coming to these sessions, Harry took a seat next to me at the mixing station. I only glanced over briefly before returning my attention to what Grace was singing.
"Is Aiden doing better today?" he asked. When I removed one of my headphones to hear him better, he added on, "It's just that I noticed he wasn't here with you today."

"Yeah he's doing great now," I smiled remembering how energetic he was this morning.

"That's good," he nodded. "He seems like a good kid," he mumbled.

I let out a little laugh, "A handful is more like it, but yeah he's great." He seemed lost in thought for a moment.

"Is it hard? Raising a kid?"

"At first, since I was finishing school and my internship when he was born, but Marco's been a great help."

"Wait," he paused for a second, "you were still in school when he was born?" I realized that I might have just opened a door that I didn't mean to. I said too much and now I'm gonna have to explain this now. What have I done?

Before I could say anything, Grace's voice rang through my headset, "How did that sound?"

I let out a sigh of relief, "Great. Now we can start working on harmonies and background vocals." I smiled as she gave me a thumb up. She stepped out of the booth and plopped herself down between us.

We discussed the options for any background vocals she would want or that would fit. Then we worked out the details on finding the right people to do it. We had planned a day to do auditions for background vocal artists when I noticed the time.

"Now that that is sorted, I think now would be a good time to call it a day." I looked at my watch to make sure I wouldn't be late to pick up Aiden.

"Awesome!" Grace cheered. She and Harry left walking hand in hand. "Have a nice day," she called out as she stepped out of the door.

I waved in her direction, "You too." I notice Harry glance back at me one last time before closing the door behind him. While Grace and I were working, I noticed Harry was deep in thought. My best guess is that he was pondering over my words and that worried me.

Before I got too lost in my own thoughts, I cleaned up the studio and left for the day. I made my way towards Aiden's school to pick him up since Marco wasn't going to be able to today. After waiting in the pickup lane for a good five minutes, I was finally able to get Aiden situated in the car and began our journey home. "How was school bud?" I asked the five-year-old.

"It was fun! We drew pictures today of our family. Wanna see it?"

"When we get home sweetie." I saw him briefly nod in my rearview mirror. He stayed silent for a little while after that.

"Mommy?" Aiden called out to me.

"Yes?"

"Where's my dad?" That question really threw me for a loop. I looked back at him again as I pulled into the driveway.

"Uh," I was at a lost for words. I didn't want to lie to him, but I don't think that I'm ready to tell him the truth, especially after yesterday. "I'm not sure bud." I helped him out of his booster seat and followed him to the door. "Why do you ask?"

"Well, all the other kids had their dads on their pictures and I didn't." A small pout formed on his lips as he crossed his arms.

I crouched down to his level, "Well," I sighed, "you'll always have me and Marco's here too." I gave him a smile and he soon returned it and gave me a hug. I placed a peck on his forehead before we headed in for the night.

(A/N)

So it's been a minute. This chapter has been a long time coming, but here it is. Hopefully, I can get back into writing this again because I'm excited for what's to come. The next chapter will be a continuation of this one, but this part alone was already on the verge of being four pages long on docs, so I've decided to split them up.

Let me know what you think about this chapter. What do you think is to come? 🤔🧐