Time Ahead

chapter thirty-four

Jade's POV:

I rifle through the clothes I brought. Unsure of what to wear for this occasion I guess you could call it. I finally settle on a sundress and some flats. I already had light makeup on and my hair curled. "Girls are you ready?" I call out to them. They run in with their matching outfits. Which are blue rompers and white converse. They both have their hair in matching french braids. "Yes," they both say in unison making them giggle. "Okay, go put your shoes on," I say laughing slightly at them. I put Kaiden in his stroller and meet the girls out by the door. Jesy, Leigh, and Perrie each wished me good luck and made me promise to call them if anything went south. We walked down the street from the hotel where there was a small restaurant. It's not the nicest place, but it has a playground where the girls can go while we talk.

I go through the doors and quickly scan the room. Jed wasn't here yet. I reluctantly grabbed a table and awaited his arrival. We were ten minutes early because the hotel was next to the restaurant, so we didn't have to wait for a car. I fiddle nervously with my figures while the twins spoke among themselves. "When is Daddy going to be here?" Jolie asked. "I'm not sure babe, soon though," I say. The twins were very excited when I told them they were going to see him today. They haven't seen him in about a year so I can't imagine what they're feeling.

I saw a familiar face walk through the doors and my stomach dropped. He smiled when he spotted us and started walking over to us, which made my heart practically jump out of my chest. "Daddy!" both of the twins yelled as they ran over to him. He embraced them in a huge hug that lasted for at least a minute. "I've missed you girls," he said. "I missed you too," Jolie says. He walks them back over to the table. The girls slide into the booth and Jed and I make eye contact for the first time in a year. "Hi, he says. I stand up with Kaiden in my arms, unsure of what to say. His eyes widen when he sees him. "This is Kaiden," I say handing him to Jed. "Wow," he says, speechless. "I have a son," he says. "How old is he?" he asks. "Almost three months," I say. "He's beautiful," he says, with a few tears. Jed caught up with the girls while all of us ate.

"Girls, why don't you go play on the playground?" I tell them. "Okay," Jaz says, getting out of the booth with Jolie following. The playground was pretty empty, so I didn't have to worry about older kids hurting them. "So," I say, still trying to find the right words. "I'm sorry for everything," he says suddenly. I looked at him in disbelief. "Really, I am," he says. "How do I know you're not just saying that," I say. "I never intended to hurt you. I truly apologize for pushing you, for cheating on you, and for getting you pregnant," he says. I pause for a second. "You didn't get me pregnant on purpose did you?" I ask him. "No, I just said that because I was a angry that I probably wouldn't ever meet it," He said, looking down at Kaiden, who was asleep peacefully. "I took anger management classes, so I know how to better deal with that," he says. "But, I don't know if I can forgive you for cheating on me," I say, feeling hot tears form. "I kind of owe you an explanation. The girl who was my "girlfriend" really wasn't. She had some dirt on me from high school, and was going to use it against me if I didn't break my marriage off," he explains. "What kind of dirt?" I ask, confused as to what he's referring to. "That's for a different day. Look, I know it's no excuse for what I did, but I hope you can eat least see it from my point of view," he says.

I think, long hard about everything he said the remainder of the time we were there. Kaiden started to get fussy, so the girls said their goodbyes and we went back to the hotel. I honestly don't know what to feel. I still stand on my side that he really hurt me and you go back, but I also understand his side and I could really use the help with the kids. Still in deep thought, we enter our hotel room. "So, what happened?" Perrie asked as soon as we walked through the door. "Surprisingly well, I found out more to what happened and he's been taking anger management classes," I said. "You can't just forgive him so easily for what he did though," Leigh says. "Of course not, but it's a slow process. It's just that the girls love him so much and he was so good with Kaiden, and for a minute our family felt whole again," I say, feeling the tears build back up. We did a group hug and only broke away when the kids enter the room. "When can we see Daddy again?" Jolie asks. I pick her up and put her in my lap. "I'm not sure babe, hopefully soon," I say, planting a kiss on her forehead. Jesy hugged me one more time before walking back into her room. "I'm happy for you," she whispers and then asks away. I smile, looking at Jolie in my lap, and giving her a long cuddle.