THE CHASE - Connor x OC (I Am Sequel)

Chapter 35

I saw an airport taxi pull up and nearly started crying from joy. The rain was still pouring but it was substantially warmer outside now, as night had turned to morning. A gray umbrella stuck out of the door, and I could see a hand fumbling with it.

Gavin's boot hit the ground and he got out of the car, taking a car seat with him. Following behind him was Nick, holding his own car seat. The babies were quiet, not crying at all, and Nick was nervously biting his nail. He looks...not tired at all. Refreshed, actually.

Nick closed the door behind him, and then saw me. Quick eye contact, and then a big smile. He ran over to me.

"Charlotte!" He shouted. "Oh my God! Come here! Wait...ew. Don't."

I had stood up and looked at myself up and down. Right, I was soaking wet and dirty from the puddles being tossed up at me.

"Oh...sorry. Are those the twins?" I asked, eying both baby carriers.

"Yes!" One of them shouted.

"They know the word twin," Gavin began.

"Yes!" The other boy yelled.

"They'll shout that every time you say it," Gavin shrugged.

"Hamza," Nick said lifting his baby carrier.

"Ahmed," Gavin said lifting his own.

"Yes!" Hamza yelled from his carrier.

"They know their names too...I think their favorite word is yes," Nick shrugged. "Anyway, let's get them inside so they can meet you," Nick nodded.

I followed behind them as Nick unlocked his door. Upon walking inside, I realized just how baby proofed his house is. Suddenly, everything breakable was outside of reach. Nothing was climbable. Even baby locks had been placed. Nick really got to work, huh?

He set down the carrier and unstrapped Hamza who immediately came running towards me.

"Ew! Ew! No!" Nick screamed chasing him down before he could touch me. Meanwhile, Gavin calmly took Ahmed out of the carrier, and was immediately able to pick him up. Hamza has began to run laps around my legs. Okay, so maybe Nick was better at the whole baby proofing thing.

"Alright," Nick said catching him finally. He picked him up and stared at him. "Don't do that, dude."

"Okay," Hamza answered.

"You pinkie promise you won't?" Nick asked.

"No."

"Oh...well...please? Please don't do that again," Nick whispered, making solid eye contact with Hamza. It was funny to watch Nick parent, because essentially, he treats them like tiny adults. Which, sure, they are, but still...

"Anyway...Hamza! Ahmed! This is your aunt. Aunt Charlotte," Nick nodded.

"Charlie," Ahmed nodded.

"Charlotte," Nick said.

"Charlie," Hamza copied.

"Charlie...Charlie's nice. It's the name I imagined when retiring in the Rockies, but it's good nonetheless," I nodded. Nick smiled.

"Hey, Gavin. I know I said I wouldn't do this but...extenuating circumstances have arisen. Can you take the boys upstairs and watch them for a minute?" Nick asked turning towards him.

"Oh. Yeah. Fix whatever that is," Gavin said, gesturing to my dirty clothes.

"Thanks, babe," Nick smiled, handing over Hamza. Gavin carried the two boys (one in each arm) up the stairs.

"So! Who wants to learn about the internet?" Gavin asked.

"No!" Nick called after them.

"Oh, please. We're going to watch toy unboxing and play with legos," Gavin called back. A door slammed and we quickly heard the noise of some child YouTuber's intro.

Nick sat down on the sofa and put a plastic bag over the other seat before patting it down for me to sit.

"Thanks," I mumbled.

"Sorry, but you're gross," Nick shrugged. "Now, what did you do?"

"First...tell me about the boys," I smiled.

"You did something terrible, didn't you?" Nick asked.

"No, no. Just interested," I nodded. Nick looked on with suspicious eyes.

"I started up a college fund...and God. I did not realize the financial impact of twins. Two colleges. Two weddings. Two proms. Twice as many grandkids. If they have them, that is. No pressure," Nick shrugged.

"I meant what you've gotten to know about them, but...sure. That is tough," I sighed.

"Oh. Well, Hamza? He's brilliant. The kid won't let you on but he's reading. Yeah. Fucking reading. He asked us to hand him his book on the way here, and he read it to us. It was wild," Nick said, his eyes glowing with happiness. "And Ahmed? Well, he hangs onto every word his brother says. Everything. And everything we say. You can tell. You can tell he's a real good listener."

"Wow," I smiled. You could see Nick glowing as he talked about his boys. This look in his eyes like 'Yeah. Those are my kids.' Maybe...having kids is worth it, for moments like that anyway. For looking at them and thinking 'I am helping them grow.'

"But you. About you. What have you been doing, because you look like hell," Nick asked.

"I uh...I did something really stupid," I nodded.

"How stupid? What's the scale?"

"Well if the scale ends at 'I'm getting a divorce' then I'm way out there," I sighed.

Nick stared on, into my eyes. "Wait, what? Connor loves you so much, and you love him. What are you on about?"

"I ruined it. It was never real anyway, but I ruined it," I explained, my eyes tearing up.

"What the fuck are you talking about, Bolts? You're not really Samantha, are you?" Nick asked backing away.

"No. Of course not. I'm Charlotte, through and through. I know the secret hot chocolate recipe and everything," I nodded.

"Oh," Nick sighed, moving closer. "Stop being cryptic then. What the hell happened?"

"I had an affair," I blurted out.

Nick just stared, dead ahead. Into my eyes. I began to bawl uncontrollably again, and Nick stood up. He ran upstairs and I heard two doors close. He came back down with a robe.

"Get yourself cleaned up, Bolts," he said, throwing it at me.