Love Sick Trio

Rose Tattoo - 2

(Dome's POV)

I was sat in a coffee shop trying to relax after a tough gym session with Pavel, I was so tired that I didn't even order yet but then someone set a glass of water on my table.

"Miss, I didn't order yet." I inform the waitress that she must have the wrong table but then she smiles at me.

"Dome I've known you how long now 23 years, I know we haven't seen each other since high school but I'd like to think I still know my best friend pretty well." The red haired girl laughed then it hit me.

"Crimson?" I looked her up and down.

I knew she was a badass back in high school just by the way she acted but now she looked the part, she was still beautiful but her hair was dyed read, a scar was visable on the right side of her upper lip and a rose tattoo threatened to peak out of her long sleeves.

"Yeah, it's me you dummy." Crimson ruffled my hair.

"How annoying did you have to be so that the university had to give you your degree just to get rid of you?" Crimson teased.

"Of course I'm only teasing you, look at where my lack of intelect lead me? I ended up here, right where I started, except now I have a student lone to pay off and a mouth to feed." Crimson sighed.

"Crimson!" A lady I knew to be Crimson's mother, Mrs Chalong Li, bursts through the door of the coffee shop in her old ragged clothes coverd in an aray of stains and falling apart at the seams holding a baby that can't be older than a few weeks old in a tired old blanket.

"Take back your wretched little boy!" Mrs Chalong Li bundled him up in Crimson's arms.

"Mum, I'm working, can't you keep him a little longer? I clock off in an hour." Crimson begged her Mrs Chalong Li.

"No!" Mrs Chalong Li stood her ground.

"Mum please you're making a scene, I could be fired for this, I have no one to watch him and the coffee shop is no place for Danai." Crimson was almost in tears.

I've never seen her cry before, she's always been so tough and strong, it left me wondering what happened to her since high school that was so bad it broke the Crimson I knew and loved.

"Give him here." Maybe I'm going crazy or maybe it's the chance that what happened the night of our last high school reunion wasn't a dream and I really took Crimson back to my place when we were drunk out of our minds that led me to do what I did.

"Are you sure?" Crimson questioned.

"Of course I am, why wouldn't I want to take care of such a cutie?" I beamed.

"It's just, you look so tired, you should rest." Crimson worried.

"No arguments, I'll take him for a walk in this nice whether to try and settle him and I'll come back at the end of your shift." I told Crimson.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you, you are the best." Crimson kissed my cheek

"Let me just go grab his stuff from the car. Do you mind holding Danai for a second?" Crimson checked.

"Of course, get what you need." I took potential my son from Crimson and waited for her as she un loded the beaten up, old Volkswagen Golf Mk4, the same car they've had for the past 23 years.

"I can't stand to look at you with Danai, acting like a happy family, Danai may be a wretched little boy but he's my grandson and it makes me sick to see him with you. You got my little girl pregnant, you ruined her life and you disappeared, you never gave her a single penny to raise your son and now you show up again and act like nothing happened." Mrs Chalong Li huffed at me whilst Crimson struggled outside.

"Is that what Crimson told you? Because what I remember of that night is making love to the girl I always loved but never thought I deserved then waking up alone after she left me. If I knew what Crimson was going through you could bet your last baht that I would have reached out to support her, Hell I would have even put a ring on it." I stood up for myself, something Crimson had taught me.

Back in high school I used to get bullied a lot but Crimson always stood up for me, I remember this one time she broke a kids nose because they spat in my lunch, Crimson also made the bully buy me a new lunch by dragging them by the ear before letting them go to the nurse's office.

Crimson never got a disciplinary because the teachers all knew about her home situation, instead she always got counciling which never worked to improve her behaviour.

I found myself laughing to myself as I thought of how badass and amazing Crimson is, she's even a great mum, I just wish I could have been there for her sooner.

It's usually the ones that look the toughest on the outside that are most broken on the inside, they act tough to cover up just how broken they are.

"Okay, I'm back, you can just lie Danai down in the pram, there are diapers, fresh clothes, teathing gell, teathing ring, his teddy, his comertor and two bottles in the dipper bag." Crimson listed.

"I think I got it." I reassure whilst gently placing my son in the stroller.

"We need to talk after your shift." I looked Crimson dead in the eye.

"Sure, I'll have to do overtime now to cover the time I was unproductive, are you still okay to watch Danai?" Crimson worried.

"Of course I am, we need some bonding time to compensate for lost time." I smile and leave the coffee shop.

I make my way down the road towards a baby shop to buy a new blanket and clothes for my son.

"Hello, welcome." A cheerful employee welcomed me to the shop.

"Awe such a beautiful baby boy, he has your eyes." The lady smiled down at Danai.

"How old is he?" I tried to make the calculations as fast as I could so I didn't look like i abducted my own son.

"2 weeks." I sighed.

"It's hard to believe, isn't it? They grow up so fast. What are you looking for today." The lady starts rambling.

"Um a new blanket and some new clothes." I panicked.

"Of course but here's a little word of advise let the baby keep the one he has until you can give this to mum. Her sent is all over that blanket which is probably why he's staying so calm for you." The lady advised as she walked me over to the blankets.

There was so many to chose from that I got confused in the end I just picked a simple knitted grey blanket and a dungarees and baby grow set with little boats on the dungarees.

After the awkward transaction was done I made my way towards Pavel's house because it was getting a little to warm for Danai to be outside.

"Wow bro, did you kidnap a baby?" Pavel questioned.

"I think you're gonna want to sit down for this." I instructed.

"What's going on?" Pavel sat down.

"You know my last high school reunion, I told you I had a wired dream where I brought my old friend back to my apartment?" I started.

"Yeah." Pavel raised his brow at me questioningly.

"Yeah well it wasn't a dream, she just snuck out before I woke up and this is our son Danai." I explained.

"You don't think she might be lieing to you because she wants you to pay child support, do you? Like you said she was in was in a bad place, the child might not be yours." Pavel tried to dismiss the fact that I might be a dad.

"I don't think so, asking for a paternity test is probably a bad idea if I'm gonna try and have a relationship with Crimson. Like I really like you but I don't trust you." I sighed.

"Okay relax, let me get you some water and you can explain to me exactly how you came to baby sitting your potential son." Pavel reassured me.

(A/N I'm sorry Dome but I love strong independent women that can protect their men.)