Hide Your Heart From The Past

Part 14

Paul shut the door to the nursery and leaned against the wall for a few moments waiting to see if Evan would start crying again. The boy had been a terror since the two of them had come home from the park. Breathing a sigh of relief when no other sound came from the bedroom, Paul made his way down the stairs to clean the aftermath of dinner.

As soon as he walked into the kitchen, the flashing light on the answering machine caught Paul's attention. He started groaning at the five messages assuming it was either his bandmate or ex-girlfriend checking in on him. Paul pressed play and leaned against the counter, shaking his head as the first message began to play, of course, Pam. He quickly played through the three messages and deleted them as he shook his head. A small smile graced his face as he heard your voice echo from the answering machine.

"Just letting you know I made it safe, stopped at the hospital first, and then will be going to the hotel. I hope you and E are enjoying your time. I will call you later. Love you, bye"

Paul went to pick up the phone as your second message played, and the hint of stress was in your voice. He knew you had probably spent most of the day with your mother and god knows who else. He quickly pounded your cell number into his phone, drumming his finger on the counter as he waited for you to pick up; After six rings, your voicemail kicked on.

"Hey Y/N, it's Paul, sorry I'm just now getting back to you. Evan was a little handful today. I hope all went well on the first visit. Call me back when you get this. We love you." He said.

Paul stood at the counter for a moment, debating calling your hotel phone for a slim chance of catching you. Thinking better of it, he started cleaning the kitchen, humming softly to himself. Just as he had finished and started to pick the phone up again, Evan's voice came across the baby monitor sitting on the bar. Paul wiped his hand across his face and sighed.

"This boy has definitely hit the terrible two stage!" Paul exclaimed as he headed up the stairs.

He strolled up the stairs and stood again outside Evan's room, taking a few breaths to calm his nerves before heading in. Paul flipped the light on, immediately greeted by his two-year-old standing outside his crib, grinning from ear to ear at his escape.

"What are you doing out of bed, mister?" Paul asked.

"I wanna play!" Evan replied, heading toward his toy box.

Paul shook his head and grabbed a book from the little bookshelf before grabbing the little boy and taking a seat in the rocking chair. Evan attempted to squirm out of his dad's hold for a few minutes before giving up.

"How about a book, and then you go back to bed?" Paul asked.

"No! Sing a song, daddy, Sing twinkle-twinkle," Evan said, looking up at his dad.

Paul felt his frustration melt away by his son's request. He dipped down and kissed his son's head as he started slowly rocking in the chair and humming the start of the song. Evan laid his head back against his dad and sucked his thumb, a clear sign he was starting to give in to his sleepiness. Paul continued to sing as his own eyes grew heavy, and the sound of Evan's light snores filled the room. Both of them falling asleep in the rocking chair.

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The next morning

You were walking to the elevator when your cell phone started ringing from your pocket. A smile started forming across your face as you looked down and saw Paul's displayed across the small screen.

"Hey, I was going to call you in a bit, Was everything okay last night? I never heard back from you.

"Hey yourself, I tried to call you back, but I had a little terror on my hands" Paul replied.

You heard Evan scream in the background, causing you to chuckle as Paul sighed into the phone before the line went silent for a moment. You leaned against the wall tapping your foot as you waited for Paul to come back.

"Go play with your toys while I talk to Y/N, Evan, I'm sorry Y/N, how was everything with your mom yesterday?" he asked.

You stopped at the elevator door and took a deep breath as you decided how to tell Paul about the encounter with Jake when you first arrived at the hospital yesterday. He would be sent more into a panic, knowing your brother was still out running around while you were there.

"Well, mom was pretty much asleep the whole time, and Jake was there when I first walked in pretty well toasted. I'm about to head over to the hospital now" You said, bracing yourself for the outburst.

You heard him let out a sigh as you attempted to further explain what had gone down during the interaction with your brother, but Paul cut you off quickly.

"Your brother was there drunk, and you didn't stop and think you should call me on my cell phone? He could have hurt you; look at your mom, look at how he treated you when I met him! Have you lost your fucking mind, Y/N?" Paul snapped into the phone.

His response had taken you by surprise as he had hardly raised his voice in the entire five months you had been together. You walked toward the elevator as you tried to control the anger. Paul had made it seem you could not take care of anything anymore since you were with him.

"You have to be kidding me, right? You're throwing a fit because I saw my brother and didn't immediately freak out and fucking call you? I don't need you, Paul. What could you have done anyway, YOU'RE IN CALIFORNIA WITH YOUR KID! You yelled, holding back the tears forming in your eyes.

"Fine we will just come out there, I'm not leaving it to chance. You can't fault me for wanting you to be safe, Y/N. Are you trying to end up right beside your mom?" Paul asked concerned

"Paul I don't need you! This is a family matter that you don't need to be any more involved in than you already are. End of discussion! I gotta go" You yelled, hanging up before he could respond.

You pressed the call button for the elevator and stepped inside. Doing your best to choke back a sob as tears fell down your face, praying no one else got on and saw the current state you were in. Your cell phone started ringing after a few moments in your hands, causing you to jump. You shook your head. Paul's number showed up across the screen.

"I don't have time for this." You mumbled as you turned off the device, shoving it in your bag.