Hide Your Heart From The Past

Part 16

"What happened, Y/N, he knocked you up, and that's why you flew 3,000 miles and got married without even a phone call?" Your mother snapped.

You cussed under your breath as you took a seat next to her bed. You had tried to prepare yourself for the wrath as soon as the doctor had made a mistake in assuming you were Paul's wife. Paul had done a great thing to make sure everything was perfect for her, yet she could only focus on the negative. Your mind started drifting back to the conversation this morning with Paul and how harsh you had been when he was trying to be protective.

"Y/N I asked you a question, now is that drama causing punk now, my son-in-law?" she asked.

"Do you think as much as you and I fight that I would not tell you if I got married?" You asked.

"Hell, I don't even know who you are anymore!!! We fight, and because you can't handle the truth from your brother, you abandon me!!! Now, look at what happened. I'm stuck in this godforsaken place. Your brother would have never let this happen to your father or me." She cried.

You leaned forward in your chair and closed your eyes for a moment to stop the building's anger. You didn't want to fight or say anything you would regret like this morning with Paul. Your mother always had a way of pushing you to a dark place. After everything you had done, Jake was still going to be number one in her book. You looked up to see her glaring at you, causing the wave of anger to take over.

"No, Ma, you have your wires crossed, Jake is the reason why you are in this condition, and here I am cleaning up another mess and taking the abuse for it!" You said.

You watched as she began to open her mouth but was stopped as you got up from the chair and looked her dead in the eye. You were attempting to steady your breathing and clear the lump out of your throat. She had pushed you over the edge this time.

"As for my boyfriend or as you call him 'Little Punk,' Paul is the only reason why you are here at one of the best rehabilitation places. He loves ME that much that he paid a lot of money for you to get the best doctors and care, though he hates how you treated me and is worried sick that Jake is around Paul knew how important my promise to dad was." You said, choking back tears.

Your mother glared at you as you prepared yourself for the next round. For the first time in thirty years, you did not feel scared that she would knock you to the ground. Just as she opened her mouth to start at you again, the hospital's door opened as Melissa came in, holding a vase of flowers. You rolled your eyes and grabbed your bag, running toward the door.

"What Y/N too good to say hello to your aunt anymore?" Melissa said sarcastically.

"When I find my aunt, then maybe I'll say hello to her. I'll let you and mom catch up, so you have plenty of lies to spread around the diner tomorrow." You said as you pushed past her.

"What happened, you told her the truth, and she got butt hurt about it?" Melissa mumbled to your mom

You raced to get out as far away from the unit as anger turned to sadness. You were doing everything possible to keep yourself together until you could get to either your car or back to the hotel room.

Immediately you grabbed your cell phone out of your bag. There was only one voice that could calm you down even though you had destroyed Paul this morning.

As soon as you opened the car door, the flood of tears started. The high hopes that everything would change once your mom saw that no matter where you were, there's nothing you wouldn't do to make sure she was taken care of. Jake could have burnt down the house, and everyone in the family would think it was the greatest thing in the world.

You looked back down at the phone sitting on your lap, trying to calm your breathing down, as you knew if Paul sensed any distress in your voice, he would go into panic mode even with little Evan there.

You punched the speed dial number for Paul's house phone, holding your breath as the phone began to ring multiple times before the beep of the answering machine came across.

"Paul, if you're there, please pick up. I need to talk to you", you said with a sigh.

You waited for a few more moments, having high hopes that he would pick up, but no luck. You threw the cell phone into the passenger seat before driving back toward the hotel—worry rushing over you.

"What if I pushed him too far?" You asked out loud.

————

Paul spent the biggest part of the afternoon running errands. Attempting to do anything to keep both his son entertained and himself distracted from wanting to call you and apologize for the miscommunication.

The one thought that he couldn't shake, what if he had pushed you to leave him for good? Besides Evan, you were the best thing to happen to him.

"Daddy, can we call Y/N? I need to tell her something," Evan asked as Paul carried him into the house.

"Well, we can try, but she may be super busy. What do you need to tell her anyway?" Paul asked as he grinned at the boy.

"It's a secret!!" Evan exclaimed, putting a finger to his dad's mouth.

Paul shook his head and laughed as he headed toward the kitchen to grab the phone. He held his breath as he punched in your number, waiting for the first ring before turning on the speakerphone.

Evan automatically tried to lean close to the device as his dad nervously tapped the counter. After the three rings, your voice echoed in the kitchen. Evan looked at Paul with a surprised look causing his dad to chuckle.

"Y/N!!! It's Me, Evan, and Daddy!!!" The boy yelled into the phone.

"Hi Ev and Paul, how are you?" You laughed.

Paul felt his heart melt at the love his son had for you and butterflies in his stomach at the sound of your voice. Paul cleared his throat and took a breath to clear his mind before he decided to speak.

"Hey Y/N, Evan wanted to call you. He said he had a secret to tell you." Paul told you, as he looked over at his son.

Evan smiled before leaning down into the phon covering part of his mouth, trying to hide from his dad and talk to you.

"Y/N, I miss you, and daddy does too. Are you coming back from the trip?" The toddler whispered into the speaker.

The line went silent for a moment, making Paul hold his breath. Both guys looked back and forth at each other, waiting for your reply. Paul heard you sniffle, giving off the signal that you had been crying.

"I miss you guys too. I'll be home soon, I promise. Can I talk to daddy for a little bit?" You asked as you choked back the tears.

"Y/N, give me a second to get him settled, and I'll be right back," Paul told you, as he grinned at his son.

Evan nodded his head at the phone before his dad placed him on the ground. Paul watched as the two-year-old ran off before he pulled the phone off the base to talk.

" Y/N? Listen, I'm sorry about this morning. I want to make sure you're safe, especially with those people around you." Paul told you, holding his breath as he waited for you to reply.

His heart sank as the only sound across the line was sobbing.