Helpless (Reece Bibby/James Graham)

Chapter Eleven

Barclay cut off the engine and turned round in his seat so he was looking at me. “Reece doesn’t know you’re here today. He’s picking Ana up at six,” he explained and I nodded understandingly. Barclay took the keys out of the ignition and we all got out of the car. James slung his arm around my shoulders protectively, as if I belonged to him. His sunglasses rested on the bridge of his nose, just covering his eyes. He licked his bottom lip and smiled at me. He was beautiful.

The three of us headed into the building and up to the top floor where Chris, Tom and Charlie’s apartment was situated. “Have you taken your medication?” James asked as Barclay knocked on the door of the apartment. “Yes. Don’t worry. Barclay supervised,” I replied. James kissed my temple before taking off his sunglasses.

“It’s about time you made an appearance,” a familiar Irish accent said. I grinned at Chris and he gave me the biggest hug. “How are you feeling?” he asked me. “I’m getting there,” I replied. Chris led the three of us into the apartment where Charlie was sat. He stood up and enveloped me in a hug. “I’ve missed you,” he whispered before I pulled away. “Have you missed me or have you missed my hot chocolates?” I asked making him laugh. “Both,” he replied and I stuck my tongue out at him.

“Would you like a drink?” Chris asked us. “Mate, I’d love a cup of tea,” Charlie answered. Chris threw a tea towel at him. “I was asking the guests.” I chuckled to myself. I’d missed these lads. “I’ll have a cup of tea please, Chris,” I said and he nodded before taking requests from Barclay and James.

“Mummy!” I heard my daughter squeal. I turned around to see her holding onto Tom’s hand. He let go and she rushed towards me. “Baby,” I whispered as James lifted her up and we hugged her. “I’ve missed you so much,” I told her. “You saw me yesterday,” she said in her adorable voice. “I know. But you brighten up my day.”

“What’s that?” Anabelle asked, pointing towards the bandage on my right wrist. “I hurt my wrist yesterday, Baby,” I replied. “So you can’t pick me up?” she questioned and I shook my head. “Tea’s ready,” Chris piped up. I walked towards the kitchen and took one of the mugs from Chris. “Thank you,” I told him with a warming smile on my face.

“Uncle James,” Anabelle spoke as we all sat down in the living room. “Yes, Ana,” he replied. “Are you my other daddy?” she asked. When we all remained silent Tom piped up, “Reece has told her that Faye is her other mummy.” I couldn’t take this. I couldn’t allow someone else to be a mother to my daughter. She’s my whole world and I would never let Reece take her away from me again.

“If you want Uncle James to be your other daddy, he can be,” I told Anabelle. I knew that it’d kill Reece to see Ana call someone else her dad. Then he’d know what this felt like. If he wanted to play dirty then I would too.

James took my hand and kissed the back of it. “Daddy James,” Anabelle said then giggled. I smiled at the thought of the three of us being a family. It’d work. I loved James and Anabelle more than anything in the world. I would’ve taken her home right then. But I knew Reece would call the police if she wasn’t here when he came to pick her up.

“My cousin knows a lawyer, a really good one. She hardly ever loses a case,” Tom explained, “I’ve made an appointment for you to go and talk about custody of Anabelle.” I smiled gratefully. “Tom, thank you so much,” I said. That would be a good place to start. “Jasmine, we’re all on your side here. We think Reece going for full custody is stupid. You’re Ana’s mum. She needs to be with you,” Chris told me. “We’ll have to hold an intervention for Reece,” Tom piped up, causing chuckles to erupt from a few of us.

We all spent the next few hours playing games and watching films. We couldn’t leave the flat in case we were seen by paparazzi. “What time is it?” I asked James. He checked his phone and his eyes widened. “It’s five to six,” he replied. Oh shit. As if on cue, there was a knock at the door.

“You’re going to have to hide,” Chris said, gesturing towards his bedroom. James picked up Anabelle and gave her a squeeze. “Anabelle, I love you so much. You can’t tell Daddy that you saw Mummy today. It has to be our little secret, okay?” I explained and she nodded. Reece knocked at the door again and I knew I had to go. I kissed her forehead before I turned towards Chris’ bedroom. “Mummy,” my daughter said. I turned back to look at her and she said, “I want to stay with you.”

I tucked some of her hair behind her ear and kissed her cheek. “I love you more than anything in the world. And you’ll be able to see me as much as you want very soon. But for now you have to stay with Daddy,” I told her. She started to cry and I knew I had to hide but I couldn’t leave her.

“What is she doing here?” I heard Reece snap. I took Anabelle from James’ hold, balancing her on my left hip so I didn’t have to use my injured wrist. “You mean Jasmine? She’s looking after her daughter. After all, she is her mother,” Tom explained. Charlie took Anabelle from me and went into a different room so she wasn’t in the middle of the argument. James stepped slightly in front of me, resuming his protective stance. “She is sick. How can you put my daughter at risk like this?” Reece questioned.

“At risk?” James piped up, clearly become angry, “For fuck sake, Reece. Get a grip and get the fuck over yourself. She was sick for a little while, yes. But that doesn’t make her a bad mother. She needed you, Reece. And you weren’t there for her so it only got worse. What if her attempt to kill herself had been successful? You’d be devastated. You might not still love her, Reece, but I know you still care about her. She needs you.”

Reece stood there for a moment, clearly thinking about what James had just said. “Come round to the flat later tonight. We can talk about custody of Anabelle,” he told me and I nodded. Charlie returned with Anabelle and I gave a hug and a kiss goodbye. James picked her up and gave her a squeeze. “I’ll see you very soon,” he said and she grinned. “Goodbye, Daddy James,” she replied as he put her down.

Reece glared at both James and I. “What?” I questioned as Anabelle ran over to him. “You’re not her father, James. She’s my daughter,” Reece told James. I knew James wanted a baby of his own and I would give him one soon. But right now my main focus was Anabelle. “I’ll see you at my flat in an hour,” Reece said before leaving with Anabelle.

A/N: Woo! Double update! Sorry the updates have been slow this week. I've been so busy working on something new. I hope you're all well. Stay fab!