Haven

Chapter Twenty Five

After what felt like the longest week, I finally finished all my homework at 7pm on Friday night and had showered and changed into pjs. I went in search of Alex, cause that weekend he was set to go to the city for an overnight meeting and my sister was coming to stay in the house with me Saturday night.

I found him sat on the couch, scrolling through his phone (as per usual). While he was known to get annoyed over the most slight of things, he never gave out to me for being around him. So I plopped down next to him on the couch and rested my head on his shoulder.

I hear him sigh, a contented sound, before he twists his head to kiss my hair softly.
"What's up, baby?" He murmurs, locking his phone and tossing it down next to him.

I think about my answer. Nothing was up, but I was thinking about how we missed out on so much time together.
"Do ya ever think it's really unfair that we missed 15 years?" I ask, my tone softer than I intended.

He hums, before sighing deeply. "Only like 15 times daily." I giggle at his answer, it's so relatable. "But we'll have a lifetime to make up for it." He says finally, and I can't help but nod in agreement. That was true.

"My sister is gonna be so annoying tomorrow." I whine, after some time. Thinking of jazz and her incessant need to do things. I wanted to see Jamie. But I had a feeling Alex would want me to stay home with him out of town.

He chuckles before rebuking me. "Because she wants to spend time with you?"

I scoff. "Now that I wear designer clothes and stand to inherit from a millionaire?" I bite back and he chuckles.

"Touché." He concedes. "Stand to inherit everything." He corrects, and I'm somewhat surprised to hear that. "And don't think you can attempt to kill me off to get it all, you won't get a penny of it until you're 25 years old without a very trusted treasurer making sure it's only for education and living expenses."

I can't hold back my laugh. "As if I'd kill you off to get your money, I have everything I need without even asking." I tell him, looking down at the Rolex. "Besides I spent my whole life without a parent now that I have one the last thing I wanna do is lose that."

He literally awws. Which makes me regret saying it instantly. "Look at you being mature, sensible and adorable all at once. Told you I'd make you better."

I push back off him and roll my eyes, playfully. "Make me better." I scoff. "I made you better, now you're not completely void of all human emotions." I argue and he laughs a deep, belly laugh.

We sat in silence for a while, watching a Halloween movie. I knew I had to ask him if I could go to a Halloween party with Jamie, but the memories of the last party kept flooding through my mind. Surely it would be the last thing he'd want to let me do.

I figured I'd text him while he was away, and let him think about it. Maybe he'd warm up to the idea by the time he got home. Or it would have the opposite effect, and he'd see right through what I was doing.

I knew the next step should be calling him dad. But I had been going to a therapist, and she kept reminding me that three months wasn't a huge amount of time, she also commended me for how well I'd adapted in that time. The problem I had with that was I felt like I'd known him a lot longer, and I loved him.

Maybe it was me sticking to the one thing in my life that brought me routine, or new things, or discipline. Maybe it was the fact that he was the first person to show me real love. He wasn't an affectionate man, but I knew from the first day I came here that he was kind, and that he cared for me.

Whatever the reason, he was the person to center me. He had became the most important person in my world, and I never felt a reliance on people before. I didn't allow myself to get attached for fear of losing it. But against my will I was attached s s definitely reliant.

"Have you ever been to Florida?" He interrupts my thoughts, and with a really random question. I would've laughed in his face, did he think foster facilities brought kids on two vacations a year?

But I simply smile, and shake my head no. He nods, looking back to his phone. "I usually go on vacation sometime before thanksgiving but with you in school I'm struggling to see where we could go at Christmas." He fills me in, as he keeps scrolling.

"Christmas in a tropical climate?" I ask, I had pictured this house decorated, snow outside and the fire blazing.

His head jerks up, and intrigued expression forming on his face. "You wouldn't like that?"
I shrug. "Well I figured we'd be home, I don't know what I'd like but I love New York at Christmas time." I admit and he smiles, shrugging.

"Good, then we'll stay home and have our first Christmas here!" He agrees, looking pleased I had given some feedback presumable.
But I felt unsure. "B-but if you wanna go on vacation-" he cuts me off, shaking his head.

"Absolutely not! I just wanted it to be special. But now that I know you like the idea of being home that's what I wanna do." He reassures me. "Plus you saved yourself a lecture from my parents in the after life, they'd hate the idea of being away from home on Christmas." He chuckles and I shake my head.

"Then aren't they gonna lecture you about that?" I ask, wondering why he'd do it if they'd hate it and he clearly believes he'll be seeing them again.

His eyes reach the heavens, before he laughs. "Oh they're gonna have plenty to lecture me about. 90% of said lectures will revolve around you." He tells me. "Mostly the fact that I was irresponsible enough to not know for 15 years that I had a child, then the whole conceived outside of marriage thing is a bit of problem for them, and I'm sure they'll be pretty pissed about my parenting style. But mostly my mom would be so broken hearted to never have met you." I sigh at the last part.

Alex had a somewhat complicated relationship with his parents. But they were good people, and he knew it. One only had to look at him to know he was raised by good people. I think one thing all four of us would agree on is being sad that we missed out on getting to be a family. Even if they were crazy strict, god knows I need strict.

"Don't you think your a little critical of yourself? In terms of parenting." I ask him and continue before he can answer him. "I'm the best I've ever been. You read those files. In three short months you've changed my whole life, you should give yourself some credit and I bet they would be beyond proud of how you've handled things. Most guys would've gotten that information, read the file and ran for the hills. What you did took balls, and you saved my life. Biology aside, I was just another fuck up in the system and a glorified stranger. You didn't have to do that. Don't be so hard on yourself." I call him out, knowing that he'd forgive my bitchy tone because what I was saying was gooey.

He looks somewhat shocked by what I'd said, clearing his throat before reaching over and putting him hand on my forehead. I scrunch my face in confusion. "You're being almost too mature tonight, are you feeling okay?" I smack his hand away, rolling my eyes.

He smirks, before adopting a serious look. "I did have to, Jaida. You might be right that some might not have, but I wouldn't have been able to live with myself knowing you were out there ruining your life because you didn't know any better and I was here with the ability to change that but didn't." He tells me. "I had to try, and luckily for me your strong minded and intelligent. You've realized you can be more than your past. You've made this easy for me. And I've made this easy for you. So I'd say us meeting was written in the stars." He smiles and I giggle.

"I still wish she'd have told you she was pregnant in the first place." I sigh and he nods.
"I'm afraid we're just gonna have to live with it." He tells me, and I have to agree.

That night in bed I felt way better about him going away for the night, after we'd talked so openly without fighting. We were a work in progress but there was most definitely progress.