Running (baby daddy series #2) {COMPLETED}

| 4 | Meeting him

Wendy POV

    When I got home last night, thank God my kids were sleeping. For I had cried my eyes out of me in my bed. All the pain, laughter, love, tears, happiness, and basically every feeling there was bubbling to the surface.

    I miss him, but I want him to disappear from my life. I hate him, but I love him. More correctly, I hate that I love him. The feeling that I needed him was the worst of all of this.

    I do not like to need others or want anything; it is not at all like me. Even so, my heart stung and was practically about to jump out of me and then disappear to his hands.

    Brianna had come earlier this morning and brought the children to her home. She had looked at me that I needed some time for myself. The children loved her, so they gratefully accompanied.

    Now my phone vibrates and I'm terrified to answer because I don't recognize the number. It could be anyone, can I really take a chance? I answer but remains silent.

"Hello? Wendy, are you there?"

    Adrien's voice greets me and I breath out, all the tension escaping me.

"Yes, sorry. I can't be sure who calls me anymore. It's just for security reasons."

"Hmm..."

    It doesn't seem like he enjoyed hearing that. I can hear three other male voices in the background, probably the brothers. Someone's saying something that sounds like 'ask her'.

"Anyway, we were wondering if you could take a coffee with us today?"

"Depends on who 'we' is..."

"Me, Jaxon, Brody and um... Damien."

    Like I predicted, he's with the brothers and the reason that he made the call is because they knew that I would rage if Damien called me himself.

"Fine, thirty minutes. 'Alette’s' beside the movie theater."

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

    We hang up and my heart beats rapidly in my chest. I was going to see him for the first time in ages as myself and not the Paulina persona I've created so long ago.

    I'm going to be vulnerable and I can't break down in front of him, not again. I don't want to go, but I also know that I can't escape this anymore. My 'fight or flight' option was there just like for everyone else.

    But my 'flight' option had been overused now and it was time to face the consequences. The question is how I'm going to be able to not cave under his smoldering gazes filled to the brim with love?

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    I was standing outside the door and couldn't open the door, not yet anyway. The sweat was rolling down my back and my anxiety was rising the longer I stood here. I looked inside and when Damien's eyes met mine, I knew it was time to walk inside.

    They were all talking but stopped when I walked inside in my sweatpants and t-shirt. Yes, I didn't dress up okay? No big deal, this man has seen me naked. Besides, I'm free for a couple of hours.

    Adrien is the first to rise from his seat and hug me. He cradles my body in his arms like so many times before. He had been doing that since he became aware of the situation with my parents.

    My anxiety attacks have been better during the years, but he still could sense when I needed his special hugs. We break apart and he looks me over with a frown.

"Are you sick or something?" he asks.

    I punch his shoulder which earns me an 'ow' before I sit down beside Jaxon and hug him also.

"No, I'm not sick. I have a babysitter for a couple of hours and I'm tired from work. That's all."

    Damien froze when I called the stripper thing 'work'. He didn't like my job and I can understand that, but that was no reason to behave like a caveman about it. No one says anything, they just look at me.

"So? I'm here, what did you guys want?" I ask.

    I don't mean to sound rude. It's just... Meeting Damien again makes me tense and ready for everything. He's obviously been looking for me and by the look on him, he has more than one question to ask.

"Why didn't you ever reach out to anyone of us?" Damien asks with a hard voice.

"I did. I sent you a letter a couple of years ago, which you didn't return."

    They all look at him with baffled expressions like he's been holding information from them, it wouldn't be the first time... Just saying! He looks confused though and I have no idea why.

"What letter? I never got any letter." he says and furrows his brows.

"For a fact, I know that you did. I got the clarification that you signed for the envelope and everything."

"I'm telling you, Wendy-"

"Paulina." I interrupt him, I wasn't Wendy anymore.

"Paulina, I never got any letter. I don't know who signed for that envelope but it sure as hell wasn't me."

"So, you don't know... uhoh..." 

    He doesn't know about his daughter! He's going to think that I was keeping her away from him even though I didn't. I wrote down my phone number and even an email address where he could reach me.

"Don't know what?"

    I grab my wallet from my purse and take out the picture of Fiona. I'm not able to put the photo on the table just yet, afraid of how he's going to react. But in the end, I do and everyone else is also looking.

"Wh-"

"That's Fiona." I start but stop to take in a shaky breath. "Your daughter."

    He looks at me with eyes big as saucers, not sure if he heard me right. His fingers swipe over the photo carefully like he caresses her cheek.

"My daughter?"

"Yes, she's five in a couple of months."

"She looks just like you..."

"No, she has your nose and your chin. Don't get me started on that temper of hers." I chuckle.

    He smiles with watery eyes and to say that I'm surprised would be an understatement. I thought he would scream, throw things, and create a scene. Instead he looks at me with such adoration.

"My little princess..."

"Can we meet her?" Adrien asks with excitement.

"Not right now, she is with the boys at Brianna's place."

"When can we meet them all then?" Jaxon asks.

"The carnival is this weekend, I promised to take them. You could all come if you want, that will actually help me a lot."

"Why’s that?" Brody asks with sudden interest.

"Because the boys want to ride different rollercoasters and Fi doesn't like that. I can't be at four places at once."

    They look at each other with grins before looking back at me and nod in unison.

"We'll be there."

    Suddenly my phone rings and I answer instantly when I see Brianna's number on the display. Giggles echoes in my ear that makes me smile.

"Hello boys, what are you doing with Brianna's phone?"

    The others are looking at me with curiosity and I put on the speaker.

"We wanted to call you, mommy. We're missing you. But Brianna said that you were sad, and Darby saw you wet in your face. Had you peed in the bed mommy?"

    I chuckle at him.

"No baby, mommy didn't pee in the bed and I miss you too. I will come back home soon."

"Where are you?"

"I'm with... Friends."

"Oh! Is it Uncle Adrien, Jaxon and Damien?" Caleb asks excited.

    They look at me with surprise. I told my boys and my little girl about these men; Fiona even knows that Damien is her daddy. My babies were curious, and I told them the truth, without the details of how Fi's dad broke my heart.

"Yeah, actually it is. They are going to come with us to the carnival."

"No way! That's so cool!"

"But you have to be nice, we have Uncle Brody with us too."

"Who's that mommy?" Fiona’s cute little voice says.

"That's your daddy's brother, love. You will get to meet daddy."

"Talk to daddy." 

"You want to talk to him?"

"Uh-hu."

    I give Damien the phone and he takes it with shaking hands. 

"Hello." he says.

"Hi daddy!"

    Those words make him break and he starts to sob.

"Daddy, don't cry. I don't like it!"

"No, no! I'm sorry, princess. I'm okay, I am just very happy to finally talk to you."

    They continue to talk for a few minutes before he gives me the phone back in the same moment Brianna gets her phone back.

"I'm very sorry, Paulina. Caleb took my phone when I wasn't looking. We didn't mean to disturb you; I know that you were sad and all..."

"It's alright. I will come back soon."

"Okay, take care dear."

    We hang up and no one is saying anything again.

"If no one's going to ask, then I will... How in the hell have you managed to juggle four kids and work?! You're like my hero!" Adrien says clearly surprised.

"I do what I do for them. They need me and I wouldn't hesitate to kill if someone tried to take them away from me." I say and look at Damien.

    It was an underlying threat and he knew it.

"I won't take her away from you, Wen-, Paulina."

"You better not, I won't hesitate."

"That I do believe." he answers and chuckles.

    We talk for a little while longer before I must leave when Brianna calls me to tell me that Caleb had painted on her wall. Somehow, I left feeling lighter, maybe this was what I needed.

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    The week goes by fast and its now Saturday morning, exactly seven days since I met up with 'my' men. The boys and Fi have been a nightmare this whole week, always asking if it's saturday yet.

    Today's the day and for some reason, all of them have put on their favorite clothes, the nicer ones. Fiona has a white princess dress on her and a little tiara. When I asked why, she said that she was daddy's princess and my heart melted.

    We were waiting for the guys to get here and the kids started to become restless when Adrien's familiar whistle echoed. My boys looked up and ran to him yelling.

"Uncle Adrien!"

    Chuckling, I walked up to them.

"They have seen pictures of all of you, except Brody. They know very well who you are."

Fiona takes an uncertain step towards Damien and he squats down to her. He opens up his arms and she takes the last steps, hugging him close. Their moment gets interrupted by the boys though.

"Hello Uncle Damien!" they said in unison.

    The brothers and Adrien looks at me confused.

"It's a triplet thing. They say the same thing at the same time all the time, it's kind of freaky."

"Well, who want's to ride some rollercoaster?!" Jaxon exclaims happily.

"Me!"

"We will take the boys and you two can talk." Adrien says and walks away with the triplets.

    It's me, Fiona and Damien now. She pulls at the hem of my shirt and I pick her up on my hip.

"What do you want to do, sugar?" I ask her.

"Can we pick flowers?"

"Of course we can, princess." Damien cuts me off, it didn't matter though, I was going to say the same thing.

    Fiona whispers in my ear.

"Can I walk and hold yours and daddies hand?" she looks shy.

"Should I ask for you?" I whisper back which she nods at. "She wonders if she can walk and hold your hand."

    Damien smiles and nods. I put Fiona back down, she takes my right hand and then his left. We walk towards the field with all sorts of wild flowers. For a moment, it feels like we're a family.

    Even though I know that we never will be...