This Time Around ⭐

10 - Ransom

Ransom and I had spent all day moving into Harlan's that Friday. I had taken off work so we could get moved in. I had packed up things in my house through the week but kept it as well since I didn't know how well this moving in plan would go. I was sitting in Oliver's room putting clothes away with Dash laying on his bed when Ransom came up and leaned on the doorframe.

"Hey." Ransom said and I looked at him. We hadn't talked the entire time we had been moving in.

"Hey." I replied.

"What room are you taking?" Ransom asked and I sighed.

"I hadn't really thought about it. Maybe the room next to yours. So we are all on this floor with Oliver." I said and he nodded.

"Okay, I will move your boxes in there." Ransom said and went to walk away.

"Ransom..." I said and he peaked his head back in "Thanks." I said.

"I just wanted your shit out of the entry way." Ransom said and I groaned. I thought we were having a moment, boy I thought wrong.

**RANSOM POV**

I was moving her final box into her bedroom. She mostly had just brought clothes and not many personal affects. The one box she had taken in the room she had opened, I saw a picture in a frame sitting on top and I grabbed it. It was the 3 of us in the hospital. She was holding Oliver after they had cleaned him up and we were both looking at him and smiling.

I thought back to Oliver's birth, what a day that was. Everything had seemed to be going to smoothly and everything was fine...until it wasn't. Willa and Oliver's heart rate both dropped at the same time as she was pushing.

I was screaming at the doctor to save her first, worrying about her but he told me she had already stated if it came down to her or Oliver to save Oliver. This pissed me off. She never gave me a chance, she never told me this decision, she was my...my...my child's mother, that was it. She was only the mother of my child, I had no say in her life.

They both came out unharmed and I couldn't even explain how I felt when I first held Oliver in my arms. I'm a man who has hated children, hated family and wanted nothing to do with either aspect but the minute he was placed in my arms, everything changed. I had made this, he was part of me. He was part of his amazing mother as well, I looked at her and she was smiling at us. She was amazing, lovely, beautiful and had so much love in her life to even love me somehow. I wasn't sure how she was able to do that, I was unlovable.

It was soon after this Willa handed me the box with the signet ring in it. Her exact words "So you never forget who you fully belong to and who you are living for." This had made me mad at first, but she was right, I had never given her any other reason to believe I was going to stick around. Oliver and Willa had my heart and always would. When Willa and I fought that day she left, it was all on me. I wasn't helping her with Oliver at all. She was tired, she was having some emotional problems and I made it worse. I would never forgive myself for letting her walk out of the house that day.

I had to try and make this work with her, us living here. She and Oliver deserved a better life with me included in it. Let's be honest, I wasn't being the best father I could be. Sleeping around with different woman...trying to fill the void...the Willa sized void in my life. Willa was the only one who could fill it and I knew that, but I was too damn stubborn. I would make this better. I put the picture back in the box and looked up to see Willa standing in the doorway to her room.

**WILLA POV**

I was done in Oliver's room, so I went to head into my room to start unpacking. When I approached, I saw Ransom standing there staring at a picture from the box on my bed.

He seemed in deep thought, and it broke my heart slightly to see the look on his face. I wasn't exactly sure what look it was, but it wasn't his normal asshole look. He then sighed, put the picture back and looked up to see me.

"Sorry." Ransom said and I shook my head.

"It's okay, I love that picture." I said and Ransom nodded.

"I don't think I have a copy of that picture." Ransom said.

"I can get you one...if you want." I said and Ransom nodded.

"Please." Ransom said. He then looked at the floor. "Listen, how about we order some food tonight. Unless you want to go out..." Ransom said and I shook my head.

"I think staying in is perfect." I said and he nodded.

"I'll let you get unpacked." Ransom said and went to walk out but I stopped him.

"We really need to talk about all the Harlan stuff around the house." I said and Ransom huffed a laugh.

"I'll put it on the topic list for the night." Ransom said and I smiled. He went to walk by me, and I grabbed his hand.

"This can work right? Us living together...with Oliver...again." I said and Ransom turned to face me.

"Wils, we will work on this together. We are adults, we are parents, we love Oliver. I think we can do this." Ransom said and I smiled at him.

"See you at dinner?" I asked and he nodded. He started to lean in towards me and I held my breath not sure what was happening until his lips gently brushed past mine and he kissed my cheek, then he moved to my ear.

"See you at dinner." He whispered and walked away. Once the coast was clear I released my breath and sighed. I couldn't let him do this to me, not again. I wouldn't be vulnerable to him, he couldn't have changed just from looking at a family picture...could he?