Antidote

Chapter 27.

We're sitting at the breakfast bar now. Hayden poured himself a drink while I ate my food and overthought how I was going to break down everything that happened without upsetting him too much. I feel like he's going to be angry that I've kept it from him but I at least want to lessen the blow. "A while ago, I was approached by Elijah and—"

"Elijah who?" He interrupted.

"Elijah Jenkins. Do you know him?" He only nods in response and signals me to keep going.

So he wasn't lying about knowing Hayden. At some point, before I fell asleep, I started to believe that Damon has orchestrated this whole lie as another way to trick Hayden into losing everything. I'm not sure how that would be possible but I never truly know the extent Damon would go. "He claimed to have done a DNA test on Naomi and said she was his child and he was going to take her."

I pause to gauge his reaction but he doesn't show one. His face remains impassive but the way he picked up the glass and swallowed down his liquor tells me he's already irritated by where this is going. "So I did a DNA test on her to see if what he was saying was true."

His eyes shoot up at me from the drink in his hands, "How?" The calmness of his voice is surprising when I know he's anything but calm on the inside.

"I asked Geoff for help."

"Alice," He sucks his teeth. "Why would you go—"

"Let me finish Hayden." He nods not saying another word. "The test showed that you are her father. So today after we left the office I went to his company to talk and ask him why he lied."

"By yourself?" He's interjecting at the strangest times and asking questions I didn't think would be important to him. I thought he'd be seething with anger or say something when I said Elijah wanted to take Naomi. But he's worried about asking if I went out to see Elijah alone. He truly is strange.

"I was going to but I told Geoff what I was doing and he said he would rather take me."

"Do you trust Geoff more than me?"

I was stunned by his question. I know that I have depended on Geoff a lot but it isn't because I trust Geoff more than Hayden. "Why would you ask me that?"

"I don't know. You went to him about this when you could have come to me."

"Oh no," I answer as I put one of my hands over his, interlacing our fingers. "It's not that I trust him more Hayden. You have other things to worry about. I wanted to make sure it was true before I bothered you with it."

"You should be able to tell me anything, baby."

I choose not to comment on his words. I know why I didn't tell him about it. Sometimes I feel like I need to protect Hayden, to be his savior. I wanted to take care of his problems so he wouldn't have to. It's funny when I think about how far I would be willing to go for this man.

"Well," I continue with my explanation.  "When we got there and I went to go talk with him, your dad was there."

"What?" The previous impassive expression he wore was replaced with worry. He's not scared of his father anymore but he knows as well as I do that the man is capable of doing anything to get what he wants. Nothing and no one is off limits to him.

"He had your dad come here to help him get Naomi from you. Damon said he was going to handle the situation. He also said some other things but none of it is important."

"What did he say?"

Having to repeat the rest of it will only make me think too hard about it. I should have never even mentioned that he said other things. Hayden is just as nosy as I am and would never be able to let it go until he knows every detail. "He said that I was pathetic for taking over Naomi's care as if she were my own after everything you did and what happened between us. And that you paid to have sex with Una."