Willow|| Klance Single Dad AU

Chapter 11: Impulsive

TW// mentions of child neglect
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"I met her freshman year, and as I said, I was madly in love. For three years straight I chased and chased her. Every day I'd try something new just to get her to notice me, or talk to me at the least... We became good friends towards the end of freshman year, and she made it very clear she had no intentions of being with me, but that never stopped me from trying," Lance continued.

"She got a boyfriend when we got into our Sophomore year, and it broke my heart. I respected her relationship and boundaries even though I still loved her. And the guy she was with... he was controlling to put it nicely. She'd come crying to me whenever things got bad between them because she knew I'd be there to comfort her... she knew I'd come running the second she called for me. And I did, every single time."

"...It was just when I finally started to wake up and realize I was wasting my time that her boyfriend happened to cheat on her. She came to me and I couldn't deny her...I was the idiot that held the girl I loved while she cried over some deadbeat I told her to leave months before... and I was the idiot that let her take advantage of my kindness," he muttered, turning his head in the opposite direction of Keith. "She was down and felt unloved, unworthy even. But she knew I loved her and that I could make her feel loved if she simply asked for it."

"We hooked up a few times that summer. I knew I was nothing more to her than a rebound... I knew that she was just using me to help her forget about her Ex. I didn't care because I finally got to have her... I knew we weren't in a relationship or anything, but that didn't matter to me. What mattered was that I was the one there for her, I was the one giving her love, I was the one making her feel good... I was the one she chose."

"It hurt didn't it? To give all your love and energy to someone who never cared?" Keith asked, even if he already knew the answer to that question.

Lance laughed a little, but it sounded forced. "It felt like I had been repeatedly stabbed in the chest... and every time we were alone and she'd act like she loved me and... wanted me for more than just the sex. But then she'd turn and pretend she had no interest in me or what I had to say... It finally started getting to me after a few months and I couldn't take the constant rejection, then want, then rejection. I gathered up all the courage I could to break things off with her, and when I was about to end it she told me she was pregnant."

"I was sixteen years old and fucking terrified. I didn't know how to be a normal kid let alone a father... but I made it clear that whatever she wanted to do I would support her and I wouldn't intervene in deciding to keep the baby or not. I also made it clear that if she did decide to keep it, I wanted to be a part of its life," Lance explained. He paused for a second, collecting his thoughts before continuing. "To say the least, she didn't want to keep the baby, but her dad wouldn't let her have an abortion... For nine months I spent as much time as I could with her, doing anything I could to make things easier for her."

"She blamed me throughout a lot of the pregnancy, said I ruined her relationship with her parents and her future. There were weeks when she wouldn't let me come near her, screaming at me over the phone for me to get out of her life. I tried not letting it get to me, but I'm always in my head so... When Willow was born I couldn't give two fucks what she said to me anymore. All that ever mattered from that moment was my daughter."

"She never wanted any part of Willow to begin with, and after we graduated I finally started to see how much she hated me and her own child... Her father bought us an apartment, to give us space and for us to raise Willow independently. Yeah... independently met me and only me. I'd have to beg her to watch Willow while I went running errands, or when I went to take a fucking shower. I had to beg for her to breastfeed Willow, or even put her to bed. Every day she'd isolate herself from us. She'd scream and complain about Willow crying but wouldn't do anything to calm her. It was fucking chaotic and so damn toxic."