Hate Me, Love Me(GirlxGirl)

Chapter Twenty-Seven: When the Bookworm Becomes Bold

I was shocked.

This was a new Ivan. He was becoming even more responsible knowing he was going to have a child soon. And I wanted to help him. He had so much on his plate with being my guardian, the house, the bills, and now his future child. He can't go through this alone. I didn't mind having another person living here. Hell, I want to help Shannon – whoever she is – be as comfortable as ever here. She was going to be the mother of my nephew or niece.

"Ivan, she's the mother of your child. She can live here forever, I wouldn't mind," I gave him a smile. "I need to meet her. I never met any of your past girlfriends but I see that this Shannon means a lot to you."

"I fucked up in the past and I regret it every day. I won't let her slip through my fingers again. She's the love of my life –"

"Oh, Ivan!" I hugged my brother, finding his sweet nature adorable. "Make things right with her and bring her home."

His arms wrapped around me and tightened, "I wished Mom and Dad could be here to see their grandchild."

And in that moment, we both broke down, crying in each other's arms.

"Mom and Dad would be proud of you in seeing how you've become," I whispered to him, knowing he needed to hear that by the way his arms tightened around me.

And it was the truth.

They would be proud of Ivan. He was turning out to be more responsible and not letting any of this take him down. Ivan was growing up and handling his shop well. He was going to be a great father, I knew it the moment he told me of his child. I hope whatever damage he and Shannon have can be fixed. I want her to see that Ivan wasn't the same guy she'd known a few years ago. He was a changed man through and through.

The sound of a bell chiming snapped me out of my thoughts where I glanced to the entrance of the diner. My entire body stiffened as I saw the familiar face of Josh entering with a few of his friends. They were all laughing, uncaring to those around them. I hated the way Josh could continue to go on with his day not having at least an ounce of guilt that he hurt not only me but his ex-girlfriend, Gladys. The many wrongs he had made in spurts of anger brought so much hate for him.

"What are you looking at, Mabel?" I heard Evelyn say, grabbing my attention immediately.

"Nothing," I muttered, looking down at the menu.

I hoped she wouldn't see Josh who was sitting across the room with his friends. Riley would ignore them but not Evelyn. Her and Josh hated each other. With Evelyn humiliating him the other time at school as she bashed his face onto the table as well as witnessing Josh abusing Gladys.

"Mabel – "Evelyn began but was cut off by the one person I didn't want to interact with.

"Well, well, well," Josh's spiteful voice made the two people sitting in front of me tense and square their shoudlers.

I didn't dare look up from my menu. Perhaps it was the fear that was crawling up my spine or I was just being a coward. But I hated the way it showed how much power Josh had over me. The fear he used against me made him powerful and I didn't like it one bit.

"What do you want, Josh?" Riley gritted out.

I could hear that bastard dramatically gasp as he clutched his chest, "Oh, Riley, don't be rude. Can't I come over and say hello to my bff?"