Meet Me Halfway

Chapter 29

She could not have felt any more uncomfortable than she did in that moment, and the added pressure of seeing FP for the first time their fight certainly didn't help.

Gladys remained reserved, her chestnut eyes darting left and right as she anxiously waited for FP to answer the front door.

Also the fact that he's seemingly made himself a new home at Alice's just increased level of awkwardness, she couldn't have felt any more out of place.

FP pulled the door wide open seconds later, still slowly rocking the infant attached to his chest and seeming calmer than expected to her, well as calm as can be with a newborn baby to deal with.

Gladys did have to admit though, as strange as it was seeing him with a newborn, the two did look very cute together.

FP slowly rubbed Charles back, shushing him back to sleep as his lips curled into a tight but unsettling smile towards Alice. That look alone told her exactly how this meeting would probably turn out.

"Hey." Gladys croaked to break the silence and building tension between the two.

"Hi." He greeted lowly before averting his gaze back down onto the baby.

She watched as he gulped nervously and stepped aside, allowing her to walk through into Alice's living room.

The feeling of discomfort that was already surging through her proved to be more evident as she stepped through, her eyes darting back and forth between tiny onsies, diapers, baby blue congratulatory gifts, small toys and Alice's belongings.

This was every girlfriends dream, she sarcastically thought, being surrounded by every reminder possible that your boyfriend was some other girls baby daddy.

She thought she would handle it better which she would've, but the longer she spent in that trailer was just a constant reminder of the predicament, and she wanted to get out of there as soon as possible.

"How about you sit down." FP advised from behind her before walking over to the sofa and removing a pile of folded baby clothes to make room.

"No, that's okay." She declined delicately before tightly folding her arms over chest once more. "I don't think I'll be staying long anyway." She added with a slightly condescending tone as she glared around the room with a mild frown on her face.

FP could practically sense her disgust that she tried ever so hard to disguise, but the way in which she kept her arms tightly folded on her chest, kept herslef reserved and the sour look on her face told him all he needed to know, and quite frankly, he was already getting sick of her attitude.

"You know what?" He quietly snapped trying not to unsettle Charles. "That works in my favour, because the sooner you're outta here, the better."

"Don't talk to me like that!" Gladys snarled through baring teeth as her eyes widened in slight anger. She had never witnessed him react that way towards her so it certainly took her by surprise.

FP's eyes bulged open before shifting them down onto Charles. He was still sound asleep luckily, despite Gladys' minor outburst. "Shh!"

"Why are you here anyway?" Gladys whispered his way, a sharp snarl still upon her face as she leaned over the kitchen counter.

His frustration was becoming more apparent, getting easily angered with Gladys by the second. "Because Roger's away, and I need to help Alice take care of OUR son. Is that okay with you?"

Gladys lowered her head in shame, sucking her cheek in as she tapped her fingernails along the counter. "I didn't mean it like that."

The second he saw Gladys' expression dull, he knew he had gone overboard. Reigning in his emotions was always a fault of his yet he still managed to control it in the face of those around him, except this wasn't one of those times. "No, no. I know what you meant, I'm sorry, I'm just, tired, as you can probably tell." He defended.