Charlie's POV
"Mommy?" my very curious toddler asked me while we were sitting on the couch watching a rerun of Paw Patrol, a bowl of fresh strawberries sitting in his lap and his milk sitting on the cushion next to him.
"Yes honey" I said with a smile, my fingers coming up to run through his soft curly hair as I waited for him to tell me exactly what had to be running through his mind on loop if he was preparing himself to ask me.
"When will I see Dadda again?" His question made my breath catch in my throat and my fingers stall in their motion of moving through his unruly locks—something he definitely inherited from Austin—as I swallowed hard. That lump that seemed to always quickly form in my throat at the mention of his name in any shape or form instantly residing in its favorite spot as I took a few minutes to make sure I'd be able to keep myself together before giving him his answer.
"I'm not sure buddy. Daddy has been really busy singing and hasn't been home, that's why we came here to be close to Grandma Jodie and Grandpa Rich" the lie that left my mouth becoming easier and easier to say making me feel like I was starting to believe it as well. I had to think of something to tell him, I couldn't spill my guts to him that his Dad left me for another woman—not like he'd understand that anyway—so I took the easy way out and relied on his job, using it as the main reason he's been away for almost two months.
"Oh" he said somberly, his hands wringing together as he looked back up at me with his sad blue eyes. "And Nana and Pop?" he asked curiously.
"I'm not sure buddy, but when they have time to travel down here I'm sure that they will let me know" I said trying to seem happy as I was talking about the three people who had hurt me the most but still mattered to me more than anything. He nodded his head slowly at my answer leaving me feeling unsure if he was accepting what I said or wondering what really happened for us to live in Texas away from everyone he loved aside from me and Austin's parents.
He returned back to his zombie like state, his stare fixated on the pups who were saving the day yet again allowing me to focus on the thoughts that were running through my head.
The decision to come home was a hard one, every part of me wanting to work things out with Austin, to show him that I loved him more than anything in this world and tell him where my actions and attitudes were coming from. But, as I sat in the bathroom for hours the day I found out he had been sleeping with another girl, my heart couldn't win over my brain. I tried, I tried like hell to switch it off and just let my heart guide me in the other direction but it was no use. I found myself packing my bags the next day, Austin watching me the entire time without saying anything that would try to sway my decision. It hurt to know that he wanted me gone, he may not have come right out and said it, but his actions spoke louder than his words in this scenario. He had ample opportunities to stop me, to tell me that he loved me and wanted to work this out, not just for us but for our kids. He of all people should know what it is like to be raised with one parent and I guess that thought led me to believe that he would want to fix us. But, I guess his side chick meant more to him than me and his kids and that feeling was like a stab in the heart.
Austy didn't take it well, especially since he and Austin formed a bond during the time we lived with him that I felt no one would ever be able to replace. He sobbed into Austin's chest, begging for him to come with us that he didn't want to be anywhere without him again. Austin was emotional—well emotional for Austin—and I thought the sight and sound of his child begging for him to stay would have flipped a switch in him and bring him back to the reality that he had bigger obligations than only thinking of himself and his feelings, but even the sobbing of our son couldn't sway his decision.
Thankfully Doris was still around--although she was catching a flight back to Washington the next day keeping true to her word that if I walked out so did she—and she helped put my bags and Austy in the car while I tried one last time to get Austin to change his mind. Instead, I was met with a hug—that heavily implied we were now nothing more than friends—and a kiss on the cheek while he politely asked for me to keep him in the loop about Tabitha. In the moment nothing but tears were able to escape accompanied by a small headnod at his request, but now it felt like nothing more than a joke. Was I happy that he still wanted to know about his daughter? In a way, yes. But at this point I don't think I wanted him to have anything to do with our children, especially not with the girl he's still hanging around. From what I had found out about her, she had a questionable past and an even more questionable present and that was not the kind of person I wanted my children around. I knew Austin would be mad but I really didn't care. He made the decision to leave me, which ultimately meant to leave his kids as well, and stay with her and now he has to live with that decision and its consequences for the rest of his life.
As for my parents, when I called them and told them that I was coming home I wasn't met with open arms and understanding like I had hoped. I don't really know why they were more mad at me than they were Austin, but they had pretty much told me that they were done playing the game of revolving doors. They tried to convince me that I would only be with them for a few weeks before that scumbag—as they now affectionately referred to Austin—would be back at the doorstep begging for me to return and they didn't want to have any part in seeing me ruin my life and the life of my children by going back to him. Austy was upset when he found out that we weren't returning to Nana and Pop's house—the only place I feel like he felt comfort—but accepted the fact that we were going to be living with Grandma Jodie and Grandpa Rich.
We lived with them for about a month, the apologies that left their lips everyday more heartfelt than Austin's ever were and needless to say their disgust for what he had done to me was something I have never seen from them before. But, that was the good thing about Rich and Jodie. They never put Austin on a pedestal, especially not now with his fame, and always held him accountable for his actions and what he did definitely did not sit well with Rich. I wasn't hoping for him to take me back after Rich had discussed—to put it in kind terms when in reality I've never seen Rich act as he did before—the situation with him, but I was hoping for some change unfortunately none had come.
Austin started out texting me a few times a week, asking how things were going more concerned with Austy and how he was holding up—which okay that was sweet—than me. He asked about Tabi a handful of times, but it seemed like she quickly slid from his mind a few weeks after leaving, almost as if he didn't remember knocking me up with his second child. I was already planning on raising her the same way I raised Austy. I wanted her to know who her Father was, but I wasn't going to go out of my way to have her contact him. If he didn't reach out and didn't want to know her then I would do everything that I felt was right and when she was old enough she could make the decision on whether or not she wanted to talk to him.
As for me, the heartbreak hasn't stopped. I had thought that it would get better and that I would be able to move on and stay strong because of my kids, but that strength was only temporary. It all slowly slid away into nothing when I was alone, the tears that had damned themselves up all day finally breaking free, sliding down the familiar steep slopes of my cheeks to rest in puddles on my pillow as I cried myself to sleep. I knew that Jodie and Rich would hear me cry every night—which heavily influenced my desire to move, not wanting to make them live in a perpetual state of awkwardness about what Austin did to me—but being the people that they were, they never lingered on it. Maybe it was their way of helping me move on by not bringing it up I'm not sure, but regardless I appreciated the effort nonetheless.
However, despite the fact that we were no longer living with them, we still spent most of our days at their house. I found an odd sense of comfort being with them, maybe it was the fact that they were close to Austin and I knew that he often contacted them—although since he's been with Kano his communication with them has become less and less—and I always had a flickering flame ignited in my heart that heavily tried to make me believe that he would ask about me, but each time Jodie would give me a sad look and shake her head no. Each confirmation of the sad fact tried to persuade me to move on just like he did, but something still kept me rooted to my hopes and dreams that we would be together again.
I looked over at Austy after what felt like hours of contemplation of my life that seemed to somehow be stuck in such a depressing state—aside for my kids which were the light of my life—to see that he had fallen asleep somewhere between our short conversation and the end of my racing thoughts. I moved myself down the couch carefully positioning him in a way where he wouldn't wake up as I awkwardly maneuvered myself from the cushions. Things were getting increasingly harder to do as my due date kept creeping up on me, although I didn't feel like Tabi wanted to stay hidden from the world much longer. I finally succeeded in the task of getting up from the couch, my hands resting on my bulging stomach as I rubbed it gently before making my way towards the kitchen. I was starving—or should I say Tabi was starving—and was craving for a BLT. I walked into the kitchen with a small smile taking over my face as I saw Jodie standing in front of the stove already cooking up some bacon.
"How do you always read my mind?" I laughed, pulling out the wooden chair as I awkwardly sank my body into it, my elbows resting on the table as I started to gently massage my temple.
"I guess I just know you too well that's all" Jodie smiled, placing the tongs on the stove as she walked over towards me slowly positioning herself in the opposite chair as she looked at me with a sad smile. "How are you Charlie?" she asked, reaching her hand out to gently rub my forearm.
"In what sense?" I asked with a small laugh, the look on her face letting me know she didn't care about one specific scenario she just wanted an overall synopsis of my emotions and in this moment I was glad to give it to her because otherwise we would be sitting here until breakfast tomorrow while I explained everything that was running through my mind.
"I'm coping" I said with closed eyes, my fingers continuously running circles against my temple as I heard her get up from the chair, a few moments later the sound of the Tylenol bottle being placed in front of me as I opened my eyes and gave her a smile. "Thank you" I said, grabbing two from the bottle and swallowing them quickly with the glass of water she had sitting by my plate that had already been placed on the table before I arrived.
"And how is Miss Tabi making you feel?" she asked with a smile.
"Well she's been giving me more headaches than I can count. My back has been killing me the last couple days and I've already been feeling like I'm getting contractions" I said, giving her a concerned look. "All of these things happened right before Austy was born, but I'm nervous Jodie. She'd be coming a month too early" I said, placing my hands down on the table as I looked at her.
It was no secret that everything that was going on between me, Austin and my parents was not making me have a pleasant pregnancy. There have been several times since I came out here where Jodie or Rich had to drive me to the hospital where I would stay for a day or two before coming home because Tabi was in stress and I was going into preterm labor. It didn't help that Austin nor my parents even returned their phone calls so they could tell them what was happening, and after about the third time that it happened they stopped reaching out to either of them all together.
"Charlie honey, both Rich and I have been talking and we would really feel a lot better if you and Austy stayed here, at least until Tabi is born. You are a half hour away from us honey and if you were to go into preterm labor and we weren't there" she said trailing off her words as I slowly shook my head.
"You're right," I said, not even needing time to think of the scenario. "Austy wouldn't know what to do and I really should be around someone in case something happens" I said with a smile before another wave of unpleasant stabbing started again in my temples.
"Honey I know you're hungry, but why don't you go upstairs and lay down" she said, the look of concern in her eyes matching that of what I felt running through my body.
"Okay" I said, nodding my head as I slowly started to make my way upstairs. Something felt off today, more so than normal and it made me have this feeling that I would be meeting my little girl a lot sooner than I had planned and the only thing I hoped was that Austin would at least answer the phone and come and see his little girl.
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Austin's POV
"Yo bro, get me another Bud Light!" I yelled across the crowded VIP section, Kano sitting comfortably in my lap as I turned towards her placing a small kiss on her exposed chest, the instant giggle leaving her lips as she tried to push me away from her only making me continue my actions more, especially since I knew deep down the only thing she wanted me to do was go further.
"Baby" she laughed looking down at me, the look behind her eyes making my body tingle for her as I slowly started kissing up her chest towards her perfect lips, melting mine togethers with hers hotly as she instantly dipped her tongue between them. I loved that about Kano, she was never afraid to get into it even in public she was always down to have me however she could and there was something about that that drove me wild.
We really became more connected to each other since our yacht vacation in St. Tropez. I fell more and more in love with her as each day of the trip passed by. She was perfect in every way, and she wasn't afraid to be with me. She didn't like Stoney, she liked Austin. I was slightly upset with the several pictures that somehow got leaked from our trip, there were several where we were more than cozy together and the one where I was fixed on her perfect ass always makes me smile. But, nothing about that trip was supposed to get out. I didn't want the world to know about her, I wanted to be selfish and keep her to myself almost too afraid that someone else would try to snag my prize away from me if too many people knew about her.
Of course my Dad saw them and that started a fresh wave of him trying to make me feel guilty for what I did to Charlotte. I can't lie that at first I did, I felt like the biggest dick in the world for literally screwing another girl for weeks before she found out. The worst part about it was I had no intention of telling her, I was just hoping she was going to get sick of me never being around and leave me but I never thought that she would stay just so the kids had a Dad.
When I watched her pack her bags that day I never even tried to stop her from leaving. I tried to think about Austy and the new baby—Tabi I think she wanted to call her—growing up without a Dad, but even the thought of them couldn't bring me to stay with her. I had fallen out of love with Charlotte for months now, and now that I had someone else I couldn't remember what it felt like to love anyone else besides Kano. I mean fuck, Charlie never even crossed my mind anymore and Austy only crossed it here and there. But, I've been so busy with work and being with Kano that I couldn't think of anything else and being with her made me not want to.
But, my Dad never dropped the subject. Everytime I called he would bring up Austy and Charlotte and I would patiently wait until he finished, most of the time never responding to anything that he said about them—or anything he said in general since Kano was always sitting naked in front of me. Another thing I liked about her, when we were alone she never had on any clothes, she was always ready for me—starting up the next conversation like the one he had said didn't even happen. I knew he was upset with me because if he wasn't he wouldn't be trying so hard to always bring them into conversation. And I knew that I was a Dad and that I should be asking about my son and the new baby, not to mention the mother of my children, but that just wasn't as important to me as it used to be anymore. The only thing that was important was singing and Kano and I made sure she was on birth control so I wouldn't have to worry about anything else.
"Hey, where'd you go?" she said loudly, my chin held in her hand as she was snapping her fingers in front of my eyes.
I smiled up at her, kissing her long neck as I moved her so she was straddling my lap, my hands resting around her waist as I put a gentle kiss on her lips. "Sorry baby I got caught up in my thoughts" I said, as she looked down at me with a smirk, her hips starting to slowly grind onto mine as I snapped my eyes closed at the feeling. I wasn't sure what it would be like to date a stripper, or if I had to worry about her always trying to leave me for other guys, but fuck I loved every part of dating a stripper. She knew what she was doing and she knew how to drive me wild.
"Well how bout I fill your head with other thoughts?" she whispered in my ear, her tongue gently tracing it before she put my earlobe between her teeth and pulled hard. My eyes snapped open as I looked at her, my hands pausing her gyrating hips as I pushed up against her hard, her mouth falling open and her head falling back in an extreme feel of pleasure before she slowly brought her gaze back down to look at me, her teeth grabbing onto her bottom lip as she placed her index finger on my lips. I pressed my lips against the pad of her finger before she gently slid it in my mouth, the action turning me on as I moved her to the floor and grabbed her hand, my own hiding my very evident erection as I walked her towards the elevators just outside the club that would take us to our room so I could have my way with her.
-------------------------------------------------------
"Fuck Kano, fuck baby don't stop" I moaned loudly underneath her as she rode me towards another amazing orgasm.
"Baby fuck I'm gonna cum" she moaned as I rolled her over, my hands grabbing onto the headboard as I started to roughly pound into her, the sounds of sweaty skin smacking together filling the room as she moaned loudly, her walls clenching tightly against my pulsing dick. I crashed my lips together with hers only for her to push me away quickly. She was never really one for expressing any form of love when we were having sex, especially not during our orgasms and I instantly felt stupid for not remembering that. I dropped my head into the crook of her neck, for some reason my thoughts instantly ran to Charlotte.
She was always extra sweet after we climaxed with each other, always wanting to show me just how much she loved what had happened between us and how much she loved me. Soft I love you's would always float from her lips before we would spend the next several minutes lying together in each other's arms.
Sure Kano was great at sex, she was wild and unpredictible and never failed to make me come, but the love that she would show me before—or should I say the lust—wasn't present when she was done. It was almost as if she used me to satisfy herself in some way but I could never see past that for longer than a few seconds after finishing in her. It was like she had this spell over me that made me not think, care or want anyone else besides her. My brief break away from the blinders that I wore in the relationship were enough to make me miss Charlotte, to want to talk to her and to Austy. To ask if the new baby was born yet—the fact that I even forgot when she was due showed just how much control Kano had over me—and most importantly to want to see her but it never lasted long.
I rolled over, grabbing my phone off of the small nightstand as Kano got off the bed heading towards the bathroom. "Where ya goin baby?" I asked, rolling over on my side as she looked at me over her shoulder.
"I have your come dripping down my leg and if you don't mind I'd like to shower to get rid of it. I never liked a man's come dripping down me" she said making a disgusted face as she continued to the bathroom.
Words like that should've stung, should've made me wonder just how many guys she had been with besides me or think what she actually did in the VIP rooms when all they were supposed to get was a private dance. But none of that mattered, all that mattered was I was the one who had her in bed with me, I was the one who fucked her countless times throughout the days and even though they were great thoughts something about them didn't feel right.
When I wasn't around her—which wasn't often—I came out of my temporary stupor just long enough to remember the life that I used to have, when I had someone who truly loved me to the depths of the earth and back despite what I did to her. To the amazing son that I had and the new little girl I was about to have and it really made me miss them, but try as hard as I could I couldn't bring myself to break ties with Kano to go back to them. I was mesmerized by her and it was enough to make me ruin everything and forget everyone that I had before her, including my kids.
I started to flip through the photos in my phone when I felt it start to vibrate in my hand, my Dad's name flashing across the screen as I anxiously looked over towards the bathroom wondering how long I had before Kano came out and ruined everything for me again, shoving me back into my world that I lived in wearing blinders that were focused solely on her and no one or nothing else. I hit the accept button willing to give it a shot.
"Hey Dad" I said, grabbing the covers and pulling them over myself. The thought of talking to him in such an indecent way made me chuckle as I waited for him to respond.
"Austin" he said, his voice stern as I sat up in the bed, my hand running through my hair as I swallowed hard. "The mother of your children, her name is Charlotte in case you forgot. Well she went into preterm labor with your child tonight, remember the little girl you blessed her with before you cheated on her and left her to raise another baby alone"
"Yeah Dad, fuck yes I remember" I said shaking my head suddenly becoming extremely nervous for what he was about to tell me.
"Well you haven't in the past so I thought I would clear things up for you from the start" he said coldly, the tone that he has decided to take recently whenever he talked to me.
"Okay Dad I fucking get it you're mad at me still and right now I'm mad at me too. Now what is wrong" I said, my feet swinging over the side of the bed as I rested my elbow on my thigh and put my head in my hand.
"The baby is fine, she is a little underweight at 4lbs 10oz but she is healthy enough to breathe on her own" he said, my heart immediately becoming lighter as I let out a breath.
"Thank God" I muttered looking up towards the ceiling. I wasn't really religious but I thanked whoever was up there for my little girl being okay.
"Charlotte on the other hand has lost a lot of blood. She needed a transfusion during the c-section. She went into stress right before the baby was born but they got Tabitha out before any harm could be done to her. Charlotte almost died Austin" the words making my skin clammy and my heart feel like it was nonexistent as I opened my mouth to say something, anything but nothing left my lips.
"But despite everything when she came out of surgery you know what she did?" I didn't answer and I didn't think he was expecting me too so I just let out a sigh as I waited for him to continue. "She asked for you. She didn't ask for her baby, she asked for you. After everything you did to her, she still wanted you"
Everything around me felt like it was still, like it was just me in a world where nothing else existed. I felt Kano come on the bed behind me, her hand grabbing at my shoulder as I shrugged her off of me. I stood up running my hand through my hair still at a complete loss of what to say as I tried to comprehend the fact that Charlotte, the girl I knew all my life who I loved and was the amazing Mother to my two children almost wasn't with me anymore. Not to mention for reasons that I couldn't quite comprehend, she still wanted me. After everything I did to her she was asking for me.
The amount to which she loved me and cared for me never really registered with me until this point and I felt like the biggest dick in the world for ever leaving her side.
"Austin, did you hear what I said?" my Dad asked, my voice coming out in barely a whisper as I attempted to give him an answer.
"Yeah, fuck. Is she okay?" I asked, suddenly my thoughts not focused on anything but her, the tiny inhabitant that took over my mind laughing inside that all I needed to break myself free from Kano's spell was this. As shitty as it seemed I needed a life or death situation to happen to Charlotte to make me realize just how much I loved her.
"Tabitha or Charlotte?" he asked, his tone still cold as I heard Jodie approach him, her faint voice echoing through the speaker.
"Both" I said, making my way over towards a chair in the corner as I sank myself down in it, my head falling back into my hand, visions of Charlotte in a hospital bed fighting for her life rushing through my mind.
"Jodie has Tabitha right now. She looks just like her Mom, beautiful" my Dad trailed off as I heard him talking to his new granddaughter. "As for Charlotte, Jodie said that she has been sleeping requesting for you one last time before she drifted off. She won't be able to go home for a while so Jodie and I will have to watch Tabi" he said as I started to formulate a way to go see her. If she was asking for me I had to be there.
"Where are her parents?" I asked wondering why they weren't there for the birth of their grandchild.
"They got into a fight. She came back to live with them and they told her to leave because they were sick of the on again off again game that you two were playing. They hated seeing her hurt Austin and I can't say that I blame them. So she left and we took her and Austy in" his words stabbing further at my heart as I let out a sigh. Her and her parents were always so close and just like that I fucked up another relationship.
"She lives on her own now in Dallas. Jodie and I weren't happy but she's a grown woman and we can't stop her. But we're thankful we talked her into staying because if not you probably wouldn't have her or Tabi" he said somberly.
I sat for a minute thinking through my schedule and what I could move around to make time to go see her and meet my daughter.
I knew that it wasn't going to sit well with Kano but for the first time since I've been with her I didn't care. I had to get to Charlotte and maybe there was a way that I could fix everything.
"I'm coming out there Dad, I'll try for today but I'll let you know when I land" I said walking over towards my suitcase as I piled all of the clothes inside before stepping into my boxers and the rest of my clothes from tonight.
I hung up the phone forgetting that Kano was even in existence anymore, my fingers flying against the digital keyboard as I tried to make arrangements with my pilot. I had it in my head that even if he couldn't fly me out I would fly commercial to get to her. I wasn't that big yet and I could probably get away with no one really knowing who I was. I sent a message out to Dre who replied instantly—he quickly learned to love Charlie when Kano came around—and told me to do what I had to do. I threw my phone into my pocket and grabbed my duffle bag as I started heading for the door when I felt a tug on my hand.
"Where you goin?" she asked with a smirk as she tried to coax me back into our room.
"Dallas" I said hoping to end the conversation there but had no such luck.
"For what?
"My daughter was born tonight and I almost lost her Mom, so I am going out to see her" she got tense at my words, a malicious look hanging behind her eyes as she got close to me, her hot breath tickling my skin as she spoke.
"If you leave here you can kiss everything we have goodbye" she said giving me an evil stare as I closed my eyes taking a deep breath as I gave her my answer.
"Then goodbye" I said breaking free from her grip as I quickly turned the door handle and walked down the hall hopefully in the direction of getting the girl of my dreams back.
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a/n: so this happened. Only 3 more parts to see if they get their happy ending (or any kind of happy ending). What do you think? As always thanks for reading, liking and commenting it is greatly appreciated!
~Updates~
9-3-21: Drinking Alone
9-4-21: Chance Encounters
9-5-21: What Happens In Vegas (the goodbye)