Audrey stands with Adam on the porch, turning to him with a sigh. "I'm sorry, Adam."
"Don't be." He strokes his thumb gently along her cheek with a smile. "I had a nice time. Can I kiss you goodnight?"
"Please." She answers, resting her hands on his chest as he smirked, leaning toward her. She closed her eyes as his lips made contact with hers. He moved his hand to the nape of her neck, teasing her tongue with his before pulling away with a smile.
"I've really missed you, Audrey. And I am all in. You only need to decide what you want. Goodnight." He cradles her face, kissing her forehead before walking away.
She groans softly, entering the house to relieve the sitter. She washes up and changes into some sleep shorts and an old tank top before going down to the kitchen. She grabs a water bottle when she hears a soft knock on the door. She's surprised to find Andy in front of in sweatpants and a t-shirt. "Andy, what are you doing here?"
He quickly pushes his way into the house, shutting the door loudly behind him. "Look, I know that I hurt you. But you hurt me too! You just up and left me, Addie!"
"Quiet down!" She pushes him as he grabs her wrists in his hands and looks around the living room for hints of a man.
"Why? Did Adam stay over?"
"No!" She scoffs, pulling her hands free before crossing her arms over her chest. "I just need you to be quiet, please."
"Fuck you! Laurie was pregnant and forced me to choose between you! And I had to choose her. I'm so sorry Audrey! But I still love you!" His voice continues to get louder and louder as she places her hands on his chest to try and quiet him.
"I know. I ran into Laurie today and she told me what happened between you guys. I'm sorry, Andy," she whispers softly as she looks up at him and he rests his hands on her waist.
"You're sorry?" He repeats with a small smirk before he hears the sound of small footfalls behind Audrey.
"Mama?"
"Fuck..." Audrey curses under her breath as Braeden enters the living room still half asleep. She scoops him into her arms as Andy stares at him.
He feels his heart sink to his stomach as he recognizes himself in the small boy. "You have a son?" He shakes his head, swallowing hard as he rests his hands on his hips, hanging his head down.
Before she can respond, her phone rings in the kitchen. She answers it right away when she sees it's her mother, staring at Andy as she does. He locks eyes with her, taking Braeden from her as her face sinks, hanging up the phone. "They took my father to the hospital. They think he had a stroke."
Andy sighs, looking down at Braeden. "Go."
"Andy..." She hesitates as he shakes his head.
"It's fine. I think I can look after my own son. Now go." He sits on the couch with Braeden, talking with him softly as Audrey rushes to her bedroom to change.
She comes back out to kiss Braeden on the head, glancing at Andy, her heart clenching at the hurt look on his face. "I'm sorry, Andy."
"Just go. We can talk more about it later." He glances at Braeden after Audrey leaves. "Can you show me where your room is?"
Braeden smiles widely as Andy sets him on his feet and he grabs Andy's hand to lead him down the hall to his bedroom and crawls into his bed. "Are you my daddy?"
Andy nods and sighs as he sits on the edge of the bed beside him, pulling the blanket up. "It appears that I am." He brings his hand up to ruffle his hair, noticing Braeden looked just like him as a kid. "How old are you?"
"Are you coming to my birthday? I'm 4!"
Andy chuckles, nodding. "I'll talk to your mom, but I don't see why not. You should go to sleep bud. I promise we can talk more in the morning."
Braeden nods and rolls on his side to face Andy. "Don't go."
Andy nods again, sitting on the floor beside the bed. "I'll stay until you fall asleep." He sighs, leaning back against the bed. He knew he couldn't exactly blame her for keeping Braeden from him, especially after the way he treated her. But he still couldn't believe he had an almost four-year-old son he never knew. Once he hears Braeden snoring softly, he gets up off the floor, and closes the door softly as he leaves. He finds Audrey's bedroom, slipping off his shoes and crawling into her bed, falling asleep wrapped in her scent.
***
Audrey finds Andy asleep in her bed as she crawls into bed beside him, crying. He wraps his arms around her instinctually, pulling her to his chest. "Baby? What is it?"
"He died. There wasn't anything else I could do, so my mom sent me home."
Andy groans, pulling her tighter against him as he kisses the top of her head. "I'm so sorry, Addie."
"I know I have no right to ask, but will you please stay with me?"
"I'm not going anywhere, baby." He stares silently at the ceiling, listening to her crying softly until he finally hears her breathing steady out and she falls asleep on his chest.
He wakes up in the morning as he feels a little hand pulling on his as Braeden grins at him from the side of the bed. "I'm hungry."
Andy laughs, bringing his finger up to his lips. "Shh... don't wake up mommy. Come on." He crawls out of bed gently, to not disturb Audrey. He scoops Braeden into his arms, carrying him to the kitchen. "Come on. I'll make you pancakes. You like pancakes?"
"Yes please!" He answers excitedly as Andy chuckles.
Audrey wakes up in bed alone and hears giggles coming from the kitchen. She gets up and showers quickly before throwing on some leggings and a t-shirt. She finds the boys in the kitchen with Braeden at the kitchen counter and Andy at the stove. "You didn't have to make breakfast."
"Daddy made me pancakes!"
She laughs, glancing at Andy, seeing he is still upset as he offers her a small smile. "I don't mind. He woke up and said he was hungry. Are you okay?"
She shrugs softly, taking the seat beside Braeden. "Hey bud, we need to talk."
He nods, pointing at Andy. "Where has daddy been?"
She swallows hard, looking at Andy for help as he only shakes his head at her. "Well, honey. He didn't know about you at first. I didn't tell him you were here."
"Why?"
She groaned as Andy sat of plate of pancakes in front of her before leaning against the counter with his arms crossed over his chest as he waited for the answer for himself too. "It's complicated, honey. I promise I will explain better when you are older. All that matters is daddy is here and you'll see more of him." She looks to Andy for confirmation, and he nods and smiles at Braeden.
"That's right, bud. And I promise I'll come to your birthday party too. Okay?"
Braeden grins, going back to his pancakes. "Okay!"
She chuckles, looking at Braeden. "There was something else we need to talk about. Grandpa died last night. That's why daddy was here with you, and I wasn't."
"What is died?"
She sighs, her heart sinking as Andy clears his throat, leaning on the counter next to Braeden. "It means he won't be around anymore, bud. And that means that mommy and grandma are both going to be really sad for a while and you need to help take care of them, okay?"
"Okay, daddy." Braeden smiles.
Andy chuckles as Audrey mouths a thank you to him. "Well, I have to go."
"Don't go!" Braeden jumps off the stool to cling to Andy's leg as he sighs.
"I promise I'll see you again soon, bud." He lifts him up as Braeden clings to his chest. "How about I come back later with pizza for dinner?"
"Can we watch a movie?"
"Sure, we can." He sets Braeden back on the stool, kissing his head. "Now eat your breakfast."
Audrey follows Andy into the living room, watching him put on his shoes. "I'm really sorry, Andy. About everything."
He sighs, nodding. "Looks like we have more to talk about than I thought. But I promise I'll be back later. And we can talk after he goes to bed?"
"I'd like that."
"I missed out on so much, Addie. So many things I missed."
She stares at the ground, tears welling up. "I'm sorry."
He grabs her chin, tilting it up to him with a small smirk. "This was just not how I expected last night to go when I came over."
She chuckles as he wipes away a stray tear. "What did you expect?"
He grins, moving his hands to her waist. "That we would fight and yell and then have angry sex. And then I would hold you all night and make love to you again this morning."
She swallows hard as he smirks, and she feels heat pool in her belly. "That sounds nice. What about Lily?"
"I'm going there now after I shower and change."
"I don't want you to break up with her simply because we have a kid, Andy. That's no reason for us to be together."
He laughs, wrapping his hands around her to pull her closer to him. "Of course not. I want to be with you because I'm in love with you. I'm still so fucking in love with you, Audrey." He strokes his thumb along her cheek as she parts her lips, staring up at him. "But I think we have a long way before we can get there again. So, let's just start with a talk later."
She nods, pulling him into a hug as he rests his head on hers. "Sounds good."
He smiles, pulling away and kissing her on the forehead before leaving the house.