35 days without Sophia Matthews.
"I've told you this story so many times. Why do I have to keep saying it?" I groan, screwing my eyes shut. I take a deep sigh before looking forward at him.
"Until it makes sense." Andrew snaps, taking a swing of the bottle in his hand. After he takes a drink, he tosses the nearly empty bottle.
"What do you mean until it makes sense? It makes perf-" my older brother cuts me off, his eyes rolling as he spoke.
"It makes no sense. Like at all. You mean to tell me you believe this bullshit?" He says, frowning at me before wiping his face. My eyes roll to the wall, looking at a picture frame that held a picture of Maya from when she was one years old.
"She said she doesn't want to see me." I say again, wondering how much more clearer I can get. I tell him this everytime he comes. I tell him the story, everytime he comes. He asks me to repeat it, everytime he comes. He's a asshole. I look back up, seeing Andrew staring at his phone. He looks back at me before shrugging along with a pointed look. His look was basically just telling me I am a idiot. His normal face.
He's heard it about a hundred times but OK.
"Do you have that in writing?" Andrew asked, chuckling at his own stupid joke. I do not find any of this funny.
I do not find losing my family over a fucking lie funny.
"No. Just take my word that she said it." I groan, drinking some of the Sprite Andrew bought over for me. They were a blessing to a hangover... that has last for nearly thirty days.
"She said what, exactly?" Andrew asks me, picking up another bottle and throwing it into the trash bag he was dragging around. I glanced at the orange envelope that the nurse gave me that day. I still hadn't opened it.
She gave me a pretty good understanding of what it would say. It stayed in the same spot: on the table. Unopened, barely touched, and crisp.
"She didn't say it, like I've told you a million time: the nurse told me. It's protocol that if somebody anonymously tips them off that they take action. Of course, I don't know who tipped them off. It could be her for all I know." I complain. I didn't want to believe it but I can't see any other possible reasons.
"It's not her. Have you been listening to what I've been telling you for like the past three weeks? She's heartbroken. She wouldn't put either of you through that type of pain, especially on the birth day of your kids." Andrew says, making me frown.
I've been doing that a lot lately.
"I don't know," I start, my eyes meeting his briefly, "woman can be great liars. She could be acting." I shrug. I was used to that though. Woman and lying. It practically went hand in hand with each other.
Automatically Andrew freezes, his stance going still. I see his face contort in anger as he grits his next words.
"She is not Leah."
Oh, he's mad now.
Did I poke a beehive?
"Fuck Leah! We are talking about Sophia Brooke fucking Matthews." I snap, standing up. This was the first time I even said her name in weeks. I couldn't bring myself to say it. I didn't want to.
"I don't know why I bothered coming here again. You act like a jackass everytime." Andrew snaps back, shoving more items into the
"That's what happens when you get your heart broken everytime you decide to give it so someone."
"Just visit her."
"Have you not been listening? Here. Read the fucking papers." I say, tossing him the large orange envelope. I can't bring myself to open it. I already know what it says.
Knowing her, even though I haven't seen her work, I have heard about how excellent she is from Chance, so I'm sure she found and plugged up every loophole there could possibly be.
That was her for you.
She had one of the brightest minds I knew of, and that coming from me. I consider myself a very intelligent person and I know she is an even intelligent-er person.
I watched as my oldest brother slides the papers to himself before undoing the prong. He gives me a look before peering inside. He pulls the papers out slowly, observing me as he does so. After they're out, he tosses the envelope to the ground.
"Don't tell me what it says, I already know." I pout like a child as he begins to scan the papers.
I continue playing with my fingers.
I miss them.
This is the only thought that runs through my mind now.
I miss them.
Here I was, back to not saying her name.
Everytime I heard her name, every time I thought of her, all I could hear are the nurses words.
"Mr. Parker? Excuse me! Mr. Parker." I turn around, my eyes looking around for the person who was calling for me. A short woman is following me, dark purple scrubs encasing her body.
My eyes quickly gaze over her body, wondering what was the issue. I look down the small window before turning around.
I just wanted to see my kids and Sophia.
"Yes?" I say, my hand on the door that leads to the hall Sophia and the triplets are. Hopefully this lady will be quick.
"I'm afraid you cannot go down there." She said. It's only then I realize what's she's clutching in her hand. A large orange envelope.
What is going on?
If I wasn't who I am, I wouldn't have a clue what that was. But I am who I am.
I've had these types of envelopes delivered before.
"We cannot allow you to see Sophia Matthews at this time." She stutters. Her eyes are confident though, they never leave mine. My eyes fall into a squint as my mind processes what this short lady is saying to me.
"What? My kids are in there." I immediately respond, outraged. Who is she to tell me I can't see my fucking girl and kids?
Not a damn person.
"They are also Ms. Matthews kids, since you are not married, we cannot allow you to see them." She says, bobbing her head as if that made sense.
My eyes dart from hers to behind me, seeing if any of my siblings were nearby, or better yet, Sophia. Nobody was to be found. My eyes found their way back to her dark brown ones, where she stopped talking.
"What type of bullshit is this? I was just in there and nothing was wrong. What's the problem now?" pours out of my mouth while the lady begins to fidget.
Good.
She should be fucking nervous.
Today was not the day for these type of sick jokes to be played.
"You Are Alexander Parker, correct? We have gotten a domestic abuse complaint." She says, beginning to slightly shake.
A fucking what?
I really hope she didn't say what I think she just said.
"You're fucking crazy. From who?" I grit out, staring at the woman who is stopping me from entering this hallway.
"When we have tips, they are anonymous. Ms. Matthews lawyer did deliver this shortly after. I'm sorry. She doesn't want to see you."
"Nobody is abusing her!" I keep myself from yelling as I feel my breathing beginning to go erratic. "Nobody is getting abused." I say in a much calmer voice, pinching the bridge of my nose. She smiles sadly at me.
"I'm so-"
"What fucking proof is there? There's fucking no proof!" I say, absolutely filled with rage. I would never hit Sophia. I would never hit Maya.
Who the hell fed them these web of lies?
"I'm sorry Mr. Parker. You can leave the premises now or we can have security escort you. We need your cooperation. Please follow me." She says, grabbing my hand. She stares at me, as if she's waiting for me to continue walking.
I'm not leaving. I'll have to be carried out.
"I want to see my fucking wife and my fucking kids." I say, snatching my hand away from the woman. She opens her mouth to speak again, stuttering at the beginning of her sentence.
"You cannot see them at this time. I'm sure you can tak-," she says, grabbing my hand again. She begins to walk away, taking a step.
Who the fuck does she think she is? Touching me?
"If you do not let go of me right this fucking second, I will have you fired before you take another step." I finally snap, pulling my hand back once again. I cross both arms across my chest as she frowns.
She puts her hand up to her ear before speaking.
"Can we have security outside of the 600 hall? We need a escort for this gentleman." She says, staring into my eyes, practically taunting me. I let out a frustrated yell before walking away, immediately reaching for my phone.
What the hell is going on?
I'll just leave and come back later.
I should call Sophia now and ask her about this bullshit.
After fishing through all of my pockets, I notice my phone isn't in any pocket. I must have left in inside the room with Sophia.
Just as I turn around, I notice a security guard talking to the lady who was just talking to me. She points at me, making me roll my eyes before continuing to walk forward.
I'll be back for my kids.
And Sophia.
"A restraining order. How? Who? Wh-"
Okay, maybe I hadn't exactly been honest with him. I left out the restraining order part. I thought that if I avoided it, it would go away.
"I don't fucking know." I grunt, my hand sliding down my face. I peek through the lining between my fingers to see Andrew mumbling as he read the papers.
"What about Maya? I didn't go to law school but I know for sure that she can't put a restraining order against you from your child if she's not the mother."
"No. But, if there are complaints of domestic abuse and there is proof, they are required to do something."
"So why don't they arrest you?" He asks, flipping the page of the papers. I shrug.
"Not my expertise. Ask Sophia." I say, sarcasm dripping from my voice.
"Or Chance. He went to law school, right?" Andrew asks, shrugging at me.
They went to the same school, dumbass.
"He probably wrote that shit off." I say, resembling how close Sophia and Chance are. It still made me jealous to this day, even though I knew that neither Chance or Sophia would try it with one another.
"She didn't file this. If you see how heartbroken she is, you'd know. You'll just know. She wouldn't put herself through this." Andrew tells me again. I want to believe him. I do.
"You keep saying that." I comment, my voice sounding much weaker.
That was supposed to be one of the greatest days of my life. I was gonna to purpose to her and it all went down the drain. Just like that.
At the first opportunity, we were pulled apart.
"Because it's true." He stresses. He's probably pulling at his hair right now.
"Why won't she call me?" I ask, shifting towards him.
"Lost her phone. She just got a new one. Besides, how would you know she hasn't called you if you got a new phone and a new number?" Andrew retorts, his head cocking.
"I called her from my new number. Multiple times." I roll my eyes.
"Have you called Maya?." He questions.
I tense. I actually hadn't thought about that. I decided to call Maya. I don't know why I didn't think of this before. She usually doesn't answer when the number isn't saved. I taught her that. Hopefully, she'll disobey me, not like it's anything new, and answer.
"No, I hadn't. I'm calling her now." I say, grabbing my phone and typing in my old, old, number.
Since I got a new phone and number, nobody had my number. Sophia and Maya's were the only numbers I memorized by heart. William and Luke's just happened to be written around.
After typing, I allow my finger to hover over the call button.
She probably hates me.
Her own father, who abandoned her and her three siblings. Who abandoned her. I left her and the person she so desperately wanted to call mommy on one of the most emotional days ever.
Why did she have to be the daughter of a dick?
I should have fought harder. I didn't.
Press it.
What else do I have to lose?
I quickly tap the button before looking away.
It has officially been a month since I last saw them. I was completely twisted. Andrew was the only one I saw. He's been coming around for the last week, torturing me and telling me how much of a asshole I am for leaving Sophia. I can't help but believe him. I barely even tried to see her again.
The phone rings so long that I practically begin biting my nails from the tension. Andrew is pushing the papers back into the envelope when I look back at him. When I look back at the phone, i see a 'connecting...' appear, alerting me she answered.
I let out a sigh.
My anxiety is going through the roof, but that's basically nothing compared to the joy of seeing my daughter again. I missed her so fucking much.
I hear her voice before I see her.
Actually, I see nothing. The screen is black.
"Hello?" She whispers, before moving around. From her movements, I can tell she has her finger or hand over the camera because a little light peaked through while she was moving. She mumbled to herself while I decide when to speak. I can do this. Just speak.
"Hey princess." I say, my eyes bouncing to Andrew's, who has now started to clean again.
Immediately her hand is off the camera and it's pointed towards her face. She squints towards the screen, a smile overtaking her face and showing all her tiny teeth.
"Daddy?" She whispers, her eyes immediately welling up in tears. I let off a soft smile, looking at her hopeful eyes. She missed me just as much as I missed her.
"I miss you daddy!" She said, adjusting the camera some more. In this moment, I could immediately tell where she was. She was sitting in Sophia and I's bed on the side where I previous slept.
"I miss you too baby." I rush out, the realization of seeing Maya just now settling in.
After a month, I am finally seeing my oldest child.
"Then why don't yo- Jaisiah, stop. Look, it's daddy!" She says, adjusting the camera. A baby with bright red hair looking back at me. His eyes widely looked at the screen, the hazel eyes reminding much of Sophia's father.
Jaisiah gurgles with his mouth before a bunch of spit up comes and leaks from his mouth. His lips lift in a smile as Maya reaches to the side a grabs a blanket. She wipes his mouth before stuffing the blanket in his shirt.
"Say hi, Daddy!" Maya says, lifting Jaisiah little hand and waving it at the camera.
"Hi Jaisiah." I smile. He's growing so big already.
And I've missed the first month of their life.
"We miss you. Sophia is right here sleeping right now, see." She lifts the camera so I can see Sophia. She was burrowed underneath the covers, sleeping. Light snores slipped from her lips as her body rose up and down. From the other corner, I could see Jalen and Jasmine, neither having red hair, laying down in a small cot. They were sleep as well.
"I miss you all so much baby. Give Sophia a kiss for me when we hang up.."
"Wait! Why do we have to hang up? Are you going to come visit us? They said you're coming back but I heard uncle Tony say he didn't know where you were to Sophia." She frowns while adjusting the camera again.
"Eventually. I will. Tell me what's been going on." I say, smiling at my daughter and my son.
Translation: When I figure out what is going on with this restraining order, I will.
Who knows how soon that'll be.
"Well, nothing. Sophia just cries so much now. Jalen, Jaisiah, and Jasmine cry a lot but they are babies and they miss being in Sophia's stomach so it's okay. Jaisiah has red hair! Jalen and Jasmine have black or dark brown hair and green eyes like me and you! Jaisiah is my favorite. He looks like Gpa Quincy. Momm- Sophia said his hair is probably going to be curly like her dad's. Jasmine is my second favorite. She's a girl. Jalen is my last favorite. He's annoying. I do not like him." She rambles. Jaisiahs head comes into the frame a couple of times when she moves the camera.
"We all miss you. So much. The babies don't even know who you are! You have to come back because what f they think Uncle Quincy or Anthony is their dad! Then you'll only be my Dad! Because I remember you! They don't. Oh crap, my phone is about to die." She rambles again before hitting the phone. Jaisiah makes a noise before I begin talking.
"It's okay. I'll be back soon. Don't tell anybody I called you. I want it to be a surprised. I'll call you back later, okay? I love you." I say, my eyes wandering the room as Maya nods her head, her mouth opening to speak before the phone hangs up, signaling her phone died.
I sigh, my eyes shifting at Andrew.
"Figure that shit out, fast, because I'm going to end up violating it. I can't do this shit."
-
Chapter is ass and rushed because it really wasn't supposed to happen for another three or four chapters but everybody is complaining about how they don't understand instead of being patient and it's pissing me off. Enjoy. Next.
I'm home in New York right now so who knows when the next chapter will be.
Next chapter should be .... Quincy's POV. hope y'all enjoy that.
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Daisy.