**Norman's POV**
It's been months since I last saw Piper. Since I broke her heart into a million pieces. I have no doubt that my baby's heart broke into a million pieces as well.
"Still thinking about her?" I hear Mingus ask me. I look over at him and sigh. "Yeah, and the baby. Wondering if they are okay." I say to Mingus.
"Well, maybe you shouldn't have been a fucking dick and pushed them both out of your life." Mingus says to me. I quickly snap my head towards Mingus who's sitting on my couch. "Hey! Watch your mouth." I snap at Mingus. Mingus looks away from me and shakes his head.
I know he isn't wrong. What I did was a dick move.
I hear Mingus sigh and then stand up from the couch. "Why the fuck am I getting punished?" Mingus asks me. I look at him and squint my eyes about to argue with him about his language. "You did this. You. You pushed her out of my life. You pushed my little brother or sister out of my life. I lost not just one, but two people. I lost someone I considered a second mother and I lost my younger sibling. All because you'd rather fuck a few bitches who mean nothing to you than man up and be who you're supposed to be." Mingus shouts at me.
I feel my throat getting tight. Wanting to argue with him, but knowing deep down that he is right.
"I'm just waiting on grandma. Once I see her, I'll leave. Or are you gonna push her out of my life too?" Mingus asks me. I turn around and swing my arm and hit the table. Knocking everything on it over and a few things breaking. I walk to the kitchen and grab myself a beer.
I take a long swig and slam the bottle down on the counter.
Remembering how hard Mingus took it when I told him what I had said to Piper. I could have lied. I could have said she was a bitch and threw me out of her life, but I knew that was wrong. I knew that Piper deserved better than that.
I hear a knock on my door and sigh knowing it's my mother. I take another swig of my beer. I put the beer on my counter and walked to the door. I opened the door and I smile at my mother who gives me a small smile. "Hey, baby." Mom says to me as she leans up and plants a kiss on my cheek. I smile at her and open my door more.
"Mingus is waiting for you in the living room." I say to my mother as she walks past me and into the apartment.
I close the door and slowly walk into the living room. A frown appears on my face as I see how happy and excited my son is to see his grandmother. When I broke things off with Piper, I lost her and the baby and my son and some of my mother.
"I just wanted to stop by and say hello. I gotta go, grandma. I meeting up with my girl." Mingus tells Mom. They both exchange hugs and a few sweet words before Mingus walks out of the apartment. But, not before giving me the stink eye.
"You two still haven't come around have you?" My Mom asks me. I look at her and shake my head.
"Can't say I blame him." I say as I sit down on the couch. My mother sitting next to me.
"You wanna talk about it? I am your mother. Mother's know how to talk to their children. Or at least most do." My mother says to me. I look into her eyes and I feel my walls slowly crumbling.
"I'm a horrible person." I say to her. My mothers face changes into sadness. "Baby... no you're not. You did a stupid thing. But, I know you aren't a bad person." My mom states to me. I let out a sob and she puts her hands on mine and lightly squeezes them.
"I miss her. I miss her so goddamn much." I sob out to my mother. She gives my hands a tighter squeeze.
"Norman... sweetheart. Why did you say the things you said? Why did you push her away?" My mom asks me.
I wipe my nose with the end of my shirt and wipe my eyes with the back of my hand.
I look up into my mothers eyes and sigh.
"She deserves better. Our baby deserves better." I say to my mother.
My mom looks around the room and I can see that something is going through her head.
"You are stupid. You know that?" My mother says to me. I chuckle at her and nod my head.
"She came to you. She was willing to still have you in her and that baby's life after the shit you pulled. When she came here and saw those two women, she was still willing to have you in their life. That woman loved you and you were too stupid to accept that." My mother says to me.
I nod my head at her and I stand up from the couch. My mom following me into the kitchen.
"Why did you say those things to her?" My mother asks me again.
I turn back towards her and let it all out. Not caring anymore.
"I failed so much! I could have been a better father to Mingus. Been around more. Instead I was either working so goddamn much or out with my friends. I couldn't do that to this baby. I couldn't. I wouldn't. And for Piper... she is far better than I'll ever be and she'll be a damn better parent than I was." I say to my mother.
I lean against the counter and start letting the tears flow. Watching as the tears fall down on the counter and cause a little splash on impact.
"She told me to talk to someone about something that happened to me. Said I shouldn't keep it in. I needed to talk. Even in that moment... that woman was a far better person than I could ever be." I say to my mother. My mother gives me a confused look.
I look into her eyes and sigh. "A woman... took advantage of me and took photos to prove it." I say to my mother. I see pain flash over my mothers eyes. She walks up to me and embraces me with a hug.
We both just a stand there and sob into each other.
I can't say how long we stood there and cried, but somewhere in the middle of it we moved back to the couch.
My face was still puffy from all the crying and my mothers eyes were red.
"She was my sunshine. My source of life." I say out loud. My mother looks at me and smiles.
"I never even told her why I called her my Sunshine." I say. My mom grabs my hand and gently squeezes it.
"Why don't you find her? There's gotta be a way for you to find her. A woman like her.... can't just vanish. She's too pure." My mother says to me. I shake my head at her.
"I gotta go back down to Georgia in a couple of days and resume filming. I don't have time." I say. I see the disappointment on her face.
"I've looked mom. Just so I know she's okay and I can't find her." I say. My mom looks at me and smiles.
"What?" I ask her. She grabs her purse and reaches in and grabs her phone.
"I have a new phone. And a new number. You still have her number?" My mother asks me. I grab my phone and show my mom her number. "She probably changed it mom." I say to her.
She holds her hand up as she dials the number.
She puts the phone on speaker as it starts to dial.
"Hello?" I hear a woman ask on the other end. But, not just any woman. It was her. I could tell just by the voice.
"Hello, I'm looking for Piper King. Is this she?" My mom asks.
"This is she." Piper says.
My mom smiles up at me. "Piper... it's me. Marianne." My mom says. I almost scold my mom for saying it was her.
"Oh... Hi. How are you? Everything okay? Is he okay?" Piper asks. I would be lying if I didn't say her asking about me didn't make me a little warm.
"Physically... he's fine. Emotionally... that's a different story." My mom says to Piper.
"I hope he gets better. I really do." Piper says. I grab the phone from my mothers hands and walk away from her and head towards my room.
"Piper... it's me. It's Norman. Are you okay?" I ask her.
When it takes her a while to answer, I pull the phone away from my ear and look down to make sure she's still there. When I see that she's still on the line, I put the phone back to my ear.
"Piper... please tell me if you're okay. Both of you." I plead with her. I hear her sigh on the other end.
"We're both fine, Norman. Thanks for asking. I hope you're getting help, but please don't call me again. Lose my number and call your other girls." Piper says to me. Just as I was about to speak I hear the the line disconnect. I pull the phone away from my ear and sigh.
I walk back into the living room and give my mom her phone back. "She's okay. They both are. I'm gonna head to bed, mom. I... gotta... go." I say to my mom. She looks at me and I see a tear run down her face. "Get some rest. I'll stay here tonight. Maybe make you some breakfast in the morning." My mom says to me. I look at her and chuckle.
"I don't have any breakfast food here." I say to her. My mom chuckles at me and gives me a kiss on my cheek.
"Go on. Lay down. Get some rest." My mom says to me. I smile down at her before heading to my room. I change into better clothes and flop onto my bed. It was only two in the afternoon, but that one conversation and all the crying wore me the hell out.
I close my eyes and the first thing that pops into my head is of course Piper. I open them but quickly and shake my head. "What the fuck did I do?" I whisper to myself before the tears start rolling down my face. I grab my phone and start going through all the photos and videos I have of her. Some were blurry and some weren't the best quality, but then there were some that made me smile. That smile. That laugh. Those green eyes. I start imagining what our baby will look like. Will it have my blue eyes or her green? Will it have my nose or hers?
All those questions start going through my mind. I see a notification pop up on my phone and it was a message from Rachel. I almost click it, deciding I might as well fuck my pain away, but I stop quickly. I look down at the photo of Piper I took in Georgia last year. I smile at the photo and in that moment, I make a decision.
I may never see Piper again. I may never meet my child, but I'm gonna change. I'm gonna make sure that if I ever get the chance to see them, I'll be changed man. I'll step up and be responsible and loving.
I turn my phone off and put it on the table next to my bed.
I look up at my ceiling and slowly shut my eyes. Allowing the images and memories of Piper to invade my mind. Allowing her to make me happy. Happier than I've been in months.