30 Hurting my baby Are you sure about what youâre doing Avaâ Letty asks me in concern was getting ready to go to Noahâs acheel Today was the parent teacher meeting that was held analle and was supposed to meet Roman there hey had called to know if we could hang out since we havenât sem nach sein wie When!
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what do you mean women like me ask in avance and shit ano +15 BONUS âWhoa, who is rushing things now? Today will be our second date, Letty. Itâs too early to figure out all those things donât you think? Weâre still in the trial baseâ
I was going to have dinner with Ethan at his apartment. He had invited me over after we shared our first kiss, promising to cook me the best meal Iâve ever tasted.
She sighs as if sheâs dealing with a stubborn child. âI just want you to be sure youâre dating him for the right reasons. Using one guy to get over another never works. It just makes shit complicated.â
âI hear youâ I tell her dismissively. âNow, I have to hang up since Iâm about to leaveâ
âFine. Weâre still on for Wednesday, right?â
âDefinitelyâ
After saying goodbye, I hang up. I check the time and it was one in the afternoon. I was still irritated with this meeting. I mean, who holds a parent/teacher meeting on Saturday. As if that wasnât bad enough, they schedule it for afternoon?
After taking what I need, I lock up and leave. I get into my car and drive off.
As I drove, I couldnât help but think about what Letty said. She was right, I had no experience with the dating scene. I didnât know what Ethan wanted or expected. Did he want a relationship or just a fuck buddy?
What did I want? Was I using him or did I genuinely want him? I didnât want to confuse things or myself for that matter. I was determined to get over Rowan, but was I going about it in right way?
I didnât want to hurt Ethan, especially if he is genuinely interested in having a relationship with. me, but parts of me fear that Iâve grown an unhealthy attachment to him.
He makes me forget about Rowan and my love for him. Iâm afraid thatâs the main reason Iâm drawn to him.
+15 BONUS I drive to the parking lot, turn the ignition off and get out. I survey the expensive cars lining the lot. I begin walking and notice some of the parents sneering at me. Of course my car wasnât expensive and I wasnât dressed head to toe in Gucci.
This is one of the things I hated about this world. These people placed social status and the size of your bank account above everything else. They look down on people who they view as poor and they donât even bother hiding their disdain for them.
Iâve grown up around wealth but I swore from a young age never to be like them. Never to place money above the value of another person.
I take a seat that was available and wait. I watch as the other parents and their children walk in and out of the school.
I check my watch. It was already three and Rowan wasnât here yet.
Taking out my phone, I call him. It goes straight to voice mail. With each second that passes, I feel my anger rise. Two hours later, Iâve had enough so I call Gabe.
âHello?â he answers gruffly.
âHi, Gabriel, itâs me, Ava...â he cuts me off before I can finish.
âI know itâs you, Ava, I have your numberâ
Iâm quiet for a while. Surprised that he had my number given he used to blame me for ruining his brotherâs life and destroying his chance at happiness with Emma.
âUh, okayâ I mutter unintelligently before recovering. âListen, Iâm looking for Rowan. Is he with you? We were supposed to meet with Noahâs teacher. He is not here yet and his phone is off. Iâve been here for three hours. Mrs. Smith is done with the other parents and sheâs ready to leaveâ
When she told me she was almost done, I begged her to give me a few more minutes to try and reach Rowan âHeâs not with me. He took Emma somewhereâ he tells me almost apologetically, but I donât need his sympathy.
âOkay, thanks.â I donât give him a chance to say anything before hanging up.
I was in trance. Wondering what had gotten into Rowan that he forgot something so important.
When Mrs Smith calls me again, I go in. It seemed like Rowan wasnât going to show up anyway.
+15 BONUS Since Noah wasnât physically here like the other kids, we settle on a video call with him. Heâs excited at first, but then his face falls when he realizes that Rowan wasnât present.
The entire time Mrs. Smith talks about Noahâs excellent and stellar performance in school, my anger rises up. Noah was sad and his face showed. I hated seeing him like this.
By the time weâre done, I was beyond furious.
I force a smile and thank Noahâs teacher before leaving the classroom.
âWhy didnât he come mommy? He promised me he would. I wanted him to hear what a good student I was. That I was top of my classâ he says sadly, tears filling his eyes.
I wanted to reach out and hold him but he was thousands of miles away.
âIâm so sorry, baby....May be he got caught up with workâ
âBut he promised me!â he shouts through the screen. âHe said he will never break his promises and he didâ he was full crying now and it tore me down to pieces.
Mother and Joyce, Rowanâs mom came to comfort him. I wanted to be there for him and it killed me that I couldnât.
âHeâll make it up to you, my love....remember he loves you and he has never missed any of your functionsâ I try to soothe him.
He doesnât answer. Just continues staring into nothing with silent tears running down his face. He looks so lost. When he doesnât move or say anything, Joyce tells me that theyâll look after him before ending the call.
I stomp out of the school and head towards the parking lot. Most cars were already gone.
I was just about to get into my own when I see Rowanâs black Mercedes drives in. He parks, gets out and rushes to me.
âIâm so fucking sorry Iâm late...is the meeting over?â he was dressed casually, something that is very rare for him.
âObviously, given itâs almost six thirty four fucking hours after you were supposed to be hereâ 1 shout isted on murder âI know youâre angry, but...â
âAngry doesnât begin to cover what I fucking feel right now Rowanâ
âAva...â
+15 BONUS âNo! Do you know I had to call Gabe? Imagine my shock when I learned you were out with Emma. I donât even fucking care that you were with her.
You promised you will be here. I was waiting like a damn fool for you when you were out with her during a meeting our son was looking forward to!â I ran my hands through my hair.
A teacher walks past us. She gives us a small wave before climbing into her car. I tried mastering a smile but I just couldnât.
âYouâre right and Iâm sorryâ he says remorsefully.
âWhat happened Rowan? You never ever forgot something that concerned Noah. Now Emma is back and she takes priority? So much so you forget Noah? Is this how itâs going to be now that sheâs back?â I ask him, calming down but not entirely.
âItâs not going to happen againâ he fists his hand in determination.
âBut thatâs the thing itâs already happened, whatâs stopping it from happening again?â
He doesnât answer. Just stares at me with a scowl on his face and fire burning behind his eyes.
âI wonât let you hurt my son Rowan, whether internationally or unintentionally. Noahâs comes first and if you canât put him first then give me full custody. I had to watch his heart break when he realized you werenât coming. Let this be the first and last time you hurt him, because if you do I will fight you.
Noah is my son, my world. Hurt him again and I will forget youâre his father. Doesnât matter if you own this city, I will rain so much hell on you, youâll be left wishing you never met me. Donât fucking mess with meâ I let my anger and determination seep into my voice.
He looks taken aback by my outburst and threat. He stares at me like he didnt know who I was. I ignore that look