Theon
" What did you say? " Sam asked, while I still watched her, stuck on the information her father had leaked earlier.
Why was she crying, saying she was going through this alone? I have done my best to be there for her and help her in every detail. I know that our situation is not the best, especially with my newfound feelings for her, but I have been trying hard!
" Sam, you're going to need help, we're not going to let you go through this alone anymore," her father declared once again, irritating me.
" But she's not alone, I'm with her," I decided to speak up, "we're in this together, right, Sam?”
" Yes, of course! Theon is right " she hurried to say " I know you worry, but…”
" Samantha, even if he is willing to participate, and we are glad that he is, you have no idea how hard this is going to be " Selena explained.
" Children are exhausting," my grandmother spoke up, although I wish she were somewhere else.
I frowned trying to understand why Sam didn't want her parents to be there, they were reacting better than I expected in the face of her fear of revealing our situation to them.
" Yes, children are tiresome. You will soon find out that they are actually God's punishment for sex," Carl declared.
" Thanks Dad, that's a great incentive," she murmured.
" Do you want me to encourage you to get pregnant by strangers more often? " he raised both eyebrows.
Okay, I think the crucial part is over, maybe we should take a break from this conversation before things get really difficult. The sound of the doorbell interrupted us, and I stood up to answer it, leaving Sam at ease with his parents behind.
I frowned as I opened the door to find an unknown young man. He was much shorter than me, his hair was long and a bit scruffy brown.
" Can I help you?”
" I'm looking for Lara " he measured me nonchalantly " can you call her?”
" And who are you?”
" I'm Mark, she'll be waiting for me " he assured me " can you call her or not?”
I didn't like that man. Who is he, what does he want with Lara? And how does he just show up at my mother's house with such an arrogant pose like that? Harper came over and stood beside me, watching us curiously.
" What's going on? " she asked, watching the jerk.
" Hello, good afternoon,” He smiled, checking out my girlfriend.
Is he really serious? He comes to my house looking for my sister, and still wants to pay attention to my girlfriend! I put my arm around her, staring at him with a raised eyebrow, making it clear what he was saying.
" Ohh Lara's over there" he waved to someone behind me "Hey, Sweetie.”
And then he just walked past both of us, as if he had been invited in. I was about to grab him by the collar, when Harper ran his hand up my chest, smiling.
" Come on, he's just a friend of Lara's, you're not going to make trouble with him, are you? " she tried to reassure me.
I watched my sister greet the young man before dragging him into a corner and starting a small whispered argument with him. I didn't like it, not one bit. But I decided not to get involved!
I settled for closing the door and leading Harper to a more quiet place, placing a quick kiss on his lips.
" So, what was that all about? " she asked, looking into my eyes.
" Apparently it's a friend of my sister's.”
" I'm referring to the meeting you had with the Hurst family and your grandmother," Harper rolled her eyes.
" Her parents wanted to better understand our situation," I explained, "she told them everything after the presentation and they wanted to meet me.”
" Ohh, that's to be expected," she commented thoughtfully, "did they take it well?”
" Better than I imagined," I admitted, "it looks like they are moving to Aspen.”
" Really? This will be great for her " Harper looked surprised.
" I don't know if she feels the same way," I shrugged, unable to pay attention to my girlfriend.
My gaze was locked on Lara and her mysterious visitor. He had picked Daphne up, but the girl didn't seem very comfortable with the man, whimpering all the time in an attempt to get back into her mother's arms.
Why doesn't my sister take her back? Can't you see she's not enjoying it?
" Who do you think he is? " I pointed the boy out to Harper.
" I don't know, but Lara seems to know him well.”
" I don't like him," I muttered.
" There's not much we can do, Theon," she held my face, turning it back to face her, "your sister's too old to choose her own company.”
She's right, I know that. But still.
" Come on, I met Sam's friend and she's a lot of fun," Harper decided to distract me by taking me to the others.
Some time later, we were all gathered around the table for Thanksgiving dinner. I still didn't understand who Lara's friend was, but he stayed for the meal.
Lara was with her daughter on her lap, she had started feeding the girl a few weeks ago, and was struggling to feed her with as little mess as possible. Daphne was whimpering, annoyed at the novelty on offer.
" Come on, Daphne. Don't make this difficult," Lara moaned, trying to get the spoon into her daughter's mouth under Mark's watchful eye.
" You need to be patient, Lara," my mother instructed as she poured Sam some cauliflower and broccoli au gratin.
" But she ate yesterday and liked it," my sister replied, still insisting on trying to feed her daughter.
" She wanted to eat yesterday, today she doesn't want to. From what I've read, it can happen," Sam reassured her.
" Yes, it is…”
" I think Lara has more experience than you in taking care of Daphne," Mark interrupted my mother, staring at Sam, receiving an unfriendly look from the girl's father.
All right, I can accept this boy's presence, but if he thinks he's going to mistreat anyone who is here, especially the mother of my son.
" And I guess in that case I know more about babies than you do, since I'm getting ready to have one," she stated calmly, receiving a surprised look from my sister.
" Lara is a good mother!”
" Mark, please," Lara murmured, putting the plate of beets aside.
" Excuse me, but who are you again? " I interrupted the interaction.
" Theon," Lara groaned.
" I want to know, you didn't introduce us, and now he thinks he can talk to Samantha like that? " I turned to my sister.
" Theon, you don't have to... " Sam began, looking embarrassed.
" Yes, he does. Carl interrupted her, making the mood at the table worse.
Samantha mumbled something in Spanish to her father, with little effect.
" I think it would be good if you introduced your friend, Lara," Harper held my hand across the table in an attempt to calm me down.
" Mark is... he is," she stammered, not knowing what to say next.
" I am Daphne's father," he rolled his eyes, "I thought you told your family about me, Lara.
An uneasy silence filled the room. My mother stared at them, not knowing how to react to this news.
I felt my blood boil at this information. Was this the bastard who had abandoned my sister and niece? And she had the nerve to bring him here! What was she thinking?
I stood up, leaving the table afterwards. I can't believe what she did! How could she forgive him after everything? And that's what she let get her pregnant? Really? My sister deserved better!
Harper got up to follow me, but one look from me made her understand that what I wanted at that moment was to be alone. I walked out the glass door, across the yard to a remote spot. I didn't want her company or anyone else's. I just wanted to calm down.
I stopped by the lake that covered much of the area, and sat there, taking a deep breath as I watched the first stars in the sky. A few minutes passed before I heard footsteps approaching. I was about to ask Harper to go back into the house, when Sam settled down next to me, watching the sky in silence as well.
" I can't believe she took him back like that, after all he's done," I muttered after a few moments of silence, "and then allowed him to attend a family event without consulting anyone?”
She sighed, still watching the stars as she thought about her answer.
" It wasn't an easy decision for her," Sam began.
" Did you know? " I stared at her in shock.
" She told me a few days ago that he had been looking for her," Sam reported, "and today before the performance she told me that he looked for her again. I just didn't expect him to show up here like this.”
" Why didn't you tell me? " I turned to her.
" Theon, that was your sister's problem, she had to decide whether to tell you or not," she took a deep breath “She doesn't need you to judge her now.”
" Not judge her? Did you see that guy? She allowed someone like that to get her pregnant, and now she's taken him back!”
" And it wasn't an easy decision for her," Sam took a deep breath, "you can be sure that making a decision like that is harder than it looks.”
" What do you mean?”
" Theon, I know what it's like to be in her shoes," Sam stared at me with a serious expression. "Of course, the fact that you didn't abandon me counted for a lot, but I was terrified when I thought about the possibility.”
" It's different, Sam.”
" Really? Because I wasn't just afraid for myself. I thought about the baby and what it would be like for him to grow up without a father. Don't you think she thinks the same thing about Daphne?”
I looked away, thinking about everything she had told me. I still think that Daphne would be better off without the presence of the guy who abandoned her.
" This is Lara's decision," Sam pointed out, holding my hand, "I know what he did was wrong, and he seems like an asshole. But only she can decide what is best for her daughter, and if she decided to give it a chance, maybe he is really sorry and wants to be a father, maybe depriving the girl of that is a mistake.”
" Maybe... " I begrudgingly admitted, feeling the soft, cool skin of her hand wrap around mine, making me realize that she was not dressed for the almost negative weather outside. She had left her coat, her gloves, her cap. Everything inside the house and it must have been freezing.
I put my arm around her in an attempt to warm her a little, feeling her shiver at my touch. My body reacted to our closeness, causing my newfound feelings for the mother of my son to surface in me once again.
" We'd better go in. He's already gone," Sam broke away from my touch, rising to her feet, "and your family probably needs you right now, Apollo.”
" Thank you, Sam. For everything," I stood up and walked beside him toward the brightly lit house, "I'm sorry I disturbed your dinner.”
" Don't worry, my parents will take care of feeding the baby," she smiled.
I looked away, avoiding her, thinking about everything that was happening in my life, and about everything Sam had said. I had to make a decision. I couldn't go on like this.