20. Chapter Twenty
20
Evan
As much as I loved being able to spend alone time with Mia, it was necessary to get back home so we could talk to everyone about our relationship. Mia is worried about where that will leave her, but she doesn’t realize the decision I’m going to be making for myself.
Now that we are getting closer, and I’ve been spending more time with Liam, there’s only one thing for me to do to ensure both of their safety.
I squeeze Mia’s hand as the blacked out SUV comes to a stop in front of my home, which won’t be the case here in a few minutes – it’s only temporary, until the threat has been removed. The only reason I haven’t told Mia is because she’s going to think I’m not thinking clearly, but I’ve never been more clear on something than I am now.
When we walk through the door, she immediately drops my hand and allows me to lead us into the living room where the band, plus Carmen, are waiting for us with frowns on their faces.
Brent’s brow furrows when he looks at me. “Carmen said you had something important to discuss.”
“Right,” I say, then look over at Mia and give her a reassuring smile. When I look back at everyone, Carmen rolls her eyes just as I say, “Mia and I have been seeing each other.”
“I knew it,” Carmen grumbles, then narrows her eyes on Mia. “What were you thinking? You work for him!”
“Carmen.” She gives me her attention, face red with irritation, and I sigh heavily. “I don’t expect you to understand, but I’ll get into that next. There’s one more thing I should let you guys know.”
Everyone looks at me expectantly, and I clear my throat, grabbing hold of Mia’s hand so she doesn’t try rushing out of the room. “I’m backing out of the band, for now anyway, until things get settled with the stalker.”
Brent blinks in surprise, then shakes his head. “What? No, you can’t do that.”
“Evan,” Mia hisses next to me, trying her hardest to release her hand from my hold. “What the hell?”
I give her a small smile and shrug. “Sorry, darlin’, I knew you’d never let me go through with it if I told you.”
“You’re damn right, this is your life!”
“It is, which is why I’m not leaving it for good.” I look toward our audience, who’s darting their attention between the two of us, and know what I need to do next. “This is more than just me.”
“What does that even mean?” Donny asks, leaning forward with his elbows resting on his thighs.
“The thing is, I’ve met Mia before,” I say, giving Carmen an apologetic smile in response since neither I, nor Mia, told her that part. “We’ve got a son, Liam, and he could be in danger as well.”
Brent nods, his jaw clenching with my words, and I can tell he understands where my decision is coming from. If he and Julia had a child, he’d drop us without a second thought if it meant keeping his child safe.
“Evan,” Mia says next to me, tugging on my hand while shaking her head. “I can’t let you do that.”
“I’m doing it anyway.”
Carmen clears her throat, her head cocked to the side. “Why are you just now saying something?”
“Well, someone took our picture while we were away and I wanted you to find out from me before the image got released.”
“And this is what you want?” Carmen asks, her anger slowly dissipating with each passing second.
I sigh heavily and nod. “It’s the only thing I can do to make sure my son stays safe. We have no clue what this person will do next, and I’m hoping that if I announce my exit from the band that it will get them off my back.”
If this doesn’t work, I don’t know what else I’ll do.”
Brent rises from his place on the couch and comes over to me, a large hand coming down on my shoulder as he frowns. “I hate that you didn’t tell me about this, but I get it.”
“I’ll leave tonight with Mia, I’ve already got plans in place for us, and I’ll be back before you know it.”
There’s no way I’d ever be able to leave the band indefinitely, only until the stalker fixates on someone new.
Mia squeezes my hand, her silent support swimming through my veins, while the rest of the guys give me their own support.
All that’s left is to make sure news spreads of my exit, that has to get the stalker off my trail… right?
Later that evening, Mia and I find a quiet moment alone in my room. The weight of my decision hangs heavy between us.
"A break," Mia says, her voice laced with concern. "Are you sure about this, Evan?"
I run a hand through my hair, sighing. "It's the best compromise I could think of. I can't abandon the band entirely, but I need to prioritize you and Liam right now."
Mia nods slowly. "And the guys? How do you think this will affect them?"
"They understand," I assure her, though a pang of guilt hits me. "It's temporary. Once this stalker situation is resolved, I'll be back."
"If it gets resolved," Mia mutters, and I know she's still frustrated with the lack of progress in the investigation.
***
Mia wasn’t sure this would be a good idea, but I couldn’t think of a better way to spend my time away from the band.
I glance at Mia, noticing her furrowed brow. "What's on your mind, darlin'?"
She sighs, her eyes fixed on the road ahead. "I'm just... trying to figure out where I fit in all this now. Am I still your bodyguard? Your girlfriend? Both?"
I reach for her hand, squeezing it gently. "You're whatever you want to be, Mia. This break doesn't change how I feel about you or your importance in my life."
She squeezes back, but I can see the conflict in her eyes. It's clear we have more to discuss about our future and her role in it.
Liam is humming along to the music in the back seat, eyes casting rapidly out the window as we pass tiny shops along the main road, and my lips tip into a smirk.
When I told my mother that we would be coming for a visit this week, she was more than delighted and let me know everything would be ready for us. She still doesn’t know about Liam, thought that would be a nice surprise, but I at least let her know that there would be two people joining me on the trip.
She’s likely assuming it will be Brent and Julia, since she knows they are the love birds in our group, but will quickly grow excited to know I’ve got Mia at my side. If I had to hear about my lack of a love life from her one more time, I was going to go insane.
I make the turn up my parents driveway, which is littered with trees on either side, and clear my throat from the front seat to get Mia’s attention. “How are you feeling?”
“I’m still mad at you,” Mia mumbles, but she still allows me to squeeze her thigh as I coast up the small hill that leads to my parents house.
It’s nothing big, but enough that it gives them the privacy they deserve. They lived in the city for a while, wanting to be close to me, but eventually my mother came to the decision that she wanted to venture somewhere else — a place less crowded. That’s how they ended up here, in a small town a few hours away from New York City.
“I will apologize as much as I need to,” I say softly, then thread my fingers through hers and press a tender kiss against her knuckles. “This was for the best, you know that.”
“Don’t get any wild ideas,” she mutters. “You’re going right back once this dies down.”
Not only is she upset that I chose to temporarily leave Raising Havoc, but she’s also been beating herself up for not being able to figure out who the stalker could be.
As we near my parents' house, doubts start to creep in. Will this break really throw the stalker off our trail? Or will it make them more desperate, potentially putting the band at risk?
I push the thoughts aside, reminding myself that this is the best decision for my family right now. We'll deal with whatever comes next, together. For now, I need to focus on introducing Mia and Liam to my parents.
I’ve told her that it’s okay, we’ll get it under control, but she hates that it’s caused me to make this decision.
When we come to a stop in front of my parents, it doesn’t surprise me that my mother is already waiting on the front porch for us with a big smile on her face. She waves to me, then glances at the front seat, and her eyes widen in surprise. I smirk when she disappears through the front door, likely getting my dad, and then comes back out with a hand over her chest.
“You ready, darlin’?”
Mia blinks, looking carefully at my mother, and then she glances at me while chewing her bottom lip. “What if she doesn’t like me?”
It’s hard to put this nervous side of Mia to the woman who’s been at my side while on tour. “She’s going to love you,” I say softly. “Mainly because I do, but also because you’re amazing, and she’s going to see that.”
“Are we there yet?” Liam asks from the backseat, pulling us from the moment.
I clear my throat and push away from Mia, then throw her a wink before climbing out of the car.
“Evan,” my mother says, her arms immediately wrapping around me as I shut the door. “Seems like you’ve got a lot to talk to me about. Like, for instance, how you managed to snag this beautiful woman?”
My cheeks heat, and I run a hand through my hair. “Uh, yeah, that’s not the only thing I’ve got to tell you.”
She raises her brows. “Oh?”
Mia gives my mother a polite smile before pulling the back door open and allowing Liam to jump out of the back seat.
When I glance at my mom, she’s looking at Liam with tears glistening in her eyes, and she darts her attention to me. “E–Evan, who is this?”
Liam clutches his mother’s hand, a big smile on his face as he waves to my mom and says, “I’m Liam!”
“Mom,” I say, tugging the two of the most important people in my life against my side. “This is Mia, my girlfriend, and our son, Liam.”
My mother gasps, and she’s silent for a moment before a smile spreads on her face. “Well then, I bet you’d enjoy some of my famous homemade cookies, huh?”
Mia is silent, but my mother gives her the attention she deserves and wraps her frail arms around Mia’s stiff shoulders. “Hi, dear, it’s lovely to finally meet you. I’m Lucille, but you can call me Lucy.”
Liam bounces excitedly between us, then looks at both me and Mia. “Can I have cookies? Please please please .”
As Liam follows my mom inside, I catch a glimpse of wonder in his eyes. He looks back at me, his smile wide. "Dad," he whispers, the word still new and exciting on his lips, "are these really my grandma and grandpa?"
I nod, my heart swelling. "Yeah, buddy. They are."
His eyes light up even more. "Cool! Do you think they'll like me?"
"They're going to love you," I assure him, watching as he practically skips into the house, eager to explore this new world of extended family.
I chuckle and ruffle his hair. “Go get ‘em, little man.”
Before he pulls her away, my mother leans into me and levels me with a stern frown. “We’re going to discuss this.”
When they disappear through the front door, Mia sighs heavily next to me. “We should’ve told her before coming. She’s upset.”
I pull Mia aside for a moment, out of earshot of my parents.
"Hey," I say softly, cupping her face. "I know this is a lot. The break, meeting my parents... Are you okay?"
Mia leans into my touch, her eyes meeting mine. "It's overwhelming," she admits. "But we're here, together. That's what matters."
I press a gentle kiss on her forehead. "Together," I agree. "Whatever comes next, we'll face it as a family."
She nods, a small smile playing on her lips. "Let's go meet your parents properly, then."
Hand in hand, we walk towards the house.
“If there’s anything you should know about Lucille Knight, it’s that she’s always walking around this town telling everyone how much she wishes her only son would meet a nice woman.” I look toward the front door. “Trust me, Mia, she’s not upset.”
She’s more upset about the fact that I never said anything to her than she is about the news in general. My mother and I were close until everything started blowing up with this stalker. I’m going to have to explain myself to her, but her time will likely be filled with fattening Liam up with her homemade cooking.
My dad is standing at the end of the steps silently, his eyes casting over Mia carefully, before he finally gives me his attention. “Well, it’s about damn time, son.”
I chuckle and let him pull me into a hug before backing away. “Dad, this is Mia.”
“Mia, it’s nice to meet you. I’m Jeffrey.”
She holds a hand out to shake but gasps in surprise when my father pulls her into a giant hug. If there’s one thing she should be prepared for is that everyone is a hugger around here.
“Uh, it’s nice to meet you too,” Mia says quietly, her cheeks flushed.
“Now, tell me all about this grandson I seem to have,” he says with a bright smile. “How come he hasn’t been around before?”
Mia stiffens, her brows furrowing, and I clear my throat. “Uh, it was my decision, dad. I thought it was best that he be kept out of the spotlight, but things are getting complicated now.”
It still doesn’t explain why I never confided the news to them, but it lets Mia off the hook for a little longer while we come up with a better explanation.
“Right,” my dad says, looking between the two of us curiously. “Let’s get inside, shall we?”
He doesn’t believe a word I’ve said, but at least he’s not hounding me for an answer right now.