Chapter 23 Darius
Darius
“Go put a shirt on, smarten yourself up, boy.”
Looking down at myself, my hoodie is fine.
“Don’t just stare, go change. Amelia and her father will be here soon.”
“They know who I am, Grandma, a shirt won’t cover the gangbanging persona I have going on.”
I drop the smirk when she purses her lips.
“Fine, I’ll go change.”
It takes less than five minutes to dig out my only button down, the one I reserve for court appearances.
Doing the last button up, a knock at the door has my heart pounding.
I get why my grandmother wants to spend the holiday with the Haynes but my plan to keep my distance from Amelia is already on shaky ground.
Thinking she was on a date nearly killed me.
The thought of anyone touching her, kissing her, receiving her smiles she reserves for the guy she’s into rips me apart.
It will happen one day and even though I’ll want to put my gun between his eyes and squeeze the trigger, I’ll have no right to.
I can only get away with being an asshole now because she’s pregnant.
“You better get that, we wouldn’t want them leaving.”
Ignoring my mom, I answer the door and Amelia and Mr. Haynes look odd as fuck on my doorstep.
“Happy thanksgiving,” he says, and I put on the brightest smile I have the energy for.
“You too. Please, come in.”
The awkwardness is tangible as they step inside and linger in the hall.
“Here.” Amelia shoves a dish at me. “I made a pie. I burned the first one, and the second one, this one turned out okay. I think. It’s pumpkin.”
“Thanks. Come and sit down. Ma’s been cooking all day.”
She’s also been tidying like a woman possessed. I take them through to the living room and my grandma stands wearing a huge smile. That shit right there makes this worthwhile.
“Grandma, this is Mr. Haynes, Amelia’s father. Mr. Haynes, this is my grandmother Marie.”
“It’s nice to meet you as we’re going to be family.”
He and Amelia both take a deep breath, but Mr. Haynes smiles warmly and shakes her hand.
“Yes, it is time we all met officially. And please, call me Richard.”
I take Amelia’s pie into the kitchen and drag my mom out. She stiffly shakes Mr. Haynes hand and offers Amelia a semi warm smile.
“Something smells great,” Mr. Haynes says, and Ma’s shoulders relax.
“Darius kept forgetting to ask if you had any allergies so I stuck to the traditional dishes.”
“That’s absolutely fine. I have no allergies or dislikes. I’m sure dinner will be amazing.”
A yawn escapes Amelia and I move to stand beside her.
“You okay?”
She nods but says, “I didn’t get much sleep last night, the thunder kept waking me and then I needed to pee every hour.”
“You haven’t got long left.”
“Yes but then I’m going to have a crying baby, I don’t think it’s going to get better for a while.”
“True.”
Her smile falls and her brows knit together.
“I need the bathroom.”
“Down the hall, third door.”
“I remember where it is.”
Mr. Haynes and Grandma settle in the living room, and I join Ma in the kitchen.
“Her mother must be beautiful, her father certainly isn’t bad on the eye.”
“The fuck? Keep that shit to yourself, yeah.”
The last thing I need is for that shit to start up.
“He’s married,” I remind her.
“Please, I’m not interested in him. But it will be nice having a good looking guy to sit across the table from for once.”
Rolling my eyes, I spot Amelia’s pie on the counter.
“You didn’t tell her you were allergic to pumpkin?” Mom asks.
“No, and don’t go telling her. She probably only made it to impress you, she’s like that.”
“She needn’t have bothered, she’s making me a granddaughter.” She grins. “I kinda like her for that.”
It’ll be nice not to have her scowling the whole day. She’s not totally on board but she’s been a lot more helpful lately.
Wandering into the living room, Grandma is talking about her favourite books and Mr. Haynes is listening intently. It wouldn’t surprise me if she has him sending her new releases now we’re “family”.
I hear the water running in the bathroom and then Amelia is slipping out. I head down the hall and I can see her physically forcing herself to smile.
“Can I show you something?” I ask her and she nods.
I slip past her and open my bedroom door. Stepping inside, I move over to let her in, and her intake of breath has me holding mine.
I watch her take in the rainbows of pastel colors and the baby’s furniture all set up. My bed is still by the wall but it’s the only thing of mine that’s still in here.
“It’s beautiful, Darius.”
“Thanks. You think she’ll like it?”
“I think she’ll love it… when she’s old enough to tell us that.” She laughs. “Where’s all your stuff?”
“I didn’t have much, it’s in the closet out in the hall.”
She opens the drawers, finding them empty, I explain, “When she starts staying over, I’ll buy her the clothes she needs.”
“I can just pack her a bag.”
“I don’t want to feel like I’m babysitting my own kid.”
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to offend you.”
“You didn’t, I just want her to feel like this is home too.”
Oh shit, she looks like she’s about to cry.
“What?”
“Nothing,” she says wiping her eyes. “Of course she’s going to feel at home here, you’re her dad, home is wherever you are.”
I release the tension building between my shoulders. She turns and looks at the stuffed animals lined up along the top of the dresser.
“These are cute,” she murmurs.
“My Ma’s been picking bits up. Any time she leaves the house, something new comes back with her.”
“She doesn’t hate me so much anymore then?”
Shaking my head, a weight has been lifted having her seal of approval on the bedroom.
“What will you do when she’s older and needs her own room?” she asks.
“I’ll be on the couch till I get my own place.”
“Are you thinking about moving out?”
“Not any time soon, it’ll be easier having my mom and grandma to help out. I’m sure you’d feel better about that too.”
“I haven’t thought about it like that. I do believe you’re going to be an amazing dad, Darius.”
Yeah, I just suck at being a boyfriend.
“Come on, we should go and save your dad from my grandma. She’ll talk books all day with him otherwise.”
“Trust me, he’d love it.”
Ma is pouring him a tea when we join them and lets us know dinner will be half an hour.
“How are you feeling, Amelia?” Grandma asks as I hold my hand out to help her sit on the couch.
“Not so bad, thank you, Mrs. Madden.”
“That’s good to hear. Darius said you were sick all the time in the beginning, has that gotten better?”
“Yes,” she says and rubs her hand over her rounded stomach.
Jealousy runs through me, and I back up and sit on the arm of the couch. I don’t get the pleasure of feeling my kid in her stomach anymore.
“It’s not long to go now, have you got a birth plan ready?”
Right up till dinner is served, it’s all baby talk, and I slip away unnoticed to help Ma.
“See, it’s not so bad, is it?” I whisper to her.
“The day’s not over yet,” she smirks, and I shake my head.
“Dinner’s up.”
I pull out a chair for Amelia and catch Grandma trying to hide her grin. I’ll be hearing about this later, that’s for sure.
“This looks lovely, Freya,” Mr. Haynes says taking his seat.
“Thank you. It’s nice to hear my efforts have been worth it. The most I get out of the boys is grief because I’ve cooked vegetables.”
Mr. Haynes smiles warmly and looks to me. “Amelia said you have two younger brothers.”
“They’re at their grandmothers on their dad’s side today,” I explain and pass the potatoes to Amelia.
“We share the holidays,” Mom cuts in and I arch my brow.
She couldn’t bring herself to say a single word to Amelia when I first brought her around and now, she’s all mouth with Amelia’s father.
To my side, Amelia loads her plate and I raise my brows when she adds an extra side of peas.
“What?” she asks noticing I’m staring.
“You sure you’re going to eat all of that?”
“Yep,” she says popping the P. “And I’ll probably have seconds too, because I’m hungry all the time.”
“Yes, she must’ve eaten an entire pig’s worth of bacon over the last couple of days,” her dad says.
“I remember when I was pregnant with Darius, I couldn’t get enough of fries dipped in strawberry milkshake. Haven’t had it since and when I think about it now, it turns my stomach,” Mom says.
“I haven’t seen her eat so much in her whole life,” her dad says, and I dig into my turkey.
“You said to give the baby what it wants, and all she wants is food,” Amelia says and shoves a spoonful of mashed potatoes in her mouth.
I’m starting to think my kid is going to come out the size of a small house. Dinner is comfortable and I help Amelia over to the couch and backtrack to the kitchen to do the dishes. It’s the least I can do after Ma did me proud today.
Once I’m done, everyone’s content to watch the TV with their full stomachs. Amelia has fallen asleep, and Ma shakes her head.
“Let her sleep.”
I sit out on the porch and light a smoke. One thing I’ve learned today is that regardless of what goes down between me and Amelia, our families will be able to come together to raise this baby.