Chapter 13

       "Miss you?" I asked. "Do you not know the pain you put me through for five years?"

       "I'm sorry," Cassidy said. "I can explain."

       "What's there to explain?" I asked. "You faked your own death. For five years, I thought you were dead. I started drinking. I couldn't go to work. I barely left my house. I couldn't even open myself up to anyone."

        "Josh, just let me explain," Cassidy said.

        I just scoffed and turned around before walking away from her. I couldn't listen to her right now. I couldn't even look at her. For five years, I thought she was dead. For five years, I lost the one person that meant the world for me.

        I really thought I would be able to move on. I was getting so closed to taking down the walls I built to let someone in, but then she had to show up and ruin it for me. If I stayed around her for even a few more minutes, all the feelings I had for her might come rushing back.

       I thought that would be what I wanted. For years, all I wanted was for Cassidy to come back and now that she did, I didn't know what to do. 

       Not when I was falling in love with Cleo.

       I decided to just walk around the village to clear my mind. I shortly walked by the coffee shop, seeing Julian and Noah sitting at an outside table as the threw spitballs at each other.

       They both spotted me at the same time and Julian said something to Noah before they got up and walked over. "Are you okay?" Noah asked. "You look mad."

       "I am mad," I said. "Guess who I just ran into?"

       "That dodgy lawyer?" Noah asked.

       "I have a feeling that's not who he's talking about," Julian said. "Did you run into Cassidy?"

       "Yeah," I said. "She said she was sorry for faking her death and said she could explain, but I didn't bother listening to her."

       "Isn't that what you wanted?" Noah asked. "For her to be alive?"

       "I really don't know," I said. "I mean, of course I want her to be alive, but I don't know if I want things to go back to the way they were. I don't think they can go back to the way they were, not after everything I've been through."

       Neither of them said something else, and from the way Julian looked away and shifted his weight on his feet, I knew he was hiding something. Did I even want to know what he was hiding from me?

       "Julian?" I asked, and he looked at me. "What's up?"

       "Nothing," Julian said.

       "Nothing?" I repeated. "Okay, so why does it look like you're hiding something?"

       Julian sighed. "Well, you said you don't know if you want things to go back to the way they are but....I think you're going to have to let Cassidy back in your life."

       "You too?" I asked. "Julian, come on, you're the only one who tells me to do what's best for me and what I really want. Now you're telling me I have to let Cassidy back in my life."

       "No, I didn't mean it like that," Julian said. "Of course I want you to choose what you want and what's right for you. But....The things is....Didn't one of the doctor's tell you that Cassidy was pregnant when she supposedly passed away?"

       "Yeah," I said.

       "Well....If Cassidy is alive then....What about the baby?"

       "Well, Cassidy did fake her death," Noah said. "She might have gotten the doctor to help her say that for who knows what reasons."

       "Josh, was it the same doctor that told you?" Julian asked.

       "N-no," I said. "It was the doctor she went to when she wanted to confirm she was pregnant. The doctor ended up telling me because she thought I should know. I....I might have a kid I didn't even know about."

       "Why don't you go ask her?" Noah asked.

       "I....I can't go back to see her," I said. "Not after she lied to me. I wouldn't even know what to say."

       "Don't you want to know though?" Noah asked.

       "I do, but this is all getting too much for me right now," I said. "I can't think properly. I need to head home."

       I walked passed my brothers and started heading to my house. This was just making everything a whole lot worse. I had to mourn both Cassidy and my unborn baby, and now there's a chance I mourned both of them for nothing. That this whole time, I had a daughter or a son I didn't know about.

       Cleo was home when I got there and she looked over at me. "Hey, are you okay?" she asked.

       "Yeah," I said, giving her a fake smile so she would believe I was. I couldn't burden her with all of my problems right now, especially when she had to deal with her ex-husband. "Talking to my family and walking in the village really helped clear my mind."

       "That's good," Cleo said. "I think Celeste misses you, by the way. She keeps looking around the house."

       Celeste was laying on the floor on her playmat, so I walked over to her and bent down beside her. She looked over and immediately smiles as she started kicking her legs excitingly. I couldn't help but smile and picked her up. "I missed you too," I said. "Even though you live here."

       Her reply was the bury her head in my neck, and her doing that made me certain of one thing. Even if it turned out I really did have a daughter or son with Cassidy, I wasn't going to abandon Celeste. Of course, I wasn't going to abandon my child as well.

       They were both going to get my attention. 

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Aww, Josh. <3

IF YOU THINK THIS IS DRAMA, WAIT FOR THE WINTER SHORT STORY. It will take place around here, but it's going to go into a lot more detail as to what's actually happening, especially with all the other characters and not just Josh. 

AND ESPECIALLY HOLDEN. Because I love me my Holden and Shaw.