Convergence

Twenty One

Jared's POV -
What the actual fuck? I couldn't quite believe what had just happened. I watched her walk up the stairs in stunned silence. "You should leave" said Charles appearing again, followed closely by Raf, both of them barely even looking at me. "I'm coming back, you can't stop me" I said struggling to control my anger. He shook his head, "she doesn't want you here" he said. I was about to reply but stopped at the sound coming from upstairs. Charlotte was crying, heart wrenching sobs that tore at my insides. "You did this, why couldn't you just stay away? They don't need you" hissed Raf. What a fucking asshole. I ignored him deciding to go on the attack, "I won't hesitate to get in touch with my lawyers" I said threateningly. Charles surprised me by laughing, "go for it, our cousin is a solicitor and she works for the government. Do your worst" he said wryly, my heart sank at his words. "Charles, stop. We all want what's best for Oli. Maybe come back, she'll have had time to cool off and have a think" said Clara. I nodded stiffly, "I'll be back this evening" I muttered. "Of course, we'll see you then" she said kindly leading me to the front door and seeing me out. Ignoring the other two who stood there glaring at me. The rest of the day was a blur, my meeting was a complete waste of time I had barely even paid attention. Charlotte and the child was all I could think about. I phoned Shannon, telling him what had happened. "Jesus really? Do you believe her?" he said, surprise evident in his voice. "If she wanted something from me she'd have told me about him. She didn't want me to know, she wanted to keep it a secret" I said. "How do you feel about it?" he asked carefully. "This is not what I need or even want at this point in my life. I never have if I'm honest. There's no way I'm ready for this, but I can't walk away" I replied. "Is he cute?" he asked amused. "I didn't get a good look at him, she kept hiding him from me. I'll let you know" I said wryly.

That evening found me knocking on their door, just after 7. I was hoping no paps were following me, there was no way I'd be able to explain where I was or what I was doing there. It would just look absolutely bizarre. Clara welcomed me in, "you can relax, they've both gone out" she said cheerfully. I nodded, secretly relieved. "Charlie's upstairs, they're both having a nap. He's been unsettled the last couple of days, she's so tired" she explained. I nodded, "should I go up or ..?" I wasn't quite sure what to do. "She knows you're coming. You can go up there. Don't fuck this up, Charles is quite eager to connect his fist to your face" she said cheerfully. I stopped and stared at her for a moment, the smile she had worn was gone. "I'm not even joking" she said, suddenly dead serious. "I'm going to the bar, tell Charlie to ring me if she needs something" she said cheerful once more. I nodded slowly and walked up the stairs. I found her room and opened the door quietly, slipping inside. Memories of our time in there instantly flooded my brain. I looked over to the bed, she was curled up under a throw, sound asleep. I glanced around the room spotting the crib, I walked over and peered into it. He was tucked up, sound asleep like his mom. His hands sticking up out of the covers, a little smile on his face. I stared at him closely, taking in his features. My heart picked up it's pace, he was a carbon copy of me. He had my nose and chin, soft dark fluffy hair. As if sensing my presence his eyes started to flutter open, sleepy at first, but as soon as he saw me, blue eyes identical to mine widened curiously. I quickly took out my phone and snapped a photo of him, I knew she'd kill me if she saw me doing it. I half expected him to start squawking, instead he smiled, waving both little hands around. I couldn't help but grin down at him. "Hey" I whispered to him. He started kicking his covers around, blowing raspberries. Suddenly a fear gripped me, this little person would be relying on me. I wasn't sure if I would be able to provide him with the kind of love and support he needed. I was selfish, driven. My career came before anything, I had never ever wanted this kind of commitment. Maybe I should take her advice and leave, he would have all the love he could want between the three of them. But I knew I couldn't do it, I couldn't leave and pretend I didn't know about him. That would be an asshole move, I wasn't an asshole. I glanced over at Charlie, God I'd missed her. That was the reason I'd come back, because of her, I couldn't leave. He started to babble loudly, demanding attention. I wondered if I should pick him up, before I could decide I heard Charlie yawn. "Are you awake already?" I heard her mumble. She turned over and sat up, slowly opening her eyes, she looked adorable and sleepy. I remembered the look well. She suddenly gasped, "what are you doing? Get away from him!" she said angrily. She leapt off the bed and was beside the crib a moment later, grabbing him quickly. "Charlie, calm down. I was just looking at him" I said exhaling in frustration. She stepped away from me, worry and fear written all over her face. "What are you doing in here? You should have waited downstairs" she snapped. "I literally just walked in. Clara told me to come up, she said you knew I was coming" I said frowning. She rolled her eyes, holding him against her chest protectively, barely looking at me. This wasn't going to be easy.