Reconnecting

Chapter 9

Cody's POV

I got home with Edgar from a job Spark had sent us on. Bella ran up to us, a sparkling tutu swishing about. I smiled and picked her up. I gave her cheek a kiss. "Were you good," I asked her. She nodded, "Grams and I made jewelry." She then showed me a purple and pink beaded bracelet. In the center in white and black letters it said I ❤ U. "This is for you daddy," she said, a bright smile on her face. I smiled as I took it, "I love it. Thank you beautiful." She then held out a similar bracelet that was baby pink and white to Edgar, "This one is for you Uncle E." He smiled and put it on, "Thank you little momma." He kissed her cheek before going to find his sons. I carried her into the media room where my mom was sitting on the floor with their beading stuff on the table. She smiled, her eyes looking over Edgar and I, checking for injuries. "We're fine mom," I said with a smile. 

Her shoulders relaxed and I sat down on the floor in front of the beading supplies. "This one is for gramps," Bella showed me. It was silver and blue. I slipped mine on my wrist. Mace and Wilson were playing with their blocks while watching Paw Patrol on the TV, not caring to pay attention to us adults. I took part in beading a necklace for Bella and soon my mom stepped out to go run some errands. 

When the kids were wanting a snack, I got up and made my way to the kitchen until the doorbell rang. I opened it and my heart skipped at the sight of the beautiful woman with auburn hair on the other side that I haven't seen since before I left. "Abigial," I said in just shock. The green eyes I crushed on in school widened, "Cody?" Her eyes ran over me. "I thought they lost contact with you." I scratched the back of my head nervously, "Uh yeah. I recently moved back home." "You're pretty," I heard Bella say and Abigail looked down at her. Her eyes looked from Bella to me. Abigail crouched down, "Not as pretty as you are. I'm Abigail, but you can call me Abby." "I'm Bella," Bella said with a bright smile. 

Abigail then stood and looked at me. "I came to see if your dad could take a look at my car. It started making a sound on my way to the store, and I didn't know if I could make it to the mechanic shop." "He's gone, but I'd be more than happy to look at it," I told her. She nodded, "That would be great." 

I nodded and had Bella go play before stepping outside. She popped the hood of her car. I began to look it over. "So you're a dad now?" 

I nodded, "To three amazing kids. Bella is my oldest." "What happened the ten years you were gone," she asked me. I sighed softly, and told her everything. Abigail was someone I was so incredibly close with growing up, and was my first love. She left me sophomore year of high school when I got mixed up with the people who got me into the shit I did. She tried to help at first, talk sense into me. I blew it off, and she left me for it. I was pissed off at first, but I realized I fucked up with her. I hurt someone who has always been on my sidelines cheering for me, and I regretted it. 

"Now I'm here," I said to her. "I'm trying to get a better life for my kids and myself. I'm even trying to get my GED." 

"And I see you joined Toxic Smoke," she said as her eyes ran over my cut. I nodded, "Yeah." "So what's your road name," she asked curiously. "It's Ghost," I answered. "Edgar is Shadow." 

She smiled, "I think it suits you." 

"Enough about me, what about you," I asked her. "Well, after high school, I tried to go to college. I was in my second year when my mom got sick and couldn't work anymore to pay the bills. I quit school to take over the bills and such. When she passed away, I fell into a depression because I felt so alone because I didn't have anyone I could call, because the one I would've called had disappeared." She threw me a pointed look and I muttered a 'sorry'. "I felt so alone, I started seeking for some kind of relationship with anyone who wanted to fill that loneliness. I rushed into a relationship with a guy I met at a bar. A month into the relationship, he started abusing me." Her eyes went to the ground. "During the course of the relationship, I ran into your parents at the store. I had my bruises and such covered, but it's like your dad could read right through me. One night I was beaten really badly, and I would've died had your dad and uncle not make a surprise visit to check on me. I don't know what happened to Clark after that night, nor do I care. After that though, they helped me. They got me the medical attention I needed and ensured I didn't loose anything as I tried to get back on my feet. After that, I finished my degree, and became a teacher at the high school we went too." 

I nodded, "Toxic Smoke helps a lot of abuse victims, so they learned to pick up the signs even if they're small." 

She nodded, "Yeah they shared that with me. Your dad still checks on me every now and then." 

After that I finished looking over her car, and told her what was wrong with it. It was a cheap fix, but she needed to get the parts she needed before she could drive it anywhere. So I offered to drive her to the auto parts store to get it, and the oil she needed since she was due for an oil change anyways. 

Edgar's POV

It was nice seeing Cody at ease around a woman instead of standing on guard. When Venom got home, I couldn't help my smirk. "So who's Abigail," I asked him. He raised an eyebrow, "Why?" "Because a woman named Abigail came over, and Cody was smiling like an idiot around her, and didn't hesitate to take her to go get her a part she needed for her car so he could fix it." 

He chuckled, "Abigail was his girlfriend when he was in middle school, up until his sophomore year in high school when he got mixed up with the wrong people. When they were together, they were incredibly close to the hip, shared everything, and he bent over backwards to make her smile." I laughed, "Really now?" He then told me about what happened to her a few years ago. "She hasn't gotten into another relationship since then, still not trusting any man besides myself and Spark to get close to her. So it's good to know that she still has that trust in him, even if he was an idiot all those years ago." 

When they got back, the two were laughing and smiling brightly as he began to work on the car and change her oil. When he finished, he brought her inside to introduce the kids and I to her. 

She was a little shy around me, but given her past, I wasn't offended by it. She'll learn over time that she can trust me. She stayed for bit before she left to get to the store and go home to grade some test papers. 

I poked Cody's cheek, "You like her." He swatted my hand away, "She's a good friend." "Dude," I said to him. He sighed as he rolled his eyes at me. Was it possible those first love feelings never disappeared entirely? I had to know, because my man deserved it.