Love with strings detached

Chapter 44

I let the ac warm up my cold body as we sit in Theo's car, driving back to our accommodation. The ride starts quietly, none of us speaking as we're both kinda tired, but it's not awkward.

An otherwise 15 minutes drive seems to be taking longer as we drive through the busy roads, slowly hitting all the red lights.

"I've been meaning to ask you about your family for a while now but, I never felt like it was the right time," Theo breaks the silence, bringing my attention to him.

He glances at me, throwing me a small smile before returning his gaze on the road.

"You could just ask me whenever honestly, it's not a big deal," I say, leaning my forehead back on the window frame.

"You mention before your mum but you never mention your dad, what is your family situation?" He asks.

"My mum had me when she was 24, a year after she graduated with her then-boyfriend. They stayed together for another 5 years but then, they split up and my dad left. Ever since then, I've been raised by a single mother," I say, starting with the basics.

"So, your dad is not in the picture," Theo stated.

"Correct, ever since he walked out 15 years ago, I never heard from him once. He never called, never visited, never sent anything and from what my mum said to me, he even refused to send her child support," I say, remembering the things my mum used to tell me about my father throughout my teens.

"Did your mum tell you the reason why he left or does she not even know?" He asks, placing a hand on mine, laying in my lap.

"I think them breaking up was the main reason and the fact that he was still studying to become a solicitor. I guess he was more focused on his career than his family. That's all my mum told me about that," I say, gripping his hand.

"Wow," he scoffs.

"You know when I was younger I didn't really understand what was going on. I didn't understand why all of a sudden my father wasn't living with us," I say, licking my lips before pressing them together.

"At the start, she told me that he went on a business trip abroad and that he'll be gone for a long time. I kept asking her every few days for the first three years when he's coming back until she told me that he wasn't going to come back. Even then, me being eight years old I didn't understand much," I say, remembering how innocent the situation was in my eyes as a child.

"When did she sit you down and tell you everything?" He asks, keeping his eyes on the road.

"When I was 14, she sat me down over dinner after I admitted to her that I was getting bullied at school for not having a dad by a few stupid kids."

"Jesus, really?" Theo says, rolling his eyes.

"It was no secret in our neighbourhood that my mum was raising me on her own and they liked to use that against me to try and ruin my mood," I say before taking a breath and continuing.

"She told me how he was never really thrilled or invested in the pregnancy and how he didn't really want a kid. She told me how they were having a lot of arguments from that point and with every year it was becoming worse. Them breaking up when I was five broke my mum, she was so hurt and got even more upset with him when he refused to pay child support," I say.

"Did your mum not take him to court?" He asks.

"Oh, she would if she had the money but she didn't. He also even moved out of town to the other side of the country, making it very clear that he wants nothing to do with us," I say, rubbing my thumb over his veiny hand.

"What an asshole," he says, taking a left turn getting us closer to our studios.

"I used to think that I was the reason he left. I used to think that he didn't want me, that I was getting in the way of his future and that he didn't love me," I say as he squeezes my hand.

"I guess I was right in the end, my mother's words back up my thoughts," I say, looking outside the gloomy sky.

"If he didn't want kids maybe he should've been more careful," He says.

"Tell me about it, is all great sex without a glove until you need to buy nappies for newborns," I say shaking my head.

"I guess your mum was struggling with money, right?" He asks, turning to look at me as we stop at yet another red light, eyebrows slightly drawn upwards.

"Yeah, even though she got a degree in advertising and marketing management she struggle to find a job like that. She used to work as a marketing assistant for a clothing store but then she got fired and ever since then she's been a receptionist at a hotel," I say, seeing our accommodation building come to view as we start moving again.

"Is she still looking thought for a marketing job?"

"Oh, yes! She's going to be looking until she finds one she said," I chuckle.

"So, you and your mum are close," he says, glancing at me.

"Yeah, even though she becomes annoying at times by acting as if I'm a ten-year-old still but I know she does it cause she loves me, you know," I say, turning my head to look at him as he parks the car.

"I know what you mean," he says, looking at me whilst smiling softly.

He leans in and gives me a short, quick kiss as I unbuckle my belt.

"Thank you for opening up to me about that, I know you said it wasn't a big deal but it's still a big ugly part of your life," he says, caressing my cheek with his thump.

"I know, thank you for listening," I say, turning to the side to kiss his palm that's holding my cheek.

"One more question, have you ever tried to reach out to your dad?" He asks, with furrowed eyebrows.

"Well my mum doesn't have any form of communication with him since he change his number and email and it's not like he said to her which city specifically he went to. So, even though I feel like younger me would've wanted to reach out to get explanations, I wouldn't be able to. Besides now my mum told me everything I needed to know so, no...I don't want to ever see him," I say softly, feeling my throat tightening as my eyes get a bit teary.

"Are you okay?" He asks, casting his eyes lower on our hands as he's eyebrows furrow .

"Yeah," I whisper.

He leans in and kisses me again before pulling away so we can get inside.

Talking about my family situation isn't pleasant but it's not a really touchy subject for me either. I have a feeling though that it will be when I ask Theo about his.

I just realise that he never mentioned his parents to me in the three and a half months that I've known him.

That's a conversation for another day though, enough family drama for today.

A/N

What do you think is going on with Theos parents?

I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and stay tuned for the next one as drinks and body shots are being served...👀

Please don't forget to comment & vote ❤️

I hope you all have a lovely Sunday! Xx

All the love - M ❤️