One Missed Call

21: he never gives up

"No." Hailee sighs out and reaches her hand to her forehead as she tries to massage her temple and try to suppress the uncomfortable feeling in the pits of her stomach.

Aaron lowers his grin to a small tagging smile as he glances around the room once more before turning back to her as he pulls out his phone and taps a few icons on his screen.

"You know, this morning, Bella had been begging me all morning to let you go get her this afternoon from school." He points out, getting Hailee to glance at him from under her lashes as she frowns deeply. "She says all her friends mothers get them from school with cookies or candy and big hugs and kisses. I wanted to be the one to do it, but she won't have it."

"Why are you asking me to do it?" She asks in confusion as she leans back into her seat. "Bella his a mother. You have your own wife. Tell her to go get her child."

"You already know she won't do it, Hailee." He frowns as he stares at her with a clearly unamused expression. "Ria doesn't treat Bella kindly the way you do and Bella seems to like you a lot. It wouldn't hurt just dropping her home for me today."

"The kid met me once-"

"Twice."

"Twice... In which both occasions I simply smiled at her. I didn't do anything to her. Any woman can smile at her at any time." She points out and Aaron shrugs his shoulders.

"Well, I don't know why she does like you. But she's been talking about you none stop since she met you. She compares you with Ria." He points out with a small chuckle.

"You shouldn't encourage her to do that." Hailee says as she panics and glares at him in terror. "I'm not her mother. I never will be. Me and you happened by accident, I never would have associated with you. So make her forget I even exist."

"You can't blame the kid." Aaron furrows his brows at her. "She's just missing out on a mother's love and all I can do for her is be there when I'm free. Which I rarely am these days and she spends an entire day with a mother who won't look her in the eyes."

Hailee eases her shoulders and crosses her arms to her chest as she glances down to her keyboard instead.

"You talked to her the first day, ate with her and laughed with her." He continues as he watches her sigh out shakily. "She's only ever felt that way around me. So I guess with you, she felt as though someone else cared."

"What on Earth do you want me to do?" She asks with a deep frown on her face as she glances at Aaron who stares back into her eyes. "Even if you try to make a pity story out of it, I'm not Bella's mother."

"You don't have to be." Aaron shrugs his shoulders once more and smiles at her. "I don't want you to feel like I'm trying to make Bella think you're her mother. But I just want you to help me heal a few wounds she has. She's been gloomy all morning and didn't want to go to school. I'm worried, that's all."

"I still don't understand why you are telling me this." She chuckles out forcefully and watches as he licks his lips and lean over to the desk.

"What I'm trying to say is, please take Bella somewhere fun for me today. Let her regain the colour she had before. That's all I ask of you." He begs through his eyes and she presses her lips as she looks away.

Clearly not wanting to get further involved with Aaron.

"Find someone else." She says, getting him to frown deeply. "I don't want her to get too attached. I'm sorry but I won't do it. She's not my responsibility."

Aaron leans back into his seat in disappointment as he watches Hailee turn her gaze away from him entirely.

His hopes of Hailee actually picking Bella up that afternoon all come crumbling down.

The sweet moment he wants to give Bella for the first time with a motherly figure picking her up from school with a wide smile and stretched out arms suddenly seems like a distant dream.

He drops his gaze to the photo on his screen, staring into the dull lifeless eyes Bella had worn that morning as she was going to school in his car.

He told her to smile and she did not. Instead she yelled out about how she hates being at home and how she wants to head over to her friend's place after school.

Of course he rejected her offer, simply because he didn't want Bella's friend's parents to think there is something terrible going on at her place.

It would make him lose Bella if they find out she wasn't happy but miserable.

She is still very young and any foster parent would be willing to take her under their wing.

If that ever happens and she is given the chance to choose between having a mother and father that loves her and just a father that loves her.

Bella would run for the loving mother without any hesitation.

She would cry for Aaron, but it couldn't be enough to convince her to stay with just him.

Since he is always working.

"Okay." Aaron sighs out and slowly gets up from his seat. "I understand. I shouldn't try to put it on you. Since we're nothing but strangers."

"Precisely." She nods her head and reaches down for the agreement notes. "Sign these before you go." She holds out the papers and he sighs out as he grabs a pen lying just beside the papers.

"You know," he starts as he finishes signing off the papers. "Even though I don't know much about you, you're all I think about when I'm not busy." He smirks out as he glances up at her. "I can tell I'm all you think about too."