Lovers

Chapter 13

Sky

"Stop biting your lip. Everything is going to be fine." He squeezes my hand to reassure me. I force myself to breath in and out.

But my mind doesn't stop from remembering the past. Ethan's parents loved me.

Although his older brother had a business to run and was constantly busy, he never once made me feel unwanted. His mother was a sweet lady who taught me how to bake— anything from cookies to cakes.

His dad, on the other hand, was cold and distant with me. Caroline constantly told me he was just not good with showing affection or emotions. However, his attitude did not bother me at all because his love language was gift-giving. He'll randomly give me gifts throughout the years. I remember he gave me a flower pot and said it was from his garden, but his wife will whisper and tell me all about their visits to the flower shop down the street.

I felt the guilt eating at me again. They deserved to hold Xander when he was born. I lost contact with them after I moved away. Either they respected my choice or their son had something to do with them not bothering me.

"What are you thinking about?" Ethan glances at me as he comes to a stop at the traffic light.

"Your parents are going to hate me." I whisper.

"No, they will not. They'll have a hard time at first but they'll come around. My mom is visiting my aunt Grace, so you'll only meet my dad. I should have spoken to him first, but with things being all over the place I forgot." He starts driving when the light changes.

"I'm not even sure what I'm going to say. They had a right to know. I just feel bad knowing your dad had to find out through sources." A loud sigh leaves my mouth. I massage my head with my free hand and lean back.

"I'll do the talking. I wish we could have brought Xander with us."

My heart clenches again. My parents adore and spoil Xander every time they see him. They were by his side when he was little. I took that away from Ethan's parents.

"We can still pick him up." I whisper. Maybe I wanted to postpone the meeting.

"It's past his bedtime. He's probably sleeping anyways." He kisses my hand.

"What if we reschedule the meeting to tomorrow? I really don't want to show up without Xander being present." My leg starts to shake as Ethan runs his thumb over my hand.

"It is pretty late." I glance at the clock and notice it is just pass 6:40.

"I just want you to know that I want to meet your dad. I just don't think it will look good if we don't show up with his grandkid." Ethan drops my hand as he starts pushing buttons on his car screen.

"We are heading home. It's best if I call dad and let him know. I also don't think we should be bringing Xander over without my mom present."

The screen changes layout and begins dialing his father's number, I clasp my hands together as the ringing bounces around.

"Hello?"

"Hey dad! Xander is sleeping right now. I think it is best if we meet up tomorrow and go out to eat after mom comes back from visiting aunt Grace."

"About that.... I spoke to your mom on the phone and she yelled at me." Ethan laughs and my hands begin tapping my leg.

"Why is that?" His hand finds mine and squeezes it before pulling it to his lap.

"She said I shouldn't be calling you out of the blue and demanding you come visit, especially when she's not even home. I guess tomorrow will be better."

"I'm sorry Mr. Alexander. I'll make sure Xander is wide awake when we visit you." The words fall out of my lips.

"Oh my god! Skylar? Is that you? I thought I was talking to just my son?" He sounded embarrassed and confuse.

"I forgot to let you know you were on speaker."

"That's alright, and no worries. Take care! See you tomorrow." Before any of us can say anything, he hangs up.

"I told you. Everything is fine."

The ride back to my house is quiet. He brushed his thump against my hand, which helps me relax.

"I should probably assign a security guard." His sudden suggestion gets my attention and I think it over for a few seconds.

"She mentioned the person who is trying to break the family apart is someone among your family. She mentioned them being wealthy and the thought of them coming for her scared the living daylights out of her. I don't think she's completely gone, but a guard should be fine." He nods and glances at me for a second.

"We can no longer postpone the moving situation. I need you both close to me at all times. Now that we know it is someone within our family, we should be more alert."

Goosebumps arise across my skin.

"I saw someone earlier at the park. I told myself I was overthinking, but he somewhat look like Sam." I chew on lip again.

"I'll talk to Luke, the head manager of the department and see if we can transfer him to another location."

"What if you spoke to HR? You said he made women uncomfortable. There should at least be a report, and if not, we can meet up with them and see if they are willing to talk about their interactions with Sam."

He turns to my street and taps the steering wheel.

"I'm thinking what's the best course of action here. We can involve the team but apart from that incident with Sylvia, nothing has happened to any of us." He sigh and pulls his hand away to massage his temple.

"Can we sleepover at your house? I no longer feel safe alone with Layla.... You did mention letting go of Layla, but who'll take care of Xander when we are both at the office in the morning?" He parks in our driveway but doesn't turn off the car. He looks around as if he expects to find someone standing behind the trash cans or cars.

"Of course you can come over. I have a house located a few minutes away from the office. I was thinking for now, I-we can work from home." I immediately shake my head.

"We are not going to be hiding from these potential crazy people. We don't even know the reason why they are after you or me? And the company needs you to be there when emergencies arise." I tap his thigh and signal to the house.

"Let's go pack a few essentials and figure the rest afterwards." I smile.

He gives me a small smile. My body moves without my command. My head moves towards him to steal a kiss.

Just as our lips are going to meet something gets thrown at us.

My eyes widen as eggs fly smack against the back side of the car. Ethan shoves me down my seat and turns his head. He is about to step out when I grab his head and frantically shake my head.

"We need to get out of here! I need to go get Layla and Xander."

"Don't leave me here." The silence that follows makes me stiffen my back. I don't know what to expect. Someone could already be inside the house or worse, someone is waiting outside for us. My hands begin to shake as I look around the car and Ethan begins looking through his cars compartment. He pulls out a gun and signals for me to stay put.

"I think they are gone." I whisper. Hoping and wishing that my baby is fine and safe.

"We should call the police."

"Let's just go inside. You have the keys to the house?" I rummage through my back and try to pass them to Ethan but he shakes his head. His head never leaving the dark road.

"I'm leaving the car on and locking it as soon as we get out. You are going to run to the front door and open it while I keep an eye out."

My heart drops as I see a figure running towards the car.

"ETHAN!"

**