In A Different Time

Chapter 19

I was mad. No, wrong choice of word. The word mad is nowhere near of what I'm feeling right now. I am livid. My poor teacup is the one handling my anger as I stir furiously.

The sperm donor who walked out of his family suddenly made his appearance. Perfect timing really. Note my sarcasm. All I want to do is to eavesdrop on their conversation.

I never thought James would agree to his father's request to talk to him. I believed he would be the one slamming the door on his face but I was wrong. James' father reappearing in his life doesn't sit well with me. My gut is telling me not to trust him. Why now?

I stopped mid stirring when a thought came to me. What if one of the reasons James drank himself to death was because of his father? Could it be the reason why he died from the past?

My situation is like the female protagonists from those animes and mangas when they were given a chance to go back in time. The only difference is James is the protagonist while I'm the shadow hero; protecting him from his doom. There's a high chance this is what happened before he died. From this time span, it connects perfectly to where James' life started going downhill. Hope bloomed inside my chest and now determined. I know where to start on saving James.

"Can't believe he's talking to him." Dotty grumbled as she wiped her hands with a small rag. She sat down in front of me and sighed heavily. "Wonder why that bastard appeared. Mostly, wondering why James would even agree on seeing him?!"

"Answers maybe, " I said to her. "Probably wondering why he left. There's a part of me understands why he wants to talk to him."

"Even so, I find it suspicious him appearing out of nowhere. Never bothered to check on him all these years. Frank even fought with him. Forcing that bastard to at least acknowledge James. Never listened." she grumbled the last part. She raised her eyes and frowned at something or someone behind me. "And the devil appears me."

"Devil? You and your jokes, Dotty!" the sperm donor chuckled. Just hearing his voice makes me want to punch his face.

"I wasn't joking."

I turned and saw the sperm donor; smiling like he didn't do anything wrong. I kept my poker face on while looking at them. The sperm donor has his hand clamped on James' shoulder. It irks me seeing that kind of affection.

"You there," he pointed at me and sat down next to me. "Be a doll and get me a drink. Been thirsty since walking here."

My ears twitched at his command. I was about to talk back when James quickly stood next to me. He softly held my wrist indicating me to stay quiet. "She's not a maid and don't talk to her that way. If you want this to work, you have to learn to respect the people in my life. Understand?" The sperm donor scoffed and quickly cooled his expression when he saw James was serious. He reluctantly nodded. "Good. Now, apologize to Grace."

"Excuse me?!" he said incredulously.

"I said apologize to her. Don't make me repeat myself."

He set his eyes on me with a frown on his face. He grumbled what sounded like an insincere apology. I didn't want to say anything or for this to continue so I just gave him a nod.

"Close enough. I'm just gonna borrow Grace for a while. We need to talk."

"We do?" he took my hand and guided me out to the back door. The warmth of his hand felt nice and his hold made me feel safe. My bad mood lessened a bit after the sperm donor's remark.

"Go on ahead. I also have a few things to say to this bastard." Dotty raised an eyebrow at the sperm donor.

He looked hesitant but complied anyway. "Sure. Let's talk too."