A Second Chance

21

Harper

"Just another step, mummy." I could hear Willow laugh. I was asked to keep my eyes closed as Willow guided me through to a room. "No peeking."

"I'm not." I told her through a smile, keeping an arm up, guiding my way.

"Okay, you can look now mum!"

I opened my eyes to see the dining table covered in breakfast foods.

"What's this?" I asked Willow.

"Your surprise." Ryan said with a smile, at the end of the table.

Willow went to a seat and sat down, waiting foe me to join her.

"Miss Willow and I made breakfast." Ryan boasted and I smiled wider.

"It smells scrumptious." I told Willow before leaning over towards Ryan. "Thank you."

Ryan smiled wider before telling me to dig in.

It wasn't anything fancy, pancakes, bacon, scrambled eggs and toast, but it was the effort that I loved.

We were halfway through breakfast when Willow spoke up. "Mummy?"

"Yes, baby?" I smiled down at her. She seems so much more happier now.

"Can we move in with Ryan?"

I chocked on my eggs, coughing for air. My eyes wide as I took deep breathes in. "Pardon?"

"Well, we kinda live here already. Can we stay?"

I blinked profusely at Willow, my mouth open, not knowing what to say. I looked at Ryan and saw him beaming, trying to suppress the grin off his face.

"Did you put her up to this? Is this why you cooked breakfast?" I grilled in to him.

"I don't know what you mean." He said slyly.

I sighed and turned to Willow. "Thank you for breakfast, baby. Mum is going to do the dishes." Then I got up and stormed in to the kitchen. "Ryan!"

Ryan followed and shut the doors, looking at me.

"You can't do that. You can't tell her something, especially when I already told you what I'm doing. All you did was get her hopes up and now I have to be the bad person and break them."

"Come on, Harper. Willow wants to stay and I want you both to stay. Please."

"Ryan, no. I already said what I wanted. I wanted time. To sort myself out. Why must we rush in to this?"

Ryan sighed, running a hand down his face. "Because you deserve so much better, Harper. Because I'm afraid that if you go, you'll find someone else, that you will give up on us."

I softened at his words. "Oh, Ryan. That won't happen. I'm doing this to focus on me. To be a better person and mother."

"But you are already a brilliant mother. You are a beautiful person, inside and out."

I watched Ryan as he glared at me. "I don't feel like it right now, okay. I need some time. I left a marriage and went straight in to a relationship, and there was next to no time between them. I need to sort myself out!" I snapped. "Why won't you accept that?"