Teen Dad Series

Dani (Ashton & Kadia)

The day started off the way Ashton like them to. He could be in his pajamas for as long as he wanted, making chocolate chip pancakes, listening to the radio. Kadia was preoccupied with Saturday morning cartoons and she was perfectly content staying on the couch until breakfast was ready.

Ashton was just about to ask her what kind of juice she wanted, when the doorbell rang. He knew instantly that he had no idea who it was. The guys never rang the doorbell, opting for just barging in. His mom was notorious for calling before she stopped by. Their babysitter down the hall had a signature knock. Confused, he went to go check through the peephole, gesturing for Kadia to stay in the living room.

There was a brunette standing there with her head bowed, but even the change in hair color wasn't enough to hide her identity. Ashton knew who it was and almost didn't open the door because of it. But he felt the eyes of Kadia on his back and knew he couldn't just ignore this. So he stepped out into the hallway, making her back up and kept the door barely cracked behind him.

"What are you doing here?" He snapped, seeing her eyes widen in shock.

Danica stood there for a second, hesitant. Then she took a deep breath and said, "I know you don't want to see me, but I came to apologize. I want to start over. And I know there's no chance we'll get back together and I can accept that, but I want to be there for Kadia."

Ashton stared at her for a moment then shook his head. "No. You can leave."

"Ashton!"

He started to turn back to the door, opening it slightly. "We don't need you here, Dani. And I don't want you here. Crawl back to wherever you came from."

"I'm her mother! I have a right to at least see her!" She'd yelled it purposefully. They both knew Kadia could hear her. Ashton could still ignore her, but he didn't think he was ready to explain to Kadia who the lady at the door was. She was four. She shouldn't have to deal with anything more difficult than tying her shoes. 

Ashton turned around to glare at Danica. She had tears in her eyes and she looked like she was on the verge of a panic attack. Like at any second she'd break into hysterics if Ashton didn't let her see Kadia. 

"I'm sorry." She whispered, reaching out to touch his arm. He pulled away, backing towards the door. "I shouldn't have left, but I was so scared and you weren't. I thought she'd be better off without me--"

"Well, she is." Ashton mumbled, gripping tightly to the doorknob. 

"But I need her." Danica had carried on like she hadn't heard Ashton. And maybe she hadn't. She'd always had trouble hearing him when she was too busy talking. She'd started crying now and didn't seem to even notice. She gave Ashton a pleading look. "I need both of you in my life. I regret leaving. I regret not coming back sooner, but I didn't want to hurt either of you if I took off again. I wanted to be sure that I could help raise her and do my part."

Ashton stared at her. "It took you four years to try and figure that out." He shook his head, opening the door. "Don't come back, Dani. Go find a new life and start over somewhere else. We're fine without you." He closed the door in her face, hoping that she would listen to him and actually leave. 

He turned in time to see Kadia walking towards him.

"Who was that?" She asked as he scooped her into his arms. 

Ashton started walking towards the kitchen. "No one." He smiled at her. "She made a mistake and got the wrong place."