After quickly looking himself over making sure he was deceit, Nathan opened his front door and couldn't be any happier.
“What the hell are you doing here? You aren’t due for another three weeks,” he cheerfully stated, astounded.
“Well, I wanted to surprise you,” a lovely female voice said with a smile.
“Well, you did. You definitely surprised me!” Nathan said ecstatically before opening his arms and hugging her tightly. “Oh my God... I couldn’t be happier to see you.”
After their hug, she asked, “Why?” before she smiled warmly.
“Oh my... You have no idea,” he said before remembering she had lost her baby, and now he had a toddler. She was the only one who knew about his loss. Looking her up and down, he asked, “You remember when we talked about our losses?”
She looked at him curiously. “Yeah...”
“Well... It seems my loss was a lie,” he said hesitantly, in hopes Donna wouldn’t freak out on him. Their similar baby loses were what had brought their friendship together.
“You mean, you lied about your loss?” Donna said, with pain searing in her eyes and her body tensing. “You tried to make me feel sorry for you, so you fabricated a story about how your high school ex-girlfriend destroyed your baby. That was a lie?”
Nathan was startled by her outrage. “No, no, no. Donna, please don’t leave!” he begged, grabbing for her wrist when she turned to leave his place. “Donna. Okay. No!” He couldn’t let her leave thinking he was a bigger ass than he already felt. It would add to everything her brother might have said to discourage her from being his friend.
Donna stood firmly, radiating of humiliation, thinking Nathan had lied to her, and she was the only one who lost a baby, which had been true up until last night. “I didn’t know,” Nathan took his hand off her wrist, and opened his hands in a helpless gesture. “I didn’t know. She lied!”
“What do you mean, she lied?” Donna raised a brow, relaxing her body a little.
“Jillian lied. She kept my son from me, and she’s dead. She and her parents and Josh were in a motor vehicle accident, and Josh was the only survivor,” Nathan said quietly, holding back his emotions.
“What?” Donna asked in alarm.
“He’s in my kitchen eating breakfast right now!” He waved his hand, almost breaking down again.
“You’re serious?”
“I don’t know what to do, and I’ve got to go to work in half an hour. I haven’t even gotten dressed. I haven’t even slept well, and I don’t know how to take care of a kid. I mean... I’m scared,” he told Donna emotionally.
“Well, did you call your sister?” Donna asked, after coming into the apartment, leaving the door still open.
“Natasha doesn’t even know. Nobody knows. You’re the only one who knows that I was going to be a father, and my ex-girlfriend killed it—to which she didn’t,” he finished with an explosive gesture of his hands.
Donna swallowed and looked him over, knowing he looked absolutely petrified! “Umm, you said he was in your kitchen eating, right?”
“Yeah, I fed him strawberry toast. I hope he doesn’t have an allergy to... Can they have an allergy to jam?”
Donna put her hands on Nathan’s chest. “Yes, if the parents do. Does the mother have allergies marked down?”
“I don’t know. I got a birth certificate, and I got a letter from her,” Nathan paused, thinking. “Umm, I have to go to her house and get the rest of his things, along with some other stuff from there. I’ll have to do that after work today,” he explained with tears in his eyes. “I don’t know.”
“Here, let me—” She tried to push forward, but Nathan stopped her, and looked at Donna firmly.
“Are you going to be okay with this, Donna?” he asked, concerned for her mental state. He knew that she was doing much better after the violent way she lost her baby, but he still worried.
“It’s okay. It’s not my kid, right?”
He heard the pain in her voice, and saw the doubt flicker in and out of Donna’s eyes quickly, before he held her shoulders. “Donna, that’s not what I mean. I mean...if this is going to hurt you because you lost your baby, maybe it wouldn’t be good to be around the child I supposedly thought was dead, who is now in my home.”
Donna might like to think she had a strong wall up, but to Nathan, she was an easy read. While she may divert her eyes from him from time to time, he could still see the pain come back into her eyes before she washed it away temporarily.
She looked at him, and put on a brave smile. “Nathan, I work with women who have children and who have been beaten. Some of these women were pregnant when they got beaten, and their babies are alive,” Donna paused, and he could see her struggle to keep strong. “That’s really hard to accept, but I’m trying. And yes, it sucked when I felt the flutters and his kicks. Then when I felt Don move inside my tummy... I was looking forward to his birth.” She stopped talking, as Nathan was intently focused on her. “Well, that was until John accused me of cheating on him and, well, you know.”
Squeezing her shoulders, he asked, “You sure?”
Donna shook her head. “I can do this. What are friends for?” She barged past Nathan and went into the kitchen. He collected her luggage and followed closing the door behind him.
“Hey, Josh, this is my friend, Donna,” Nathan said to his son. “Well, actually, she’s my sister-in-law and your aunt.”
Donna just glared at him.
Nathan looked at her oddly. Okay, she didn’t like that term. “Donna, this is Joshua. He likes to be called Josh,” Nathan assumed, since the boy hadn’t said many words since his arrival.
“Hi, Josh. How are you?” Donna spoke in a gentle voice.
Josh just looked at her and continued munching on his toast.
“Your dad tells me that you came by last night.”
The little boy nodded his head yes while still chewing on his toast.
Nathan looked at the clock. “Frick!”
Donna looked at him, alarmed by his outburst.
“Sorry.” Then he stepped out of the kitchen. “I’ve got to get dressed. I have to figure out what I’m going to do with him. I should drop him off at a daycare, or...” Nathan whispered as Donna followed him out of the kitchen.
“You can’t drop him off at a daycare he doesn’t know, and you can’t go to work like this,” Donna said equally as quietly as Nathan, now that they were away from the boy.
“I have to! One of my guys set us back two days.”
“Really?”
Nathan missed the accusation in Donna’s tone. “Yeah! I’ve got to go to work or I’m going to blow this deal,” he aggravatingly said.
“Well, you can’t put him in daycare. He doesn’t even know where he belongs.” Donna glanced back toward the table where Josh was still eating.
“I can’t drop him off at Nat’s. She doesn’t even know I was going to be a father. Nor would she know I have a kid. I haven’t talked to her about it, yet. She doesn’t even know that I’m the reason our parents are dead,” he said detached and dropping his shoulders in defeat.
Donna looked at him, concerned, “You’re what?”
“Oh...I thought I told you that...”
Donna shook her head no with alarmed eyes.
“We’ll get into it another day. Look, can you watch him while I...I go get ready for work?” he quickly asked.
“Yeah, I’ll watch him,” Donna said with ease.
“You sure?” Nathan asked while searching Donna’s eyes, to see if she was okay with this. “You sure you’re going to be okay with this?”
Donna put her right hand on his wrist, and he could feel the heat coming off her skin. “I’ll be fine watching your son.”
When Donna said ‘your son,’ he could hear a ting of emotion in her voice. It was almost like she was jealous. As he looked into Donna’s eyes, she seemed confident.
“Okay.” He went into his room and quickly changed, and she then went back into the kitchen.
*****
“Oops, you got jam on your face, buddy,” Donna said before getting a cloth to wipe Josh’s face. “What do you want to do now?”
Josh just shrugged his shoulders.
“Do you want to watch TV?”
Josh nodded his head excitedly in agreement.
“Alright, we’ll watch TV. Do you have any clothes?”
Josh shook his head no.
“Do you talk?”
Josh shook his head no, and she just looked at him oddly.
Donna got Josh set up with some preschool cartoons, and then went into Nathan’s room.
Coming to a halt when she saw Nathan bare from the waist up, her breath caught. Donna didn’t mean to stare when she saw Nathan’s strong shoulders and arm muscles. She saw the defined lines and contours of his back, and around his waist. Nathan Romeo was divine. It was suddenly hot in his room! His job was doing wonders for his body.
Once she was able to find her voice, she said, “Nathan...” as he had his arms in his shirt sleeves, about ready to slip his work shirt higher up his arms, over his biceps, and onto his body.
He turned. “Donna.”
Her breath caught again when she saw his six-pack of hard gorgeous pectoral muscle. Oh my goodness, the man is HOT!
“Is everything okay?” Nathan asked as he slipped his shirt over his strong shoulders, and then started doing up the buttons.
“Yeah...I got him watching TV,” Donna said, after moistening her lips and swallowing due to her suddenly dry throat. How had she not seen how hot he was before?
“Oh, that’s good,” he said as he finished dressing.
“Does he talk?” Donna asked with concern.
“I don’t know. He hasn’t spoken yet.” Nathan stopped dressing to think. “Well... Okay, last night he spoke.”
“He did? Well, what did he say?”
“Mommy’s gone.” No one needed to know Josh had mentioned dead on top of it.
“That’s it?”
“Yup, that’s all. He didn’t say anything else. Just ‘Mommy’s gone’ a couple times,” Nathan then walked over to Donna. “He had a couple nightmares, too.”
“You said he survived the crash?”
“Yeah, I checked the Internet. You can look later. It’s on my laptop. It happened less than a week ago,” Nathan finished, uneasy.
“This kid is suffering post-traumatic stress!” Donna said in a professional manner.
“That’s what I figured. But then what do I know about kids? I know nothing for crying out loud,” Nathan said, irritated, while rolling up his sleeve cuffs, prior to putting on the next part of his work-clothes.
“Look, I don’t even have clothes for the little kid. I need to get clothes, and still drop him off at daycare. Am I supposed to give him a bath now or something?” Nathan asked, frazzled.
“No, usually you bathe children at night before bed.”
*****
Nathan blew a frustrated breath out before running a hand through his really lengthy hair. He’d been so busy with constant jobs that he hadn’t even the chance to get his hair cut. “Look, Donna, I don’t know what to do. Maybe I should just break down and drop by my sisters’ place, and say this is a work colleague’s child.”
Donna just put her hands on her hips and gave him a look that said, ‘Are you kidding me.’
“What? You don’t think that will pass?”
“It’s bad enough that you and your sisters all resemble each other. When looking at that little boy and looking at you, anyone can see, without a doubt, that that child is yours,” Donna said earnestly.
Nathan just stood there, with an expression on his face that read, ‘really?’
That was all Nathan needed...was to drop his illegitimate child, which no one knew about—except for his parents and Donna—off at his sister’s place. Sure, Natasha would know exactly what to do. Kelly was almost a year old, and surely she had toys. Natasha was a mother. She had taken care of Natalie while Nathan was in prison. He should probably just fess up and get it over with. He’d be late for work, but at least he’d be done with his secrets.
“I guess I have to if I’ve got no choice, right?” Nathan said, defeated.
Donna looked at him and ran a hand through Nathan’s hair. It felt nice. “I’ll take care of him today, on one condition.”
“You will?” Nathan grabbed the hand that was running through his hair, and held it close to his heart while looking into Donna’s eyes. “You’ll take care of him for today?”
“Well, tomorrow’s a weekend. I’m sure you’ll figure out what you want to do with him after that, right?” Donna sassed him, half-mockingly.
“Yeah, yeah.” Massaging Donna’s hand, Nathan then carefully asked, “What’s the condition?”
Donna looked at him firmly. “Don’t ever call me your sister-in-law again!”
Nathan pulled her close to him as he heard the harshness in her voice. “But you are...” he whispered mischievously, raising an eyebrow, egging her on.
She looked at him sternly, “I’m your friend. I’ve been your friend for a long time, and you’re my best friend.”
He smiled. “Really?”
“Yeah, I think of you as a best friend.”
Nathan pulled her into a hug. “Aww.” While he was hugging Donna, it felt good. And also slightly odd, giving him a guilty sinister feeling. Their hug wasn’t filled with the normal family emotions as it should have been, just like their earlier greeting. It felt like something more...perhaps an emotion which Nathan had never felt before.
After hugging her, he said, “Okay, I promise I won’t call you my sister-in-law again, even though you are,” he teased.
Donna just glared at him, which amused Nathan. “Okay, I’m sorry. You’re my friend, and you’re my best friend too!” he finished pleasantly, making Donna’s eyes light up.
“Okay, but I’m going to need some money,” she said.
With a raised brow, he asked, “Don’t you have tons of money? You are a Cullen.”
“My brother has tons of money. I DO NOT! He was given an inheritance, as he is male. I, a female, was not given the same inheritance,” Donna said annoyed.
Nathan knew the story of how Damon and Donna’s mother, Siena, had raised Donna, and how their father had raised Damon separately. He knew how the son had been given more money, and how the daughter was treated as a decoration you would sell or offer to the highest bidder. And that after Donna had turned eighteen-years-old, the money had stopped. Her inheritance was a dowry. From what he’d heard, the dowry consisted of priceless art and antiques, along with a property in Italy.
“I’m sorry.”
“You should be sorry. Stop assuming you know everything,” Donna kidded.
“Blah, blah...” Nathan said while mocking Donna, which earned him a playful slap to his face.
“You should shave.”
“Yeah, well, I would have done that last night...but...I don’t know... I got a kid that showed up on my doorstep,” he sarcastically sassed her.
She grabbed his shoulders and held him firmly. “Stop calling him a kid! Nathan, he is your son,” Donna both reminded and scolded him.
“I know. It’s just that...for years, I thought he was dead. I thought she had killed him.”
“But she didn’t. She didn’t kill your son. She kept him. There has got to be more to the story,” Donna said, compassionately.
“I know. That’s why I’ve got to go to their house and find his stuff, and the diary Jillian left for me. So I’ll be late.”
“That’s fine. But I still need money to get him some clothes and toys. Josh needs clothes. He can’t stay in the clothes he wore and slept in yesterday. And you need some more food in your fridge. Food appropriate for a child too,” Donna reminded him.
“How do you know so much about kids?”
“Because I work with battered women and their children,” she said dryly, diverting her eyes from his face.
“Oh yeah, I sorta forgot.”
“Yeah, you should know this!” she reprimanded him.
“Okay. Just saying...” He spread his hands in a peace-offering gesture. “Okay, well... Yeah. Here.” Nathan then dug for his wallet, and handed Donna his credit card and spare house key.
“Wow! I feel special. No man’s ever given me a credit card,” Donna said thrilled, while pocketing the items.
He lifted a brow and stared at her in disbelief. She was kidding?
“Don’t worry, I’m not one of those kind of women, who go and blow through a man’s bank account.”
With a smirk, he kidded, “Well, you are a Cullen.”
This time, she playfully slapped his face a little harder. “You know, these remarks are going to cost you.” Donna looked so pretty with her poker-straight face.
“Thank you so much for taking care of my son.”
“Just don’t be too too late!”
“Do you want me to pick up something for dinner?”
“No, I’ll pick up something to make for us tonight.”
“You’re going to stay here tonight?” Nathan asked, remembering he had brought in a couple bags of Donna’s luggage when she arrived not too long ago.
“You said so yourself! I’m three weeks early,” Donna carelessly commented.
“Well, you are. Does Damon even know you’re home?”
“No! I didn’t come back to see Damon.”
Nathan’s eyebrows rose quickly at her sharp no. He was interested in what Donna meant, but his watched beeped, and he looked down. It was time to go. He was already five minutes late, and that was his reminder alarm. “You are going to tell me more tonight as to why you’re back early, and why you don’t want your brother to know you’re home.”
Nathan went into the living room over to his son. “Josh, my friend and your aunt Donna is going to watch you. K, buddy?” He quickly glanced back to see the smile on Donna’s face when he said aunt. “She’s going to take you shopping for some clothes, toys, and food. We are going to get you all fixed up. Okay, bud. You guys have fun. Dad’s got to go to work.” He paused, since it felt so weird calling himself Dad.
Nathan kissed the boy on the forehead before standing up, feeling like there was more... Like he should be doing or saying something else. He didn’t know what to do, and was lost. It was the first time he referred to himself as ‘Dad’. Should he call himself ‘Dad’? He was brought up believing that you earned the right to be called Dad.
With his hands balled into fists, Nathan knew there was something else he should be doing, but wasn’t sure what it could be. He just stood there looking back and forth from Donna to Josh.
“You better get to work, Nathan. Don’t worry about him. I have Josh. He’ll be safe with me, promise!” Donna said, truthfully.
“I’ll hold you to that. I know your brother,” he nervously teased.
Donna just glared at him with widened eyes. “Kidding, Kidding,” Nathan said with an edge of humor in his voice. With his hands up in an innocence stance, he backed out the door.
He was aware of the fact that his friend and sister-in-law, Donna, had heard about his threats to Damon. The ones Nathan had issued Damon on the first day he met him. When they were in his sister’s new apartment, after he had just been released from prison.
“I swear to God, if you hurt my sister...” Nathan had warned Damon before leaving the apartment, angry.
He also knew Donna had heard his second threat to her brother.
“I’ve been to prison, and I’m not afraid to go back!” Nathan had told Damon while his sister was cooking their dinner.