The Runaway Bride

Chapter 6

He had heard what Eli said. And part of me wanted to feel bad. I really did.

But I just couldn't bring myself to.

It wasn't fair that he came back into our lives so abruptly and expected us to welcome him with open arms.

I didn't think Eli wishing Chris was his dad was wrong because he had been the only fatherly figure he had known since the beginning, and I don't blame him.

"Stop hogging the blanket," I yelled at Reid.

It seemed to be a nightmare to share a bed with him. I mean, this wasn't the first time we had. For the first few months of our marriage, we did share a bed but soon after, I had taken another room to be as far as possible from him.

And now I was stuck being just as close I once remember.

"Then get a bigger blanket," he said.

“I don’t have any other ones,” I said.

“Well, I guess too bad,” he pulled the blanket.

Urg. He made my blood boil.

I pulled the blanket more to my side and turned to the other side of him. I had placed a line of pillows in between us and forbade him to cross it.

But he had used all those pillows for himself and got comfortable in his own ways.

And now here I was stuck sleeping next to him at the edge of the bed, making sure not even a piece of my hair touched him.

“I hate this,” I snorted.

“Well, get used to it,” he shrugged his shoulder.

I slapped the side of the bed and turned around, facing away from him.

"Good night, wifey," he said.

"Don't call me that," I told him, and the last thing I had heard before I fell asleep was his chuckle.

I woke up the following day to find his giant arms around my waist.

I tried to push them off me, but his grip only got tighter, so I did what anyone would if they were in my situation.

I kicked him. Hard.

He sat up, groaning in pain.

"What the f**k?" He yelled furiously. He held his leg where I had kicked him.

I simply shrugged my shoulder. "Your arms were around me,"

"You could of f*****g moved it instead of kicking me,"

"You wouldn't budge," I said, getting up from the bed and turned on my heel to go get ready but stopped myself. "Oh, you know, since you live here and everything, clean the bed," I told him and made my way into the bathroom.

I got myself ready before waking Elias up for school. He, of course, was a grumpy child in the morning and did not want to get up.

"Come on, little prince. You're going to be late for school," I told him.

He whined but got up from the bed. I picked him up and walked to the bathroom, and set him down.

"Brush your teeth before getting ready, okay?" He nodded his head.

I closed the door behind him and made my way to the kitchen, making myself a coffee and preparing breakfast.

Reid comes into the kitchen, still looking half asleep. His hair was messy, and he rubbed his eyes like a child.

Reid had always been handsome. His sharp feature and his light eyes had made him stand out. It was no surprise that girls had thrown themselves at him.

But it didn't matter that he was handsome because his whole personality was ugly.

"Can I have some coffee?" He asked. I pointed at the coffee maker. "Make it yourself,"

He rolled his eyes.

I pushed him a mug from the counter, and he poured himself a cup.

I took a pan out and began making my scrambled eggs.

Like every kid, Eli was a picky eater and wouldn't eat most things, especially in the morning.

But the one thing I knew he would most definitely eat was scrambled eggs and pancakes.

And when he did come out of fully dressed and clean his eyes lit up.

"Do you like it, buddy?" I asked him. He nodded his head in excitement and did thumbs up. I smiled at him. "After school, you'll be staying with aunty Aria and Henry. Mommy has to stay late for work," I said.

He nodded his head excited to spend time with his aunt.

"You know I can watch him," Reid said.

"Please, you don't even know the first thing about taking care of a child," I scoffed. "Besides, I don't trust you as I said,"

-

The bookstore was packed today, and it certainly was hectic. It was a good thing that Elias was staying at Arias.

And by the time I was done, it was already 9 pm. I arrived at Aria's house and was greeted by her fiance Henry.

"Hey Anna," he smiled.

"Hey Hen. How is Eli?" I asked him.

"Ya about that. He's inside with Aria and um," I didn't hear him finish the sentence. He just started walking toward the dining room, and I followed behind.

We made our way to the dining room, and I saw Eli colouring with Aria and her brother.

"and Reid," he said.

I was surprised to see him there and Eli actually laughing with him.

Elias looked up to see me. "Mommy!" He screamed, getting off the table and rushed into my arms.

"Hi sweets," I hugged him. "Did you have fun?"

He nodded his head. "Yes, me and aunty Aria played some games, and Reid bought me some new toys, and he played superhero with me," he told me, excitement all over his eyes.

"Did he, huh?" I looked over at Reid. He walked over to us with Aria.

"Ya, he surprisingly did," Aria said, eyeing her brother suspiciously.

Reid rolled his eyes at her and picked Eli up.

"We're going home," he said and walked away.

I shook my head. "Did he really play with him?" I asked her.

"He did! And he even bought him toys and ate dinner with him," she said.

"Really? I'm just surprised Eli actually got along with him. He just stuck to my side most times,"

“He did for the first few hours, but I think he bribed him with the toys, but after a while, he seemed to get comfortable,”

I nodded my head. “I should probably get going. I’ll see you later,” I hugged her.

I waved a bye at Henry and made my way to my car.

Elias was in the back seat fast asleep while Reid at the front.

I took my seat in the passenger seat, and he drove us to my apartment.

“You didn’t go to work?” I asked him.

“No, I wanted to spend time with him,” he looked at Eli from the rearview.

“He called you Reid,” I said, remembering that Eli had called him that.

“Ya. I don’t think he’s ready to call me dad or daddy yet, so Aria had told him to call me that,” he said.

I pressed my lips in a thin line. “I get that he’s getting comfortable, but I don’t want you alone with him yet,”

He didn’t say anything. His eyes were glued to the road.

“But I’m happy that you're trying,”