Making a Family [Full Collection]

Chapter 3

Chapter Three

AIDEN

Coming home in the afternoon… Everything is exactly as it was when I left this morning.

Hailey hasn’t come back.

I push Seb into the living room and then take him out of his little seat and put him in the playpen, letting him entertain himself a little. As I walk into the kitchen, I find both my wallet and Seb’s pacifier on the table. Right where I left them this morning…

Damnit.

I hate when that happens. I hate when I forget things and am dependent on others…

Not that the Alpha, Clay, was bad company… He seemed really nice and very kind. To take it upon himself to look after me for the morning…

I know that I took time away from his work. That he had more interesting things to do than entertain me for the day, but the attention was nice. It doesn’t happen often that I get to have a normal conversation with others that doesn’t revolve around Seb or the situation with Hailey.

He was really kind and so was Zeke, the manager of that cafe. Of course, I’d seen the Alpha before, I know he’s always there, in the back, working. But, so many people come there every day. The coffee is good and the place is cheap.

One pass gets you ten half-days and a free coffee or tea for each of them. Since I only work there during the mornings, I get ten mornings of work for the same price as five cups of coffee at some of the other chains would cost me. And those usually require you to buy a drink every two hours…

And to hear Clay talk about why he opened the place… The story gives me butterflies in my stomach all over again.

Only, the butterflies in my stomach suddenly remind me of Hailey and Seb, and the fact that I’m now on my own with her baby.

I stand up, trying to stop the frustration that makes knots in my stomach. I walk over to her room and check inside, then I pick up the phone from her desk.

When I try to unlock the phone, the fact that it has no actual lock mechanism on it makes me suspicious. Then I click through some of the apps on the phone and they’re all wiped clean. There are still pictures of Seb and me on it, but even pictures of us where she was in too have been wiped.

“What’s been going through your head, Hailey? Why couldn’t you talk to me? Why couldn’t you trust me? Why did you have to leave?” Tears start sliding down my cheeks. f**k.

Hailey… After everything, after I was there for you for nine months, and every moment since… Why?

I don’t get it. I really don’t get it. How will she get on? What will she be doing? She’s only eighteen…

What will she be doing with her life away from her family?

I can’t… I can’t understand it.

In the living room, Seb starts to cry again and I want to just let him be, even if just for a second. But I’m the only one he has left, so I stand up, going over to him and taking him in my arms.

“We just have each other, little one. It’s just you and me now…” When I hold him I can smell why he’s a little unhappy right now. “Well, you, me and your changing table, it seems.”

Eating on my own again… It’s not like that didn’t happen when Hailey was around. She worked odd shifts. But it feels different this time. Cooking just for myself and sitting here on my own…

I search for Clay’s name in combination with the name of his company ‘Away From Home’ and I find a couple of articles about him.

All of them confirm what he said… He opened the cafes because he wanted to help his friends and people like them. He really is a good guy. It’s surprising that he doesn’t have an Omega yet. He didn’t wear a ring anyway…

Not that that says anything…

I know that not all Alphas and Omegas get married, even if they’re mated, but still… He seems like the type of guy who’d show a ring off. Like my friend Wilder does. He always seems so happy with it, so proud. It’s adorable, for a guy ten years older than me anyway…

But I guess that Seb is a great way to keep Alphas away. Just having him with me makes them think that he’s mine and that I must already have an Alpha. Makes them leave me alone, which is convenient.

I don’t think I’d want to even think about finding an Alpha, I want to make at least some sort of career before I settle down, and now definitely not with Seb still this small.

He’s more important, making sure that he grows up well is more important than anything in the world right now. He’s my responsibility now, no matter what.

I open a new message in my email program, selecting all of Hailey’s email addresses that I have, even ones that she used ten years ago or whenever. I just want to know that she’s okay and actually alive. Not knowing is the very worst.

Dear Heyhey,

Can you please email me and tell me that you’re okay.

That you’re safe and have a place to live and a way to support yourself?

Please? Just tell me you’re okay.

Just email me, please.

Aid

It’s not like I can do much more. And since she’s eighteen, I don’t even think that the police or whoever would pay much attention if she’s only been gone for at most twelve hours.

She’s got a kid. She’s technically an adult. And that means that I can’t really do much without getting my parents or someone else involved too. And I don’t want that right now.

I want to let her return on her own. I want to let her come back to us by herself instead of sending our parents after her. I want her to know that no matter what, I’m here for her. As I’ve always been.

After I clean off the table, I walk around the house. Seb’s already in bed and that leaves most of the evening for just me on my own. I sit down on the couch and turn on the TV, flipping through the channels until I find something that doesn’t make me want to turn it off immediately again.

I just stare at the screen, not really seeing what’s going on, but it’s at least distracting enough that I don’t constantly want to stand up and check if Hailey has emailed me back yet…

Somehow, without me even noticing, I’ve fallen asleep and only wake up when Seb’s crying in his room.

I check my phone and realise it’s time for his evening bottle.

“I’m coming, baby.”

I stretch and make my way over to him, picking him up and holding him as I’m able to make his bottle mostly one-handed.

Then, as he’s drinking, I look at him, at his adorable little face. He’s so cute and I can definitely recognise traits in him that Hailey and I had when we were younger, but Hailey never wanted to tell who his father is.

I’m even on some official paperwork and have some form of custody rights. It’s not really parental but something like guardian rights, something we set up just to make sure that Hailey could keep Seb and live on her own, sort of, without people interfering because she’s so young.

But, I guess it’s also convenient now that she’s gone, maybe it made the choice to leave easier for her knowing that I could care for him like a father, like a parent… Even though I’m not one, and I hadn’t even thought about becoming one already so soon out of college.

I walk Seb around the house after his bottle and then settle him in his bed in my room, since I can’t hear him properly from my room when he’s in his. I make sure all the doors and windows are closed and the lights are off before I retreat to my room too.

Like I’m used to eating on my own, Seb regularly sleeps in here, but it’s all different today, and that makes falling asleep so much harder.

Where is Hailey? Where could she be?

Is she safe?

I take a deep breath as I push myself into the cafe. I’m exhausted and it’s only half past eight in the morning.

Seb’s been up all morning, well, I should say night, I guess. He’s been awake and crying ever since his bottle at four in the morning. I thought he may actually be sleeping through most of the night when he fell asleep easily again after his bottle last night, but apparently not.

He’s been crying after crying after crying.

I think he’s realised that his mother isn’t here. He’s pretty okay if I keep him close, if I keep carrying him, but every time I put him down for a moment, it’s that horrific wailing again. At this rate, I’m ready to cry myself… For the second day in a row.

Clay is sitting in the back and he nods at me as I make my way to the same spot as yesterday. I raise my hand for a moment, but am just too tired. I need to do this. I need to work for just two or three hours today, get my tasks for the day done as much as possible and then I can be out of here again.

Zeke comes over, looking at me. “You need a seat for Seb?”

I nod. “Thanks.”

“That’s okay.” He makes his way to the back and from the corner of my eyes I see Clay stop him for a moment before he lets him go. Then Clay looks in my direction and something inside me responds to that look he’s giving me.

Yeah… I’d love to be able to just go over there and have him hold me, just for a moment not having to be the responsible adult. Just for a moment breaking down and being cared for.

But I can’t. I can’t do that because I chose this. I knew what I was getting myself into when I started living with Hailey and when Seb was born and that means that I now need to be the adult, no matter what I want…

There is no ‘off’ button to being a parent.

I put my bag on the table, unpacking it as Zeke returns with a seat. “Thanks.”

“No problem. What would you like to drink?” He waits as I take Seb out of the carrier I’m wearing and put him in the little seat.

“Ah. I got my card with me today!” I did remember my wallet and the pacifier for Seb this time, though I don’t want to think about the things I’ve probably forgotten instead today… I take the card from my wallet so Zeke can stamp it off.

Clay appears behind Zeke. “Morning.” He smiles, but I can see that he’s looking at me carefully, watching me.

“Morning.” I finally sit down, then look at Zeke. “I…” I try to come up with something to drink, tea doesn’t sound appealing today, especially not since I’m so exhausted, but I also can’t stand coffee.

“Can you make him a strong black tea with condensed milk?” Clay looks up at Zeke. “And a cappuccino for me.” Then his eyes fall on me again.

“Tea with milk, condensed milk?” That sounds a whole lot like tea with milk and sugar. I’m not a small kid.

“Don’t diss it until you’ve tried it.” He winks, then he turns serious. “Had a bad night?”

I nod. “Been up since four. Seb’s been crying the whole time.”

And, right on cue, he starts fussing again. I take him from the seat and hold him close, slowly rocking side to side, and he quiets a little, but I’m at a loss here. I can’t find anything wrong with him, but I think the fact that Hailey’s gone may have finally registered for him. I don’t know.

Can babies this small realise when their mother leaves, or when only one person instead of two is caring for them? Is their world that big yet?

“Ah. Must be hard.” He looks… Sad. He opens his mouth, but then closes it, before opening it again. “Do you…” He stops, letting out a breath.

“Are you caring for him on your own?” There seems to be more to his words, but I don’t know what it is, what he wanted to ask the first time he opened his mouth. The sentence he didn’t dare to speak.

“Yeah. It’s just me.” At least, it is now.

“Hm.”

Just then, Zeke returns, putting the drinks in front of us and giving me back my card. I put it in my wallet and then look at the cup in front of me.

It looks… Well, it almost looks like coffee, though a little lighter.

“Right…”

“If you want something else, tell me, Clay’s taste is not everyone’s taste.” Zeke grins and makes his way to a different customer, leaving me alone again with the man who seems to want to say more than he’s actually saying.

“Clay?” I bounce Seb on my leg, trying to distract the little boy a little. “What did you want to ask?”

But he shakes his head, his stance relaxing. “Nothing important right now.”

“Okay. Anyway, I need to get to work.” I turn the laptop on and start to put Seb in his little chair, but as soon as I move him, he starts to cry.

I pull him back against me. “Please, little man, can you just let me work for a few hours? I’ll entertain you the whole rest of the day. I just need these hours.” I plead with him, because, right now, today, pleading is the only thing I can still do. I don’t have energy for anything else.

“You want me to hold him for a while?” Clay looks at me and he shrugs as he catches my look.

“Don’t you need to do work yourself?” I can’t keep him off his work too.

Clay flashes me a wolfish grin. “Let’s make a deal.”

“Do I want to?” Because looks like that never end well, I’ve seen it often enough.

“I don’t know.” He leans over to me a little. “I have a wedding to attend this weekend. But, I have no date. You look like you could use a day of fun. Will you be my date?”

What?!