BRING THE CEO DOWN!

7-A BEST FRIEND

7. A BEST FRIEND

Ara's POV

I was so close to losing my mind when we finally landed in New York. I was home. The flight was hell. William, being the sweet child that he is, was quiet and calm at the beginning of the flight, but as time went on, William wanted out of the plane and didn't really understand that we were on air and he couldn't go out and play. I knew that my son wasn't a fan of closed spaces, but I figured that the plane was big enough; I figured he would be a little cranky, but it seemed like his fear of closed places was worse than I could have imagined. I was just so grateful that we both managed to survive it. We made it out of the plane in one piece and we were home.

I came to New York for revenge, but I also knew that I would stay after it was all over. Australia wasn't for me anymore. I was not going to run anymore because of Fabian. I was in my city, even if he tried to run me out of it, and I would meet him in a few minutes.

I felt a little anxious now that I thought about it; I was anxious to meet him. I was also anxious to see Tricia again after so long. She was coming to see me at the airport. I was so happy that she had the time to come pick me up. Quincy wasn't the most reliable person on the planet, and William had to go to Tricia. It was best that she came to pick me up.

I was also so anxious to leave my baby for the first time. William was so clingy that afternoon. We just landed, and I was making my way out of the airport, trying to hold on to my baby, who was on my hip, who managed to cling to me like a monkey to a tree, and then try to work around our luggage. It was all so much.

When I finally managed to come out, I scanned the crowd, trying to locate my friend.

I saw her boyfriend first. Stanley was taller than most people and quite lanky. He was the easiest person to pick out from a huge crowd. There was no hiding the long-sleeved red shirt that he wore, but he did try to hide his curly hair under a black face cap. As I saw him, he saw me too and tapped my friend. I saw Tricia's face light up as she saw me, and it really hit me how much I missed my friend.

"Arabella!" Patricia shouted, and I smiled at my friend. The fact that we were in a public space didn't seem to bother her in the least. She was running so fast so she could hug me.

Tricia and Stanley looked quite the couple. Their height difference was intense. Stanley looked like he was above 6 feet, and Tricia was just five feet, two inches. Shorter than me even. As Tricia ran up to me to hug me, Stanley was running behind her too. Seeing their relationship, their love, gave me a slight pang of jealousy. It was not ideal, but I wanted what they had—the happiness, the joy. There was no anger or revenge in their expressions. Just happiness.

When Tricia finally reached me, I opened my arms as much as I could with a child clinging to me and then hugged my friend hard. She felt like home. It had been too long. I didn't want to stay so long without seeing her again. Hugging her made me wonder why I had stayed so long without contact in the first place and why I hadn't hugged her in so long.

"I missed you so much, Ara; look how pretty you look," Tricia said, and I smiled. "Thank you. You look amazing too, Tricia, the hair. I love what you did with your hair," I said. My friend had her hair in a pixie cut and it was bright red. It wasn't the style that I was used to seeing on her before I left for Australia, but it fit her well. I used to see the hair on FaceTime, but it looked so different in real life.

"Thank you sweetie, and is this Sir William?" Tricia asked, and William held me tighter.

"He isn't really in the best mood after that flight. He has been so clingy since then. Let me hold my baby a little more." I kind of liked that he was so clingy after the flight. I wanted to have some more time with my baby before I had to leave him and meet Fabian. And how long will it take to get all the information I need about Fabian so I can see my baby again?

I didn't even want to think about leaving him when we were still together.

"Ara, good to see you," Stanley said, extending his hand for a shake. He looked very awkward standing there, but that was Stanley for you. He would not win Best Communicator any time at all.

"Good to see you, Stanley. I hope you are treating my best friend very well. Well, if you are not, you better step up, because I am here to police you now,” I said, and Stanley smiled, scratching the back of his head with his hand.

"I will try my best, ma'am." I couldn't help but laugh at that. Stanley could have easily become a basketball player, but he was so easily scared of what I said.

"Just kidding, I know you always take care of her." He looked a little relieved to hear that.

"Just do more, okay?" Stanley nodded to that.

"This is my baby; his name is William," I said. I didn't know how much Tricia told him, but given that my baby was going to be living with them in their house. I figured she would have to tell him everything. They were also almost engaged so that is that.

I wasn't very comfortable still, with too many people knowing about the plan. It just felt like it would go south if the whole world knew. It was a little superstitious belief that I had that the more people knew, the more liable the engagement was to be jinxed. I just hoped this wasn't anything like those ones.

"William, can you say hi?" I asked my son. He seemed to have loosened his hold on me, maybe because of the people he saw around and he felt safe with them.

"Hi," my son said with a small voice.

"Hi, William," Tricia replied to him with a tiny voice too. I was already sure, and I have been for a while that my son will be safe with my friend. But seeing now how she didn't bother him to try to hold him when he didn't want to be held made me feel much better.

"Hi William," Stanley said, and William smiled at him. William actually tended to react well with men. Even Charlie, the realtor, was quite close with William. It was something that bothered me on several levels. Was I terribly failing my son by allowing him to grow up without a father? Will he resent me in the future?

I have tried to be the best parent I can be, but there is only so much that I can do. Now that I have Tricia and Stanley, I am sure things will get better. My child will get more love, both maternal and paternal.

"We should get going. It's getting hot outside," Tricia said, and I nodded.

"Great plan."

"When we get home, I want to go see Quincey." Tricia raised an eyebrow at that.

"Today?" she asked.

"Yes today, because tomorrow I am going to see Fabian." Tricia looked away and nodded.

She was not still a fan of everything. That was fair enough, I guess.

"That's so fast, Ara; don't you want to at least spend some time together?" Tricia asked. I just sighed. I didn't want to lose the momentum that I gathered coming here. It was best that I began as soon as I could.

"Going to see Fabian doesn't mean we can't spend time together, Tricia. I will be coming by all the time. We are friends, and Liam will be with you."

"That's true. Alright, Ara, but please know that you don't have to do this; you don't have to do this to feel better about yourself. You think it will make you feel better, but it won't, Ara." I just nodded at that. I needed to see Quincy fast. It was of great importance to communicate with someone who supported my plan. In this case, someone who masterminded the plan.