Chapter 11

Miranda's POV

I cough in an attempt to cover a laugh that escapes my throat.

Me? Hoping that he’d come back? Ugh! As if!

I roll my eyes and glare at him, shaking my head. I wave my hand and scoff, sharply stating, “I have absolutely no interest in Lily’s fiancé.”

I tear myself away from Sebastian. My body vibrates with irritation. I groan as I approach my car, getting inside, and slamming the door shut behind me. I toss my bag into the passenger seat and shove the key inside the ignition.

The engine sputters. I take a deep breath and turn the key again. It roars to life and then immediately dies.

My hand turns the key again and again and again only to be met with continual failure.

My forehead connects with the steering wheel.

Groaning, I lift my head and open my eyes to see a luxurious black car park beside me. I narrow my eyes at the driver’s window, watching it as it rolls down. Sebastian has a smug smirk on his face, his fingers tapping his steering wheel.

You’ve got to be kidding me. This cannot be happening.

“Need a ride?” He offers. I can’t tell if he’s serious or not.

It’s too good to be true. This man, who just had me pinned against a wall, the same man who yelled at me not even a week ago for protecting a child, expects me to get into the car with him?

I purse my lips and look away for a brief moment.

What if he does something to harm me? Who will look after Ella and Noah?

The hair on my arms stands up and I glance back at him. I shake my head no. He has no reason to be kind to me. For all I know, this is some ploy to get me to do what he wants me to.

“If you don’t trust me…then forget I even asked.” His voice exudes indifference. His smirk darkens and the tinted window slowly rolls up.

Maybe I can trust him his one time, right? Could his intentions be good? I can be very tunnel-visioned at times...

My fingers curl around the car door’s handle. Just as I push the door open, Sebastian’s car speeds away, the screech of his tires filling my ears. My jaw drops.

My fists clench at my side. Profanities leave my mouth as I watch him drive away. Damn you, Sebastian! And fuck your childish antics and your sick sense of humor!

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The Third Person

Ella giggles to herself as she builds a tall tower with multi-colored blocks. It inches higher and higher toward the ceiling. She runs out of blocks and turns to Noah and smiles.

“Can you grab me more blocks, please?” Her smile is infectious, but Noah resists and furrows his brows. He crosses his arms over his chest and shakes his head.

“No!” he turns his face away, tilting his chin up in the air. “I don’t want to play your kids game!”

Ella pouts. She looks at her tower. She leans to the side and looks at the other kids in the room.

They laugh and giggle, playing their games with bright grins on their faces. They’re happy! Ella sighs.

“All the other kids have a mommy and daddy,” she mumbles under her breath, looking around once again before her gaze drops back to her hands, “why do we only have a mommy? It isn’t fair…”

Noah’s head snaps in her direction. His eyes darken at her and he pinches his sister’s arm. Ella whines and grabs the spot he pinched, frowning at him.

“Who needs a daddy? Mommy is enough for us!” Noah exclaimed. Ella nods. The block tower falls and the colored wood piles at her feet. Ella drops down to rebuild it.

Noah stares at the back of her head, his frown growing on his face. He clenches his fists and holds them at his sides.

He couldn’t understand why Ella wanted to have a dad in her life. She is so fixated on it that it consumes her thoughts when she should be happy with her tower of blocks.

Why do they need a dad? He abandoned Miranda and them; he hasn’t even been there for them since birth. He deserves no respect, let alone any type of affection that Ella may have for him.

“If I had a daddy…he’d help me rebuild my tower,” Ella wistfully sighs to herself. She glares at Noah from over her shoulder and continues to mumble, “he would have gotten more blocks for me too.”

Noah rolls his eyes at Ella and turns away. He watches the other kids in the room, wanting to keep him and Ella safe from any bullies that might head their way.

“Do you think he has dark hair like us?” Ella wonders aloud. She stacks the blocks one by one, carefully constructing a new and improved tower. “We have his eyes…maybe you’ll grow to be tall just like him, Noah!”

Ella stands, continuing to add more and more blocks to the tower. Noah sighs and gives in, handing her nearby blocks. He shakes his head.

“No…we’re nothing like him. Stop daydreaming!” Noah scrunches his face at the tower.

“I think he’s nice and kind…” Ella takes a block from Noah and stacks it. The tower is taller than them. She has to stand on her toes to stack the next block. “Maybe he has a reason for not being there for us, Noah.”

“I wouldn’t believe it. He’s…a liar to me.” Noah groans.

SLAM!

The classroom door swings open as a young boy, who wears sunglasses, sprints inside the room. He’s closely followed by a group of students. Their voices are loud as they yell at the boy to stop running.

The boy runs in Noah and Ella’s direction. The siblings stare at each other. Noah notices how close the boy is and grabs Ella, yanking her out of his path. The boy crashes into the block tower.

The tower shatters as the wooden blocks fall to the ground, clattering as they tumble away. Ella gasps and watches as the boy stares at them for a brief moment before running away.

“Hey!” Ella yells, pointing at him, “get back here!”

Ella and Noah take off after the boy. They get a head start ahead of the other students. Noah diverts himself away from Ella, but she doesn’t notice. The other students catch up with her as they yell at the boy to stop.

The boy skillfully dodges the students; he weaves through the small desks and jumps over a checkers board that two students are using. The boy angles his body to the door that leads out into the schoolyard, knowing that this is the only exit for his escape.

He looks over his shoulder and notices that the other students have stopped, either having fallen and crashed into one another or are just plain out of breath. He smiles to himself and turns back around, slowing his pace. Just as he’s about to reach the door, Noah slides in front of him.

The boy tries his best to stop but it’s too late! The two boys collide with each other and fall to the ground. The boy’s sunglasses fall off of his face, flying under a nearby desk. Ella jogs up to them and helps Noah up.

Noah’s eyes fixate themselves on the boy’s eyes. He taps Ella on the shoulder and points at the boy, who frantically looks around for his sunglasses. She gasps.

The boy scrambles when he finds the sunglasses and hastily puts them on his face. He looks at Noah and Ella, his wide eyes hidden behind the darkened frames.

Noah is stunned and he can’t hide the shock on his face as he stares at the young boy. Ella points at him, clinging to his arm.

“He has mommy’s purple eyes!” She exclaims, matching Noah’s shocked expression.