19. Hug it out.

                                    

                                          
Stephen
                          
A soft knock sounds from the door on the other side of the bedroom. "Sweetheart, you haven't come out of that room all day." My mother starts. 
                          
"I know you're an adult and this is your house and all, but I'm still your mother, darling. You haven't eaten a thing, either." She pauses in hopes of a response. "Are you feeling alright, Stephen? Does this have something to do with what you told me the day before yesterday. About what your father did?" She questions softly. Another pause. "You know, you can still talk to me about anything." She tries again.
                          
I slowly raise myself from my California king, and move across the soft white carpet over to the door. I know she's not gonna quit until she gets to the bottom of my sour mood. 
                          
I unlock the door and proceed to open it for it, turning and walking back to my bed after she enters.
                          
I sit down on the front of the cherry wood bed, and she mimics my movement.
                          
We sit in silence. Her, wondering what's bothering me, and me wondering how I'm going to tell her all that's happened in the past 24 hours.
                          
"Krys was pregnant when we broke up." I tell her. Not the best way to begin, but at least it's a start. "The boy you saw her with at the store, he's my.........he's my...." I trail of, unable to say the words. I still haven't completely grasped the fact that I'm a......father. 
                          
She looks confused for a moment, before shock and realization kicks in. "Oh my word." She gasps, a hand flying to cover her mouth. "Oh, sweetheart." I watch as tears fill her eyes, "I am so sorry, honey. I know it can't take back what your father did, but for all its worth, I am so so sorry that this happened to you." She says, trying and failing to choke down a sob. She reaches over and pulls me into a long hug.
                          
"I just, I don't really know where to go from here." I confide in her. "I'm anxious to get to know my..... son. But at the same time, I know I can't just barge into his life. He's a kid. He needs stability. I can't just throw a curveball at him like that."
                          
She nods in understanding. "And what about Krystina?" She asks. "Where do the two of you stand in all this?"
                          
Good question.
                          
"I'm not sure. I'm angry with her. I could've never imagined that she could do something as vile as this, but I also understand her reasoning. I may not like it, but I understand it. She's human, and she let her emotions get the better of her, and she did something horrible because of that. I also know that I can't place the blame on her, fully. This is dad's fault more than anyone's. He meddled in my love life, played on our insecurities, and caused all of this. " I shake my head at the thought of it. "The craziest part of it all, is that he doesn't even care."
                          
She stares of into the distance for a moment, sullen. "If it means anything, I've always loved Krys and although this is a bit of a shock, I'm still thrilled to learn that I have a grandson." She cheers.
                          
I can't help but laugh. I can always count on my mother to be around to look at the bright side of things. She's right of course, and even though I'm still coming to terms with it, I can't deny the spark of happiness I get when I think of Bryan. 
                          
"Children are a blessing." She says, hugging me again. "You go and talk to her, honey. I'll stay here and try to sort out this mess with your father." She kisses my cheek, before rising from the bed and leaving the room. 
                          
_____________

                          
She's bare faced, wearing a pair of old sweatpants and a maroon t-shirt, when she opens the door.
                          
"Stephen." She breathes, clearly not expecting to see me.
                          
"Can we talk? Out here please?" I gesture to the swing on her front porch.
                          
She stills momentarily before obliging.
                          
Closing the door behind her, we walk to the swing, and take our seats.
                          
The silence is awkward, but welcome.
                          
Until she breaks it.
                          
"I'm sorry." Is all she says, willing me to look up and make eye contact with her.
                          
I breathe deeply. "Tina, you don't ha-"
                          
"No." She stops me before I can finish. "No. I do have to apologize." She pauses. "You were right. About what you said the other night. You were absolutely right." Her eyes start to mist
                          
"I did do it out of spite." She says, searching my face for any indication for how I'm feeling. "I kept him away from you because I wanted to punish you for what I thought you did. I wanted you to suffer." She swallows. "Even if you didn't know you were suffering, I did. And I thought you deserved it. I thought it was justified, but I was wrong." The tears fall freely down her face. "I'm sorry, Steph. I really am." I hear the earnestness in her voice.
                          
I turn towards her fully. "I may not like what you did Tina, but I understand it, okay. You were upset, you felt betrayed, and you let those emotions get the best of you. Am I pissed? Yeah, I am. But I also know that this entire situation was completely out of our hands. We didn't do this to us. My dad did. If anyone should be at blame, it's him. Alright?"
                          
She nods slowly, almost as if she can't believe I'm being so accepting, but there's something much more pressing on my mind. 
                          
"I'm not going to take you to court, Tina." She breathes out in relief. "But I need to be in my son's life."
                          
"I know. I know" she tells me quickly. "He needs a dad. He needs his dad in his life. I've already told him."
                          
"Told him what?" She couldn't have told him everything already.
                          
"Before we had dinner Friday, I told him that he would be seeing his father soon. He doesn't realize it's you, or anything. But he's expecting it.". 
                          
The words send a jolt through me, reminding me of what Fernando said the night before. "You were planning on telling me? That night?".
                          
"Yeah. I'd been thinking about it since that incident in my office. And then it came up with Bryan a few times. I realized that I couldn't keep him all to myself anymore." 
                          
I feel a weight leave my shoulders at the statement. At least she was planning on telling me. That counts for something. 
                          
"Maybe you could come over for dinner tonight." The suggestion interrupts my thoughts, forcing me to look at her.
                          
Man, she's still got it. 
                          
"You could come over tonight, and we can introduce the two of you. Hang out, play a few games, and see how it goes. Then, tonight or in a few days, we can tell him? She continues, waiting for my input. 
                          
"Yeah." I agree. "That sounds perfect."
                          
We agree on a time before I stand to leave. I surprise us both by pulling Krys into a tight hug. 
                          
She freezes for a moment, before returning the hug. 
                          
I pull back from the hug, and lock my eyes onto hers. "I'll see you tonight." I say, proceeding to walk off the porch and climb into my car.

That went a lot better than expected. 
                          
Maybe things are about to take a turn for the better.
                          
___________________________________

                          
Hola peeps. 
                          
First off, it's 2 a.m. and this hasn't been proofread, so please point out any mistakes that you see so that I can rectify them.
                          
A few of y'all commented on the last chapter, ripping Steph a new aššhole for putting more blame on Krys, than on his dad. How ya feel now?
                          
Sidenote: thanks to everyone who answered my prologue questions. I really, REALLY appreciate it.
                          
Also, I was looking at the demographics the other day, and now I'm curious. 
Where in the world are you guys from? Serious question 
                          
As always, THANK YOU for your continued support.
                          
160  votes before the next update.