Contagious Chemistry

He ignored the call of his name by his friends and pushed the door with his hand. The sun scorched down when he was out, radiating somewhat hell. He clucked his tongue in annoyance and put on his shades before shoving his hands into his pocket, turning on his heels, walking away from the building. Some girls noticed and recognized him, but they only whispered and pointed at him as he passed them by. He was in no mood to greet his fans or do anything with them.

His legs brought him to a park where kids and their parents spent the sunny hot summer day. Some kids were playing with remote controlled boats, glided on the glassy cool pond. Some more were playing at the playground with their parents watching over them as they gossiped or talked with the other parent.

He couldn’t care less about his situation or where he was now, he only cared about what was going in his mind and heart. When he found a bench, he flopped down on the bench and sighed. The summer wind blew his tousled black hair and he ran his fingers through his locks. This kind of day reminded him of three years ago, where he met the girls of his dreams on tour. More specifically, Warped Tour.

The emotional storm reminded him something. He pulled out his wallet from the back of his jeans and took out a piece of folded and crumbled paper. His fingers gently opened it and the inks were already fading, but it was still easy to read. Her signature handwriting decorated the yellowing paper in fading blue ink.

She wrote him a letter. Just a piece of letter when their child was born. She informed that she delivered a healthy baby girl named Casey Alexandria. A smile always formed on his lips when he read the baby’s name, but that smile would fade when he read that she decided to use her last name for their child instead of his. Casey Alexandria Smith. Not Gomez.

‘It’s the best for her. I couldn’t bear to answer her questions about who is her father when she grows up, but it’s the best. I don’t want to ruin your future and burden you.’ that what she wrote. His thumb ran through the baby’s name over again. In his little heart, he wished that he could see and witnessed as their child grows up.

She always asked him not to show himself in front of their child. He always wanted to come to her birthday party, like proper fathers would do. She kept her secluded, away from the public and media. And to him and his brother. She only shows their child to her closest friends and family, but to the outer world, their child was like a diamond that needed to be kept in secret.

‘I don’t want her to be drag to our world, Stephen. I don’t want her to be like me. I want her to live a normal life, not like our lives. I don’t want her to be a musician.’ she wrote. It was kind of heart breaking to read it. He always wanted his own flesh and blood to love music, just like him. Just like her.

At the back of the letter, a photo of the baby was attached onto the letter. It was taken when the baby was only two days old. She was so small and tiny, he wished that he could be there, hearing her first cry and held her in his arms.

His heart thumped harder than before as he ran his index finger through the baby’s picture. He wanted to hold his own daughter in his arms, but he didn’t even know where they are now. Suddenly, a cry burst him out of his thoughts.

He looked around and saw a little girl, sitting on the bench across him. Tears streamed down her rosy cheeks as she rubbed her eyes with her little fists. Her auburn locks bounced as she shook her head slightly. His eyes wandered around, looking for the little girl’s parent, but none of the adults around her looked like her.

Stephen got onto his foot and approached the little girl. He crouched in front of her, now they were in the same eye level. “Are you okay?”, he asked the little girl softly.

She put her fists away and opened her eyes. The brown orbs stared at Stephen, confused. “Who are you? Where’s mommy?”

“I’m Stephen.”, he smiled. “I don’t know where your mommy is. Are you lost?”

The little girl nodded as she wiped the tears away with her tiny hands. “Mommy left me.”

“I’m sure your mommy didn’t leave you alone. I’m sure she’ll be back for you.”, Stephen smiled as he sat next to her. “Can I ask what’s your name?”

“Casey.”, she answered quietly.

His eyes widened a bit on her name. There was something that was telling him that she was his baby, but he decided to follow his sanity. There was no way Ally would leave her alone like this.

“Well, Casey, nice to meet you. I’m going to accompany you until your mom comes back.”

Casey looked up to Stephen and flashed him her toothy smile. “Can we play?”
Stephen’s heart melted when he saw her smile. “Sure we can. What do you want to play?”

The little girl put on her thinking face for a moment until she smiles; flashing her brilliant white pearls and jumped off the bench. “Let’s play at the swing!”

He chuckled and stood up, letting the little girl led him to the swings. Her small hand wrapped around his fingers. When they got there, she sat down on one of the plastic red swings, asking him to push her. Stephen pushed the little girl’s swing gently and she giggled excitedly.

After a few swings, the little girl’s eyes widened. She jumped off the swing and ran to the woman who was running to her too. Stephen’s eyes widened on the women who was now hugging the toddler and kissing her cheek repeatedly. Their auburn hair was identical. The mother’s eyes were still the piercing turquoise pools he remembered, but the little girl’s were a warm brown orbs.

The mother’s eyes looked up from her daughter to the young man that was standing behind the swings. Her ocean eyes widened on the view as she stood up with her daughter in hand. They just looked onto each other’s eyes and they realized, they found each other.