The Lovers Have Lied

[Chapter Two]

I glared hard at Parker, seriously attempting to make my look kill. She glared right back, not blinking. I looked away. There was no point in having a glare down over this.

"Guys, this is Cassidy," I said, pointing to my daughter. No one moved. She smiled and waved again. Pete cracked the slightest of smiles.

"She looks just like him," he said. I couldn't argue. She basically was Patrick. She had my dark brown hair, but she had his eye's perfect green color and his body's chubby tendencies.

"Don't...don't tell him yet," I said. "Please. Let me?" IEveryone nodded. Andy knelt down to Cassidy's level and smiled.

"Hi," he said warmly. "I'm Andy. I'm an old friend of your mommy's."

"You've got long hair," she responded matter of factly. He laughed.

"Yeah I guess I do," he said.
"I like it," responded Cassidy. He smiled.

"Thank you," he said, standing up. "She's cute," he said to me. I ruffled her hair.

"Cassidy sweetie why don't you go upstairs and draw some pictures for mommy's friends." I said.

"YAY!" Cassidy called, clapping three times before disappearing up the stairs and into her bedroom. Now even Andy was glaring at me. No one was happy about this. I understood completely, but they'd understand once I explained. But first I wanted to hear from them.

"So I have four pop icons and a girlfriend standing in my living room," I started. "Care to explain?"

"Honestly I think you should go first," said Joe, still looking between the bus outside and the stairs.

"I didn't want to make him angry," I said. Every jaw dropped.

"Angry?" asked Andy incredulously. "Heather, Patrick never would have left if he knew about this!"

"Exactly!" I screamed. "If he'd known I was pregnant then he wouldn't have gone on tour and he wouldn't have been famous. None of you would be." There was a pause.

"I'm really ashamed of you Heather," said Pete. I looked at the floor. "Did you really think Patrick was that shallow and stupid that he'd regret staying here with you and his own child? Did you think he'd wake up every morning regretting his decisions?" He was getting really pissed. "Patrick wouldn't have been angry if he knew you were having his kid...but he'll sure as hell be angry now."

He paused and all eyes got wide as we heard footsteps slowly shuffling up the walkway. He was coming into the house. I kept my eyes down as he entered, but I couldn't keep them there. I was much more interested in seeing him than seeing the floor. I looked up and went completely numb. I'd managed to make myself let go of his image. I changed the channel if they came on, I avoided stores with their posters, I didn't listen to them on the radio, and I forgot. But seeing him again now brought everything back. I suddenly saw it all again; his eyes, his nose, his lips, his hair, his chest, his legs, his arms, and all those feelings that came with those times five years past. I stumbled backwards but regained my composure instantly. I'm a dance teacher, it's what I do. He stared at me for a second, managed a weak smile, and spoke.

"Hey...hey Heather," he stuttered.

"Hi," I croaked back. He looked down and his body seemed to shift to his back at the sound of my voice. It made me wonder if he was feeling the same rush as I was. I wondered if this was love; the kind of thing that just comes back like this. Everyone was silent, no one was willing to help me out with conversations. So I asked the obvious question.

"What's everyone here for?" I asked. Joe shrugged.

"We're taking a break," he said. "Nothing more to it really."

"Everything's...okay?" I asked, looking at Patrick. Joe nodded.

"We just need a place to stay," muttered Pete.

***

So it's decided that Fall Out Boy will be living in my house. How fun. Honestly I'm not excited about having Patrick living in my house.
Hiding Cassidy will be come very difficult.

I mean I suppose I'm going to have to tell him, and soon, but I can't quite figure out how to tell him. Do I just come out with it? Or do I ease him down? Or do I just let him find her somewhere? I found him in the kitchen with a glass of water.

"Hey," I said. He jumped.

"Hi," he replied, swallowing hard. I kept a comfortable three feet away and let the awkward silence run its course. "I missed you," he blurted out. My head snapped up.

"Me too," I said without hesitation.

"I never called...I never visited...I never wrote..."

"It's okay."

"I'm really glad I'm back."

"Yeah..." then my face went red and my stomach dropped. Little feet running down the stairs...into the kitchen.

"Mommy mommy!" Cassidy tugged on my sweatshirt with a hand full of crayons. She had a drawing in her other hand. "Look what I drawd for Andy!" she said, holding out the paper. It was pretty. It was a picture of a garden; big daisies and trees and roses.

"It's...It's really pretty sweetheart," I said. I looked up, and saw Patrick looking at Cassidy like she was some diseased alien life form...and then it turned to rage.