Stolen Tyme

by S. L. Ziegler

  “And what did you do?”

  “Lied, but Omi told me…”

  Xavier cuts his eyes my way. The vein in his neck moves with each second he glares at me.

  With a deep breath, he turns back to Charlie. “Up. Now. Close your door and no damn television or music, or so help me God I’ll rip them out of the wall. I’m not playing, and there’s not enough patience in the world to test me right now.”

  She huffs, but runs up the stairs, the echo of her door slamming bounces off the walls.

  X lands his sight back on me. “Care to come outside and have this conversation with me? Because I have a feeling this shouldn’t be heard by my daughter’s ears,” he asks me through clenched teeth, but it’s the opposite of a question. It’s a demand, and one I’m scared to find out the reason for.

  I follow with my tail between my legs. “What was that about?” I question as he closes the door to his house.

  He continues to stare at me before he sighs deeply. “Did you tell my fucking daughter she should cut away from her club at school and sneak off to the mall with a boy?”

  “No.”

  “Then you want to tell me why she said you did? And did you fucking know that the boy is two fucking years older than her?”

  “This is something we talked about last month. She came to me and asked if you would let her go to the mall.”

  X interrupts me. “And you didn’t think this was important to tell me? Because it seems to be fucking huge.”

  “Listen to the whole story before you jump my ass. Like I said, before you got rude with me, she came to me and asked about the mall. I asked her what her mom would say. Charlie said she wouldn’t let her go. So I told her she shouldn’t go to you when her mom had already said no. I didn’t want her to play you against each other. That’s all. That’s it. I never once said she should sneak out.”

  “Why would she say that?”

  “She’s eleven, and kids lie to get out of trouble.” I love Charlie more than I love myself, and I’d do anything for her, but this I would never do.

  “You’re telling me to take your word over my daughter’s?”

  “You can do and believe what you want. I’m telling you the truth. I have no reason to lie.”

  “Naomi, I think you should leave for right now. I need to deal with this, and you being here is going to cloud shit.”

  “Okay.” His words cut me to shreds. It’s a stark reminder that I’m not part of their inner circle. I step through the door and my eyes smack right into Charlie’s.

  She mouths “sorry” before I grab my purse and leave the house without a spare glance from Xavier.

  The words blur on the contract. It shouldn’t be this hard to make a decision. The terms, the money—anything Tara said I wanted, they raised it all. The paper is just waiting on one thing—my signature. And I can’t seem to think of any other reason not to sign it.

  There’s only one—Xavier.

  One day since Xavier and I got into a fight, and the longer he remains silent, the longer it feels permanent. I knew before diving into a relationship with a single father that Charlie would always be his first priority, and I thought I understood it, but it seems I don’t.

  I just want one phone call from him, that’s it. One single call to tell me he believes me. But it seems I may never be graced with one.

  “You still moping about?”

  I glance up from my table at the coffee shop to Hadley standing in front of me.

  “Nah, just need to make up my mind about something.”

  “Oh, that sounds juicy.”

  “Not really.”

  “Have you talked to him?” Of course she would know we got into a fight. I bet he went straight to group this morning and told everyone how awful I am.

  “Who?”

  “Don’t pretend with me. It insults my intelligence.”

  “Xavier hasn’t called me.” There. Said it. Out loud.

  “I figured. Did you call him?”

  “Nope, he said he wanted to deal with it as a family, and I’m not that.”

  “Guys are dumb. I knew he’d fuck up. You should call him—even better, show up at his house. I bet he wants to call but is scared shitless about how you’ll react.”

  “I seriously doubt that.” If he wanted to talk to me, he would have called this morning when things calmed down. But I’m still waiting on my phone to ring.

  “Why don’t you come up to camp tomorrow? I have some girls wanting to take dance. I know you won’t always be able to help, but if you could tell me what I need to buy, that would be great.”

  “What’s this camp? Xavier said something about it but didn’t really tell me what it was.”

  “Reed and I started this place—basically, it’s for any child or teenager who needs support. Reed teaches MMA, Xavier does guitar lessons, a friend of mine does art classes, and another who does acting. It’s my heart. Anyway, can you come?”

  “Sure, I’ll come.” I nod. Helping out sounds perfect right now.

  “What’s this?” Hadley picks up the contract. “Damn, that’s a shit-ton of money.”

  “It is.”

  The papers spread out on the table as she drops them. “Talk to him, about all of it.”

  “I will.”

  “I’ll leave you at that. I’ll send you a text about the details on the camp. See you tomorrow?”

  “I’ll be there.”

  My eyes scan the paper for the dates, and now, a month away doesn’t seem like too long.

  Turing on my signal, the mountains get closer with each mile I drive.

  “Do you think you can do it?” Tara’s voice breaks through the speakerphone.

  I thump my fingers on the steering wheel, sucking my bottom lip between my teeth, and give myself a second to answer. “I don’t see why not. It’s only a month, right?”

  One month. Thirty days. It will go by so fast maybe it will make him miss me. Depressing it’s him that I’m willing to turn down my dream for. It will always be him that I will fall for just one more time.

  “Yes, only a month. I made sure. The money they’re throwing at you is insane. You have the Music Choice Awards in three weeks, so don’t forget about that, either. And you’re scheduled to perform with Dylan that night. I thought for sure they wouldn’t let him, but I guess Dylan has been open about who writes his shit now, playing the whole talk-show shit. I guess the no press is negative is true. The public forgave him really quickly. Lucky for that bastard, he didn’t take you down with him.”

  Tara would be the one to hunt him down for messing up a career she worked hard on, too.

  I’m nervous to ask, but with the madness that was my life for so long, I need the control over when to say no. “What does the rest of my schedule for the year look like?”

  “Just this show, that awards show, a couple of one-day performances in LA and New York. I kept my promise about slowing down, I’ve said no to a ton of them you would have made me say yes to.”

  “Tell them to make the changes with the set, and I’ll sign then.”

  “Do you need to check with that hunk of man of yours?”

  “Nah, he’ll understand.” Maybe he will, but he doesn’t get a say since he decided I don’t belong in his life. “It’s a month, not a year, and I’ll be back just in time for Christmas anyway.”

  “Okay. I’ll tell them. I’ll have a stylist send you the dress and performance options. They’ll want you to walk the carpet. I might be able to get you out of it, but it’ll be rough and may seem like you’re hiding shit.”

  “I’ll do it.”

  “With Xavier?”

  “No. I’ll do it solo. Just like I always do. Listen, I’m pulling up to the camp now.”

  “Are you okay? You seem off today.”

  “I’m fine, just didn’t get any sleep last night.”

  “Oh, I would kill to have someone to keep me up at night.”

  “Yep.” If only that was the reason and n
ot that I had spent hours making sure my phone was still on.

  The camp X works at with Reed and Hadley isn’t what I imagined. When they said “camp,” I pictured tents and outhouses with no running water. Not a full-blown little town they had built. It’s an amazing thing they’ve done to make this for children who need some extra attention. That’s why I didn’t hesitate when Hadley asked me about coming to teach some classes. It’s something more than normal.

  I’m not out of my car for two seconds before Hadley welcomes me. “Hey, Naomi. How was the drive?”

  “Sure is scenic, and I didn’t hit traffic, so double plus.”

  “Always. Come on in. I’ll show you around later, but my best friend, Courtney, is here, and she just brought her baby, so I want to get my hands on him.”

  “Wait, who’s Courtney?”

  “She’s my person. She’s been in Vegas with her husband and Reed’s best friend, Lance. I know, it’s strange—we’re best friends and the boys are best friends. I played matchmaker with them. Owen and her daughter are a year apart and looks like these two will be the same.”

  “That’s awesome.” I stare off into the distance. I have never been one for friends. I’m the loner, and I like it that way. But the happiness in her voice clutches at something inside me—maybe I’m missing something.

  “It is. Adam is so stinking cute, too. Wait ‘til you see him. Come with me, they’re in the office.”

  I follow her footsteps and take in the scene around me. A glass building sits in the corner of the space to our left. “Hey, Hads, what’s that place over there?”

  Her smile illuminates her face even more. “That? That, Naomi, is the reason Reed bought this land for me. I went to rehab a couple miles away from here, and he came to visit me. We took a walk and found that. It’s an old, abandoned church I fell in love with. And since Reed loved me, he bought it so we could be married there. The rest of the camp just fell into place.”

  Hadley is probably the only one who can bring out the soft side that grows in Reed, and that says something.

  “That’s probably the sweetest thing I’ve ever heard.”

  “Don’t let the muscles he uses to hide his sweet side fool you. He’s the biggest softy. Here’s the office where the magic happens. And this is my best friend, Courtney. Courtney, this is Naomi, Xavier’s girlfriend.”

  Courtney stands, her body not looking like she just delivered a child, and lifts her hand for me to shake. “Hey, it’s so nice to meet you. I heard you’re taking my girl on her food dates now that I’ve moved away.”

  Food dates? “I guess you can call them that.”

  “I’m glad. Now sit down and tell me all about Dylan Harris. I need to know everything you know. I have the biggest crush on him. Don’t tell Lance, though.”

  “I don’t know anything really. I don’t listen to the gossip magazines, and I don’t even have his cell phone number. Kinda hard to date without that.”

  “You don’t?” Courtney raises her eyebrows, and in turn, her forehead crinkles.

  “I don’t.”

  “That’s a bummer. I totally believed everything they said about you guys. I feel lied to.”

  Hadley’s laugh fills the room. “Probably because you were.”

  “Now that sucks.”

  A shriek comes from the side of the office.

  “Oh, that would be Adam. He doesn’t like to wake up in the car seat.”

  Courtney bends down and grabs Adam out of the seat.

  “Can I hold him now that he’s awake?” Hadley asks, but she doesn’t wait as she gets Adam out of Courtney’s arms. She looks like she was made to hold a baby. Me, I’ve always run from them.

  “Yes, you have been waiting a whole month to meet me, haven’t you?” Hadley dances around, her voice twelve octaves higher than normal.

  I stare, full-on stare at the baby. Lock made it clear from the first time I asked for a sibling that it wasn’t going to happen. I’m not close to anyone except Tara, and she couldn’t be further from having a child.

  “Have you never seen a baby this close?” Courtney asks as I stare at him, the way he moves his little lips and squishes his face.

  “No…I mean like in the store, but I’ve just never really looked at one. And I kind of keep to myself, so I don’t have a lot of friends, and the ones I do have don’t have them.”

  Hadley stares at my face, a sad expression filling hers. “Do you want to hold him?”

  My arms pop up, and the thought of holding a baby scares the shit out of me. “No, I’m good.”

  “What are you doing with that baby?” Reed’s voice booms through the office.

  “Stop, you’re going to scare him. I’m just holding him.”

  “You can hold him when you get back. We have a problem in the studio.”

  Hadley rolls her eyes. “Okay, I’ll be out there in a few. Here, Naomi, hold him for a second. I’ll be right back.”

  “But…”

  “Sit down, and I’ll hand him to you.”

  I sit.

  She places Adam in my arms and a peace washes over my heart.

  I’ve never felt like this.

  Never.

  He stretches his arms and makes the cutest little noise. Fuck.

  The couch dips as Courtney sits down next to me to pull Adam’s hat over his head. “You got the bug.”

  “Huh?”

  “The baby bug.”

  “Wait? Me? No way.” No bugs, no babies. No way.

  “I can tell. You look glowy. I’m not sure that’s the word, but whatever you’ve got going on while holding my baby is glowy.”

  “Pretty sure you’re wrong.” Dead wrong.

  “Have you thought about kids at all?”

  “Not at all.”

  Not one bit. It doesn’t fit into my checklist. They’re cute, sure. But the poop, pee, lack of sleep. I don’t have time for that. And to have a baby, you have to be with a guy. And that didn’t happen until a few weeks ago. I’ve been so clouded by him and Charlie that a baby didn’t fit in my brain. But now…now I wonder if this is the future I want.

  “You need to start thinking.”

  “I have time.”

  Lots of time. My clock still has a good ten years before it starts ticking.

  “You may, but your boyfriend’s older. I’m not one to hide shit. I’m blunt. So I’m going to lay it out. Have you thought about the future?”

  “No.” I haven’t. Not when it comes to this type of thing—only my career. The thought of something else has entered my heart, but nothing like babies. Hell, when X brought up marriage, I was stunned—but babies? No. Having my own child was not even a blip on my radar. Hell, we haven’t even made up since the blow-up two days ago.

  “X has one already. Is that enough for you?”

  “I never thought about it,” I say, staring down at the now sleeping baby.

  “I’m going to give you some advice. You didn’t ask, but I don’t care. You will never regret having a child, but you may very well regret not having one.”

  Something happens with the baby in my arms—my heart starts missing something it never knew it wanted. Holy shit. This isn’t right. I can’t. It doesn’t fit.

  “Naomi, you’re a natural.” Hadley comes back in the office.

  “If…”

  “What are you ladies talking about in here?” Reed breaks out, and Xavier walks in behind him. He offers me a small smile before it drops from his face as his sight falls to me holding Adam.

  “Nothing. We are talking about us going out tonight and the boys taking care of the kids while we do. I’m ready to pump and dump,” Courtney rambles off, a huge grin on her face.

  I glance at Xavier’s face, and there’s a mask hiding his thoughts. Ever since the double date, there’s been something heavy between us. And he’s lying. I know it. He knows it. Only, he won’t open up to tell me what’s bothering him, which only pushes me further and further away. It’s more than the fight with
Charlie, because it was there before that. I just want him to talk to me about it.

  That’s all I ask.

  Chapter 15

  Xavier

  I park my truck outside the church, the only cars in the parking lot are from the group. My third one this week. Two times more than usual. But when things become chaotic, it’s my go-to.

  I start taking the chairs down as the people start to file in. Thursday night group always seems to be busier. Like us addicts need to make sure we’re charged for staying sober through the weekend or something.

  Eric, the leader and my therapist, walks in and everyone takes a seat around him.

  “Good evening. We have all been here before, so I don’t need to go deep in the rules. But reminders: no judgment, no telling outside this group, and anything you want to share you can. But you have to share something. Who wants to start?”

  I raise my hand after the third person shares their problem for the week. “I’m X. I’ve been dating a girl for a couple weeks now. We have a history, so it’s a lot deeper than a normal relationship. She’s younger—a lot younger. The other day, a friend said something about babies, and now, that’s all I can think of. Not having them, but more so about us not having them. I have one. That’s enough for me. I know that. Today I walked in on her holding a baby, and she had that look. You know the look of someone that will want one. I’m going fucking crazy.”

  There. It’s out. All out.

  I needed to do it here first, to get my thoughts straight before I went to Naomi. It’s the right thing to do.

  “Why don’t you tell her you don’t want one?” Lisa, the lady next to me, asks.

  “Honestly, I’m scared shitless at what her answer will be if I ask. I can’t hold her back from having that in her future if that’s what she wants.”

  “By not bringing it up, you are holding her back,” Eric says.

  “I know.” But I’m a selfish fucking prick when it comes to my heart.

  Naomi changed everything for me. My own peace, my love. And I don’t want to lose her over this.

  The alarm monitor beeps, and I glance up from my music. Hadley’s car pulls in and sits in my driveway as Naomi hobbles out of the back seat with her shoes and purse in hand.