Abandoned

Part Two

Alex groaned and rolled over onto his stomach, burying his face in his soft pillow, as the sunlight shone brilliantly through his window. He felt exhausted. He wished that he could sleep a little bit longer, but he had to meet Matthew at around nine or ten. They'd made the plans the night before, via text message.

He swung his legs over the side of the bed, slipping his feet into a pair of black slippers, before going to the bathroom to take a shower. After he had showered and dressed, he walked down to the kitchen, spotting his mom, standing over a fresh pot of coffee. "Morning mom." He said in a tired voice, yawning.

Destiny turned to face him, smiling. "Morning, Alex." She answered, bringing a cup of coffee over to him. "So, what time are you supposed to meet Matthew?"

"At nine or ten. He didn't give an exact time. Though, I guess that I could always skip." Alex replied, sipping his coffee.

Destiny sighed at the hopeful tone, in her son's voice. She knew that he wasn't really looking forward, to seeing Matthew. And she couldn't exactly blame him. His father had been absent from his life, for fifteen years. All that Alex really knew about him, was that he'd abandoned them. There was what Nora and Bo tried to tell him, as well, but she knew that her son didn't really listen, when they talked about his father. "Listen, I know that you aren't really looking forward to this. But, I think that it would be good for you, to get to know him. You deserve an explanation, from him." She told him, walking over to the breakfast bar, and kissing her son, on his forehead.

He rolled his eyes, feeling a bit annoyed. "I know mom." He said, frowning a little bit. "It just sucks. Why did it take him so long, to want me in his life?"

She smiled at him, sadly. "I don't know." She murmured, softly. "I honestly don't. But, I want you to do this for yourself. If you really don't want to, the after today, you don't ever have to see him, again. But I want you to do this for you. You deserve to ask him some question. He deserve to tell him how what he did, made you feel."

Alex nodded and hugged his mom.

"Now, I have to go into work, soon. Would you like me to drive you to Buenos Dias?" Destiny asked pulling out of the hug and wiping the tears from her eyes.

He gave her a hopeful look. "Could you drive me? It's supposed to be cold out, today."

She nodded, grabbing her purse and keys off of the counter, before going over to the chair, which her coat was drapped over. She pulled the coat on and said, "Well then, we should probably get going."

0000

Matthew was sitting at a booth, hands shaking with nerves as he drank his coffee. He was nervous about today. He knew that even if he and his son talked, Alex might not exactly accept him, in his life. His parents had told him, as much. Just then, he looked out the window and his breath caught in his throat, as he spotted Alex and Destiny walking torwards the Buenos Dias. He hadn't known that Destiny would be coming with their son. It made him even more nervous. The last time they'd spoken, had been all those years ago, at that bookstore. The words exchanged between them had been harsh. As much as Matthew had wanted to see her again, he didn't know how to react around her.

They walked in and started torwards his table, unaware of what was going on, in his mind. He stood up abruptly, as Destiny and Alex came closer. "Destiny! Alex!" He said breathlessly, eyes wide as he stared at them, stuffing his hands into his pockets.

Destiny gave him a closed mouth smile and kept her hand resting on her son's back. "I'm not staying." She told him coldly, giving him a hard look. "I just wanted to be here, for my son." She hugged her son goodbye, throwing Matthew one last look of warning, before she left.

Matthew swallowed hard at her tone, before he turned his attention to Alex. "Here. Take a seat!" He gestured.

Alex silently slid into the seat, across from Matthew and rested his arms on the table.

"I ordered you a hot chocolate." The man said, as Gigi placed two mugs of steaming cocoa, infront of the them. "I figured that you would like that." He rubbed his hands together nervously, feeling Gigi's eyes on him.

Instead of saying anything to Matthew, the teen turned his head and smiled up at Gigi. "Thank you, Mrs. Balsom." He told her.

She grinned at him, reaching a hand out to mess up his hair. "What have I told you about calling me Mrs. Balsom, kiddo? You've known me since you were little. It's Gigi."

Alex laughed. "Well, thank you, Gigi." He corrected, grinning boyishly. "So, how's your niece?"

Gigi sighed. "Well, she's coming up for a visit. I finally convinced Kyle and Oliver to take a trip together, for their anniversary. They are always so busy with raising Sierra and their jobs, they don't take much time for themselves." She told him, she turned back to where the cook was standing and groaned. "Listen, I've got to get back to working. Your food should be ready, soon."

"I didn't know that your mom was friends, with Gigi." Matthew said once Gigi was out of sight, sounding shocked.

Alex scoffed and rolled his eyes. "How could you?" He questioned, voice dripping with disdain. "You've been avoiding us, for years."

"Look, I understand that you're angry with me. And I don't blame you. I was an ass-" The older man said, voice filled to the brim, with emotion.

"Oh, how big of you. You understand. You want a medal?" His son bit out sarcastically, eyes on fire.

"I was hoping that you'd listen. You're fifteen, Alex. You need a father and I need my son. We could help eachother." Matthew answered, staring at the teen.

Alex snorted. "Yeah? Well, you should've thought of that fifteen years ago. You're a coward, Matthew Buchanan. You didn't have the balls to stay in Llanview, and be a man. You ran away. What kind of father does that?" He inquired sharply. When his dad opened his mouth to speak up, he stopped him. "And don't use your age as an excuse. Mom was just as young as you were, and she's the best damn mother, in the world."

"I'm not going to use that as an excuse. But I was scared to death. I'd been in a coma for six months, and then as soon as I woke up, I found out that my best friend was pregnant, with my child. It just didn't make sense to me. Your mother and I had only slept together, once. We hadn't even gotten the chance to really talk about our relationship, before I was put into the coma. All I wanted when I got out of it, was to be a normal teenager. I'd already missed out on so much. I wanted to go to college, and spend time with friends, and date. I didn't want the responsibility that a child would require." The man admitted guiltily. He'd been an idiot. It was something that he now realised. When he'd gotten to college, he had dated a bit, but none of the girls-women, could compare to Destiny. He'd lost his best friend, when he'd run out on her and their son. He'd lost out on a girl who'd loved him, whole-heartedly, even when he was at his worst. And now, he couldn't exactly blame Destiny, if she wanted nothing to do with him. Nor could he blame Alex. He let out a sigh, staring down at his long fingered hands. "Listen, I'm not going to force you to talk to me. And I'm not going to force myself, back into your life. I just wanted to see you, but you don't seem to want anything to do with me, and I don't blame you. Not for a second. I'm just sorry that I hurt you and your mother." With that, he stood up from the booth, tossed a few bills onto the table to pay for both of their meals, and left.

Alex sat there afterwards, biting his lip. It wasn't until Matthew had said those last words, that he'd lost a bit of his anger. The man really did sound as if he regretted his actions, fifteen years ago. Had Alex done the right thing by turning his father away? Now, he wasn't so sure.

To be continued.

Last Part/Now a threeshot: Alex calls Matthew, to invite him to dinner with he and his mom. Des and Matthew finally talk.