EVANGELINE WAS NOT a morning person.
That made the fact that her son was an early bird, waking up almost at the crack of dawn every morning, a challenge. She supposed it was a trait from the other side of the parental tree that created Oliver, or just a mutation that afflicted the small four-year-old, because in all the years Evangeline had known Paul Lahote, he never seemed like the type to rejoice in waking up with the sun.
The dark haired boy was currently jumping on her bed, possessing the energy only a child could have, while she laid under the covers, awake but not quite willing to leave the comfort of her bed yet.
"Mommy, when is Uncle Cas going to get here?" Oliver asked eagerly, his emerald green eyes shining with excitement.
"Soon sweetie, when he does, we'll head to Auntie Stella's place." The woman answered, but she could see that the information he was waiting for had yet to be said. "And then we're all going to the beach so you can play in the sand." Evangeline completed, her words making Oliver squeal excitedly.
Evangeline reached her hand towards him, pulling the small boy to lay beside her so she could cuddle him. A giggle escaped Oliver, who didn't wait to pull the covers up so he could be under them as well, almost instantly getting on top of his mother, hugging her in a koala like fashion.
The two laid idly for a while, Evangeline stroking the raven strands that sprouted out of her son's head. She couldn't stop her mind from wandering, the lack of any sort of distraction making it impossible to keep out the thoughts that had been haunting her for the last few days. Ever since her father died and surprisingly left all his possessions to her, she was forced to return to Forks to deal with the ramifications of that revelation. She supposed her stepmother wasn't all that pleased with what her husband's will determined, but Evangeline had yet to see the woman since coming back to her home town, as she apparently went on a last minute trip to deal with her grief, leaving Evangeline and Oliver alone in the big house that was once her home.
Evangeline was nervous to be back after so many years, but not because of the family she'd left behind, well, not hers anyway. The main cause of worry for the brunette was her son's father.
She wasn't proud of this, but Evangeline never told him about the baby. She thought about it countless times, even once going as far as stop by his house in a feat of bravery that lasted a great five minutes, before she lost her nerve and quickly left. The thing was, Paul was not what could be considered father material, especially considering that she was a fling and he didn't even remember her.
However, that wasn't the only reason as to why she never told him. A month after the night they spent together, Paul Lahote changed. He did a complete one-eighty, going from relatively social and outgoing to completely unapproachable and intimidating, joining what was said to be a 'cult' led by Sam Uley. Evangeline never understood what happened to him, but what she knew was that the thought of telling him terrified her. She didn't know the reason for that exactly, but part of it she supposed was that she was afraid he would've asked her to get an abortion. Evangeline would never do it, but the mere idea made her nauseous. She never wanted to have the knowledge that Oliver's father wanted her to terminate him, Evangeline didn't have the strength to know that. She knew it was possible that he could have reacted differently, but with all she knew about him, the odds were not in her favor.
Another fear (smaller than the other when she was still pregnant, and more present now that Oliver was already born), was that he would take him away from her. Evangeline knew that it was unfair to keep Paul in the dark about having a son, but the possibility that he would take her to court over custody absolutely petrified her to the core.
So, while she knows she is being selfish, Evangeline simply doesn't have the courage to do what she knows is right. Her brain might be screaming at her to do it, but her heart is stronger and won't let her.
She was pulled out of her thoughts by the sound of the front door opening, Oliver instantly letting go of her and scrambling out of bed, leaving a tangled mess of blankets behind. Evangeline smiled at the pure glee the boy was in over the arrival of his uncle, although she was sure a big part of it was that in his mind Casper's arrival was associated with a trip to the beach.
Getting up a lot slower than Oliver had, Evangeline went through the steps of her morning routine rather lazily, knowing that Casper was keeping Oliver occupied. Although, even taking her time, she was ready in less than fifteen minutes, being used to a simple morning routine since with having to deal with a four-year-old in the morning didn't give her much time to spare.
"Good morning sleeping beauty." Casper greeted cheerily as she entered the living room.
"Morning, Cas." She picked Oliver up after the boy jumped off the couch where he was seated next to Casper and ran towards her.
"Are you going out like that, really?" The woman looked down at her simple clothes, not noticing anything wrong with her chosen outfit consisting of dark blue jeans and a light yellow jumper, until she noticed Casper's eyes were focused on her feet, each sporting a different patterned sock, one pink with white polka dots and the other with black and yellow stripes, and laughed as she realized what his complaint was about. "What's so difficult about matching socks Evan?"
"I can never find both of the same pair, and it's too time consuming to try. And besides, they don't even show after I've put on shoes!" Evangeline justified, amused at her cousin's despair over mismatched socks.
Oliver's attention had been brought to his mother's sock cladded feet, and his eyes sparked. "Mommy, can I wear fun socks like you too?"
Evangeline chuckled, bouncing him slightly on her waist so she could adjust her grip on him. "Sure honey, but first let's get you out of those pajamas and into a bath."
"I'll get him ready Evan, you should eat some breakfast so you won't have to wait until we get to my mom's house." Casper said, and she smiled gratefully at him. He knew very well that she needed a cup of coffee and some calories before she could get her day started, and Oliver wasn't the easiest to deal with when you were tired. "Come on buddy, the sooner you get ready the sooner we'll go to the beach."
"You'll let me wear fun socks too Uncle Cassy?" Oliver asked hopefully, making the man smile down at him.
"Of course kiddo."
"I'm going to go bankrupt when Oliver grows up." Evangeline commented to Casper, the two of them sitting side by side on one of the sofas in Stella Catrel's living room a few hours after lunch. Her son was currently by his great-aunt's side in the kitchen, helping her make cookies while simultaneously eating a snack that Stella had prepared. "He's only four and already has a huge appetite, I'm seriously dreading his teenage years."
"He never stays still, with the amount of energy that kid spends it's no wonder he eats a lot." Casper responded sounding amused. "But I have to agree with you there. Remember how the one-who-must-not-be-named ate enough to feed an army during lunch?"
Evangeline rolled her eyes at her cousin's words. "Yes Casper, I remember." Her tone was one of resignation, she knew what he was doing, ever since they set foot on Forks he'd been throwing small mentions of Paul, probably hoping that after a while they would motivate her to go seek the man. "He's not Voldemort though, so no need to throw around that mouthful."
"What am I supposed to refer to him as then, since you insist on keeping his identity a secret from everyone?" He questioned, a teasing expression on his face. "Sperm donor? It's a little crude in my opinion but I can work with it."
"I was hoping you'd stop mentioning him." Evangeline admitted, a pleading look in her forest green eyes, making Casper sigh.
He knew of his cousin's fears, but Casper still though she should come clean. If it came to it and they had to fight a custody battle, he'd do anything and everything in his power to make sure Evangeline wouldn't lose her son, but he doesn't think it would come to that. He was one year Paul's senior, and from what he knew about the guy, he wouldn't want the responsibility of a child. Casper actually doubts that he would even want to be present in Oliver's life at all, but that wasn't the reason he wanted Evangeline to tell him the truth.
He could see the guilt eating away at her, and Casper hated that. Evangeline was the sister he never had, and from the moment he found out about her pregnancy, he vowed to do everything he could to help her, and that included protecting her from herself.
"You know you can't avoid this forever Evie." His voice was soft. "Better deal with it sooner rather than later, because one day, Oliver is going to wonder who was the other person involved in creating him, and I don't think you want to wait that long."
As soon as he said it, he could see in his cousin's eyes that it wasn't the first time that scenario had come up in her mind. "Trust me, I know. One day I'll have to tell Oliver about his father, and it'll probably be better if when that comes, the man in question is at least aware of having a son." Evangeline acknowledged. "But I can't help being afraid." The sentence was virtually a whisper, as if she was scared just as much of admitting her fear.
Evangeline was sure the reaction she'd get from Paul wouldn't be a good one, the question of whether he'd want to be a part of her son's life or not and any issues about custody aside, she knew he would be mad. It was widely known through out their old school that he wasn't the best at anger management, and even the most level-headed person would get heated after finding out they had a child after four years. She was, to put it simply, afraid.
"You're not alone Evangeline." Her eyes snapped towards her cousins, he never called her by her name, only when he was truly serious. The only other memory she had of him calling her that was when he told her he'd stand by her side no matter what she decided about the baby. "Whatever happens, I'll be here, ok? So no need to be afraid."
She smiled at him, feeling her eyes burn as tears gathered in them. Quickly she pulled him by the shoulders, giving the man a crushing hug. He chuckled, arms coming around her to return the affection. "Thank you Cas." She murmured, her voice not having enough strength at the moment to say it with more volume.
"Mommy, Uncle Cas, look at the cookies I helped Auntie make!"
Oliver was carrying a plate with pilled cookies on it, walking as fast as he could form the kitchen without making one of the treats fall to the ground. He settled the plate with a lot of care on the coffee table in front of the couch, before enthusiastically grabbing some of the baked goods and giving one each to his mother and uncle. He didn't have a clue of the conversation that had just transpired, and Evangeline looked at him fondly while accepting the still warm cookie.
She realized in that moment that no matter what happened, she's be alright as long as he was too.
AN: this first chapter was going to have the beach part in it too but I thought it'd be too long for the first one, but I'm curious, do you guys prefer shorter chapters like this(1k-2k, this one is just a little over 2k) or longer ones(anywhere from 3k-5k)?
thank you for reading and I'll see you next tuesday 3