Chapter 29
"Oak?" Silver gives the man at his door a confused look. Gary sheepishly rubs the back of his neck, but then he catches sight of the familiar brunette he grew up with in the kitchen behind Silver. He had gotten Leaf's address from his connections. Noticing Gary peeking into his apartment, makes Silver close the door some more. "What are you doing here?" Silver narrows his eyes at his co-worker.
"Uh. I'm here to see Leaf."
"Don't know who that is."
"I see her behind you, Silver."
Silver steps out to the hall and closes the door. "And why would I let you see her, you asshole."
Gary chuckles. He's never seen Silver this emotional before. "I'm not gonna take her from you, man. I just want to talk to her...about Ava."
Silver shakes his head. "No. You've hurt her enough."
"I'm glad she found a boyfriend who cares about her." The spiky haired man smiles, which makes Silver pale.
"She's my cousin."
"Oh. My bad." Gary grins weakly and nervously fidgets in place. "But please, Silver. I need to talk to her. Do it for Ava."
Silver sighs as he looks away. "Fine. But let me ask Leaf first." Gary nods and thanks Silver before the redhead walks back inside.
"Who was that, Silver?" Leaf asks while wiping down the dinner table.
"Gary." he nonchalantly says, which makes Leaf stop wiping. She looks at her cousin and sees he is serious. "He's outside and wants to talk about Ava."
"I don't want to talk."
"Stop being selfish, Leaf! Think about Ava!" Silver's tone makes her recoil as she knows he is right.
Leaf looks down at her hands while she nervously takes a deep breath. "Can you take Ava out then? I don't want her here when this happens."
"Sure." Silver responds before walking to his niece's room. When he walks back with her, he sees Leaf is sitting quietly at the dinner table.
"Bye, mommy!" Ava exclaims as she holds her uncle's hand.
Leaf smiles at the little girl. "Bye, Ava. Have fun with Uncle Silver."
Ava smiles as she and Silver walk out the door. She doesn't see Gary because he has walked down the hall, but Silver gives the man a nod out of her sight before walking down a different part of the hall.
Gary heads to the door and takes a deep breath. He honestly has no idea what he's going to say. Every time he thinks of something, he doesn't think it sounds right, but he owes it to himself...and Ash...He needs to do this. Mustering up some courage, he knocks on the door. It takes a few minutes, but the door opens to reveal his ex-friend.
"Hey." Gary awkwardly mutters.
"Hey." She nods while stepping aside for him to come in.
He sits on the couch, and she sits on the adjacent one. Neither one speaks, so Gary decides he may as well tell her why he's here. "Is Ava mine?"
Leaf takes a deep breath, but she shouldn't be surprised because she knew this was coming. "Yes."
"Why didn't you tell me?" he angrily asks. Although he meant to stay calm, he can't. How could she keep his child a secret from him? It's infuriating.
"I didn't want to." she responds louder. How dare he come here and give her that damn tone when he was the one who pushed her away first!
"Why not?" he shouts.
"You don't even know what I went through!" she screams.
"You?! What about me, Leaf?" exclaims the equally furious man.
"You fucking left me, Gary! It's your own fault!"
"This would've changed everything!"
"You already chose to leave me. I didn't want you to just come back because of this! I want you to be with me for me!" Leaf cries angrily at him.
Gary slams his fist on the table and stands up furiously. "Then I guess I'll leave you again." He hisses before walking towards the door.
"And this time you're also leaving your daughter."
The man hesitates at the door as he takes a deep breath to calm down. This is not why he's here. So what if he and Leaf don't get along? He's here for his daughter. Gary finds the nerve to turn around and return to the couch. "I won't leave her."
"That's what you said about us." she crosses her arms at him. She's going to lay all of her pain into him because he deserves it.
"Well, Ava is my blood. That's different."
"So you never considered us family?"
"Family doesn't have sex with each other." Gary narrows his eyes at her because it is her fault they're even in this mess.
"You came onto me, Gary!"
"I was drunk! You shouldn't have kissed me back then!"
"Then how'd you know I kissed you back?" He pauses in thought. Did he just say he knew she kissed him back? "You claim I ruined us because you were too drunk to remember anything, but here you are saying you remember I kissed you back." Her eyes narrow at him suspiciously as he nervously looks away.
"I was drunk, Leaf. It's just an assumption. I kiss every girl I sleep with." He then returns his gaze to her. "Besides, I'm here for Ava. Not you."
Hearing that pains her a little bit, but she knows she needs to allow him to see Ava. "How can I trust you won't just abandon her too? You won't be too caught up in work to even hang out with her? What if you get transferred?" All of these possibilities really make her not want them to meet.
"Because Ash is at war." he quietly says, but she heard it. Leaf looks down at her hands as she fights back the tears forming in her eyes. Ash has been at war for at least a month now, but she has no idea if he is even still alive. This fear is also why she agreed to talk to Gary now. It's for Ava and Ash. "I owe it to him to be a good dad."
The two sit in uncomfortable silence as they think about their old friend. Gary is right, though. They owe it to the fatherless man to give Ava a father, especially since Gary wants to be involved. Leaf takes a shaky breath before saying, "Fine." Despite not being friends anymore, the three are still honoring each other, which gives Leaf enough hope to introduce Gary to Ava.
"Ash is still alive." She looks up at the sad auburn haired man. "Gramps talks to Mrs. K sometimes. She got a letter from Ash last week." Leaf gratefully nods while they sit in silence again.
"When do you want to meet her?"
Gary chuckles slightly. "I met her a year ago in Silver's office. We tied our shoes together." How could he forget the little girl who reminded him of his childhood friend?
"That was you?"
He grins at her. "Yeah. She's smart...but sassy, like you."
She rolls her eyes at him. "I'm not sassy."
"C'mon. I can admit that I'm a playboy."
"Because it's the truth. Ash knows it." The name of their friend makes them quiet again. Leaf thinks about all the times she and Ash would have to keep Gary away from his playboy antics.
She finds herself tearing up again, but thankfully, Gary says, "Can I see her today?"
"Do you want to have dinner with us?" she motions to the table she was beginning to set.
He smiles warmly at her. "I'd love to." So what if he's a player, asshole, and loner? Who cares if he's an Oak? He owes it to himself and Ash to man up and be a father.
As Gary helps Leaf set the table, she texts Silver to come home with Ava as well as letting him know Gary will be joining them for dinner. Of course, Silver questioned his cousin, but he trusts her. Soon, the man and little girl come home, and Ava runs up to Leaf.
"Mommy! I beat Ethan at basketball again!" She exclaims happily.
Silver smiles even though Leaf is frowning. "Yeah. The Kentas were at the park. She really does have talent for the sport, Leaf."
Knowing Gary is there, Leaf doesn't say anything. Normally, she'd reprimand her daughter for the sport, but she doesn't want Gary to know that. Ava's attention quickly turns to the stranger in the room, but her eyes light up. "Hi, mister! I can tie my shoe now!" she grins, which makes Gary smile back.
The auburn haired man gets down on one knee and unties her shoe. "Show me." Ava is so excited that she quickly ties the shoe while looking at Gary proudly. Gary can't help but grin as he extends a hand. "High five!" Which she quickly high fives him.
She then looks over at Leaf happily and says, "Mommy! This is the mister who taught me how to tie my shoes!"
Leaf gives a soft smile as she nods. "I see."
Ava returns her attention to Gary curiously. "Are you having dinner with us, mister?"
"Yeah. Is that okay?"
Her eyes light up again as she nods excitedly. "Yeah! Sit next to me!"
While the little girl drags Gary by the hand to a seat at the table, Leaf can't help but smile. Maybe introducing the two to each other won't be too bad.
After dinner, Silver heads to his room for the night, which leaves Ava confused because she thought Gary is here as Silver's friend. However, once her uncle is gone, Leaf places the girl on the couch where Gary and her sit on either side of Ava.
"Are you sleeping over, Mr. Gary?" The innocent question makes both adults blush.
"Uh, no, Ava." Leaf says. She then looks at Gary hesitantly before returning her gaze to her daughter's viridian eyes. "Do you still want to meet your dad?"
Ava's confused gaze lights up happily as a grin overtakes her face and she tackles Leaf in a hug. "Yes, mommy! Can I meet him?"
Leaf can't help but giggle at her cute daughter's behavior. "Okay, baby. Well, he's right behind you."
The little girl quickly lets go of Leaf as she looks behind her. All she sees is Mr. Gary, so her confused gaze returns to her mom. "Where?"
Gary gives a nervous smile as he says, "It's me, Ava." When Ava turns her attention back to him, she smiles brightly while tackling him into a hug.
"You're my daddy! I have a daddy now!" she cries in Gary's arms, which makes Leaf look away sadly. The woman feels terrible for keeping Ava's father away from her, especially now seeing how much Ava already loves Gary despite not knowing him long.
Feeling the little girl sob in his arms about him being her father brings tears to his eyes. Gary hates how he already missed so much time with her. His hold tightens as he mentally vows to always protect her because she deserves it. He'll raise her better than he was ever raised.
Once Ava calms down, she stays in Gary's arms but looks up at him and then at her mom. "Are we all going to live together now? Like Ethan's mommy and daddy?"
This causes both adults to blush again as they look away. "Uh. I'll visit you every day, okay, Ava?" Gary says to the girl's disappointment.
Leaf raises an eyebrow at him. Everyday? They didn't talk about visitations yet, but it's for Ava, so if Gary is making the effort, she needs to allow him to see his daughter.
The rest of the evening is spent with Ava playing with Gary and asking him lots of questions. Once it is bedtime, Gary tucks her in while Leaf kisses her forehead. "Daddy…" she whines while pointing to her forehead. Gary and Leaf blush as they realize what the little girl wants, but Gary still bends over to kiss her. After they close her door, Leaf walks Gary to the front door.
"Thanks for letting me meet her." Gary mutters.
Leaf nods while she keeps her gaze away from him. "Yeah. Just don't break any promises to her."
"I won't. Never."
"Saying and doing are different, Gary." Her deep green eyes look at him with intensity. "Don't make me regret today."
He gives her a warm smile. "I'll show you then. Good night, Leaf."
"Night." When he steps out, she closes the door and heads to her room where she groans on her bed. She never expected Gary to come here today, but she's doing this for Ava...and Ash. Closing her eyes as she hopes for her friend's safe return, Leaf soon slips off to sleep.
Yeah. Here's the argument from the first chapter.