Twilight belongs to the ridiculously talented Stephenie Meyer.
A Father's Hope belongs to me.
A HUGE thanks to my awesome beta, twimom817. Thanks BB, you ROCK!
Chapter Three
I did a lot of thinking that summer that I had Chloe. I talked to a friend of my dads who happened to be a lawyer and helped me file for divorce. My dad helped me apply to the Police Academy and after going through all the preliminary requirements I was slated to start in September. My parents were proud of the decisions I had made, all that was left was to make sure Chloe was taken care of.
Irina flew up to Seattle to pick her up at the end of the summer, and saying goodbye to Chloe was one of the hardest things I ever had to do.
"Bye, Chloebear. I'll see you soon, okay?"
"Promise, Daddy?"
"I promise, baby."
I hoped to God that I could actually keep that promise.
I started the police academy and seemed to have found my footing. My cousin Emmett attended also and it was nice to have someone to share something with. We were both ex-Marines; both interested in law enforcement, we each had a four year old little girl and a lot of baggage. Emmett and I grew up together so we had always been close.
When Chloe was with me in Washington, she spent a lot of time playing with Emmett's daughter, Katie. I remembered how cool it was to grow up with my cousin and I wanted that for Chloe.
By mid-October, I'd begun to settle into a routine. I was still living at home with my parents and sister, but my mom was happy to have me out of the desert and under her roof.
I talked to Chloe on the phone as much as I could. Hearing her sweet little voice gave me the push that I needed to keep going. After Irina admitted to having an affair, I didn't want anything to do with women. My mom promised that not all women are like Irina and somewhere deep in my heart I know that but Irina had taken my heart and stomped on it like it was nothing.
Just after Halloween, I got an email from Irina with a picture of my little Chloe dressed up like a princess. She was adorable. Irina also wanted to know if she could take Chloe to Bahrain to celebrate her fifth birthday. I immediately emailed her back and told her to give me a couple days to think about it. My cell phone rang immediately.
"Edward … please?"
"Irina …" I sighed. "When are you coming back?"
"I … I'm not sure."
"That's not good enough. I need a date."
"I'll have her back before Christmas if that's what you're worried about. I'll even bring her to Seattle. Please?"
"You promise you have her back here before Christmas?"
"Yes."
"Okay. Just … be careful okay?"
"We will. Thank you, Edward."
Together, my mom, sister and I put together a box to send to Chloe in Bahrain so she had something to open from us on her birthday. We paid extra to make sure it got there on time.
Chloe's birthday came and went and we didn't hear a word from her or Irina. We didn't even know if she'd gotten her gifts. I tried calling Irina and even her parent's house number but no one ever answered.
I was beyond frustrated. I hadn't spoken to them since before they left and I had no idea if they had even arrived safely. I just assumed they had. I longed to hear Chloe's sweet little voice but instead I had to settle for my mom's.
"I'm sure they're fine, Edward. You know how Irina is."
"I just want to talk to Chloe and hear her voice. I want to know she's okay."
"Oh, sweetheart," Mom sniffled, hugging me tightly.
Two days before Christmas, Irina finally called. When I asked why I wasn't able to get in touch with them, she said it was because they'd gone to London to visit family.
"You didn't tell me you were going to London. Don't you think I would have wanted to know that little piece of information?"
"Well, we weren't sure we were going until the last minute. Then with rushing around to get everything ready to leave, I just forgot to call in the shuffle of everything."
"You couldn't have called me AFTER you got to London? Irina, I'm her father. I have a right to know where you take her."
"I know, Edward and I'm sorry."
"When are you coming home?" I asked tersely.
"Well, that's what I was calling about. My Dad wants us to stay here until after my mother's birthday in January."
"No! No, absolutely not. You promised that you'd have her back before Christmas. It's two fucking days away Irina. I want my daughter home NOW. If you want to go back to Bahrain for your mother's birthday, that's fine, but I want my daughter HERE."
There were hushed voices speaking on the other end of the phone, so I knew that Irina must have been talking with her parents.
"Fine, Edward. We will try and find a flight. I'll email you and let you know the details."
"Tonight, Irina. Email me tonight," I demanded.
"Okay."
I exhaled sharply as I ended the call. I looked up to see my parents standing in the doorway of my room with concerned expressions on their faces.
"What's going on, Son?" My dad asked.
I explained the phone call from Irina and they were livid to say the very least. As quickly as he could my Dad went down to his office and began to look for airfare.
"There are several flights they could get on first thing in the morning," my dad said, after spending a few minutes online.
An hour later, I received an email from Irina saying that there weren't any flights available for them to take until the 30th of December. I could feel the blood boiling under my skin as I replied to her email telling her that it was bullshit, that there were plenty of flights they could have taken but she'd find any excuse she could not to return Chloe home to me.
I knew it was dangerous letting my temper get the best of me. Irina could choose not to return Chloe to me at all. Thankfully, we had a hearing in January to set the parameters of Chloe's custody situation.
On New Year's Eve, I received a call from Irina saying that they had just landed at Sea-Tac and hoped that I could make arrangements to come and pick them up. Unfortunately, I was doing a ride a long that evening, so I called Alice knowing that she was the only one home but even she was getting ready to go out.
"Ali … I need a huge favor. I need you to go to Sea-Tac and pick up Chloe and Irina."
"Are you serious? Edward, it's New Year's Eve. Jasper and I have plans for dinner."
"I know, I know. I'm doing a ride along and we're getting ready to leave in a few minutes as a matter of fact. Please, Ali? I really need you to do this for me."
"All right, Edward. Only because it's Chloe."
"Thanks, Ali. I owe you one."
I got a text from Alice a little over an hour later saying that she had picked up Chloe and Irina from the airport and dropped them off at the house before leaving to go out with Jasper. She had spoken with my mom and she and dad were headed home to spend the evening with Chloe.
Chloe and Irina stayed with us until January when we all had to go to California for the custody hearing. Much to my dismay the judge gave Irina and me joint custody with me only getting Chloe for the summer months and every other holiday and during spring break. I could also have her any weekend I wanted, but that was a bit difficult seeing as how I lived in Washington and Irina and Chloe were going to reside in California. At that point however, I'd settle for whatever the judge gave me. The custody order also states that when I have visitation I have to fly from Washington to California to get Chloe as well as fly her home at the end of the visitation.
I wasn't scheduled to see Chloe again until June.
"Please take me back to Mom-mom and Pop-pop's with you, Daddy. I wanna go home with you."
"God, I wish I could, Chloebear, but I can't. The judge said that you have to stay here with Mommy. I promise that I'll see you this summer though. I'll come and get you and you can come home to Mom-mom and Pop-pop's with me then, okay?"
"Promise?"
"Yes, baby. I promise."
June couldn't come soon enough.
A/N: Thank you to everyone who has read and reviewed. I'm in awe at the response to this story! I promise that I will slowly but surely work my way through and reply to each and every review. I'm only off one day a week and I have a four year old so please bear with me! =)
As always, I can't wait to hear what you think!