Thank you for your continuous support. I appreciate it. I do not own Glee or the characters, neither do I own Stuck-Up Suit.
SAM
It felt like Mercedes was slipping away from me. The excuse she gave me about hanging out with her friends was a load of bullshit.
And the worst part, was that I couldn't even say I blamed her.
Imagine if the situation was reversed.
How would I have handled it, knowing that she'd given birth to another man's baby?
That thought made me sick to my stomach. I felt so possessive over her; I just couldn't imagine it.
This week has been like a nightmare I can't wake up from. And all I want, was to go back to the way things were before the wake.
Everything was so simple then.
I had so much work to get done but couldn't stop thinking about the two females infiltrating my mind...Mercedes and Madison.
If she really was my daughter, then I owed her so much, because none of this was her fault.
'Don't get ahead of yourself, Evans.'
I needed a paternity test. There was still a part of me that wouldn't believe it until I had proof.
I couldn't allow myself to get emotionally invested until there was no doubt that she was mine.
My secretary's voice interrupted my thoughts.
"Ms. Mayberry is here to see you."
Clicking my watch, I took a deep breath and said,
"Send her in."
The door opened, and Jennifer strutted into my office like she owned the place.
There was a time when she practically did. She, Callum, and I would spend hours strategizing in this very office until the wee hours of the morning.
And she'd given me endless blow jobs under the very desk she now sat in front of with her legs crossed.
It seemed like just yesterday, except for the fact that my previous love for her had turned into what felt like hate.
She placed a white box on my desk.
"I brought you your favorite cupcake from Magnolia. Peanut Butter. I remember how much you..."
"Fuck! Shut up about the cupcake!" I spewed. "Is she mine?"
So much for a gradual lead in to the discussion.
Her eyes widened.
"What?"
"You heard me. Madison. Is she my daughter?"
Jennifer looked absolutely shocked her cheeks turning red. How could she not have seen this confrontation coming?
She must not know me at all.
When she didn't speak, I continued,
"Why do you look so surprised, Jennifer? Did you really think I was going to see her at the wake and not ask you that very question?"
"I...I don't know, Sam."
"What you do mean you don't know?"
"I've been dreading this moment for five years. I don't know how to possibly explain my thinking to you in a way that you'll understand."
"Well…I have all damn day. Figure it out!" When she continued to be silent, I said, "Alright, I'll start then. You were fucking Callum and me at the same time, correct?"
"Yes."
"How long after we were last together did you find out you were pregnant?"
"A month."
"How far along were you?"
"Two months."
I threw a pen across the room in anger.
"How the fuck could you do this?" Spit flew out of my mouth as I said it.
Tears started to form in her eyes.
"Can you try to let me explain?"
"Trust me, I will. I'm looking forward to watching you try to explain your way out of this."
She closed her eyes for a moment then said,
"I was in love with both of you, Sam. I truly was. It was selfish of me to feel entitled to that, but I did. I wanted it to go on forever. Being with both of you was the best of both worlds. But I knew that once you found out, that would be it. I had told Callum that you and I had stopped sleeping together. He didn't know that I'd been with both of you at the same time. Apparently, you never told him otherwise."
"I barely spoke to either one of you after I caught you."
"I know. I'm quite aware. It still breaks my heart to this day."
She gazed out the window for what seemed like minutes to gather her thoughts. Then, she finally spoke again.
"When Madison was born, her complexion was darker than it is now. And she didn't have much hair. So it wasn't immediately evident that she didn't look like either Callum or me. As she became a toddler, I knew he was noticing how much she looked like you. But he chose to ignore it. We both chose to ignore it. Things were so bad between the three of us at that time...me you and him. And he loved her more than life. He couldn't have faced the possibility that she wasn't really his."
"What about me? Did you think I would never find out?"
"Deep down, I always felt she was yours. And, to be honest, that made me happy. Things between Callum and me went sour pretty fast after we were married. I realized that I'd made a huge mistake. I still loved you so much and will always deeply regret hurting you."
"Again, I still don't understand how you could've kept this from me."
"I don't have an excuse, except to say that I didn't want to disrupt Madison's life. And a part of me felt like I couldn't do that to Callum, either. Staying with him was the lesser of two evils because I knew you wouldn't ever take me back. So, I let things be the way they were. I was just trying to keep the peace."
More tears fell from her eyes, but I refused to soften. I was so fucking angry.
"I want a paternity test immediately!"
"I'm not going to fight you on that, Sam. I'll give you whatever you want. Time with her. The test. All that I ask is that if it turns out you're the father, please wait to tell her until she's a little older and can understand better. She just lost the only father she's ever known. And she's devastated."
"I would never do anything to harm her. I'm fine with not telling her for a while if that's in her best interest."
"I really do care about you. I never meant to hurt you. Please believe that."
"I want that test within a week, Jennifer. I'll make the arrangements so that I can be sure the results are accurate."
A look of panic suddenly washed over her face.
"You're not going to try to take her away from me, are you?"
"I would never take a child away from its mother."
She sniffled.
"Thank you."
"If it turns out she's mine, I want you to gather every single picture you have ever taken of her since the day she was born. Do you understand me?"
She didn't hesitate.
"Of course."
That night, all I wanted was to see Mercedes. Smell Mercedes. Sleep next to Mercedes.
My body felt like it was withdrawing from the strongest kind of drug.
It had only been a few days without her, but it felt like a lifetime.
But it wasn't just the physical need. I missed her humor, her sarcasm, her laugh...everything about her.
It was late. I had just left the hospital from visiting Meme, and I wasn't sure if Mercedes would even still be up.
My driver, Mitch, had the rest of the night off, so without thinking, I grabbed my jacket and headed down to the garage.
I hadn't texted or called her first. So, driving to her place was a risk. But I couldn't chance her telling me not to come.
There was no parking near her apartment, so I had to walk two blocks in the pouring rain. When I finally got to her door, I pressed the buzzer to her apartment.
She sounded groggy.
"Hello?"
I closed my eyes. I'd missed her voice so much.
"Baby, it's me."
"Sam…it's late."
I leaned my forehead against the wall.
"I know."
Without saying anything further, she buzzed me in.
Relief washed over me as I went swiftly up the stairs, taking them two at a time.
My hair and jacket were soaked. I must've looked like a drowned rat. But I had to see her.
When she opened the door, she didn't immediately let me in. And I didn't know whether she was going to tell to leave or tell me to come inside.
It was her call to make.
I had no right to push after the mess I'd just brought her into.
I took her in for a moment. She was completely unmade up in a thin, white night shirt. But her nipples were saluting me.
At least they were happy to see me.
She looked so gorgeous, even with her hair a matted mess.
Then I saw them...the tips were red.
I was losing her.
"Oh, God. Come in. You're soaked."
Thank God for the rain. I wasn't above taking sympathy at this point.
She closed the door and disappeared for a moment, then came back with a towel.
"Here. Give me that wet jacket."
I peeled off the top layer. My dress shirt underneath it was still dry. Damn! I should've stood outside for a while longer.
"What's going on? Is everything okay?" she asked.
"No. Everything isn't okay."
"I take it your meeting with Jennifer didn't go well today?"
"She admitted she wasn't sure that Callum was Madison's father. She was screwing both of us at the same time and realized a month after we had broken up that she was pregnant. But she agreed to a paternity test within the next week."
"I don't know what to say."
I looked into Mercedes' eyes.
"Say you won't leave me."
She looked away.
"Sam…everything is so uncertain right now. I'm so confused."
"I feel the same way. My mind is spinning out of control. But there is only one thing I'm sure of right now. Do you know what that is, Mercedes?"
She was staring at the ground, but lifted her eyes, looking up at me through her dark eyelashes.
"What?"
"I want you. I want to be with you. I'm head over fucking ass about you, and I need to know you aren't going to leave me."
She cracked a small smile.
"I think the saying is head over heels about you."
"Whatever." I wrapped my hands around her waist and locked them behind her back. "Tell me you aren't going to leave me over this."
"We don't know what's going to happen."
"I know what I want."
"Sam…things can change."
"I need you, Mercedes. I've never said that to another woman in my life." I leaned my forehead against hers and whispered, "I need you."
She nodded.
"Okay."
Taking her face in my hands, I lifted it, so our eyes met.
"No more bullshit avoiding me."
"I had plans with Noah and Quinn."
I flashed her a look that called bullshit.
"Fine." She rolled her eyes. "I was avoiding you."
I leaned in and kissed her on the lips. And for the first time since the funeral, the world seemed to stop spinning for a moment.
"Do you want to stay tonight?"
"Try to get me to leave."
That night, with my body wrapped around Mercedes, I finally got some much-needed sleep.
I even slept in late the next morning until the sound of my phone ringing woke me up.
So, since this is an early post, you guys can look out for a bonus chapter because you're so awesome.
Stay safe!