AN: Okay, I've finally got the first chapter up of the sequel to 'Not Like This'. First off, thank you guys for making 'NLT' such a success and secondly, I hope you guys enjoy the sequel. I've got some things in mind of what I wanna do. As for my 'Save the Last Dance' readers...I'm so sorry I haven't updated in a while, but I promise I'm gonna try really hard to get something up by this weekend.
Last but not least...Please read and review! Enjoy.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Trish stood outside the men's room for a couple of minutes, waiting for Joshua to come out.
'What is he doing so long…he just needed to wash his hands' Trish thought to herself as she began to get worried. She was about to throw caution to the wind and march into the men's room but Joshua made his way out.
"What took you so long?" Trish asked as she once again, bent down and attempted to fix her son up. The kid was always a mess.
"Sorry…I decided to use the bathroom while I was in there…."
"Oh…okay" Trish mumbled as she was too busy tucking his shirt into his pants.
"Oh look, Kevin's dad's here" Joshua said looking down at his busy mother before waving over the older man.
"Hey…." Joshua greeted the man.
"Mom…this is Kevin's dad….Mr. C, this is my mom, Trish" Joshua introduced. Trish quickly retied his shoelace, stood up and straightened her skirt before wanting to look up and properly meet "Mr. C". With a smile plastered on her face, and her hand stuck out, poised for a handshake, she began,
"Hi, How are y….." but when Trish looked up, her voice trailed off and her face immediately fell into shock.
"Hi Trish" he said with a friendly smile.
"A…Adam….?"
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
"What the bloody hell is taking them so long, I'm starving" Matt whined as Amy sent him a stern glare.
"Shut up….maybe if you had to deal with taking the kids to the bathroom and having to clean up after them, you'd know why it took so long" Amy shot back, to which Matt pouted and slouched down in his seat. Amy leaned over and gave him a peck on the lips to let him know that she wasn't mad at him. He smiled in return and sat straight up, eagerly waiting for Trish and Joshua to return to the table.
"You know what guys….I'm gonna go see what's taking them so long" Randy said, getting up from his seat.
"Oh don't bother, I''ll do it" Amy interrupted, as she stood as well.
"I've gotta run to the bathroom anyway, I'll see what's going on" she said. Randy sent a grateful nod her way and sat back down in his chair.
"Knowing Trish, she probably managed to meet someone she hasn't seen in a long time… that girl seems to know people all around the world…she's a popular little thing. I bet you, she's probably talking up a storm with them right and she's completely forgetten all about us…her starving family and friends!" Matt said playfully.
Randy leaned forward and grabbed one of the dinner rolls and pelted it his way.
"If there's anything I can say about you Matt, it's that you certainly have an imagination…who the hell is Trish gonna meet all the way here in Mexico? The only time she's here is for work and that's a full time gig as it is, she barely has any time to socialize with the schedule Vince gives her".
"Well, maybe you're right, but I'm running out of reasons that could be valid enough for her to have us here waiting for her while we starve ourselves silly…it's not like her" Matt commented before he decided to make use of the dinner roll that was just previously used as a weapon.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
"Trish there you are, what the hell is taking you so lon….." Amy's words died on her lips, and she was sure that her heart had stopped beating when she saw the scene before her. She blinked her eyes repeatedly before once again returning her gaze to the tall figure standing in front of Trish and Joshua. The same tall figure that had now turned around and was facing her after her interruption.
"Trish….." Amy managed to get her voice back and she cautiously walked over to Trish and Joshua, standing close by to the shorter blonde.
"What's going on?" Amy asked vaguely, knowing from the initial look that Trish sent her, Trish didn't want Joshua to pick up on anything.
"Nothing Aunt Amy, I introduced mom to my friend's dad, Mr. C and he was just telling us about his visit in Mexico so far….he even bought me a gift…I can't wait to see what it is!" Joshua raved excitedly.
"Oh…where's my manners, Mr. C, this is my wickedly cool Aunt Amy that I was telling you about over the summer…you'll get to meet her equally wicked husband, Uncle Matt and you'll get to meet my dad too, they're all waiting at the dinner table for us" Joshua said sweetly.
Amy's eyes grew large as she realized that Adam was the dinner guest that Joshua had told Trish about.
"Uhhhh, ummm, Josh, I just wanna tell your mom something okay?" Amy said as she gave the little boy a sweet smile before pulling Trish away from them. She had made sure not to look Adam's way because she was sure that she wouldn't be able to hide her disgust for him.
"You can't seriously consider letting Adam have dinner with us" Amy said softly and through clenched teeth.
It wasn't rocket science for her to see that Trish was visibly in shock and she was sure that she was probably having all of those traumatic memories come rushing back to her. It was only natural being in her situation right now.
"Amy, I don't know what to do…how can I completely dismiss Adam without Joshua becoming suspicious? He's had his heart set on having all of us meet this cool Mr. C…I can't believe I didn't put it all together before…" Trish admonished herself while burying her face in her hands.
"Hey, don't beat yourself up, I never picked up on anything when Josh used to mention about his friend Kevin and his dad, Mr. C….if you're gonna blame yourself, then I'm equally as guilty... So what do we do?" Amy asked as she glanced at Josh and Adam from the corner of her eye.
"We play along…" Trish sighed defeated.
"What!…are you crazy?…you cannot possibly even consider going through with this Trish. You may have moved on with your life, but there is no need why you should unnecessarily be put through hell again and be reminded of what that low-life bastard did to you!" Amy said fiercely.
"I know you're just being protective of me Amy, but this is my son we're talking about. He's too young to understand any of this and I honestly thought that he would never have to know…but that's obviously not how things are gonna happen, now are they?. Yes, this is painful for me, but I will not risk exposing my son to something like this…he's just not ready, so even if that means that I've got a plaster a smile on my face and pretend that Adam is as jolly as Old Saint Nick, then I'll do it" Trish replied tearfully. Amy embraced her with a hug before pulling away and informing Trish that she should come back out to the table in 5 minutes.
Amy figured that five minutes was enough time to quickly explain to the guys what happened and let them know Trish's reasoning for having Adam for dinner. She knew they would put their feelings aside for Josh and the rest of the kids at the table…but first, she had to get to them to warn them, otherwise all hell would break loose.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
"Hey, we were starting to get worried about you also…so where's Trish and Josh" Matt asked smiling before turning around in his seat, expecting to see his friend and nephew making their way over back to the table.
"Actually, that's what I needed to talk to you guys about….." Amy's voice trailed off as she scrunched her face in confusion and turned around, as though she was looking for something.
"What's the matter?" Matt asked, as she grabbed another dinner roll from the new basket they had requested.
"I just noticed that Randy isn't here…where the hell is Randy?" she asked frantically as she craned her neck to look over the sea of people, hoping to spot a tall, built, brunette somewhere among the crowd.
"Relax…what's got your panties in a bunch?…..We thought it would be nice to have the DJ play both are songs so we could have a dance together…he just went to arrange things with the DJ" Matt responded, half worried and half confused about his wife's behaviour.
"Ewwww, daddy….don't talk about mom's panties…" the twins, Jessica and Ryan said in unison.
Their father gave them an apologetic smile and returned his gaze to his wife, who was now looking complete hysterical.
"Ames…you're really worrying me now, what's going on?" Matt inquired as he stood from his seat and drew his wife closer to him.
"Matt…you wouldn't believe the devastating coincidence I just stumbled upon…I need to talk to Randy and you both and…." Amy stopped to look at her watch.
'Shit, I've got less than a minute' she thought. She knew for a fact that Trish would be uncomfortable and she would be counting down five minutes to the wire.
"I don't have much time" Amy finished. Her son and daughter looked at her with worry.
"So get it out already mom…since it's bugging you so much" Ryan responded wisely.
Before she could respond to her son's advice, Randy walked up to the table.
"Everything's set" he said to Matt and then he turned his attention to Amy.
"Glad to see that you didn't get lost as well…so where's my wife and son?" he asked good naturedly.
"About that…" Amy began.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Trish stood arms crossed and leaning against the wall, as she looked at Joshua and Adam interact. She decided that instead of having to participate in conversation with Adam, she would much rather have him keep his attention on Josh and their conversation.
She hoped that Amy was doing a good job of getting Randy and Matt to calm down because there was no way in hell she was going to spend a second longer than five minutes standing out in the corridor with this man.
She looked down at her white gold and diamond watch, one that Randy had bought her for her birthday.
'Thank God…time's up' she thought.
She cleared her throat and when she got their attention, she kept her eyes directed at her son.
"I think we should head back to the table now…I'm sure everyone's probably going mad with hunger by now" she said with a forced smile.
"Sure mom, let's go" Josh said joyfully and his mother held on to his left hand. He turned to Adam and using his right hand, grabbed Adam's hand and pulled him along.
"I can't wait for you to meet my dad…he's the greatest guy in the world…" he said proudly.
Adam looked down at the little boy in front of him…the same one he had always felt a strong connection to…the same little boy who he always thought looked a lot like him when he was younger. He always has his strong suspicions when he found out who his parents were, but now he was positive. The only thing left for him to wonder was whether or not Trish would actually come out and tell him the truth.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
"About what?" Randy asked inquisitively as he watched the pained expression on Amy's face. Before she could answer, he heard a familiar voice beckon him.
"Hey dad…." Joshua's voice rang out.
"Oh fuck" Amy said, massaging her temples with her hand.
"Uh oh…mom said a bad word…she must be really mad" Jessica whispered to Ryan and Emma. Emma only nodded her head, completely transfixed by the unusual scene before her. Aunt Amy hardly ever lost her cool and when she did, she never did it around her or the other kids.
'This must be big' Emma thought to herself.
"Hey kiddo, I was….." Randy turned in his son's direction to see the shock of the century.
"What the fuck are you doing here?" Randy ask vehemently.
"Randy…watch your language around the kids" Trish warned him…more like pleaded with him.
After witnessing Randy's initial reaction to seeing Adam, Trish figure either two things happened. Either he didn't take the news so well or Amy didn't get a chance to tell them.
"You've got some nerve showing up here you son of a…." Matt stopped himself before completing his sentence. He stood from his seat and stood beside Randy.
"Dad…why are you being so rude?…this is Mr. C…my friend's dad…he's our guest…." Josh informed his father in a perplexed manner. He was really offended that his father was being so mean to Adam…someone he considered a friend.
"Josh…stay out of this" Randy shot back angrily.
Josh bowed his head so that no one would be able to see the tears that were beginning to pool in his eyes. 'What was going on?' he thought.
Randy slowly made his way towards Adam and Trish thought it would be best to get the kids out of the area.
"Kids, why don't we go to the burger place around the corner and eat? I'm suddenly in the mood for burgers. " Trish said with a bright smile…a very fake smile but one that would just have to do at the moment.
Emma sent her mother a look and unfortunately Trish's eyes met hers. Emma was intelligent for her age and add to the fact that she knew her mother very well, she knew that something was very wrong and that it was probably best to just shut up and listen. Besides that, her father and Matt, but especially her father, looked mad as hell and she didn't want to be anywhere near him when he exploded.
"C'mon guys…I'm actually digging a burger right now too" Emma suggested to Jessica and Ryan, hoping that that would hurry them up. The twin nodded their heads in agreement, also noticing something wasn't quite right with the scene before them.
"Come on Josh…let's go" Trish said as she gently nudged Josh's arm.
"No" he replied in defiance as his head shot up to meet his mother's stare.
"Josh, listen to your mother" Randy said breaking his silent stare down with Adam.
"No….I don't understand why you're being so mean, but Mr. C is never mean…I wish he was my dad…I hate you both" Josh said, jerking away from his mother's touch and running away. Both Randy and Trish stood in shock at their son's words. Trish never imagined ever hearing her son say that he hated her and despite the fact that he was young and wasn't old enough to understand what was going on, it still hurt her. Amy rested a hand on her shoulder and whispered that she would go after Josh, to which Trish could only nod her head. Hey eyes finally landed on Randy and there was no mistaken the hurt in his eyes. He didn't even bother to hide the tears that had formed. Matt also looked Randy's way and he also whispered something to him, to which Randy nodded. With quick reassurance, Matt grabbed the rest of the kids and left. He gave Trish a small consoling hug before he made his way of the restaurant with the other four children in two.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
As she continued to look at Randy, it was then that Trish stupidly realized what Josh had said to Randy before declaring he hated them. She knew that it was tearing Randy apart inside to hear him say something like that especially when Randy knew that no matter what he did for Joshua, he could never biologically be his father.
"I wanna go home" Trish said tearfully, to which both Matt, Randy and Adam turned to look her way.
"Please…" she added helplessly.
Randy nodded his head and turned to face Adam once more.
"We're gonna need to talk and so help me God, if I've gotta put you in a hospital bed again to get some answers out of you…believe me, I will" Randy threatened with genuine hatred for the man.
Adam reached for a napkin lying on the table and grabbed a pen from his pocket and scribbled something down before handing it to Randy.
"That's my hotel number…give me a call when you're ready to talk". Adam walked up to meet Randy face to face, looking him square in the eye.
"You're tired of waiting and I'm tired of hiding….but I wanna see both of you" referring to Trish as well.
"I don't think so asshole…". Randy's protective nature increased ten-fold.
"That can be arranged" Trish interrupted. Randy's head shot to the side to look at his wife. She could tell that he was angry. She was sure that he felt that it would be mean putting herself in harm' way once again. They never had really discussed it much but she knew that Randy had spent a lot time blaming himself for not being able to be there for her and stop Adam from his assault. She didn't blame him and he had learned that he couldn't control everything….but it seemed as though that guilt was returning.
Trish met her husbands stare and raised her confidently. It was the most confident Adam had seen her since in the lobby.
"I think that of all who are involved, I deserve the most answers" she said as she slowly moved forward and held on to Randy's arm, while she clung to him.
"Fair enough" Adam said with a sigh. He looked at the scene before him and gritted his teeth before he turned and made his way out of the restaurant leaving Randy and Trish in their embrace.
'How could he still love her to this day?' he thought to himself as he walked to his rental car. It was like no matter what he did, the centre of his being always seemed to be Trish. He wanted to make things right…he really did but he wanted more than making amends with Trish, was his son….and by God, he was going to get him.