Chapter 6 - War With An Ex-Lover

"Who is he, Sam?" Steve pressed, his jaw tightening in anger. She threw a sharp glare his way and continued walking down the sidewalk. He followed close behind her, his angry steps echoing through the empty street surrounding them.

"He is someone not of your concern," she continued walking, her hands tightly gripping her folded upper arms out of anger. Steve huffed in anger, throwing his hands into the air before slamming them against his head. He then sighed exasperatingly again, picking up his pace to catch up behind her.

"I think that he is. You spend all of your time with him. You let him spend time with Alex," his teeth were clenched tighter than before. She exhaled deeply, shaking with anger as she did. She lifted a hand and pressed her fingertips against her forehead, brushing them down her face.

"I let him spend time with Alex because he wants to spend time with Alex," she sighed angrily, stopping and abruptly turning around to face the man that never failed to make her angry, despite that he'd fathered the most important thing in her life. "Which is more than I can say for you," she added angrily, clutching herself again.

"You won't let me do anything with him. You won't even let me take him to the park or anything," he replied evenly, narrowing an eye at her. She shook her head angrily, and turned to continue heading to her house. Her steps were angrier than his, and the sound of her boots with 2-inch heels gave her away.

"If you were to take him to the park you'd lose him. You don't even know what he looks like," she said, shaking her head. Her voice was getting quieter, calmer. She knew that this fight wasn't worth it, but she also knew that this walk to her house would prompt another fight.

She was screwed. If she were to walk home alone, Luka would be angry. But walking it with Steve, even though she would rather not be, didn't guarantee that there wouldn't be a fight with him. It would probably compel the fight that would force him to ask the questions he hadn't worked up the courage to yet.

"That's not fair, Sam. You let this guy that I don't even know take my son around without you there. You let this guy be a father to my son," he said, shaking his head in fervent anger. He stepped hard behind her, hoping to scare her into stopping her walk home. She kept walking, which just angered him more.

"This guy has a name," she said through clenched teeth, quickly stopping and glaring at him. Her hands wrung around her upper arms, squeezing them so tight that she shook again. "And this guy showed interest when you didn't. He loves Alex in a way that you never wanted to," she shook her head again.

"Just let me see you again. I miss you," he said, reaching out and placing his hand on her elbow. His hand was gently resting on her, and he'd never been gently with her like that before. As much as she'd tried to reason at him in the beginning, she wasn't going to mess with him now, despite how gentle he was being.

"That guy cares an awful lot about your son, and he cares an awful lot about me. You know what, Steve? He's taken on your responsibility, even when I asked him not to, he did," she shook her head, and turned on her heel to walk past the three houses to her house. Steve stood there, before reaching out and grabbing her elbow. She hadn't taken many steps away from him.

"Do you love him?" Steve asked with a sigh accompanied to his question. She stopped and turned to face him. She smiled apologetically and shoved her hands deeper into the crevices of her elbows.

"I think that I might be falling in love with him. And the thing about the relationship between me and him is, if I'm ever sure, all I have to do is say it," she nodded slowly. The lips of the man before her pursed together, speechless, and he dragged a hand through his hair while looking away from her.

And she turned on her heel to walk the rest of the way down the street.

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