Authors Note- Sorry about the delay, again, but thank you for the reviews
as always
Chapter Four- "I wonder what your girlfriend would think of this?"
Sometime the next morning, Ryan's leg slipped off the arm of the couch and he was sprung awake. For a mere second, he thought things weren't different, that nothing had changed. Then he remembered that his four-year-old daughter was in the next room. Remembering his sudden responsibility had Ryan running down the hallway. His bursting through the doorway spooked Lillian, and she nearly flew across the room.
"I'm sorry" he breathed. She had managed to find a sheet of paper and a pencil is this disgrace of the room. There was half a finished drawing on the floor where she had been. He knelt down, "what are you drawing?".
No response.
Back at square one.
He glanced at her, and she looked as though she was ready to bounce again at any given moment. "Lilly, you don't have to give me the silent treatment" but he couldn't blame her, "can't you say...something?".
Who was he kidding? Last time, and only time, she talked, she had screamed several times ' I hate you!' directly at him.
The doorbell, he didn't think anyone really knew where he lived. Ryan grabbed her, then rushed back to the door by the fourth irritated ring.
Julie Cooper, he should have known.
"Hi...Julie".
That smile was without a doubt meant for him, let alone real. " How's my little butter ball doing?" she cooed.
Lillian proved she was her fathers child by covering her face in his shoulder and not acknowledging her grandma.
He set her standing on the carpet and whispered, "why don't you go finish that drawing, I'll be there in a few minutes" and she took off, leaving him alone with Julie.
"Well, you seem to know what you're doing" she sarcastically commented.
Sarcasm, the one life long lesson Ryan learned from Seth. But if he wanted to seem older than a woman thirty years his senior, now was not the time to be using that. "It hasn't even been a day and she's been asleep, what do you want from that?".
Taking him literally, Julie removed a small stack of papers from her hand bag, "I want you to sign her over to me".
He accepted the papers, only a second before ripping them in half, "over my dead body".
"Don't you mean over my daughters dead body?".
Ryan had never had the strong urge to strike a woman, but he was going to reconsider that very shortly. "Marissa left her to me, I've been in the will since the day Lilly was born. She is my daughter and no judge in this country is going to overlook that and give a child to you. After all, we all know your past with minors".
And he was expecting to get slapped for that, not like it was the truth or anything. But instead, her face stayed as stone cold as her personality. "Have it your way" her lip curled, "I wonder what your girlfriend would say to this".
That's all it took.
Dammit, how could he forget about Amber? His girlfriend called him in New York wondering where he had gone off to. Well he managed to get that far in a lie, something about a ' last minute business trip', he wasn't to sure what Seth had told her. But now Julie had him, she could read it on his face.
"You have enough of your own issues to keep you busy for quiet awhile, so why don't you handle your own life and stay the hell away from my kid".
He slammed the door, a good act of symbolism he had been inching to use on her since the age of seventeen. She had her fair share on him for that.
Back in his bedroom, Lillian was face down on the mattress, her tiny body gently shook as she silently cried.
"Lil" he tenderly spoke, carefully pulling her into a sitting position. Tears that weren't flowing down her cheeks had been absorbed into her skin. He wasn't sure whether or not to hug her, wondering how she'd react. But when Lillian threw herself against his chest, Ryan figured it was a go ahead, and held her in return. He still couldn't absorb the fact that it was his child hugging him. "I promise you Lilly, you'll never have to go live with your grandma". It was hard to imagine Julie Cooper as a grandma. Maybe when she was with Caleb, the image somewhat fit, but it could be entertaining to guess which male teenager she was taking advantage of this time. She gave up on Luke before he turned eighteen.
Lillian's cries became harder, Ryan strengthened his grip around her, soothingly stroked her back. "You and I have a lot of things to figure out" well, he had to in the least. Amber and Julie were at the top of his list. Julie, he had plans for, but Amber would have to be tough to deal with the truth Ryan had in store- the whole ' the woman I was still in love with mothered the child I didn't know about and walla- here she is'. That was going to be a challenge.
"Okay, I have to go straighten a few things out where I work, or we'll be in much more trouble" he'd be amazed if she fully understood him, which she probably did, "you don't want to be in their day care, so" he pulled away from her, brushing away a few of her tears, "any ideas?".
For once, Ryan want expecting any kind of response. But, after a hiccup, Lillian squeaked out one word-
"Grandpa".
Chapter Four- "I wonder what your girlfriend would think of this?"
Sometime the next morning, Ryan's leg slipped off the arm of the couch and he was sprung awake. For a mere second, he thought things weren't different, that nothing had changed. Then he remembered that his four-year-old daughter was in the next room. Remembering his sudden responsibility had Ryan running down the hallway. His bursting through the doorway spooked Lillian, and she nearly flew across the room.
"I'm sorry" he breathed. She had managed to find a sheet of paper and a pencil is this disgrace of the room. There was half a finished drawing on the floor where she had been. He knelt down, "what are you drawing?".
No response.
Back at square one.
He glanced at her, and she looked as though she was ready to bounce again at any given moment. "Lilly, you don't have to give me the silent treatment" but he couldn't blame her, "can't you say...something?".
Who was he kidding? Last time, and only time, she talked, she had screamed several times ' I hate you!' directly at him.
The doorbell, he didn't think anyone really knew where he lived. Ryan grabbed her, then rushed back to the door by the fourth irritated ring.
Julie Cooper, he should have known.
"Hi...Julie".
That smile was without a doubt meant for him, let alone real. " How's my little butter ball doing?" she cooed.
Lillian proved she was her fathers child by covering her face in his shoulder and not acknowledging her grandma.
He set her standing on the carpet and whispered, "why don't you go finish that drawing, I'll be there in a few minutes" and she took off, leaving him alone with Julie.
"Well, you seem to know what you're doing" she sarcastically commented.
Sarcasm, the one life long lesson Ryan learned from Seth. But if he wanted to seem older than a woman thirty years his senior, now was not the time to be using that. "It hasn't even been a day and she's been asleep, what do you want from that?".
Taking him literally, Julie removed a small stack of papers from her hand bag, "I want you to sign her over to me".
He accepted the papers, only a second before ripping them in half, "over my dead body".
"Don't you mean over my daughters dead body?".
Ryan had never had the strong urge to strike a woman, but he was going to reconsider that very shortly. "Marissa left her to me, I've been in the will since the day Lilly was born. She is my daughter and no judge in this country is going to overlook that and give a child to you. After all, we all know your past with minors".
And he was expecting to get slapped for that, not like it was the truth or anything. But instead, her face stayed as stone cold as her personality. "Have it your way" her lip curled, "I wonder what your girlfriend would say to this".
That's all it took.
Dammit, how could he forget about Amber? His girlfriend called him in New York wondering where he had gone off to. Well he managed to get that far in a lie, something about a ' last minute business trip', he wasn't to sure what Seth had told her. But now Julie had him, she could read it on his face.
"You have enough of your own issues to keep you busy for quiet awhile, so why don't you handle your own life and stay the hell away from my kid".
He slammed the door, a good act of symbolism he had been inching to use on her since the age of seventeen. She had her fair share on him for that.
Back in his bedroom, Lillian was face down on the mattress, her tiny body gently shook as she silently cried.
"Lil" he tenderly spoke, carefully pulling her into a sitting position. Tears that weren't flowing down her cheeks had been absorbed into her skin. He wasn't sure whether or not to hug her, wondering how she'd react. But when Lillian threw herself against his chest, Ryan figured it was a go ahead, and held her in return. He still couldn't absorb the fact that it was his child hugging him. "I promise you Lilly, you'll never have to go live with your grandma". It was hard to imagine Julie Cooper as a grandma. Maybe when she was with Caleb, the image somewhat fit, but it could be entertaining to guess which male teenager she was taking advantage of this time. She gave up on Luke before he turned eighteen.
Lillian's cries became harder, Ryan strengthened his grip around her, soothingly stroked her back. "You and I have a lot of things to figure out" well, he had to in the least. Amber and Julie were at the top of his list. Julie, he had plans for, but Amber would have to be tough to deal with the truth Ryan had in store- the whole ' the woman I was still in love with mothered the child I didn't know about and walla- here she is'. That was going to be a challenge.
"Okay, I have to go straighten a few things out where I work, or we'll be in much more trouble" he'd be amazed if she fully understood him, which she probably did, "you don't want to be in their day care, so" he pulled away from her, brushing away a few of her tears, "any ideas?".
For once, Ryan want expecting any kind of response. But, after a hiccup, Lillian squeaked out one word-
"Grandpa".