Ch. 5 Talking it Out
"There is so much to talk about, I don't even know where to begin," you said.
You and Darren ordered room service for lunch. As much as you wanted to get out and see the city, there was a lot that needed to be discussed before your flight tomorrow, and you couldn't risk any interruptions to your conversation.
"I know what you mean, but I am willing to start anywhere," Darren said.
"Well first off, how do you expect to manage your schedule and see them, especially seeing as you live in LA, and we live in Northern California? First things first, Darren, if you plan on being in their lives, it has to be consistent. They are young and need stability, and I won't allow you to come into their lives only to flake on them and not be there," you said.
"Look Paige, I know this is difficult, and I know that you are looking out for their best. But I promise you, I am not going anywhere. I am not going to flake on them, and I will be there. I have missed two years of their lives; two years I will never get back. Now I know that it wasn't your fault, but we can't change the past. All we can do is go from here and I don't want to lose any more time. I know there is a distance between us, but we can work it out. I know it is too soon to ask you to come towards LA, but I will make time in my schedule to come up to you at least once a month for now, more often later on," he said.
"That sounds like something I can manage. Another question though, what about your fame and popularity? What do you plan on doing in regards to that? I am not trying to dictate how you manage your career, but you have to realize that I am not ok living my life in the spotlight, and I will not be ok with my children being in the spotlight," you said.
"Look, the paparazzi are unpredictable. I cannot guarantee what they will or won't find out, or do to find something out. What I can guarantee; however, is that I will use the upmost discretion, and I will not parade myself in public when they are with me. And if by chance the paparazzi do manage to find out, I promise that I will handle it and they will not be exposed," he said.
"I need you to know that I am serious about this Darren. Kyra and Braeden are my life, and I won't risk their lives being put through hoops and rings," you said.
"I understand completely Paige. I am not going to hurt them. Honestly, I just want to get to know them. I just want to be there for them and I want them to know that their dad loves them and wants to be with them," he said.
"You love them?" you said near tears. You always dreamed this would happen.
"Of course I do! I know that I haven't met them, and I know that I just found out about them last night, but they are my children. Just listening to you talk about them, and seeing their photos, I know that I love them and I cannot wait to meet them," he said.
"To be honest Darren, there has always been a part of me that wished you would be a part of their lives. I always wanted them to know their father, but I had begun to accept it was never gonna happen. I know the last 20-some-odd hours have flipped everything in our lives upside-down, but I have to say that there is a part of me that is happy that they have been flipped upside-down. I am really glad and relieved to know that it wasn't your fault, and that you didn't walk away. I still would like to give Alicia a piece of my mind, but I don't want to dwell on the past. I just want to focus on the future," you said.
"I agree, I am still furious with her, and I will be seeing if there is anything I can do about it because I don't think she should be able to get away with it. But, dwelling on the past is not going to help anything; dwelling on the past is going to deter from focusing on the future, and focusing on getting to know Kyra and Braeden," he said.
"I'm glad that we can agree on that," you smirked.
"So, you are leaving tomorrow to go back home?" he asked.
"Yeah, I still have a couple of days off of work, but I need to get back because my parents have to go back to work," you said.
"I do have a couple of days before I need to be back on set, would you be against me possibly coming with you so that I could meet Kyra and Braeden, and spend a couple of days getting to know them?" he asked.
"Um… well… I guess that would be ok," you said. "You're sure about this?"
"Yes I am sure about this," he said. "I just want to get to know them and make up for all the lost time."
"Ok, let's do this," you said.
a/n: I finished Ch. 5! Kyra and Braeden will be introduced in the next chapter. Please let me know what you think and share your thoughts.