BEAU

With Emma busy this weekend, devoting herself entirely to Gemma's bachelorette festivities, I decided to go for a drive. A long one. With one hand on the wheel and the other stuck out the window, I hum to myself, trying out a couple of new verses I'm putting together for Zach, and try to calm my restlessness.

Zoey called. The investigator that she contacted last week, using funds I provided, of course, reached out with some possible information on our son. Because she's now swamped taking care of her and Beck's, I'm left to do the driving this time around.

Squinting out the windshield, I pull into a shitty complex with old, run-down apartments adorned with faded numbers, nearly impossible to see. By my second lap through the parking lot full of used vehicles in varying states of damage, I find Zoey and Beck's apartment.

I almost ring the bell before remembering Zoey asked me not to. It'll wake the baby. I feel the frown on my face as I raise my hand and tap hard against the door.

When Zoey answers just a moment later, the sound of high pitched wailing accompanies her through the door way, assaulting my ears like no live show ever has. In her arms is a pink, wriggly, shrieking machine, the smell of soiled diaper permeating my air supply as Zoey nods me inside.

"Beau, hi. Come in, come in," She steps aside, dark circles under her eyes the only real indication of her probable exhaustion.

Grimacing at the incessant screams of the baby, I nod towards the tiny human.

"So that's my nephew, huh?" I shift from foot to foot, discretely scanning the apartment. Dingier than even my own, the place is dark and unorganized, baby toys and blankets littering almost every available surface.

"Mhm, this is Jack." Zoey shifts, using one arm to hold the child and the other to clear some space on the sofa for us to sit down.

My body tenses involuntarily. "Jack?"

"Mhm," Zoey looks up at me then, understanding in her wide eyes. "Beck didn't think you'd mind, since you know..."

"I don't." I answer immediately, bile rising in my throat. Setting myself down uncomfortably on the couch, careful not to touch too much, I shake my head. "Just surprised Beck decided to use his name, is all."

Naming his son after the man that ruined our childhoods seems stupid, but who am I to judge? Beck was treated better than I was, but still, I'd think he'd want to steer clear of all things our father when raising his own kid.

"Yeah, well..." The baby finally settles and Zoey gently places him in a contraption on the floor by our feet, pressing a button that sets forth a calming, rocking motion. "Maybe you could talk to him about that."

"Not likely." I sigh, tired of the small talk already. "What does he think about all this anyways?"

"All this?" Zoey tips her head to the side, tiredly blinking at me in confusion.

I raise my brows at her. "Finding our kid?"

What fucking else?

"Oh," she runs a hand over her face. "Sorry. I'm so tired - I just... Okay. Mental reset," She pinches the bridge of her nose between her fingers, taking a deep breath. When she opens her eyes, she smiles brightly at me. "Wow. I'm back. I haven't told him about it."

I almost choke, immediately whipping my head around to her, interrupting my mental inventory of all the baby items lying about. How many things do babies need anyways?

"You haven't told him?" I repeat, each word dripping with more disbelief than the last. "Why the hell not?"

How dare she drop this on me, this completely life altering information, and not even care enough to tell her fiancé? Not that I care about Beck personally, but if my relationship had to suffer, why doesn't hers?

Somewhere in the dark corners of my subconscious, Dex is telling me to not be so immature. But fuck that. I could've lost Emma - our future. And Zoey is busy messing around.

"Why would I?" Zoey's reply is easy, like it's obvious. The doe-eyed look on her face proves that she has no idea why that is so damn stupid.

"You just had his baby, Zoey. You don't think he'd want to know you might have a kid you claimed to get rid of ten years ago?" Saying the words out loud makes them even more absurd. "Are you just dense or still that tired?"

I peer down at the sleeping baby, so small and soft looking.

Zoey let's out a long sigh, finger picking at a dried stain on her shirt.

Jesus, what is that? I glance down at the baby again - did he do that?

"Look, Beau." Zoey lowers her eyes, a pitiful frown overtaking her face. "I didn't say anything because I didn't see the point until I knew how this would all turn out."

How this will all turn out? I jump to my feet, pacing the short distance of their living room again and again. What's this?

"You said we'd find him, Zo. Now that I gave you the cash, you're what? Not so sure?" I glare at the top of her blonde head, grinding my teeth together tightly.

I should've fucking listened. To Dex, Emma. Anyone but the little voice in my head trying to do good.

"No!" Zoey has the nerve to look hurt. "Of course I'm sure, Beau! I just meant some things might be beyond our control. I..." her chin quivers, tears building in her dark eyes. "I already gave him up once. I didn't want to get my hopes up until I was more certain. That's all."

She pulls the sleeve over the top of her hand, using it to wipe her nose. My eyes roll to the ceiling, guilt or pity sitting like a rock in my stomach. Sitting back down beside her, I take a steadying breath.

"I get it. I think it's a stupid fucking idea, but it's your relationship, not mine. I have my own to worry about, so why don't we just focus on what we're here for, okay?" I push my hands through my hair, feeling the urge to pull it from the roots in frustration.

"Trouble in paradise?" Zoey probes, an annoying smirk on her face despite the tears that have already seemed to dry.

"What you do with Beck is your business." I snap. "What I do with Emma is mine."

"Jeez, okay. Sorry," Zoey puts her hands up in surrender. "It was just a question. You know..." Zoey trails off, gnawing at her lip the way she used to when she was concentrating. Or guilty.

I cock my head to the side, wondering which it is now. "Spit it out," I urge.

"Beck and I... we're having a party. We didn't have a baby shower so we're having people over now to meet our little guy." Gag me. "You and Emma should come."

For a minute, the question doesn't even fully click in my brain, that's how ridiculous it is. When it finally does, I can only stare at her blankly.

"Why would we do that?"

Unfazed by my reaction, Zoey continues smoothly. "It'll be fun. Beck talks about you so much, you know? And now that we have Jack... You're family, Beau." She shrugs her dainty shoulders at me, a neutral calm across her features.

Shaking my head slowly, I avoid the little human sitting at our feet.

Before I can verbalize a refusal, Zoey places a small hand on my forearm. "Just think about it, okay?"

"Yeah, whatever." I mumble noncommittally with another sigh. I'm too tired for this shit. "I don't want to talk, Zoey. I'm just here for our kid." I narrow my eyes at her suspiciously. Dex had his concerns and I'd be lying if I said I didn't have some doubt about her, too. "Did your guy find anything or not?"

Grin growing into a full-fledged Zoey smile - the kind that scrunches her nose up like a kids, Zoey pulls a folder from under the couch cushion. I almost ask if Beck is really too stupid to look there but I probably know the answer already.

"Here," She pushes the Manila folder into my hands, "See for yourself."

It's not until the thin stack is in my hands that I realize my fingers are shaking. Leaning forward and clearing my throat, I place the folder on the cracked coffee table in front of us and lean forward to review its contents.

Heart like a jackhammer in my ears, breath shallow and too quick, I gulp as I finally open it up. My breath catches at the first image - a boy, maybe nine or so years old, on the swings at the playground.

His eyes are green like mine, hair darker than Zoey's but lighter than the dirty blond I spotted pre-discovery of hair dye. He's smiling, so big that it's like I can hear his laughter through the image.

Tracing my fingers over his face lightly, I flip to the next page, eyes scanning the information there. Date of birth matches up at least.

"Max," I breathe, soaking in details about his adoptive family, the schools he's attended and the sports he plays. Not football, but soccer. That's a compromise, I guess. I wonder if he can play the guitar.

I feel Zoey's eyes never leaving my face as I take in all the information, my chest tightening and somehow feeling as though it'll burst all at once. When I finally turn to a family photo - his adoptive parents, an older couple who look well-off based on their job descriptions, stare back at me, their love for their son almost tangible in their eyes.

Instantly, I snap the folder closed, running a hand over my face. We can't do this.

"Beau?" Zoey murmurs, hand once again on my forearm.

Slipping away from her reach, I shake my head furiously. "We can't, Zo. We just can't."

"What?" Zoey stands, her voice raised. "No!" She peers down at sleeping Jack, somehow still undisturbed, and continues in a quieter tone. "What do you mean we can't? He's our son!"

"Maybe!" I hiss, eyes hard on her face. "But those people," I jab my finger at the photo still taunting me atop the table. "They raised him. They're his parents too."

Probably better ones than we ever could have been, I add silently.

"He is ours." Zoey's words almost sound angry, hurt and frustration evident in every syllable. "We aren't doing anything wrong."

"What if he's happy, Zoey? Huh? What then?" I shove my fingers through my hair, snagging my ring in the tangles - proof of my poor mood the past few hours. "We're just going to show up and ruin his life, ten years too fucking late?"

Zoey shakes her head, pout forming on her lips as she rests her chin against her knees, hugging herself together. "We won't be ruining it. We won't..."

"You don't know that," I sigh, accidentally stepping on a rattle tossed to the carpet. Finding it unbroken beneath my boot, I kick it aside. "Everything he knows will change. He looks happy how he is."

The look on Zoey's face is one of pure betrayal. Even I can't believe myself - I've never been one to share what's mine. And yet... I peer down at the family portrait again, his green eyes nearly ripping me in two.

"What if we could make him happier?" Zoey's cheeks are flush with tears now, her shirt stained from the little drops dribbling down her chin.

She's immature and childish, I know. But we were only children when our parents forced us into these decisions, after all. Maybe I can't expect much else.

"Look," I kneel in front of her to meet her eyes. "Maybe we could have, if things were different. But they aren't, Zo. We can't change what happened ten years ago. You want him to be happy, don't you?"

Taking the photo from the table, she brings it to her chest as her lip trembles. "I just want to see him, even just once." She closes her eyes, like she's summoning him here somehow, and her brows crinkle tightly together, her expression broken and hurt.

I'm still wondering what to say when we both jump at the sound of the front door opening. Keys jingle up the stairs and Zoey trains her gaze on my face, eyes nearly begging me to help her out.

But there's no time to sneak out the back window like when we were teenagers, no snarky explanation that just rolls off my tongue this time.

All I can do is stand up in time for a familiar, blond head to come into view.

"Hey, Zo?" Beck is shuffling through the mail, unaware of my presence just yet. Looking up lazily, Beck rests his sights on me before shifting to Zoey and then back again, noting the small space between where she sits and I stand. "Beau? Zoey?"

Somewhat content at the shock on his face, I can't help the smugness in my voice when I finally greet him - for the first time since he tried to steal from me in our hotel.

"Beck. What's up, big brother?"

Thanks for reading loves!
What do we think about Zoey - I think it's mostly negative 😂 still, let me know in the comments!
What should Beau and Zoey do? I feel bad for her to be honest.
And the brothers are back together... does this mean trouble?
Love you all!
Remember to vote if you liked the chapter!