THE MISTAKE

The woman and her son held hands as they made their way home. Alex let them into the house and Nathan went running upstairs. Alex followed, seeing Nathan parked in front of the TV and turning on his kids shows.

Alex smiles softly, perching herself at her desk, opening up her laptop. She opens up the messages between Simon.

Alex: Simon, I have something to tell you

Simon: okay...

Alex: I want to speak to you in person, alone, please? I can give you my address?

Simon: okay sure

Alex sends on her address and Simon says he'll be round in an hour.

Alex looks over at her son, standing up.

"So, Nate, what do you fancy for dinner?" Alex asks and Nathan grins.

"Pizza!" He claps and Alex smiles, rolling her eyes.

"Fine," Alex says, opening the freezer and taking out a large pizza. She opens up the box and takes out the pizza, placing it in the oven. She walks over to sit down next to her son and gives him a warm smile.

"Simon is coming over in an hour, is that okay?" Alex asks and Nathan nods.

"Okay, good," Alex says and she wraps an arm round her little boy.

After 30 minutes Alex dishes up the pizza along with a bowl of fries.

Alex and Nathan eat their food and then Nathan goes off to his room to play.

Alex breathes in deeply. It had been an hour since Simon had said he'd be an hour, and Alex was getting more nervous every time a minute ticked by on her watch.

Suddenly the doorbell rang and her head shot round.

"Nathan! Mommy will get it!" Alex calls and she hears Nathan mumble a reply.

She heads downstairs and opens the front door finding Simon.

"Hey," She says and he smiles.

"Hey, whats up?" He asks.

"Come in, I'll explain over a drink," She says and she steps aside to allow Simon inside.

He walks in, looking round.

Alex leads him upstairs, taking him to the living room. She makes sure his eyes stay on her, and that they don't wonder to any of the photos on the walls.

"So, what would you like to drink?" Alex asks and Simon shrugs.

"Tea please," He says and Alex nods.

She puts the kettle on and after a few moments she makes up two cups of tea and gives one to Simon.

"So, what did you have to tell me?" Simon asks and Alex looks away.

"Its hard for me to tell you this, I've kept this secret for 6 years,"

"I left 6 years ago..." Simon says and Alex nods.

"Yes, I know, well this is the reason I never followed behind you...This is why I never went to Leeds Uni, or why I never came to London," Alex says and Simon looks confused.

"What is it?"

"You remember your seventeenth birthday?" Alex asks and Simon's cheeks flush.

"Yes, vividly," He says and Alex sighs.

"We forgot a major aspect of the situation we got ourselves into at the end of the night," Alex says and Simon just looks even more confused.

"You're a daddy Simon,"

"What?!" Simon asks, he laughs a little, "Have you been speaking to Josh, is this some kind of prank to get me back for calling him daddy?"

Alex stands up and gestures for Simon to follow her.

He does so, cautiously.

She leads him to Nathan's bedroom door.

Alex points to the handle, "Go on inside,"

Simon's eyebrows furrow, his hand twisting the door handle and he opens the door, stepping into the room.

He's instantly met with blue walls, red bedsheets and Star Wars merchandise covered the room.

Nathan looks up from his position sitting on the floor, his eyes meeting Simons.

"This was the kid at the cafe," Simon says, looking back at Alex.

Alex nods slowly, she could practically see Simon's mind ticking.

"Oh shit..." Simon mutters in realisation.

"Thats a pound for the jar," Nathan says, putting down his Kylo Ren toy and his Finn toy.

"When you said I was a daddy, I didn't think you meant it like that," Simon says, a small chuckle escaping his lips.

Alex was scanning his face for answers.

"So...He's mine?" Simon's voice is quiet.

"Yes," Alex states simply.

"Hey kiddo," Simon says, kneeling down, "Nice choice of toys, Star Wars huh?"

"Yeah, duh," Nathan answers and Alex watches with a smug smile.

"So, are you part of the Resistance or the First Order?" Simon asks and Nathan smiles.

"Resistance," Nathan replies and Simon chuckles.

He stands up and looks at Alex.

"So he turned 6 not long ago?" He asks and she nods.

"Last week," Alex says.

"I missed 6 years of his life," Simon says, rubbing a hand over his face.

"I should have told you...I just didn't want to ruin your life," Alex says and Simon just nods, looking at his son.

"Whats his full name?" Simon asks and Alex looks at him.

"Nathan Seth Hughes," Alex says and Simon smiles weakly.

"I always loved the name Nathan," He says and Alex nods.

"We both did," Alex adds and Simon looks round at her.

"I can see you in him," Simon says and Alex shakes her head.

"All I see is you," Alex tells him and Simon smiles, his eyes watering.

"Do you think I could get a hug off him? Off my son?" Simon asks and Alex nods.

"Nate, come say hello to daddy," Alex says and Nathan slowly stands up.

Simon kneels down, resting on one knee as the boy comes towards him shyly.

"Its okay, Nathan, I won't bite," Simon says and Alex can hear her heart thudding with her own ears.

Simon stretches out his arms and Nathan falls into them, hugging his father with a love and affect that a boy can only show to his dad. For the first time, Nathan felt complete. Simon holds his son tightly, his tears finally sliding slowly down his cheeks.

Only 20 minutes ago he didn't even know he had a son, and now he felt like he'd known all along, deep down, somewhere. His fatherly instincts were coming to the surface, and Alex was watching it unfold with her very eyes.

"God what will Katie say? What will the boys say? What will the fans think?" Simon asks no one in particular.

"Who's Katie?" Nathan asks, "Is that the woman you were with in the shop?"

"Yes, thats my girlfriend," Simon says and Nathan looks confused.

"Does that mean I have two mommy's?" Nathan asks and Alex glares at Simon, he wasn't looking back at her, but if Simon said the wrong thing, he'd be out like a light.

"No, no way, Alex is your only mom, and I'm your only dad, but because me and your mommy here aren't together, daddy has a girlfriend," Simon explains and Nathan just nods.

"Me and Mommy are gonna go talk for awhile, you wanna stay here?" Simon asks and Nathan nods.

Simon smiles, standing up and following Alex back to their cups of tea.

"God, you raised a good kid," Simon says and his eyes finally catch sight of the photos around the room.

He looks at them, sipping on his lukewarm tea. Alex sits at the kitchen island, her head whirling with thoughts.

"You should have told me, Alex, I understand why you didn't...You didn't want to stop me from moving forwards, because you never think about yourself, you always put others first, you're selfless," Simon says, "But you should have told me, I could have been here for these moments...Maybe...Maybe me and you would have worked out,"

Alex looks at him with saddened eyes, "I'm sorry, Simon, I regret not telling you soon, I should have been brave, I should have asked for help,"

"I bet it was hard? Raising a baby?" Simon asks, his fingers running over a photo of a baby Nathan all wrapped up in a green blanket.

"It was, but I had mom and dad, and Hannah helped a lot, she's always been there, you know?" Alex says and Simon nods.

"Yeah...Where do you work again?" Simon asks and Alex chuckles.

"I work in a restaurant...I'm just a basic chef, the hours aren't that long, I mean, they're evening hours, so my parents or Hannah look after Nathan, but...I like the work...I like the job," Alex says and Simon smiles.

"You always wanted to be a chef," Simon says and Alex nods.

"I mean, I had to work to get to being a basic chef, because I had basically zero qualifications, but the restaurant allowed me to get my qualification while working, like an apprenticeship, but with better pay and harder work," Alex explains.

"Mommmmmm?!" Nathan calls.

"Whats up sweetie?" Alex turns to see Nathan waving a piece of paper at her.

"Is that homework mister?" Alex asks and Nathan nods.

"What kinda' homework?" Simon asks and Nathan sits at the kitchen island.

"Its stupid geography again," Nathan mutters and Simon looks up at Alex, their eyes meeting.

"I always hated geography too," Simon says and Nathan smiles at his father.

"Really?!" He asks, his smile widening when Simon nods.

Alex and Simon help Nathan together, though its less of Simon and more Alex.

They looked like a family, even felt like one for a small while, but Simon soon had Katie on the phone asking him to come back to the bed and breakfast.

Simon hugged Nathan goodbye, and he promised to see him soon.

Alex lead Simon down the path to the gate, her arms wrapped round herself to keep out the cold wind.

"Goodbye, Simon," Alex says and Simon pulls her into a tight hug.

"Goodbye, Alex," He says and Alex places a chaste kiss on his cheek.

"I'll see you soon," Alex says and Simon nods.

"I promise," Simon says and Alex smiles at him weakly.

Simon walks off, heading in the direction of the b&b, his coat pulled round him tightly as he looked back and waved at his son, and the mother of his son.

_____________

I was that excited to post this part I thought I would post it now!

I love this story so much, and I love the characters I've made

Thank you so much for the support on this book, your encouragement means a lot

~KatnissBajanCanadian❤