Theon
I left Samantha's house after loading her luggage without any doubts about my destination. I tried not to make things worse in her presence, But I wouldn't let it all go so easy.. A few minutes later I was ringing the doorbell of Adam's house.
" Theon... Did you forget something with Callie? " My friend asked, surprised by my presence.
I made my way to the kitchen, which was the only room with the lights on. Callie was sitting on the countertop, holding a glass of wine, at ease in her boyfriend's house.
" Theon, what…”
" We have some business to take care of, come on," I cut her off, crossing my arms, hoping that she would make my life easier.
" Theon, what happened? " Adam stopped beside me, alternating his gaze between his girlfriend and me.
Callie sighed, not looking very willing to follow me.
" Theon, can we talk tomorrow?”
" Callie, we're going to fix this now, even if I have to throw you over my shoulder and take you home," I warned.
" Wow, easy there Theon. If she doesn't want to go, she doesn't go," Adam interjected into our conversation.
I was about to answer, when she set the cup on the counter.
" Honey, it's okay," Callie assured him, "I'll call you later.”
" Are you sure? " he asked suspiciously.
" Yes, don't worry, you Know, it’s Sibling stuff" she assured him, walking me to the front door.
We walked together to the car, she got in, slamming the door hard. I took my place in the driver's seat, setting us in motion shortly thereafter.
" Aren't you going to say anything? " she murmured.
" No. I'm not.”
" Shit, can't we just get this over with?”
" No.” She shut up after that.
If she thought she would get away with everything she did today. The way she acted with Samantha, everything she said, was unacceptable. As soon as I parked at my mother's house, Callie held my arm, preventing me from getting out of the car.
" Come on, Theon, we're adults, aren't we? We can solve our own problems.”
" You should have remembered that you're an adult before you acted like an angry teenager," I muttered, opening the door and stepping out.
" I didn't act like an angry teenager, I was trying to take care of you! " she tried to justify herself by following me.
Lara was sitting on the living room rug, entertaining Daphne with some of her toys, and soon looked up at us, startled.
" She's pregnant, Callie! " I raised my voice " She's pregnant, alone, moving to a strange State. All she doesn't need is someone telling her she's not good enough, and God knows what else you've told her!”
" What is all this yelling about? " My mother came downstairs, trying to calm things down between the two of us.
" Callie said horrible things to Samantha," I accused.
" I didn't! " she defended herself.
" No? You mean that she decided not to accept anything else I offered, and to practically stop talking for the rest of the trip for nothing? " I growled.
" She's pregnant, she must be in a bad mood," she muttered, looking away.
" Hey, pregnant women aren't crazy," Lara cut in, "what did you do?”
" I just talked to her, played the big sister role," she returned.
" She said you accused her of making things difficult for me! " I raised my voice again as my mother seemed lost in the situation.
" Callie, have you gone mad? " Lara exclaimed.
" And what is she doing? You didn't see how upset Harper was when she came to tell me.”
" And who cares about Harper? " Lara stood up with her daughter, "You can't say that to a pregnant girl!”
" She agreed to change her whole life just to make it easier for me to have contact with this child," I approached her, lowering my voice, "she's done everything I've asked since we found out about this story, and you say something like that? It's not enough that she heard you say that she wasn't good enough to be the mother of my child!”
" Calliope! " My mother exclaimed in horror.
I shouldn't have taken Callie with me, even though her justification for assuring Harper that there was nothing going on between Samantha and me made sense. In fact, I should have understood by now that Harper had given up on our relationship, it had been almost two weeks since I told her about Samantha's pregnancy, and she hadn't made any decisions about us.
" I only expressed what we were all thinking, they don't know each other well enough to raise a child together," she defended herself.
" And did she, by any chance, make the baby all by herself? "Lara raised her voice" because, as far as I know, Theon played a good part in this story in making the baby happen!
" What you did was wrong and childish, Calliope," my mother accused, "you owe your brother and this girl an apology.”
" I'm sorry, Theon," she muttered grudgingly.
" It's not me you owe an apology to. If you want to be present in your nephew's life, you'd better get right with his mother," I warned before walking away.
I went to the kitchen, leaning on the counter in front of the window, thinking about my next step.
I talked to Samantha and I think we're okay, and as for Harper, maybe it's time to break the silence and go find her once and for all. We can't leave things as uncertain as they are.
In any case, my priority now should be my son.
" What does the girl look like? " γιαγιά's voice caught my attention.
My grandmother settled down by the center island of the kitchen, watching me with a curious expression.
" She's a good girl, γιαγιά " I sighed " if only people would give her a chance instead of judging her for getting pregnant.”
" I think the judging part is because she was a stripper, not because she got pregnant," she shrugged, causing my exasperation to rise.
" She's not a stripper, γιαγιά. She's a professional dancer," I murmured, giving her a cross look.
My grandmother flashed a small, satisfied smile, showing that she meant it to annoy me.
" I want to meet her," she warned.
" Yes, of course," I agreed, "I'll arrange a day with her.”
" Tomorrow," she declared naturally.
" No," I cut her off immediately, "I'm not bringing Samantha here after all that has happened.
I might have to convince her that my family doesn't consider her to be a profiteer. And at the moment I have more urgent things to deal with. I need to get her a job.”
" I can talk to Nia, she might have an opening for a pregnant stripper," my grandmother commented.
" γιαγιά " I groaned in response.
" It was a joke, where did your sense of humor go? " she complained.
" It probably went away with Callie acting crazy," Lara remarked standing with Daphne in her arms in the kitchen doorway, "Mrs. Ronald is in need of a new ballet teacher, isn't she?”
She held Daphne out for me to hold, then went to the refrigerator to get a baby bottle and warm her up. I watched the baby, who seemed uncomfortable in my arms, once again holding me in the thought that soon it would be my own baby in there.
" Theon? " she frowned, making me notice that I hadn't answered.
" Ahh yes, I'll talk to her," I said, turning my attention away from my niece, "but I'm not sure she'll accept Samantha so easily.”
" You always were a good negotiator, kid," my grandmother warned, "you can convince that old woman to give the girl a job. You said she's a graduate.”
" Yes, she graduated from St. Monica's Academy," I explained, rocking Daphne who was starting to get restless.
That didn't mean much to me, but Samantha seemed proud of that fact.
" It's a good formation, and Mrs. Ronald is out of options " My sister came closer, taking her daughter back.
" I hope so " I sighed " I'm going home, the day was tiring.
" Good luck Theon," Lara wished as my grandmother just nodded and left the kitchen.