Katelin unlocked the door to her apartment and let Dylan inside. “Adrienne? We’re back.”
Adrienne cringed when Katelin said ‘we.’ Now was not the time for Dylan to be here. He didn’t know anything about Katelin’s past and now was not the right time for him to find out. “In here!”
Katelin and Dylan walked into the living room, Katelin freezing in her tracks when she saw who else was in there. “Oh my god…”
Dylan looked, confused, between Katelin’s tear-filled eyes and the stranger standing in her living room. He glanced at Adrienne helplessly, who just shrugged in return.
Nick stared at his ex-girlfriend, sadly. She was as gorgeous as ever and he felt a pang in his heart, seeing her with a man other than him. But his features hardened when he remembered why he was there and he shoved the piece of paper in her face. “What the fuck is this?”
Katelin flinched at the tone in his voice before getting a look at what was in front of her. “How did you get that?” she asked, softly, glancing helplessly at Adrienne.
Dylan got a careful look at the paper an dn oticed what it said. “What the hell is this, Katelin?”
“Is it true?” Nick growled. “Tell me it isn’t true, Kate, and that you didn’t keep something like this from me for three fucking years.”
Katelin looked between Nick and Dylan, not knowing what to do. She wanted to crawl under a rock and die. This was not the way she had imagined finally seeing Nick again. How the hell did he get a hold of that? “It’s true,” she finally whispered, dropping her eyes to the ground.
“I…I gotta go.” Dylan threw his hands up in frustration.
“Dylan,” Katelin began, watching him walk towards the door.
“Don’t Kate,” he interrupted. “I…I just can’t be here right now.”
“I’m going to leave you guys alone,” Adrienne remarked, more to herself than anyone else.
Nick watched Katelin carefully. She was staring at Dylan’s back as he walked out of the apartment. She had her back to Nick so he was unable to see the expression on her face. All of the sudden, as the door slammed, her shoulders began to shake and she buried her face in her hands. Nick’s heart broke at the sight and he wanted nothing more than to gather her in his arms and comfort her. But the fact that she had kept something so important from him for so long kept him rooted to his spot. “Why, Kate? Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I couldn’t,” Katelin whispered. She turned around and looked at him with tear-filled eyes. “I wanted to. You have to believe me. I never thought that he would make me give him up.”
“I would have been there for you, Kate!” Nick exclaimed. “All you had to do was pick up the phone and all me! I would’ve been there for you in a second.”
“I wasn’t going to do that, Nick.” Katelin was trying, desperately, to control her tears. “He threatened you.”
They were both silent for a few minutes. Nick was trying to control his emotions before he completely went off the deep end. Katelin was still wondering how the hell Nick had found out. The only reasonable explanation she could come up with was Ang.
“So, Ang told you?” she asked.
Nick’s head shot up, his eyes blazing. “What?”
“Didn’t Ang tell you?” Katelin was truly frightened by the cold, distant look in his eyes.
“Ang knew?” Nick shook his head in utter disbelief. “You told her and you never told me?”
“I only told her when she was here a few weeks ago,” Katelin defended. “If she didn’t tell you, then who did?” She was thoroughly confused. No one outside of her immediate family knew except for Ang and Krista. And there was no way that Krista had been in touch with any of them.
Nick took a deep breath, preparing to explain to Katelin everything that he knew. “His adoptive parents are dead.”
“They’re what?” Nick’s eyes widened. “How? When?”
“They were killed in a car accident last week,” Nick explained. “Aidan wasn’t with them.”
“Aidan?” Katelin’s eyes began to water. She had never known his name.
“That’s his name,” Nick responded. “How come you didn’t know that?”
“I’ve never seen him,” Katelin replied. “I got to hold him for five minutes when he was born. Then, he was taken away from me. I’ve never had any contact with his family. None whatsoever. My father wouldn’t allow it.”
Nick was horrified. What kind of monster would force the daughter that he claimed to love to give up her child. “What a monster.”
“He wasn’t a monster, Nick,” Katelin said, softly. “He was my dad. He always meant well.”
“How can you defend him?!” Nick exploded. He was absolutely furious. “Ever since I met you, you’ve let him control your life. You’ve never stood up to him.”
“How was I supposed to?” Katelin yelled. “I was only seventeen!”
“I hope the bastard rots in hell,” Nick muttered.
The sound of the palm of Katelin’s hand connecting with Nick’s cheek echoed off the walls of the apartment. But Nick knew that it was no less than what he deserved. “Fuck you, Nick. He’s still my fucking father no matter how wrong some of the things he did were.”
“I never knew you were so weak, Katelin,” Nick smirked. “You deserve everything he ever did to you.” Katelin ignored him and the threatening tears in her eyes. “You still haven’t explained how you knew about Aidan.”
“I was at the reading of the will,” Nick answered, smugly. “I was under a court order to be there. I now have sole custody of Aidan.”
“What?” Katelin whispered in disbelief.
“That’s right, Kate.” Nick threw a copy of the will at her. “You’re now looking at your son’s legal guardian. Me. Not you, Kate.”
Nick began walking towards the door, a smug smile on his face. Katelin ran after him, tears pouring down her cheeks. “You can’t do this Nick. You can’t keep him from me. I’m his mother!”
“I can and I will, Kate.” Nick turned around and faced her, ignoring the pain in his heart at the tears falling down her face. “What do you care anyway? You were prepared to give him up for the rest of your life. Just pretend like the Gordon’s are still alive.” Nick forced himself to tear his eyes away from hers and walk out the door. As it closed behind him, his own tears spilled down his cheeks as he listened to Katelin sobbing on the other side of the door.