Chapter 9

After 20 or so minutes in waiting along with Elle and Kyle, the doctor finally comes out with the discharge papers and also Damon in tow.

Damon looks like he had come to the hospital for business and not because he had a major panic attack. He fixes his cuffs and tugs on his shirt to straighten any invisible crease on his clothes.

Elle, Kyle, and I stand up waiting patiently for Damon to finish talking with the doctor and coming towards us.

Damon nods at the doctor and smiles in appreciation before directly making his way towards us.

To say that he's surprised to see Kyle and Elle would be a great lie. He was astonished. Though he looked totally normal like he wasn't just having a severe panic attack just an hour ago, if I didn't know better, I would say he was a bit angry.

'But I mean, why the hell would he be angry that his sister is here to support him,' I think, obviously forgetting how much of an egotistical idiot Damon was.

"Hey man. How are you doing?" Kyle asks as soon as Damon is in a hearing range.

"What are you guys doing here?" He asks, ignoring Kyle's question completely.

"Uh, we came here to see you, jerk," Elle says, scoffing loudly at her brother's behaviour. She folded her arms on her chest, her eyes rolling at her brother.

"I am not dead, am I?" He says, turning away from his friend and sister and walking towards the way to his car without even so much as a glance back at us.

"I came in an Uber, jerk! You are my ride!" Elle yells, running behind her brother and flailing her arms around in frustration.

Kyle starts laughing and I soon join in.

"Let's give them time to cool off? You ride with me. I'll drop you home," Kyle announces, dangling his car keys in front of my eyes.

"Alright. But, to be exact, I am still pissed off at you," I clarify before snatching his car keys from his hands before he can even realise what's happening.

I run towards his car with a smirk on my face as he finally snaps out of his surprise and runs after me yelling.

"No no no!! Not my car, you bitch!" He yells, his arms flailing the same way Elle's were flailing as she had run after Damon.

I easily find Kyle's red Mustang and get in the driver's seat just a few seconds before he makes it to his car. He is huffing, completely out of breath.

Letting a loud groan, he slides into the passenger seat and belts himself in. I chuckle out loud at his childish antiques and start the car engine before driving off.

After an hour or so, I start nearing my street. It's already so late that I have no

idea how I will manage time to get my children ready and also myself into reasonably appropriate clothes.

But a lot of my stress vanished as I noticed Hunt standing outside my crappy apartment with the kids in front of him, completely dressed up.

I smile appreciatively at the man that I am so lucky to call my best friend right now.

Kyle wakes up from his half-tranced sleep and turns around to face me, only to see me smiling at a man standing in front of a crappy apartment with two kids in front of him.

Kyle looks surprised and yes, of course full of questions.

I get out of Kyle's car and hand the keys to Kyle who also came out of the car with me.

"Mommy!" Nick says, being the first one to notice me.

"Andy. Late as always, I see," Hunt says, his index finger tapping his watch. "Go hurry up! I already laid down a dress for you."

I smile at Hunt again having no words to thank this man.

"Oh. Before I forget, Kyle," I say, turning towards Kyle who looks like a lost puppy here since, Nick and Rory both are scanning him from his head to toe along with Hunt, who looks suspicious of his presence for some reason, "this is Hunter and my kids, Aurora Fiona Harper and Dominic Cole Harper."

Kyle gasps and covers his mouth, his eyes tearing up. I know exactly the reason why. Fiona was Aurora's middle name because of Kyle' mother, one of the sweetest people to exist my entire life. She never treated me anything less than her own child and I didn't know any better way to honor her kindness than to name my girl after her.

"Hunter, kids, this is Uncle Kyle. The one I always talk about?" I say, watching as my children look at one another with wide smiles before jumping towards Kyle and hugging his legs.

He picks both of them up in his arms and smiles appreciatively at me.

I nod at the 4 of them and rush up to get ready. It takes any girl about an average hour to get ready for a reunion night out like this, but I take less than even half an hour before I am already tucking my kids on the backseat along with Hunt as I take the passenger seat and let Kyle drive us there.

The only question Kyle asks throughout the whole ride is about the address.

He looks stunned and still overwhelmed, most probably still stunned that I named my daughter after his mother. And, also wondering how in hell did I get pregnant with twins.

The twins are 5 year-olds, so unless Kyle thinks I cheated on Damon, he already knows that Rory and Nick are Damon and my kids.

"We're here," Kyle says, and gets out of the car to help Rory and I out of the car.

Hunt is carrying Nick in his arms, who is, like always, asleep. I laugh a little softly, watching my son blabber something and then say 'Mommy' in his sleep.

Kyle gives me a smile and that's when I know, he knows that these are Damon's kids.

"Rory has his eyes, you know?" Kyle says, picking Rory up in his arms and laughing with her. "And he has yours."

"Yeah, I noticed," I say, laughing softly with him.

"Why didn't you tell him? Or any of us?" He asks, putting Rory down when she wiggles in his arms as we reach the door.

Hunt nods at me and gives me a moment to talk to Kyle as he grabs the kids and takes them up with him to Megan's penthouse.

"If you remember correctly, Damon broke up with me over a text. And you, Kyle, you left me without so much as a goodbye. I didn't know what or how to tell you," I say, and he looks down, obviously guilty about his behaviour. "The only person I wanted to tell was Elle, but she was Damon's sister. Plus I didn't want to burden him with my kids,"

"Rory and Nick would've never been a burden to him, Andy."

"You don't know that for sure. We were not married. And just in a relationship for 3 years, and he didn't even propose to me. We were still in college and studying. He might've wanted nothing to do with my children," I say, my voice raising with each reason coming out of my mouth. "And, the day I was ready to tell him, he broke up with me. So, no, I didn't tell him."

I throw my hands in the air in an exasperated reaction.

"Okay, alright. Calm down, Andy," Kyle says, slowly grabbing my arms to pull me into a hug.

"I am calmed," I say but my words come out muffled since I am talking through his shirt. I hug him back and when I have somewhat calmed down enough, I pull back and nod at him to reassure him that I am not going to burst off.

"Okay. So, let's see you in the office tomorrow," Kyle says and leans down to kiss my forehead. "Take care of yourself and the kids and tell them that Uncle Ky loves them a lot. I will visit often, so might as well get used to me." He winks.

I laugh and wave him a bye as he gets into his car and drives off.

I go up the stairs in front of the gate and just as I am about to reach the elevator door, I see someone that I haven't, once again, seen in 5 years.

"Tristan Raider Swift," I say, a smile growing wider and wider on my face.

"Andrea Julie Harper," he says, his face cold as ice.

"Hey, Trist. Long time no see," I say.

Unlike with the rest of them, I was not the one who went out of contact first. Tristan was the one who went MIA for half a year or so before, I am guessing, coming back and asking Megan to be his girlfriend. So in front of him, I have nothing to feel sheepish about.

He was the one who broke out of contact and didn't even try to get back in touch with me.

"I could say the same about you," he says and for the second time today, I took part in a major silent staring competition.