Stranger! Please be my Child’s Father
.Chapter 5: non-existent family.[FROM Louis Avian MANAGER: Gael i swear to god i’m going to fucking sue you for stress, i’m about to drop dead with all this goddamn STRESS you’re giving me. I’m going to die from heart related issues, and then i’m going to put the blame on you, and you only, and then take the workman’s comp for my non-existent family, and rob you of your millions. And then i’m going to make sure the next manager you get is the most insufferable bastard you’ve ever had the displeasure of meeting. I’m going to make sure he’s loud, chews loudly and doesn’t leave you alone. And also i hope he thinks that rap is just speaking fast. This would be prevented if you could just OPEN THE FUCKING DOOR!] [UNKNOWN NUMBER:Mr Laurent? Please help.] THIS CONTACT IS NOT IN YOUR ADDRESS BOOK.BLOCK? oOo Gael blinked at the unknown number--sure, there were always spam calls and those people that trolled the system and ran numbers to get to his, but this one seemed like the other person actually had his contact. [to UNKNOWN NUMBER: Who is this?] [UNKNOWN NUMBER: This is Arabella Miller. We met earlier today. At the school.] [Arabella Miller (school): Is this Mr Gael Laurent?] [to Arabella Miller (school):Yes, that’s me. I’m assuming this is about the article? Don’t worry. I’m sure it’s small, my PR team can cover it up in no time.] [Arabella Miller (school): Mr Gael, my son and I were chased home. There is a horde of people outside my apartment. We are the biggest trending tag on Twitter. It’s not small. You promised that it wouldn’t get out. Now our safety is compromised.] He could practically envision the other woman’s expression, those pink lips pressed into that thin line of disappointment.But shit. What the fuck? It had gotten that big?Gael would have assumed that there was a buffer period, that the second Louis had seen the article that he had taken care of it. Now, he didn’t necessarily like the other dad, but he had given him his word that it wouldn’t become anything big, so he felt a bit responsible. [to Arabella Miller (school): We’re going to fix this. Can I know your address? I think an in-person plan is much better.] oOo Maybe when he had initially sat down for the day and decided to take a call for a kid that wasn’t his, Gael had thought that he’d go have some fun, come back with the inspiration and lightness that was needed to take care of that pesky track seven.He was not anticipating this sort of outrage and needing to sneak through the back of a set of apartments, just to sit in Arabella Miller’s kitchen as the woman glared down at him, viciously serving him spoonfuls of pasta. “Um.. that’s good. Thank you.” Gael hesitantly murmured after the 45th serving, his plate looking more of a disheveled mountain. Said mother glared, putting one more spoonful on the plate before whirling around and heading into the kitchen. Hudson, however, was markedly more excited to see him than his mother was.He bounced in his seat next to Gael, fork already filled with his mother’s creamy pasta. “Dada, dada! If we’re good, momma will give us ice cream! But we have to finish all of our vegetables.” Hudson grinned, compelling Gael to reach across and pat his head. “All of the vegetables, huh? That’s not very fun.” “Mm-nh. It’s not, but apparently vegetables help us stay strong.” Hudson pouted as he speared a piece of eggplant on his utensil. “I dun’ like eggplants. They don’t taste like eggs.” Gael watched in amusement as the child stared at the offending vegetable like it was going to grow legs and jump at him.Damn it. Hudson was so freaking cute--cuter than all the kids Gael had had to interact with before. The kids in the industry were usually too shy or too spoiled, but Hudson seemed to be at the age where everything was genuine. He was raised well. Maybe that was why after checking that Arabella was still in the kitchen, he reached over with his fork and took the eggplant from the child, winking as Hudson grinned up at him with absolute adoration.He pressed his finger to his lips in a shushing motion, and Hudson copied him, nodding vigorously. Arabella eventually sat down, and leaned towards Hudson, asking about the younger child’s day. Hudson was more than happy to tell the two about what he had done up until the pushing incident, talking about learning about cats and what they mean in other cultures.Slowly, slowly, they talked through their meal, and once Hudson was done, Arabella nodded. “Dada and momma have to talk a little, ‘kay? Can you play and I can give you the icecream later?” Hudson was quick to nod, but not before flinging his arms around Gael before sprinting off into the bedroom. Arabella watched him go with a fond look that melted away immediately as her head swiveled around and she pinned Gael with a stern glare. “You promised.” The accusation was there. “I know. I’m sorry, Miss Miller. I didn’t anticipate things to blow up so quickly.” The apology seemed to make the other woman deflate for a moment, but apparently wasn’t enough to soothe her. “That’s not enough! Look, Gael Laurent. There was a reason that I said I could not be seen with you. My privacy is compromised. My safety is compromised. And I could care less about mine, but I’m focused on Hudson. Does this mean that when he goes to school, people will flood and swarm him for pictures? Does this mean that we can barely go out and he has to live inside during his most important years? Do you understand the gravity of the situation?!” Arabella ranted, but there was something in her eyes that Gael was able to understand. Fear. The other woman was very, very, scared. And Gael wasn’t quite sure he knew the full story of why. He wasn’t going to press now, there were more important matters to take care of. Like, the whole fucking mess he had gotten into. “Okay, okay, Miss Miller. I hear you. I’m going to call my manager right now and put him on speaker. He probably knows what to do. We’re going to figure it out.” Gael tried to soothe, tried to diffuse the situation, because the other woman was gripping the butter knife a bit too hard to the point where her knuckles were going white, and the last thing Gael wanted was to be taken out by a fucking butter knife. “Don’t bother with your bullshit platitudes, Mr Gael. That’s what you told me the first time, about your finest PR team or whatever. And here we are.” Oookay. Time to get Louis on the phone before he stabbed Arabella with a butter knife. He set his phone on the table between them, tapping quickly on Louis’s contact. Luckily for him, Louis picked up on the first ring. “Gael,” Louis’s voice came out very measured, very controlled, and Gael knew that the other boy was probably clenching his jaw right now. “You better have a damn good explanation.” “Listen, Louis. Look. It’s all a big misunderstanding. I got a call from the school for Hudson getting in trouble,” Gael started. “Who’s Hudson?” Came the confused voice. “My son.” Arabella growled, head slumping forward to bang on the table. “Who the hell is that?” “That’s Arabella.” Gael rushed to say, glaring back at the woman herself, who had raised her head to glare balefully at Gael. “Your wife?! YOU’RE WITH YOUR wife?!” Louis shrieked..TBCStranger! Please be my Child’s Father .Chapter 6: Dada to Daddy. “Who the hell is that?”“That’s Arabella.” Gael rushed to say, glaring back at the woman herself, who had raised her head to glare balefully at Gael. “Your wife?! YOU’RE WITH YOUR wife?!” Louis shrieked.“No!” Arabella stood up, grabbing the phone, and spoke very fast into the receiver. “No. Look. I’m Bella. My son got into trouble today. The school called Gael because my son had written his name down as his emergency contact. Gael, being a major fucking asshole,”“Major fucking superhero,” Gael grumbled, before withering under Arabella’s burning gaze at being interrupted.“Decided to come around and pose like Hudson’s dad. And then, when we went out of the office to talk about what just happened, the paparazzi snapped pictures of us. And now, I’m being mobbed, and my son is scared. So FIX IT, MANAGER SIR. Er.. sorry. I’m usually not that tense. It’s been a long day.” Arabella looked a bit remorseful at shouting at
Stranger! Please be my Child’s Father .Chapter 7: a little slip . “Your momma will still be with you, you’ll still go to the same school.” Hudson pondered that wording a bit more carefully. “And I’ll get to see Daddy!”Gael laughed, wrapping his arms around the little boy, tucking the little frame to his chest. “Absolutely, little tiger.” Hudson shook his head. “Bear! Tae’s a bear.” Gael pinched the end of the little one’s nose lightly, not enough to hurt. “Mmm, maybe you’re your momma’s bear. But you can be my little tiger. You even look like a tiger.”Hudson seemed pleased with that explanation. “Rowr.” He growled, a small squeaky imitation of a tiger. Gael couldn’t resist grinning, planting a kiss on his curly hair. “There you go, my tiger cub.” The two delved into growling at each other, practicing their roars, before pausing as Arabella came to stand in front of him. The sight of her son growling at her pulled a weak smile to the woman’s face, before she set her phone do
Stranger! Please be my Child’s Father .Chapter 8: congrats, Laurent family . “Okay, Mr Laurent. We’ll move in with you. Can you please, please, make sure my two conditions are acknowledged? I promise we’ll be good houseguests, the second this entire thing dies down we’ll leave you alone and let you be. But I’m unwilling to part with any of my conditions. I can’t.” Arabella tentatively broached the subject, and Gael could see how tired the woman got just by talking about their situation. “Okay.” Gael acquiesced. “Okay. We’ll figure out a way around it. I’ll accept the two conditions.”[to Louis Avian MANAGER: Louis. We have an answer.Arabella is willing to pose as my spouse, but she has two conditions.She’s using another name, and she’s not doing any publicity with me.She doesn’t want her face to be seen.][from Louis Avian MANAGER: That’s not looking good at all.][from Louis Avian MANAGER: It won’t look believable.][to Louis Avian MANAGER: I know, but I don’t know what
Stranger! Please be my Child’s Father .Chapter 9: memories bring back memories. Lines had been drawn. The house, after the first day the two others had moved in, had grown quiet, save for when Hudson was home. Arabella and Gael retreated to opposite ends of the home, an imaginary line sliced through the middle of the house, neither party to ever cross. Arabella sank back onto the bed, her back thankful now that her endless nights of sleeping on the floor had somewhat come to an end. But still, for how long would she be able to enjoy this luxury?Her gaze drew to the bag in the corner, the very single duffle bag that had held all of hers and Hudson’s possessions, save for Hudson’s school backpack that was filled with loose sheets, remarks from his teacher, and odd rocks that the child liked to grab. Arabella had been living out of that bag for years. She rotated the same clothes, didn’t unpack, because there was no confirmation that she’d ever be able to stay. When she had her ap
Stranger! Please be my Child’s Father .Chapter 10: miscommunication at worst . She stepped out, intending to make her way to where she could see Hudson’s teacher, collecting all the children, but a hand in her path stopped her. Arabella glanced down--it was Gael’s, but the producer wasn’t paying attention to her, instead staring off at one of the bushes. It wasn’t extended to stop her, but--what was it for?“Well, do you want to carry Hudson?” She asked, tilting her head in confusion. Gael didn’t answer, instead taking Arabella’s free hand and lacing it with his own. Their fingers tangled, and Arabella tried hard to not think about when the last time her hand had been held like this, aside from all the times she held hands with her own son. “Let’s go, we’ve got a few more minutes before school begins.” Gael hummed, as though his hand wasn’t the warmest and his thumb most definitely wasn’t resting so comfortably on top of Arabella’s hand. The elder trailed after him, making the
Stranger! Please be my Child’s Father .Chapter 11: fight fight fight! . “I never thought you’d go so low, Arabella.” Gael drawled as he approached the other. The elder whirled around, hands on her hips. “What’s that supposed to mean?”“Exaclty what I said. Breaking our agreement, using your son to get me home, forcing us to have dinner, trying to appeal by cooking my foods, immediately answering that I’d make it to his play. You’re overstepping.” Gael huffed. Arabella seemed to recoil for a moment, before firing right back. “I can’t believe you! You think I’m doing this to get on your fucking good side or to be a model husband? Hudson was asking for you. I felt terrible, so I asked. You could have said no, at any time, by the way. And I made your favorite foods as a fucking apology, Gael! As an apology for disturbing your work time! And I answered for you because it’s the second thing I’m asking of you. It’s for Hudson. It would mean the world if you could make it, Gael.” The ot
Stranger! Please be my Child’s Father .Chapter 12: a colossally screw up. Speaking of--there was a firm knock at the door, and Gael rose to let her in. Chanty Starr, or Chanty as the industry and fans knew her, was a sweet faced woman, known for her clever songs and a personality that drew people in. Gael himself had talked to her during a few awards shows, and he found that he definitely did not hate her presence. She was polite and private, and she had a similar drive and enthusiasm that he enjoyed working with. She grinned at him, and god bless, knew about his aversion to hugs, instead reaching out for a shoulder pat instead. “Hello Gael! Let me tell you how excited I am for this collaboration. I’ve been talking about it all day. I’m sure my managers are tired of hearing me talk about it. But it’s true. The track is there, the lyrics are just how I envisioned it to be. Now it should be easy for us!” She cheered, her enthusiasm immediately picking his own up as she gifted him
. Stranger! Please be my Child’s Father .Chapter 13: do you see right through me? . Gael had initially anticipated a house that was upturned, his pictures on the floor and glass shattered everywhere, but surprisingly, he came back to an intact and quiet house. Too quiet of a house. The house was dark, seeing that it was late in the night by the time Gael got home, but there were no signs of life. A cough -- Arabella -- was the only indication that there was someone else living inside of the home. It was too late to talk now, so Gael decided to leave it for now. Besides, it was Saturday the next day--the weekend. He’d talk to them then. Plans did not work out to his convenience. In the morning, after Gael had tossed and turned on his bed for hours and hours, he crept out, padding into the studio. Neither mother nor son turned around to greet him as they usually did. Rather, Arabella gently took the empty bowl from her son’s grasp and set it in the sink, before hoisting the to