Page 21 of Unforgettable Omega

“Andy,” Shay murmured, placing the backpack on a low shelf that had the name Andy on it.

“Andy,” Drew repeated, he couldn’t stop the smile that appeared on his face. Andy, Andrew, Drew Jr… At least Shay had given their son his name, but it didn’t answer the question as to why he hadn’t informed Drew that they’d had a child.

“Did you think I wouldn’t want to know? Is that what why you never told me?” Drew asked, his eyes laser-focused on Shay.

The atmosphere was already tense, but with that question, Shay froze, his eyes lifting slowly to meet Drew’s.

Being this close, Drew was supremely aware of Shay. He knew Shay was less than three steps away from him, even though Shay had done his best to put the whole room between them.

Even with a room separating them, the heady fragrance of Shay’s scent teased his nostrils. The essence of the man engulfed Drew’s senses. Like an addict, he took in as much of the scent as he could.

Shay had ruined tropical fruits for Drew. He couldn’t touch a mango or a peach… but there was this hint of something else that Drew had never gotten a chance to pin down that night. It had damn near driven him crazy, and now as he took it in, it was just as good as he remembered.

Maybe even better, because there was the scent of the two of them mixed. He knew it wasn’t from Shay, it was their son, and that was why he was here. Not to sniff at Shay.

“Did you think I wouldn’t want to know?” Drew repeated, “Did you think I would be angry? Did you think I would force you into an abortion? Because, I would have never done that.”

The more Drew spoke, the stiffer Shay got. It was driving him crazy that Shay seemed to go mute in his presence. The man had barely used his voice since they had run into each other.

Drew would admit, as pissed as he was, he was feeling bad too. Shay was making him feel bad with the silent treatment, coupled with the sad, dejected look in his eyes.

This was the man Drew had wanted to give the world. Seeing him look so lost was doing this to his chest region. Fucking Shay! The man had wronged him, but somehow made Drew feel like the bad guy.

Drew walked up to the mantle that seemed to have several pictures of his son, each one of them showing him at a different stage in his life, from newborn to chubby baby, to toddler, and now.

Drew put his hand out to his son’s features, dark curls that seemed to have every shade of brown to dark reds as highlights, just like Drew’s did if he let his hair grow out to its natural curl pattern. Andy had the Thompson features, but even more telling, Andy had gotten the Thompson eyes that were so brilliantly blue, it was immediately recognizable to any who knew them. He was a Walker-Thompson alright.

Drew couldn’t even see a trace of Shay in their child. He was like a print of Drew. Like the universe decided to give them a perfect reminder of their one night together.

Before talking about their son, even though Drew had promised himself he wouldn't ask, promised to stick to their child and not dwell on the past, he couldn't help but ask.

"Why?" Drew focused on Shay, "Why did you leave that night? Wasn't it...? Didn't you feel...?"

Drew shrugged helplessly. He wanted to ask the questions that had plagued him all these years, but he also didn't want to give Shay even more power than the omega already had.

"You left that morning, no word, no note," Drew said instead.

It wasn't a question, but he hoped that Shay would feel the need to fill in the blanks.

“I got a phone call,” Shay whispered, “Made me realize I had to leave and quickly."

Drew frowned, "I would have taken you anywhere you wanted to go, or if you'd even left a note, or something..."

Shay shrugged his shoulders, but went back to being mute.

“I thought you would come back. I waited at Nic's the whole day..." Drew tried,but didn’t add, and almost a whole week after.“When you didn't, I tried looking for you at the colleges nearby, but I didn't have a picture, not even a last name, and well…”

Shay's head shot up, his face a mask of surprise, his mouth opened and close before he finally said, “Why would you do that?”

Was Shay serious with that? Of course he looked for him.

“Because, we planned on spending the weekend getting to know each other,” Drew shrugged, his hand going up to rub the back of his neck, “I thought it was the start of something.”

Shay gaped at him, mouth wide, eyes narrowed like he was trying to figure something out. He opened his mouth to speak, but closed it again.

Shay let out a sigh and wrapped his arms around his body, “It doesn't matter. That's all in the past.”

Drew was about to counter that statement, but he noticed the way Shay held himself, the way his thumb rubbed on his other finger, in what looked almost like a self-soothing gesture. He also saw the frown on Shay's face, the tapping of his foot. The omega looked like a ball of agitation that would snap at any point.