Page 23 of Unforgettable Omega
“Was he going to show up on my doorstep one day… maybe when he was eighteen, or older and we would be total strangers? Did you even think of him, or were you just being selfish? Just like you were five years ago when you walked out with no word or explanation.”
“Howdareyou?” Shay blurted, his face infused with color.
Yes! Finally, the man was showing some emotion. Drew had felt like he was talking to a doorknob.
“You have no idea what you’re talking about. I am not the selfish one in this situation. All I did was protect my child.”
“My child too,” Drew shot back, “And protect him. Protect him from what? Me?”
Shay shrugged his shoulders, in a ‘well, duh’manner.
“You don’t even know me. You didn’t stick around to get to know me, but somehow you think you know how I would feel about a child. What kind of father I would be.”
“I knew enough,” Shay snorted, his tone full of derision.
“What is that supposed to mean?” Drew snapped.
“Like you don't know,” Shay lifted his eyes to meet Drew’s, and they were filled with such pain and betrayal. Drew was confused, why would Shay direct that look his way. He was the one that had been deprived of his child.
Shay looked away, and when he met Drew's gaze again it was gone, almost like Drew imagined it. But he knew he hadn’t.
“None of this matters, all that matters now is Andy,” Shay sighed. “He’s the only important thing here.”
Drew wanted to question Shay more, but he could see that the omega had shut down, so he filed it away for later. For some reason, Shay was pissed at him, and if it had anything to do with why the omega had run out on him, Drew would make it his mission to figure it out. But, Shay was right. Andy was their first priority.
“I want to know my son. I want him to know who I am,” Drew informed Shay. “I’ve already missed so much, I don’t want to miss anymore.”
Drew knew he could go the court route. And he would if it came to that. But he didn’t want to start there, not with Shay.
He was such an idiot. What regard had Shay shown him? But Drew knew if he pressed his claim the legal way, his son would be the one to suffer. And he might have only been a father for a couple of hours, but his child came first and Drew didn’t want that. He didn’t want to drag his son… or Shay, through that.
You fool it’s because you still want him.
Definitely an idiot.
Didn’t take a genius to figure out that it was because he still wanted Shay.
And he did, and Drew didn’t just mean sexually, even though he did want that. He was hurt and angry that Shay had kept their child away, but it didn’t change how he felt. And the fact of the matter was, it was impossible to remove Shay from his heart. He would have had to carve it out of his chest to make that possible.
He was definitely a fool, but he wasn’t stupid and something was telling him Shay had a reason for what he’d done. Even though he’d known the man for a brief moment in time, Drew was a good judge of character. He had to be with his business.
What Drew read off Shay wasn’t malice, it was hurt. The man was hurt, and somehow, it had something to do with him, and for the life of him Drew couldn’t figure out what.
But, he would.
Shay let out a long sigh, “You promise you won’t try to take him from me,” Shay whispered, the fear in his voice clear as day.
Drew leaped up, moving towards Shay, the alpha in him screaming to comfort his omega. When he was close enough he reached out to touch Shay’s cheek, but the man flinched.
The small movement damn near ruined him, but Drew hid that fact. He used one finger to lift Shay’s chin, so that Shay was looking him in the eye.
“I would never hurt you like that”
Shay flinched again and looked away, under his breath the omega whispered, “Again.”
“What was that? What did you say?” Drew asked, not sure he’d heard Shay right. How had he hurt him?
“Nothing... never mind,” Shay replied. He stepped back, like he was trying to put some space between them, but with the wall behind him there was nowhere to go, and Drew didn’t step back. He was intrigued by the rush of color to Shay’s cheek.