Page 104 of Blinded By Hate

I laugh and look down at Junior smiling. “He has his priorities straight.”

“What’s a priority?” Junior says, pronouncing ‘priority’ wrong which I can’t help but chuckle at a little.

“It means that you value something that’s more important to you than something else.”

“Oh,” Junior says before nodding his head like it all makes sense.

I look at Brandon. “How was the flight?” he asks.

“So long, so let's get to the car. I’m ready to go home.”

“I mean your flight was like ten fucking hours long so I bet.”

“Brandon said a bad boy word!” Junior points at Brandon which makes Brandon glare at Junior.

“You’re such a little snitch now that your mom is around.”

“That’s my boy,” I say before picking him up and kissing his cheek.

We all get in the Uber eventually and we put my bags in the back.

I’m so ready for a long shower and then some rest.

“So where is he?” Brandon asks as the car starts moving.

“He is still in Italy. He said he’ll fly out tonight and come over tomorrow. He just had to take care of some stuff before leaving,” I say before looking at Junior who is slowly falling asleep in my lap.

When I told Brandon about Hayden meeting Junior, Brandon was a little skeptical because in a way, Brandon is an important male figure in Junior's life. He may not be his father, but Brandon is the only guy I’ve let Junior around.

Hayden doesn’t even know this because I know how Hayden is.

He’s possessive to a fault and if he knows that someone else was his role in Junior’s life in any way, he won’t be happy at all.

“How are you guys going to break the news?”

I shrug and nip my bottom lip. “I have no clue. I think we’ll just go with the flow because with Junior and how he is, there is no certain way you can tell him or have a plan on how to tell him. You kind of just have to go with the flow.”

“How are you feeling about all this?”

“Does it really matter how I feel? I’m the one who caused all this.”

”Don’t say that.” Brandon narrows his eyes at me.

I look down at my hand, playing with the bracelet around my wrist. “But it is. I’m the one who didn’t tell Hayden and kept Junior from him so it is my fault.”

And I feel guilty about it all.

Like, will Junior be mad at me for keeping him from his father in the future? Will Hayden eventually be so mad at me to the point where he leaves me and tries to take Junior?

All of these negative thoughts are running through my head and all the overthinking always ruins everything for me. I just wish the voices would stop.

I’m pretty sure it’s because I have no one to talk to about all this.

I need to talk to Patience now that I’m back home.

“You had a good reason, Jaclyn. You needed time and you needed to heal on your own. If Hayden doesn’t understand or accept that, then he isn’t who I thought he was. You deserve someone who would wait a lifetime for you.”

“I know, it’s just-”