A son with the bad boy

ASHTON "Fuck." It's the first word that comes to mind when I see her. That, and wondering what the hell she's doing here talking to that asshole. She looks different, not like the eighteen-year-old girl who spread her legs for me and gave me her virginity at a party. One time, and I got her pregnant. What a dumbass. But I'm not complaining now. She didn't get the damn abortion because her parents basically locked her up, and it's not something that bothers me now because I have a son, and he's the only one I say I love. Owen redeems me from my shit. Owen makes me feel good for something. I know she's been avoiding me all week. What the hell is she doing at my university? Didn't her rich parents give her a better opportunity? I keep asking myself, and I don't care beyond the fact that she's the mother of my son, the closest influence he has because she lives with her longer than with me. "Who's that?" grumbles Faye, grabbing my face to make me look at her. Who the hell does she thi

PAIGE Being at the same university as Ashton hasn't changed my life much. We avoid each other, so everything's fine, everything's normal. The one I've seen more often is his little girlfriend, I catch her looking at me and laughing with her friends, and I want to throw something at them and wipe that smirk off their faces. On Thursday morning, Owen does something he hadn't done before, and that's asking about his father. He does it directly while the three of us have breakfast, and I'm left with a spoonful of cereal halfway to my mouth. "'Dad'," he calls out. I look at Jo, who also doesn't know what to do. He does draw him, all three of us, and he laughs, but he's never called him that before, and he starts crying for him. I have to set aside my breakfast and take him out of his kitchen chair to try to calm him down. I put my hand on the back of his neck and make circles with my finger. It's hard to get him to calm down, and I feel really bad leaving Jo with Owen whimpering in a wa

ASHTON I pull up my sweatpants and put on my hoodie as I close the zipper of my backpack, not bothering to pick up my boxing pants from the floor. I leave the room with my phone glued to my ear and walk in the opposite direction towards the back exit door where I parked the car. It's all crowded, and as I pass between two jerks who don't know how to park their damn cars, I scratch their sides and step on the gas pedal until I hit the road. It's luck, it's fucking destiny, it was a hell of a coincidence that I found her last week, that I went to her house, and it's lucky that she remembers it. I arrive at the mall first, from there the road to her building feels endless. The phone hasn't stopped vibrating against my ear with a ton of messages, I haven't looked at them but I know who they're from because I never miss the after-party, and I don't usually kick girls out of my dressing room so soon. I didn't know I had such a good memory for quick things like I do now. I recognize the bui

ASHTON "Need more of this," Unax says. Yeah, he needs more alcohol to endure all of Paige's rejections. I know that pisses him off; I see him getting angrier and more insistent every time she dodges his attempts to get into her pants. Complimenting her eyes about ten times hasn't gotten him anywhere either. I shouldn't, I know, she can screw whoever she wants, but one of my friends? I'm glad she rejects him because I don't want any of these guys near my son or messing around with the person who takes care of him the most. "Want something?" "No, I don't drink alcohol," she replies. He laughs, so does Apolo until she looks at them dead serious. "Damn, it's not a joke." I don't know if he's doing it on purpose or if he simply doesn't realize what he's causing, but when he leans in to take his turn, Unax blatantly checks out her ass. He bites his lip pierced by a piercing and looks at me pretending to smack her. I grip the pool cue tighter. That shit just pissed me off, what's he do

PAIGE Friday arrives quickly, Samuel reminds me of our outing when we meet on campus, and it makes me uneasy. It's the first time in months that I've hung out with a guy alone like this. We agreed he'd pick me up at ten-thirty because I managed to swap shifts with a coworker, and today I have a change of clothes in my bag so I don't have to wear my work uniform. Plus, I already put on makeup before heading to the daycare to spend the little time I have left with Owen until Monday. "You look beautiful," he says with his soft voice, running his fingers through my slightly curled hair. "Thank you, darling," I whisper. "Look," he says, taking a few steps back so I can see him attempt a somersault. He makes me laugh, and I lie down on the ground next to him to play. Nothing will ever be better than making Owen laugh. When Ashton arrives, he catches me lying on the floor with Owen lying on my stomach. He stands with his arms crossed by the door, and I can read the teasing in his eyes. I