CHAPTER THREE: FIRST IMPRESSION II

It was already past nine when Malcolm came back to the hospital, he had to stop by the mall to get a few things for Liam and ended up getting late. He was already apprehensive that no one was with him but when he got near the door, he could hear little giggles and he saw the nurse was still there and Liam was smiling sweetly at her.

Standing there for close to three minutes, he finally pushed the door open and entered.

"Papa!!" Liam beamed excitedly at him as his lips curved up into a much bigger smile.

" How are you feeling now champ? He asked ruffling his son's hair lovingly.

" Miss Aurora has been really good to me, you should tell her thank you".

" No need Liam" Aurora quickly chipped in, 

" since your papa is here now I will get going now".

The little boy's face turned gloomy as soon as she said she wanted to leave.

" Must you go?I thought you would spend the night with me".

She smiled at how cute he sounded but she couldn't possibly spend the night here when his dad keeps glaring daggers at her.

" Don't worry champ, I will be here first thing in the morning okay?".

After a lot of persuasion, Liam finally agreed to let her go after getting a promise to call him as soon as she got home.

" Take care of yourself" she added and ruffled his hair lightly before walking out of the room but she didn't go far when she heard someone call out to her and she turned to see it was Malcolm standing by the door.

" Yes sir" she answered walking back to him, as usual he had a grim look on his face like he didn't even want to talk to her.

" I understand my son has grown an attachment to you in just a few hours but I won't spare you if you make any mistakes with my son. You should be extra careful when it comes to him"

She wanted to answer but to her amazement, the big guy had already opened the door and entered back inside with bothering to hear her reply.

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The whole room illuminated with light as she stepped inside before hanging her bag on the hanger.

" What a hectic day" she muttered to herself walking towards the fridge glancing around her one room apartment.

She couldn't afford a luxurious life like the rest of the girls her age because she was also taking care of her family back in Seattle. Moreover, her pay was not too extravagant to spend on a luxurious life.

Hardly had she opened the can of soda when her phone began to ring.

" Won't you all let me live in peace?" She hissed angrily before picking it up, not bothering to look at the name.

" Hello"

" Unique eyes, did you forget about me after you got home?" Liam asked excitedly from the other end.

A huge smile appeared on her face, " Liam?How did you get my number?I just called it for you once and you already memorized it?" She asked excitedly, she has fallen deeply in love with that pure soul.

" I am a smart kid you see" he answered," what are you doing now, unique eyes?".

She smiled walking towards her balcony, " I just got home and I am trying to refill my tummy".

She could hear noises in the background and it seemed like his dad was reprimanding someone.

" Did you have dinner already Liam?" She inquired after a while, the huge smile not leaving her face.

" Yes, papa fed me dinner. You shouldn't take only that can of soda and eat something too" he squealed excitedly from the other end.

" Yes my precious I will" she replied, " I will call you before I go to bed okay?".

" Will you read me a story over the phone when you call?".

" Of course I will, so take some rest now so you can have a lot of energy when I call you okay?".

" Yes unique eyes" he replied and disconnected the call but Aurora was left smiling at her phone.

It was surprising how someone she met just a few hours ago was already imprinted on her mind and he was such an adorable little one.

Her thoughts began to linger on the conversation they had earlier when his dad wasn't around, how he couldn't remember the last time he had to go a day without drugs and how it was really tough on him but he decided to be happy so his papa wouldn't be sad but the latter already thinks she can not take care of his son.

"Just you wait sir, I am not as careless as you think" she muttered to herself smiling

" What a brave little boy" she unknowingly muttered to herself again as she gulped the can of drink in her hand and plodded into the bathroom. She didn't want to keep her precious waiting.

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Malcolm kept pacing up and down the room as he made business calls upon calls but his little guy on the bed was busy talking to his new friend and didn't bother his papa much which was a first.

" Papa" he called after he was done talking to Aurora over the phone.

" Yes champ, tell me".

" I like Miss Aurora a lot, " Liam answered, his eyes glistening with pure happiness.

For a moment Malcolm didn't say anything as he kept staring at his son, this was the first time he was getting attached to someone like this. He never even asked of his mother even once so how could he get attached to a total stranger just like that?.

" Why do you like her?" He asked after a while, " she is careless, you saw how she jumped in front of our car this morning"

He struggled to sit up straight and Malcolm helped him.

" Remember I was showing you something papa and you also was not looking at the road ahead of you so you are also at fault"

Malcolm sighed, his son had always been an intelligent little boy and he was proud of him.

" I like her because she has pretty eyes," he answered after a while.

" Just her eyes?"

" No papa" he replied but his voice sounded distant as her face appeared in his memories, " I just think that she is the best person I have seen aside from you father. She doesn't pretend to smile and I think she has the prettiest smile in the world, it has just been a few hours papa but I feel like I have known her all my life. I feel like she was the mother I never had the opportunity to meet".

Malcolm stiffened, this was the first time in his whole life that he heard Liam talk about his mother. Even when Malcolm tried to bring up the topic,his son always avoided it and now he was actually talking about her.

" Son?" He called almost in a whisper, " why? you just met her a few hours ago".

Liam smiled before grabbing his father's hand in his, " Because she feels like home".

" Rest up now champ, it's already very late" he said after a while, he was getting emotional just looking at his matured seven year old son.

" Miss unique eyes still has to call me papa and I am waiting for that" he replied with an air of finality before grabbing his phone and checking the time.

" I will go grab something, I will be back soon so in the meantime you can play some games until she calls".

" Okay papa" he replied and Malcolm walked outside after kissing his forehead.

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Once outside the calm aura around him was replaced with something else as he sat on the chair outside his son's room,on one hand he was happy that liam found someone he liked but on the other he didn't like the fact that he was close to that woman whom he just met some hours back and they were already well acquainted.

He could clearly remember the day his son was born and that was one of the worst days of his life despite the fact that his bundle of joy was brought into the world.

He had entered the ward to check on his wife and his baby when he met an empty bed and a piece of paper lying on it while his son was sleeping peacefully in his cradle, grabbing the piece of paper he quickly read through it and his whole world broke. She left because she wanted to pursue her career as an actress in Hollywood without thinking about her family and a few days after that she sent the divorce papers and since then, they had not seen and neither did she ask for their baby. Since then Malcolm closed his heart to everyone and anyone and only his son knew his vulnerable side.

He had seen his wife in a few movies and shows and he was reminded of what happened seven years ago every time he saw her and it looked like she was extremely happy, he couldn't even understand why she left when he had everything she would ever want in life but she left anyway.

" Hmmmm" he hummed as he pinched the space between his brows, he shouldn't be thinking about her now when his son was on a hospital bed and she really didn't matter to him anymore, even if she appeared in front of him now she meant nothing to him. He only cared about his son and no one else.

He didn't know for how long he sat there before he finally came out of his reverie of thought, ruffling his hair he made his way inside the room and found out he was already asleep and her voice could be heard from the other end of the phone as she was still reading the story unawares of the fact that he was already sleeping.

After tucking him under the blanket, he picked up the phone and placed it on his ears.

" He is already asleep, you can end the call now" he spoke into the phone interrupting her.

" Oh, I see," she answered, biting her lips, an old habit of hers.

" Yes" he answered and without waiting for an answer he disconnected the call.