Chapter Text
Lee walked through the shadows of the small town. He hadn’t been here in years, not since he took off in the middle of the night two years ago. It still seemed mostly the same. Small, quiet, everyone knows everyone and their business. That kind of place he hated. He grew up in a place like this and he hated it with everything in him. So why was he here?
He watched the waitress pouring coffee in the little truck stop dinner filled with truckers and older towns folk. She smiled as she wrote out a check and gave a wink to an older man that placed a nice tip on her table. Lee smiled to himself. She always knew how to work a room with her sweetheart charm.
He watched her till her shift was over, watching her take off her apron and grab her jacket. Telling everyone bye as she walked through the backdoor. She stopped next to the homeless man near the dumpster, giving him a sandwich and a soda, like she does everynight. He’s been watching her for over a week now. As he climbs into his old pickup he follows her to her rundown apartment. Unlike all the other nights of watching her through the windows of her first floor apartment from the security of his pick up, he climbs out, shutting his door quietly then sneaking close to the window. He peeps in the open window, the wind blowing the curtains across his face.
He watches as she undresses and goes into the bathroom, steam flowing through the opened door. Lee moves the curtains to climb into the apartment when he hears a sound he did not expect.
“Mommy?" The soft voice of a little boy came from the bedroom.
The shower shut off and Y/N came out, wrapped in a towel. “He sweetie.” She knelt in front of the boy.
“I thirsty.” The boy’s chocolate curls bounced.
“I’ll get you some water.” She walked into the kitchen and reappeared with a cup.
Lee watched through the open bedroom door as she brought the boy back to bed and tucked him in. His mind racing. He didn’t know how long he stood there in shock. “Lee?” He turned around quickly, seeing Y/N standing there now dressed in pajamas. “I thought that was you.” She said softly with a smile. “You’ve been watching me for days.”
“You were always a good tracker.” He told her with a tight lipped grin.
“You could have knocked. Why sneak around?”
He looks down, shoving his hands in his pockets. “I didn’t know if you would’ve wanted to see me.” He clears his throat. “I thought you would hate me.”
She walked up to him and to his surprise, she placed her hand on his cheek. “I could never hate you, Lee.” She pulls his hand from his pocket and pulls him to her door. “Come in.”
“Are you sure?” He asks as they walk through the front door.
He looks around awkwardly. “You sure it’s okay that I’m here? What if your kid wakes back up?” He swallows thickly.
She watches him look around the place, feeling out of place. “It’s okay,” She tells him as he shoves his hands in his pockets again. “You can ask.”
Lee looks at her with sad eyes. “Is he?”
She can see the emotions flashing across his eyes. “Do you want to see him?”
“Can I?” He asks, his voice barely audible.
She takes his hand and carefully leads him to the bedroom where toys are scattered across the floor. He looks down and there in a little blue toddler bed sleeps a little boy that looks just like him. Lee kneels down next to the bed and watches the child sleep. She can see he is fighting back tears as he looks over the child.
“His name is Liam.” She tells him softly.
“Liam.” He whispers. “Is- is he like me?” He asks, not looking away from the boy as a tear falls down his cheek.
“No.” She kneels next to him. “At least not yet. He’s never shown any signs of being.”
“Good.” He nods, sniffling. “That’s good.” He stands walking out of the room.
“Lee,” She follows him out of the room, closing the door behind her.
“I should go.” He goes for the door but she grabs his hand.
“Wait.” She turns him to face her. “Lee, look at me.” She takes his face into her hands. “You did nothing wrong, do you hear me?” She wipes his cheeks as tears fall. “You did nothing wrong.” She pulls him into her arms and holds him as sobs in her arms.
He pulls away, taking a deep breath looking at her. “I need to go.”
“Can’t you stay a little longer?” She asks, heartbreak filling her words.
“I’ve already stayed too long.”
“Don’t you want to meet him? Talk to him?” She offers.
“It’s best if he doesn’t know me.”
“No, Lee, it’s not.”
Lee shakes his head. “I can’t be what he needs me to be. I can’t be what you need me to be. It’s impossible with what I am.” He gestures to himself. “We both know that.” He tucked her hair behind her ear. “We tried and I almost hurt you.” His fingers graze the small crescent shape on her shoulder. “I’ll come by once in a while.” He tells her. “I’ll check in, I promise. Just in case he turns out to be like me.” She nods with tears in her eyes. He puts a finger beneath her chin and tilts her head up. “Don;t I always keep my promises?” She nods. “I came back, didn’t I?” She nods again.
“Don’t be so long next time.” She tells him.
“I’ll try.” He presses a kiss to her lips.
He turns to the door, “He’s so much like you, you know.” He pauses at the door looking back. “He even has your eyes.”
“Let’s hope that’s where it stops.” He told her then walked out of the door.