Chapter 7

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It was a Saturday evening and both Ben and I were home. We had considered going to see a movie or driving to take a walk in a park but we were both currently too lazy to do so. I had reasons for my laziness, I had come from a parents' conference my school held and then spent a couple of hours at the gym. Ben, on the other hand, had been home the whole day so I had no idea why he was being lazy. I guess I didn't mind, it gave us time to lie around sort of watching TV while we joked and played around eating snacks.

I was lying with my head on his lap trying to figure out what we were watching (because I had not actually been paying attention until then) when the doorbell rang. My eyes immediately shifted to the clock across the room, it was just past 7 PM.

"Were you expecting someone?" Ben asked looking down at me with his brows raised.

"No... Were you?" I asked. He shook his head, no. "I'll get it." I said sitting up.

"Wait." He reached out and pulled off a Skittle that I had somehow gotten stuck to my shirt, "Do you teach children or are you one, Jordan?" He asked with a teasing smile and I frowned back at him with a shrug. He shook his head chuckling as I got up and walked over to the front door.

I pulled the door open to reveal a woman and gave a slight smile. I had never seen the woman in front of me before in my life. My eyes were drawn to movement behind her and I noticed there was a boy behind her. He looked like a teenager. Maybe fourteen? Sixteen at the most. He stood a little taller than her and was avoiding my eyes as he stared blankly at the ground, his blue eyes hidden behind brown curls of hair that hung over his forehead. I looked back at the women.

"Hello, can I help you?" I asked.

"Hey... Uhm... I'm looking for Benjamin Statham."

"Ben?" I asked glancing at the child again, his eyes were the same shade of light, cold blue that Ben's were. Even though he wasn't looking at me, I couldn't stop looking at him. "Oh, uh... Ben, it's for you." I called.

"For me? What, is it someone from work? It's late..." I turned and smiled at Ben as he stood up from the couch not really paying attention to us as he straightened his t-shirt. He stopped as he looked at the woman when he reached me. His eyes narrowed. "Yes?" He asked.

"I'm Nicole, Ben. Remember me?"

He seemed to think about it before gave a slow nod; he looked like even though he remembered her he was still trying to figure out exactly who she was.

"Right, I remember, Nicole..." He said. I looked back at the women and saw her bite her lip before giving him a smile. The boy behind her was now clutching his phone at this side still refusing to look up. "Why are you here?" Ben asked confused.

The women looked at me almost expectantly and I stepped back trying to broaden my smile.

"Come in," I said sensing that this wasn't going to be a short conversation.

I held the door open and let them in, Ben motioned to the couches and the woman and her son sat down before Ben and I sat down on the same couch we had been on before, except now I wouldn't be lying on him.

"What brings you here?" Ben asked simply. Judging by the way he spoke to her; they weren't very familiar with each other.

"I'm Jordan." I smiled at the woman before I looked back at the child.

"Nicole, this is Stanley. Stan." she introduced the curly-haired teen beside her.

"Nice to meet you. So, how do you know each other?" I asked.

"We... A while ago, we... knew each other." I frowned at Ben's vague explanation.

Knew each other? Ha. I figured I knew what he meant. A while ago I knew a lot of women too. Of course, I understood he had been with people before we met as well.

"Yes, fifteen years ago... We uh, we need somewhere to stay for a while."

I could practically sense Ben's shock at her statement. "Sorry, Nicole, but I'm not into that anymore. I'm engaged –"

"It's not like that. Stan's your – our son." She said. I looked at Ben and saw his eyes wide, "We – We just need somewhere to sleep... for a couple of nights."

I looked back to the boy who was staring at his hands as he flipped his phone between his fingers. He didn't seem to have any reaction to what was happening around him right now.

I looked at Ben as he nudged my knee lightly. He nudged his head towards the kid and I gave a nod.

"Hey Stan, you hungry?" I asked. He looked up and I felt like I knew she wasn't lying. His nose and his eyes were identical to Ben's. He shook his head. "Thirsty? Come on, I'll get you something to drink."

He stood up before he followed me into the kitchen.

"Have a seat." I motioned to the chairs. I grabbed what I wanted from the fridge before I poured Stanley as well as myself glasses of Coke.

"So, Stan –" I began.

"He should just give her money and we'll leave." He said bluntly.

"Money?" I asked sitting down across him.

"We wouldn't be here for anything else, or we would have come sooner, don't you think?" He said. He sighed lifting his hand and I saw some black against the brown skin of his bicep. Is that a tattoo?!

"Right... How old are you?" I asked.

"So you can do the math? Fourteen." He replied. I watched his fingers as they tapped on the glass he had not yet drunken from, like he was trying to keep them busy.

I looked past Stanley as I heard shuffling before Ben stepped into the kitchen.

"Babe, can we talk?" He asked.

"Yeah. You wanna wait in the living room with your mother?" I asked Stanley.

He got up leaving the untouched drink on the table and walked by Ben without looking at him. Ben sat down and bit his lip.

"She says they lost their house and they need a place to stay until her friend can take them in. She didn't say anything about child support but I'll get him tested just in case." He said.

"You need a paternity test for that?" I said amused. Ben frowned and I dropped my shoulders guiltily. "I'm sorry, he just... his eyes and his nose..." And his attitude.

Stanley's skin seemed like a mix of Ben and Nicole's. Darker than Ben's but lighter shade of brown than his mothers. His hair was a clear mix as well.

"I don't trust her, I have to make sure." He said.

"Yeah? So... what do we do right now?" I asked.

"Tell her to leave until I get the results, then we can talk." I shook my head at his answer.

"She has a child with her, possibly your child; we can't just tell them to leave until you get the results." I said.

"Motel then. I guess I'll pay for it..." He frowned. "But what if they leave and I already paid for tests..." He mumbled. I assumed he was being so insensitive towards Stanley because this was incredibly sudden and so Ben was stunned.

"We have the guest room. Let's just let them use it until we get the results, we'll figure the rest out later. He looks exhausted."

"Do you think she wants money?" He looked at me. I returned his questioning stare. "Ten grand should be enough to make her leave." He said.

"He might be your son." I said beginning to get annoyed by his reaction and lack of concern for the only person I thought should really matter right now in this scenario.

"Jordan... What do you want me to do? They, this – It all came out of nowhere." He said. "Shit, what if he is my son?" He whispered.

I got up and hugged him rubbing his head lightly. I felt him groan as he hugged my waist pulling me closer against him.

"Look, let's just help them get to bed and then we can all get some rest. We'll think this through and talk about it in the morning." I said.

"Sleep?" He breathed in disbelief. I frowned. Yeah, this wasn't something you could just sleep though. Still...

"Try. Come on," I let him go.

We made our way back into the living room and found Nicole there alone.

"Where's the kid?" Ben asked.

"Stan's outside. Something about making a call." she said.

We nodded. "Uh, you can spend the night here and we'll talk about the rest in the morning. I'll show you to the guest room. Stan can use the other one?" Ben looked at me.

"Yeah. I'll fix it up for him." I said.

"Our bags are outside..." Nicole said.

"I'll get it."

I walked out into the front yard and paused seeing Stanley leaned against the wall, his eyes shut and his arms crossed over his chest. "Hey, help me with your bags." I called.

He didn't reply as he grabbed a suitcase and I grabbed the other that was beside it. I looked around but spotted no car nearby save for our neighbours and Ben and Mine. I didn't question it and carried the bag to Nicole's room before I showed Stanley to the room beside it.

"You can shower across the hall," I pointed roughly in the direction of the guest bathroom. "And Ben and I are down the hall." I said.

He nodded in a way that left me wondering if he had even heard me. He seemed out of it.

"I'll leave you to it." I smiled even though he didn't look at me and walked out pulling the door shut behind me.

I went back outside to park my car and noted that Ben had already parked his before I locked up and I made my way to our room. I found Ben seated on our bed looking distraught.

"Babe?" I lifted my brows in concern. He looked at me.

"I didn't know – I mean, if he is my son, I didn't know, I swear I had no idea about this." He said.

"I know." I chuckled joining him on our bed. Did he think I would have a problem with it? I couldn't. He had not lied or kept anything from me. "It's gonna be fine, Ben." I said.

"'Fine'?" He snorted.

I leaned on his shoulder.

"You're not alone, Babe. I'm not gonna ditch you if he is yours." I said.

"You would be happy." he frowned and I laughed.

I had brought up kids a lot, I was great with them. Ben on the other hand didn't particularly like anybody. It took a lot for him to consider someone family. This... I didn't expect though. I would think Ben would be more responsible, but he would have been about 18 when they made Stanley.

"Come on, get some rest. Like I said, we'll figure it out." I kissed his neck gently. I smiled as he inhaled before he looked at me and nodded.

"Alright." He said.

*