Begin Again novel Chapter 22

The call came when Eden least expected it, just as she was about to settle down for an afternoon nap with Aiden. He wasn't a fussy baby, but he preferred routine over surprises, and any slight delay in his schedule made him cranky.

"Hang tight my angel, Mommy has to take this call," she kissed his hair and gave him his favourite sensory toy to distract him while they ran to the kitchen to grab her phone on the counter.

She was hoping it's the call she's been waiting for for over a week now, the one call that will change her life and take her from unemployed to potentially employed overnight.

"Hello," she cried breathlessly just as it stopped ringing. Aiden tried to snatch it from her, but she bit his tiny hand playfully. He giggled and screeched happily.

Eden stared at the screen, willing her phone to go off again, but after fifteen minutes or so and still nothing, she returned to her bedroom and laid down on the bed with Aiden resting on her chest.

She held him close and breathed in his baby scent; it was high up there on her list of favourite smells in the world. Within minutes he was snoring peacefully, and she placed him tummy down on the bed.

For a little while, she watched him sleep as she gently played with his thick hair, her heart threatening to explode from the sheer joy and peace she felt just looking at him.

She was dozing off when her phone rang again. She grabbed it and ran to the living room.

It was her mom this time. Definitely not the call she was hoping for.

They hadn't talked in months, and she hadn't seen her parents since she moved back almost two weeks ago.

"How is everything?" Erica asked on her end.

Eden assured her everything was perfectly okay. She was doing great, adjusting well to life in the big city again.

"Your father wants to see you. Can you come home for dinner?"

Eden paused and thought about the invitation. There was a lot of anger between them, a lot of resentments on both sides. Dinner wouldn't fix any of it. Chances were, shit would start flying as soon as they saw each other.

"I don't think that's a good idea," she said at last.

The last two years, raising Aiden on her own had forced her to grow up, and there were things she just wasn't willing to deal with any more. Like her parents' passive-aggressive behaviour and their constant attempts to make her feel like a failure. She didn't need all that negative energy in her life.

"He regrets it. We both do," Erica tried to weasel her way back into her life, but Eden's hurt still burned hot.

Sure she'd messed up by hooking up with Liam. But she was twenty-four then, old enough to make her own decisions, no matter how stupid. She'd expected a little bit of pushback from them, and a lot of disappointment. Just not the hostility they showed her.

"Darling, are you there?" Erica cried on the other side of the line, and Eden forced herself to return her attention to the call. No use getting lost in the past. Nothing good would ever come from it.

"Will you at least think about it?" Erica persisted, but Eden refused to be pushed into anything. If she ever saw her parents again, it would be on her terms.

"I'm not ready to see you both," Eden said firmly.

"You are not fair to us," Erica sniffled, and it began, the guilt-tripping. "What else were we supposed to do?"

"I don't know? How about not cast me aside? How about not judge me and make me feel like the worst daughter in the world?"

"Simon ended the engagement, and you fell pregnant with a baby that wasn't his, and you still won't tell us who the father is!"

Eden closed her eyes and stifled a scream, silently wondering why everyone felt so entitled when it comes to Aiden's father.

"Mom, I can't talk about that. I told you then, and I'm telling you now, I will not talk about that!"

"And you still don't think you are wrong?" Erica accused. "This is your fault as much as it is ours!"

Eden nodded sadly. She was well aware of that. Her silence and her refusal to reveal Liam's identity forced her to move to the Blue Mountains with Grammy.

"I have to go," Eden said softly. Speaking to Erica always left her emotionally drained.

"We saw the latest photos of Aiden on your page," Erica said, refusing to give up. "He's beautiful and has grown so much since Grammy's funeral."

Eden waited, silently wondering where she's going with this.