Ch. 21-30

<pre style="line-height: 21.299999237060547px; white-space: normal; color: #444444; font-size: 15.454545021057129px; text-align: start;">Ch. 21

"Well I knew your mommy before you were born." Brent said. Belle thought about, shrugged and rested her head on your shoulder. "So I hear you like princesses." Brent said to Belle. She smiled and lifted her head off of your shoulder. "Yeah! My name is Belle!" She replied happily. "That's pretty cool. Is she your favorite?" Brent asked. Belle nodded. "And my middle name is Ariel! She's my second favorite." Belle added. Brent nodded. "Wow. What a coincidence." He smiled. "Mommy knew who my favorites were before I was born!" Belle said. Brent smirked. "Well those were your mommy's favorites." Brent told Belle. "Yeah. We're very alike." Belle explained. You smiled at Belle. She was too cute. "I see that. You have a lot of your mommy in you. You have her hair and her nose and her mouth." Brent agreed. Belle looked at your face. "My eyes are different." Belle noticed. You nodded. "You can't look exactly like me." You joked. "But they look like yours." Belle said to Brent. "Oh, well. That's interesting." Brent commented trying to avoid it. "Are you my dad?" Belle asked. Brent looked at you for help. You put Belle on the ground. "Belle, do you want to meet your dad?" You asked. If she didn't want to, there was no point in telling her, but she nodded her head. "Everyone needs a daddy." She said. "I guess.... Baby, this is Brent. He's your dad." You said after a moment. Brent kneeled down to be Belle's height. "That's why my eyes look like yours?" Belle asked. "And your ears." Brent nodded. "My ears?" Belle giggled. You looked up at James. He was watching very intently. You gave him a smile and he only gave you a little one in return. "Can I take a picture with you?" Brent asked. Belle looked at you for permission. "I guess so." You replied. Brent handed you his phone and you took a picture of Brent and Belle smiling together. After that, you and Belle said goodbye to Brent and James and went home. 

Ch. 22

For the next few days James didn't return your texts. You figured he must've been busy with BTR stuff but eventually it bothered you too much to let it go. You called him and surprisingly, he picked up. "Hey, what's going on?" You asked. "Why don't you ask Brent?" James replied. "What's that supposed to mean? Did he say something to you?" You asked confused. "You had asked him not to tell Belle that he was her dad and then you told him!" James exclaimed. "James, she was asking questions and she would have to know eventually. She hasn't even talked about it since then. It's fine." You replied. "It doesn't mean she isn't thinking about it." James argued. "Why are you so bothered by it?" You asked. "Because... because I want to protect her." James answered. "James... I get it, but she has the right to know who her dad is and I didn't want the wrong person to tell her." You explained. "I just think she's too young to understand." James said. You sighed and rolled your eyes. "I don't think it was a good idea for him to take that picture." James added. "Why?" You asked bluntly. "Because you don't know what he's going to use it for! What if he takes it to his parents or somehow uses it to get custody of Belle?" James pointed out. "James, I highly doubt that would happen. He wouldn't do that to his own kid." You replied annoyed. "You don't know that. We're talking about the man you ran away from five years ago, Amanda. Did one day really convince you he's changed?" James asked. "I didn't want him to go back to Texas and tell his parents because he was pissed that he didn't get to see Belle." You said honestly. "See?? You're doing what he wants out of fear! What does that say about him?" James nearly exploded. You realized that James might be right. "Look, I can't undo what's happened so I'll just have to deal with whatever the consequences are." You shrugged. You could hear James sigh over the phone. "What if he gets his parents to cut off the money? What if he somehow gets custody of Belle. What'll you do then, Amanda?" James asked frustrated. "I don't have any choice but trust that he'll keep his word, James. I don't even have his phone number so I can't check up on him. I don't think he's a threat so you can stop overreacting." You said. "Can you two come over tonight?" James asked, changing the subject. You quickly thought about it and agreed. You put together a little bag of stuff for Belle and you two left for James house. When James opened the door, he quickly set Belle up in the living room and took you upstairs. 

Ch. 23

James took your hand and led you to one of the rooms upstairs. He pulled out a chair for you to sit on and went and sat at a keyboard. He began to play and sing,

"Remember when, we never needed each other

The best of friends like

Sister and Brother

We understood, we'd never be,

Alone

Those days are gone, and I want you so much

The night is long and I need your touch

Don't know what to say

I never meant to feel this way

Don't want to be

Alone tonight

What can I do, to make you mine

Falling so hard so fast this time

What did I say, what did you do?

How did I fall in love with you?

I hear your voice

And I start to tremble

Brings back the child that, I resemble

I cannot pretend, that we can still be friends

Don't want to be,

Alone tonight

What can I do, to make you mine

Falling so hard so fast this time

What did I say, what did you do?

How did I fall in love with you?

Oh I want to say this right

And it has to be tonight

Just need you to know, oh yeah

I don't want to live this life

I don't want to say goodbye

With you I wanna spend

The rest of my life

What can I do, to make you mine

Falling so hard so fast this time

What did I say, what did you do?

How did I fall in love with you?

What can I do, to make you mine

Falling so hard so fast this time

Everything's changed, we never knew

How did I fall,

in love with you?"

When James finished, he had tears in his eyes. "Amanda, I love you and I don't want to be without you. I'm sorry I yelled at you earlier about your decisions with Brent. I just don't know what I'd do if I lost you or if you lost Belle. I want to protect you and Belle for the rest of my life. I would never forgive myself if something happened to either of you." James said wiping away tears. You got up and sat on the edge of the bench with James. You wrapped your arms around him and kissed him. "I don't want to lose you either. I know Belle doesn't too. We love you and appreciate everything you've done for us. We couldn't ask for a better man. I know some of my decisions with Brent weren't the greatest but what's done is done and we have to deal with however it turns out. I don't want to lose you over it though." You replied. James wrapped his arms around you and kissed your forehead. "I love you Amanda." He whispered. "I love you, James." You replied. 

Ch. 24

You and James kissed and then went downstairs to check on Belle. She was sitting at the table, coloring in her princess coloring book. "Hey, girly. Whatcha drawing?" James asked kneeling down. "A picture for you and Mommy." She replied. You looked down and saw it was the picture of princess wedding. "This will be you and Mommy one day." She said to James, smiling. James blushed but nodded. "One day." He repeated looking at you, causing you to blush. You and James sat on the couch together while Belle continued to color. Soon it was getting late and you needed to get Belle to bed. When it was time to go you kissed James goodbye and Belle gave him a hug. "Are you free anytime this week?" James asked as you were going out the door. "Uh, I think Saturday after 5-ish I should be." You replied. "Ok. I'll call you!" James yelled as you got into your car. As you drove away you heard Belle giggle from the backseat. "What's funny, Belle?" You asked, glancing in the rearview mirror. "You love him." Belle said with a grin. "And that's funny?" You smirked. "Yeah. Love is funny." Belle replied. "I guess it is sometimes." You laughed. 

Ch. 25

About a month later there was a knock on your door. You opened it and James rushed in. "Why haven't you been returning my calls and texts? What happened?" James asked. "I'm sorry. I don't have time or money anymore. I have to work as much as possible." You explained sorrowfully. "What do you mean you don't have money?" James asked. You sat down at the table and ran your fingers through your hair, stressed out. "The check didn't come this month. I need that money and.." You explained. "The check didn't come? What check?" James asked concerned, sitting down next to you. "Belle's check. From Brent's parents." You nearly whispered. You were afraid James would have an I-told-you-so attitude. "He told them?" James asked getting up, obviously angry. "I guess. I don't have any phone numbers to find out." You replied. "I can't believe he did that. Oh, wait, I can. I'm calling Logan to get Brent's number." James said a little sarcastically, pulling out his phone roughly. He dialed Logan's number. "What's Brent's phone number?" He nearly yelled as soon as Logan picked up. You could hear Logan ask what was going on. James got Logan to give him Brent's number. "James, please don't do anything to Brent." You asked. "I'm going to kill him. That son of a -" James began angrily. "James! I need to get the money. If you get him angry, I'll never get the money. Please?" You begged. James bit his lip but nodded. "I will do my best to keep my anger in check." He replied. "Hello? Brent? This is James. Yeah, Amanda's boyfriend. What did you do? Did you tell your parents?" James asked getting angrier by the second. You squeezed James' arm to tell him to calm down. He held your hand and continued. "What did you gain by that? Amanda didn't deserve that. Belle doesn't deserve you as her father. You're a scumbag who obviously hasn't changed. You will never get to see Belle again after this little stunt. Your parents better send Amanda the check like promised five years ago. It was part of the deal!" James said through gritted teeth. You could hear Brent arguing but couldn't make out all of the words. "Don't worry; you'll never see either of them again. Since you and your parents broke the deal, Amanda would be free to come back. And she can tell the whole town about who your family really is and your dirty secrets." James threatened. "Well I'm never getting that money now." You muttered annoyed. Why had Brent done this to you? You had let him met Belle and everything. What more could you have done? "Yeah, have fun with your life, you piece of crap! You're never seeing your daughter again. Money can't buy her so good luck." James hung up angry. "You don't need him. I can give you two more than he ever can." James said sitting back down. "I know. You are honestly the greatest thing to happen to me. Well besides Belle." You smiled squeezing his hand. </pre>

<pre style="line-height: 21.299999237060547px; white-space: normal; color: #444444; font-size: 15.454545021057129px; text-align: start;">Ch. 26

You sighed looking at the pile of bills on the table in front of you. "Mommy, come play!" Belle said pulling on your shirt. "In a minute, Belle. I have to finish something." You nodded. You took a final look at the pile of bills, shook your head and got up. Belle took your hand and led you to the bedroom and pulled out her favorite puzzle. You absently listened to Belle talk as she did the puzzle with a little help from you. There was a knock on the door. You turned and saw James come in. "Hey. Can we talk?" He said. "I'll be right back, Belle. You're almost finished!" You said. You got up and followed James into the living room. "Please tell me what's going on. I have tried a million times to talk to you, Amanda. I'm scared that you suddenly hate me or I've done something." James said pitifully. "The check didn't come again, James. I can't afford another month's rent on this place. I've managed to get Belle's preschool to give me an extension but they can't for much longer. I can barely afford any groceries." You said as tears began to stream down your cheeks. "Baby, it's going to be ok." James said hugging you tightly. "I just can't let this happen to Belle. I'll never forgive myself if something happens to her because I can't afford anything anymore..." You said still crying. "Shhh.. I won't let anything happen to either of you." James said rocking you a little. You two stood their in each other's arms for a few minutes. "Tell you what, I have an idea. I know it's a lot but I think you should really consider it." James said after a minute. "What is it?" You asked wiping your eyes. "Well.... What if you and Belle moved in with me? Before you freak out, just think about it. You can save money on rent and groceries while saving up for everything else." James said. You began to shake your head but James stopped you. "Amanda, please think about it! You have to pay the bills or else something bad could happen to Belle." James pointed out. You sat down at the table. James sat down at the table and looked at the bills. "You'll be fine. Just live with me for a month or two and I'm sure you will be able to pay off everything." James said doing the math in his head. "It's too much to ask of you." You replied shaking your head. "Amanda, I'm in a house all by myself. It wouldn't hurt for me to get two cute roommates." James said, leaning across the table and kissing your cheek. "I need to think about it." You said holding James' hand. He nodded. "That's totally understandable. You should probably decide soon though." He replied nodding towards the pile of bills. You nodded. "I know. I will." You replied, patting James' hand. 

Ch. 27

For the next few days you stressed over the bills, work and whether or not to move in with James. Moving in with someone was such a huge commitment and you hadn't even known James for a year yet so it felt very rushed. You weren't sure that it would be good for Belle. Moving in with James meant you had financial problems and if Brent got wind of that you were sure he'd try to get custody of Belle. You also felt like there was no other option though; if you didn't move in, you'd be in over your head in debt. On Thursday night, James came over. "Hey." He said kissing you hello. "Hey." You replied. "Hi!" Belle said. "Hey, girly. Are you coloring more pictures?" James asked looking at Belle's picture. "I'm drawing Kendall playing guitar!" She replied. You saw James cock his head to the side, trying to "see" the picture. You smiled at the scene; it was such a cute moment. For a moment you were able to forget about everything that had been stressing you out. "So it's almost been a week." James said coming over and wrapping his arms around your waist. "I know. I'm still thinking." You said biting your lip. "Well we'll decide this way: Belle, do you want to live at my house?" James asked. "James! She's not old enough to make life decisions!" You scolded. James just laughed. Belle looked at James and then back at you. "Will Mommy live with us?" She asked concerned. "Yeah." James replied, smiling at Belle's concern. "Then yes!" She said excited. You gave James a look. "Ok, if you won't do it that way, then let's do it this way: I'll flip a coin. Heads, you live with me, tails, you stay here." James said as he pulled out a penny from his pocket. You rolled your eyes. "So heads or tails?" James asked wiggling his eyebrows. "I don't know, James." You sighed. "Heads, it is." James replied. He flipped the coin and looked. "Wouldn't you know? It's heads." He said grinning. "No way." You replied shocked. You leaned over and saw it really was on heads. "Must be a sign." James said kissing you. "Yay!" Belle shouted from the kitchen table. You and James smiled at her. "You can move in Saturday." James said. "Saturday?" You replied. It seemed a little rushed. "Yeah. Monday is the end of the month so you should move in this weekend unless you want to pay for another month." James answered. "I don't even know where to start." You said sitting down. "Well it's a good thing you have me. I'll be right back." James replied as he walked across the living room and out the door. He came back a few minutes later with a bunch of boxes. "We can start tonight." He smiled. "You were going to get me to move no matter what, weren't you?" You smiled shaking your head. "Guilty as charged. How could I not?" He laughed. That night James helped you and Belle pack as much as possible and he took the full boxes back to his house that night. "You're the best man ever." You said as you kissed him goodbye. "Anything for the greatest woman in the world." He replied kissing you. 

Ch. 28

You made all the necessary calls about moving out of your apartment and finished packing up the apartment. Belle wasn't too happy about packing up her toys but you made sure to leave out a few movies and her favorite stuffed animals so it wouldn't be too big of a deal. James came over on Friday night to help and then Saturday morning to help with the final boxes and final cleaning of the apartment. "Are you ready?" James asked before you two drove to his house. "Ready as I'll ever be, I guess." You replied glancing at the apartment building one last time. James gave you a little hug and kiss. "Just wait. You'll love your new home." He smiled. You nodded and got in the car. "Are you excited?" You asked Belle as you drive to James' house. "Yes! He has a big house." Belle replied giggling. "The size of a home isn't everything." You said to Belle. "I know. But I like his." Belle replied. When you got to James' house he had you come in before you took any of the boxes out from the cars. "Let's go on a little tour." James said picking up Belle and taking your hand. "A tour? We've been here before." You replied confused. "I know. But some things have changed." James said mischievously. You gave him a funny look but followed him into the house. "Let's start upstairs." James said leading the way. "Here's Belle's room!" He said throwing open a door. As the door open you saw a pink-painted room with princess posters on the wall. Most of Belle's toys had been set out and her clothes had already been put away. There was a table in one corner with art supplies on it and a bean bag chair nearby. "This is my room?" Belle asked in amazement as James put her down. "Mhmm. All for you. You can color and play with your toys." James replied smiling. Belle looked at each poster (there was one for every Disney princess) and checked out all of the colored pencils, crayons and markers on the table. "Wow, James. I don't even know what to say." You said, still in awe of everything James had done for Belle's bedroom. "Tell me you love it." James replied. "I love it but I love you more." You replied smiling. James leaned in and kissed you. "Good. I had a little help but I think it came out pretty well." He admitted. "Well good luck getting Belle to ever leave it. This is probably better than Disneyland to her." You laughed. James laughed too. "Well my house is your house so I want you two to love it here." He replied stealing a kiss. 

Ch. 29

"Let's go show you the rest of the house." James said after letting Belle explore her new room for a few more minutes. "But I don't want to leave." Belle protested. "It's not going anywhere. It'll be right here when we come back." You laughed. James showed you and Belle the rest of the house once Belle reluctantly left her room. You went down into the basement and saw one of those pop-up tents you always saw in toy magazines and at Toys-R-Us. "James! You didn't have to buy so many things for her." You half scolded him. "I don't buy that one. The guys did. Carlos, Logan and Kendall thought Belle would like it." James laughed putting his hands up in defense. The pop-up tent was shaped like a castle tower and had some princess-y looking decorations on it. Belle went in it and and came back out. "Can I sleep in here?" She asked. "No, you have a bed." You laughed. "Come in with me, Mommy." Belle said taking your hand. You squeezed yourself into the little tent and Belle sat on your lap. "Isn't this fun, Mommy?" She asked happily. "Sure. I need to go unpack so you can go play." You replied trying to crawl back out. You heard the doorbell ring. James looked at you and said "I'll get it!" He ran up the stairs and you followed behind him. "Who is it?" You asked. "A little surprise." James replied wiggling his eyebrows. "Hey!!" Three voices yelled as James opened the door. "Sup? You guys ready to work?" James joked. James, Kendall and Logan came into the house and said hi. Belle came running upstairs to hear what the racket was all about. "Do you have the guitar?" She asked as soon as she saw Kendall. He laughed and nodded. "It's in my car. I'll play it when we're done." Kendall promised. You were glad to see help but weren't too pleased to see Logan. He reminded you too much of Brent. You helped the guys unpack the boxes from the cars and sent people to various rooms to unpack. When you finished putting your kitchen things in a spare bedroom for storage, Logan came in. "Can we talk for a second?" He asked. "What is there to talk about? You forced me to talk with my child's father and now I'm not getting the checks so I had to move out of my apartment. What could you possibly need to tell me?" You replied harshly. "I deserve that, I know. I just wanted to say that I am really sorry. I think Brent regrets it too." Logan said, bowing his head in shame. "Well sorry isn't going to cut it. Now I don't have my apartment and Belle's college fund isn't growing, so thanks a crap-load for that." You replied angrily. "I know you won't believe it, but I really do regret making you tell Brent. I didn't know that it'd cause all of this. I really screwed up. If I can ever make it up to you I will." Logan nodded, understanding that you wouldn't forgive him easily. Logan opened his mouth to say something else but thought better of it and left you standing in the room alone. 

Ch. 30

You sat on the edge of the bed in the guest-room for a few minutes after Logan left. You needed time to calm down before you went back out to unpack. "Hey." James said pushing the door open. He had a box of your clothes in his arms. "Are you ok?" He asked putting the box down and siting next to you. "Yeah. Just had a talk with Logan. It's fine. Whatever." You replied. "Well I wanted to talk to you. Um, well obviously Belle gets her own room and I have other rooms but I was just wondering where you wanted to sleep..." James trailed off a little nervously. "Like..?" You asked not quite getting the gist. "Like, do you want to sleep with me or in your own room?" James asked. "I kinda need to know where to put your clothes and bathroom stuff." He added. "Oh, yeah. Uh, I was thinking I'd just be in a guest-room. At least for awhile. Just in case Belle gets scared and wants to sleep with me or something. And I don't want you to clean out your closet to make room for my stuff." You replied hoping you weren't hurting James' feelings or making things awkward. "Ok, cool. I'll put you in the room right next to Belle." James said getting up and grabbing the box of clothes. "I think you have another box or two of clothing. The guys were going to order pizza in a little while for dinner so don't get too involved in anything." James said as he walked out to put the box in your new room. You sighed but got up and went downstairs to bring up another box. You unpacked your clothes for awhile and then went downstairs to eat pizza with everyone. Kendall had gotten his guitar from his car and played it for Belle after dinner. You went upstairs to finish putting away your clothes. Two hours later, James came up to tell you that the guys were about to leave. You went downstairs to say goodbye. As they left Belle shouted "Wait!" She ran up to her room and came back a minute later with three papers. She handed each one to each guy and told them what the pictures were. "This is getting framed and put up in my house." Carlos thanked Belle. "Well mine is going in my guitar case so I can see it every time I play." Kendall said making Belle beam from ear-to-ear. "Thanks so much, Belle. It's beautiful." Logan smiled. She happily waved goodbye to them as they walked out the door. It was late so you put Belle to bed in her new room. You turned on her new nightlight and closed the door the way she liked it. Then you went downstairs and sat on the couch with James. </pre>