XXXIII ‖ up above

LONDON
February
Location: Iva's Apartment

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I stood from the couch and walked into the balcony, leaving the door opened so that the warmth from the inside could be felt. Apprehensively, I swiped to pick the call up and moved the phone close to my ear. I greeted, "Hello. This is Iva Laurent."

"Iva!" A child's voice rang through the speakers and I stunned. Her greeting was vibrant and lilting for me to recognise her immediately.

"Thea?" I checked, even when I knew my guess would most probably be right. "How did you get my number?"

"Daddy gave it to Thea!" she replied cheerily, honeying her tone as she requested, "Can Thea ask for a teeny weeny favour please?"

"A favour?" I asked, curious about the mischief this little imp hid under her sleeves. But I agreed to hear her out anyway, "Sure, tell me about it, sweetheart."

"Could you please fetch Thea from school?" she requested sweetly.

"Why didn't you call your dad or Marianne?" I went from surprised to confused.

"Pretty please?" she pleaded.

"Don't learn bad habits from your dad!" I laughed, remembering that this was exactly how my encounter with Jax began months ago. The little girl replied with a playful titter before I added, "Well, since you asked so nicely, I shall fetch you from school. Could you get your teacher to send me the address?"

"Thea already told Marianne about it but don't tell Daddy!"

"Why not?"

"Daddy wouldn't allow it." The child's voice faltered and I understood her dejection. Even when Jax wanted to let her lead a perfectly normal life, there were heavy prices tied to it and keeping her as far away from the sight of others was one.

Sighing, I said, "Sweetheart, it's not okay to keep this from your dad. I'm going to give him a call and I would ask him nicely alright?"

"Thea will wait for you. You have to come and fetch Thea okay?"

"Yes, sweetheart, I'll be there," I smiled.

The child smacked a kiss before hanging up the call and a wide smile broke as I chuckled quietly at this adorable child. Facing my phone once again, I scrolled to find Jax's name and tapped on the call button on the screen. The ring went through for a few moments before he picked up the phone.

"Iva." Jax's voice was deep and resonant even through the speakers and at the sound of it, I felt a wave of heat rippling beneath my skin as my mind recalled how this voice tantalised me the night before. When I didn't say a word, he asked, "Is there something wrong, sweetness?"

"I-I, um, I need to ask something of you," I stammered, embarrassed when I could hear the beat of my heart pounding in my ears.

"Is it about Thea?"

"How did you know?" I asked, surprised.

"Marianne always fills me in," he chuckled. "I'm leaving my little girl in your care. Please don't let her have too much ice-cream."

"You even guessed what she would ask for?" I laughed.

"Of course, I'm her dad."

"Alright then, daddy."

"You—"

"Bye, I love you!" I giggled cheekily.

"I'm hoping you meant that," he clicked his tongue but laughed afterwards. "Drive safe, sweetness."

"I wonder," I teased, ending the call quickly and having no intentions to simply confess to him in this manner. When I returned to the house again, Vivienne was eyeing me from the couch and a little smirk lifted from one corner of her lips.

"Who's keeping you out there for so long?" she questioned.

"I don't kiss and tell, girlfriend," I grinned. "I need to leave the house soon, would you like to head anywhere?"

"You're keeping secrets from me now?" Vivienne pouted.

"For this, I can only tell you when the situation allows," I sighed and smiled at my best friend. "Now, my beautiful lady, would you like me to drop you off anywhere?"

"I drove here," she returned the smile before her expression turned serious again. "Could you please consider having someone to stay with you? I'm really worried and I mean, it doesn't have to be Seth or me. What about Jax?"

"Hey, you're teasing me now, aren't you?" I scolded.

"You noticed," she laughed. "Well, he's hot, a good catch and you might as well put a ring on him."

"Have you considered doing that for Porter too?" I arched a brow at her and she quickly turned red, earning a hearty laugh from me.

"Shush, Iva! You're so annoying!"

"I love you, Vivienne."

"Your love never sounded genuine!" she fumed.

"Should I buy you roses, get on my knee and present you with a diamond ring?" I poked fun.

"The diamond better be huge enough to fucking blind me then!" she argued. "Get changing, I'm leaving!"

"Let's leave together!"

"I'm leaving!"

"Viv—"

"Shut up!"

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LONDON
February
Location: Kensington, Kindergarten

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I think that I had never felt so nervous in my life while being in the range of normality. Even Myerscough's mansion seemed less intimidating than being surrounded by pastel-coloured walls filled with cute dinosaurs and alphabet stickers. I stepped into the entryway and a lady wearing a bright yellow sweater, blue jeans and a lovely blush apron greeted me, "Good afternoon, may I help you?"

"I-I'm looking for Thea," I stammered. Just three seconds ago, I was still walking in the cold and on stone paths with patches of green by the sides. Now, I'm within the starburst of colours and the gentle warmth of smiley teachers. Just to make sure that I don't appear like a creep that was looking to abduct any children here, I read out Thea's full name, "Thea Evrard."

"You must be Iva! Thea couldn't stop talking about you recently," The teacher smiled widely towards me and I felt awkward in my position. After her brief comment, she turned into the classroom and called Thea out for me. I heard an excited shriek followed by rushed thuds of feet before the little girl appeared right ahead of me.

"Iva!" she beamed, forgetting her shoes totally and crashed into my legs with her hands wrapping so tightly that I couldn't help but laugh at her. I pried her small hands away and lifted her into my hold before walking her back to the teacher and grabbed her shoes for her. Sitting down on the cushioned bench, I placed her on my lap and wore the shoes for her. Thea simply sat quietly and waited for me to put her shoes, coat and scarf for her.

"Did you have a good day at school?" I asked and she nodded enthusiastically. After I was done, I pulled her into my hold again and she rested her arms on my shoulders. She waved towards the teacher at the entryway, "Bye-bye, Ms Roberts!"

"Bye-bye, Thea! See you tomorrow!"

I turned around and smiled at Ms Roberts before walking out of the kindergarten with Thea in my arms. Opening the door to the backseat, I placed Thea in the child's seat and buckled the belt for her. The little girl asked, "Iva also know about Thea's small seat?"

"Of course, sweetheart." I tapped on her nose. "If I'm fetching you, your safety would be my priority."

"Aye aye, captain!" she chuckled playfully.

I climbed off the seat and closed the door, moving towards the driver seat. My eyes looked towards the rear-view mirror to face Thea and asked, "Where are we going, sweetheart?"

"Can we get ice cream, please?" she requested politely and those honey-brown eyes sparkled in anticipation. I gulped, hoping that she wouldn't give me that look when she wanted more ice-cream later. 

Because how am I supposed to resist that amount of cuteness?

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Pulling over near a creamery, I went over to help Thea out of the child's seat and asked her, "Are you sure you want ice-cream on such a cold day?"

I would have preferred to head to the nearest cafe to grab a cup of hot tea and a piece of warm chocolate cake with her but she insisted on ice-cream even when this was the fifth time that I asked her of her choices.

She hopped out and waited for me to lock the car. With gloved hands, she tugged me into the creamery and stopped just in front of the glass front, tip-toeing just to stare at all the flavours. Laughing silently, I decided to give her some help by pulling her into my arms, giving her a clearer view of the vast array of cold blocks in a multitude of hues. The child turned her head left and right repeatedly, seemingly conflicted.

"Choose wisely," I chuckled. "You only get a scoop."

"Make it two?" She clasped her small hands together, looking at me pleadingly.

I hugged her close to me and rubbed my nose playfully against hers and said, "Then, you'll be asking me for three later, you cheeky girl."

"Thea is a good girl, two is enough," she grinned.

"What do I get in return?" I asked and Thea immediately cupped my face with her small hands and gave me a few pecks of kisses on the round of my cheeks. I chuckled at the ticklishness and she said her please, "Can Thea get two, pretty please?"

"Alright, two then." I gave in to her whim and she threw her hands up in the air to express a hooray. She pointed towards the flavours she wanted — bubble gum and chocolate. A weird combination. I thought but still satisfying her sweet tooth craving.

Eventually, I ordered a serving of pistachio for myself and settled both of us in a seat by the window. Thea scooped a spoonful of chocolate ice-cream and chomped satisfyingly, too happy to even care about the smudge at the side of her mouth. Picking up a napkin, I wiped it for her and laughed funnily, "You're a messy eater, sweetheart."

"Daddy says that all the time," she grinned mischievously.

"Seth used to be a chaotic one too," I recalled.

"Who's Seth?" The child dropped her head to the side, looking towards me with curiosity brimming in her honey-brown eyes.

"Seth's my younger brother," I smiled at her. "I took care of him when he was even smaller than you."

"Where did Iva's mommy and daddy go?" she continued to ask.

I wasn't sure how to explain, but looking out of the window, I pointed towards the sky, hoping that she would understand when I explained, "They're up there."

"Daddy told me that Thea's real mommy and daddy are up there too," she replied and I noticed how her shoulders fell a little as she peered out of the window.

"They're watching over you from up above," I comforted, though I had no idea what were the right words to this situation.

"Do you think Iva's mommy and daddy would make friends with Thea's?" she beamed.

My hand reached out to smooth over her soft brown curls and I chuckled, "I'm sure they're best of friends." 

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(beyond the door there's peace i'm sure. and i know there'll be no more tears in heaven.)