Build And Break novel Chapter 62

"Hello, Daddy."

Like hit by an avalanche, Steven froze. He was stunned at hearing Daniel's voice, stunned even more at hearing him call him Daddy. The words he heard were far from the words he feared he'd hear. They're much, much better. A warm shiver ran up his spine. He gulped down the emotion that rose in his throat. "Hello Daniel."

"I miss you, Daddy."

Hearing the word he wanted to hear for a long time made him nearly swoon. It was much more sweeter than he imagined it would be.

"Will you come visit me?" Daniel spoke in a pleading tone.

"I'll be there in half an hour." The words came out of his mouth automatically before he hung up. For seconds, he stared at the phone. Daniel had called him Daddy. A chuckle escaped his mouth without his permission. And he didn't care who heard him, who stared at him. It was the best feeling he ever felt. He pushed up from his seat and jogged to the door. He had to go to his son.

And true to his word, Steven showed up in front of Grace's house in less than half an hour later. As soon as he exited his car, he heard the sound of running footsteps, saw Daniel coming at him fast and grinning. Steven met Daniel in the middle of the street and engulfed him in his arms. Daniel clung his arms to Steven's neck as he laughed and cried with happiness into his shoulder.

"Daddy."

"My son."

Cars honked at the father and son embracing amidst the road, people stopped and stared at them. And it was minutes later that Steven picked Daniel up into the crook of his arm and crossed the remaining distance to Grace's house. Neither of them, especially Steven, didn't care who saw them, who whispered in other's ears. All he cared was finally being Daniel's Daddy.

Angela, with a tear ready to drop from over her eye lashes, had watched the scene before her with a smile. Before Steven had forced himself back into her life, she had never thought the day would come when Daniel would be with his father like that. She couldn't deny that she dreamt it would happen but now, seeing it happen before her eyes, she felt like swooning with emotion.

"Mommy, Daddy came to see me." Daniel quipped enthusiastic while wiping the wetness from his cheeks.

"Told you he'd come." Angela glanced briefly at Steven to receive a wide grin in return.

"Hey, Daniel. I found out there's a nice soccer pitch a little away from here. Do you want to go there?"

The boy nodded eagerly and Steven turned to Angela, as if asking for her permission. Without any delay, Angela shrugged. "That's a great idea."

"Are you coming with us?" Steven attempted hopeful.

"No. You two go alone." Angela granted them some time alone.

"Are you sure?"

"Can I play with this?" Daniel stared at the ball like it was sacred but didn't touch it.

"Absolutely. That ball is my first present to you."

"But you already bought me things before."

"I did. But not as your Daddy." Even as he spoke that last word, Steven still couldn't wrap his mind around the fact that he was Daddy.

Immediately, Daniel picked up the ball and inspected every angle of it. "Thank you, Daddy."

The whole ride to the soccer pitch, Daniel didn't stop boasting of the four soccer balls he and Jimmy owned. The boy had a mouth like a radio. He barely stopped talking for more than two seconds, even if he was just mumbling to himself imagining some soccer game in his daydream.

It was only when they arrived at the soccer pitch and sat on the bleachers to spectate the ongoing game between teenage players that Daniel muted to observe the game intently.

Steven took Daniel's silence as his chance to think what details he could tell Daniel about suddenly being his father. He wasn't sure how much Angela had told him of the story. And he even more wasn't sure how much Angela wanted to tell him. How had she turned around the fact of why Steven was missing for the first years of Daniel's life? The boy was yet still so innocent to understand the whole story. And Steven hadn't much idea about telling white lies to young kids to hide the truth.