“It’s you!” Aiden gushed while bouncing beside him.

“Me, huh?”

“Yup! Isn’t it awesome? Look, here is me and Mom, too.”

Fallon smiled as Lucas took in all three of them in the form of toilet paper rolls. Fallon thought they were the cutest craft ever, and she was sure that Lucas would get a kick out of them. Each of the little toilet paper people held something important. Fallon’s held a cell phone; Aiden’s was painted as Spiderman and Lucas’ held a hockey stick. Aiden had brought them home on Tuesday, and they had sat on her window sill all week. She loved them, so when Lucas said, “I love them, can I have them?” her heart broke, because she knew Aiden was going to say yes.

“Of course! Mommy you don’t mind, do you?” Aiden asked, looking back at her.

Fallon shook her head, knowing that she had years of crafts while Lucas had none. She smiled and said, “No baby, it’s fine.”

“Cool!” Aiden gushed, looking up at Lucas.

“Thanks, I love them,” Lucas said again, looking at each one. “You made your mom perfect.”

Aiden giggled as he nodded. “She was the prettiest tube in the room.”

“I bet she was,” Lucas said with a grin just for her.

Fallon’s face warmed at the kind words. Fallon loved times like this, when there was no drama — no thoughts of what Lucas f**ked up — just the three of them. Almost like a family, but then the past would poke its nasty head into Fallon’s brain and she would get mad all over again. She wished that she could forget it all, but she knew she couldn’t.

“You ready to go? I know Molly is probably waiting on y’all,” Fallon said, running her hand through Aiden’s hair. She looked up at Lucas and he was looking down at the table. His eyes were focused on something, probably on his name, and he looked up at her.

“What’s that?”

Fallon paused before saying, “It’s the check from your lawyer.”

“Okay? Why’s it laying here and not in your bank?” Lucas asked and Fallon rolled her eyes.

“Aiden, go to your room please,” Fallon said because she knew that she and Lucas weren’t going to see eye to eye on this.

“Why?” Aiden asked.

“’Cause me and your father need to talk about something,” Fallon said, pointing to the stairs. “Now go.”

“Are y’all gonna fight?” Aiden asked, inching his way to the stairs.

Fallon shook her head. “No,” she said before looking over at Lucas, “we are going to talk about this like sane adults.”

“Sure,” Lucas scoffed.

“Are y’all gonna kiss again?”

For the love of God!

Fallon let out a frustrated breath as Lucas chuckled. “AJ, go to your room please. We will be leaving in few. Let Mommy yell at me for a minute.”

Fallon glared over at Lucas as Aiden ran out the room. When he reached the stairs, he leaned over the banister and smiled at them both before saying, “I think y’all should kiss again, and then get married and make me a brother!” He disappeared before Fallon could even form a thought.

Smart kid.

Lucas chuckled as he smirked over at Fallon. “I think the kid has a point.”

“I think you need to keep your lips to yourself. You are confusing my kid.”

Lucas rolled his eyes. “You want it just as much as I do, so why do you keep fighting it?”

“We’ve went over this,” Fallon warned. “I don’t want you.”

“Sure you don’t,” Lucas grinned. “So anyways, why isn’t this check cashed?”

“It’s too damn much. I ain’t cashing it,” she said, her southern accent getting more pronounced because she was beyond mad at him.

“So? Cash it.”

“I don’t need it.”

“It doesn’t matter, it’s for Aiden.”

“Fine then, take it and put it in a savings account for him because I’m not cashing it.”

“Yes you are. Cash the check, Fallon.”

“No, I don’t want it,” Fallon snapped.

“I don’t care. You’ve paid for everything for the past seven years, let me compensate you.”

“Why? So you can have a clear conscience?”

“For God’s sakes! Cash the f**king check, Fallon. Stop being so damn proud!” Lucas yelled, taking a step towards her.

“No!” she yelled back, taking a step towards him.

“Ah! You drive me insane,” he said, his arms moving with every word. “If you won’t cash the check, I will bring the cash to your house and dump it on your table! Your choice!”

“You drive me insane! Why can’t you just keep the money?”

“Why can’t you just cash the check?!” Lucas shot back.

“’Cause I don’t f**king want it! I don’t want you to think that you have helped me, that you have bought my forgiveness! I don’t want it!”

Lucas shook his head. “Believe me Fallon, until I hear you utter the words that I am forgiven, I won’t think that. Cash the f**king check, it’s for our child.”

“My child does not need it, and you need to lower the monthly payment. It’s too high. We don’t need all that.”

“Our child does need it; he will have the life I never had.”

“This isn’t about you!”