Closed Last-Ditch Attempt

Corinne flinched as Anouk started to cry. She stepped back for a moment, but then tried again to grab her. "Alex, I swear to god if you don't give her to me I'm leaving without her." She threatened. She tried to block out Louis but could hear him clearly, tears were stinging her eyes, but she knew it was for the best. She couldn't be anything for Louis, and it was better that he knew that.
 
It was the pain in Louis' voice that finally made Alex give in, shushing Anouk gently as he moved closer to Corinne. "It's okay chouchou, mummy is here to take you home." He paused as he was handing her over, meeting Corinne's eye. "We will talk tomorrow." He said firmly, before settling the toddler in Corinne's arms. "Give her a snack and play some gentle music she likes until she's comfortable enough to sleep. Rub her back and hair, regulate your emotions so she can regulate hers." He added, knowing he was handing a vulnerable toddler over to a woman likely to get so caught up in her own panic attack she would forget to parent. With Anouk handed over, he turned his gaze to Louis. "I know this is a lot, but I can explain." He said gently.
 
Corinne grabbed Anouk and held her tightly after Alex passed her back to her. She nodded at what he was saying, trying her best to really take it in. "Yes. Yes... thank you." She said, only glancing back at Louis once before rushing out with Anouk held tight in her arms.
 
Louis felt a strange mixture of relief and disappointment as the woman, Corinne his brain reminded him, left quickly with her daughter. He slumped on the couch, shaking slightly. "Dad, what the f*ck." He said softly, shaking his head. "You've been in contact with her for years? And who was that baby?" Half sister, his dad had said. That had to mean she wasn't his dad's kid, which... was a relief, he supposed? But he hated that another kid was put in this situation. "That woman- she... she's awful." He said softly, staring at the floor.
 
As much as he had hoped for better from her, Alex felt an anxious knot deep in his chest unwind itself as Corinne left. He dropped into a seat across from Louis and ran a hand through his hair. "She just... showed up one day." He said shakily, leaning back bonelessly as he studied his son's expression, all the adrenalised energy draining from him. "I hadn't heard from her since you were a baby, and then... here she was." He sighed. "I don't... really understand why she came here. I think she wondered about you, but... I tried and tried, and she wouldn't agree to meet. I told her all about you, I showed her photos, but... she's a difficult person." He sighed. "She doesn't like consequences. And then she got pregnant again - I have no idea who the father is, but he's refusing to have anything to do with the baby. And... and you saw her." He said, voice shaking slightly. "I can't just... leave a baby with her, acting like that. I've been trying to help, to teach her how to be a parent, but..." He sighed heavily, rubbing his face. "You saw her."
 
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Louis looked at his trembling hands as he tried to take in what his dad was saying, he shook his head. "Why- why didn't you at least tell me about her? That she was here?" He asked shakily. "Or why didn't you just- tell her to leave? To go away if she still didn't want me?" He looked up at his dad. "Why did you keep it from me? I thought we were- you know, a team." He said, a slight accusation in his tone. He was upset about his mother, for sure, but she had already betrayed him when he was born. His dad never had before, as far as he knew.
 
Alex winced, regret flooding through him. "She would have run if I had told you." He said shakily. "I tried, I thought I could help her change. I wanted her- I wanted you to be able to meet her, so if... if you had questions, or... anything you needed to tell her... I just... I wanted to open that door for you." He sighed shakily, rubbing his face. "She was so scared she would ruin you somehow, even though you're an adult."
 
Louis frowned at his dad's explanation, why was he defending her? Protecting her? "So what? Let her run! She's not our problem, she's not- if she doesn't want me I don't want her, I don't need her." He snapped, getting to his feet and starting to pace around. "And she didn't even have to know! I don't care, dad, you should have told me." He sighed, crossing his arms. "I think she already ruined me twenty years ago." He muttered.
 
Alex bit back a spike of guilt as he got to his feet too, watching Louis as he paced. "You're not ruined." He said firmly. "Louis, you're an incredible young man, and it's all your own doing. I didn't do any of this for her." He said, knowing even as the words came out that it wasn't entirely true. "I wanted to give you the chance to say this to her. To choose what she means to you. I gave her a chance because I wanted to give you a chance with her."
 
Louis whirled on his dad, frowning. "I could have made choices if you had told me! Now I don't have any choices left because you blindsided us both." He snapped. "What chances do I have now, huh? Now that she ran off at the sight of me? I don't want her, she doesn't want me. Clear cut, right?" He asked bitterly. "Why was she even here if it wasn't for me? With- with that kid? Why were you helping her still?"
 
Alex fought back a flinch, doing his best to stay steady and calm in the face of his son's anger, though he could feel his nerves fraying thin. "You weren't supposed to see her today! She was supposed to be gone before you finished work, I wasn't trying to blindside anyone." He said, hearing the panicked edge creep into his voice. "And I'm-I'm helping because I can't leave Anouk with her. She's- she doesn't know how to be a parent. I can't leave a baby in that situation without any kind of support. She's barely two, she needs an adult in her life who actually knows how to take care of her."
 
Louis nodded, his anger rising. "Yeah, I wasn't supposed to see you hang out with my estranged mother in my own house because you arranged to meet behind my back! Dad, that's f*cked up, you know that right?!" He yelled. As his father continued to talk, Louis groaned. "So contact authorities! It's not your problem, she's not your kid. I AM!" He said the last bit louder than he intended, he hunched over and covered his face as he felt tears well in his eyes. He didn't want his dad to see him cry.
 
Alex winced, doing his best to keep control of his emotions. "I've been trying to convince her to talk to you, Louis! I was meeting her behind your back so that I could hopefully bring her to meet you! I've been trying to fix this. I don't love having her around either!" He rubbed his face, fraying nerves reaching their near-end. "Louis, you're my son first, but you're also an adult. I know this is difficult, but please... actually think about all this, don't just... react from your gut."
 
Louis looked at Alexander sadly. "Dad, if you have to convince her- if you have to try again and again and she keeps saying no... what am I supposed to do?" He asked him, feeling defeated. "You say I shouldn't react from my gut, but it's not like it's even up to me, is it? She's made her choice." His shoulders slumped as he looked down. "She never wanted me, and she won't want me now." He said quietly. "And you knew that. I wish you had told me. If you really thought you could change her mind... then you're naive."
 
Alex's shoulders slumped further and further as Louis spoke, closing his eyes as he took it in. Had he really been lying to himself this whole time? He rubbed his face in defeat, blinking at his son sadly. "I-I'm sorry." He said shakily. "I know I should... have told you sooner. I just... I wanted I wanted so badly to give you a mother. I wanted to let you make that connection. You deserve-... you deserve better than her, but you deserve something."
 
Louis was glad his dad apologized, but he didn't think it was going to be enough. He was hurt by his mom, but that was nothing new. The betrayal of his dad hurt more. "Dad... I get that you tried to do what's best, but you had to know that it'd hurt me not to know you spoke to her and saw her." He said softly. "I- I think I need some time away." He told him, turning away from him. "And it's probably about time I start looking for a place of my own anyway."
 
Alex winced as Louis spoke, swallowing back his protests; the desperate instinct to cling, to keep his son close. "Okay..." He croaked. "I'm... I really am sorry, Louis. I only wanted to help you connect."
 
Louis knew he had hurt his dad and it made him feel bad, but he knew he was in the right. His dad shouldn't have kept this information from him. He sighed. "I'm going to my room, please don't come." He said, grabbing some of the now cold food he had taken home and heading to his room.
 
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