seeing him again after six years is not what you were expecting, not after you broke up with him to supposedly 'date' some rich prick, the truth is, that you were pregnant, but you were only sixteen and he had a bright future ahead of him so you let him go, telling him he'd never achieve what he wanted and that he'd be a loser, that he wasn't good enough for you or to play hockey professional, once again, the truth is that you were pressured by his mother, saying that, even if you didn't think it was true, was the only way to break up with him with a solid explanation.

You work two jobs to pay the rent and be able to take care of your daughter Ava, Ava is six and she looks a lot like her father, his same blonde hair, those blue/gray-ish eyes, hell she even has a birthmark on her right arm, just like him.

After picking her up from school, you walked past a hockey arena and saw him, Gerard, staring right at you, Ava rushed to him yelling "Daddy! Daddy" Your heart stopped.

Everything around you froze—the rush of cars, the buzz of city life, even the weight of your grocery bags in your hands. All you could hear was Ava’s little voice ringing out like a bell, like a ghost from a life you gave up a long time ago.

“Daddy! Daddy!”

Gerard blinked, like he wasn’t sure if he was dreaming too. His eyes locked on yours for the briefest second, and then dropped to the little girl running toward him with her blonde ponytail swinging, her backpack bouncing with every step. She didn’t hesitate. She leapt into his arms like she had done it a thousand times before—like this was normal.

He caught her easily. Of course he did.

His hockey gloves dropped to the ground, forgotten. Ava hugged him tight, and he hugged her back, instinctively, automatically.

You wanted to scream. Or run. Or vanish.

"Ava!" you rushed towards them, grabbing her from him "Ava you don't just rush to strangers calling them daddy, he's not your daddy"