Hunger Games 2

Dayton stared out the window and rolled his phone between his hands. Finally, he spoke. He knew Aimée wasn't asleep, and the silence was killing him. "What is it like? To have a dad? To have a family that cares about you?" he asked, bringing his gaze to her. He felt idiotic for asking, but the words had already left his mouth, and he honestly didn't want to take them back now anyway. Ann smiled as she watched her parents. It was nice to see him happy again. As he spoke again, she nodded and pulled him into another hug. "Love you, D," she said as she pulled away and went to rejoin Aspen.

Aimée glanced over at him when he asked the question. "It was okay I guess. It was nice when dad was home, but when he went off to the military, things changed. Mom worked more, and that meant less time with me, and her job takes everywhere, so there isn't much time. I might as well be alone," she said quietly. Her mother probably didn't care if she was drunk half the time. As long as she was out of her mother's way, she could do whatever she wanted. Dimitri smiled, and he hugged his sister back. "Love you too little sis," he said with a smirk. Even though they were twins, he still called her that since he was born first.

Dayton stared up at the ceiling as he listened to what she had to say. "You know, I wish I could say I relate. I wish I could say I am alone just like you," he began, "but I would be lying. As much as I don't want the dork, I have Tyson. And I have little Willow." He thought about his little shadow. She was always following him around like a puppy. "And now, I have you." Ann rolled her eyes and called over her shoulder, "You still can't get over calling me that." She smiled to herself before she took Aspen's hand.

Aimée smiled a bit at what he said. He had her? It made her feel special. Like she was actually someone. "I guess that I can say I have you," she said, and she looked away. She was happy that she had him, but it still hurt not to have real family. "Dayton, will you be my family?" she asked him. Dimitri smirked, and he shook his head. "I don't think I ever will either," he said, and he smiled before kissing her head. "I'll see you later," he said before he rushed off to follow his wife to the car. On his way out, he looked over at his parents. "By Mom, by Dad!"

Dayton brought his gaze from the ceiling down to Aimée as she spoke. He stood and moved so he sat down beside her on the bed. He lightly placed a hand over hers. "Of course," he told her before he leaned over to kiss her. He pressed a kiss to her lips before he quickly pulled away. "You should get some rest. You are going to be in a world of hurt in the morning," he said, referring to a hangover. He had seen his mom go through them every morning. She would scream at him to make her coffee and to wet a towel for her.

Aimée smiled softly when he sat down beside her. She loved his presence. She wasn't one to like people, but that changed with Dayton. Everything about her changed when it came to Dayton. She kissed him back softly, and she sighed, closing her eyes when he spoke. "Please don't remind me," she said quietly. She was probably going to have to stay with him tomorrow as well. She knew for sure that she would be sick in the morning. Maybe it really was a bad idea to drink.

Dayton offered her a sheepish smile. "Sorry. I guess I don't have room to talk. At the rate I am going, I will have lung cancer by the time I am forty," he said with a shake of his head. "But some things are more than just a habit," he muttered quietly under his breath. He wondered if his dad had been a good man, or if he had been some skumbag his mother had somehow met on the street. He was somehow pulling for the latter since his dad had never been in his life.

Aimée suddenly came up with an idea. "We might be able to change that, Dayton," she said to him, thinking her plan over. "What if wee made a deal. You quit smoking and I'll quit drinking. We have each other after all, so it can't be too bad," she said to him, and she managed a small smile. Maybe he would agree. It sounded like a pretty good plan to her, and she didn't see why he wouldn't agree. They would both have to give up their comfort, but in return, they got a new comfort.

Dayton arched a brow as she spoke. He wasn't quite sure he was looking forward to this "idea" she may have in mind. And he was right when she continued. However, it made sense. I would be hard. No, it would be nearly impossible. But he never would have thought he would have started smoking in the first place, if it hadn't been for his mom. "If you think it would work...," he began, then sighed. "Fine, but I don't think it will be so easy."

Aimée knew that he would be hesitant about the idea. She even thought that he would reject it, but when he agreed, her eyes widened. "You are kidding me. You are really going to do it?" she asked him with a small smile, trying not to look excited. This would work out, it just had to. "We can do it, I know. We have each other after all," she said, and she took his hand once more. She lied her head on the pillow, and despite her thoughts about before, she was out like a light before she even knew it.

{timeskip?

{sure, when to?

{hm.....yeah I am not quite sure. any ideas?

{maybe a couple weeks later for Dayton and Aimée and then the play date for Noah and Peyton and Ann and Aspen's kid bc they are cute.

Dayton paced outside of his old home. It was empty. He knew that. His mom wasn't home. Wherever she was, she wasn't here. The house was a cramped cabin. It was one bedroom, one bath, and the living room and kitchen. He stepped inside. The door creaked. His mom had left a blanket thrown over the arm of the chair. It smelled like beer. Foul. He hated it. He kicked a candy wrapper on the floor. The living room had been Dayton's room, if you counted it as that. He stepped into his mom's room. It smelled just as bad with a hint of cigarette permeating the air. He stumbled to the shelf. He had went to it once before and had been scolded for messing with her things. Now, he wanted to know why she did what she did. Did she have a logical reason? He opened a book and a picture fell, fluttering to the ground. He immediately picked it up. At first, he thought it may be a picture of him and his mother. On closer inspection, he realized it wasn't Dayton at all. The man had a shade lighter in hair color than him, since Dayton had inherited his mother's dark hair color. However, the man in the picture looked an awful lot like him. His insides twisted. He was his father. He flipped it onto the back. Levi Emery and Caroline Young. The date was written under the photograph. He took out his phone and dialed Aimee's number. When she answered, he said, "Hey, I need your help. I have found something." Ann was holding her son in her arms and the diaper bag was thrown over her shoulder. "Do you want to come along, Aspen?" she asked, throwing a glance over her shoulder at her husband.

Aimée had been sitting by her window, working on some homework. Her mother, of course, wasn't home, but then again, she never was,. She glanced down when her phone rang, and she set down her paper and pencil before answering. When Dayton answered and spoke, she felt her eyes widen. "Oh my gosh, that's amazing! What did you find? Where are you? I'm on my way," she said quickly, running to her car. What in the world could he have found? Who knows, but maybe it was something huge. Aspen smiled lightly, and he nodded. "Sure, why not," he said, and he grabbed the bag with the rest of the diapers and wipes. He couldn't forget the snacks either. He glanced down at the banana puffs in his hand. He made sure that Ann wasn't looking before he put a handful in his mouth. They sure did taste like banana. Man, kids were lucky. There were amazing! He placed some in a bag before putting them in the bag.

Dayton was rifling through the folder, trying to find more pictures, a note, something that could give him more to go by than just that one picture. He wanted to tell Aimée to stay where she was- he didn't want her seeing where he used to live- but he knew he needed help. And he would rather not ruin the good news, or he hoped it was. He gave her the address before he hung up. After much searching, he found a second picture. His mother had a round belly, and the man who must be his father was looking down at her adoringly. "If you are such a good guy, why aren't you around?" he asked the picture angrily. Ann shifted Felix lightly as she grabbed a bottle as well. Better be safe rather than sorry. Once everything was set to go, she glanced over at Aspen. "I love my two little men," she murmured, kissing Felix's baby cheeks before setting him up in the carrier and climbing into the car.

Aimée smiled lightly when he gave her the address. "I'll be there soon," she said, and she quickly started to drive. As she reached his house, she slowed down a bit, and she parked her car. She got up and looked around the place. It sure didn't look like too much of a home, but she wasn't going to say anything to him. He didn't ask for this. She soon found him, and she walked over to him, and she took his hand. "So, what have you found?" Aspen looked down at her, and he let out a smirk. "I happen to be a big man, thank you very much," he said, walking over to her and kissing her head.

Dayton had set aside the two pictures he had found as well as a note with smooth cursive written on it. "Get this, that is my dad," he said, handing her the two photos. He then returned his gaze down to the paper. It was merely a short paragraph.
Dear Naomi Young,
Naomi, my dear sweet Naomi. You have done well. I know the mistake you made with Dayton was a flaw in the plan. One you hadn't anticipated. But we are here for that reason. We are here to make the problem of the child disappear, and you can continue what you were supposed to do. I trust that you know where your loyalties lie. You have always been a granddaughter to me. I am so glad to call you one, because all of my other grandchildren are idiotic. Just like my son.
-Yours Truly,
Victor Sherwood.
Dayton stared at the page and read over the letter again. "I don't know what she was doing, but my mom worked for Victor Sherwood," he said, feeling his blood run cold. Ann laughed softly and rolled her eyes. "Okay, my one little man and my one big man," she said, giving Aspen a peck on the cheek.

Aimée looked at the pictures. The glanced at the man, to Dayton, and then back again at the man. They almost looked like the same person. "Dayton, this is insane," she said, and she looked over at the paper that he had found. Her eyes widened when he spoke. "No way," she said. She had heard that name many times in her many history classes, but it seemed almost unreal. "Let's look for some more," she said, looking around for another letter or picture. Aspen smiled, and he kissed her before he got in his side of the car. "So we are going to your parent's to meet up with Dimitri and Lindi, right?" he asked her for clarification.

Dayton just simply nodded. The letter didn't give too much information on why his father wasn't around, but at least he now knew it wasn't his fault. He rifled through everything else and finally found the last picture. Dayton was young, maybe no older than a few weeks old. But he had a full head of dark hair. Caroline was holding him, but there was something about the look that made him flinch. He saw it all the time. It was a fake smile. She was faking right in front of Levi, he was guessing, since he wasn't present in the picture. We are here to make the problem of the child disappear. "I have to find my father," he said, instantly standing. Ann arched a brow and muttered, "No, we are going to a cliff to go sky diving with Felix." She then smiled and leaned over to kiss his cheek. "Yes, we are going to my parent's house," she told him, backing out of the driveway and heading off towards their house.

Aimée looked over at him when she heard him. "What's his name? I'll do some research and see if I can find out anything about him. Let's get out of here before something unwanted happens," she said. She hated to admit it, but the place gave her the creeps. She look one of the pictures with her. Maybe Caroline wouldn't miss them too much. She glanced over at Dayton before she went to her car. Aspen rolled his eyes playfully. "You really are like your father," he said with a small smirk, and he kissed her lightly. Oh how he loved his wife.

"Levi Emery," Dayton replied with a long sigh. What if his father wouldn't like him? His mom sure didn't, and she hadn't jumped at the chance to let his father have custody over him. He stood and gathered everything before darting out of the house. "Thanks Aimée," he said, leaning over to kiss her cheek. "And you don't have to research anything if you don't want to. I am sure I can find some connections somewhere. She is connected to the Sherwoods somehow, which means so was my dad. Maybe I could get with Mackenzie on it, if you don't want to." Ann laughed softly and murmured, "If you are just now realizing this, Aspen Ledger, you are in for a world of hurt." She sent him an innocent smile before parking in her parent's driveway.

Aimée listened to him, and she gave him a small nod. "That's probably faster and more accurate," she said, and she looked up at him. "Tell me if you find anything," she said before she kissed his cheek. "I'll be home like always," she said with a half smile before getting in her car. After a moment, she rolled down her window. "Or I could come with you if you would like," she said. Aspen rolled his eyes and smirked. "No, I figured that out a long time ago," he said with a laugh. He leaned back in his seat and looked over at her. "But you are way too much like him."

Dayton was about to climb into the car but paused when Aimée spoke again. "If you want, then come on," he agreed, motioning for her to get into the car. He climbed in and started it up. Then, he called Mackenzie's number. It would be really awkward to go there, and then her ending up being out with Tyson. Ann laughed softly and smirked lightly. "Well, they didn't call me 'daddy's little girl' for no reason, Aspen," she said with a shake of her head. Once she had parked, she got out of the car and took Felix out of his carrier.