“I’ll give you two some time.” I go to leave, but Liam grabs my wrist and keeps me there. “Stay.”
“I’m not sure…”
“Stay, Goldie. It’s important to me.”
“Ok.”
Liam
I pick Aiden up in my arms and carry him into the living room. He’s getting so big now, I’m dreading the day I won’t be able to carry him anymore. A rush of anger courses through me for all the time Bree robbed us of. I didn’t get to see him come into the world. I don’t even have any baby pictures to look back on. Now she’s back, and her presence threatens to tear apart this life we’ve built together from the ground up.
I set him down on the sofa and squat in front of him.
Ruby takes a seat a little farther away, but just having her here is enough for me.
“Do you wanna talk about it?” I ask.
“That lady… was my mom?”
Aiden’s memories of Breanna faded a long time ago. Even when he spoke to his therapist about her, he couldn’t recall specific details, but the effects of her neglect still linger years later. He still has difficulty regulating his emotions, and things like raised voices can sometimes trigger him. I hope like hell seeing his mother again doesn’t cause him to regress.
“Yes. Do you remember her?”
His bottom lip trembles, and he shakes his head. He’s disappearing into himself. It breaks my heart to see it. “Is she gonna take me away?”
My chest tightens. “Oh, buddy. No.” I slide over to the couch and wrap my arm around his shoulders. “I wouldneverlet that happen.”
He turns and buries his face against me while his fist twists in my shirt like he’s afraid I might leave. I’m torn between the need to comfort my son and the overwhelming urge to fight some invisible force because I can’t fight Breanna.
I glance over at Ruby.
She’s putting on a brave face, but I don’t miss the sadness in her eyes. She mouths the words “I’ll be right back,” and disappears from view.
“I love you, Aiden. No one in this world will ever take you away from me.”
He looks up at me through glassy eyes, and my heart leaps into my throat. I don’t cry anymore—my tears dried up long ago—but if I could cry, it would be for him.
I see so much of myself in Aiden. Not just because he looks exactly like me at that age, but because this scared, hurt little boy is a mirror to the one I became when I lost my parents. I know all too well what he’s feeling, and I wish I could shoulder it all for him.
Soft footfalls approach, and Ruby perches herself on Aiden’s other side as she wraps his threadbare baby blanket around his shoulders and tucks his dinosaur plush in next to him. Her palm skates up and down his back until his breathing slows to uneven breaths.
I fall even deeper in love with her in this moment. Somehow, she knew exactly what he needed and gave it to him without hesitation. She’s gonna be an amazing mother someday. A vision of Ruby pregnant with my child crosses my mind, but I have no business thinking about that.
Aiden's grip on my shirt loosens and he wraps his arm around his stuffy, playing with its tail to soothe himself.
“Is there anything you want to talk about?” I ask.
Again, he shakes his head.
“We can talk when you’re ready. Or not at all. Whatever you need, I’m here for you.”
He quickly swipes at his eyes and sits up, all the while keeping a tight hold on his dinosaur. “I’m hungry. Can I have dino nuggets?”
Just like that, life goes on—at least for Aiden. Only time will tell if this incident leaves a lasting impression, but I hope for Aiden’s sake it doesn’t. In the meantime, I’m still left with this intense need to see Breanna pay for everything she’s done to my son.
We’ll have to tread carefully. I can handle whatever she throws at me, but I refuse to let Aiden be caught in the crossfire.
We let Aiden stay up a little later than usual to make up for the colossal disaster that interrupted their movie night. He’s been much more subdued since everything went down, and I’m afraidhe’s internalizing it. The chief didn’t bat an eye when I said I had a family emergency, but I’ll have to make it up to him with an extra shift tomorrow, and I’m worried about leaving Aiden so soon.
