Only One Forever, page 20
“Is it in the papers?” I ask her, grabbing her phone and opening it and seeing the picture of the both of us from last night. We are side by side, I don’t know what she is telling me, but all you can see is me smiling as she looks at me. It’s our favorite picture of us together and I’m going to be adding it to our framed pictures. Then I scroll down and read the headline, and I want to vomit.
Kissing Cousins.
I stop even breathing, afraid how she is going to react to this. I scroll the article and then look up at her as she smiles at me. “The flowers are from Nico and Becca.” She holds the card. “This one is from Leo and says you’re a punk-ass pussy, and he’s not talking to you but that he’s happy for me.” She laughs and then sees my face. “What’s wrong?”
“Your father was right.” I think about not telling her but knowing she’ll find out anyway.
“What are you talking about?” she says, putting the cards down and coming to me now.
“Oh, well,” she huffs out. “People are idiots,” she says, not even bothered by this whole news.
“This doesn’t bother you?” I ask her, trying to read her face.
“Does it bother me?” she repeats my question. “Yes.” She shrugs. “Do I care? No.” She smiles. “I care more that our friends and family know the truth and stand behind us.” She points over at all the flowers. “This is all that matters to me. That our friends and family support us.”
I’m about to say something else, but I don’t have time to ask her anything because the front door opens, and I hear running.
Julia comes into the room, and her face is filled with tears. She looks at us, and something about her being here makes my heart stop. “We can’t find him.”
Everyone says that when something traumatic happens, you always feel like you leave your body. It’s at this moment that I know what everyone is talking about. The room comes to a standstill, and the beating of my heart echoes so loud in my ears I don’t think I understand what she’s saying. “What do you mean?” I hear Alex ask her.
“They went to get him this morning in his room, and he wasn’t there,” she says, frantically looking around. “They called the police and then called me. I came here, thinking maybe he came here.”
“How would he come here?” I roar. My hands shake as the front door opens, and I hear more footsteps.
“We came as soon as Julia called,” Wilson says, looking like you just dragged him out of his bed. Franny follows him dressed as if she just picked the first thing out of her closet. The front door opens again, and I hear more people coming into the house, and I see Michael running in with my father and Max. “We called Matthew. He got things rolling.”
“He’s alone,” Alex says, the tears running down her face, all eyes on her. “When was the last time they saw him?” She looks around at everyone and then back to Julia. “I have to go get dressed.” She turns and runs up the stairs, and Franny just follows her upstairs.
“Julia.” I look at her. “You need to tell me everything,” I say, swallowing down the bile coming up my throat. “And I mean everything.”
“They put him to bed last night,” Julia starts. “He was not himself all day. He was quiet and withdrawn. He kept asking them how long until he was able to go to the rink,” she says, wiping the tears away
“Oh my God,” my father says. “Have you checked the rink?”
“I’ll go over there,” Wilson says. “Tell Fran.” He runs out.
“He didn’t want to eat dinner,” Julia says. “Asked how much time was left until he was going. Every single hour, he got quiet, and they went to tuck him in.”
“How does an eight-year-old run away from the house in the middle of the night?” Alex asks when she comes down the stairs wearing shorts and one of my T-shirts. Her hair is piled on her head; her face streaked with tears.
“You guys don’t get it. Do you know how many times he’s probably done that during his life? Escaping in the middle of the night,” she says, and I can’t help but put my hand on the counter not to fall. My own memories come back to me. The times we had to leave quickly. The times we had to leave to escape whenever people were coming to find my father but instead would find us. The amount of time we walked around at night not looking at anyone, my mother shielding me with her body the whole time. “This isn’t something new to him.”
“I’m going to be sick,” Alex says, putting her hand to her stomach, and Max goes over to her.
“He’s going to be fine,” he tells her, taking her in his arms.
Julia’s phone rings in her hand, and everyone stops what they’re doing to look at her. “Hello.” She puts the phone to her ear. Looking at us, she shakes her head and walks out of the room.
“I have to get out there,” I say, walking to the stairs and running up them to the bedroom. I slip on a T-shirt and grab my running shoes, then run down the stairs.
“Where are you going to go?” My father waits for me at the bottom of the stairs.
“I have no idea, but sitting here doing nothing isn’t going to help him,” I reply, putting on my shoes.
“If you’re going, I’m going,” Alex says, and I walk to her and take her face in my hands. She looks into my eyes, fighting back the tears that want to come out, but it’s a losing battle.
“You need to stay here with Julia in case they call,” I explain, using my thumb to wipe her tears away.
“But what if you find him and I’m not there?” she says. “What if he thinks I don’t love him?” Her head falls forward as I pull her into my arms. Her body shakes with her sobs. “He must be so scared.”
I kiss the top of her head. “We are going to find him,” I assure her, taking a step back. “I promise you that.” I hold her face in my hands again. “I’m going to go and get our boy.”
Chapter 33
Alex
He kisses my lips one more time before he turns and runs out of the room with his father and Michael behind him. My father is there when my legs give out to catch me before I hit the floor. The only thing I can see in my head is Maddox the last time I saw him. I can even hear the sound of his laughter if I close my eyes tight enough. “It’s going to be okay,” my father says. The front door opens, and I watch, praying and hoping that it’s Julia telling me they found him.
But instead, my mother and aunt Caroline stand side by side looking at me. Mac runs over to me all excited but must sense something is wrong because she just lies next to me with her chin on my leg. My hand’s rubbing her head when Matthew comes in behind them, “What’s going on?” Caroline is the first to ask me in almost a whisper, and my mother slides her hand into hers for emotional support, not sure herself what is going on. “Where is Justin?” she asks and the worry fills her face.
“He’s fine,” my father reassures her. “He’s gone to look for Maddox.”
“The little boy?” my mother asks, and I look up at my dad, my head spinning around and around, trying to make all the plans.
“I need a lawyer.” I look at my father, whose arms fall away from me. “I need a lawyer, a good one.” I walk over to the fridge and grab a bottle of water. “I need to stop crying because that isn’t going to help find Maddox.” My hand shakes as I unscrew the top of the water bottle and take a small sip. The cold liquid runs down my throat, but it still feels dry. “I’m going to adopt him,” I tell everyone in the room. I’m not sure how many are surprised by this news, but none of them says anything. Instead, they give me a chance to continue talking, knowing I’m not finished. “When they find him, I’m going to need a lawyer to help me fight for him.”
“Whatever you need,” my father says, looking at Matthew.
“We will get whoever we need to get to make this happen,” he assures me.
“I need to prepare a bedroom for him.” I look over at Franny, who smiles at me, blinking away her own tears.
“I know a couple of people who love to shop and can probably have things delivered today.” She grabs her phone from her back pocket and turns around to walk out of the room.
“Where is Julia?” I ask. The front door opens again, and Julia comes into the room.
“We need to talk.” I look at her, and she just looks at me. I know how hard her job can be. I didn’t before, but now that I’ve seen firsthand what she must go through every single day, I know it’s not pretty. “When they find Maddox,” I say, not even going into the worst-case scenarios in my head, “I am going to have a lawyer petition to get him placed here.”
“I’m already ahead of you,” Julia replies, walking to the fridge and taking out a water bottle. “I was on the phone with a couple of my colleagues who are aware of the case.” She takes a sip of the water. “And we’ve all come to the decision that placing Maddox here would be best for him.” She puts her hands on the counter. “But it’s not in our hands. We’ve done everything we need to do. You’ve applied to be an emergency foster parent. The application was pushed through, and your background check was completed.” I swallow, waiting for the other shoe to drop. “I already put in my referral.”
“I’m sorry.” My aunt Caroline steps forward. “But she needs to know what she’s dealing with.” She looks at Julia. “We need to know what he’s been through if we are going to be able to help him.” She wrings her hands together.
“You know I can’t tell you guys anything,” Julia says. “You think I don’t want to?”
“I think that there are things that you should keep confidential,” my mother says now. “But if we are going to help him, we need to know what tools we need.”
“This is all you need to know.” Julia swallows. “He is an eight-year-old boy who hasn’t had anyone love him in his whole life.” Her words come out, and every single one stabs me in the heart over and over again. The pain is like shards of glass going through me. “He was left at school from the time it opened until the time it closed. He had the same clothes on for two weeks once, before the school gave his mother a bag of secondhand clothes, which she then turned around and sold. A little boy who used to wet the bed occasionally, so you can imagine.” I hear a gasp, and I have to sit down. I walk over to the couch as Julia continues, “That little boy has seen more horror than we can even think about. He has walls up so high nothing can knock them down. He has no idea what a hug is or even why you give them. He knows nothing about family. He knows nothing about anything really.” I close my eyes. “He’s emotionally unavailable.” She looks me in the eyes. “I don’t know if he’ll ever be okay.”
“Is there a father in the picture?” Caroline asks.
“No.” Julia shakes her head. “There was none listed on the birth certificate, and when she was asked about it, she said she didn’t know.”
“Are you sure about this?” My mother comes over and sits beside me, followed by Mac, who sits beside me for support as if she knows I need her. “I know you want to help him.”
I shake my head, not wanting her to finish what she is going to say. “I knew the minute I saw him,” I start to say. “There was a reason I came back early.” I look at my mother and father. “I wasn’t supposed to be here, but I was, and there was a reason. I was sent back for him.” I wipe away the tears. “He’s …” I don’t even know if I have the right words to justify what I feel for him. “He’s mine.” I shrug, smiling through the tears. “I can’t explain it any other way.”
“Then we will get him all the help he needs,” Matthew says now. “We will get him people to talk to and show him what love is.”
“What family is,” my father says, looking at Matthew, and the two of them share a nod.
“If anyone knows what he’s going through,” Caroline says, sitting on the couch in front of us, “it’s Dylan.” She shakes her head, wiping away the tears. “No matter how much I tried to shield him, he knew what we were going through. But at least he had me. He had love from me. This poor boy,” she says, leaning over and grabbing a tissue out of the box on the end table when all of a sudden, Julia’s phone rings along with my father’s and Matthew’s.
Everyone jumps up, looking at Julia first, who answers, and then my father and then my uncle. I look at their faces. The whole time, my heart is hammering in my chest. I push back the fear that he’s not okay. I watch to see if they will look at me, knowing that if he’s hurt or not okay, no one will want to make eye contact.
“He’s okay!” Julia shouts, running to the front door as we all follow her. “I’ll be there in fifteen minutes.” She runs to get into my father’s car. My mother is in the front seat, and I sit in the back with Julia.
I don’t even know who is following or if the other people are coming with us, but I don’t care. “Where is he?” I ask her.
“Dylan found him.” She looks at me as she types on her phone. “He was at a park near the house.” My hand goes to my mouth. “He was sitting waiting by the monkey bars.”
I close my eyes, and all I can see is his face. “He must have thought we didn’t care.”
“Police are waiting for us to see if we should have him transported to the hospital,” Julia says. “I’m trying to get an answer if we can see a judge today, but it’s Sunday,” she says, and I shake my head.
“You are going to have to pry him out of my arms,” I state, looking out the window.
“That’s exactly what Dylan said, and it almost got him arrested,” Julia shares, and my head whips around to look at her. “Luckily, I know the officer.”
“It’s good to have friends everywhere,” my father says.
“He’s not that kind of friend,” Julia defends, and my mother laughs. “I mean, we get friendly, but that’s about it.”
If it was any other time, I would have a comeback, but all I can think about is getting to my guys. When we pull up to the park, my eyes roam the whole place, and I’m out of the car before my father puts it in park. “Dylan!” I shout his name and see him sitting on the bench right off the side in the shade. Maddox sits beside him, drinking a water bottle. Justin stands beside the bench. His face looks white like a ghost, and two police officers stand beside the bench on the other side talking to each other.
I run toward them, only stopping when I get in front of the bench. I reach out and grab Maddox, pulling him to me. Then I let him go and hold his face in my hands. “You scared me,” I say, not even sure if I should tread lightly. “I was so scared you were hurt.” I rub his cheeks with my thumbs. Looking over at Dylan, who has his own dried tears on his face, no doubt having gone through exactly what I just did, if not worse, thinking he would find him hurt.
He just looks at me. “I’m not hurt.” He finally speaks, and it’s like music to my ears.
“Are you sure?” I ask him and look at his arms, seeing that they are dirty, and his legs look like a bruise is forming on his shin.
“What’s this?” I ask, looking at the bruise.
“I fell when I did the monkey bars,” he admits to me. “I almost made it, but I slipped.”
“You could have hurt yourself,” I scold. “You always need someone to watch you when you do things like that.”
“Okay,” he replies. I bring him to my chest, looking around seeing all of my family have come to the park. I hear car doors shut and see my grandparents walking into the park. The whole family has come to show their support, and I just can’t help the tears that come.
“Oh, my,” my grandmother says from behind me. “He looks just like Dylan did.”
“He does,” Caroline says. “He really does.”
“We need to take him to the hospital,” Julia says from beside me. “They want to just make sure he is okay and have it documented that nothing is wrong with him.” She gets down next to me in front of Maddox. “We need to take you to the doctor,” she tells him. “And then we are going to have a little talk.”
“Okay,” Maddox says, and he jumps off the bench, turning to hand the water bottle back to Dylan. He looks at Dylan then. “Are you going to come with me?”
“I’m not leaving you, buddy,” he says to him, getting up and standing beside him. Dylan puts his hand on his shoulder.
Maddox looks at me now. “Are you coming, too?” he asks me, and I just nod my head at him. He just looks at Julia, who smiles at us. I start to walk, following her, when I feel Maddox slip his hand in mine.
Chapter 34
Dylan
“Just wait here,” the nurse says to us when we walk in the hospital. She looks down at Maddox. “They can come and see you when the doctor is done.” He looks over his shoulder as he follows her toward the brown doors that close as soon as he walks into them.
“I’m going to go start filling out the forms and complete the report,” Julia says, walking away from us.
I feel Alex slide her hand into mine and turn to bring her to me. The past hour has been the most excruciating of my life. “I can’t believe you found him.” She wraps her arms around my waist, and all I can do is wrap my arms around her neck and kiss the top of her head.
“I was so fucking scared.” I admit the words that I didn’t even tell my father as we drove in the car. “I was so scared we would find him hurt or even worse.”
“How did you find him?” She lets go of me and looks into my eyes, and one of my hands comes up and touches her face.
“The only thing I could think of was the park. So, we called Julia and asked for the address and then drove from park to park.” I won’t tell her how I jumped out of the car and scared about fifteen to twenty kids by yelling his name. I also will wait for later to tell her that I almost ended up in handcuffs. I look back at the door, waiting for the nurse to come out. “I’m not leaving him.”
“I know,” she says softly, putting her hands on my hips. “I said the same thing.”
“Okay,” Julia says, coming back to us now. “The report is filed with the police. I’ve spoken to my boss, and she pulled a couple of strings to get a judge to sign off on you getting temporary emergency custody of him.”
