Only One Forever, page 22
Dylan gets up from the bed and comes over to me, putting his hands on my face. “I promise you, it’s going to be okay.”
“You haven’t been here in two weeks,” I say of the longest road trip that he’s been on, and normally, I would have joined him, but having Maddox changed all that. “He’s been really quiet.”
Ever since we brought him home that day seven months ago, it’s been a learning curve for all of us. It wasn’t all roses and butterflies; he was still that shy boy, but he was opening up more and more. When I went to wake him one morning and found him trying to hide the soiled clothes that he had an accident in, it broke me in two. He had to learn to trust, and every day was a test for him. The first time he had a fever, he fought it all day long, not complaining, and only when I went to kiss him on the head did I feel he was warm. I guess in his mind, the less of a burden he was, the more I wanted to keep him.
School was going amazing for him. He was excelling and his grades were through the roof, but making friends was very hard for him. Especially when he thought every day with us would be his last. I have to say Dylan handled it a lot better than I did. He would speak with him one-on-one when I would just want to smother him with love and hugs. It was very hard on the family, when all they wanted to do was shower him with all the love that they could but knew that it had to be earned, so they would do what they could for him to know they were there. He has a very special bond with my grandfather, which is why they have been spending so much time here in Dallas. Another bond that he has is with my father, who is here when Dylan isn’t. I know it’s all going to be worth it in the end when he can finally be the carefree boy we all want him to be.
“You are overthinking this.” He kisses my lips. “Just trust me.”
“Yeah, yeah,” I say to him, shaking my head. “I’m just.” I blink away the tears. “I don’t want to lose him.”
“I’m done,” Maddox says, coming into the bedroom, and I turn my head to wipe away the tear that just escaped. “I finished all my math, and I did my reading.”
“Good,” Dylan says to him, and when I turn back around, I see Maddox staring at me. His eyes are like hawks as he takes me in.
“Are you ready?” I ask him.
“Why are you crying?” he asks me, and I am so mad at myself.
“I’m just happy Dylan is home,” I reply, smiling up at Dylan as he wraps his arm around my neck and kisses the side of my face.
“Now are you ready to go and see some animals?” I ask him, walking to him and running my hands through his hair. He smiles up at me and nods his head. “Good, and tomorrow we have family lunch.”
Grabbing my purse before we leave, I look over at Dylan, who is talking to Maddox. My stomach is burning with nerves. I don’t even pay attention to whatever they are talking about. Instead, I look out the window and replay Julia’s conversation with me two weeks ago.
“We found her,” Julia said as soon as I picked up the phone. I stopped stirring the pasta and looked over to see Maddox sitting at the counter doing his homework.
“What do you mean you found her?” I whispered into the phone, looking over my shoulder, hoping he wasn’t paying attention to me.
“Maddox’s mother,” she said, and everything in me turned cold.
“Hey.” I smiled at Maddox, ignoring the way my heart was beating. “You can go have iPad time for a bit.”
He didn’t even question it, just pushed away from the table and went into the living room. My eyes stayed on him the whole time. “What happened?” I asked as quietly as I could, the burning coming to my eyes. “Is she okay?”
“Oh, she’s fine,” Julia said, and I could tell from her tone that she was pissed. “She was in a homeless shelter in Mississippi. Had the attitude of a...” She stopped herself before she said something she shouldn’t. “Bottom line, she doesn’t want him. Wants to take herself off his birth certificate, so he doesn’t come looking for her money,” she hissed out. “Her money while she is in a homeless shelter.”
“Oh my God,” I said, looking over at Maddox.
“With that said, we have a court date for you to officially adopt him,” she explained.
It’s why the past two weeks have been a whirlwind. We had people coming into the house to do inspections, and a couple of therapists and social workers came in and spoke with Maddox. My nerves were a mess, and it just made it even worse when he became quiet.
“We’re here,” Dylan says as he pulls up to the aquarium, and I look over at Maddox, who avoids making eye contact with me.
When we walk in, a guide is there waiting to take us around. Dylan was able to get us in privately after they closed. Ever since he skated on the ice, he’s become their city hotshot. Going out with him is almost unbearable, but the team is doing better than they ever have, and I couldn’t be happier for him.
We walk with Maddox in the middle of us, looking up at the sharks that are swimming overhead. “So, Maddox.” Dylan starts to talk, and I can see that he’s nervous now. “We have to talk to you about something.”
“I know,” Maddox says. His voice goes low as he stands there looking at us. “I kind of figured it out.” Dylan and I just look at each other. “I’m going to go live at another house, aren’t I?”
“What?” Dylan says, and all I can do is shake my head side to side, the big tears forming in my eyes, not making it easy to see him.
“No!” I shout. “Of course not. Why would you think that?”
He shrugs and wipes away a tear with the back of his hand as he tries to be strong in front of us. “They came to talk to me the other day when I was at school,” he says. “Wanted to know if I was happy.”
“Well, the reason they did that,” Dylan explains now. “Was because they wanted to know if you wanted to stay with us.” He just looks at Dylan confused. “Like forever.”
“So I wouldn’t have to leave?” he asks both of us. “And I can stay with you guys?”
“Yes,” I confirm. “But only if that is what you want,” I say, not even bothering to wipe away my tears. “We want to keep you forever. We want to adopt you.” I stop talking because the lump in my throat is a boulder, and I can’t get another word out.
“We want to make you ours forever so no one can take you away from us,” Dylan says, his hand sliding into mine. “The three of us will be a family.”
“If I say yes,” he says, “does that mean she can’t come back for me?”
I can’t help it. I turn my face and bury it in Dylan’s shoulder. “It’s okay,” Dylan says to me softly and then I feel his small arms wrap around my waist.
I stop crying, shocked that he’s come to me. He’s given me a couple of hugs, but it’s always a side hug and never full on. I look down at him and see him looking up at me. “I don’t want to go with her,” he tells me as I turn and hug him to me.
“You don’t ever have to go with her,” I say, vowing to never repeat what she told Julia. “I love you.” I say that every single time he gets out of the car or he comes home from school or when I tuck him in at night. He has never said it back, and I know it’s because he doesn’t know what love is.
“I love you, too,” he says and then looks at Dylan. “And you, too.” Dylan looks like he just won the fucking Stanley Cup. His face breaks into the biggest smile as he takes us both in his arms. “Do I have to tell Julia that I want to stay with you guys forever?”
“No,” I tell him. “What will happen is we have to go to the court, and the judge will ask you if you want to live with us,” I explain to him a little bit. “And then once he says okay, then you are ours forever.”
The smile fills his face so much that his blue eyes become hazel. My hand comes up to cup his face. “So that makes you guys my parents.”
“It means that we get to take care of you every single day. It means that when you are sick, we make sure you get better. It means that when you have a problem, we help you solve it. It means that.” I swallow now. “We get to love you forever, and we get to watch you become the best person we both know.” I cup his cheek.
“Do I have to call you mom?” he asks, and I shake my head.
“You can call me whatever you want to call me. You can call me Alex just like you call me now.”
“You do more than my mom did,” he says now. “She never made sure I was washed. She never made sure I ate my veggies. She never made sure I did my homework.”
“Everyone loves in a different way,” I say.
“You never told me you didn’t want me.” He steps away from me. “You never told me I was a loser.” He rubs his cheek with the back of his hand. “You never told me you hated me. Not once.” My heart breaks for this little boy who did nothing to deserve what she said to him. “You never told me you wish I would just die.”
“Hey,” Dylan snaps. “What she said to you doesn’t mean anything,” he tells him. “My father called me words that I can’t repeat, but you know what I did? I made sure that I was never that person.” He puts his hands on Maddox’s shoulder. “I’m going to be the one who helps you do that. I’m going to make sure that you never become what she said you were. I’m going to be by your side when you become greatness.”
“Okay,” Maddox says. “Can we go to the judge now?”
Dylan and I just laugh now. “No, we have to go in two days,” I say, and then we turn to walk out of the shark tank. “Do you know that we had our first date here?” I state, and he just listens to our story.
Two days later, with the courtroom packed full of our family and some of our friends, we officially become a family of three.
Epilogue One
Dylan
Three Months Later
I try to catch my breath as I look up at the Jumbotron and see that there is one minute left in the game. One minute and the score is one nothing for us in game six of the Stanley final. We have one minute to hold the lead before we win the fucking Stanley Cup. The building is electric, and the fans are on their feet, and I have to zone it all out. I have to focus on one thing and one thing only, the game at hand.
My eyes go back to the play in our zone as the guys take their place for the face-off. I watch Vegas win the face-off and start their play in the zone. Ralph tries to poke check it out of the zone but misses as the puck goes back to Vegas, who then passes it to the defenseman as they set up the play. Every single second feels like an hour, and with every single pass, you literally hold your breath. Their goal is empty as the extra attackers on the ice make it even more nail-biting.
“Grant!” The coach yells Cooper’s name for his line, and Michael and I get ready to get on the ice. The whistles blow when our goalie covers the puck, and Vegas calls a time-out. I look up at the time and see that we are twenty seconds away.
“We can do this!” the coach shouts. “We got this, but can someone put the fucking puck in that empty net?” He’s trying to keep his cool, but even he’s starting to look on edge. I smirk and get on the ice, skating over to the play beside the goalie.
“It’s just another game,” Cooper says to us. “Just another game.”
“I think I’m going to throw up,” Michael says. He starts to look around, and I block his face with my hand.
“Don’t do it,” I warn. “Don’t look up at the box. Just focus on the game. Twenty seconds and then we get to go on a family vacation.”
“Oh, I forgot about that great news, fifteen hours on a plane with you guys,” Michael gripes. “Who chose Bora Bora?” he asks, and I can see the nerves are gone from his eyes.
The referee comes back over with the puck in his hand. Cooper holds the stick in both hands as he leans down, getting ready for the face-off. The banging of the crowd starts the minute the puck is dropped. Cooper wins the face-off, and the puck goes to Miller as he passes it to Ben, who passes it to Cooper, and I hustle away from the defenseman. Cooper looks like he’s going to pass it to Michael, but then he slides it to me. The defenseman tries to block the puck with his stick but just sends it to me. I can feel him behind me, and I just shoot the puck down the ice, and it feels like everything happens in slow motion. I can hear the crowd going wild. I can hear every single beat of my heart. I can hear my breathing as if it’s in stereo.
My eyes watch the puck as Michael skates past me, and then it happens. It slides into the net, and I leave my feet. The roaring of the crowd is almost deafening, and I take my mouth guard out and throw it in the air once the red light behind the net goes off. The horns blow as I turn and jump with Michael. Cooper comes over, and the three of us are all yelling. “Holy fucking shit!”
Two more of the guys jump on us, and only when they let me go do I look up at the box and see my family.
Alex is standing there clapping her hands, and beside her is Maddox, who is wearing an Oilers jersey with my name on it. He throws his hands up to the sky, and it fills my soul. I skate to the bench, high-fiving everyone, and look up to see that five seconds are left in the game. Vegas stands in the middle of the ice, waiting to get it over with.
We skate to the middle of the ice, and the puck drops, but nobody does anything, and when the horn blasts, the gloves and sticks go flying. We skate toward the goalie, and everyone jumps on him. The fans hit the windows, and slowly, everyone starts to skate to the center ice. I look up to see Maddox standing in front of Alex who has her hands around him, my father beside them with his arm around Alex and his other hand on Maddox. The handshake goes quickly. No doubt Vegas just wants to get the fuck off the ice. It is one thing to lose but losing in the home arena is hell.
I skate to the bench where they are handing out the baseball caps with the champions all over the front. I spot Nico, who is hugging the coach, and he comes over to me. “Told you I would try,” he says, slapping my shoulder. “Thank you.”
“I didn’t do it alone,” I remind him, and he nods his head as he walks to Cooper and has a few words with him.
I take off my helmet as the Stanley Cup is being set up. I look out of the corner of my eye and see Michael being interviewed, and then he calls me over. Ever since they called Alex and me kissing cousins, I haven’t really granted interviews. Max was the only one who went on the record that day and said, “Looks like Dallas needs to do some research before they print stuff.”
Other than that, no one commented. Even though we were asked about it, it was off-limits, and finally, after the first month, they just stopped asking the question. But I was still pissed about the headline, and I made sure they knew.
“Hey,” the reporter says. “Congratulations.”
“Thank you,” I say, smiling at him and looking up to see that the interview is on the Jumbotron. I put the hat on my head. “It’s surreal,” I state, finally taking in the crowd and the moment.
“I have to ask you,” he starts, and I wait for it. “You finished last year, and you surprised everyone with the trade.” I nod my head. “I know it wasn’t easy, but it got you here, and you’re a Stanley Cup champion. Tell me how it feels.”
“It’s really crazy, to be honest. I never thought I’d play for anyone else, but things just happened, and I signed here. My only goal was to come into the season proving to everyone that Nico made a good choice on taking me.”
He laughs and looks over at Nico, who holds his hands over his head and claps. His smile is so big. “Besides that, what motivated you?”
I put my hands on my hips, feeling the tears come. “That’s a big question,” I admit, looking up at the box and raising my hand to wave at my family. I blink the tears away, but they fall anyway. “I didn’t have the easiest start to life. As anyone who does their research knows.” I make a jab at him. “It doesn’t matter where you come from. It matters what you do with what you have.” I look up at Alex, who has a hand to her mouth. “But most importantly, my family,” I say, my face filling with a smile. I look at Alex, and I put my hand in front of my mouth and blow her a kiss. No one knows this, but we are surprising everyone by getting married two days after we get to Bora Bora. The only person who knows is the one setting it up for us there. “My best friend and rock. She was the reason I chose Dallas.” I smile. “But the one person who motivated me the most has to be my son.” I point at Maddox, who jumps up and down and points at himself while he looks over at Max and my father. “The sky is the limit, kiddo.”
Epilogue Two
Alex
Five Years Later
“What is that I hear?” I ask, putting my head back down on the pillow. My eyes close, and my body finally relaxes into the bed. “Is that the sound of silence?”
“Hmm,” Dylan says and turns to his side to bring me closer to him.
“No.” I push away from him. “This is why we have Irish twins,” I say. “Every single time I get the all clear, you want to knock me up again.”
“You mean twice.” He laughs as he buries his face into my neck, kissing me. Six weeks ago, I gave birth to our baby girl, Maya. Twelve months before that, I gave birth to our son, Maverick. “I did it twice, actually,” he says. “Technically, I did it only once.”
“Well, there isn’t going to be a second or a third time,” I say, turning on my side and cuddling into him. “I love our babies, but I’m so tired.”
“Why don’t I take the next feeding?” he whispers, pushing the hair away from my face. “Tomorrow morning, I’ll wake up with the kids.”
“We have everyone coming over tomorrow,” I remind him and close my eyes with his arms around me.
I wake up when I hear our Maya squawking beside me. “Sorry, I just need your boob, and then I’ll take her.”
“What about the bottle in the fridge?” I ask sleepily, pulling down my nursing bra. Our daughter finds it as soon as I put it next to her mouth.
“She finished both,” Dylan replies, squatting down by the side of the bed. “She must be going through a growth spurt.” He leans forward and kisses her head. She kicks her feet, thinking he’s going to take her away from me. I turn over and switch her to the other boob, and my eyes slowly drift closed. When I wake up a couple of hours later, my breast is still out, leaking a puddle beside her.
