They standin front of each other, neither of them saying a word for a moment, before Kruger tags him around the back of his head and yanks him in for a hug. I see his lips move as he murmurs something, but I can’t hear what it is from here.
Greer watches on from beside her car, her expression mostly blank, but I can see the slight tremor in her hands. I want to hate her for this. I want to squeeze her neck and choke her out completely, but she doesn’t want this any more than I do.
Kruger pulls back, his forehead pressing against Theo’s for a moment, before he squeezes his shoulder and walks back to me. He stands at my side, his whole body vibrating with hostility.
I’ve already said my goodbyes, managing to keep my emotions at bay on the outside, even if it felt like I was being torn apart on the inside. Theo heads to the car. I take a step toward him without thought, the urge to drag him back eating away at my logic. As if sensing me, he stops and turns, his eyes locking on mine. Then, before I can blink, he’s sprinting toward me.
He hits me hard enough to knock us both over. Kruger must have read his intent because he moved up behind me at the lastminute, supporting us as I wrap my arms around the boy who may be on the cusp of manhood but is still just a child in all the ways that matter. I hold him tightly and this time I let my tears flow. I’m not ashamed to show him how I feel, and I don’t ever want him to feel shamed for showing his feelings either.
I pull back when I see Greer approach. If she pulls him away from me, I’ll claw her pretty eyes out. I cup his jaw and tilt his head so he’s looking right at me. “Remember everything I told you? No matter what, Theo, I will always love you and you will always be mine.”
“Ours,” Kruger growls. Theo nods.
“Ours,” I echo as Theo pulls himself together.
He stands tall and pulls his shoulders back before turning to face Greer. “I’m ready.”
Kruger’s grip on me tightens as we watch Theo walk to the car with Greer, pick up his discarded backpack, and climb in. The door closes, and he straps himself in before holding his hand to the glass. I hold mine up and keep it there as the car pulls away. The second it disappears from view, my legs buckle. If it weren’t for Kruger, I’d have ended up on my ass.
He scoops me up and carries me inside, kicking the door closed behind him before he heads to the sofa and sits down on it with me in his lap. “I’ve got you, Delphi. Let it all out.”
A sob rips out of my chest, tearing free with such force I’m surprised there’s no blood. I collapse against him and let everything I’ve been trying so desperately to hold back pour out. Eventually, I must cry myself to sleep. I wake up when I feel a hand take mine. It takes me a second to realize the hand isn’t Kruger’s, and I’m no longer in his arms but our bed.
I open my eyes and see Legs lying in front of me, her eyes fixed on mine.
“They took Theo,” I whisper.
“I know. I’m so sorry, Delphi.”
“I don’t know what’s worse, never getting to hold your child, or holding them tight and having them torn away.”
A tear slips down her cheek as her grip on my hand tightens.
“I’m so tired of saying goodbye.”
“I know you are Delphi, but this isn’t the same. Neither heaven nor hell could keep that boy away from you. He’s not a baby. He isn’t tied to his mother’s apron strings. He has his own thoughts, desires, and free will. Hell, you’ll probably see him more now than you did when he lived with you.”
I swallow, but I don’t refute her words. Something tells me it won’t be quite that simple, but she’s right. Things are different now. Before I was fighting a losing battle, this time I’ll bring a fucking war if that’s what it takes.
“This might not be what you want to hear right now, but maybe his mom getting help is a good thing. Maybe now that she’s free from the monster she married, she’ll reclaim the life she should have had before he destroyed it. Doesn’t Theo deserve that? To have a mom who clawed her way back from hell for him?”
I nod, unable to speak without spitting out poison. The truth is, Theo does deserve that. I don’t think Diane deserves a second chance, but Theo deserves a million. I swallow the poison down and let it twist me a little more.
“And just because he has her doesn’t mean he can’t have you too. What you did for him? There is no forgetting that, take it from someone who knows. You have the kindest heart of anyone I’ve ever met. And for a boy who has only ever known cruelty, he will never forget the first time he felt truly and wholly loved by someone.”
By the time she’s finished, we’re both crying. It’s not loud and dramatic. It’s quiet and mournful. Perhaps if I look deeply enough, I’ll see the slivers of hope twisting themselves throughthe pain and worry, reshaping things in hopes they might have the chance to flower and bloom.
Theo has the right to know, to feel, to see how things turn out with Diane. Maybe she’ll beat the odds and become everything he needs her to be. If she does, I’ll grin and bear it because as long as he’s happy, I’m happy. But if the vine unravels and the hope slips away, Theo will know once and for all that he did everything he could. That it was never about him, or even Josh, it was always about Diane and the choices she made.
I must drift off again. This time when I wake up, it’s because my hair is being yanked out of my head.
“You leave your Aunt Delphi bald and she won’t be happy.”
I blink at the sound of Midas’s voice and wonder what kind of nightmare this is. When I hear him snort, I realize I must have said that out loud.
I open my eyes. The man himself is sitting in the chair next to my vanity, watching me. I look down when my hair is yanked again and see Hero looking up at me with his toothless grin.
“I’m sorry, little man. Was I ignoring you?” I press my lips to his forehead and breathe in all his delicious baby goodness. Best smell in the world, I swear.
