"What do I tell you about opening the door--" Her voice shuddered to a stop when she saw who was standing there.
She had no idea how she made the few steps that had her standing next to her son. He noticed two things at once. The protective hand she placed on her son's shoulder and the naked longing that was quickly and ruthlessly shielded almost immediately.
He also noticed in alarm that she was thin to the point of emaciation.
"How--" Firming her lips, she lifted her chin. "What are you doing here?"
"May I come in? It's freezing."
Stepping back, she scrupulously avoided touching him as he moved past her. The interior was even more dismal, he thought with a pang.
"Who are you?" David stood there like a soldier guarding the front, his stance almost militant.
Rodney felt his admiration for the boy growing.
"My name is Rodney Lancashire." He held out a hand which was ignored and was startled at the look of disgust and anger on the boy's face.
"You're the one. You made my mom cry."
"David!"
Rodney's eyes flew to her face before switching to look at her son.
"She made me cry too."
At her strangled cry, David swung his gaze towards her and then back to stare at Rodney in disbelief. "Men are not supposed to cry," he scoffed.
"They do when someone they care for very much hurts them," he responded solemnly.
"I--I need to sit." Turning away, Melanie made her shaky way into the tiny living room.
"David, you should--" That was as far as she got. Rodney was about to take the chair across from her when she bolted out of the room.
"What the hell--"
"You said a bad word." The boy frowned at him, moving aside when Rodney rushed out. "She's just puking."
He found her on her knees in front of the toilet, dry heaves wracking her painfully thin body.
"Is she ill? Are you ill?"
"She's pregnant and it's whipping her butt," David, who had followed, supplied helpfully.
"David." Lacking the strength to reprimand him, she sat on the floor and leaned on the wall.
"Is this true?" Hunkering down, he forced her to meet his eyes.
"Just go away," she whispered.
"Not a chance in hell," he told her grimly. Scooping her off the floor, he fired instructions at David. "Grab a jacket for her and get dressed."
"Where are you going?" David called out.
"I'm taking her to the clinic. Go put something on and grab her a jacket. Meet me outside."
"I don't--"
"Shut up." He could cheerfully strangle her. He bounded the steps and hurried towards the vehicle. Alarm and fear threatened to cripple him as he laid her carefully into the passenger side.
