Chapter 10
Hawke
I held the door open as a very tired looking Seth made his way up the walkway, a little boy in his arms. Tristan was right behind him holding a little girl’s hand and Memphis and Brennan brought up the rear.
“Hi,” Seth said quietly.
“Hey,” I said softly and I put my hand on his shoulder. “Living room,” I directed.
Tristan smiled at me as he went by and I didn’t miss how the little girl pressed closer to him as they passed me.
Memphis and Brennan each hugged me before entering the house.
I saw Zane getting out of his car across the street and sent him a wave.
I’d gotten the details of what had happened at the hospital when Memphis had called to see if they could bring the kids over to get some rest. Seth wasn’t ready to be by himself with them after the events of the day and Ronan had stayed behind at the hospital to be with the older girl.
Once I reached the living room, I saw that Tate had already gotten the kids some juice boxes and he’d put some snacks on the table. Both Seth and Tristan were sitting on the couch, the kids in their laps .
Tate and Matty were sitting in one of the oversized chairs.
We’d explained to Matty that the children that were coming over might be a little nervous so he was watching them with curiosity, but he stayed on Tate’s lap.
Brennan was sitting in the opposite chair and Memphis was sitting on the arm rest. I went and sat down next to Seth and kept my voice low when I said, “The girl?”
“She’s okay. The doctors sedated her after…” Seth’s voice dropped off as he glanced down at the little boy in his arms and I nodded in understanding. He didn’t want the child to know his sister had been attacked.
“Jamie, this is my friend Hawke,” Seth said as he turned Jamie so he could see me.
Jamie was sucking his thumb. His eyes met mine, but he didn’t say anything.
“And that,” – Seth pointed to Tate and Matty – “is Tate and that’s Matty.”
“Hi,” Matty said with a small wave. I saw Jamie’s eyes shift to Matty and interestingly enough, they stayed on him.
“Have they spoken at all?” I asked.
Seth shook his head. “Nicole was signing at the hospital, but she was doing it so fast and I’m still learning so I couldn’t tell what she was saying. She stopped after the incident.”
I glanced at the little girl who had her face pressed to Tristan’s chest. Whatever had happened had clearly traumatized both kids.
“Papa, be right back, okay?” Matty said as he hopped off Tate’s lap.
“Okay, buddy,” I said and watched as Bullet and Storm both got up to follow my son towards his room. I didn’t miss the fact that Jamie’s eyes followed Matty from the room before he turned his head back against Seth’s chest.
“What did Zane say?” I asked.
Seth seemed to understand what I was asking because he said, “He got approval from CPS for the kids to stay with us till they figure out what’s going on.
Gene, that’s the uncle, is being held on assault charges.
The wife, Alana, was questioned and released…
Declan and Zane can’t do much until Willow wakes up and makes a st atement.
Zane said he was going to file an emergency restraining order against both the aunt and the uncle. ”
I put my hand on Seth’s back in an attempt to soothe him because I could tell he was beyond stressed. “Do you want to try to put the kids down for a bit? We’ve got a guest room or you can put them in our room or Matty’s.”
“That’s probably a good idea,” Seth murmured, but before we could get up, Matty reappeared followed by both dogs.
He walked up to me and asked, “Papa, can I talk to him?” as he motioned to Jamie.
“Yeah, buddy, but he’s pretty scared, so he might not answer you, okay?”
Matty nodded. “Here,” Matty said as he held out his beloved Spider-man doll to the little boy.
Jamie didn’t respond in any way, but Matty wasn’t deterred and when he moved to sit between me and Seth, I shifted so he’d have room.
He plopped back against the couch cushion and began moving the doll’s arms. To Jamie he explained, “He fights the bad guys. See, he’s got these spider webs that shoot from his hands…
” Matty pointed to the doll’s wrists. “And he can climb up the sides of buildings and swing between them.”
Jamie was resting his cheek on Seth’s chest, but his eyes followed Matty’s fingers as he pointed out things about the doll.
“Here,” Matty said again as he handed the doll to the little boy.
Jamie didn’t respond at first, but then he carefully pulled his thumb from his mouth and reached for the doll.
Matty pitched forward so he was nearly face to face with Jamie.
“He’ll keep you safe,” he whispered. “And you can keep him forever if you want,” he added as Jamie clutched the doll against his body.
My chest swelled with pride and I glanced at Tate who had his hand over his mouth. I could see the emotion welling in his eyes as he watched our son.
“Are you sure you want to do that, buddy?” I said as I put my hand on Matty’s shoulder. “He’s your favorite, isn’t he?”
“Yeah, but I don’t need him anymore.”
“You don’t? ”
Matty shook his head and leaned against me as his gaze shifted to Tate. “We’re safe now, Papa. Daddy and me. So we don’t need him anymore. Right Daddy?”
Tate swallowed hard and nodded before he managed to say, “Right.”
Matty smiled brightly and then turned his attention back to Jamie. “Can he come play with me in my room?”
“Why don’t you ask him?” I suggested.
Matty straightened and again got close to Jamie. “Wanna come play in my room?”
I didn’t expect the little boy to actually respond, but he shocked all of us by nodding and then he put his hand out.
Matty took it without hesitation and then got off the couch.
Seth helped Jamie down and Matty began to lead him past Tristan, but Jamie tugged him to a stop and then handed the doll to Matty.
We all watched in stunned silence as he tapped his sister’s leg.
He waited until she finally turned her head to look at him.
His little fingers began flying in a rapid succession of movements that lasted only a few seconds.
Nicole sat up a little bit and then looked around.
Her eyes lifted to Tristan before they shifted to Matty.
She signed something back and then Jamie held out his hand.
She took it and climbed off Tristan’s lap.
Jamie reached for Matty’s hand with his free one and I watched my son lead his new friends to his bedroom, Bullet and Storm on their heels.
“Wow,” I heard Memphis say, but my eyes were on Seth because the second the kids were out of sight, his face fell and he covered his eyes with his hand. A harsh sob escaped his throat.
I put my arm around his shoulders. “Seth…”
“Sorry,” he said in a choked voice and I could tell he was struggling to keep it together. But I suspected that after everything that had happened, that was the last thing he needed.
“Don’t be sorry,” I whispered to him and then I pulled him against my chest. He instantly let out an agonized cry and began sobbing.
I barely noticed when Memphis, Tristan and Brennan got up and left the room, presumably to give Seth some privacy.
Tate sat down on Seth’s other side and put his hand on Seth’s back in a gesture of comfort.
Several long minutes passed before Seth calmed down and when he finally straightened, Tate handed him some tissues.
“Thanks,” Seth murmured as he began wiping at his face.
“I saw that gun this morning and thought it was real and she was pointing it at Ronan…” he began, shaking his head.
“It all happened so fast and then she was on the ground and Ronan was doing CPR.”
Seth paused as he sucked in a deep breath. “At the hospital I thought Ronan was going to be arrested and then the aunt and uncle show up and said they were taking the kids…”
Fresh tears began to fall and Tate got some more tissues. “They’re safe now, Seth. Ronan too.”
“I thought I could give them up if I had to…”
“You won’t have to,” I interjected. “Those fuckers aren’t getting them back,” I insisted, even though it wasn’t something I was completely sure of.
Seth nodded and fell silent and I knew what he really needed was Ronan.
“Go call Ronan, Seth,” I urged. “You can use our bedroom for privacy.”
Seth looked at me and swiped at his eyes one last time. He began pulling out his phone when Matty appeared, Jamie and Nicole in tow. He stopped at Tate’s side.
“Daddy, Jamie and Nicole are hungry. Jamie likes peanut butter and jelly sandwiches but the red jelly, not the purple. Nicole wants bananas on her sandwich.”
All three of us were rendered momentarily speechless. Tate managed to recover first and he asked, “How do you know that’s what they want, buddy?”
“They said so.”
“They spoke to you?” Seth asked, trying to keep his voice calm and casual.
Matty nodded. “Nicole talks funny but Jamie said she said the word bananas. ”
Tate and I exchanged glances and then he was quickly getting up. “Okay, I’ll make them right now.”
As soon as Tate had moved out of the way, Seth moved over so he was closer to Matty. “Matty, can you do me a favor?”
Matty nodded.
“Can you ask Jamie and Nicole if they’ll talk to me?”
“He can hear you, silly,” Matty said as he shook his head. “But Nicole can’t so he can ask her for you, okay?”
Seth smiled and nodded and then directed his question to Jamie. “Jamie, do you think you and Nicole can talk to me?”
Jamie glanced at his sister and then leaned forward to whisper something in Matty’s ear.
“They can’t,” Matty announced. “They can’t talk to grown-ups. Willow said so.”
“Okay,” Seth said as he looked at Jamie again. “But how come you didn’t talk to the kids at the home?”
Matty obediently put his ear to Jamie’s mouth and nodded. “Because they were mean to Nicole,” he said solemnly. “Papa, they should get a talking to,” Matty added as he looked at me.
“Yeah, buddy, they should,” I agreed.
“Jamie, can you and Nicole tell Matty things and then maybe he can tell us?” Seth asked the little boy.
Jamie turned to Nicole and signed something. She nodded and then Jamie was whispering in Matty’s ear again.
“He says yes…but he’s hungry.”
Seth chuckled and then looked at me.
“Okay, let’s move this to the kitchen,” I suggested. Matty took Jamie’s hand and Jamie took Nicole’s and the little human chain filed past us and towards the kitchen.