9. Riley
Chapter 9
Riley
W hen I woke up, I panicked, not knowing where I was and where Nicholas was. But then everything from last night came flooding back. I jumped up and went in search of my son and found him in the pool with Declan watching him like a hawk. They were bantering back and forth, and Nicholas looked like he was having the time of his life splashing around in the pool.
That’s when I realized I could smell the delicious aroma of brewing coffee, and my body decided it needed at least one cup – if not an entire carafe. I turned and took a look at the kitchen and could see the level of destruction my little guy made through this once beautiful room. Little boys are destructive. There’s no way around that.
I poured myself a cup of coffee and sat on the patio with Declan as we made small chit chat, but there’s an elephant in the room and it’s demanding we talk about it. I’m just not sure I want to. Declan has been so nice taking us in, but the evidence in the kitchen tells me we will be wearing out our welcome sooner rather than later – so maybe I don’t need to address said elephant.
But then I look over at the man who took us in at a time when I didn’t know what we were going to do, who told me that he promised my twin brother years ago that he would take care of me if anything happened to him and then told me that he amended his promise yesterday to include my son. How could I not tell him what’s going on?
“Wanna tell me what’s going on? What we’re dealing with?” Declan turns to face me, but still keeps an eye on Nicholas.
That’s the moment I decide to let someone other than my parents into my life – if only for a short time. “It all started with a picture I posted on social media when I found out I was pregnant with him five years ago.”
“What do you mean?” He sits back and takes a sip of his coffee.
“Well, just what I said. I posted a picture of my ultrasound on my social media pages – after telling my parents and Nick’s parents of course – showing my little bundle of joy. I got a lot of congratulations posts and comments, but one of them stuck out to me.” I pull up the screenshot on my phone I had taken at the time and show it to Declan.
ra33401
I can’t wait to meet my son or daughter. #greatthingstocome
“I thought it was a mistake. You know? Someone accidentally commented on the wrong post. But when I went on all my other social media accounts, the same post from the same person was there. That’s no mistake.”
“No, it isn’t,” he says sternly. “What did you do next?”
“Of course, I unfriended this profile and blocked him everywhere. And that seemed to work for a while, but then when I posted pictures of Nicholas when he was first born, I got more messages, but from different profiles – all the same type of thing.”
“What is wrong with people?” he asks to the universe.
“I don’t know, but I blocked every person I didn’t personally know on all platforms and then locked down all my accounts so that if I didn’t reach out to you, you couldn’t reach out to me or see anything on my page.”
“Good.”
“Well, sort of. It really hurt my business. Being an event planner is all about word of mouth and accessibility, and by now, this guy knew what I did for a living, so he would start commenting on my professional pages. It sucked having to monitor the comments constantly. Almost every day, I was deleting one of his posts if not more.”
“Mommy, I’m thirsty.” Nicholas approaches the table.
“Here, buddy. Drink your water.” Declan hands him a bottle of water.
Nicholas uses two hands to drink and takes a big sip. “AAAHHHHH.” He smacks his lips when he’s done.
Both Declan and I laugh. “Grandpa taught him that.”
“Sounds like something your dad would teach him.” We watch Nicholas run back over to his trucks. “So, you’ve blocked the whole world out. How did you go from that to what happened last night?”
“Well, everything was online and relatively harmless – creepy – but harmless. Until about a year ago.”
“What happened then?”
“I was working at a wedding event, and it was finally over. It was a bridezilla-type of thing, but it paid really well, so I sucked it up and dealt with her. Anyway, it was finally over, and the bride was off to marital bliss and the caterers and event crew had everything cleaned up as if nothing had happened. I was going back to my car when I found a note on the windshield.”
“What did it say?” he asks hesitantly.
“Exactly what was on my parents’ door last night – He’s mine and I want him.”
“Is there anyone in your past that would do something like this?”
I shake my head, “No. No one. Every relationship I have ever had always ended amicably. And all my clients were always so happy with my work. I can’t think of anyone that would do something like this.”
Declan wipes his chin with one hand, “I hate to ask…”
“Go ahead. I’m sure you’re gonna ask me what the cops from here to Atlanta have already asked.”
“Is he really Nick’s son? Could he be someone else’s?”
“Only by some sort of miracle, Declan. Nick was the only one I was with in over a year. Nicholas is most definitely Nick’s son.”
He nods, “So, what did you do when you found the note?”
“I called the cops, but they did nothing. They said that there were no fingerprints on the note – and I had to beg them to at least try to dust for fingerprints. They looked at me like I was some kind of nutjob and said it was probably some prank from some kids.”
“Figures. Go on.”
“Finally, they told me that there was nothing they could do because the guy hadn’t broken any laws and since I ‘claimed’ I didn’t know who he was, that I couldn’t even file a protection order.”
“That’s total bullshit.”
“I know, but that’s what Atlanta police told me.” I finish off the rest of my coffee. “But after that, I hadn’t heard from this guy in a few months, and I mistakenly had a sense of relief figuring that he moved on.”
“But he didn’t.”
“But he didn’t.” I repeat. “One day, I got a call from Nicholas’ daycare asking me if it was okay if another family member picked Nicholas up from school.”
“What?!”
“Yep. This crazy person was trying to kidnap my kid.”
“Did you call the cops then?”
“You bet your ass I did. I dropped everything I was doing and raced over to the daycare. I told the director to not let Nicholas out of her sight, that whoever was there was not a family member, and that I’m calling the cops.” I take a deep breath to calm my nerves. Every time I think of that day and how scared I was that I might lose my little boy, my throat closes up and it becomes hard to breathe.
Declan takes my hand in his. “Shh. It’s okay. He’s okay.” He points over to where my son is lying on his back, his head propped up on Bella’s belly and he’s just chattering away to her and, like a good dog, she’s listening.
“By the time the cops showed up, the guy was long gone, and the video cameras only caught a glimpse of his profile in a baseball hat, glasses, and a dark, long coat. But at least they believed me that this was a real thing – even if they think it may be a domestic dispute – at least they knew it wasn’t all in my head.”
“I hate to defend them, but the cops deal more with domestic disputes than outright kidnappings. They were going with their own bias.”
I nod, “I know, but that didn’t make it any better.”
He only nods.
“After filing the report, I thanked the director of the daycare – she was white as a ghost because she’s never had something like this happen at her school before – and I took Nicholas home. He hadn’t, and still doesn’t, know a thing about that day.”
“His little mind doesn’t need to know how fucked up the real world really is.”
“No, not yet.”
“So, how’d you end up here? Back in Hibiscus Harbor.”
I take a deep breath because this part scares me the most. “When I took Nicholas home, I found a note stuck to the outside of my apartment door.” I pull up a picture on my phone of the note.
I WILL TAKE MY SON. YOU CAN’T STOP ME!
“FUCK!” Declan exclaims.
“Yep. I packed our bags right then and there and then booked it to an Airbnb in Tennessee for a week until I could figure out what my next move was – which was to come home.” I smirk, “My father threatened to come find us and drag us home if I didn’t come willingly. He was beside himself with worry. So, I quit my business, gave another event planner my pending jobs, and then Nicholas and I drove straight through the night to come back home.”
“When was that?”
“May. I’ve been home since May.” I watch a myriad of emotions cross over Declan’s handsome face. His square jaw is tight and moves back and forth like he wants to say something but is trying not to. “Go ahead. Say your piece. I’m sure I’ve heard it all before. I’m an idiot for not calling the police when I got that note. I’m an idiot for not moving home sooner. I’m an idiot for not making the police believe me. I’m an idiot for posting pictures online. I’m an idiot for friending people that I didn’t already know. You can’t say anything I haven’t already told myself.”
He turns to me, lets go of my hand and wraps his hands around my face. “This. Is. Not. Your. Fault. You should have called me as soon as you got back, though.”
My hands instantly caress his. “I couldn’t, Declan. We haven’t seen each other in five years and before that, five more years. Plus, I’ve already dragged my parents into this – I wasn’t dragging you as well. Not to mention, I have no idea what your life is like. Hell, you could have had a wife and ten kids by now.” Then the thought occurs to me. “You don’t have a wife, kids, or girlfriends – do you? Am I going to cause any problems being here?”
He smiles his bright white smile. “No. No girlfriends, wives, or kids.”
“Boyfriends?”
He laughs hard and kisses my forehead before letting me go. “No. None of those, either.”
“Well, now-a-days, you never know.”
“I’m straight as an arrow.” He winks at me, and it goes straight to my core – which has been asleep since Nicholas was born. What the hell is that all about?