Chapter 24 Logan #2
“Logan, I didn’t decide it, I wanted to talk about it together so that we could make a decision together. And you agreed to let me take the lead when it came to developmental concerns, which this very much is. I’m not going behind your back, so what’s the real issue here?”
The way she was looking at me, like I was the one out of line, was the final push. I broke.
“You’re ambushing me with this out of nowhere!”
She let out a shocked bark of a laugh while watching me with wide eyes.
“Oh my God, why are you acting like I enrolled him in a cult or something? I didn’t register him without your permission.
I would never!” She threw herself back against the bench with a loud sigh.
“I don’t get what’s happening right now.
I thought you’d be happy that I did the background checks prior to presenting it to you. Like, who even are you?”
I turned to face her. “I’m someone who loves his son and resents attempts to force us apart.”
Her expression shifted from shock to disbelief, and her mouth dropped open. I set my shoulders, prepared for the fight to come, because I’d been here before.
A distant scream cut through the tension between us. A familiar scream. My stomach dropped. No, it couldn’t be.
We both swiveled our heads to see what had happened to whom, but a crowd had gathered, blocking our view.
“Was that…” I began as I tried to peer through the people crowding around the playground equipment.
The group parted for a second, and I spotted a familiar form on the ground.
“Noah,” Nina breathed.
She sprinted away from me and forced her way into the group. I was just a beat behind her and quickly caught up.
My heart stopped when I spotted my son’s tearful red face. He was clutching his arm and crying while a stranger tried to comfort him.
“Daddy,” he hiccuped when he saw me. “I-I-I fell off the climbing wall.”
I pushed past all the other people and dropped to my knees, reaching out to him to try to assess the injury.
“Did anyone see what happened?” I asked, looking around at the worried faces.
“He was up there and his hand slipped,” the little girl he’d been dancing with replied. “He fell down.”
“It hurts, Daddy,” Noah called out. He shut his eyes tightly and rocked back and forth, crying while cradling his arm.
A woman pushed forward. “He wasn’t that high up, but he landed hard. I’d say that at a minimum, he’s sprained something. But it might be a break.”
I gentled his hand away from his arm and found a mass of bloody scratches from his wrist to his shoulder, with swelling near his elbow.
Nina crouched beside me to examine his arm. “This isn’t good,” she muttered under her breath. “It’s swelling so fast I can almost see it getting bigger. We need to go to the hospital so they can take X-rays.”
I nodded. It didn’t matter how upset I was with her; in this moment, we were forced to be teammates to take care of Noah.
“Noey, I’m going to pick you up, okay?” I explained.
He nodded, but I braced myself for the cries that were bound to come as soon as I jostled him into my arms. As expected, he let out a heartbreaking yelp as I gathered him up. A few people in the crowd reached out to pat my back as we walked by with Noah clutched against my chest.
“We’ve got you, don’t worry,” Nina said as she walked alongside us, using her most soothing voice, probably as much for us as Noah. “You’re going to be okay, bud.”
“Nina,” he cried out, like he just remembered she was with us. “Hold my hand.”
She reached for his good hand and held on as we headed for the car, an awkward parade of pain and worry.
“I was so brave,” Noah said through his tears. “I wasn’t afraid to go high.”
“You are brave,” Nina agreed. “We’re so proud of you. And you’re going to be okay.”
“Promise?” He sniffled as he asked her.
“Always,” she answered.
“Where are we going?” Noah asked, sounding panicked as we approached where we’d parked.
I opened my mouth to answer, not sure if I should tell the truth about our destination, but before I could speak, Nina beat me to it.
“We’re going to have someone take some pictures of your arm, to make sure it’s okay. Don’t worry, it won’t hurt,” she reassured him.
“But…where do they take the pictures?” Noah asked. “Do we go to school, like school picture day?”
“We’re going to the hospital,” I answered. “It’s fine.”
“The hospital?” His voice trembled. “No, Daddy!”
I realized too late that I should’ve kept my mouth shut.
“It’s going to be so quick, buddy,” Nina said. “They’re not going to make you stay overnight, I guarantee it. Just a couple of quick pics, and we’ll see what they say.”
“Will you stay with me, Nina?”
He was looking to her for comfort. I understood it—her maternal vibes were strong, but it still made my heart twist that his reflex was to turn to her, not his own father.
“Of course, sweetheart. We both will.”
I felt Nina shoot a glance at me.
We got to the car and Nina helped me open the door to maneuver Noah in without jostling him more.
“I’ll sit in back with him,” Nina said. She jogged around to the other side of the car to climb in.
Good. I wasn’t in the right frame of mind to have her beside me on the drive to the hospital. And it didn’t matter how angry I was with her; I knew Noah appreciated having her nearby.
But that didn’t mean I’d forgotten our argument. Not by a longshot. The tide was turning, and things were about to change.
Based on everything I’d been through in the past, they had to. I wasn’t about to risk my relationship with my son. And anyone who tried to get in the way of that had no place in my life.