Chapter 28 Evan
The first thing I did when I received a call from Flo telling me that she was taking Leo to Missarali City Hospital was leap in my car and break every speed limit from the stadium to the hospital, so much so that by the time the hospital called me, I was only a few minutes away.
Flo had said not to worry, but I could hear by the tone in her voice that she was seconds away from breaking, and was trying to keep it together for my sake.
Death scares me. Or more, the people around me that I care about dying scares me.
Receiving the news that my father had died in combat and I would never get to see him again was enough to ruin my childhood and scar me for life.
The thought of anyone else leaving without getting to say goodbye or tell them how much they mean to me haunts my brain, and it’s hitting me like a truck right now, even if this is just a simple, potentially fractured arm.
My hands are gripping the steering wheel far too hard when I pull into the hospital parking lot. I’ve lost all feeling in them, and my fingers are ghostly white.
The doors slide open with a hiss as I enter, and the bright, sterile shade of white hits me as I step into the entrance.
With a watering nose due to the intense scent of disinfectant, I march up to the main desk.
“Leonardo West,” I say, and the male nurse points me in the direction of where my son would be.
My shoes click against the polished flooring that reflects the searing overhead lighting, and I see my reflection in the spotless tiles.
Heavy scowl. Worried lips. Blazing eyes.
Reaching a break in the hallway with multiple different turns I could take, I grind my teeth. All the halls look the same, and nurses and doctors rush around, clinging to equipment, busy with their noses buried into clipboards.
It’s like something takes over me as I push my legs faster down one of the halls, and I can feel the thin thread holding me together snapping when I enter a waiting room and see Mae sitting there in a chair with her chin resting in her hands, face pale.
“Evan.” She immediately stands, points to a room, and I storm in to see Leo sitting on a bed, but no cast. His eyes immediately begin to water, and I clutch onto him as he blubbers, “Daddy, I fell.”
One of my hands smoothes gentle circles over his back as I reply, “I know, kiddo. You’re okay.”
“The father, I presume?” A male doctor asks me as he pulls back the curtain.
I nod.
“Leonardo’s fine. Just a bone contusion, or bone bruise, if you will.
It’s a little swollen and will need some ice, but a cast won’t be necessary.
Looks like he just took a little bit of an awkward tumble.
I’d suggest some gentle painkillers for a few days.
I’ll just need to recheck his vitals and have you sign some forms before we can send him home. ”
“Thank you.”
“Because we were concerned about a broken arm, we treated him immediately, and contacted both you and his mother about his condition. It’s a legal obligation.”
I freeze. My ears make this strange high-pitched ringing sound, and for a moment, the walls of the hospital room cave in. “You… what?”
The doctor flicks up and down on his iPad, reading the information.
“Miss Zara Scott—on our files as Leo’s mother.
We tried to speak to her, but once she heard what it was about, she said she was busy.
Didn’t sound too pleased to take our call.
” Confusion masks his face, along with worry, and I pull him aside so Leo can’t hear.
I thought Zara would have removed herself from all of Leo’s documents, so I guess this is just an oversight—something I’m going to have to do for her.
I’m not happy about her being updated on my son, especially because she’s probably laughing about how crappy of a father I am to have allowed my child to get himself hurt without me present.
“She’s not part of our lives. I’d appreciate it if we could take her off as one of Leo’s guardians. I have full custody.” I'm attempting to keep my voice polite, but my frustration is seeping through the cracks.
“Of course, we’d just need to see proof of this so we could edit our files."
Pinching my nose and sighing, I tell Leo I’ll be one second before rushing back to my car and grabbing the copy of Zara’s contract I keep there. When I return, I hand it to the doctor, and after giving it a once-over, he passes it off to a colleague.
I assess Leo’s injury myself. Like the doctor said, his arm is a little swollen and will be tender for a little while, but he’s a strong and brave boy, so I know this won’t stop him from running around and scaling everything he sets his sight on.
Brushing some of Leo’s hair out of his eyes, I kiss his face. “Where’s that smile I love so much? Come on, show me.”
Blinking his tears away, my son grins and sniffles, pulling Donkey closer to his side using his good arm as the doctor checks him over. “There he is.” Of course, everything Leo gets done, so does Donkey, including their temperature, heart rate, and blood pressure.
My arms envelop him, and I inhale deeply, a wave of relief washing over me that instantly eases the tension in my chest.
He’s okay.
He’s going to be okay.
He’s safe.
My kid is safe.
“You’ve been so brave. All of the crew from Whisker Wheelers would be so proud of you.”
Leo’s laughter rings out like a bell, but then he looks back down at his arm, and the tears start again.
I rock him in place gently, letting my eyes fall shut while I listen to the thudding of my son’s heart against my flesh.
It’s a little faster than I would like, and I wait until it’s lowered before I let him go and wrap the hospital blanket around his body to keep him nice and warm.
How would my son even react if Zara were to march down here and demand to see him? A part of me would want to stop her and tell her she's too late, that she has no right, but ultimately, I'd want it to be my son's decision. However, he's never asked for her. Never shown much of an interest.
A nurse returns and hands me back my contract, face flickering with pity.
It was Zara's responsibility to relinquish her custody of Leo everywhere, leaving no trace, and she didn't do it thoroughly.
I had no idea she was still listed as one of Leo's guardians on the hospital's records, but there's no point in being frustrated with the staff here, because even though the records they had were out of date, how were they to know that Zara wasn't around? They were doing their jobs.
Mae joins us now, a few dollars in hand, and she presses them into Leo’s palm, saying, “For you to buy anything you want from the vending machine for being so brave.”
Leo’s eyes glow, but his nose still runs as tears linger on his cheeks. “Thank you.”
Grabbing a tissue, I clear my son’s face and press another kiss to the top of his head, breathing in his clean scent.
Thank God he’s no longer crying. The sight was like a stab to the heart.
“Mae, where’s Flo?”
Mae’s face drops. “She needed a moment, but just so you know, she refused to leave Leo’s side the whole time on the way to the hospital, and during his assessment, but I think it… got a little much for her. She feels awful, Evan.”
Sure, if this were any other nanny, I’d probably deem them responsible, but I know Flo, and she helps me see things clearly.
This wouldn’t have been anyone’s fault—just a simple accident that happens to clumsy little children.
I mean, Leo asks me at least every few weeks when he’ll be old enough to climb Mount Everest, so something like this was bound to happen at some point.
In fact, I’m surprised it’s taken him this long to hurt himself to the point it warrants a hospital visit.
“Leo, why don’t you head to the vending machine down the hall with Auntie Mae and pick out something yummy?
Get as much as you want.” I’m already picking him up and placing him on the floor, making sure he’s steady on his feet.
“I’ll be right behind you with Flo, okay?
” I turn to Mae now, lowering my voice so my son can’t pick up on the worry in it. “Where is she?”
“Evan, I think she just needs to be by herself—”
“I’d rather die than let Flo wallow in self-hatred for something that was out of her control for even another second. I won’t allow it, so where is she, Mae? Please.”
Her face softens as she understands my logic. She takes Leo’s hand and points down a long corridor. "There's a bathroom down there.” Mae beams at Leo now, pulling out even more cash from her purse. “Come on, I want to see how much candy you can get for twenty bucks!”
“Daddy, hurry up with Flo,” Leo calls back to me, which makes me smile. Even when he’s the one hurt, he’s worried about her.
I’m standing outside the bathroom door before I know it, having raced down here. My fist knocks on it, making myself known, before I push it open. Only one stall is locked, and once I hear a sniffle, I know Flo’s in there.
“Florence.”
“I’m not going to respond to that.”
“You just did.”
No answer.
“Flo.”
“I’m sorry, Evan.” Her voice is wobbly.
“Can you please open the door for me, trouble? I don’t like talking to you through a wall.”
After a heartbeat of hesitation, the stall door is pulled back, revealing Flo’s red-rimmed eyes and flushed face. It looks like she stopped crying a few minutes ago, but the after-effects are still there.
“Don’t be upset. Leo’s fine.” I’m reaching for her, but she steps away.
“Why aren’t you mad at me?”
A scoff lingers in my throat. “Now, why would I be mad, Flo? Because Leo tripped and fell while under your watch? He’s done that with me a thousand times; just today, he got unlucky and landed weirdly. It isn’t your fault.”
“I had a responsibility, and I—”
“Did what you were supposed to do. You took my son to the hospital and let me know as soon as the accident happened. I can’t fault you for the way you handled it.”
“He said he loved me, Evan.” She’s in my arms now, breathing in my scent, but my body feels frozen.
“I hated seeing him cry like that. He kept asking for you, and I felt helpless because I couldn’t provide the same level of comfort you can and calm him down.
I didn’t know what to say or do, but I just kept telling him that you’d be here soon, and I didn’t want him to see me cry, so I slipped out. ”
My hands smooth up and down her arms. “You were amazing with him, Flo. You always are, and even though the kid’s independent and pretends he doesn’t need anyone, he’s a Daddy’s boy at heart.
It comes alongside not growing up with a woman in his life.
Don’t take it as if you're doing something wrong. He’s just still learning to navigate himself around someone who isn’t his dad.
” I tuck a strand of her hair behind her ear.
“And if he told you that he loved you, I’d say he’s learning pretty quickly. ”
I didn’t want my son to fall for Flo, but how could he not?
It’s one of the reasons why I never kept nannies around for long, because I didn’t want feelings to creep in through the cracks.
I should have swallowed my desire and fired Flo for the sake of my son, but I wanted her around.
Enjoyed having her here. She’s good for both of us. And now my boy loves her.
“I know, I’m sorry.” Flo takes a breath, but then nods down to the contract I’m holding with perplexity. Her expression is silently asking for permission to take a look, and with a stiff hand, I give it to her. I can’t say no to this woman.
Zara’s full name isn’t actually on the contract anyway, so I won’t be in breach. She was too worried that it would be intercepted.
Flo’s gaze falters as she reads over some of the words.
“The mother requests that her identity shall remain confidential and shall not be disclosed. The mother agrees she intends to have no relationship with the child, effective from the date of issue. The mother waives any right to visitation and involvement with the child.” She pauses. “Evan, what the fuck?”
“The doctors needed the contract to take her off Leo’s records. They called her.”
Her mouth pops. “So she knows about his accident?”
I nod.
“And?”
“Nothing.” While I’m pissed, it wasn’t their fault. They followed the rules.
Flo is even tearier, and she hands the contract back to me and curses with a disgusted scoff.
“That’s so… “ It seems she has no words, which was the same reaction I got when my mother and sister read it. “I probably look crazy right now, crying like this.” Flo has mascara smudged under her eyes, and she runs a hand down her cheek and jaw in what appears to be embarrassment, which isn’t something I see often with her.
I wipe her under eyes, and glide my wet, darkened fingers under my own eyes, triggering a confused expression from her.
“What are you doing?”
My shoulders roll in a shrug. “If you cry, I’ll cry with you, Flo.”
She blinks, bottom lip wobbling with disbelief, before she gives a sad laugh and swipes the darkness away from my skin. “How about we both just don't cry?”
“Sure, I like that option better.” I take her hand. “Leo wants us to meet him by the vending machine, by the way. Asked for you specifically.”
Flo’s blues dazzle, and she straightens her shoulders, allowing herself one last sniff. She wets her hands under the faucet and rubs at her skin to eliminate her panda eyes. “Well, then, why are we standing around in a bathroom that smells like shit? Let’s go and get that kid some candy.”
“That’s more like it.”