Chapter 32
THIRTY-TWO
AARON
Aaron hated that Mel had come home early to find him and Lars in bed together. He hated it more that they were now fighting upstairs.
“I wanna see Mommy,” Chloe cried as he held her on his lap, trying to get her to eat some fruit.
Allie kept looking toward the stairs too.
Bri stayed quiet, eating beside her. It was just after seven, and he needed to get them ready for school, but he wasn’t about to take them back upstairs to get dressed.
“I know, girls,” he said in a soft tone. “But they need to talk first. As soon as they’re done, they’ll come down. She’s so excited to see you all too.”
“They’re fighting,” Allie whispered with clear concern in her big green eyes.
The arguing grew louder, and Aaron shook his head. They were yelling about London now; he caught a few words here and there. That was enough. These girls didn’t need to hear this. Forgoing breakfast, he stood and brought them to the living room. He quickly turned the TV on with the volume up.
He sat with them, holding Maddie on his lap. His gaze kept trailing to the stairs though. He couldn’t hear them anymore, but he knew they were still fighting.
It broke his heart for the whole family. He’d been friends with both of them for so long; he hated seeing them upset. And this… this was an intense, horrible situation. No matter the outcome, someone would get hurt.
One way or another, these girls were going to get caught in the crossfire. Aaron couldn’t bear the thought.
“Unc Aaron,” Chloe said, unable to focus on the cartoon, “I wanna see Mommy.”
Guilt flooded him with the repeated words. If Mel hadn’t walked in on him in bed with Lars, she would’ve seen the girls before jumping into the fight. Chloe had cried about wanting to see her three times now, and it was killing him.
Setting Maddie on the floor near her blocks, he pulled Chloe into his arms. “I know. She’ll be down soon.”
Allie, who’d been sitting with Bri in the recliner, left her chair and climbed up next to him. “Are they going to get divrossed?”
In other circumstances, he might have laughed at her mispronunciation. But right now, he couldn’t muster more than a sad smile. “Where did you hear that word?”
“Ben at school said his mom and dad did it…”
Taking a deep breath, he took one of her small hands in his. But before he could even think of something to say, Chloe asked, “What’s divrosseded?”
“It means they get unmarried,” Allie said. “And then, one moves away forever and the kids don’t see them anymore.”
“What?” Chloe cried, looking at him in alarm.
Aaron shook his head.
She buried her face against his shoulder and started sobbing. “I don’t want them to move away.”
“No, shhh.” He shifted her up a little higher. “Listen to me.” Pressing a kiss to her head, he looked at Allie, who was now crying too. “Your parents love you so, so much. Okay? Neither of them are going to leave you forever.”
He had no idea what was going to happen, but he didn’t doubt that for a single second.
“Are you gonna leave too?” Chloe asked in a voice that wrecked the remaining composure he was clinging to.
He shifted Chloe to sit across his lap, then he wrapped an arm around Allie. “I will never leave you girls. You hear me?”
Both nodded but stayed quiet. He glanced at Bri, who was watching them quietly.
She gave him a small smile, and he realized she needed to hear this too.
More than that, she understood what it was like to have separated parents.
But in these girls’ case, neither one of their parents would abandon them.
That was a pain only shared by the Barnes siblings.
“I love you guys so much,” he said in a soft voice as he combed his fingers through Allison’s hair.
Chloe might be attached to him the most these days, but Allie was his first little buddy.
“I was there when each of you were born. I was one of the first people to hold each of you.” He sniffed, fighting back his own tears.
“You four girls are the most important people in my life,” he said, making sure to include his sister.
“And I… No matter what happens with your mom and dad, I’ll still be here too. ”
“Always?” Allie asked, looking up at him with watery eyes.
Kissing her forehead, he whispered, “Always. I promise.”