Baby Daddies - Tara Brown Page 0,70
more acquaintances than siblings.
When the tears come, she wipes but doesn’t sniffle, trying to be stoic as they silently stream her face.
Overcome by her losing it, I walk to her and kneel, taking her in my arms and holding so tight I’m sure she’ll break. She’s too thin to squeeze like this, but she hugs back, gripping with all her might. Her gel nails dig into my back as she clings to me. I don’t know when we last hugged, but it feels needed.
I blink and droplets spring from my eyes. They burn because my poor tear ducts haven’t seen much action.
“Lawrence? Callie?” our mother’s voice interrupts. “Is he all right?” She hasn’t sounded normal since we left Vancouver. She’s tense and quiet. It’s creepy.
“He’s fine.” I wipe my face and stand up, towering over her. She’s never appeared small before but now she seems so vulnerable and little I don’t know how to take it.
Callie gets up as well, linking her arm in mine like she might need the support.
“I’ve spoken to the doctors, they’re going to transfer him to Vancouver as soon as he’s strong enough. There’s a facility that deals with this sort of thing.”
“A rehab center?” I ask, not sure Sean will be ready for that.
“A transitional center. They take patients who are this ill and nurse them back to full strength and then begin the slow journey to recovery. He wouldn’t have to change locations at all. And they’re known for their discretion.” She sneaks the important part in.
“Okay. Well, whatever he needs we’ll do. We’ll be there for him.”
“No, Lori. We won’t.” Her stare flickers to mine and when our eyes meet I am looking at a stranger. I’ve never seen this look in her eyes. It’s emotional and raw. “Apparently, we’re likely what caused him to turn to drugs. They call it a trigger and it’s almost a guarantee that we are his. None of us will be allowed to see him until he reaches out for us to come to him.”
“Are you serious?” I boil over too quickly. “We just got him back. We finally find him and you’re already trying to hide him away so no one knows our dirty little secret.” The words fly from my lips, coated in rage. “He’s a fucking person, Mom. He’s your kid. Jesus! How can you dismiss him so easily? If any of us are his trigger, it’s you. So cold and distant! My kid is still a fetus and I already love him or her more than you’ve ever loved us! I’m the only person in this family who has ever given a shit about Sean. Me and Grace.”
Her eyes widen. Callie gasps. My father’s voice booms into the room from the doorway, “Lawrence, you will not speak to your mother like that!”
We all spin to see him seething as he enters the room.
“You’re upset. We all are!” He stomps over to me. “But that doesn’t give you the right to disrespect your mother like that. We’re doing what we think is best for our child. You can assume whatever you’d like about us, but we’ve loved you kids and cared for you. Apologize, now!”
“Fuck this!” I push past him and storm into the hallway where my grandpa is standing.
I expect him to side with me but he shakes his head. “Turn around and apologize, kid. You’re outta line.”
“She wants him hidden away so no one knows—!”
“No, she doesn’t. We spoke to the doctors together. This program has the highest success rate for recovery. This is Sean’s best bet.” He walks to me and points a finger in my face. “You go back in there and apologize. You can disagree with a lot of things your mother has done, but not this. You don’t have kids, you have no idea what this is like.”
I flinch but refuse to hear his words and instead blow past him and storm for the elevators. I’m shaking with fury and justifying all my actions and words with ranting thoughts as the elevator doors close. I press the button for the main floor and when the doors open, I pull my phone out, calling Jenny. I need to hear her voice but she doesn’t answer. She’s probably sleeping again.
I feel awful to leave her there but I knew what this was going to be. And deep down, as much as I wanted to shield her from them, I wanted to hide their flaws from her.
Once I’m outside, I