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“Well, look who showed up.” I hear my sister Nancy’s voice as I climb out of Seb’s 4Runner.
“Hello, Nancy, John.” Her husband nods but doesn’t say anything on his way inside.
Her eyes wander up and down my body disapprovingly as she stalks towards me. “They’ve been worried sick about you.”
“Who?” She can’t mean my parents. They knew exactly where I was.
“Mom and Dad, who else? You and the brat have been gone a week, and they’ve had no idea where to.” She tries to look inside the SUV, sneering when she doesn’t see what she’s looking for. “Where is Dante, anyways?” She damn well knows my son’s name.
“Damien. And he’s with Sebastian. They’re making snowmen and deciding which tree to cut down for Christmas.” Sebastian even carved Damien a tiny little ax out of wood. They looked adorable when I left them.
“You know I had him first, right? Sebastian was hooked on me for years.” I fight the urge to roll my eyes. Sebastian is two years older than her, and yes, they could have met in town, but she’s been with John since they were sixteen.
“If that’s true, then you cheated on John?” I walk away at her stunned expression. Entering the house, I’m prepared.
Or I thought I was.
“Where the hell have you been?” My father bursts out as soon as the door opens. Which means he was watching from the window.
“With Sebastian Cole. You know that.” I don’t bother taking my shoes off; I don’t plan to stay long.
“For two days!” he shouts, getting closer to me, and when I see the anger in his eyes, a sliver of fear races through me. “You could have called to say you would be longer. Your poor mother has been busting her butt cooking for everyone without any help.” There it is.
My mother loathes cooking. Ordinarily, I’m the one to do it all. “I’m sorry I didn’t call. I honestly didn’t think you guys would care. I figured it best for Damien and me to be where we were comfortable and wouldn’t be an intrusion on anyone.”
“Always thinking about yourself. I can’t believe how selfish you are,” my mother snides, emerging from the kitchen and following me down the hallway. “You always were a disappointment to us. The ruined Ruin girl. I can’t believe you would whore around again! Are you just going to continue to collect children from different men like candy?” Her words hurt. Sting, like an arrow right through my heart. For years, I’ve put up with it because I didn’t think I had a choice, but I can see now that I do. Damien does.
“I’m sorry you guys feel I’m such a failure. I’m not. But we’re leaving. Damien and I are going to Washington to be with Chloe in January, and until we leave, we’ll be staying with Sebastian. I don’t know if or when I’ll see either of you again.” I turn to stare at her. “But I love you. Even though you both hate me, I still love you because you’re my parents. My family. I will always love you, and one day, I hope you can let go of your disappointment with me and forgive my so-called sins. Because, eventually, Damien is going to want to know you. I hope that can happen before it’s too late. Until then, I’m packing the rest of our things, and I’ll be on Bear Mountain with Seb until we fly out next month. Which means we won’t be here for Christmas. Tell the church and your friends whatever you want, but please remember that one day you might have to live with explaining any lies you spout about us.”
Mom’s eyes widen as she stares at me, obviously surprised that I’m standing up to her. With a haggard huff of breath, she turns and stomps away. My tears begin to fall almost immediately after, as I enter Damien’s room first. I pack away everything I’ve ever bought for him and the rest of his favorite toys, but I leave behind so much because I don’t want my parents to accuse me of stealing something they bought for him.
Going into my room next, I can already see that someone has rummaged through my things, and as I open my jewelry box, I notice the necklace my grandmother gave me when I was eight is missing. A family heirloom with no value other than sentimental. My grandfather was a miner and had a piece of coal made into a heart-shaped pendant on a simple silver chain. It was beautiful. And now it’s gone.
I’m in and out in under an hour, and I can hear Nancy in the living room saying terrible things about me, degrading me. “I’m leaving. Chloe will call with our new number and address once we’re settled.” Nobody even looks at me. Shaking my head, I tell them one last time, “I love you all. Goodbye.”
Holding my head high, I take our bags in both hands and shut the door quietly behind me. I cry the entire way up the mountain as I drive slowly. But I don’t see the fox in time.
* * *
Sebastian
Staring up at the big spruce tree, I admit, the kid’s got taste. “You sure you want this one?” I ask Damien again. I’m going to have to trim at least three feet off the top to get it in the living room.
“Yes,” he replies, mimicking my head tilt.” Mamma will wove it!” The way he’s opened up since they first arrived has been amazing. Ema is constantly in tears because she’s so proud of him. Hell, I am too. He may not share my blood, but the bonding we’ve been doing, he sure feels like mine.
“This one it is then.” Dropping my ax next to the trunk, I go back to where Damien is standing with Jack and pick him up. “You two stay right here. Where you’ll be safe.” Sitting Damien on a log about twenty feet away, Jack sits before him, already knowing the drill.
As I begin chopping at the trunk, I can hear the boy talking to the animal, most of it is unintelligible from this distance, but it’s a sound I could get used to hearing more often.
On the third night under my roof, Ema confessed to me that she thought there was something wrong with Damien because he wasn’t like other kids. I didn’t offer up an opinion for two reasons. I don’t know anything about kids, and I think she just needed to tell someone her fears without being judged callously. She needed to put a voice to her thoughts, and I was happy to allow that for her.
Over the last few days, the boy has found his voice. His speech isn’t the best, but I figure he’s not even three; he has time to work on pronouncing his words and sounds. And if time isn’t what he needs, then I know Ema will make the best decision for him, and I hope to hell I’m there to support them both for it.
“Crash!” I hear Damien yell, and I stop my next swing to look back. His attention is behind him as he turns his body on the log. Even Jack’s ears perk up.
“Did you hear something?” I ask them both as I place the ax down and walk as quietly as I can to catch if I hear anything else.
“Wowd bang,” Damien says, throwing his hands in the air.
