Total pages in book: 121
Estimated words: 112069 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 560(@200wpm)___ 448(@250wpm)___ 374(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 112069 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 560(@200wpm)___ 448(@250wpm)___ 374(@300wpm)
Dr. Taylor had encouraged me to continue to be open and honest with Gio. I still called the teenager Nick because it was what he wanted. Or at least, I suspected it was what he preferred. I doubted he was anywhere near believing he was, in fact, Gio. I didn't avoid talking about Luca during our chats, but I hadn't pressed the issue about him being Gio's father. I'd usually only referenced things like how Luca had helped me rescue Violet.
Luca and I didn't talk about the conversations I had with Gio. It was something we’d both agreed on. Luca wanted his son to have that bit of privacy, so he'd never once pressured me to tell him anything about what Gio and I talked about… or rather, what I talked to Gio about.
While Gio never spoke to me during our chats, he never asked me to leave, and every once in a while, I’d catch him looking my way as I talked about something particularly painful or humiliating. I wasn't as confident as Dr. Taylor and Luca that my conversations with Gio had changed his behavior in any way, but the fact that he was interacting a bit more with Dr. Taylor, even if it was just to talk about his medications or how he was feeling that day, made me more than happy to continue seeing the teen.
Admittedly, today I was more distracted than I would've liked. When I walked into the room, Gio looked my way briefly. His eyes quickly slid to Violet, who was walking next to me, holding my hand. It made for slow going, but just seeing Violet walk with such little assistance was a very big deal and if it had taken all day to walk from the parking lot to the room, I would've been fine with that.
"Hi, Nick," I said. "I hope you don't mind that I brought her with me. Luca and Marilyn are going over some legal and financial stuff with Violet's lawyer."
Since Marilyn's arrival and her interest in officially adopting Violet, we’d had to go through official channels. That meant reaching out to Child Protective Services. Violet had been declared a ward of the state and had been given her own attorney to advocate for her best interests. That man also happened to be a close family friend to both my old boss, Dom Barretti, as well as Ronan. The lawyer, Zane, had made sure that Violet could stay with Luca and me until custody was officially granted to Marilyn.
I'd wanted to dislike Marilyn when I'd met her, but it had been pretty much impossible. When I’d returned to Luca’s, Violet had been happy to see me and while she hadn't been particularly clingy, I hadn't been able to put her down, even when she’d wanted to go to her great-aunt. But Marilyn hadn't pressed the issue and after several days of getting the chance to see her interacting with Violet, I’d found myself imagining the life Violet would have with her. The woman was kind, patient, and clearly loved the great-niece she'd only known for a week. She was also well versed in how to work with a child with developmental challenges. She'd even shown me and Luca several techniques we could use to help Violet learn different skills. The woman could have easily come in and demanded custody of her niece, but she'd treated Luca and me as members of Violet's family. She'd already extended several invitations to us to come to Louisiana to visit Violet, and she’d been promising to learn how to use her smart phone better so she could send pictures and videos of the child.
My heart still ached at the prospect of losing Violet, but it was tempered with the knowledge that it was what was best for the little girl. It was also what her mother would have wanted.
Gio didn't say anything, but I saw him shake his head a little. I wasn't sure if that meant he did mind or he didn't, but I chose to believe it was the latter. If he didn't want either of us there, he’d just have to say so.
I led Violet to the chair next to Gio's hospital bed. The teen was still confined to using a wheelchair to move around, but Dr. Taylor had indicated that was only because the young man was refusing to do his physical therapy. His muscles were still weak from being in bed for so long.
Gio turned his head so he could stare out the window again.
I glanced at the window myself and then made a decision that I knew could bite me in the ass. I sat Violet down in the chair next to the bed and said, "Honey, can you sit here for just a minute?"
The little girl nodded slowly. Things like seeing her sit up in a chair were such huge victories. It was a sign that her balance was improving and the things that most parents took for granted with their children were things that Luca, Marilyn, and I celebrated as big wins.