Total pages in book: 93
Estimated words: 84344 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 422(@200wpm)___ 337(@250wpm)___ 281(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84344 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 422(@200wpm)___ 337(@250wpm)___ 281(@300wpm)
“Next time,” Maddox says, “I’ll call you.”
“Perfect,” I say, getting up when the back door opens and Alex steps out.
“Why are you guys not in the pool?” she asks, looking at me and then Maddox.
“Dylan gets sad when I pee the bed and don’t tell him,” Maddox fills her in, “so now when I pee, I am going to tell him.”
I reach over and pull him to me, kissing his head. “That’s my boy,” I say and then let him go. “Now.” I stand up, taking off my shirt. “Race you to the pool.”
The sound of laughing fills the yard when I jump into the pool, and he follows me. Mac is right behind him, and the four of us stay in the pool for the rest of the day.
When I walk up the stairs after dinner, I can hear him talking. “Mac, you have to tell me if you don’t want to do the tricks,” Maddox says. “I have to take care of you.” My heart explodes as he repeats the words I said to him today to Mac. I look into the room and see Mac lying on the bed with her head down. “I won’t be mad if you don’t want to jump.”
“Ready for bed?” I ask, and he just nods at me, getting into bed now. Mac lies on her side. I tuck him in and kiss his head. “Good night, buddy.”
“Night, Dylan,” he says, and I walk out. “Thank you,” he says softly, and I turn to look at him, “for not being mad at me.”
“Love you, buddy,” I say, and I walk out with the weight lifting off my shoulders. “One day at a time,” I mumble to myself. “One day at a time.”
Chapter 36
Alex
Seven Months Later
“I’m so nervous.” I stick my head out of my closet and look over at Dylan sitting on the bed doing something on his phone.
He looks up at me, and his blue eyes light up as he smirks at me. “Baby,” he says softly. He doesn’t call me that all the time, but when he does, my heart literally skips a beat, and my stomach does flips. “It’s going to be fine.”
I shake my head, walking out of the closet. “What if it isn’t fine?” I ask, looking over at the door to make sure that Maddox can’t hear me. “What if he says no?”
Dylan gets up from the bed and comes over to me, putting his hands on my face. “I promise you, it’s going to be okay.”
“You haven’t been here in two weeks,” I say of the longest road trip that he’s been on, and normally, I would have joined him, but having Maddox changed all that. “He’s been really quiet.”
Ever since we brought him home that day seven months ago, it’s been a learning curve for all of us. It wasn’t all roses and butterflies; he was still that shy boy, but he was opening up more and more. When I went to wake him one morning and found him trying to hide the soiled clothes that he had an accident in, it broke me in two. He had to learn to trust, and every day was a test for him. The first time he had a fever, he fought it all day long, not complaining, and only when I went to kiss him on the head did I feel he was warm. I guess in his mind, the less of a burden he was, the more I wanted to keep him.
School was going amazing for him. He was excelling and his grades were through the roof, but making friends was very hard for him. Especially when he thought every day with us would be his last. I have to say Dylan handled it a lot better than I did. He would speak with him one-on-one when I would just want to smother him with love and hugs. It was very hard on the family, when all they wanted to do was shower him with all the love that they could but knew that it had to be earned, so they would do what they could for him to know they were there. He has a very special bond with my grandfather, which is why they have been spending so much time here in Dallas. Another bond that he has is with my father, who is here when Dylan isn’t. I know it’s all going to be worth it in the end when he can finally be the carefree boy we all want him to be.
“You are overthinking this.” He kisses my lips. “Just trust me.”
“Yeah, yeah,” I say to him, shaking my head. “I’m just.” I blink away the tears. “I don’t want to lose him.”
“I’m done,” Maddox says, coming into the bedroom, and I turn my head to wipe away the tear that just escaped. “I finished all my math, and I did my reading.”