By the time Mikayla drove back home after work, all her anger and fury had melted away and in it's place was heart wrenching guilt at the way she'd spoken to her mum. She'd snapped and just blindly spat words out without thinking.It was true that she tried to hide her relation with her mum as much as possible, but she wouldn't have chosen to say it in that way. For all her faults, Michelle had been a good mum to her.She took care of her growing up, made her food, cared for her, played with her. Up until her classmates caught wind of her mum's affairs and started making fun of her, she hadn't even known there was anything strange about having a different man around every couple of years.She'd learnt to stay out of her mother's way whenever one of her 'friends' were around and they never bothered her too. Some of them would even bring her expensive gifts. She lived in a big, nice house and went to a nice school.Michelle didn't deserve the things she'd said to her today. She wou
"Mikayla! Mikayla!"Mikayla came around slowly. The first thing that hit was the sound of loud wailing. She instinctively scrunched up her nose. Who was making that much fuss? It wounded like a baby. But why would there be a baby in her house? She instinctively knew she was at home and in her own bed.She opened her eyes a crack but everything was fuzzy. She forced her eyes open a little wider and Cael's face swam into focus. He carried a little boy in his arms who was screaming at the top of his lungs, his tiny face scrunched up in fury. Abe, she identified. That was her brother, Abe."What's going on?" She managed to ask. It barely came out as a whisper.Relief flooded Cael's face. "You're finally back. Good! I was getting worried there for a second. Can you see me? How many fingers am I holding up?" He held up two fingers on his free hand."Two," she whispered. "That's alright," another voice cut in. "Let's give her some time to stabilize." Anna? Anna was here too? She'd r
Mikayla was being shaken awake. She woke confused but immediately realized that it was Abe. A quick look at the clock showed that it was 6:30m. He'd fallen asleep early in the evening yesterday after which she carried him to her bedroom; her real bedroom, not the guest room. Now that Michelle was gone, it was hers again. She'd placed him in her bed because she wasn't sure three year olds could sleep alone yet. She was on one side and she blocked his other side with pillows so he wouldn't roll off the bed. She'd woken up about fifty times during the night checking that he was still asleep, that he hadn't rolled off the bed, that he was still breathing... it had been a very difficult night for her. Damn Michelle for thrusting her into this situation.But now, Abe was up and he wanted her up as well. "Okay, okay, I'm awake." Mikayla sat up. She ruffled his hair. "Good morning, Abe."He didn't respond. His attention was fully on trying to climb over the pillows she'd stacked in his
Cael ignored the shocked stares that trailed him as he walked to his office. It was inevitable. He'd been expecting it. It wasn't everyday your boss came into work carrying a toddler. Much less a boss like him.Abe was looking around in wonder. Everything about the office and the people watching him so curiously fascinated him. Cael watched him from the corner of his eyes and smiled. He heard a gasp from one of his workers and almost rolled his eyes. Again, he couldn't blame them. He didn't exactly make it a habit to smile, especially at work. "K?" Abe called, his tiny voice ricocheting around the small hallway space."Yes, Abe?" He answered more quietly than his little companion. "Food?" Cael laughed. "Everything leads to food, doesn't it? Here I thought you were appreciating the aesthetical beauty of my office." Abe gave him a confused look. He sighed. "Food soon," he said.Abe nodded happily. He got to his office and walked in. Matt sprung up when he saw Cael walk in. His m
Mikayla whistled into the hospital that morning. She was in a good mood. Better than good, in fact. She was in a great mood. She'd just dropped Abe off into the hands of his friendly teacher, a wiry little lady named Dara.He'd gone with her happily when he saw the other kids and toys in the classroom. He barely remembered to wave goodbye to her. She'd also gotten a great night's sleep and that was thanks to Cael's thoughtfulness.After visiting the school yesterday, he'd driven her back home to meet a package on her doorstep."What is this? I can't remember ordering any packages." And it was a big one too so she was doubly sure it couldn't be hers. But it was her name on it. "Oh, I ordered that," he'd said casually."You did? What is it?""It's a crib," he'd answered. "Since you couldn't sleep all night because you were scared he'd roll off the bed, I thought it'd be a great idea to buy him his own bed that he won't roll out of."Tears sprung up in Mikayla's eyes. "Don't worry, I
Cael was deep into work when his door opened. He looked up with a frown. "Matt, I told you not to bother--" But it wasn't Matt standing at the foor. It was Armani, who was frowning at him. Cael sighed.He should have seen this coming. He'd been ignoring her calls and messages for days. He was also hardly ever home because he spent most of his free time at Mikayla's now, helping with Abe.So he and Armnai hadn't seen each other or spoken in days and he knew she had a million questions. She'd heard about him coming into work with a kid in tow. Of course, she had a million questions. Who didn't? He wasn't impervious to the looks that his workers gave him everytime he walked though he door. He just ignored it.The only person who didn't seem to care was Matt. But then he had more answer than the rest of them did so his curiousity was abated. Cael didn't know how he would be able to stand Matt otherwise. A curious Matt was a scary thing. But he'd have to talk to the secretary about b
"Come here, Abe. Let me tie your shoe," Mikayla called to the boy that was running at an alarming speed around her living room. A few weeks ago, she'd had to baby proof her apartment to keep Abe from hurting himself.It felt like he'd taken on a new burst of energy suddenly. He was always running or wanting to play or something or the other. It left her exhausted. Happy, but exhausted. It meant he was acclimatizing well to his new life with her.Abe was also doing well at school. He'd made tons of friends. In fact, one of those friends had invited him to a birthday party and that was where they were going. He came whooshing over, flying his arms like an airplane.Mikayla ducked her head just in time to avoid him hitting her in the face. "Careful, Abe. You almost hit me.""Sorry, Mik!" He said and stood still. Mikayla moved quickly, putting on his shoes and tying them up as quickly as she could. There was no telling how long he'd stand still for. "Done," she declared, dusting her
Mikayla ran her hand over her eyes. She was extremely tired. She hadn't slept all night, recalling the events of the previous day.When she'd broken through and seen that broken leg, her heart had flown into her throat. For a few seconds, she'd been frozen which was crazy because she'd seen worse injuries over her career.But thankfully, it had only lasted a few seconds before she sprung into action, muscle memory kicking in. She'd ordered everyone to stand back and had tended to the leg as best as she could there while they'd waited for the ambulance."Abe, honey. Come here! It's time to go," she yelled. Abe came running from wherever he'd been playing. He flung his arms around her legs. She smiled and picked him up, tucking him into her side.It felt like she'd gained a new appreciation for him since yesterday. When she'd heard the yell and seen the kids gathered, she'd been filled with a crippling fear that it was Abe that something had happened to.She'd practically become a