ZORA'S POVThe caller ID showed that Derek was the one calling. I stared at the phone in surprise. After Freya had told him this afternoon that Elliot had been in the house, I was expecting him to have renewed his decision not to talk to me again. Though it had hurt me a lot, I had stopped calling Derek a few days after he left New York. I figured that he needed lots of time and space to heal and that it was selfish for me to expect him to take me as a friend just a few days after I broke up with him. I wished with all my heart that he was calling to at least try to mend our relationship. Though with what had happened today, I guessed my wish was an unrealistic one. In my preoccupation, I let the phone ring twice. I picked up before the phone could stop ringing and perhaps give Derek the mistaken impression that I did want to take his calls. "Hello?" I said in a voice that was not quite steady. I cleared my throat. "Are you- How are you?""I was gone for only a week, Zora," he his
ZORA'S POVI hugged Finn and Freya tighter. Freya's body was trembling with a mixture of hurt and pain. I wished I could take it all away. Tears started in my eyes and I rapidly blinked them back. This was a time to offer support, a time to be strong for my kids."Everybody hates us, mum," Freya said in a tiny voice, her voice breaking on the last word. "Sssh. That's not true, sweetie. You are thinking that way because you are upset. Now listen to me you two-" I took hold of them and pulled them on my lap, so each one sat on one of my legs. "Look at me." After a moment's hesitation, two pairs of blue eyes looked directly into mine. "You both know mummy is not a bad person, right?" They nodded. "Well, since you know it and I know it, that can only mean one thing. All those people are lying... for whatever reason. You don't have to listen to everything people say. People can be really mean sometimes, so just ignore whatever nonsense they are saying."I looked at Freya who was the most
ZORA'S POV I got Freya from school, leaving Finn to wait in front of the sick bay building. There was no point in letting them finish the school day. School was already ruined for them for today. Freya must have heard about what happened because she was not her usual cheery self. It was a subdued trio that headed to the car and set off for home. Finn sat beside me on the passenger seat, his arms crossed around his chest, a scowl on his face. I waited till I had driven a considerable distance before speaking. "Finn?" He said something inaudible in reply. "I just want you to know that you did the right thing by defending me. But you were wrong to have hit him. There are different ways you could have handled the situation. You did not have to fight. You could have reported to a teacher and that boy could have gotten... suspended, maybe. At least, he would have been the one in trouble, not you." Finn muttered something under his breath. I took my eyes off the road for a second to
ZORA'S POVDerek had not returned my calls or texts. My voicemail had not been replied to at all. When the twins tried to call him the next day and he had ignored the calls, it was only then that I realized I had been banking a lot of hope on Derek listening to the message and having a change of heart. I must have hurt him pretty badly for him to act this way. Usually, he was such a softie where the kids were concerned. When he didn't pick up, I had told them that he was probably still busy. They didn't really find my explanation plausible. I could see it in their eyes. But they had accepted it because on some level they wanted to believe that it was true. My heart ached for them, for the fact that my choices had hurt them so deeply. I decided that my decision to tell them Derek was their father was not a wise one. How could I not have predicted that this would happen? I should have taken all possible case scenarios into consideration.The next day, I had told them Derek had assure
ELLIOT'S POVAs my watch struck the hour, the bell signaling the close of another school day rang. "Just on time," I muttered to myself. Any second now, Katherine and the kids would walk through those doors. Sure enough, they were out in a few minutes. I frowned a little as I watched them. Unlike the last time I had been here, the kids didn't look cheerful at all. Though Katherine held both their hands firmly, they seemed to be the ones pulling her along as though they couldn't wait to leave the premises. Katherine was talking to them animatedly, but she might have been talking to herself for all the responses she got. She appeared to ask Finn a question. She tapped him when he didn't answer. All he did was nod. I got out of my car, taking pains not to be seen until I got close to them. I wanted this to be another 'coincidental' meeting. If Zora or Katherine got the impression that I was deliberately seeking the kids out, they might start taking pains to avoid me. "Guess what,
ZORAS POVI looked down at the twins who had identical sunny grins and ice cream smeared all over their faces. "Hello, you two," I said, forcing myself to smile at them. "How are you doing this afternoon?"Still holding on to my legs, they pulled back a bit. "We are having a lot of fun with Elliot, mum," Finn said excitedly. I stared at him in surprise. All traces of the reserve he had been treating Elliot with was gone. I wondered what Elliot had done to make Finn thaw towards him. I shot Elliot a glare. "Yes, mum," added Freya. "We came here from school. It was Elliot's idea. Finn and rode the carousel until we were almost dizzy and then-"Finn interrupted. "-and then Elliot finished telling us the story he didn't get to finish the other day.""Sounds nice," I said. I straightened a bit and glanced over at Elliot, half an ear on what the kids were saying. Elliot didn't even have the good grace to look away, or look sorry at least. By my expression, it was clear that I did not a
ZORA'S POV"We are home," Katherine cried. I came out of my reverie. "Yaay!" they chorused in unison. "Now we can eat what Elliot got us," said Freya. At Katherine's stern look, she pouted. "But you said we could when we got home.""Well, you are still in the car. Hold your horses a bit. Okay?""Roger that, Kathy," Finn replied as he and his sister grabbed in the things Elliot had gotten for them. There was a scuffle in the car as they struggled for possession of the plastic bags. Then they opened the door and ran inside. I followed them into the house, walking slowly. Katherine lingered by the car, making a show of bringing in the kid's school bags and lunch boxes. I sank onto the sofa and watched Finn and Freya arguing over who was to get what. Thankfully, they were so engrossed in what they were doing that they didn't notice me. I was finding it increasingly difficult to keep the worry off my face. "Finn, Freya," Katherine called out as she came into the living room. She handed
ZORA'S POV I uncovered the pan and peered in. I grimaced. Considering what I saw simmering in the pan, it looked like this was one of those times where Katherine would be proven right. "What's the matter, Zora?" said Katherine from her place on the kitchen stool. "Don't like what you see?" Freya sniggered and Katherine put a finger on her lips. I turned and flashed them a smile. "I do actually," I said with confidence I did not feel. "What I made looks really good." "Okay, if you say so." I turned back to the pan and racked my brains for how I could salvage what was left of the meal. While Katherine and Freya were talking, I furtively googled the cooking instructions once again and followed them as closely as I could. "Go to the dining room, all of you," I called out. "Food will be served in a couple of minutes." Katherine and Freya left. Finn was the last to leave after packing up all his stuff. I hoped the food would look better when dished into plates. When I dished it u