Chapter 02.

POV; Boe Aveyard.

I’d been staring at him for too long, for the good part of thirty minutes I’d done nothing other than lay on my right side just staring at him whilst he slept, or rested, as vampires said. It was just as good as us hybrids or humans sleeping; eyes closed and lost from the world while they regained their energy and strength. He looked so different as he slept; peaceful and at ease with the world at ease with his life and how it had turned out for him over the years. Physically changing with cutting back his hair to an up to date style, leaving the blonde tips at the ends and cutting back his beard to look more like stubble around his mouth and flushing up to his cheek bones, it didn’t matter to me anymore. Granted seeing him this way for the first time had been a shock -a happy shock nonetheless-, still he was Leenan who I’d fallen in love with in my early teens. Still my awkward, quiet, beautiful Leenan Krayt from a line of some of the greatest supernaturals I’ve heard of.
  Not even three days ago I’d been at my happiest point in my life. I had a boyfriend who’d I’d imagined sharing the rest of my life with, who I’d spoken with about sharing a family, having more babies than the one we already had. And Soren had been perfect for me. He’d pulled me out of my darker days of being alone, he’d taken me home to my family when I’d thought my mother was gone, opened my eyes to wonders of the world and all that I had yet to see, to live for. He’d been the man to take away my virginity, to give me my son. Soren Braavos was perfect to anyone in his own way. But that was all before our coven met its latest disaster. He’d endured catastrophic injuries to his face, his eyes during the fight our coven had participated in with blood family of mine. I’d been asked to stay behind with my new born son, to remain where I was to ensure my safety and yet there I was in the middle of it all. I had my own gifts like many others and I knew in my way with my ability to shield those I loved most I could help spare lives. But in shielding people I loved, I’d caused the man I loved most to lose his sight and slowly curl in on himself, becoming a shell of the man he was before. Of course I felt guilty and I still do, but we all make our own choices in this life and it had been his choice alone to end what we had and have us focus on ourselves and our son on our own.
  And now here I was; naked in the bed of my oldest and best friend, watching him sleep after we’d loved each other. That’s exactly what it had been, what we did. We’d loved with words, made love with our bodies and finally after what had felt like forever, we’d shared each other in the most intimate of ways. I have no regrets. Right here is where I knew I belonged.
  We’d come to bed when the sun was setting and now turning my eyes briefly to the window at the far side of the bedroom it was dark out, the light from the moon’s glow filtering through the blinds to light up the bottom of the bed and floor beneath us. I turned my eyes back to him, watching him all over again. I’d never get enough of this. And thankfully for me I’d never have to think of when moments like this would end. Three days ago I’d been in a relationship with a man who gave me my son, thinking we were as happy as could be especially after our family day. And now, here I am; in bed with my best friend as a fiancé. The question may have been asked in the heat of a moment but there wasn’t a second of doubt in my mind as to what I’d say. Not to Leenan. And so as soon as possible I’d be rid of the Aveyard title and be part of the Krayt family.
  It had just gone nine when I checked my out dated phone in the kitchen after retrieving it from my jeans pocket in the small pile of clothes at the side of the bed where we’d left everything. My mom had tried calling, but she wasn’t top of my list right now. So, I dialled the only number that came to my mind and waited as the dialling tone rang over and over in my ear. There’d be no answer, of course not. Finnick would be taking his last bottle and it was inevitable with Soren being how he was that it would take a little longer than it usually would, with the little Burrito Boy squirming in his arms and fighting for more of the blood in his bottle even when it was empty. Please leave your message after the tone; “Soren, I … I won’t be home tonight. I know it’s late and it’s short notice.” I paused. “Everything Finnick needs for the night is my room, I know my parents will be around to help and Juno will be a phone call away. I’ll be back in the morning, don’t be afraid to ask for any help.” Another pause, God what did you to say to your three day old ex-boyfriend who was blind, left with your growing son to fend on their own for a night while you cosied up selfishly to his best friend, your best friend and new fiancé? “Give Finnick a kiss from me.” Dead line.
  I stood for a short while in the darkness of the room, holding my phone to my naked chest with the new tattoo on my left wrist burning. It was nothing big or fancy, just a simple calligraphy ‘F’ for the boy I loved most in the world. I missed him though I’d only been gone a day. Marrying Leenan wouldn’t only be a change for me or a change for him. A happy change, nonetheless, but it would be a change for my son too. Though he was only a month old and too young to understand what was going on with Soren and I, or Leenan and I for that matter, I knew in time the questions would come of why papa didn’t live with us, why Leenan was around us more often than not. Why I didn’t love papa anymore, what he ever did wrong. Fact was, Soren hadn’t done anything wrong. He was hurt physically from his accident which brought him to the point of hurting himself in his mind. He couldn’t make us happy, he couldn’t give us what we wanted, that’s what he’d claimed the night he’d called time on our relationship after saving me from myself. He knew I loved his best friend; I couldn’t have kept it from him any longer. But for the sake of our family and with hopes of us growing together, building a home and family together and letting Leenan find his own happiness, I chose him. Did it make me a bad person for running into the arms of my own happiness when I had been given the chance? It really had been a long time coming anyway, hadn’t it?
  His arms sliding around my naked waist made me jump on the spot, my hands tightening around my cell before his stubble covered chin came down to my right shoulder and I let my hands drop to rest against his overlapping wrists. “What did he say?” He asked against the side of my neck, his stubble tickling against my collarbone.
Tilting my head aside slightly with my lips pulling wider, I gave him the softest of shakes of my head as a response. Leenan was a vampire, there was no way he hadn’t heard me on the phone, no way he didn’t already know there was no answer. “Don’t let this get you down.” His face moved, his lips kissing at the hollow just behind my right ear. “I know it’s hard, I know you miss Finnick…”
I cut him off before he could continue with my mouth at his, turning in his arms to press naked chest to naked chest, sliding up both my arms around his neck as his hands slid over my hips to rest at the top of my behind. Kissing him so far had been proof enough that I’d lose all thoughts running through my mind and thankfully this time, kissing him now as if it were the last time I’d kiss him, it was still a fact. Keeping my cell in my left hand behind him, running my right hand with open fingers up through the back of his newly shortened hair, I pulled back from his mouth reluctantly, giving us enough space to breathe the same air, enough space to speak. “Marry me.”
I watched as his lips curled at the corners inches from my own to form a smile on his face that had been missing for long. It wasn’t the usual awkward smile he wore that never matched his eyes. It was full, wide enough to show his teeth for a brief moment before he took my mouth in a soft peck. “If I had it my way Boe, I’d marry you tonight.”
So, what was stopping us?

 

  Going back to the apartment had been a spur of the moment decision after we’d spent the day in town together, after I’d branded my skin for my son. I hadn’t imaged to be there over night, I hadn’t taken anything with me other than the clothes I’d been wearing, my cell and a what little money I had in the back pocket of my jeans. Luckily there were towels to use and Leenan’s closet was full with enough shirts for me to borrow. After showering with him, keeping it as innocent as we could with wandering hands and the kissing of lips he left me alone in his room to dry off and change. I wouldn’t marry him in jeans and a vest top, so I took it upon myself to make the best of a no clothes situation. Leaving my hair back to dry naturally, pulled back from my face and hanging loose down the full of my back, I grabbed a shirt from his closet, white and crisp and made myself a wraparound shirt dress, using both the arms to keep everything together at my waist. It was short, sitting against my thighs and covering enough up top to get away and in this situation it would have to do.

  He was in the living room when I stepped out, his back to me, wearing a pair of plain black jeans with his own shirt covering his torso and arms, one up against his ear with his cell. I lay my towel lazily over the back of the couch I passed when making my way to him, sliding both my arms around his waist as he had with me in the kitchen before pressing a single kiss between his shoulder blades. The end of his conversation with whoever was on the line was kept short and brief, with few words spoken from his end before he hung up, his hands coming down to find mine at his lower stomach. “Cami’s coming home.” He stated softly, which made the smile on my face draw wider.
  Camila Krayt was the biggest fashionista that I’d ever met. Always wearing the latest trends and never repeating an outfit twice she was always so flawless for any occasion with a different pair of killer heels, always to match. It was unfair to say to say the least that she was beyond beautiful. Dazzling blue eyes which I’d noticed was a Krayt trait along with mousey blonde hair that cascaded down her back like a waterfall. But on top of being Leenan’s younger sister, a personal stylist to anyone who’d ask and a much loved and respected member of our coven, she was one of my few best friends. I’d known her since birth and still held memories of us together while I grew from a toddler to a young girl and through to my teens. But away from her looks and the always bubbly attitude that was always so contagious, Camila’s heart was made of pure gold. She’d always have a listening ear for anyone who needed a shoulder; she’d always offer advice from her heart given any situation. She was definitely one of the best souls I’d met and I knew just how strong the family bond was with her and her brother. For years they’d been inseparable.
  “Leenan, I can wait.” I had to put his feelings before my own if we were really going to do this. My family by blood was small; me, mom and dad. They’d be mad at me, maybe even disappointed if they found out I’d been married without having them there, but I knew it would be nothing to how Camila and the other Krayt’s would feel. “If you want to wait so Cami can be there, then we’ll wait.”
He turned in my arms, bringing up both his hands to cup my face as his thumbs stroked against my rosy cheeks from the shower. “I have one condition.” He stated, before lowering my face enough to press a kiss to my forehead. Of course, he knew I’d comply with anything. “When everything settles at home, we have a ceremony with our family, with the coven to join us as witnesses.” He paused. “I ask your parents for your hand. We do this properly.” Of course he’d want that, he was catholic and ever so traditional.
I gave my head the softest of shakes, lifting enough to look up into those blue eyes I’d fallen in love with. “But I’ll already be your wife...”
“Then to you and me it’ll be a blessing of the vows we’ve already taken. To everyone else, it’ll be our wedding.” God, he had this all figured out, didn’t he? “The priest tonight will be our witness and we’ll have the same man give us a blessing back at Trinity Gate. We give you the wedding that you deserve.”
Another gentle shake of my head. “Leenan, I don’t want a big wedding. I don’t need the dress or the makeup, or the flowers, or the guests and the music.” I’d never let marriage really cross my mind until he’d asked me. An intimate affair would be more than enough for me if I’d leave the church as his wife.
“I know.” He pressed another kiss to my forehead, both his hands stroking down either side of my neck slowly to stop at my collarbones. “But I want to do things right, how they should be done.” He was smiling at me again when he spoke next, that smile that showed his teeth and matched his eyes spread back over his face. “But tonight, I make you my wife our way, this way.”

 

  The ceremony was beautiful. We’d asked for it to be kept short with the basic of vows that still meant as much to us as it would to any other pair promising their lives to each other. Our Priest had been reluctant to marry us, given that we’d interrupted his nightly prayer and the church itself had been closed for the night. I’d pleaded with him myself to marry us, offered to beg him on my knees if I had to and stooped low enough to ask him what his Lord would say if he knew he was refusing two committed adults the chance to give themselves to one another in a holy service. After words from Leenan at my side, reminding the short, plump and bald man of his work for the church many years back, he kindly agreed. There was no light around us other than that given from the candles on the candelabras stood at either side of the aisle, stood around the level up front where he read us a verse from the Bible, the whole time the sweet smell of Madagascan vanilla burning from an incense at the back of the upper level in front of the golden carved figures of Jesus and his disciples. We had no rings to offer, but Leenan assured me for the ceremony at home in time to come that we’d have them specially made, one of a kind pieces just for us with no others like them in the world. I didn’t need rings. Id’ have him.
  I promised to have him, to hold him from this very day forward. For better, for worse. For richer, for poorer and in sickness and health. Until death would we part. To cherish him, to honour him. To be my husband and I his wife. To love him. Forever. And in return he promised to have me, to hold me from this day forward. For better, for worse, for richer, for poorer and in sickness and health. Until death would we part. To cherish me, to honour me. To be my husband and I his wife. And to love me. Forever. Finally. As his hands rose to my face, as his lips met my own and a tear fell from my left eye, the words rang loud and clear in my ears, in my head, in my heart. “I pronounce you husband and wife, Mr and Mrs Krayt.”
My fate was sealed.

  It seemed I hadn’t been the only one my parents had invited to the Plantation for a family get together so that, of course, they could show off their happiness and fortune together. My father was a wealthy man; there wasn’t a soul in the coven neither old nor new who didn’t know that. My mother married into his money, but rarely asked for much. I was born into his money yet I don’t ever recall asking for a single cent, but together my parents made sure I’d never go without anything.
  We were two of the last arrive; Juno was already here with her boyfriend Xenon and his son, while she was carrying their baby. Alina and Casey were here, Leenan’s younger adopted sister and her fiancé, my half-brother from my mother’s past. Wherever Alina was at gatherings like this, her twin brother Diego was never far behind. Considering Leenan had told me Camila was home I knew she’d already be here, though I hadn’t seen her car. Margo was here and at her side there would be Marcella, who would be followed with their strange vampire ‘triplets’ as they were known, Zuzana, Kazmir and Evelyn. It was a given that Marius would be here, the old head of the coven before handing his title over to my father, making my mother head too, my father’s oldest friend and creator. If Marius was here his old mate Pandora would be here with her toddling daughter. And Soren was here, thankfully meaning my Burrito was too.

It was harder than I’d imagined it would be to walk into the Plantation without holding my husband’s hand. But I’d promised to respect Leenan’s choice for us to seem like nothing more than friends until he’d had chance to tell Soren man to man what we’d done and ask my parents for permission for my hand before our ceremony for the family. So for anyone wondering inside, we’d come as friends and he’d given me a ride.
  My mother greeted the two of us as soon as we stepped foot inside as if someone had warned her we were heading in. Being in her arms as she hugged me as tightly as any mother would hold their child after days without seeing each other, everything in my mind fell away. The nerves of being in the same room as Soren and his best friend, my ex-boyfriend and new husband disappeared. The doubt in myself of being able to hide my feelings and emotions and physically to Leenan melted. The worry of someone knowing the secret I was hiding as a new wife left as if it had never been present. “Boe, baby, it’s so good to have you here!” Her arms squeezed as my smile widened, as if she were squeezing it out of me.
“Hey, mom.” I couldn’t stop myself squeezing her back and holding her that second longer than I usually would. As I stood myself up straight I moved my hands to my mother’s elbows as her hands stayed at my waist. “Is dad busy? I’d like to talk to you, Leenan and I would like to talk to both of you.”
She gave me two quick nods with a beaming grin crossing her face. “Of course, baby. He’ll be in the back yard with Marius.” Her eyes glanced aside from mine, to Leenan’s face and back again. “But please, enjoy yourself before we talk. Have a small drink and be with your family.” She gave me yet another hug, just as tight as before and then kissed my cheek, her voice softer and quieter finding my ear. “You look so beautiful, Boe. I like the change.”

  The faces in the back yard did have to double take on my new look. The last time anyone saw me I had blonde hair that hung down my back to reach my waist and obviously I would have been on the arm of Soren Braavos. And now coming here, I was followed closely by Leenan Krayt with hair resting just over both my shoulders without a blonde strand in sight, of course that didn’t include the new nose ring I had or the tattoo on my wrist.
  Alina was the first that I saw, standing on the arm of her fiancé with her smile as wide and beaming as it always was, causing her eyes to squint with the lift of her cheeks. I felt my own smile grow, Leenan’s arm coming to my own as he stepped out of the plantation behind me, eyes set ahead to his younger sister. Dropping his eyes to me as I lifted mine to his, we said nothing but I knew just what he wanted and what he would do. So I left my husband to see to his family as I turned my head to the left, finding my father as my mother had said, at the side of Marius Delarado.
  As my mother before him, my father took me into his arms but didn’t squeeze. I loved my parents dearly, and God I missed them more than I’d realised when I was finally with them. “It’s good to see you, Boe.”
“Hmm,” My smile still grew, though I wasn’t sure how there was room over my face. “It’s good to see you too, dad. I missed you.” I would never be ashamed to admit I was truly the definition of Daddy’s Girl.
He let me go after a rub of my left shoulder, his hand dropping back to the pocket of his black jeans as his other remained at his stomach holding a bottle of beer that all of the men here seemed to be holding. I looked briefly up to Marius, who gave me a nod and a simple “Boe.” as I nodded back, replying with a typical “Hi.” The two men jumped right back into their conversation that was ongoing before I’d showed up. They were away from the crowd of bodies and running legs of the younger children which told me internally whatever it was they were discussing wasn’t for all ears. And yet here I was, so surely enough another Aveyard in on their discussion wasn’t a bad thing.
“As long as the tonic is drunk daily, preferably at the same time, there should be nothing to fear, Amadeo.”
“You know Lenora almost as well as I do Marius, she won’t handle losing a child all too well...”
I pulled in my brows, narrowing my eyes as I looked between both men discussing my mother and a child I didn’t know anything about. But I knew my mother couldn’t have her own child, vampires were immortal, inevitably shutting down their bodies internally. Their hearts didn’t work, their bladders didn’t work, kidneys, lungs. Uterus, womb… No.
“Your wife is not the first woman in our position to use my tonic, Amadeo. Our dearest Petra was first to try and her pregnancy was healthy before she left us.”
My eyes widened at Marius’ words. Petra, the woman who I’d known my whole life and had always been frightened of, though reassured by all that her heart was beautiful, had been pregnant with her own odd immortal child before our coven went ahead in fighting for our territory and for the safety of the members here, mainly my mother.
“You’re making immortal children?” I asked, knowing I probably shouldn’t have given it wasn’t my conversation. “More hybrids?”
Marius gently shook his head, lowering the bottle of beer from his face after just taking a sip. “Of course not, Boe. The children born through the tonic will be vampires like their parents before them.”
“Vampire children don’t exist, they’re not allowed to exist, you know that.”
“They’re not like the rest of the vampire children that this world knows history of…”
“What makes them so different? What makes you think you can create the perfect immortal child?”
My father gave me a look that lasted all of half a second before I watched his lips curl at the corners. I was an Aveyard by blood, I’d stand my corner with my feisty mouth if I had to or wanted to, even if it were often my curious mind that got me into corners.
Marius chuckled from his chest, a low grumbling sound. “Boe, the children the immortals birth will still age, just as you did being a hybrid.” He paused as my face scrunched, though continued just as quickly as I opened my mouth to speak. “It is all part of the tonic I have been working on for many, many years. Petra offered me to use her body to test out if my creation could work and within a week of taking my tonic each morning at the same time, she and Christoph were expecting their child.”
I hadn’t noticed I was now frowning. “But Petra…”
It was my father who now nodded. “Petra gave her life to save ours, her husband at her side the whole way.” There was a long pause as it sunk into us all that Petra had been carrying what would have been her first child the day she’d lost her immortality. “Let’s not mention any of this to your mother.” My father spoke with a softer tone, before taking his own drink of the beer in his hand. Neither Marius nor I said anything else.
  I knew telling my mother would be a bad decision if she were thinking of using Marius’ tonic herself for a child with my father. The fear of losing the child would always be first in her mind; the pain of having to think of Petra dying with a growing child inside her would drive her simply crazy. The obsession of keeping the baby inside her safe and alive would take over, no doubt bringing more harm to herself than good in the long run. My frown must have deepened as the thoughts ran through my mind, before I heard Marius clearing his throat and my father’s voice once again.
“Soren is here, Boe. Down off the porch and by the Willow.”

  To the mortal human eye, at four weeks old Finnick would still be a floppy, small boy who couldn’t bare his own weight, who was still only just learning to smile and fully dependent on myself and my family for all of his care. But to me and to my family, extended, through blood and now through marriage, and thanks to what we were and what we could create together, Finnick was more like a child at the age of four months rather than weeks; smiling at whoever made him happy, learning to talk to us through his babbling and learning to hold up his own weight when sitting. I hadn’t seen the down sides of being half vampire and half human until I welcomed him into my life. Hybrids grew rapidly, even in my family of different vampires. Given I’m hybrid and share my son with a vampire, making Finnick only one third human, his growth was something still that shocked us all.  It never made any of us love him any less. We just worried we weren’t getting enough time though we were sure we’d still have forever.
  He was right where my father had said, down by the willow tree in their new back yard, sitting on his own with his back to Soren’s legs. Soren was talking to him, our boy smiling down at the grass that surrounded his chubby legs and diapered behind, though he fell silent as I approached. Although Soren was blind after his injury of defending me in the brawl of our coven, his other senses hadn’t diminished. He knew I was coming whether he could see me or not. And after seeing my baby, I was practically running.
“Finnick!” His little head reclined back, those big green eyes he’d gotten from Soren and not me looking up to find me. To my hearts joy his smile of nothing but gum, his mouth opening wider letting out a happy, high pitched babble of incoherent words to me. I immediately squatted at Soren’s feet, lifting our son from under his arms to bring him into my chest. “Hey Burrito.”
I heard Soren snort before he chuckled under his breath, a light sound coming from him considering his current situation. He’d never liked me referring to our son as Mexican food, but from the moment my mother first showed me how to wrap Finnick up in his blankets to keep him warm, the name had stuck in my head. And the baby didn’t seem to mind it either. I glanced up for an extended moment at my ex-boyfriend, before dropping my eyes back to our son, lifting up my right hand to brush some of his growing dark hair away from his face. “How has he been?” I asked without moving my eyes from him, giving him a wider smile that made my features scrunch. And in return his chubby hands came to both my cheeks. “Did you behave yourself for daddy while mommy went shopping?” Uh, yeah. I’d claimed to be going shopping for errands the day I left Finnick with Soren. But in fact I’d headed into town with Leenan, gotten myself a tattoo, ate great food and drank alcohol until I was merry, before we then sat on the beach for hours. And once we’d made our way back to Leenan’s apartment, well, you know the rest.
“He’s been fine.” Soren replied to me, leaning forward on the wooden bench big enough to fit two, resting his elbows down against his thighs, both his hands coming together between his legs. “Made a new friend. He seems to have taken a shine to Ophelia.”
“Ophelia?” I asked, glancing aside from my sons head to my ex-boyfriends covered eyes with sunglasses. “Pandora’s Ophelia?” Now that was strange. Pandora had always been the single member of the coven to keep herself and her affairs to herself, only sharing few things of her life with Marius, given that they’d known each other longer than either of my parents were thought of I’m sure. Though she’d helped me give birth to Finnick in a bathtub with nothing but towels and warm water, ever since Pandora hadn’t said a single thing to me. “Hey, I’m glad you got yourself a buddy, baby.” I was back to talking in that weird voice all women put on around babies, bouncing the boy lightly in my arms as I spoke which resulted in both his hands lifting to his opened mouth.
“I’m sure Pandora would have happily kept walking, but it seems that whatever Ophelia wants to do, they do together. It’s a good thing though; he seems good and happy when she’s around.” Soren continued, sitting himself back and turning his head as if he could actually see the scene in the direction he was looking. That thought made me frown. And the air around us fell silent.
  I pulled Finnick closer to my chest as I stood with him, keeping him close and steady while I moved to sit alongside his dad. “And are you happy? Are you okay?” I couldn’t stop myself asking, though I didn’t look at him when I did as if I were too cowardly to look at the man who’d called off our relationship after sharing a family day out as our family of three, as if I were guilty for it all ending. I moved Finnick’s legs with my right hand as best I could for them to fold against my lap, his chubby toes of one of his feet pressing to my stomach before I held his back up for support with both hands. It was silent again.
“I’m okay.” As simple as that. A nod of his head. “It’ll get easier.”
I knew his response could have had two meanings, to which I was actually kind of thankful for. He was currently blind. As he healed it would get easier to live the way he was, his vision would come back in time and sooner rather than later, hopefully. But I knew as well as I knew he knew that I was really asking how he was after the break up. After having Finnick on his own when I’d said I’d only be gone an afternoon. I left it at that. I didn’t want to ask anything else that wouldn’t cause any harm or upset. We were in a bad enough place as it was. “Actually Boe, I wanted to ask you something.”
Oh? Now I did turn my eyes to him, after watching Finnick loll his head back against the tips of my fingers to watch a single butterfly passing through the trees of the garden. “It helps me, a lot, having Finnick around right now. You know, it gives me something to focus on, a focus to actually fight with my injuries and get my sight back.” His head turned to where I was sitting and as odd as it may be, I felt as if he were looking right at me. “I know he’s smiling when he babbles to Ophelia. I know he’s more mobile than I think he is, I hear him kicking around Pandora. I hear him now, with you, moving on your legs.” He was right. Our son had begun rocking against both my thighs as if on a rocking horse, of course my hands were helping though I wouldn’t admit that. Anything to see him smiling. “And I can’t see any of it. But knowing it’s happening right in front of me keeps that focus.” He fell quiet again. And my brows tugged in together.
“What are you asking me, Soren?”
He sighed. “I just want him to stay with me for a while. I’m healing and it’s fast, it won’t be too much longer.”
“Stay with you?” I couldn’t help but ask out loud as if I were hard of hearing. “But I’ll be here with my parents; we’re over an hour away from Trinity Gate…”
“And he’ll be with me every single day.” Now he cut me off. “We just got the nursey finished Boe, what’s the point of us getting everything for him if he’ll never use it? There are no other babies in Trinity Gate that could get any use from it.” I had no idea how to respond. “I’m not asking for forever. I’m just asking for a little more time until I can see him. Everyone else gets that privilege.”
I spoke before I’d even really thought about what I was saying. “One week. And I get to see him every day.” I pulled the boy closer again on my legs, hugging his growing body to my front, giving his forehead a single kiss. “It’s not fair of you to ask me for longer. I miss him too.”
I wasn’t giving him a week to heal. I wasn’t giving him a week to be able to see again. I was giving him a week of having our son share his home and have unlimited time with him now that we weren’t together. I’d never stop him spending time with our boy, but I wanted and needed my time too. It was never something we’d spoke about, joint parenting without the relationship. We’d talked about forever and marriage and three or four more children under our belts. And now look at us.
“But after a week he’ll be over an hour away from me too, and I can’t exactly drive to see him.”
“Then I’ll bring him to you. Soren, he’s my baby just as much as he is yours.” The last thing I wanted to say out loud and even hated thinking to myself was that I knew I didn’t need any help in taking care of him. I didn’t need help to find a bottle, to change a diaper and find wipes, I didn’t need help to get him bathed or dressed every morning or whenever he’d cover himself in vomit. “You have allot going on; you still have allot of healing to do. I know you say he helps but as he keeps getting bigger he’s going to want to do more and be up more and into everything. And h e’s going to be hard work… Work that you won’t need. You’re supposed to be resting Soren; I know what Juno’s told you.” Perks of having a doctor live in the house.
He sighed slowly, lowering his face as if he were now looking at Finnick still against my chest, before he nodded gently. “You’re right. I know we’ll work something out. I know you just want the best.”
I nodded in return. “I do. For all of us.”
“We all do, brother.” I heard from behind us. I knew the voice; I didn’t have to turn to look. Instead, I got to my feet again, still with Finnick snuggled into my chest, his little head lifting to prop up against my shoulder with heavy green eyes. “Boe, can I have a word?” He tilted his head towards Soren before I nodded and made my way.
   Leenan would be telling Soren what we’d done. That we’d gone off and got married without asking my parents, without having anyone present only three days after my relationship ended with him. I didn’t regret what I’d done. I don’t regret getting married to the only man I’ve ever truly been in love with. But I wasn’t looking forward to the outcome that could happen if Soren didn’t take the news well. If he told my parents, told the coven. Juno would hate me. My mother and father … They hated Leenan; maybe they’d hate me too? Soren wouldn’t want Finnick around Leenan. Camila would be torn between her brother and best friend. God knows what everyone else would think. Maybe it was better than Soren wouldn’t know?