294
Tony
The woman, who I didn't recognize, was barely there. She looked at Quillan with a calculating, almost malicious gaze that made me want to shield him from her gaze.
I signed Quillan out of daycare and grabbed his things. The phantom of a woman remained in my peripheral vision, making me feel like I was being stalked.
"…we colored. The crayons were really nice, and we made wolf ears," Quillan said. "Do you think mommy would like wolf ears?"
I looked down at him. The mention of Ginevra sent another pang of guilt and confusion through me.
"I'm sure she'd love them," I said.
"Oh, and Hera said that her mommy's going to have a party. Do you think Mommy would want to go?" He looked down. "Do you… think she'll be better by Christmas?"
My eyes burned with tears. "I… I don't know. What do you think?"
"Mommy said that you told her she should work on liking holidays," he said. "That she should enjoy them now that she can… We've never been to a Christmas party…"
I was going to be sick. I didn't remember telling her that, like I didn't remember so much of our relationship. I got him into the car, trying to ignore the presence of the woman as she seemed to grow more real. She wasn't very tall, with long, flowing hair that seemed to trail behind her like a dark shroud. Her eyes were cold and calculating. Her moonlight white dress billowed around her as she walked.
"Do you think Uncle Matt could make cookies for the Halloween party?" Quillan asked as I got into the car. "Everyone I shared my cookies with really liked them."
"I'm… sure he'd be glad to," I said, trying to keep my voice steady.
Then, he went quiet.
"Are you okay, Dad?"
I swallowed and glanced in the rearview mirror. "I'll be alright. Just a headache." I force da smile. "Probably just hungry. I wonder what Matt's planning for dinner."
"Something yummy! Uncle Matt's a much better cook than Mommy."
"She's cooking at all?" I asked, remembering with just a twinge of pain the one time Ginevra had tried to cook for me. She looked so heartbroken, sobbing on the kitchen floor, the scent of smoke lingering in the air.
I remembered the way my heart had lurched, thinking she was hurt.
I just wanted to make you a steak dinner! She let out a helpless sob. And I went and had a fucking panic attack!
We'd ordered out that night and ate on the balcony, pressed close while she told me all about her father and how she'd grown up treated as little more than a servant in her father's house and ended up in more trouble than most well into her mid twenties.
"She makes meatloaf, pasta from bags, and… frozen dumplings." He pouted. "Oh, and she makes rice!"
I almost laughed as we reached my penthouse. I pulled into the garage and parked next to Matt's car. Something in my chest eased, knowing that he was here.
I got Quillan out of the car, and we headed inside.
"Mommy tries really hard," Quillan said. "Sometimes, she let me help."
"I'm sure you were the best helper," I said gently, taking his hand and leading him down the hallway toward the door of the penthouse. As we entered, the woman finally disappeared.
The scent of whatever Matt was cooking wafted through the air. It was a warm, comforting aroma that filled my nostrils and made my mouth water.
"That smells really good!" Quillan cried, rushing toward the kitchen.
I followed Quillan into the kitchen, where Matt was busy chopping up vegetables and stirring a pot on the stove. "Hey, Matt," I said, walking over to him. "What have you got cooking?"
"What's for dinner? Can I help?"
"Sorry, little guy. It's almost done, but if you go wash up, you might be able to get in on dessert help?"
"Okay!"
Quillan shot off toward his room. Matt smiled and stood his full height before returning to the cutting board. He looked... better than he had this morning. A lot better.
"You look terrible... and hungry."
I nodded slowly, eyeing the ingredients he'd cut up.
"I guess you were in the grocery store earlier…"
He blinked, frowned and smacked himself in the forehead.
"Right. No. Actually, I was probably running for my life."
I blinked at him. "What?"
Matt sighed and started to explain his day starting from when he was leaving the hospital. I got the sense that there was something he was leaving out, but I didn't know how to ask what it would be.
"What are you making?"
Matt grinned at me. "Beef stew and some garlic bread. Easy stuff."
My stomach growled at the thought even as my head started to hurt again.
"That sounds delicious," I said, my stomach rumbling. "I'll set the table."
Matt cocked an eyebrow at me, but he said nothing as I grabbed the plates and cups. Quillan came back to join Matt in the kitchen making something. I could smell the sugar from the living room. I went to my room to get out of most of my suit and drop it in the dry cleaning. I heard Quillan laughing, heard him and Matt chatting and dreaded going out there to hvmave to fake it for several more hours, and the migraine was killing me.
Before I realized it, Quillan was outside and jiggling the handle. I frowned.
"Quillan?"
He leaned in and spoke softly. "Uncle Matt said dinner is ready."
"Why didn't you just knock?" I asked. "Why are you whispering?"
"You said you have a headache. When Mommy had headaches she said it was better to be quieter…"
I swallowed and crossed the room.
"Thank you for being considerate of me," I picked him up and let him cozy up to me as I squeezed him. "Let's go be considerate of your uncle and all that food, hm?"
Quillan giggled as I headed into the dining room. I set him in his high chair and took a seat. The beef stew was amazing, and the garlic bread was perfectly toasted. Quillan told Matt all about the day he had, and as fsr as I could tell, he'd extracted a promise for cookies and something else for some of the events his classmates' families were having.
I couldn't remember any events happening at the pack house like a Christmas party. I wondered if it was just something specific to Blue Moon since the werewolves of Black Moon seemed to celebrate it.
After dinner, I took Quillan to his room and helped him get ready for bed. It was odd, learning to bathe a child, but watching him smile gleefully up at me with bubbles in his air, chattering on about his day, made it worth it. As I tucked him in, I considered how I would broach the topic, yet I didnt have to.
"Hey, Dad," Quillan said, looking up at me. "When will I get to see Mommy again?"
Shit. I looked down at him, feeling a twinge of guilt.
"We'll go see her tomorrow, now that all the testing is done."
"Really?" Quillan's eyes widened. "Do you think she'll wake up tomorrow?"
I swallowed. "I don't know for sure… but I really hope so too."
I kissed his head and tucked him in before leaving the room. He was asleep before I had even closed the door. I rested my back against the door with a deep sigh. Would anything get easier?
Later that night, I was woken up by the sound of a door opening and closing. I frowned, straining my hearing when I heard Matt walling past my door. I went to the door and crept down the hall, listening to Matt move around. I was going to call out to him, but then I noticed he was dressed to go out, and packing a lunch kit. He at me while packing, a backpack sloped off his shoulder. Then his wrist lit up and I went still as he tapped it and a screen of light appeared.
Matt has a magical communication device? Since when, and how? I'd never seen him use anything other than his phone. I watched him wince, stuff the other half of his sandwich into his mouth then hurry out.
I wanted to follow, but with Quillan asleep, I couldn't. The gnawing unease came back as my mind jumped and spiraled through all the reasons Matt would be sneaking out in the middle of the night. Maybe it was a woman, but thst didn't feel right. Why would he have to sneak out for that…
Unless he was sneaking out to meet Lucy. Anger stirred in me, gmhot and bright before fizzling out just as quickly. I shuffled back to bed. Lucy was with David, and David hated us both equally. Still, knowing that Matt was gone without a word made it hard to go to sleep as I kept listening for signs of his return.
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