Chapter 44: Cody's Back

“Is he alright?” she asked, getting up from the bed hastily.
Her head spun for a moment, and Finn had to hold her and put her on the bed again.
“Yes, he is. They are bringing him to us now.”
Gwen started to cry again as soon as reality hit her. Her son was okay. Nothing else mattered at that moment. All she wanted was to take Cody in her arms and hug him like she never did before.
The next minutes passed in slow motion for her. She could hear the clock ticking and she couldn’t stop shaking her legs impatiently.
Finn was walking from side to side, very thoughtful. He didn’t say anything else, which bothered her for a moment. But she also thought it was better that way, because she still had a lot to say to him about his mother, and without proof, she would only provoke another fight.
When she heard the doorbell, it was like her soul had gotten out of her body. She rushed to follow Finn, who had already been on his way to open the door.
When her eyes fell upon the little boy, wearing the same clothes, his watery eyes and his hands squeezing Mr. Boots, she just wanted to cry out of relief. But seeing how scared he seemed to be, Gwen knew she couldn’t show her weakness to him. He needed someone to be strong now, so she did everything in her power to pretend she was not a wreck.
“Oh, my God! My baby,” she said, rushing to lift him from the floor and embrace him.
The men surrounding Cody looked very serious, all wearing black clothes like bodyguards. As she stroked Cody’s hair, Gwen analyzed them; the ones who had saved her son.
“Thank you so much,” she murmured to them. They nodded, but instantly looked at Finn as a sign that they had something else to discuss.
“Are you alright, baby?” she asked putting Cody on the floor again and looking at his face carefully. She examined his whole body, seeking wounds or bruises.
“Yes, mommy. I’m alright,” Cody answered with a weak smile. He was clearly scared, but apparently didn’t want to worry Gwen even more.
“Cody, did those people do something bad to you?” Finn asked, squatting beside her and pulling their son for a hug too.
Cody’s arms wrapped Finn's neck, his little hand still holding Mr. Boots.
“No, daddy. They just gave me some fruits and vegetables. But I don’t like carrot. I didn’t eat them. Who were they?” Cody’s curious eyes looked from Finn to Gwen, and she heard her heart break one more time that day.
“They-”
“They were just bad people trying to hurt mom and dad. But thank God you’re here now. This won’t happen again. Never. Okay? Do you trust daddy?” Finn interrupted Gwen as he caressed Cody’s cheeks, making sure he extended his promise to the kid as well.
Gwen could tell how guilty he was feeling and she even felt a bit sorry for being so harsh to him before. But she was just frustrated that he didn’t believe her.
“Gwen, why don’t you take Cody for a bath and put him in bed? I have some things to solve now.” Finn glanced at the men in front of them and Gwen immediately knew what he meant. He probably wanted to hear the reports from Cody’s rescue, and it wasn’t a good idea for the little boy to hear it. Finn could tell her everything later.
Taking Cody’s hand, she excused herself from the living room, leaving Finn and the men behind.
Her hands were still shaking and she could still feel that her body was weak, but just seeing Cody well and safe in front of her was enough to give her strength to carry on.
The little boy was very quiet and didn’t stop playing with Mr. Boots the entire time. He even asked Gwen if he could take the toy to take a bath with him. Gwen didn’t deny his request, but she was worried that her son could be traumatized by the kidnapping. Her hope was that it would get better with time.
“Come on, baby. Mommy is going to tell you a story so you can sleep, alright? Don’t worry because dad and I will be here the entire time with you, okay?” she said, comforting Cody as he climbed into Finn’s bed.
He had begged Gwen to sleep there with daddy, and she had no heart to say no. It took long minutes for him to finally fall asleep. He heard the story, but didn’t say a word.
When he was finally sleeping, Gwen left the room on tiptoes and went to find Finn. He was at the balcony smoking and holding a glass of whisky. Gwen looked around, trying to see if any of his men were still there, but there was no sign of anyone else but them.
“Are you alright?” she asked as she approached the outside door.
Finn turned to look at her and exhaled a very dense smoke.
“Yeah… Are you?” he replied.
Gwen nodded and pulled up a chair to sit next to him. She also was very exhausted, and the sky was now turning into a softer tone of blue. It shocked her to realize that it was almost dawn and she had barely slept. Finn hadn’t closed his eyes the entire time, taking care of her while Cody was missing.
“Thank you for taking care of me. And for finding my son,” she said, wholeheartedly. “I'm sorry for being so cruel to you earlier. I didn’t mean to.”
Finn shook his head.
“You don’t need to apologize. You were right. It was my fault. I promised you I was going to protect him and I failed,” he murmured, and Gwen noticed how sad his voice sounded.
“It was not your fault,” she said, grabbing his hand and squeezing it. “Please, don’t say that."
Finn looked at it, mesmerized. He probably wasn’t expecting to be touched by her, let alone comforted by her.
“I promise this will never happen again, Gwen.” His voice sounded shaky, and when Gwen looked into his eyes, she realized he was crying. She was about to mention his mother again, but seeing that scene in front of her, the words simply disappeared and her jaw dropped. She had never seen Finn cry. Ever.
Raising her arms, she gently wiped the tears that were running down his cheeks.
“I trust you. I do. Now stop crying. Just tell me what happened. Did they discover anything? Do they know who did this to Cody?”
Finn shook his head again in denial.
“No, the kidnapper escaped and the apartment they were in was in the name of a nobody. They still haven’t found a strong clue, but I won’t give up. I will find whoever did this to us.”
Gwen nodded, her eyes feeling heavier than usual. She felt chills overwhelm her body like she had a fever. Suddenly, she wasn’t feeling so well anymore. Maybe it was just exhaustion.
Closing her eyes a little longer, she let her head fall on Finn’s shoulder and all of a sudden, she fell asleep.