Chapter 14
Avidya
Melio had stopped by at exactly noon. Toby and I had been barely awake at that time, and the boy was even more frightened at seeing yet another strange, huge man standing in the living room and just staring at us.
I gathered Melio was here to take the boy to who knows where. I couldn’t recall the man ever stopping by here for just a friendly chat. No, that wasn’t Melio’s way of doing anything. He may have been by a handful of times the past month to make sure I was safe, but that was it. He never stayed long to chat, either.
“Melio,” I greeted through a yawn.
“Avidya,” he said, his voice bright and cheerful. I had wondered if anything ever made this man upset. “V wants to know how you’re doing.”
“Peachy keen,” I stated dryly.
“She’s not a morning person,” Zachariah grumbled as he came into the room, giving me one of his sexy, charming smiles. “Even though it’s in the middle of the day.”
Toby tried to push himself into me as much as possible. Yeah, I knew that feeling of wanting to be invisible more often than I wanted to admit. Luckily, I had been invisible as my husband’s voice floated through the kitchen and into here not all that long ago. He had thought I was asleep, but I was anything but that.
His words hurt more than I wanted to admit.
“I heard about yesterday,” Melio said, a bright smile still in place as he looked at his brother. “Congrats!” he then punched Zachariah in the shoulder with a laugh.
“How’d you find out?” Zachariah asked. That was a good question, as I had thought that our eloping would have been kept hidden a bit longer than just a day.
“Mom,” Melio said, wagging his eyebrows. “She called my wife complaining that all her plans had flown out the window.”
“We didn’t want a big thing,” I stated from my spot. “Everyone knew that.”
“So you must be pregnant then?” Melio hinted, a look of excitement in his eyes.
“For God’s sake, no!” Zachariah yelled, throwing his hands up in the air. “Next person who says anything about my wife having a child will be shot. I don’t give a fuck if it’s in my house or not!”
“Zachariah, please,” I sighed out as the boy trembled beside me.
“Sorry,” Zachariah huffed out, running a hand down his face.
“Must not have had a honeymoon yet,” Melio laughed good-naturedly.
“Shut up,” Zachariah snarled before stalking out of the room, a look of fury on his face.
“What’s stuck up his butt?” Melio asked perplexed.
“Nothing for you to worry about,” Carlos said as he entered the room. “I thought that Violet would tag along with you?”
“Na,” Melio said easily. “Didn’t want to give her false hope, you know. Plus, she’s at the store at the moment.”
“Alright, then,” Carlos said right as Julia made her way back into the house with a pile of bags on her arms.
“Ah, good, you’re here!” Julia said towards her older son.
“Did you buy the store out?” I joked, hoping that if I talked, Toby would feel more comfortable.
“No,” Julia state slowly. “Just bought a few clothes, toys, and books. And shoes, too.”
“I’ll take them to the car,” Melio stated with a bounce in his step.
Julia easily handed over the items to the big man who had an easygoing smile and seemed to not be bothered one bit by anything. Sometimes, I wished I could be like Melio and just brush everything off from my shoulders without any care in the world. But that wasn’t me.
Toby hid his face against my side as he attempted to crawl into me if given the chance. I wondered if he had heard Zachariah’s harsh words, too. Highly unlikely since he was asleep way before I had been.
“He won’t hurt you,” I whispered to him.
“Toby, honey,” Julia said, calling his full attention the best that she could. She took a seat on the edge of the coffee table. “Melio won’t hurt you, I promise. If he does, I’ll put him in his place.”
“My mom can be scary when she wants to be,” Melio joked as he returned.
“And he won’t hurt a fly,” Julie went on with a soft smile.
Toby slowly peeked up from his hiding place, still so unsure about everything and everyone here.
“You’ll be okay,” I coaxed him. “Melio has a wife, and she’s super nice too.”
“Like you?” Toby asked me quietly.
“Yep,” I replied. “She helped a lot of people; even helped me.”
“Okay,” he said with a blink. He knew his options were taken away, just like mine had been for my entire life. But at least this boy would be able to get a happy childhood and find the love he deserved. I finally did, even if I was no longer a child.
“And you know what that means?” Julia said, gaining Toby’s attention again. “You’ll get to see me and Vidie again.”
“Really?” Toby asked, instantly liking that idea.
“Of course,” I reassured him. I was glad that would at least give me a good reason to get out of the house more often and keep busy. It certainly was better than spending my days shopping for useless stuff I would never use or wear.
I saw his thoughts swirling around in his head as he tried to think a way out of what was to come. I knew that look, the same look that I had countless times. There was no other way if he wanted a safe, warm place to stay.
“How about I bring you by in a couple of days, Toby, so you can see Avidya again?” Melio asked as he changed his stance from one foot to the other.
Toby nodded in agreement.
“Great!” Julia said, slapping her hands on her thighs. “Shall we get you dressed and buckled in, ready to go? Melio would like to get back home.”
Toby nodded again as he pushed himself up and away from me. He kept his head down the entire way towards the man that would be taking him to a new home. I couldn’t imagine what it felt like for the countless children that were in foster care.
“I’ll see you soon,” I said, my voice promising.
“Come along, little man,” Melio said, wisely keeping his hands in his pockets as he led the way out the front door.
“I’ll head out, too,” Carlos said. “You two have a few things that you should talk about.”
Zachariah glared at his father, a glass of amber liquid in his hand as he leaned against the wall that separated the kitchen and entryway. He looked troubled, and I had a good understanding about why. I knew better than to push him on it.
Least of all now.