Avenging You

Chapter 6

Parker

Everyone was focused on me. Tom, Emma, Jasper, and Ava just seemed overjoyed that I was here. They just were happy that I seemed to find my way back to them.

I could tell that Skye was annoyed with me and I don’t blame her. I wouldn’t want to see me either after what I did.

AJ talked a lot because he was so excited to meet everyone and everyone was amused by him, but I could tell that Tom and Emma were the most interested in him. They never had kids of their own because they were so occupied with fostering and because of the dangers of living the life we did. But they seemed so happy being around a young child.

After a few hours he started to get tired and I say, “I guess we should go find a hotel so he can go to bed.”

Ryan clears his throat and says as nonchalantly as possible, “You guys can take my room, I’ll take one of the bunks.”

I learned that Tom had made 3 private rooms down here. It was supposed to be one for each of the couples, but since Ashton died and I left that room became Ryan’s and Skye stayed in one of the bunks in the main area. I smile softly and ask, “Are you sure?”

He nods yes, and I grab AJ’s hand and say, “Come on, bud, time for bed.”

He yells, “Goodnight everyone!”

I get in the room and put him in the queen size bed and start to tuck him in. He sighs happily and says, “I’m glad we have a family, mama.”

I smile and nod in agreement, “I’m happy we do too, love.”

I lay in the bed beside him and ask, “So, who has the biggest color?”

“You still do… RyRy’s is really big and Skye too… she’s really good for her age because her color is bigger than the other adults and is close to RyRy’s in size.”

I nod in understanding and I think the size of the color has to do with how powerful your abilities are and not with whether you are good or bad. I think the coloring depends on if you are a good or bad person. I stroke his hair and say, “I love you, baby.”

“I love you too, mama. Are you happy?”

I smile and nod, “Yeah, we’re back at my home. Here’s something I’ll tell you, love, home isn’t a place it’s the people. You have been my home for the last 5 years and you still are, but these people were my home for a lot longer and coming back together with them feels right.”

“Are you still scared?”

I shake my head no, “I’m not, they’ll help keep you safe and they need me.”

He lets out a really big yawn and I kiss his forehead and say, “Goodnight, love.”

“Night... wait mama!” I look at him surprised by his sudden outburst and he says, “I can’t sleep without Blaze.”

I nod, I’ve been meaning to teleport back to bring him back here. I sigh, “Stay right here, I’ll bring him back.”

I close my eyes and focus on our apartment and force myself to teleport. Blaze is sleeping on the couch but as soon as he felt my presence appear, he lifts his head and wags his tail when he saw me. I touch his head and focus back on our room in the bunker and bring us back.

I show up in front of AJ and he claps and calls Blaze over to him. I kiss AJ’s head and pet Blaze’s head and say, “Goodnight.”

“Night night.” AJ mutters as his eyes flutter shut.

I walk out of our room and I’m surprised to see that everybody else has gone to their quarters. Skye and Ryan are on opposite sides of the room and I walk hesitantly towards Ryan. He is lying on his bed with his eyes closed, but I know he is awake by the way he is tapping his hands. A nervous habit he must’ve picked up. I ask quietly, “Do you want to talk?”

His blue eyes open up and he looks at me and his expression is cold because he’s angry with me and without saying a word stands up and walks towards the hatch. I follow him out hoping we’ll be able to get through everything.

Ryan is my best friend and I know I made some mistakes and upset him, but I’m hoping we’ll be able to move past them.

We get out of the bunker, but we don’t go far, we just sit on the ground right beside it. He looks over at me and huffs, “Why didn’t you ever contact me and tell me where you were?”

“I had to keep myself and AJ safe and the only way I could do that was to keep our location a secret.”

His voice is harsh as he asks, “Do you have any idea how long I’ve been looking for you?”

I remain quiet as he looks at me and says, “I traveled for so long and tried everything I could to find you. You contacted me and I was so relieved to hear your voice. And all you did was tell me about AJ’s birth and then you completely shut me out. Do you know how crazy that made me?”

I responded quietly, “I thought you would want to know that I was okay and that I had the baby.”

“Of course, I wanted to know that, Parker. But I also wanted to be there for you, damn it!”

I’m caught off by him yelling at me because it’s always been rare for Ryan to yell.

I respond quietly, “You told me you didn’t want to go away with us. I offered and you told me no, so I went off on my own and a lot of the time I was terrified, and I wished that you were with me. But you made your choice and I had to make mine.”

“You never should’ve left!” He screams at me and I huff, “Or maybe you should’ve just come with me!”

“And leave everyone behind? Do you realize how many times we’ve almost died without you? We needed you, Parker, and you abandoned all of us!”

“I needed to keep my son safe and if I was still here during all this time then there’s a good chance both he and I would be dead! I wasn’t willing to risk it.”

He huffs as he runs his hands through his dirty blonde hair in frustration and asks, “Then what changed, Parker? Why are you back now?!”

I softened my voice hoping it would help him calm down as I answer, “I saw the explosion on the news, and they said there were no survivors. I had to make sure you were all okay. I did my best to keep tabs on you guys. I couldn’t live with myself if you truly needed me and I wasn’t here.”

His face softens a little at my words, but I’m tired of talking with him right now so I sigh, “We should get to bed.”

He nods in agreement and we go back into the bunker and I go cuddle my son and focus on how everything I did was for him.

I will not regret my decisions because it is what kept him safe.

It’s what kept us safe.