ᴛʜᴇ ʙɪʟʟɪᴏɴᴀɪʀᴇꜱ ꜱᴜʀʀᴏɢᴀᴛᴇ

Addiction

AARON

I stood my ground, blocking Ava's entry into my house. She was shouting and demanding to see Tristan, who was inside with Leah.

"You can't do this, Aaron!" Ava yelled, her voice rising in anger. "I'm his mother! I have every right to see him!"

"Not when you're high," I said firmly, holding my ground.

"You can't prove that I'm high," Ava spat, her eyes flashing with rage. "You're just trying to keep him from me!"

"I'm trying to keep him safe," I replied evenly. "You know as well as I do that you've been using again. I can't let you around him until you get clean and prove that you can be a responsible parent."

Ava's face twisted in fury, and before I knew it, she had swung at me. Her fist connected with my cheekbone, and I stumbled back, dazed.

"You bastard!" she screamed, advancing on me. "You can't keep me from my own son! I'll get a lawyer, and I'll have full custody of him!"

I raised my hands in self-defense, backing away from her. "Do whatever you want. I'm calling my lawyers, too."

"You don't even know him!" she yelled, lunging at me again. "I want my son!"

She landed another blow before I was able to grab her arms and hold her back.

"Ava, stop!" I said, my voice firm. "This is not the way to handle things."

"I don't care!" she yelled, struggling to break free from my grip. "You can't keep me from my son!"

"Oh yes, I can. You kept my son from me and locked him in a car." I said to her.

"That was an accident!" She cried.

"I don't care... Tell me Ava..... where did Tristan get that bruise?" I asked her angrily.

Her eyes flashed with fear, and then she spat in my face. I released her and wiped my face.

"I didn't - I would never hit my son." She snapped.

"See... I didn't even mention anything about you hitting him..."

"Fuck you!"

"Say what you want. I know you did, but mark my words, Ava. You will never hurt him again."

"I'll be back for my son Aaron with a pack of lawyers!" She yelled, then stormed off.

I'd like to see her try.

I walked into the house and wiped the blood off my lip. Leah stood up as I locked the door behind me. She was holding Tristan, who was now awake and looked like he'd been crying.

"Are you okay?" She asked worriedly.

"Yeah." I answered.

I approached her and kissed Tristan's forehead. I took him into my arms and sat down with him. I looked down at Tristan and pressed my forehead to his.

Leah ran into the kitchen and came back with a damp rag. She pressed it to my lip and cleaned it.

"Thank you." I said, giving her a small smile.

"What happened with Ava? " She asked.

I sighed and placed Tristan on his feet, then rubbed my cast. "Ava is using drugs again."

"Again?"

"Yeah. I wouldn't let her in and she went full bitch on me. Long story short, she's getting a lawyer, and so am I." I said, staring at Tristan, who was touching Leo. "I want full custody."

Leah seemed to tense up at my words. "You may not get that."

"Why?" I asked.

"Your name isn't on his birth certificate." She says.

"He still has my last name and DNA."

"I'm not saying you won't get custody. I'm just saying it won't be hard for Ava to present herself as a responsible parent." Leah explains. "If she calls the police right now, you can get arrested for kidnapping."

I sighed and ran my fingers through my hair. "She won't call them... not when she's high."

"She can get clean and still call them. Your best bet is collecting the necessary evidence against her to prove she isn't as innocent as she is going to claim." Leah continues.

"What type of evidence?" I asked.

"Well, firstly, you have cameras outside, right?" She asked.

"Of course." I answered.

"Well, get the footage of her hitting you and also see if you can get any security footage of when she locked him in the car." Leah said. "And I'm assuming she's been to rehab?"

"She has." I agree.

"Good. Dig up those records." She said like she was getting in the zone. "Also, social services will be doing home visits, so Tristan needs a proper room... you have a good image so far. Supportive and safe household. The hard part is convincing the judge to why he or she should tear a child from his mother permanently."

"Sometimes I forget you're a law student." I said, wrapping an arm around her. "Are you studying family court?"

She looked away from me, but I turned her face to me. "Tell me."

Leah sighed and picked the skin around her fingers, causing them to bleed, and I stopped her. She does that what she's nervous.

"My mom and dad were drug addicts. Let's just say they learned how to fool the courts." She explained.

"That's the first time you've mentioned your family to me." I say to her.

Tristan reaches up for Leah, and she picks him up and sat him in her lap while she lays on my chest.

"I try not to. I only send money to my siblings so they can take care of themselves while living with my parents."

I feel for her.

"That's why you chose surrogacy?" I asked.

"Part of it yes. Sorry."

I want to know more about her.

"Are you the oldest?" I asked.

"No. I have a step sister named Ryver. She's a little older than me." She says.

"You don't talk about her."

"We don't talk anymore. We were all so busy just trying to get out, plus we had different dads." She answers as Tristan drums softly on her belly.

I took a deep breath and kissed her forehead. "You're safe now... with me."

Leah smiles at me. "I know, but there's still one more thing to do."

"What?" I asked.

"This one involves your family.. If this goes to court you might need a few people to speak on your character." She explains.

I took another deep breath. "Then I hope you're ready to meet my family." I said to her, and her eyes widened.

"W-w-what?" She stuttered, and I grinned.

________

Family reunion....