Finding Abel

Chapter 18.

Erin

The next day in our new condo was chaotic, I had to clean up this place because it was a ritual to do so. My mom always taught me to clean up a new house before settling in, you never knew what the previous owners did there. Wendy had come over to help me and she was extremely quiet, which wasn't like her at all.

"What's up with you today?" I said wiping down the counters in the kitchen. Wendy gave me a look and continued to scrub the oven. She was trying to ignore me but I was going to have that, "Wendy?! What's gotten into you?"

"What's gotten into me? What's gotten into you?!"

I outwardly groaned as Wendy picked up the same argument we had yesterday. She was mad that I didn't lose my mind on Jackson or his mother, who I still was pretty pissed at by the way. "Let's not do this today, please, I'm just trying to move in."

"Yeah, everyone moves into Charming and then never moves out."

"Wendy, dude, I'm trying! What do you want me to do? Ban him from seeing Abel? Tell him to glue Henry's hair back on his head?"

"No, I want you to put them in their place! Gemma crossed a line, a huge line, and you haven't said a word to her."

"Jax already knows not to let her around the kids anymore."

"Oh, please, Jax is a grade A momma's boy! He always runs to her when he needs her help and she's glued to his side, she'll never go away."

I put down the rag and sat on the nearest chair, "look, I already forgave him and I don't want to cause any issues. I think we made some really good progress yesterday, and I don't want to throw that all away. Am I pissed about my son's hair? Yes, but so was Jax and that gives me hope that we can only come up from here."

"He was actually mad at Gemma?" Wendy softened.

"Yes and maybe even a little mad at Tara for allowing her to take him. Now, is that enough proof for us to move on from this?" Wendy made a face and I stared at her confused, "what is it? What is that face?"

"I sort of...called Mama T." I looked at Wendy like she grew an extra head, "you called my mother?" Wendy looked apologetic, "yes, only because I thought you were letting them walk all over you..."

"You called my mother?!" I asked more freaked out. Wendy started to get anxious once she saw my mood shift. My mother, better known as Mama T, was Tanya Miller. She invented the word handful and the term "on sight" before they were made known to the public. If my mother came in contact with Jax's mother after learning about Henry's hair, well, bail money was mandatory to have at my disposal.

"Wendy, do you realize who my mother is? If she's not already on the first flight headed to California, then chances are that she is already here." I scolded Wendy when I realized that my mother was calling.

"Hey Ma," I braced myself for impact.

"Don't 'hey ma' me! What is this I hear about someone harming my grandson?!" I clenched my eyes shut as my mother yelled into the phone. Thankfully, I didn't hear the sound of aircraft behind her, so I assumed that she wasn't in Charming.

"Look, I had left the boys with Jackson for a couple of hours, he had to step out so his mother came over to help out. She was the one who cut Henry's hair, Jax wasn't at fault for this."

"Like hell he is, who does that woman think she is to touch my grandson?! I should go down there and give her a piece of my mind!"

"And how will that help me, mom? How on earth will you assaulting his mother help me in any way?"

"For one, it would send a clear message that you are a mother and you will protect your kids. Erin, what has gotten into you? I told you before you met this man what you should do and you're letting your guard down!"

"Ma, he isn't my enemy! Abel was kidnapped and taken away from his family. This isn't a situation where I could just go swinging my dick around like Jax was an absentee father." My mom was silent on the other end of the line and my breathing was rugged. I was so extremely tired of everyone around me telling me what I should or shouldn't do in this situation. I loved my boys, anyone with eyes could see that, but I don't know how to operate under these circumstances. Win or lose, someone will get hurt!

"Erin."

I gave a shaky breath, "yes ma?"

"You're his mother, don't let anyone take that away from you. You set the boundaries for your family and they will just have to follow until they can get it right."

I exhaled the breath that I was holding and my eyes became glossy, "I know."

"What did he say about it?"

"He apologized for what happened, we talked for a bit after that." I paused, "I don't know, he just seems to be on the same page that I am right now. He told me that he would keep my boys away from his mom."

My mom was silent on the other end and I continued, "mom, I don't want to hate him. Abel is so happy around him and he's been so nice to Henry, I just don't want to mess that up for them."

"Oh Erin," my mother sighed, "I love you guys, you are my only daughter and those boys are my grandbabies. I would be absolutely devastated if they were ever harmed, intentionally or not. I know you want this co-parenting thing to work out with this man, and I'm going to trust that you know what you're doing. But please don't feel like you can't reach out to me when things like this happen, sometimes you need a little chaos to get your point across."

I smiled, "are you trying to tell me that you are not on a plane ride over here?"

"No, unfortunately, your father and I are vacationing in Rome."

"Bummer," I said sarcastically.

"Oh don't feel too bad, I was able to have a little chat with Gemma Teller-Morrow this morning." Ah, and there it was. I felt a tight feeling in my chest as I anxiously thought about how the conversation may have gone.

"You don't miss do you?"

"Of course not, you didn't really think I was going to stay silent did you?"

"For a moment I hoped," I muttered, "well, thanks anyway mom, I'm sure your efforts will be helpful...in their own little way."

"My pleasure baby," I heard my dad shouting in the background, "Calm down, Erin's on the phone!" I pulled my cell phone from my ear as my mother shouted. She scoffed, "looks like I have to go, kiss my grandbabies for me, love you bye!"

The phone hung up before I could even finish the word 'love.' I rolled my eyes and tossed the phone back into my purse. Wendy gave me a look as I went back to wiping down the counters, only now more aggressively. "Don't say a word," I glared. She complied and went down the hall and into the boy's room with a look that was a cross between happy and guilty.

However, the more I cleaned the more anxious I became. I couldn't imagine what the conversation between my mother and Gemma sounded like. And the few ideas I did have weren't at all pleasant. I wanted to be upset but there was a part of me that matched the aggression my mother had. I mean, everyone was right, Gemma didn't have a single right to cut Henry's hair. She knew I was against it and went behind my back anyway.

As for Tara, her total disregard for Henry worried me. She had to hear Gemma leave with Henry yesterday, she had to have a moment where she could have called me or his father, so why didn't she say anything? Henry was Abel's brother; their relationship was not defined by blood. I get that she wants Thomas and Abel to bond, but why couldn't she offer the most basic care to Henry?

My mind was spinning and I was struggling with my choices. Gemma was guilty but Tara was an accessory. I'm not sure if I trusted any of them to be around Henry, and if I couldn't trust them around Henry, how could I trust them around Abel?