This Is War

This Is War chapter 4

I looked at the little boy laying in bed. He was so adorable when he slept. It was nearly four in the morning and I still hadn't been asleep. I hadn't been able too. Everytime I closed my eyes I saw Garrett and Jason and it brought back memories that I didn't want to remember. I had to get away for a few days.

When I had left the school, I had went straight to my stepfathers house. I rushed into the house to gather the things I would need and quickly left the house. I made sure to be in and out before Jackson got home from work. I had gathered enough stuff to last me and Christian a while out on our own. I just couldn't go back to that school after what I saw. I knew I would have to go back eventually, but that didn't mean I had to go back right away. The only people who would be worried were my siblings, Jake..... and possibly Garrett. The sports teams would be happy that I wasn't around. It would give them a shot at captain in every sport. It would give them a chance to prove themselves. I laughed at the thought.

Standing up, I moved to the corner of the room and started looking through my bags, making sure that I had everything. Phone. Check. Charger. Check. Fake ID. Check. Money. Check. Clothes and toiletries. Check. And I had some other various things.

I couldn't think of anything else that Christian and I would need, so I shrugged my shoulders and walked back over to the bed. I had driven for almost five hours after school before pulling into a motel for the night. Christian hadn't asked anything since we left, but he seemed unusually quiet. It made me wonder if he had seen Garrett while we were in school. That would probably be a bad thing at this point.

I layed next to my son and closed my eyes, trying to force myself into sleep. In the end, it didn't work out very well for me.

***

"Momma, I'm hungry," Christian piped up from the backseat. I smiled at him through my rearview mirror.

"Okay, baby. We'll stop for something here soon okay?"

"Okay, momma." He was silent for a few moments. "Momma, where are we going?"

"We are going to see grandma and grandpa. You remember ridin' the horses up there?"

"Yea. It's pa's mommy and daddy's house, ain't it momma?"

"That's right, bub. We were up here just a few weeks ago."

"Momma, I wanna wait till we get to granddaddy's to eat. Mammaw makes good food," he said with a smile on his face. I couldn't help but laugh at how cute he was.

"Okay, man. We'll be there in about an hour. Can you wait until then?"

"I can if it's for mamaws food," he replied. I laughed at that. He was just too adorable for his own good.

***

I unbuckled Christian from his carseat and sat him on the ground. He yelled happily and ran up to the porch. The occupants of the house heard him through the screen door and made their way outside. Debbie's face lit up as Christian ran into her arms. Steven was walking out of the house right behind her. I walked up the porch steps and stood beside them. Steven wrapped his arm around my shoulder.

"Now what brings you up here?" He whispered.

"I missed you guys...  And I had an encounter with someone at school yesterday. I needed to get away and I figured you both would enjoy seeing your grandson."

"Well, you were definitly right about that. But we love seeing you too, so don't make this all about him. Now are you going to tell me what happened at school?"

"Did you know all of your boys are in town?" I asked quietly. Steven was taken aback by my question.

"What do you mean?"