Family Stories

chapter 21: Hurts Like Hell

Owen was doing his daily evening round and kissed all kids good night. As soon as he arrived at Ryan's door and opened it, the ten-year old turned away from him without any word.

"Ryan, what's wrong?", Owen sighed, feeling very concerned.

"Nothing.", the child snapped angrily.

"Of course something is. You can tell me! Did I do something you didn't like?", his father asked.

"You married my mom.", Ryan answered seriously.

"What? You're not okay with me marrying Amelia anymore?", the trauma surgeon wanted to be sure, not understanding the problem just yet. Silence met him once again, making the redhead deepen the conversation: "What do you want to tell me with that?"

"That you are not my dad and you love the others more than me anyway. You are just accepting my presence but obviously I'm basically just a burden to you.", the ten-year old explained. He stood up and tried to get out of the room.

"Baby, that's not true! I love you as much as your siblings. That I am not your biological father doesn't change anything for me. You are and will always be my son.", his dad replied, shocked.

"Get out of my way or I'll kill you!", Ryan screamed. He didn't want to hear Owen's lies anymore. "I actually don't care, because I hate you anyway!"

"You don't! Stop lying to yourself, Ryan!", Owen demanded. His patience was starting to decrease rapidly and his heart had never been that broken before.

"Ryan Christopher Hunt!", Amelia warned from her spot at the door. She glanced at her son in disappointment. "You don't mean any of that, so apologize to your father right now!" She had told the other kids to stay in their rooms when the loud fight had started.

"Are you really choosing his side now?", the ten-year old challenged his mother. "And also, he is not my dad!", he encouraged his main point again. That was enough for Owen to break. He silently left the room, fled to the bedroom and finally let all the burning tears in his eyes fall.

Ryan was his son. He had been his son since the day they had met in the cafeteria of the hospital. The trauma surgeon was sitting on his half of the bed, crying into his hands in front if his face, his back turned to the door.

"Are you kidding me? What is this about?", Amelia asked her son in shock. She sounded angrier than she had planned, because maybe there was more to the whole situation than what she knew of.

"I knew you'd be mad.", Ryan started sobbing. "The kids in school told me that when a child is adopted, it won't be as loved as the parents' biological children. And I am Owen's only adopted child."

"But sweetie, how can you believe them something like that when Owen has always treated you right and loved you with his whole heart?", his mother wanted to know, gently wiping the boy's tears off his cheeks with her thumbs.

"I'm sorry, mommy!", the young brunette sniffled sadly.

"Don't apologize to me but to the right person, love. But you can do that tomorrow, it is time for sleep now.", the neurosurgeon decided.

"Okay...", Ryan mumbled. He got a kiss from his mama and tried to fall asleep.

"Babe?", Amelia carefully made her presence clear to not make her husband jump. "I know you're hurt, honey."

"Could you please just leave me alone?", Owen asked, his voice sounding broken and thick from all the crying. This made his wife's heart ache and she hugged him from behind, which made the redhead break down again. He held her arms as if his life depended on it. "I never wanted him to feel this way, Amelia. And I actually thought I'd show him every day how much he means to me."

"Owen, shhh!", the brunette cooed, trying to calm her husband down a little. "It wasn't your fault. The other pupils told him that adopted children are never as loved as biological ones.", she explained and he finally understood what was going on, where all of that was coming from.

The trauma surgeon was exhausted from all the stress and the crying, so that he fell asleep in his wife's arms. She got herself ready for bed, put the blanket over Owen's body and sweetly caressed his hair until she surrendered to sleep too.

Ryan couldn't sleep that night. The feeling of guilt was suffocating him and rolling around didn't make it stop. He was laying there, awake for a long time, until he decided on a brave step.

He quietly made his way over to his parents' bedroom and took a deep breath before tapping his sleeping father onto his upper arm. When he saw him open his eyes slowly and tiredly, the ten-year old started whispering.

"Daddy? I'm sorry.", he apologized shyly. "You are my father and I don't care if we aren't blood related." A tear made its way out of his eye and fell down his cheek. "Because I love you so much!", Ryan sniffled.

Owen didn't waste a second and wiped the boy's tears away, just as his wife had done hours earlier. He held up the blanket for his son to crawl into his arms and hugged him tightly. With a kiss to his head, the ten-year old was out like a light.

"I love you too, baby!", his dad whispered into the darkness, relieved that they were good again and he was finally able to sleep peacefully.