Close Your Eyes: Book Four

Chapter Seventeen

"Hey baby." I reply. Liam glances over his shoulder at me and smiles, and I feel my heart warm.

I'm just so tired of being upset with my mother all the time. All I need in my life is this, right here. The five of us are everything I need.

I sit down on the closed toilet lid and Eloise pulls herself up with her chubby little hands, resting her palms on my knees.

I reach out and pick her up, kissing her cheek. She yawns and I can't help but smile at how adorable she is.

I rest my hand on her head to gently run my fingers through her hair, and I feel that it's damp, which means she got a bath first.

"Are you okay, Mommy?" Theo asks suddenly.

I look at him in confusion. "Of course. Why do you ask?"

He shrugs.

"It's just that Grandma was really mean to you at the park today and then you left. Where did you go?"

"I just went to the beach." I say. "Mommy just needed some time alone."

"Are you better now?" he asks me.

"I am better." I nod.

"Grandma has been mean to you a lot lately." Theo frowns. "It makes me sad that she could do that. You're my Mommy, and you would never be mean to me like that."

My smile fades slightly, because Theo is right.

I wouldn't do any of this to him. I would let him and his future wife deal with their problems on their own, because I would understand that they're adults and it's their marriage and their life.

And more importantly, if any one of my children were kidnapped, I would not stop fighting.

I would not stop looking. I would not stop trying to make sure the people I have left are happy.

Because it's not only about me. She practically abandoned Noah. He was so upset that he left Oahu. She got divorced from my Dad, and I look at Liam and try to put myself in my Mom's shoes, but they just don't fit.

If one of my kids were taken, I would put everything I have into finding them. I would give everything to make sure my other children were happy and that they understand it's not their fault, and I would try as hard as I can to keep my marriage intact.

And if my kidnapped child got to come home? I would stay with them. I would wake them up from their nightmares and lay with them in bed if that's what they need. I would help them feel safe again. I would show them everything I know about what they missed while they were gone so they would feel okay.

And as I sit here with my family, I just don't understand her. The more I try to grasp it, the less sense it makes.

And I know it's time for me to cut her out of my life. I want to focus on my family. My kids don't need to see me upset all the time and frankly, I'm tired of being upset all the time.

"Sav?" My eyes snap onto Liam's warm blue-grey ones. "Are you okay?"

I muster a smile and nod. "I'm alright."

________

After I had dinner and the kids went to bed, Liam told me he wanted to watch some TV, but I was tired so I went upstairs to read my book in the tub.

I hear the bedroom door open and Liam moving around, and a few moments later, he walks into the bathroom and stands in front of the tub in sweatpants and no shirt with his hands in his pockets.

I mark my page and set my book to the side, raising my eyebrows at him.

He sits down on the floor in front of the tub.