Uppercut (A James Maslow FanFic)

Chapter 28

Chapter 28

“Thanks so much for doing this,” I tried to sound grateful. It was harder than I expected. “I really appreciate it.”

“Oh, you’re welcome,” Corie stood in the doorway of her home as she gently grabbed Devon out of my arms and sat him on her hip. I also handed her the diaper bag I had been holding. Devon looked back and forth between us, gnawing on his fist. “I’m glad to help out.” Corie smiled softly. I could tell she felt somewhat bad for me. I did my best to ignore it.

I stood there for a moment, just staring at her. The thought of leaving my son at her house was unsettling to me. I mean, I trusted Corie. I knew she would take good care of Devon. I guess I just didn’t want to leave him at some stranger’s house by himself. He had met her before, on many different occasions actually, but they had only spent so much time together. And then, there was also the other reason why I didn’t want to leave him there… It meant that I was one step closer to dining with the Bassetts.

“Maddie, he’ll be fine, really,” Corie adjusted his weight as she spoke. From the look in her eyes I knew she meant it. “You don’t have to spend the rest of your night worrying about us.”

Compared to everything else I was currently worrying about, Corie watching Devon didn’t quite make it to the top of the list.

“I-I know…” I bit my lip nervously.

“I guess this would be the part where I wished you good luck or told you to have fun… But that doesn’t really fit the situation all that well.”

I forced a smile at her joke. I currently felt like I was getting eaten alive from the inside out. Humor wasn’t coming easily to me at the moment. “And… if you do happen to need anything, you can just text me.” I was definitely not opposed to having an excuse to leave this dreadful meal.

“Okay…”

Devon was looking at me now, seeming a little confused.

“Bye-bye Dev,” I gave him my best smile that I could. “Have fun with Corie.”

He removed his fist from his mouth. “Mommy. Where go?”

I swallowed nervously. Usually in this type of situation, I’d end up telling Devon that I was going to see a friend. Today, I refused to say the words. Even if I wanted to, I could never have forced them out. “I’ll be back soon, okay Bud? I love you.” I took a step forward so I could kiss him on the head.

“Wuv yoo,” Devon replied, making me want to smile for real this time.

“If you need to talk, or anything, afterwards… I’m here for you,” Corie met my eyes, giving me another sympathetic look at what I was about to go through.

I nodded in response. I had no idea what to expect from this and I was beyond terrified.  “Thanks,” I mumbled, forcing myself to take a step backwards, toward the driveway area.

“Bye…” Corie waved, causing Devon to copy her.

“See ya,” And with that, I unwillingly turned around and headed back towards the car, where the rest of my family was waiting.

I climbed into the back seat, right next to James. As soon as I was all buckled in and ‘ready to go’, my mom turned the car around in the driveway. I watched Corie and Devon wave from the doorway as we pulled onto the road. To say that everything went downhill from there would be an understatement.

The minutes ticked by as we drove. Everyone was silent. No one in the front seat, neither my mother nor Drew, had bothered to change the radio station whenever it went to a commercial. It seemed as if we all were deep in thought.