All of Me

XIV

Amaru ran his hands down his face and sighed deeply. Killian's grief was taking a toll on him and he couldn't do anything except go with the flow.

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Heather frowned as Amaru removed her hands from his body. He was in the middle of daydreaming when she walked in the bathroom and wrapped her arms around his torso. Amaru walked out of the bathroom and enter his attached bedroom and sat on the bed.

"Umm, did I do something wrong? I'm sorry if I was pushy." Heather said. "Should I leave?"

"No, don't leave. I'm sorry." Amaru replied. "I'm just stressed and I feel like I'm failing."

"What's going on?" Heather asked as she sat beside him.

"Killian had a setback today after school." Amaru began. "He and Mya stopped by the shop so he could see me then he cried and begged to stay. He agreed to have Mya pick him up before dinner time and when she did, he started acting a fool. He kicked Mya in the knee and punched Arman in the lip then he fucking lashed out on me. I had to reschedule my last appointment and close the shop early because he just wouldn't fucking stop. I don't know what to do at this point."

"I think both of you should take a day off tomorrow and talk to Dewayne together. Everyone has been working as a team to help Killian through this, but some more help is needed." Heather explained. "I'm sorry that you had to go through that today. I know this is hard for you."

Amaru nodded. "You're right. Thank you for understanding. I'm sorry for blowing you off like that."

"It's okay." Heather replied as she kissed his cheek.

All of a sudden, the two of them heard Micah crying and Killian yelling at him. They rushed to Killian's room and found Micah on the floor holding his left eye while Killian was yelling in his face.

Amaru quickly grabbed Killian while Heather picked Micah up and checked to see why he was holding his eye. His eye was red and it was starting to bruise a bit. Heather looked at Killian in shock before she went to grab Micah's bag,

"We're going home." Heather said quickly.

"Heather, I—I'm sorry." Amaru stammered with tears in his eyes.

Heather only nodded as she made her exit. "I'll check on y'all later."

"Killian, what is wrong with you? Why are you lashing out?" Amaru asked.

"Get off of me!" Killian hollered as he dug his nails into Amaru's face.

Amaru grabbed Killian's arms and pinned him to the bed. "I'm trying to be fucking patient with you but you're pissing me off! You put your hands on someone else again and I swear I'm gonna beat your ass!"

"I hate you! I wish you were never my daddy! I want to be with auntie and uncle!" Killian yelled back.

Amaru held back his tears as he let Killian go and went to his room to grab his phone. He called Shakur who picked up on the third ring.

"Yo, what's up?" Shakur said.

"Come get your fucking nephew." Amaru told him.

"What's going on, man?" Shakur asked.

"He wants to be with y'all. Come get him." Amaru replied as he finally broke down and cried.

"We're on our way, man." Shakur said before hanging up.

-

Amaru made a post on his social media business page about the shop being closed until further notice due to personal issues. All of his clients who had appointments that week and the following week told Amaru to keep their deposits and schedule them for later dates, which he was grateful for.

Amaru sat in Dewayne's waiting room along with Big Mama, Mya, Shakur, Arman, Heather, Micah, Dear, and Cynthia. Killian was inside the office with Dewayne and he's been in there for almost two hours now.

"Amaru?" Dewayne said as he peeped his head out the room. He motioned for Amaru to come in and he got up from his spot to follow Dewayne in the room. Killian was sitting on the couch with tears streaming down his face as Amaru sat down next to him. "Killian, tell your dad what's on your heart whenever you're ready."

Killian sniffled as he wiped his face. He looked up at Amaru who was already looking at him. "I'm sorry for everything I put everyone through. Yesterday, some of my friends at school were talking about their mommy's cooking. It made me mad because I couldn't say anything about my mommy's cooking. I'm upset because everybody has a mommy except me. The chance I got to be with my mommy was taken away from me."

Amaru nodded understanding what his son was saying. "I forgive you, Killian and I'm sorry for not being patient enough. I'm not gonna lie, I lost my mind last night and I shouldn't have. I know you and Dewayne had a conversation with expressing your feelings and controlling your anger—we also have that conversation almost everyday. It's a day to day process and we're gonna get through this. Everyone is here for you, little man. We're not gonna give up on you."

"Now, I want the two of you to go to family counseling as well—just to get a little more help. I have a line brother who is a family counselor. I can give y'all his information if you're interested." Dewayne told them.

"Yes, please." Amaru said. Dewayne nodded and gave Amaru his line brother's card.

"Alright, Killian. I heard you have a surprise in the waiting room." Dewayne said with a smile.

"I do?" Killian asked as he looked at his father. Amaru smiled and nodded. Amaru led the way to the door and opened it, allowing Killian to walk out first. "You guys came?" He said once he saw his family.

"Of course, we want to make sure you're okay." Shakur told him.

"I'm sorry for everything I did yesterday. I didn't mean it." Killian told everyone.

"We still love you, little man. Nothing's changed—except the bruise on my eye." Arman said, mumbling the last part.

Micah escaped from his grandmother's arms and approached Killian, going in for a hug. Everyone's heart fluttered as they watched the two boys hug it out.

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