A/N: Sorry for the delay in getting this chapter to you. Writer's block hit me like a train and I was too caught up on formulating the perfect court day chapter that I got overwhelmed and couldn't write it. Now, I've decided to skip way past the details and continue on where we left off. I may come back to it and eventually write the court scene, but for now, to stop you waiting any longer, I'm going to move past it! Hope you all understand, even though it was a huge plot point. My mind is not co-cooperating.
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EZRA • POV
Relief was a powerful emotion and when it hit me, it slammed into me like a semi-truck. I felt the fear and the anguish and the soul crushing anxiety that had been haunting me ever since my baby Ollie had been born, leave me in a rush. It felt like a rollercoaster drop after a burst of adrenaline. My body tingled, my heart was pounding against my rib cage and I could hardly breathe through my nose and mouth.
"WE DID IT! YOU DID IT! HOLY SHIT EZRA! AHHH!"
Jae was screaming, his excited hollers bouncing off the fancy walls and high ceilings as he jumped up and down on the spot, clapping his hands and throwing his fists up in the air. The horrified looks of other court goers and law enforcement officers didn't perturb him in the slightest as he barrelled into me, almost knocking us both into the little water barrel beside the door of the courtroom we had just triumphantly left.
I wrapped my arms around him, holding him tightly to me, feeling tears of overwhelming joy blur my vision and wet my cheeks. "We did it, sweetheart. I couldn't have done any of this without you," I raspeed, squeezing him tighter to me and he laughed, burying in against my neck, his fingertips clawing at my suit jacket. "I fucking love you."
"I love you too, Ezra, so much! Even if I wasn't here, you would've won, I have no doubt about it. You're so much stronger than you give yourself credit for," Jae pulled back, those dark, almost black, mono-lidded eyes shimmering under the lights as he smiled at me, pressing our foreheads together. "It's over," he whispered intimately against my lips and I tugged him to me, impossibly closer, pressing my mouth over his for a kiss. It was the only way, other than words, that I could think of to thank him.
Jae kissed me back, feverishly, our tears mixing, salt on our lips and tongues. Eventually, when we both couldn't breathe, I pulled away, pressing tender pecks to the side of his mouth and then eventually his nose as I distanced myself enough to speak. "Let's go get our baby. Then, we celebrate." I could think of one million other things and places I wanted to do and be right now instead of wearing this stuffy suit, five steps away from my scowling ex, our parents and this depressing courthouse.
"Damn fucking right we do! Drinks are on me!" Evan hollered, before his large arms came around Jae and I, crushing us to him. I didn't dare fight him, letting him kiss my forehead aggressively and then Jae's. Jae was giggling so loudly that security were closing in, but all three of us didn't give a fuck. Because we'd won. We'd actually won.
I'd entered that courtroom terrified that I'd lose my baby, that Renee's lies would spread like poison, corrupting the minds of the judge who listened to her and then eventually my life when she took Ollie away. But that hadn't happened. The judge had ruled joint custody over Ollie as Renee's so-called 'evidence' of domestic violence had been severely lacking. I'd been publicly reprimanded for my temper and was ordered to take part in parenting and anger management programmes, but aside from that, the judge hadn't found any reason substantial enough to stop me from having joint custody of my boy.
It turned out that Renee had also hired a private investigator to scope me out and well, things had gotten messy when cheating on both our sides had come to light. But I'd refused to feel reprimanded for finding Jae and for falling in love with him while I still had that dang wedding band on my finger. The silver meant nothing other than a contract I had been coerced into and therefore my affairs with other men and women, then eventually monogamously with Jae, hadn't stained my conscience at all. No matter how frowned upon it had been viewed in court.
On top of the cheating, my sexuality had been raised multiple times on the stand. Renee had claimed that my homosexual relationships were damaging towards Ollie's development and against her strong moral 'beliefs'. I'd been absolutely horrified to sit in my chair and listen to the defaming accusations of grooming she'd managed to pull out of her ass - including claims of sexually transmitted diseases, more prone to 'gay communities' I was putting Ollie at risk to. My parents, who'd been sitting with Renee's parents on the defendant's side of the courtroom, had been quick to add their two pence on the topic when they were called to testify.
I was an abomination to their 'religious beliefs'. I shouldn't be allowed to raise my own son in such a 'troubling environment'. The house Jae and I lived in 'wasn't safe'. Cheating on Renee with other men had ruined our relationship. That one had made me scoff. Of course it was my fault and not the fact that Renee had been paid to date and marry me in the first place. That wasn't a major factor at all.
It was disgusting and thankfully, the judge seemed to think so too. It was satisfying but not nearly justice enough to see Renee reprimanded for her factless claims. The relief I'd felt when the judge had stated loudly and clearly that Renee's mindset towards homosexuality would be more damaging to Ollie than my sexuality itself, had been welcome . I'd been glad I wasn't the only one to have such views.
One thing that was reinstated for sure after today was, aside from allowing Ollie to see his mother and grandparents, I was cutting off all contact and ties with Renee's family and my own. I never wanted to see them again after what they put me through, having to listen to them drag me through dirt as though I wasn't the very son they had brought into this world and were supposed to protect and love. I was absolutely finished. I'd never be able to forgive them for this, not even on my deathbed.
Evan released us from his enthusiastic bear hug, just in time for the witch herself to come storming past, our parents on her shiny, red heels as she stomped by, hands on her slightly extended stomach. The baby had been a topic on hold. There was nothing I, nor the judge could do about that until Renee agreed to a paternity test, which she had conveniently decided to decline. I still worried, however, about Ollie's youngest sibling.
"You haven't won." Renee snarled viciously as she passed and her blue pupils were like piercing rings of ice lodged in her skull. I watched my soon to be ex-wife flip her long, golden hair over her shoulder as she stomped away, her entourage of parents following along behind her, glaring with beady eyes, as though they could perish me with their gazes. My own sperm and egg donors didn't even spare me even a disgusted glance as they swiftly left.
"Is this the part where she gets run over by a bus? Like in Mean Girls?" Jae whispered and I pinched him, giving him a perplexed look. He raised his hands, a mischievous, slightly evil grin spreading across his gorgeous face. "Just kidding! No I wasn't! I'll pay for what I said when I meet her in hell. Anyway! Let's get our baby boy!" Jae began tugging on my arm, eager to leave and find Ollie, but I stopped him, tugging him back into my side.
I turned to my lawyer, Gina Porter, who was standing off to the side, watching us scream and hug like a bunch of kids in a playground supervised by their loving, yet stern teacher. She was smiling, her wrinkled lips stretched wide, her freckled face almost glowing with happiness. It was probably the first time I'd seen her smile so widely since I'd first met her all those weeks ago, lost and broken, desperate for help.
I released Jae so that I could hug her tightly and she patted my back, placatingly. "Thank you," I told her with all the sincerity I felt, squeezing her just a little bit tighter. "Thank you for helping me and my family. I get to take Ollie back home because of you. I'll never forget this."
"I did my job," she chuckled, pulling back and smoothing out the lapels on her immaculate suit jacket, though a slight pink tinted her cheeks and the tip of her pointed, freckled nose. "Though this isn't over just yet. I'll have miles of paperwork for you to fill out and you have to keep to your court ordered anger management and parenting classes on top of your therapy. Understand? Well done, Mister Carter, you've done great, but we've still got a little ways to go," the older woman smiled, patting my arm. I nodded, promising that I'd do anything they told me to do. I wouldn't dare fuck this up now.
Evan's phone began ringing and he stepped away, grinning as he waved the device. "Miyah," he mimed as he accepted the call, heading for the front, revolving doors that lead to the parking lot beyond. I said goodbye to Gina and Jae did the same, grabbing my hand as we trailed after my big brother. Jae was still bouncing beside me and I just wanted to get him and Ollie home and on the couch where I could wrap them up in my arms and hold on tight, just appreciate having them with me for as long as I could.
"Ezra!"
Evan's yell made me startle and I looked away from Jae, who I'd noticed this morning, looked absolutely stunning in formal wear, my head jerking up to find the source of the frantic shout. Evan's excited demeanor had morphed and twisted into one of utter panic and despair and I felt myself tense, immediately on high alert as impending dread wiped the smile clean off my face.
"What is it?! What's wrong?!" Jae asked, as we pushed towards my brother who looked out of his mind now as he began a sprint for the revolving doors, shoving unfortunate people out of his path in his haste to get out. We rushed after him and when we finally burst outside, Evan spun, waving his phone with crazed, storming grey eyes.
"It's Ollie! Miyah said he's been kidnapped! He said it was a police officer! Miyah, he's hurt! I have to get to him, Ez! Fuck!" Evan looked terrified, as though just the thought of his Jeremiah being injured was killing him and I was the same when the words 'Ollie' and 'kidnapped' finally hit their mark like a fatal punch to the chest. My stomach fell out of my body and my heart plummeted with terror.
"What?!" Jae's eyes were wild as he looked between the two of us, his usually tan, golden skin gone pale at his cheeks. His hooded eyes were wide with shock, and then determination. "When? What happened? Did Jeremiah get a description of the guy?" He questioned rapidly, but his words sounded like ringing in my ears.
I couldn't think of anything other than Ollie being frightened, possibly harmed and in danger. I wanted to rage, I wanted to scream, I wanted to tear through this fucking city until I found him. The happy serotonin that had me on cloud nine after our win was long gone. Instead, adrenaline coursed through me as we dashed for my parked car like mad men and tunnel vision had a hold of me, like a whirlwind of rage and fear and crippling worry. Who would do this-
"He mentioned Renee!" Evan yelled, yanking open the driver's side door of my car. "Said the officer was going on about taking him back to her. If you can catch up with her, she'll be able to lead us to where Ollie is. You guys go on without me, I have to get Miyah," Evan stressed, about to slide into the seat, the engine already revving before he fully folded himself inside.
"No! Let me go after Jeremiah!" Jae demanded, pushing me firmly towards the passenger side door. "You guys go after Renee, try and find Ollie.'
"No, I-" Evan began to protest, looking wrecked with despair, but Jae cut him off, pointing at me.
"Look at him! He's gonna do something fucking stupid and I'm not strong enough to hold him back when his two-fifty pound ass tries to kill somebody! I need you to make sure that we still have joint fucking custody after we get Ollie back and he doesn't end up in jail! I'll find Jeremiah and get him to a hospital!" Jae kissed me briefly before running off - to find another vehicle I assumed.
I hopped into the passenger side of the Rover, slamming the door shut, glad that Evan was driving because I would've added multiple traffic violations on top of that 'killing somebody' jail wrap. "Go!" I growled at my brother and he cursed, slamming his fist against the steering wheel as he tore out of the parking spot and beyond the lot of the court house, tires squealing.
I cursed Renee to hell and back one thousand times, my hands clenched over my thighs in a failing effort to ground myself enough to pay attention to the road and find the entourage of black cars Renee and my family had arrived in. My eyes darted frantically up and down the highway, finally spotting the three cars a few lanes over, sitting like ducks in traffic. I sat up straighter, pointing out of the window for Evan to see. "There!"
He swerved, making his way over, weaving in and out of stationary and moving cars with skill and precision - though not nearly as fast as I would've liked considering the urgency of the situation. Eventually, the traffic began to move and I watched as one car split off from the trio, taking an exit off the highway. I'd bet money on my life that Renee was in that car. Evan seemed to agree, quick to take the exit and follow behind at a safe distance. God forbid Renee caught sight of us and lured us to a different location.
Thoughts of Ollie, his red little face, his tears, his screams, his terror at being taken away from Jeremiah, his family, and alone with a stranger plagued me. I imagined him injured, calling out for me, or perhaps his bunny and pacifier. Those images were the worst form of torture and my breathing became laboured the longer my mind twisted them throughout my consciousness. Blood, broken bones, bruising... it got worse and worse until eventually Ollie was dead.
"Stop it," Evan growled, his hand squeezing my thigh painfully hard. "She's a fucking maniac, and yes, she's gone way too fucking far, but she wouldn't kill him. She wants you to hurt by taking him away, that's all. She loves that boy, in some sick and twisted way. Don't let your thoughts go to that dark place. Stay with me, Ezra."
I nodded, grabbing a hold of my big brother's hand and squeezing desperately. Please be right. Please be fucking right. I didn't know what in the hell I was going to do if those nightmares became a reality.
Just hang in there Ollie, baby, Daddy's coming.
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A/N: Thank you for being patient lovelies, I'll try to get the next update going as fast as I can 🙏🏾❤️
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