Lizzie's POV
Charlie was shouting at his daughter and I cuddled Leo who buried his head into my side.
"It's ok." I murmured, stroking his hair. "Papá's just a bit upset."
"What the hell were you thinking?" He yelled. He was so angry he was speaking in a mixture of English and Spanish. Leo clung to me again.
"Por favor–"
The rest of her response was too mumbled and quiet to understand.
Leo buried his head into my chest and I wrapped my arms around him, murmuring in his ear.
"It's ok. Should we get the Lego out?" I asked, softly.
He nodded and I squeezed his hand as I helped him find the Lego box and sat on the carpet to help him build a house.
As I watched him, I replayed the events of last night, Charlie had told me to go upstairs and have a shower whilst he put Leo to bed. Later, he had met me in my room whilst I still had only a towel wrapped around me.
"Don't worry about pyjamas." He whispered, nuzzling my neck. "You're not going to need them."
I smiled at the memory.
I heard him yelling something in Spanish and to my surprise Maddie yelled back.
Leo turned his soft brown eyes to meet mine and I squeezed his hand reassuringly.
"It's ok." I whispered. "It's ok. I'm here."
He looked troubled and I sighed as the yelling got louder.
"Should we go to the park?" I asked, softly. "There's a nice one nearby."
He nodded and put his shoes on whilst I grabbed my purse and scribbled Charlie a note.
Taking his hand, we walked to the park. He relaxed outside and skipped to the park, smiling up at me.
"Is there a roundabout?" He asked.
"Yes. And a climbing frame."
"Climbing frames are scary." He frowned.
"What if I went on it with you so you didn't fall?" I asked.
He nodded.
"Are there swings?"
"Is it a park if they don't have swings?" I teased and he smiled.
"Play with me?" He asked, as we reached the park.
"Of course."
He pulled me towards the swings and I smiled as he giggled.
"Higher." He demanded.
"We can't go any higher." I explained. "Unless we do this."
I swept him out of the swing and held him high above my head while he giggled uncontrollably.
"What should we do now?" I asked.
He pulled me around the park and I followed him as he giggled and I spun him around in circles until we collapsed onto the grass giggling.
He leaned his head on my chest and smiled up at me.
"I love you, Lizzie." He said.
"I love you too, Leo." I replied. I wrapped him in a hug and held him close, thinking about how much I wanted to stay a part of their lives.
~*~
"I don't want to go home just yet." Leo said as we walked back from the park.
"No?"
"No."
"Don't you want to see Papá?"
He shook his head. "I want to spend time with you."
I smiled. "Ok. Should we go to the trampoline park?"
He nodded.
"And then we can get lunch on the way home?"
He nodded again and jumped up and down in excitement.
I held his hand as we got the bus into town and he smiled at me.
"Papá used to take us to the zoo a lot when I was little." He frowned. "The animals always looked sad."
I wrinkled my nose. I didn't much like zoos. The concept of it was good, preserving nature and all that, but Leo was right. The animals always looked so sad and trapped.
"Why don't we go to a petting zoo?" I asked.
"What's that?"
"It's a zoo with smaller animals and the zookeepers let you hold them. Would you like to try it?"
He nodded.
"Do you want to go to the trampoline park or the zoo today?" I asked.
He hesitated. "Can we do both?"
"Maybe, but if not we can go to the other tomorrow with Papá and Maddie." I said.
He nodded. "Petting zoo please."
"You got it."
I looked up to check we were going the right way and squeezed Leo's hand.
Leo looked out the window at the passing scenery and back up at me, giving me a beaming smile that was sweeter than my boys' cheeky grins.
We got off the bus and I led the way. He stuck close to me as we got closer to the crowds and I squeezed his hand again, kneeling down to face him.
"It's alright." I said, kissing his hand. "Do you want a piggy back?"
He nodded and I boosted him onto my back so he could cling on. I weaved in and out of the crowds and he clung on tight, burying his head into my shoulder to protect himself from the crowds.
When we got to the zoo, I put him down and took his hand again, before paying for a ticket.
"What do you want to see first?" I asked.
He blinked up at me and I led him to a board showing all the animals, lifting him up to show him properly.
"These are all the animals we can see." I said softly. "What would you like to see first?"
He pointed to the rabbits and I took his hand following the signs for the rabbits. Entering the shed, he crouched down and stared in wonder at the rabbits in the pen.
"What are their names?" He asked.
"Lily, Clover and Buck." A young man said, crouching down next to him. "Would you like to feed them?"
He nodded and the man handed him a handful of leaves.
"These are Clover's favourite snack." He said, gesturing to the little brown and white rabbit near Leo. "If you stay quiet and hold them out, she will come and eat."
Leo waited patiently until the rabbit hopped towards him and nibbled the leaves in his hand. He gasped. I smiled as his small hand reached to stroke the rabbit's ears. His eyes held the kind of wonder only a little kid could have.
"Look Lizzie." He whispered. "She's so soft."
He stroked the rabbit and I snapped a picture to send to Charlie later. I crouched down next to him and gently rubbed the rabbit behind her ears. Leo smiled as he stepped back to let the rabbit run around in the pen.
"What would you like to see next?" I asked.
~*~ *~
Charlie's POV
I ran a trembling hand through my hair and shook my head.
I was sat downstairs, having left Maddie to sleep it off. My hands trembled with fury and I thought about what she had said.
It hurts, Papá. Do you know what it's like to close your eyes and see the face of a monster?
So why won't you talk to me about it?
Because you don't know him like I do. You could never understand.
And the truth of it was, she was right. I felt the anger slowly dissolve as I wondered how to make her pain go away.
I picked up the note Lizzie had left and smiled. I hoped Leo was having a good time. I felt guilty for shouting and probably frightening him. I buried my head in my hands and once again thought of all the secrets my kids were probably keeping to themselves and wondering how I was supposed to protect them from the dangers of the outside world.
Therapy.
She needed therapy right? She couldn't be doing this. She needed to talk to someone about what she was going through. I knew she wouldn't want to talk to me, but she had to talk to someone.
I would talk to her later, once I had calmed down. Checking my phone, I smiled at the pictures Lizzie had sent.
Looks like you're having fun.
How is she?
She's been better.
The phone rang and I answered it with a smile.
"How's she doing?" She asked.
"She's fine. She's sleeping. How's my boy?"
"He's having a nice time. Leo, do you want to speak to Papá?"
"Papá?"
"Hey, Lee. How are you doing?" I asked softly.
"We're at the zoo. I get to stroke a goat."
"Yeah? Are you having fun?"
"Yeah. When are you joining us, Papá?"
"Not yet, Lee. But I'll see you later. We can watch a movie with Lizzie. Does that sound good?"
"Yeah."
"Ok. Have fun with Lizzie and be a good boy."
"I'm always a good boy, Papá."
I chuckled. "I know you are. Te querio."
"Te querio."
He handed the phone back to Lizzie.
"We'll see you soon, yeah?"
"Thank you for looking after him." I said.
"Not a problem."
"See you soon. Love you."
"Love you too."
I hung up and my thoughts turned back to my daughter. As if she knew I was thinking about her, she walked into the living room and I handed her a glass of water and painkillers.
"Thank you." She murmured.
She sat down opposite me and cradled her glass carefully, taking a sip.
"Do you want to talk about it?" I murmured.
She shook her head. "Not right now. I just want to go back to bed."
"But you will talk?"
She nodded.
"Later." She promised.
I relaxed and observed my daughter, wondering how to help her remove the scars of the past and cover them with new memories so they didn't hurt as much.
~*~*~*~*~
Lizzie's POV
Leo skipped alongside me as we left the zoo.
"Did you have a good time?" I asked.
He nodded.
"Do you want to have some lunch before we go home?"
He nodded and I led him to the nearest cafe and told him to order whatever he liked. He smiled at me as he tucked into his pasta and I wanted to wrap him up tight.
I picked at my salad and listened to Leo as he spoke at a hundred miles an hour and realised this was the most he had spoken since I had met him. He was getting used to me already. I swallowed.
I thought about Charlie and Maddie back home and hoped they were doing ok and wondered why the thought of anything being wrong with them made my heart squeeze with pain.
Slowly, I realised I had fallen in love with this family. So I hoped nothing went wrong.