This chapter is dedicated to lydial03 - thanks for your many comments on the LWTCWM series, your feedback was great XD
9 - Screaming
Rena's POV
When the doorbell rang, I jumped up but my father was quicker. He had to have waited by the entrance - maybe Kade had even asked him to intervene if necessary - tearing the door open with a wide smile.
"Hey, you guys are back. How did it go?"
"Great. The wind was a bit nippy but I cuddled him up in his little blanket, so he was in the best of spirits." Charlotte's chirpy voice made me sick to my stomach. She should have realized that it was way too cold for a stroll and Noah probably caught a cold.
My dad took my son from Charlotte and was holding him up, cooing at him. With his chin, he signalled me to return to my room.
I was not going to have it. "Charlotte, I need to talk to you."
Her smile was absolutely faked. "Sure." She tossed my father a quizzical look who in turn shuffled his feet uneasily, halfway hiding behind the baby. He can be such a coward sometimes.
I point at the kitchen. "In there."
She followed me after a slight hesitation and as soon as she passed the threshold, I slam the door shut behind her. A protesting wail from Noah who hated loud noises of any kind resonated from the living room which I ignored.
With my arms folded in front of my chest, I glared at her. "Who do you think you are coming to my house and taking my son away without my permission?!" My voice was shrill and the crying behind the door intensified.
She was puzzled. "Not sure what you mean but this was agreed to by the lawyers. If you have a problem, you need to take it up with Noel. For now, you should check on your son."
I huffed with my finger extended. "Bitch, don't tell me what to do! You're just trying to take Noah away from me!" With great effort, I battled my tears while Noah's screams almost drowned out my words.
She frowned. "Don't be ridiculous."
A slight nuance of irritation was clearly audible which made me triumph - I was getting to her.
"You're acting like a lunatic teenager."
My temporary bubble of elation burst as my jaw dropped by her audacity.
"Now, excuse me." She spun around, storming out of the kitchen and going straight for Noah.
My dad, who had been gently rocking him, turned him over without the least reluctance. He had always been desperate at calming his grandson down when he was crying and was probably glad to pass him on.
"Shh, shh." Charlotte mumbled. "Come here, honey bear. Gogi got you."
I snorted about that silly nickname - I mean, which normal grandmother called herself Gogi - but to my amazement, Noah settled in a heartbeat. Not even I could quiet him that easily when he was in one of his crying fits.
With burning jealousy, I watched as he pressed his tear stricken face against her shoulder, his small body shaking from a few hiccups. Snuggling into her arms, he seemed totally content.
Every fiber in my body flared with rage and when I approached them, I was out for blood. "Give me my son." My voice was trembling so hard that I almost didn't get the words out.
She glanced at me. "Rena, you really need to calm down."
My hands balled to fists. "I said, give me my son." There had never been a time in my life where I wanted to slap someone so badly and my whole body tensed under her scrutinizing eyes. My hands lunged forward and started to pull on Noah's arm to get him away from her.
Without a further word, she offered him to me. As I snatched him against my chest, his little button nose wrinkled and tears filled his eyes. I knew a tantrum was coming.
"Leave," I demanded, shooting her a deadly look. "And don't ever come back here. You'll never see my son outside the court scheduled visitation again."
Noah's wailing echoed through the apartment as only response, like he wanted to complain against my interference in his life. I rushed into my bedroom, pushing the door closed behind me with my heel and cuddled him in a tight embrace on the bed. He kept screaming and kicking his little arms and legs, fighting hard against his restraints.
"Please, Noah, please stop crying," I hushed, my voice laced with tears. "Just please. Mommy loves you so much. You don't need that stupid Charlotte."
He didn't agree and his high-pitched scream almost split my eardrums. As my own tears began to fall, I rocked him gently back and forth, trying to sing him a lullaby, but my voice failed me.
By the time he had finally settled down, my nerves were shot and the hatred I felt towards Charlotte had skyrocketed. This was all her fault. In the few times she had had him during visitation, she had managed to totally alienate my son from me. Her evil plan was working and somehow, I had to stop her.
Dusk was already settling outside when Kade showed up. Noah had fallen asleep in my arms and was sucking his thumb, making smacking noises in between, all distress forgotten. He looked peaceful and on occasion, his eyelids twitched in his slumber, probably from his dreams.
I heard my father whisper with Kade in the living room but even with pricked ears, I couldn't make out the words. My dad was surely filling him in on my fight with Charlotte. Sure enough, a few minutes later, Kade materialized next to my bed and signalled me with his head to follow him.
Careful not to wake Noah, I slid out of the bed and followed him into the kitchen. To my surprise, Noel was also there and my father just poured him a glass of orange juice. Their faces were grim, including Kade's - there was no smile and not even a hello. The only thing that was offered to me was an envelope.
"What's that?" I asked.
Noel, as lawyer, provided the explanation. "This is an emergency petition filed this afternoon by Tivon Goldstein. It alleges that you're mentally unstable and unfit to raise Noah. He requests him to be removed from your care immediately."
I gasped. "That bitch. She set me up." I couldn't believe the maliciousness of that woman. First she practically kidnapped my son and now, she wants to take him away for good!"
Kade pinched the bridge of his nose. "Look Rena, your dad said that Charlotte was calm and composed when she returned Noah even though you screamed at her at the top of your lungs, totally scaring him. Then you tore him out of her arms and almost dropped him."
I shook my head. "That's not true. That's not how it happened."
With trembling fingers, I tore the envelope open and scanned the petition. There it was in black and white - Charlotte claiming I was an unfit mother. She even had paragraphs quoting what I had allegedly said.
"How is she supposed to even remember all this word-for-word? Does she also now have a photographic memory or something?" I laughed to lighten the mood but was only met by frowns.
"She taped the confrontation," Noel explained.
Another gasp escaped my mouth. "Is that even legal?"
He nodded. "It is even admissible in court if one party to the conversation knew about it." He ran his fingers through his hair. "I should have warned you. It's customary in custody cases and Tivon always tells his clients to do it."
The tape complicated matters though ultimately, I hadn't done anything wrong. "So what if she taped the fight. It doesn't prove anything."
All three men stared at me with an open mouth.
I shrugged. "Okay, I called her a bitch, but I never threatened her or anything."
Noel cleared his throat. "The tape was played to the judge as part of a request for emergency relief and basically, all you could hear was Noah's distressing screams. He then calmed down when Charlotte spoke to him but started back up as soon as he heard your voice again. They claim he's traumatized. If I hadn't been there and immediately asked for a hearing tomorrow, the judge would have ordered him under temporary custody of social services and put him into foster care."
It finally dawned on me that I had majorly screwed up. "I-I-" I lowered my gaze, unsure how to get myself out of this mess. "What am I supposed to do now?"
"You will really have to be humble in court tomorrow," Noel said. "Tell the judge you screwed up but that you were really upset because you didn't know that Charlotte had taken Noah. Maybe claim you had a bad day, but leave the rest to me. I will call Doctor Sullivan to the stand and hopefully, he can salvage the sinking ship."
I nodded, totally subdued. "Okay." My gaze landed on Kade. "And I'm sorry. I should have listened to you."
He grimaced. "Well, it's not the first time, so I'm used to it. Now let's all take a deep breath and stay calm. How about we order some pizza?"
I wasn't hungry. "I think I'm going to lie down for a while. Just eat without me."
Three set of eyes burned a hole in my back as I left the kitchen with slumped shoulders. There was no doubt that I was once again an utter disappointment, at least for my dad and Kade, plus this stunt could cost me Noah.
When I hit the mattress and looked at my little boy, I was also not sure if I was truly a good mother. This single mom stuff was hard and maybe Noah would have been better off being adopted and growing up with a mother and a father. He deserved being happy and not being scared because his mother was having a nervous meltdown.
As I sobbed silently into the pillow, the loneliness washed over me. If Brent was here, he would side with me without judging. He would have fought for me, no matter what - we had always stood united against the world. He would never allow anyone to take his son away from us.
When my eyelids began to flutter, I damned myself for even missing him. Yet, I could still not help that his gray, sparkling eyes kept flashing in my mind, the sweetest smile curling on his lips.
'It'll be alright, honey,' I heard him say - and somehow, I believed him. It was the only thing I could hold onto to keep me from going insane.
So Rena had her say and got herself into a lot of trouble. What do you think? Did she overreact or did she have a right to yell at Charlotte? How about Noah? Do you think he was traumatized? Were you surprised how much he had bonded with his grandmother (visitation have occurred for about two months at this point)?
I hope you liked this chapter and please comment. Also don't forget the little start in the corner if you felt the chapter deserved it. Thanks for reading XD