Every Glance (Every Life #3) (26 page)

I HALF EXPECTED to hear from Devyn yesterday, but because it was Monday, I guess she was busy with work. That didn’t stop me from thinking about her all day long, as much as I really didn’t want to. Even though I tried to busy myself with a few last minute wedding details, I’d find myself staring into space and trying to come up with a way to make it all work out.

Nothing works, though. I end up shooting down every idea that I get, knowing that Devyn would do the same.

Today isn’t much better, though. I don’t really have anything to do other than pick up some groceries, and because I’ll be gone most of the week, shopping won’t take me more than fifteen minutes. Being on vacation kinda sucks. I don’t know what to do with all of this time.

Deciding to go ahead and get my shopping over with, I jump in the car and opt to take the scenic route to the supermarket, adding at least twenty minutes onto the trip. But before I can even make it a mile down the highway, my phone rings. I would normally ignore it until I get stopped somewhere, but the high-pitched beeping ringtone tells me it’s the clinic calling.

“Dalton, where are you right now?” Ella asks. Her voice is low and clipped.

“Headed to the supermarket. Why? Need me to come in?” Going into work today would be a godsend. It’s only Tuesday, and I’m already about to lose my mind.

“Well, yeah, but not for the reason you think. There’s someone here to see you, and you definitely want to come down here. Now.”

Shit. There’s really no telling who it is either. Kyler, Devyn, Carter…the list goes on and on. “Wanna tell me who’s so important?”

“It’s your little friend, Simon,” she whispers. “He’s pretty upset and made me promise to call you instead of his mom. He’s here all by himself.”

I whip into the first driveway and turn around. “Tell him I’m on my way. I’ll be there in five minutes.”

After I hang up the phone, my first instinct is to call Devyn to see what the hell is going on, but because Simon obviously skipped school to come see me, there must be something pretty important on his mind. I need to, at least, give him a chance to talk first. Then, if he’s feeling better, I can take him back to school and no one will be the wiser. I just can’t imagine what would cause him to show up at the clinic like that.

By some act of divine mercy, I make it to the clinic without being pulled over, and I skid into my parking space, barely coming to a stop before slamming the car into park and jumping out.

“Where is he?” I ask Ella as soon as I shove through the front door, causing the bell over it to clank against the wall. The waiting room is full of people, and they all turn to gawk at the lunatic that just burst into the room.

That’d be me.

“He’s in your office,” she explains calmly. “He’s okay, but you’re going to freak him out if you go in there all wild-eyed like that.”

“You’re right. Sorry.” I take a deep breath and blow it out slowly. “I just can’t imagine what brought him here. Thanks for calling me, El.”

I turn down the hallway and pause at my closed office door to take another breath. “Simon?” I say as I knock. “I’m coming in.”

He raises his head from my desk as soon as I enter. His cheeks are wet, and his eyes are red and puffy. As soon as his eyes meet mine, his chin quivers and he bursts into tears. He isn’t just crying. The poor kid is sobbing and is barely able to catch his breath.

I dart across the room and scoop him up out of my chair, so I can sit in it and cuddle him in my lap. He clings to me as he cries, and I hold him tightly, rubbing my hand down his back to try and soothe him. It takes nearly twenty minutes for the crying to stop, but I never let go, and I never try to stop him.

If I ever cried, my dad would threaten to give me something to cry about if I didn’t stop, regardless of the reason I was upset. Just once, it would’ve been nice for him to hug me and find out what was wrong. I always swore that I would do that if I ever had kids. For now, it looks like Simon is as close as I’ll ever get.

“You want to talk about what’s wrong?” I ask. His cries have gone silent now, and I can only feel an occasional shudder when he tries to take a deep breath.

“Everything,” he whimpers.

“What do you mean, buddy? You’re going to have to be a little more specific if you want me to be able to help you.”

He shakes his head. “You can’t help me. Nobody can.”

“Let me try. Tell me what’s going on. Is it your mom and dad?”

Simon’s breath catches in his throat before he speaks. “Just Dad. He made me stay at his house last night, and I heard him tell Blair that he’s going to come get me from school early today, even though Mom is supposed to pick me up. He wants to take me from her and not let her have me again. He wants to take me out of town, so my mom can’t find me. So when our class went to lunch, I snuck out. I have to hide, so he can’t take me away.”

“I’ll do everything I can to keep that from happening, okay?” I tilt his head up to look at me. What the hell? “Simon, what happened to your face? Did your dad do that?” I rub my thumb along a tender, red scrape on his chin and a swollen split on his bottom lip.

He shakes his head. “It happened at school before I left. A kid shoved me into the bike rack because I was in the way. I’m always in everybody’s way.”

“No, you’re not.” I ruffle his hair. “Come on. Let’s go hang out at my house. I’ll call your mom to let her know where you are, so she won’t worry, okay?”

“Do we really have to? She’s going to be mad.”

I laugh, picking him up and standing him in the floor. “Yeah, we have to. But she won’t be mad, I promise. I’ll explain everything to her.”

“Okay,” he says, hanging his head.

“What’s going on?” Ella catches me by the elbow and whispers in my ear as we walk by the nurse’s station. “I called a friend of mine that works in the school’s office to let them know that we have him here, so they don’t send out a search party.”

“Thanks. He’s having a pretty rough day. I’ll tell you later.” I look down at Simon, who is enthralled in a set of x-rays on Ella’s desk.

“And he came here…to find you. Quite telling, don’t you think?”

I shrug. “It tells me that the clinic is only three blocks from the school. Coming to me is more convenient.”

“I don’t think soooo,” she sings.

“Let’s go, buddy, before Mrs. Ella gets weird.” Winking at her, I put a hand on Simon’s shoulder, and we turn to walk away.

On the way home, I stop by a burger joint to grab the both of us some lunch. Seeing that I never made it to the grocery store, I know for sure that I don’t have anything Simon would like to eat. I get him settled on the rug with his food and some cartoons, and I retreat to my bedroom to call Devyn. He was right earlier. She
will
be mad, but I’m hoping she’ll understand his reasoning. How could she be angry with him for not wanting to be taken by his dad?

The phone rings four times before she answers. “Hey, uh, I really can’t talk right now. I’m busy, and now isn’t the time to discuss anything that happened Sunday.”

“Although I’d love to talk to you about all of that, this call isn’t about me and you. It’s about Simon. He’s here with me.”

She gasps, and I can hear her heels clicking on the floor. “What do you mean? Why exactly are you at his school?”

“I’m at home, and he’s here with me. But before you start freaking out on me, let me explain.”

I tell her exactly what happened from the time I got Ella’s call to what Simon said about his dad to coming to my house. Needless to say, she’s pissed, but not at Simon.

“That bastard!” She yells. Judging by the birds chirping in the background, she’s outside now, which is probably for the best considering the obscenities that have been pouring out of her for the last few minutes. “I can’t believe he’d do that. Wait, no. I definitely can. But what’s to stop him from trying it again?”

“Devyn,” I begin, trying to keep my tone soft. “You have to do something. You have to end this now. Simon was in hysterics when I got to the clinic today. He’s breaking under all the pressure, and he can’t take any more.”

“I know. And I will. Is he okay there with you for a little while? I need to make an appointment with my lawyer to see what I can do.”

Well, thank God. “Yeah, we’re just fine. Take your time.”

“Thanks, Dalton. I’ll be over there to get him as soon as I’m done.”

Simon has already devoured his burger and half his fries by the time I come back into the living room. The poor kid looks absolutely drained, not that I can blame him. He’s shouldered a lot over the last couple of years, it seems, and it’s all coming to a head right now. I can’t imagine what that’s like for such a young kid.

I sit on the couch to eat my burger, and the entire time, he keeps looking back at me. I can’t figure out the expression on his face, either. It’s almost as if he’s just making sure I’m still here or something.

Just as I’m finishing my lunch, he looks back again.

“Do you need anything, Simon?”

He twists his mouth slightly to one side before answering. “Well, I was wondering if I can sit with you.”

“Oh, sure, buddy. Just let me throw our trash away.”

Simon is already sitting in the middle of the couch when I come back from the kitchen, so I sink back into my usual place, kicking out the footrest and reclining the back slightly. When I throw my arm over the back out of habit, Simon takes that as an invitation to cuddle into me. And I don’t mean just scooting over closer. He actually snuggles into my chest and rests his arm across my waist.

I don’t know what to do other than to wrap my arm around him. I never cuddled up with my parents in front of the television before. Hell, I can’t remember cuddling up to them, period. I’m not even related to him, and he’s clinging to me as if it’s a normal thing for us.

I have to say, it’s oddly comforting, though. It’s strange to think that it could be like this to be a father. No, not just a father…a dad. To hang out with your kid in front of the television and put your arm around them, not because you have to console them, but because you want to have them next to you. To have this little person, so innocent and pure of heart, that looks up to you and wants to be next to you.

As these thoughts flood my mind, I find myself swallowing down a lump forming in my throat. I feel kind of stupid for being moved by it all, but at the same time, this foreign feeling is nothing short of incredible. It’s humbling and awe-inspiring and cool as hell.

I do want this someday.

TRYING TO MENTALLY shake my drowsiness, I attempt to force my eyes open, but I’m too comfortable and warm. Simon fell asleep before I did, but it didn’t take me long to follow him. I’m sure Devyn will be here before too much longer, but forcing myself to wake up is proving to be difficult, especially considering I can’t move much without waking Simon.

I open one eye and reach over to the end table to feel for my phone, sighing when I remember that I left it on the bar.

“If you’re wondering what time it is,” Devyn whispers, “it’s a little after three.”

Both eyes fly open and find her perched at the other end of the couch, facing me. If the hammering in my chest doesn’t wake Simon up, nothing will. “How long have you been here?” I ask quietly.

“About half an hour or so. I hope you don’t mind that I came in. I knocked, and when you didn’t answer, I came around to the back door and saw the two of you sleeping. The door was unlocked, so I just came inside.”

“I don’t mind at all.” I start to sit up, but remember Simon, so I stay still. “I hope you have some good news for him.”

A soft smile forms on her lips, and her eyes look watery. “I think so, yes. You know, he sleeps like the dead anyway, and I doubt he slept much at his dad’s last night. He never does. He’ll probably go right back to sleep if we move him.”

I nod and slowly raise the back while pushing the footrest down with my feet. Devyn reaches over to lift Simon off my chest and lays him across the cushions. He only mumbles a little and drifts back to sleep easily. I stand and tug the blanket off the back of the couch and cover him with it.

He’s really mature for a seven-year-old, so sometimes I forget just how small he really is.

“Can we go sit on the back porch to talk?” Devyn asks.

“Sure. Lead the way.”

She picks the same chair she was in when she and Simon came over the first time. It seems like it’s been so long ago, but in reality, it was only just over two weeks ago. It’s strange how much can change in that small window of time.

“First of all,” she begins, folding her hands on the table, “I want to thank you for being someone that Simon can trust. I hate the situation and that he felt like he had to run, but I’m glad he came to you. I knew he liked you a lot, but the combination of knowing he ran to you today and seeing the two of you sleeping on the couch just now…it confirms just how much. You
are
his friend, Dalton, and I’m thankful for that. He’s never had a man there for him like you’ve been over the last few weeks.”

That damn lump is coming back. “He’s my little buddy. There’s nothing I won’t do for him.”