Brutal Heir (Court University 1)

He had, but that was what made us human. I touched his jaw, and with it, I got his eyes. “You’re her son, and though I’m not a parent, something tells me there’s little you could do where she’d want nothing to do with you. Where you’d disappoint her? Knight, she loves you…”

“Knight?”

The voice had been faint when I heard it, soft, but the moment I did, chills lined my skin. They’d been good chills, ones that had me gripping Knight’s hand. I didn’t even have to ask if he’d heard his name as well.

Immediately, his eyes darted over to his mom, fastening on her gaze. She stared right at us, at him, and her fingers lifted from the sheets. “Knight…”

He rose, instantly taking her hand, and immediately, I got up, calling for Dr. Chopra. His mom didn’t do this, call for him or anyone. Her speech was usually pretty mumbled, like she was out of it most of the time, but she definitely wasn’t now. She called specifically for Knight, wanting his hand.

“Mom.” He warmed hers between his, focusing on nothing but her, and my eyes watered, his too as he smiled at her. “Yeah, Mom. It’s me. Knight. Your son.”

“Knight,” she whispered again, and he touched her cheek. Her lips lifted, a soft smile forming them. “So big.”

Laughter, emotion-lined as he nodded at her. “I am, but it’s me. I swear it is.”

He kissed her hand, closing his eyes, and I couldn’t breathe, watching the two of them together. It took me a while to realize Dr. Chopra and her team had arrived but, like me, stayed frozen in place. At the door, they watched on, studying the scene with smiles like I was. They refused to break this moment, and neither would I…

A mother who finally returned to her son.

Epilogue

Knight

“Knight? Would you stay off your fucking phone already! We’re supposed to be going to a party. Jesus.”

I grumbled at the peanut gallery in the front seat, my buddy’s fiancee never laying off. December had been bugging the shit out of me for pretty much the entire car ride to Woodcreek University for being on my phone.

Growling from the back seat, I put my phone away, then slung it over the shoulders of my little dove. Greer, my girlfriend, knew why I needed to be on my phone and wasn’t giving me a hard time. I jerked my chin at December. “Mind your own business. I need to know what’s going on with my mom.”

Hence all the text messaging. Dr. Chopra received them on her behalf since not only were smart phones not really a thing yet when my mom went into a coma, she still wasn’t in a place to be trying to text anyone. Phone calls were still hard for her even, but with her therapy over the last couple months she’d been getting better. I liked to not have to deal with any of that, though, and just be with her tonight.

December turned in her seat, my buddy Royal driving right next to her. December smiled. “We know. That’s why you’re getting away for the weekend with us.”

“She’s just trying to help, man.” Royal made eye contact through the rearview mirror, his fingers lacing with December’s. “We all are. We just want to give you a weekend. Something where you can just relax.”

I didn’t want to relax, but I knew they were right. Since my mom had woken up, she’d been my whole life. Well, her and Greer. I had so much catching up to do with my mom. We’d lost twelve goddamn years.

Hugging up under me, Greer had obviously agreed with the decision to get me out of the manor. She’d nudged me to get on the road with December and Royal to go visit our buddy LJ at his university, and though I’d listened to her, it’d been my mom to ultimately let me be okay with the decision to take a weekend away from her. She’d said I’d been stressing over her too much as well.

She had actually said that.

She’d come a long way in so little time, something that was such a relief for me. All that my grandpa had done… there might just be some light on the end of it. I wasn’t sure if that was possible when in the thick of it. And despite what my grandpa’s passing had allowed, my mom and me to come back together, I was far from happy with how it’d come to pass. I loved my grandpa. He had raised me.

I just didn’t love a lot of the things he’d done.

I was seeing someone about all that too, ways to deal with my anger. I really believed it was helping, and the fact that Mom was so positive after all that had happened, despite finding out what my grandpa had done to her, kept my spirits high too. If she could be okay, at peace with the years she’d lost and the time away from me, who was I not to do the same? I had a pretty kickass Mom, and I couldn’t wait to see what life would bring us. I hoped to even have a fraction of what Greer and her mom had. They were really close, and Greer’s mom and Ben had even come to see mine. They had all stayed with Mom and me over holiday break at the manor.

Greer played with my fingers, grinning. “You know you don’t have to worry about her, right? Your mom?” She shook me. “She’ll be fine. She’s freaking Superwoman.”

She was right, of course. Mom had been awake for nearly three months now, and not only was she talking and having full conversations, she was out of her bed. She was still mostly confined to her wheelchair, but with her continued physical therapy, her doctors seemed very hopeful about her walking and getting to be herself again.

Because I listened to my girlfriend, I kissed her, then rolled my eyes at Royal and his girl through the mirror.

Royal smirked in response and pulled his arm around December. Things were gratefully quiet the rest of the way up to Woodcreek-U. Our buddy LJ was having a weekend bash. Fuck, when wasn’t he having parties at the Ivy League he attended? He’d been bugging Royal and me to come up for months and even worse when he came back home for Christmas break. The guys, Royal, LJ, along with our other friend Jax, have all been bugging me to get out more lately, but it was only after Greer and my mom had insisted that I decided to give in and make the car trip happen. I didn’t listen to many people, but I did listen to the women in my life, my light in the dark.

Greer had been with me this whole fucking time, around through my mom’s therapy, her slow process of recovery, and even my grandpa’s funeral. She had showed up by my side through it all, pain or good times… didn’t matter. She was there, which was more than I had been for her in the past. She didn’t have to be around for me. She didn’t have to show up, but she did. I’d spend a lifetime trying to make that up to her.

I hoped, ultimately, that was what was in the cards for us.