Only One Forever (Only One 8)

Alex looks at me. “How the hell was I supposed to know? I was helping. I thought the mother was stuck and couldn’t come get him.”

“I need you to send me the address right now,” she says, and I can hear her moving around. “I also need you to send me his full name and his date of birth.” The sound of a door slams. “This is very important,” she says. “If his mother or father gets there, you need to call 9-1-1.”

I run my hands through my hair. “If he doesn’t have a file, he needs to have a file now.” Alex hangs up the phone and sends Julia the address.

My eyes go back to Maddox. “What the hell just happened?” Alex says, and I look over at Maddox.

I swallow down the massive lump forming in my throat. The back of my neck gets so hot it tingles all the way to the top of my head. “His life just went from hell to an even bigger hell.”

Chapter 21

Dylan

My whole body is tight while we wait for Julia to arrive. The noises in the other apartments get louder as it gets darker outside. I stand by the window, looking outside and see the danger that lurks there. More people are forming in the little group of guys we saw when we walked in. There is a bang in the distance, and I wonder if it’s a gunshot. Every single time I hear voices that sound like they are coming closer and closer, I get ready to defend us. The day started off like shit as I finally was able to kiss my girl, and then this happened. This fucking hellhole just brings back all of the memories I’ve tried so hard to forget.

The soft knock on the door makes me jump up, and I look over at Alex. “If it’s not Julia,” I tell her, “I want you to take Maddox and hide in the bathroom.”

“Dylan,” she says, and I can hear the fear a bit.

“This is not up for discussion,” I say, walking to the door. “Hello.”

“Open the door,” Julia hisses out, and I open the door, and she stands there dressed in jeans and a T-shirt. Two men walk in behind her, and I see that they are police officers. I look over at the bed, seeing that Maddox has opened his eyes for a second and then has fallen back to sleep. “Guys, this is Officer Jordon and Perez.” I nod at the men as they walk in and look around.

“Why did you call the police?” Alex looks at her.

“We have to make a report,” Julia says.

“What, why?” Alex asks, confused, and I put my arm around her. My stomach that was burning before feels like someone kicked me in it.

“Alex,” Julia says, her voice going soft. “You have to make a report so he can go into emergency foster care.” The stomach that felt sick before rises up.

“No.” Alex shakes her head. “I can take him for a couple of days. Until we locate his mom.” The tears come to her, and I look over at the police officers who share a look.

“That isn’t how things work, Alex,” Julia says, looking at her, and I pull her close to me. “You can’t just keep him.”

“But he was left in my care.” Alex starts to argue. “So technically.”

“The contract that the mother signed finishes at six. After that, you aren’t responsible for him.”

“What’s going to happen to him?” I finally ask, and Julia looks at me, and I can already tell that it’s nothing good. This kid isn’t going to go from here to a perfect life.

“I already called the emergency foster home,” Julia says. “They are nice people.” She tries to reassure Alex. “He stays there until I can try to locate his mother.” She looks down, hiding something, and I can just fucking imagine. “He’s already got a file.” My heart squeezes. “He was left alone once for four days. Neighbors called the cops, but Mom showed up and said they were lying and she was home the whole time.”

“And you guys just believed her?” I ask, shocked, and my voice goes up just a touch.

“From what I read, they came in, did a welfare check, and he had food and water in the fridge, so there really isn’t much we can do.”

“Food and water?” I shriek. “Did anyone talk to him?”

“He was six,” Julia says. “We did two more pop-ins. Everything met code.”

“That was two years ago.” Alex shakes her head. “He’s eight years old now.”

“I need to have his whole file,” Julia says. The officers nod to her as they look around, and then one walks to the bathroom.

“Can’t we take him for the night?” Alex looks at Julia, who tilts her head to the side. She looks at me, and I just nod at her.