Fractured Lies (MAC Security 1)

“Come on, mama.” Eli squirmed in his seat.

“Okay, sweetie,” I blew out a big breath unclipped my belt and opened the door.

Eli jumped down as soon as I opened his and raced to the front door.

“You excited?”

“Yeah!” he shouted. I shook my head and smiled wide.

It didn’t take long for Eli to settle. His play teacher, Miss Cooper, was there to greet us and took him into the room. But not before I held on tight to him and gave him a sloppy kiss. I knew that it was silly, but when you’ve spent almost every waking minute for the last four years with someone, it felt like I was losing a limb.

Maybe not to that extent, but that’s how I felt.

I shuffled out of there and drove home on autopilot. I just needed to get through the next four hours. They’d go quick. Right?

*~*~*

Turns out four hours can go by at a snail’s pace. I’d cleaned the apartment from top to bottom. Sorted out all of mine and Eli’s clothes into piles of keep, throw and donate.

I even had time to have two cups of coffee.

I almost punched the air when it was time to leave to pick him back up. I couldn’t get out the door fast enough. The drive there took longer than this morning, I was urging all the cars to get off the road.

I needed to pick my son up. Didn’t they get that?

I ran at Eli when he came through the doors. I must have looked crazy, all the other children that came out were running to their parents and there I was running to my child instead of waiting patiently.

But I didn’t care.

“I missed you so much!” I bent down, squeezed him then lifted him up off the floor.

“Mama!” I buried my face in his hair and breathed him in. I didn’t bother putting him down until we were back at the car.

“Did you have a good day?” I buckled him into his seat and leaned back.

“Yeah, I played with my new friend, Andre, he likes spider-man too,” he said with a firm nod.

“Well if he likes spider-man then he must be nice.” I grinned.

“Uh huh, my other new friend Ryan said that he likes batman.” He shook his head. The idea of liking batman over spider-man was obviously a friend crime.

“Did you play with Ryan?”

“Mama.” He rolled his eyes. “I just told you he likes batman.”

“So that’s a no?”

“Yep.”

I closed his door and rushed round to the driver’s side, hardly containing myself. I felt like doing a happy dance.

“What else did you do today?” I asked as I pulled out of the parking lot.

“Dunno.” He shrugged.

That was all that I could get out of him. I tried asking him specific questions but all I got back was a shrug of his shoulders. Typical.

I was looking forward to a minute by minute run down. Guess I wasn’t getting that anytime soon.