Page 2 of Shared By Her Brother's Best Friends

“When do you see them?”

“At night…” Max replies.

“When you’re in bed?”

Max nods.

“And how do you know they’re your daddy’s friends?” the doctor gently probes.

“Because they said so. They say they’re going to take me to live with him.” Now Max gets even more upset and starts to cry. “But I don’t want to be dead, I wanna stay with Mom!”

I let my maternal instincts take over and embrace my son, soothing him and reassuring him I’m not going anywhere and that he’s not going to die for a long, long time until he’s a wrinkly old man. Once he’s calmed down and distracted again by the toy motorcycle his uncle gave him that I produce from my purse, the doctor and I move away to talk.

“You have nothing to worry about Ms. Miller, this is all perfectly normal,” the doctor assures me.

“It is?” I ask, chewing on my nails, a nervous habit.

“Perfectly. Max is at an age where he’s becoming more aware of his world. He goes to school with children who have fathers and wishes to have one too. Therefore, he pretends he has a father to fit in, a fun one who treats him with gifts and is the perfect father figure. It’s no different to other children’s imaginary friends. These shadowy figures in his nightmares are a manifestation of his fear and worry surrounding death. While he may not have known your husband, the concept of death isscary to a small child and the fear that he or the ones he loves may die also is incredibly common,” the doctor explains.

“So what should I do?” I ask, my gaze falling on the back of my son's head as he plays, his beautiful blond hair gleaming in the sunshine that streams in through the large windows.

“How often would you say he claims to see his father or these shadow monsters?”

“Not often, it usually seems to be when I’m not around when he’s at school or with a friend who babysits. Once or twice he’s waved at someone when we’re out and told me it was his father, but when I look there’s no one there,” I explain.

“Ah, well there you have it. He is likely struggling with some separation anxiety when you’re not around, andmost likely he has a fear of losing you too. Spend time with him in the real world and he’ll soon forget his imaginary one. I’d like you to bring him back in a couple of weeks so I can check in on his progress, but for now, you have nothing to worry about,” he assures me.

“Thank you, Doctor,” I reply gratefully, feeling as if a weight has been lifted.

“Come on Max, let’s go get ice cream!” I declare happily, even though I know it’s a luxury I can’t afford.

Adam left us penniless and heavily in debt when he died. I’ve been working all hours as a waitress to make ends meet. It hasn’t been easy, but I’m proud I’ve done it alone, refusing to take money from my brother, whose lifestyle I’d rather steer clear of. I love him and he’s a great uncle to Max, but I don’t want to be indebted to anyone, especially not his motorcycle club, theIron Serpents. After all the drama and danger Adam’s gambling addiction brought us, I want a quiet, law-abiding life for my son.

If Max needs a pretend-perfect father, he can have him. But I refuse to let Adam control me from beyond the grave. He haunted me enough while he was alive.

I know the truth, he was a mean drunk and a lousy father, but Max doesn’t need to.

I’m the one who's here now, and I’ll be damned if I let any man, dead or alive, get between me and my son.

Chapter 2

Emma

Two Weeks Later

“Hey Maxi, sorry I’m late!” I say as I race into the school’s reception. “Thank you, Miss Bright,” I add gratefully to Max’s teacher.

“That’s okay. Max and I did some reading while we waited, didn’t we Max?” she says to him and he nods, kicking his legs which are dangling above the floor, too small to reach the ground from his chair yet. “Wait there one sec, Max. Your mom and I need to have a little chat.”

Feeling like I’m back in school being sent to the principal’s office I follow her to one side, “Look, I’m really sorry I was late, it won’t happen again, just work was crazy and—” I start to explain but she shakes her head cutting me off.

“No, no it’s fine, really Ms. Miller, I completely understand, and Max is an angel. It’s just something happened thatI thought you should be aware of,” she says, anxiously wringing her hands.

“What is it?” I ask worriedly, “Did something happen with another kid?”

“No, nothing like that. Did you ask a friend to come and collect Max today?”

“I asked my friend Jessica, but she said she was unavailable, but she’s on the approved list to collect Max. Did she come after all?” I say, confused.

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