Page 14 of Raven's Hacker
I was also not so secretly, though I never said anything in front of Ryder, hoping he would just sign the paperwork. Kai was giving him until Friday afternoon, which was in two days. He had been back down here all week, staying with Ryder and me. Matthew was trying to play dirty, but the judge was pretty fed upwith him. I think either way, this will be done by the weekend. Kai was talking with Parker while I cooked, when suddenly he came into the kitchen, rushing off the phone.
“Hey, I gotta go, baby. Jefferson’s calling. You’ll meet him this weekend too. No, nobody is sexier than you. I love you, bye! Jefferson! Please tell me we have good news!” I was holding my breath, setting down the pan on the hot pad, turning off the stove. Ryder was bringing the plates to the table, and both of us were watching Kai. Trying to see any and every movement of his face. He was keeping as neutral as possible. Suddenly, my phone rang. It was Beckam’s ringtone, ‘Steal the Show’ from that Disney movie. I moved to pick up my phone, and Kai put his hand over it.
“I fought for this. I want to be the one to tell you,” he said lowly before he paused. Ryder and I stood still, my phone quit ringing, “We won!” We all stood still for about two seconds before we started jumping up and down! I was screaming, I was so happy! Ryder was jumping up and down, laughing and cheering, and just as suddenly as the happy mood came in, it stopped when he started crying.
“Hey. Ryder, baby, what’s wrong? Tell me, honey,” I said, pulling him down into a tight hug, thinking if I wrapped him up tight enough, I could stop him from falling apart.
“What’s going on in that head of yours, honey?” My eyes filled with tears seeing my boy unable to stop crying. He just clung to me, trying to pull me impossibly close, and I held him. He cried long and hard. His eyes were puffy, and the food had gone cold long before he stopped crying. When he finally stopped, he explained himself.
“I don’t have a dad anymore. And I think I know what you mean when you say things are ‘bittersweet’, Mom. You’rehappy about it, but it hurts, too, right?” I nodded my head, my poor baby having to grow up too fast. Again, because of Matthew and the situation he put us in. I have several missed calls and texts on my phone from Beckam. I couldn’t bring myself to answer them. Not now. Not when Ryder needed me. The next time it rang, Ryder was passed out in my lap. My giant ten-year-old, who was almost as big as me. Kai picked up the phone, telling Beckam I would call him back after putting Ryder to bed. He came over and helped get my boy to bed. We just left him in his clothes, took off his socks, and tucked him under his covers.
Once back downstairs, we reheated our food, and I called Beckam back while Kai called Parker, moving to the living room so we could each have some privacy to make our calls.
“Hey there, gorgeous. How’d he take the news?” I was putting my earbuds in so we could FaceTime while I ate. I shook my head, feeling the tears of happiness and anger at my ex brewing in me again.
“Good, but then it quickly went straight to shit.” He nodded. Seeming to know what I was talking about.
“I can’t imagine. But I hope you both know I’m here. For all the bumpy shit that lies ahead with you guys.” That made me smile, “I love you both. You and Ryder. You guys are what I want.” Swallowing my food past the lump in my throat, I grinned at him.
“We want you too. He’s just got some big emotions to process. He’s kicked his dad out of his life, but I think it’s left a really big hole. It just hurts to know his dad had done so much wrong that his rights were about to be stripped, if he hadn’t surrendered them.”
“That’s what I saw. He didn’t want people to know that he wasn’t the amazing dad he was trying to give the narrative of.” I nodded. Because it was true. Horrible, but true. Matthew chose a life of partying over wanting to keep his son.
“I’ll talk with him this weekend, but I want you to know that I would love to take on that role. I’ll be his dad, if you both will let me. I may be lacking in a lot of ways, but I’ve been reading about boys his age and what some things are that are key bonding moments for father and son. I’ve been reading what activities are good for him, things he should be experiencing, or should have experienced. I want to give you both the best life.” Tears filled my eyes.
“I love you, Beckham." He smiled, a slight blush on his cheeks. I loved it. I hoped it never went away. It let me know I still affected him. We talked a bit more and then got off the phone. He needed to help Bullet, and I needed to talk to Kai before we went to bed. I was ready to leave early if he was. I went into the living room, seeing Kai watching videos of Brody, Grey, and Rosie, his children.
“Can we talk?” I asked.
“Sure. What’s up?”
“Thank you. For helping us get rid of Matthew forever. And for staying and helping with getting Ryder to bed. This has all been very hard for him. It’s a lot for me to process, so I can’t even imagine how hard it is for him.”
“Thanks, Mom. This sucks.” I looked over my shoulder to see Ryder coming toward us. I stood with my arms open, and he barreled into me. Curled up on the couch with us, his head in my lap, and the blanket my mom made me draped over him.
“I had an idea and wanted to see how you two felt about it,” I said, looking between Kai and Ryder. They both looked at me, waiting for me to continue, “What do you guys think about changing our flights to as early as possible and going back to the MC now? Like we call the airlines, and change our flights right now?”
“I’ll start packing! You call the airlines!” Kai said, jumping up and running upstairs to start packing.
“What about you, buddy?” I asked, moving some of his hair out of his face.
“Do you think Beckam will be happy to see us?” I smiled and nodded.
“I do. He loves us. A lot.” He looked like he was pondering my thoughts, considering my words carefully.
“Okay. Can I pack some of my favorite stuff to take?”
“Yes. But only a few things. There’s not much room in Beckam’s room, okay?”
“Are we going to move in with him soon?” Ryder asked, seemingly out of left field, but it was a relevant question and concern.
“How would you feel about that, bud? Would that be okay with you?”
“Can I think about it?” I nodded. There was no question, I wanted him to be fully comfortable with Beckam before we made that step.
No matter how ready I was.
T H I R T E E N: Separate Rooms.
