Chapter 294 Aslan

Chapter 294 Aslan
Aslan

“So, when are you getting here, Mom?”

“I still have treatment this week, sweetheart, so I can’t come any sooner. You have classes anyway. I’m thinking the night before Thanksgiving.”

I smiled, lowering myself onto the edge of our bed. “Mrs. Frost is really excited you’re coming. Since Linnea started dating on top of full-time college, she keeps saying she has no one left for girl time.”

“I guess we have that in common. I seem to remember someone abandoning me for college too.”

“I call you every day!”

“I know, baby. I’m teasing.” I could hear the smile in her voice. “She’s a great woman, and we really get along. We agreed to divide the Thanksgiving menu and do the cooking together.”

“Oh, God. Linnea’s mom has spent half her life making care packages for everyone. With both of you cooking, we may never get out of our chairs again.”

Mom laughed. The sound loosened something inside my chest. “That is precisely what Thanksgiving is for.”

“Are you sure you’ll be okay going to treatment by yourself this week? I could—”

“No, you couldn’t, because you have classes, training, and that wonderful museum program you worked so hard to get into. You and Kate are busy building your lives, exactly as you should be.” Her voice softened. “I need to get used to doing some of these things by myself, sweetheart. Everyone here is wonderful, and Dr. Bennett takes excellent care of me. I promise I’ll be fine.”

I hated that she was right. I hated even more that a part of me would probably always feel guilty for not being beside her every second. “Okay. But you’ll call me after treatment?”

“The moment I’m home.”

“And if you feel sick—”

“I’ll call.”

“Or tired.”

“Yes, Aslan.”

“Or lonely.”

She laughed again. “I’ll call you if a butterfly lands too close to me. Will that satisfy you?”

“Barely.”

“Go enjoy your day, honey, and give a big hug to Garrett from me. I’ll see you all in a few days.”

“I love you, Mom.”

“I love you too.”

The days leading into Thanksgiving break were suspiciously normal. Classes, assignments, wrestling, museum evenings, and Garrett repeatedly attempting to convince me that hot chocolate counted as breakfast if he added enough marshmallows.

Then Olivia invited us to lunch.
We should’ve known she had news. Whenever she wanted to discuss something serious without making it feel serious, she took us to one of our favorite restaurants and waited until we had food before pulling out her terrifying lawyer folder.

Garrett eyed it from across the table. “Can I finish my fries before you destroy my life?”

“I’m not destroying anything today.” Olivia withdrew a document and placed it in front of him. “Quite the opposite.”

His joking expression disappeared as he read the first page. His eyes moved quickly at first, then slowed.

“What is this?”

“The court received the final medical certificate, your psychological evaluations, and every progress report it requested. The judge entered the decree this morning.” Olivia leaned forward, her own eyes already shining. “The guardianship has been terminated, Garr. No replacement guardian. No restrictions. No one making medical, legal, or personal decisions for you.”

Garrett stared at her.

“Effective immediately,” she added, “you answer only to yourself.”

His fingers began to tremble against the paper.

“Is this real?”

“It’s a certified copy of the order.”

He looked at me as if I might somehow know what to do with a moment that big. I didn’t. My throat had closed completely. “You know what this means, babe?”

“Of course...” I slid closer to him. “It means that from now on, we have no one to blame for our terrible choices.”

“Exactly!” A broken laugh escaped him. He turned toward me, and I wrapped both arms around him before he could pretend he wasn’t crying.

He held the paper against my back while he buried his face in my neck. “You're dating a free man, lion.”

Olivia joined us from the other side, and Garrett dragged her into the hug. She complained that we were crushing her, but she was laughing and crying too much for either of us to believe her.

Once we had recovered enough to sit down, Garrett placed the document beside his plate and kept touching it as if he was afraid it might disappear.

“What about the civil case?” he asked.

“The claim against Spring Creek has been filed. Their attorneys have already contacted us about settlement discussions.” Olivia stole one of his fries. “Considering the criminal convictions, the medical evidence, and the number of survivors now coming forward, they have a very strong incentive to keep us away from another courtroom.”

“How much of an incentive are we talking about?”

“A six-figure incentive, bro. Enough to secure your life, Garr.”

Garrett leaned back, looking slightly nauseated. “If we take it, are we saying we're even?”

“No.” Olivia’s voice sharpened. “It isn’t payment for what happened. Nothing could ever pay for that. It’s money taken from people who profited while children suffered. You accepting it doesn’t silence it. They are still facing many consequences.”

He absorbed that silently before nodding. “Then I’ll use it to make sure I never need another penny from my parents.”

“That’s a start. What else?”

“Finish college.” He glanced at me, and the smallest smile appeared. “After that, we’ve been talking about getting our own place. Maybe somewhere with a serious art community where we can both work in museums or galleries.”

“Somewhere not in Massachusetts,” I added.

Olivia pointed a threatening fry at us. “You are not moving to freaking Europe.”

“Not permanently,” Garrett said. “We thought maybe Providence first. It has galleries, art schools, and museums, and it’s close enough that you can still interfere with our lives.”

“Good answer.”

“And maybe one day...” He looked at me again. “We could open a small gallery together. His eye for the art and my super intelligence... Who knows where we'll end!”

“Down the street at least,” Oli teased.

“Funny… We're thinking more like… Paris. Maybe our little studio?”

The picture entered my mind so clearly that it stole my breath. Garrett barefoot beside a window. Canvases against old walls. Coffee, sunlight, and the two of us fighting over who had forgotten to buy groceries.

“Our gallery?” I smiled. “Could we still do that one day?”

“Absolutely. You’ll curate the greatest collection in Paris, I’ll use my devastating business instincts to make us disgustingly successful, and then we’ll go home to that tiny studio and have sex over a bunch of Renaissance paintings.”

“Kinky.” I winked at him with a smirk.

“And incredibly uncomfortable.” Oli shook her head. “Also, not ambitious at all...”

“That's right! Totally doable.” His expression softened. “And I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life doing it with you.”

"Oh, yeah. I totally wanna do it with you too..." I couldn't help the pun.

Olivia groaned. “You two are disgusting. Unfortunately, I also believe you could do it.”

For a few minutes, the future felt close enough to touch.

Then Olivia stopped smiling.
“There’s something else,” she said. “I hate bringing this up today, but you need to know.”

Garrett’s hand immediately found mine beneath the table. “What happened?”

“It’s your mother.”

His body went still.

“I told you she hadn’t been doing well since the trial. She stopped leaving her room several days ago. Dad assumed she wanted to be alone, but when she stopped answering him and the staff said she hadn’t eaten, he went in to check on her.”

“What happened?” Garrett looked suddenly alarmed.

“She was confused and severely dehydrated. She didn’t even seem to recognize him at first.”

“What do you mean?”

“She was saying things that didn’t make sense and not responding to anything around her.” Olivia watched him carefully. “He called an ambulance. She’s in the hospital now. I don’t know much more yet. I’m going to visit her after this.”

Garrett lowered his eyes, trying to hide the conflict on his face.

“You okay, babe?” I asked, tightening my fingers around his.

“I don’t know.” He shrugged.

“Maybe you should visit her,” I said carefully. “It doesn’t have to be now. Only when you’re ready.”

“No, you’re right,” he whispered. “Maybe I should go with you, Oli. It’s the right thing.”

Olivia reached across the table and touched his arm. “After everything she did, you don’t owe her access to you just because she’s sick, Garr.”

He nodded, but the guilt remained in his eyes. “I know. But I need to.”

I understood that.
The decree had ended the guardianship, but we both knew freedom wasn’t only a piece of paper. It was being able to look at the ghosts still haunting him and finally give it closure.

Unfortunately, Helena was only one of three.