Chapter 45 Play With Me
ADRIANA
I woke up to a handsome stranger—not so much a stranger—in my bed this morning. I didn’t know how Leo managed to crawl into my bed without waking me up but he was here and he wasn’t leaving until he had my attention.
I quickly did my morning routine before following him down for breakfast. I could see he was in the mood to play today and that was okay, considering I hadn’t exactly spent time with him in the past few days.
Now that I was out of my room, I wanted to make it up to him and what better way to do that than spending the entire day with him? It would be like our personal day out, just the two of us.
I didn’t see Elijah at the table which meant he was working. He always made it to breakfast and only missed it when he had too much work.
But that was fine, we could have fun without him. As soon as breakfast was over, we went back to his room to begin our fun day.
First, we played hide and seek and of course, I won. Then it was wrestling. It was really hard to wrestle with someone this tiny and not win but I just let him think he won.
Then we moved to his toys. Elijah really spoiled this boy, didn’t he? He had every type of toy imaginable but his favorite was that train.
Even though he couldn’t speak, I could understand what he was saying through his face and his eyes. He was very expressive so his emotions always showed on his face.
He also liked talking. Not actual words but having a conversation seemed to interest him, with me at least. Just seeing him smile and be himself around me made me so happy.
Of course, I should have known that this pack was allergic to laughter. Or was it just me?
The door flung open almost hitting Leo’s back and I was already about to lash out at the person who had opened it like that when I saw who it was.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” Hannah barked like a deranged dog.
“Maybe watch your language around the kid and I should be asking you that question. You almost hit him with the door. Are you just dense or you just don’t care?”
She scoffed and stepped closer to me, closing the distance between us.
“I said, are you stupid or you just don’t care?”
I was waiting for her to do something. I needed her to do something. I actually wanted to know if my powers had come to life yet.
“You really think that just because you’re screwing Elijah, you’re something special right? But I’ll have you know that Elijah and I will always be together. There have been others like you and there will always be others but in the end, he’ll come back to me.”
What did she mean by that? He’ll come back to her… had something happened between them before?
Why was I thinking about this? I should know her well enough to know she makes up stories.
“Well enjoy him when he comes back to you then. As for me, I have something more important to do.”
I moved away from her and turned my attention back to Leo who had stopped playing and was now looking at us.
“Come here, baby.”
I sat him back on the floor but he didn’t continue playing. His eyes were trained on the ground and I noticed how he seemed to have shrunk into himself.
Realization dawned on me. He was afraid of her.
Of course he would be. She was acting like a mad woman on a rampage and it would scare any kid. I was sure he didn’t like her.
“Are you okay, baby?” I stroked his hair, speaking gently. I wanted him to go back to his bubbly self.
Hannah wasn't having that, of course. She grabbed him by the arm and pulled him to his feet, forcing his head up to look at her.
“What are you doing playing with that stupid thing? Is that what you were raised to do?”
Her voice was harsh and he was trembling.
“God, Liam really birthed a wimp. It’s no wonder your mother left. Stupid bitch knew taking care of you was a job in itself.”
“Have you lost it?! How can you say something like that to him?!”
She didn’t even act like I’d said something and the way she looked at him in disgust troubled me.
“You want to play? Let’s play then.” She snatched the toy train from him and set it on the ground. “Sit.”
He didn’t sit, he just stood there shaking like a leaf and I wondered if Elijah would mind me saying something about this since she was his aunt and I was the outsider.
But I hated what she was doing to him. She dragged him to the floor and when he refused to play with the train even after she forced him, she started screaming at him.
“Why are you shaking? I’ve barely even touched you.” She raised her hand and he flinched and that seemed to be what broke the camel’s back.
I saw something in her snap and I’d never seen the process of someone getting angry before but right there, I saw it all on her face. I knew what was coming next and since I’d rather die than let it happen, I picked Leo up from the ground and pushed him behind me.
He began to cry and we began screaming at each other.
“You are evil and it’s no wonder he doesn’t like you. Were you about to hit him?”
“Bring that boy back here right this instant. Stay out of this, you’re nothing but a bloody imposter. You don’t belong here so stay out of this. That kid is mine and I’m his aunt. I should be the one taking care of him and playing with him with Elijah. Not you! Me.”
I knew that was her reason. She wanted to use him to get close to Elijah. Even though I knew that wouldn’t work in a million years, I had to hand it to her for trying.
“You are the most pathetic person I’ve ever met. Why do you have to drag him into your silly little scheme?!”
I turned back to Leo and tried to get him to stop crying but he wouldn’t stop. Leo’s crying was like a beacon to Elijah—once he started, Elijah would always come no matter where he was.
“That has nothing to do with you. Now, give him back to me. Leo, come back here right this instant!”
The boy hid behind me so she reached out and started pulling me.