#darkesst before dawn

[dandylion240]

“Dadda” Eli patted his dad’s head his green eyes looking up as Cory knelt beside them on the floor. “Dadda sad.”

“I know” he had tried to get Jonah to look at him and when he did he didn’t like the vacant far away look in his eyes. “Courtney” he called “come and take Eli for a while.”

Recognizing the tone she did as she was told without question. She took Eli from Jonah’s arms. “No” the little boy protested struggling in her arms.

“Shh” she kissed his cheeks “your dad’s not feeling well.”

When they were alone Cory gathered Jonah into his arms. Jonah immediately curled into him shivering. “They hate me” he mumbled over and over again.

“No they don’t” he whispered moving so that Jonah was in his lap as they sat on the floor.

“Your brother cares about you or he wouldn’t have gone through the trouble to come here.”

A shudder ran through him. “I don’t want him to come.”

“Your brother” he asked confused.

“No…him…”

“Eli’s father?”

Jonah’s head bobbed up and down on Cory’s chest. “he didn’t want me to have Eli.”

“Oh” his heart beat fast. He once was in that position when Courtney’s mother told him she was pregnant. “I remember feeling the same when I found out about Courtney. It was a panic response. We had been so young.”

Stirring in his arms “what made you change your mind?”

“Hearing her heartbeat for the first time.” A soft smile transformed his face “I hadn’t wanted to go but Chandra made me. I remember standing in the room and this whooshing sound filled it. It was” sighing he shook his head “it was unbelievable. I’ll never forget it.”

“Do you think he would feel differently now than he did then” he asked tilting his chin up to look at him.

“I don’t know. He might” he cupped Jonah’s face in his hands “the question is. Do you want him in your lives?”

He tried to pull away but Cory wouldn’t let him. “I don’t know” he murmured looking conflicted.

“Do you still love him” he asked. The words tasted bitter in his mouth. Jonah’s silence spoke more than words. “Then you owe it to yourself to find out” he said firmly shoving his own feelings aside.

Previous/next