#pls don't feel the need ot match

[fearhidden]

muses — andrea salazar & greyson hendrix.

location — outside of grey & hudson’s work.

Her emerald hues gleamed with happiness as she watched her son revel in the depths of his imagination. He swooped and soared, arms spread wide as he announced loudly that he’d be landing shortly. Her wide smile parted slightly, a sound of laughter rolling off her tongue as he rounded a picnic table twice before shooting her a thumbs up and letting her know that he’d landed safely.

Simply put, he was perfect. His dark hair matched her own, his goofy smile and dark hazel eyes belonging to another. A fact that made the smile on her mouth drop in a barely noticeable dip. It wasn’t common knowledge and for awhile, she’d wondered if maybe she’d gotten it all wrong. If that one night hadn’t been the answer to her prayers.

She’d wanted to be a mother and against every odd the world tossed her at, she’d allowed a ding to her morality to make it happen. “Maximilian,” she called out, the boy instantly shooting a look of worry in her direction. Anytime she used his full name meant that his attention was required, no questions or quiet arguments allowed. “Your dad is coming out soon. He wants to introduce us to his work friends. Do me a favor and don’t go near the mud.” He gave a nod of understanding and then he was off again.

She checked her phone at least twenty times in the half hour they were standing around waiting for Hudson to text. Their last string of messages had been a pointless argument. This time, it was Hudson who wanted to make something work. He’d ran out of entertainment pieces and apparently he missed her. She’d heard it all before — the excuses, the bullshit apologies that always ended with it being her fault. She was tired of it and yet, there she was.

It was all for Max. Everything she did was for him. Hudson might have been a terrible partner in life, but he was a good father and after the terrible thing she’d done, she owed him that much.

Living with the guilt had been complicated at first. From the second she’d held him in her arms for the first time, she’d known that he wasn’t Hudson’s child. Max had been born with full head of dark hair and his eyes didn’t match the light hues of either supposed parent. That didn’t keep her from putting Hudon’s name on the birth certificate, even if a silent shout had gone to the man responsible for making her a mother.

Maximilian Grey Salazar. She hadn’t trusted Hudson enough to put his last name on the certificate, but he hadn’t argued that. Surprisingly, he hadn’t argued a lot about being there for his son.

Her phone buzzed and it was enough to pull her attention from her son.

Running late. A friend of mine is coming out. He can bring you two inside. Thanks for coming. I know it’s been hard between us, but I love you, Andy.

And just like that, every mean word he said beforehand didn’t matter. She started to type out a response, but the sound of her son approaching with mud-stained hands and knees had her locking her phone with a grin. She wasn’t angry. She ruled with a gentle hand and had promised herself to raise her son to do the same.

“Let me guess. Crash landing?” He gave a nod, his smile widening up at her before his attention shifted, causing her focus to do the same.

Panic flooded her veins, her instinct being to take a step closer to Max, his muddy hands and clothes be damned. “You must be Hudson’s work friend. He said you’d be bringing us inside. I hope you guys have a place for him to clean up. He’s practicing to be a pilot and had to make a crash landing in the mud. Everyone survived.”

Out of everything she’d imagined saying to him, talking about their sons tenth major career of his life wasn’t on the list. It was either drown in her panic and trigger the curiosity of the five year old at her side, or think fast and be quick on her feet. “I’m Andy,” she hummed, ready to introduce Max, but he’d beat her to the punch.

@waywordhearts​​