Page 62 of Mending Scars

The psychiatrist nodded. “And what did the letter say?”

Hearing Kamden repeat the words from the letter caused my anger to resurface.

How dare she? She just wants everyone to be miserable like her. Stupid bitch. Kamden was doing so well.

“What made you turn to the alcohol after so long?” Dr. Lowell asked.

The answer was obvious, and even though I hated the stupid questions that Kamden’s therapist asked, I knew they were necessary to get him to open up and address his issues.

“I couldn’t take it. The guilt was so overwhelming, and those pictures.” He paused and exhaled a shaky breath. “Those pictures were branded into my mind. I couldn’t stop seeing them even when I wasn’t looking. I just wanted the pain to go away.”

Tears rolled down his flushed cheeks, and I rubbed his back in an attempt to soothe him. “It was a stupid moment of weakness.” He looked over at me and apologized. “I’m sorry, Ky.”

His voice was meek and sorrow-filled. I gave him a comforting smile. “Don’t apologize—it’s not your fault. It’s our bitch of a mom’s fault.”

His face hardened as his lips formed into a tight-lipped frown. “I should be stronger by now. I need to be stronger.”

“It takes time to heal. There will be bumps along your road to recovery, but you will get there,” Dr. Lowell said with an assuring smile.

Kamden nodded. “I hope so.”

“You will. I have total faith in you,” I interjected. “You’ve helped me through so many hard times, and I know you’re gonna pull through this one.”

My brother gave me a weak, but genuine smile. “Thank you,sorella.You don’t know how much that means coming from you.”

Giving him a perplexed look, I scrunched my eyebrows together and slightly pursed my mouth. I didn’t understand why my statement was more meaningful than anything Dr. Lowell had said; she was the expert. “Why?”

Kamden’s shoulders bobbed as he chuckled softly. “Ky, you’ve been through so much—things that would make some people go insane.” He softly took my hand in his and looked into my eyes. “Hearing that you believe in me after what you’ve endured in your life is empowering. If you can overcome your demons and live with their scars, then I can do the same with mine.”

I was so wrapped up in his words that I didn’t notice I was crying until a tear rolled down each cheek. My throat was clogged with my emotion, preventing me from speaking, so I just threw my arms around my brother and hugged him tightly. Neither of us needed to say anything as an unspoken understanding passed between us. We were each other’s support, beacons that guided each other through the dark, stormy times. Kamden had been mine for so long, and now it was my turn to be his.

It was Saturday, and I was absolutely ecstatic to finally go shopping for some stuff for Hayden. We hadn’t been able to go the last weekend because of what had happened with Kamden. I’d been too scared to let him out of my sight once we had brought him home from the hospital, so I stayed in the apartment the whole time.

Ryker and I walked into the baby store, which heightened my excitement. I’d been a couple of times before to buy gifts for coworkers’ baby showers, but this time was completely different, a whole new experience now that I was a first-time mom-to-be.

Many of the mothers at my work had told me not to buy things like bottles, diapers, bathing items, or baby toys yet because I would be getting a lot of that at my baby shower. I just had to pick the ones that I wanted and scan them onto my baby registry.

My heart warmed as I took in the rows and rows of baby clothes, strollers, car seats, and nursery furniture. Ryker looked overwhelmed, his eyes wide as he gazed around the huge store. “Wow.” He whistled.

I laughed. “Lots of baby shit, huh?”

“No kidding. This is nuts.” He chuckled.

I stopped near the baby registry kiosk and looked at Ryker. “We should probably do our baby registry while we’re here. Nori told me she wanted to include it in our shower invitation, and she’s going to be sending them out in the next few weeks.”

“All right. You do the honors, Momma.” He gestured to the kiosk area.

A smile crept over my lips, and my heart fluttered. He just called me Momma.

Oh my God, that’s the sweetest thing ever.

I walked to the kiosk and started pressing buttons on the screen. After completing the registration and getting the price scanner, Ryker and I headed to the first section of the store and began scanning items.

Once we had made our way to the clothes section, we’d already picked out a bottle set, a baby bath tub and towel set, a mobile to hang above the crib, packs of diapers and wipes, and nursery items to match the adorable crib set we picked out.

I wanted to find the perfect outfit for Hayden to wear home from the hospital since it was going to be the very first outfit he ever wore, and I was definitely planning on keeping it.

We found some cute outfits that we put in our cart, but none that stood out to me as “the one.” I was about to give up and leave when I caught sight of the perfect outfit.

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