Page 44 of Vulnerate

“I’m not talking about you hugging me, you do that all the time. You keep looking at me weird and smiling funny like you’re dreaming.”

I stroke his hair back and kiss his forehead. “You know I love you, right?”

He nods and rolls his eyes relaxing into my side. “Yeah, you never stop saying say it so I can’t exactly forget.”

I’m going to hate when he’s a teenager, I already hate that he’s growing up and doesn’t sleep in my bed anymore. If I had it my way he’d be three again and never age, that was the best age when he needed me, and he’d always cuddle me in the morning.

Right now, he ignores me in favor of watching his show. The next episode auto plays, and his whisper fills the small gap between them.

“I love you too.”

I’m stopped from forcing him to say it again as the front door opens and dress shoes tap against the wood. Vlad’s smug face pisses me off instantly, I already know what he’s going to say as he goes to the bar and pours himself a drink.

“Get your tantrum out and then we’ll talk.”

Fucking prick. I don’t have tantrums for fuck’s sake, I’m a grown ass man and I have a nine year old.

Viktor idolizes the prick and tries to do addition his brain can’t comprehend.

“Are we moving again?” The sadness in his quiet voice and eyes points out my fuck ups as he looks at me. “You said I can go to school.”

Trying to keep him protected from the shit storm Carly created and insulated from the other fuckers in my own life has just made him lonely. I give him my promise to do better mentally, but the one I voice is less than he deserves.

“You’re starting in a week. We’re not moving, little man.”

He’s never asked why he doesn’t have a mother or who she is. The thought of him seeing other kids with one at school is enough to give me heart palpitations when the only one he’s ever witnessed is Anika, that bitch is barely fucking human and none of us call her mama when they visit. Ruffling his hair, I send him away, so he doesn’t overhear anything.

“Go raid Tali’s snacks, I got that new movie you wanted to watch.”

He narrows his eyes at me and Vlad as he slowly gets up, trying to sneak information.We move into the office to stop Viktor’s eavesdropping, and my fear comes back out.

“She’s not taking him,” I say as soon as the door closes.

Expecting a quip about my tantrum, Vlad turns into a normal person with emotions and agrees.

“He’s with family, but Vitali will bring her home.”

The little shithead will do whatever he wants, it was the same when we were kids. Wherever Dani is involved Tali will give in.

He takes a seat behind his desk as he adjust his cuffs. “And it will be good for him to be around her. He’s already attached to Inessa. He goes to her as though she’s his mother.”

I’d agree if he wasn’t my son. Logically it all makes sense, he’s attached himself to my sister-in-law craving a relationship I can’t give him. But if Dani fills that gap, then she’ll be here, around me all the fucking time, driving me crazy.

My knee starts to bounce and I’m that dumb kid going to him for help in the middle of the night again as I ask, “He’s going to see other kids at school and start asking questions, isn’t he?”

Each day points out another fucking thing I don’t know what to do. My blood boils then turns to ice at the dumbass changing the topic.

“Probably. That’s not the only reason for Dani being here, Inessa’s got it into her head that I’m some disrespectful little dickhead who fucked her in an alleyway while she was inside. Let her see that she’s family.”

Phrased like that, I feel like a dickhead. But I needed her, after a decade and a half of the woman consuming me I finally had her in my arms. Was I fuck allowing the opportunity to be wasted. If she wasn’t wrapped around me, in my arms, and kissing my cheek I may have been able to silence my teenage hope. My anger and hurt clouded everything so I’ll need a redo when I’ve got a clearer mind. I can’t think about that now because the dad voice comes out as Vlad asks, “Is there something that I should know?”

“Yeah,” I nod, “I put your card down for Inessa to buy everything at the gallery, that shit was expensive and I wasn’t using mine.”

“When’s it being delivered?”

“It isn’t?” My brows come together as he does the same and I’m not sure what his relationship is like, probably abnormal because he’s Vlad, so I say, “She bought everything for double the highest bid and told them to keep the items to resell through the night.”

The puppy has ranoff to collect Dani and I’m being a chicken shit, refusing to bring the topic up with my own kid. Tali couldn’t even last a full twenty-four fucking hours before forcing her into my life again.Inessa kicks my foot, getting far too comfortable, and turning into her husband as she orders me around.

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