Page 123 of The Seducer
“Would you like to leave the school?” I asked him in a soft voice.
Nero turned away from me and muttered low. “No.”
“Why not?”
His shoulders lifted in a shrug. “My friends are here.” He spun around. “And just for the record they don’t like how all the Momsi kids get special treatment either.” He pointed a finger at me. “Did you know that some of them even sleep with Shelly or Kya sometimes?” With a scoff, he added, “Like they’re fucking toddlers or something.”
“Would you like to sleep with an adult too?” I asked.
He scrunched his face. “No.”
“Would you like to get a hug now and then?”
“No.” He still had a hard expression on his face, but there was a slight softening. In every cell of my body, I sensed the longing in him. This boy needed to be hugged and loved just as much as the Motlander children, but he was too proud to admit it.
“Let me see your hands,” I said and reached out for him.
“Why?” he asked with a suspicious glance at my hands.
“You can tell a lot from someone’s hands,” I said. “Finn taught me that.”
Slowly Nero lifted his hands to mine.
I took them and stepped a little closer, pretending to look his hands over. “Finn said that if a man’s hands are wrapped around another man’s neck, it’s a sign that he’s a little angry.”
Nero’s lips pursed upward a tiny bit. “That’s a good one. Finn is funny.”
“I know, but I don’t always understand his humor. I’m learning, though.”
“It’s because our humor is different than yours,” Nero explained.
“I’ve noticed,” I said and nodded my head to signify how wise he was. “There are many differences between us, but you know what’s the same with every human being no matter where they live, how old they are, or what gender they are?”
“What?” he asked.
“The need for human connection. We all need to feel that we matter, and we all need human touch.”
Nero shrugged and looked down.
“Listen to me, Nero,” I said and moved closer still. “I’m not your biological mother, but if she was here I know what she would do.”
He kept looking down, and chewed on his lower lip.
Opening my arms, I slowly wrapped them around him. “Your mother would love you and hold you, and tell you that she thinks of you every day.”
At first Nero stiffened, but as I continued to speak he eased up a little.
“While your mother carried you in her belly, she sang to you and once you were born, she bathed you and nurtured you. You were her little boy and she cried and cried when she had to let you go.”
“You really think so?” Nero asked and I smiled when he leaned into me a little.
Wrapping my arms even closer, I whispered. “I know so, Nero, and I know she would be the proudest mom in the world if she saw what a beautiful, amazing son she has.”
He pulled back a little to look at me. “How can you say that when you heard me fight with Raven?”
“Raven isn’t your enemy. She’s just a girl who grew up with a mom who wasn’t around. Now that she’s found people who care about her, she’s fueling up on love, but can you blame her?”
He looked away. “Guess not.”
