Come back to me

Chapter 4

Aurora’s POV

I didn’t know how I made it to the hotel, just that when I did, I locked the door, sank to the floor. My whole body shook. I pressed my palm to my mouth, trying to quiet the sound so the walls wouldn’t echo with my failure. But I knew deep down that I wasn't going to do anything.

My phone vibrated across the table, breaking the silence. I stared at it, the name “Kels” dancing on the screen. I was sure she was calling to know if the meeting with Jace had gone well. And fuck! She was on time. It was like she knew there was something wrong somewhere. I quickly wiped my cheeks and answered, trying to steady my voice.

“Aurora?” Kelsey’s voice came through with concern.

“Yeah?”

“Alex wants to speak with you.”

A moment later, my boy’s soft voice, small, sleepy, came through.

“Mama?” he called out softly.

I breathed in, clinging to the strength his voice gave me. “Hi, baby. How are you? Have you eaten?”

“Yes. Aunty kels made something for me. We watched Moana too but it's a girl's cartoon.” He grumbled.

I laughed. “You love it. And who said Moana was just for girls?”

“It isn't?”

“Nope. Moana is for everyone. I watched it and I'm an adult.”

“You and Aunty kels are both weird.” He said to me,

“Right? Did you paint today?” I asked him.

And that was a more interesting conversation because my son was obsessed with painting and drawing. He babbled, telling me about his spaceship crayons and a drawing he was doing for me. To be sincere, his drawings weren't good, but they also weren't bad and I knew with time that he was going to get better. As he spoke, I could hear his voice getting weaker. It took strength for him to do this and the only reason why he was at home after months in the hospital was because I insisted on a break.

He needed a change of environment and besides, I set up the best nurse I could find for him. Just so he wouldn't be burdened with sleeping in the hospital which was making him fucking anxious. But he'll have to go back soon. It was almost the third day already. And besides, I still had no solution to making him better.

I swallowed the ache that threatened to spurt free. “Are you tired?”

“Uh huh.”

“Then go to rest okay? Mama loves you. I’ll see you soon, okay?” I told him.

“Love you too mama.”

He handed the phone back, and I heard the gentle shuffle as Kelsey picked up again. “So? What happened?”

The pressure in my chest felt like it would split me open. “It didn’t go well at all, Kel. Jace… he doesn’t believe Alex is his. He doesn’t want to help, not even to do the test. It’s like he’s pretending our son doesn’t exist.”

Kelsey let out a sharp curse, “Putain!” so fierce I almost laughed through my tears.

“How can he be so damn sure? He hasn’t even seen Alex! The boy could be his clone. How can he look at you and not see it? Merde, Aurora, I should go to his damn office myself—”

Her protective rage was a lifeline, even as I shook my head sadly, tears drying into exhaustion. “Words won’t convince him. Maybe nothing will.”

Kelsey’s voice softened. “You’re not alone in this, ma chérie. Tell me, what are we going to do next?”

I let out a bitter, trembling sigh. “I guess I’ll try to reach my family. Maybe there’s someone willing to be tested. I… I have to try. For Alex.”

There was a pause, then a spin of disbelief.

“I'm sure I heard you wrongly right?” She asked me. “Arr we talking about the same family who left you? The same people who turned their backs when you divorced Jace, and again when you told them about Alex’s diagnosis?”

I pressed my lips together. The first time we got Alex’s diagnosis, I had reached out to my family after finding out I wasn't a match. None of my calls were returned except one from my father who cursed and told me I wasn't family and to take my spawn elsewhere. Kelsey had been with me and was struck with shock when she heard him. From then on, she developed a hatred for my family but I was struck right now.

“Yes. But what else do I have? If they slam the door in my face, at least I’ll know I did everything.” and I was willing to beg just so they could help my son.

When she didn’t immediately respond, I rushed on, “Thank you for everything. I know you already got tested for a match, you did more than any sister ever could…”

She cut me off. “Of course I did. Alex is my family. He is my fucking nephew blood d damned. I’ll keep calling everyone in Paris, anyone I know in New York, anyone with the right blood type. You are not doing this on your own, understand?”

A wave of gratitude left me shaky. “Thank you. Really.”

She promised to keep Alex safe, to keep my phone on no matter the hour, and to call with any news, good or bad. Our call ended with a whisper, “Don’t give up, Rora, I'm not giving up either, ” the one thing she always gave me courage, even in the dark.

The room was silent again. I peeled my clothes away and stepped into the bathroom, letting the hot shower run until the mirror was clouded with steam. It did nothing to erase the ache, but maybe it cleansed some of the fear. The main issue with finding a donor for Alex was that he had a rare blood type. I had no idea if anyone in my family could help but I was willing to try.

Afterwards, wrapped in a soft robe, I dried my face and picked up my phone. I stared at the blank screen, then, fingers trembling, typed a message to my brother:

“Please. I need your help. It’s Alex.”

I stared at the message for a long time before finally pressing “send.” I didn’t expect a response, but maybe just maybe he would reply. We were never close when we were young but we never hated each other either. At least I think so.

I padded back into the room and tossed my phone on the bed, more exhausted than I’d been in years. I barely had time to sit before it began to ring. My heart leapt. Who could be calling? Was it a hospital number? My brother? I grabbed for it, answering with shaking hands.

“Hello?” I breathed, bracing for more bad news.

There was a pause. Then a voice low, steady, and unmistakably Jace’s, filled the line.

“I’ll do it,” he said quietly. “But only on one condition.”

Shock bolted through me, and all I could do was whisper, “What condition?”

He didn’t hesitate. “You come back.”

I frowned, unsure I heard right. “Come back…where?”

His response was a single, loaded word: “Home.”

I frowned, confused as to what he was saying “I don’t understand.”

He paused, then he spoke, “You come back to me. As my wife, with my son. We get to try again.”

Um…what the hell?