Running away to play hero?

RUNNING AWAY TO PLAY HERO?

When I reached Damian, I couldn't quite meet his eyes.

"I have to go. There's a child's life in danger, and I'm the only one available,” I said quietly before glancing at my little boy who was still in Damian's arm.

"I know," Damian said. 

"A nineteen-year-old boy. He has a serious head trauma." My voice cracked slightly. "He'll die if I don't operate."

Damian nodded once. Just a small dip of his chin, like he knew exactly what I was thinking. The guilt that ran through my head for choosing a stranger against my son.

"Go. It's your job. Your responsibility.”

"But Jace—"

"I'll watch him."

“What– what about my parents? My family— they are here. I can't leave him with them. If they really see Jace… Lucas could see the resemb—” before I could complete my sentence, he touched my arm, his skin igniting a strange spark in me. I flinched away due to reflex.

Something flashed in his eyes. Hurt or Understanding? I couldn't really tell.

“Don't worry. No one will know anything. I will make sure to avoid direct eye contact as much as possible,” he said, his voice hoarse, a strange promise lying in it. “Jace is safe with me.”

I finally looked up at him. Really looked at him. Damian's dark eyes were steady. Certain. Like this wasn't even a question worth discussing.

But he was my ex-husband's brother. I barely knew this man beyond our few brief encounters over the years.

Could I really trust him with the most precious thing in my life?

"Scarlet!" Dr. Kim called from near the exit. "We need to move now!"

I looked down at Jace. He was so peaceful in sleep. His face was relaxed, his breathing soft and even.

My heart cracked straight down the middle.

"Mommy?"

Jace's eyes fluttered open. He looked up at me with sleepy confusion.

Oh God.

I bent my head down so we were eye level. "Baby, Mommy has to go help someone who's very sick."

Jace's eyes filled with tears immediately. Just like that. One second fine, the next second devastated.

"No!" His small hands grabbed at my dress. "Don't leave me!"

"I know, sweetheart. I know." I pulled him into a hug, breathing in his familiar scent. Baby shampoo and the faint smell of the hotel soap. "But there's a boy who needs Mommy's help very, very badly."

"I need you!" Jace's voice broke on a sob.

This was impossible. How was I supposed to do this?

Damian's deep voice cut through my panic. "Jace."

My son looked up at him, tears streaming down his face.

"Your mom is a superhero, right?" Damian asked. "That's what you told me earlier."

Jace nodded, sniffling.

"And what do superheroes do?"

"They... they save people," Jace whispered.

"That's right. They save people. Even when it's hard. Even when they want to stay home." Damian's voice was surprisingly gentle. "Your mom has to go be a superhero right now. But superheroes always come back. Right?"

Jace nodded again, slower this time.

"So your mom will come back. I promise you." Damian's eyes met mine over Jace's head. There was something in that look I couldn't quite read. "I'll take care of him."

I wanted to say no. I wanted to grab my son and run out of this ballroom, out of this city, back to our quiet life in LA where none of these people could hurt us.

But a boy was dying.

And I was the only one who could save him.

"Be good for Mr. Damian," I told Jace, kissing his forehead one more time. "I'll be back as soon as I can. I love you so, so much."

"Love you too, Mommy," Jace whispered against my neck.

I stood up and forced my feet to move toward Dr. Kim.

Each step felt like I was tearing something vital out of my chest.

"Scarlet."

My mother's voice stopped me.

I turned slowly.

She stood with Savannah and my father, the three of them forming a united front of judgment. Like always. Like nothing had changed in five years.

"Running away to play hero?" my mother said. Loud enough for the nearby guests to hear. Loud enough to embarrass me. "How typical."

The old shame tried to rise up. The old instinct to shrink, to apologize, to make myself smaller.

But I wasn't that woman anymore.

"You never could handle real responsibility," Savannah snorted, but I didn't mistake the slight twitch in her eyes. Like she was trying so hard to be confident.

I opened my mouth to respond. To finally tell them exactly what I thought of them.

But Dr. Kim grabbed my arm. "Don't. We really don't have time. We have to go…now!"

She was right.

I turned my back on my family and walked out of the ballroom.

The words still cut deep though. Even after all these years. Even after everything I'd accomplished.

Their voices still had the power to make me feel small.

The ambulance was waiting outside, engine running.

Dr. Kim and I climbed in the back. "Minneapolis General, lights and sirens," she told the driver.

As we pulled away from the hotel, I finally let my hands shake.