'Tis the Damn Season

1. Tis the Damn Season

Audrey:

"Pen."

I tore my eyes away from the lights in front of me to glance down at the small boy who was standing to my left. As always, I felt the swell of warmth inside my chest when I took in his small frame, chubby cheeks, blonde hair that couldn't be tamed and stuck out in every direction possible. He was beautiful, and he was mine.

Following his gaze, a smile tugged up my lips when I realised what he was talking about. "Penguin, honey. It's a penguin."

Even though the words had come out of my mouth, I knew that he wasn't paying an ounce of attention to me and I shouldn't have even bothered. His one-year-old brain was focused on the abundance of lights in front of him as well as the inflatable decorations that had seemed to take his fancy. Still, I tried.

When I saw that the penguins had lost to the polar bear to their right, I looked back at the house again and smirked.

Charlie and I had moved into town two months previously, and we'd just so happened to move a few doors down from Gemma Teller. She'd been curious about the single mother and her young son, and had been quick to come knock on our door to introduce herself. Then bluntly ask where my husband was and where the hell I'd come from.

Although, at first, I'd thought that she was rude - and slightly insane -, she'd somehow managed to worm her way into my heart and become my closest friend. That was why it didn't shock me that the woman had gone all-out for Christmas. It also explained why the only Christmas decorations left at the store were a few measly tree-lights that I'd done my best with. Even though it didn't turn out very well, I thought I could forgive myself for not being better organised, since Charlie wouldn't remember it in the years to come.

"Charlie, Audrey!"

I waved hello to Gemma when she stepped out of her front door and motioned for us to come inside, then ushered Charlie up the path to join her. Although I'd never admit it out loud, I silently cursed the older woman for looking so great when I was wearing practically the same thing and looked an utter mess.

I'd swapped the sweatpants I'd been in for the past few hours to a pair of skin-tight black jeans, but I hadn't gotten changed out of my too-big Guns N' Roses shirt, or managed to take my hair out of the braids that hung down my back and made me look even younger than I already was.

"The house is incredible, Gem." I exclaimed after we'd gotten my son settled in the lounge-room where Thomas and Abel were playing. "I'm assuming the Club helped you get it finished so quickly?"

She hummed in agreement and then passed me a glass of wine that she'd just poured, turning back to repeat the action for herself before she clinked our glasses together in a cheers. "I just buy the lights and give the orders, the boys are there for the manual labour. I'm surprised that you didn't hear them."

"We were out most of the day," I explained after another sip of wine. "We went grocery shopping and then went for a walk in town. Too nice of a day to pass up."

Before either of us could speak any further, the roar of an engine came closer to the house and I raised an eyebrow at her in silent questioning. She side-eyed me before she spoke. "Jax had to drop off some of the papers from the garage for me, I'm not going into work tomorrow. Going to try and get some shit done at home. Hang some more lights."

I snorted at her joke and then finished the rest of my glass, waiting for the gorgeous blonde to make his appearance in the kitchen and join in on the adult conversation.

When ten minutes had passed and he hadn't stepped into the space, I took a sip of my refilled drink and then placed it on the bench. "He probably got caught up saying hi to the boys, I'll go and get him."

I stepped into the loungeroom and felt my stomach sink to the carpet beneath my feet.

No Jax.

More importantly, no Charlie.

My boy was nowhere to be seen.

"Where's Charlie?" I quickly asked Thomas, who was sitting on the floor rolling his toy truck back and forth.

He looked up just long enough to point towards the front door, which I realised was slightly open. "He kept saying 'pen' and pointing at the front door so I thought he wanted to go and look at the lights."

I felt all of the breath leave my body at the same time, ice cold fear running through my veins and taking it's place.

There is a certain level of panic that only settles in your stomach when you become a parent and you don't know where your child is. Your brain goes to all of the worst-case scenarios before it turns to complete mush and you can't think of anything other than finding them. Your heartbeat is too rapid, your palms sweat like crazy, you feel like you'll faint and vomit at the exact same time.

And I went through the motions like clockwork.

Fighting my urge to scream at the two young boys who were playing with their toys and ask them how long it had been since they'd helped my son escape the confines of the safety of Gemma's home - there's no way he could have opened the door by himself -, I took off in the direction that he'd gone in and stepped into the front yard. "Charlie!"