Here's My Heart

chapter XIII

Laura's POV

I looked at the kid nervously. I figured I'd start with small questions. My mind was full of thoughts now though. Logan loved me? I love him too but I wasn't expecting that. I shook my head and cleared my thoughts. I needed to focus on the kid right now. "What's your name?" I asked him. He looked up at me nervously. "My name?" He asked. "Yeah your name." I confirmed. He shrugged his shoulders. "My mama never gave me a name." He told me. "What do they call you at school?" I asked him curiously. "The call me Jones." He told me. "Why Jones?" I asked him. "That's my mama's last name." He said happily. "Well where is your mama?" I asked him worriedly. "She died. So now I live with my daddy but he's mean. He hurts me." Right after those words left his mouth he slapped a hand over it. "I'm sorry. I wasn't supposed to tell people that." He told me, looking terrified. "Don't worry. You aren't leaving until I know you're safe." I told him. I really did mean it. And I'm sure if I told Logan the kid's situation, he'd let him stay. "Well how about we talk about names. I want to find a full name for you." I told him. He smiled and nodded. I pulled a list of names up and we went through them all. He didn't seem interested in any of them so I made my own list. I've wanted kids for a long time and I've been coming up with names for a while. When I finished he read them over and his eyes lit up when he read one. "I like Avian!" He said excitedly. I loved that name because it was in a book I read that I absolutely loved. I also liked the name Cyn because of that book. I smiled. Avian Jones suited him. "Are you hungry?" I asked him. He nodded vigorously. I chuckled and grabbed some money from our bedroom. "Do you know what car your dad drives?" I asked avian. He peaked out the window. "He's not here." He told me. We walked out the door and headed to the cafe. I learned that Ezra worked here. When I walked in ezra let out a small scream. The cafe was mostly empty luckily. She ran over and gave me a hug. I hugged her back and let go after a few seconds. "It's been so fucking slow today." She complained. The kid was hiding behind my leg. "Can I get a hot chocolate and a coffee?" I asked Ezra. She nodded and got to work making them. I guided the kid over to a booth and took a seat across from him. When Ezra got back she looked really confused. "I'll explain at school tomorrow." I told her. "Well what's your name?" She asked him happily. "I'm Avian! Who are you?" He asked her. I noticed how excited he got when he said Avian. It really made me happy."I'm Ezra. What do you want to eat?" She asked him. She seemed really excited to see him. "Can I have a breakfast sandwich please?" He asked, looking at me. I nodded and placed my order for just hashbrowns. "Who is Ezra?" He asked me curiously. "She's one of my friends." I explained to him. "Oh." Was all he said. I was coming down from my high and I felt a little bit disappointed. "How old are you?" Avian asked me as Ezra came over with our food. She looked really excited but I couldn't figure out why. "I'm 16." I told him. "How old are you?" I asked him. "I'm 8. My birthday was last week!" He told me excitedly. I realized he needed clothes. "Do you want to go shopping with me?" I asked him. His eyes lit up and he nodded eagerly. We are our food and paid. "He Ezra? Is your shift over?" I asked her. She seems like someone who could shop forever. "My shift ended about 15 minutes ago." She told me with a laugh. "Do you want to go shopping with us?" I asked her. She nodded and we left the store. Alice's truck was parked right out front. Ezra opened the door and peeked in. Alice was scrolling through her phone. "It took you long enough!" Alice said jokingly. "Can we go shopping with Laura and a kid?" Ezra asked excitedly. "A kid?" Alice questioned, shifting her gaze over to me. I nodded and she agreed. I put Avian in the truck and got in after him. "Can we stop at Nash's apartment real quick so I can grab more money?" I asked Alice. She nodded and silently made her way to the apartment. I walked in and grabbed more money and my keys. I ran back downstairs and got in the car. I sent Nash a message to tell him where I was.
L: "I'm going shopping with Alice and Ezra. I have the kid. Him and I decided that his name is Avian btw.

Nash messaged me back a few minutes later.
N:Okay. Have fun and stay safe. You still have the kid?

L: Yeah. I don't trust that guy that came looking for him.

N:Okay. Just be careful. I love you.

L: I will. I love you too.

"So what's your name?" Alice asked Avian. He told her with a huge smile. He seemed to be getting bored and Ezra noticed. "What kind of music do you like Avian?" She asked him. "I love pop music!" He told her enthusiastically. She smiled and plugged her phone in. Music started blaring through the speakers. 'Now, payback is a bad bitch And baby, I'm the baddest' the speakers blared. We kept getting weird looks but I don't think anyone cared. We eventually got to the mall and it was packed. Once we found a parking spot, we got out of the car and started walking inside. Avian grabbed my hand and Ezra's as we headed in. We went to old navy first. There was a sale going on for kids pants. We went over to the kids section and looked around for some clothes. Avian found a pair of jeans for $10 and showed them to me. I grabbed a size 6-8 and a size 8-10 and brought him to the changing room so he could try them on. About two minutes later, he called out to me for help. I knocked so he could let me in. He opened the door and looked like he was on the verge of tears. His zipper wouldn't go up and he was getting frustrated. "Do they feel comfortable or are they too big? I asked him. "They are too small." He told me. He had the 6-8 pants on. I helped him unzip them and he wiggled out of them. He pulled the second pair on and smiled as he zipped and buttoned them. "These are comfy. I like these ones." He told me. We walked back over to Alice and Ezra. Their arms were loaded with pants and shirts. "What are you guys doing?" I asked them. They froze and turned slowly to look at me. "They're for him." Alice told me. "Alice! I don't have that kind of money!" I scolded. She looked guilty. "I'm paying for them." She told me. "There's no arguing about this either." She added. I found a few more things. We went to check out and the woman ringing things up looked at us like we were crazy. She bagged it all up and gave us our total. "$436. 58" she said. Alice handed her a credit card and started grabbing bags. The woman gave her card back. Ezra took it and slid it into her own wallet because Alice's hands were full of bags. We walked out to the car to put the bags in there. Alice took her card back from Ezra after the bags were in the car. We walked back into the mall and continued looking for stores. "What do you like to do?" Ezra asked Avian. "I like coloring and playing with stuffies!" He told us. We all laughed at his enthusiasm as we headed into a toy store. Avian was immediately drawn to a certain stuffed animal. It was a pink turtle with dark blue spots. I grabbed it and handed it to him. He hugged it to his chest. We got some crayons and coloring books and checked out. I payed and left the store with Avian right next to me. "Did we get underwear or socks while we were there?" I asked them. "We got him socks but no underwear." Ezra told me. I nodded and we went into a kid store and I went for the underwear. I grabbed some 8-10 underwear and went to checkout. The woman rang it up and I payed. "Your child is very cute." She told me with a smile. "He's not mine. He's my neighbor's." I informed her. She smiled even more which had me confused. "You're very kind to buy this stuff for him." She told me. I thanked her and left the store. After grabbing all of the necessities for a child we started looking around a few stores for something for ourselves. I got a few pairs of underwear because I needed new ones. Ezra and Alice got a few shirts and pants. We left the mall after getting food and went home. When we got home, Alice and Ezra got out and helped carry everything up to our apartment. Apparently luck was on my side because Logan wasn't home. We placed all of the stuff in the bedroom and I said goodbye to the girls. They said bye to Avian and took off. I turned and looked at avian. "Do you want to take a bath or a shower?" I asked him. "A shower." He said. He looked exhausted so I checked the time. It was almost 8:00 p.m. I brought him into the bathroom and told him which soaps to use. After about 10 minutes he was done in the shower. I brought him a towel. He wrapped himself and walked out of the bathroom and into the bedroom. I followed him and went over to the bags and took one of the pajama sets out. I handed it to him, grabbing some underwear and socks for him as well. He put them on and I grabbed a book that we had gotten st the store. He crawled onto the bed with me and curled up into my side. I made sure that he was on the inside. Nash wouldn't be happy if a child was why he couldn't cuddle with me. I started reading out loud to him and within 10 minutes of me reading, he fell asleep. I continued reading quietly. I set the book on the nightstand as I heard the door open and close. Footsteps approached the bedroom and Nash walked in, looking exhausted. He took his clothes off and I got up and did the same. I put on a pair of shorts and and tshirt. Nash put a pair of shorts on but no shirt. He walked up to me and hugged me tightly. "How was your day?" He asked me quietly. "It was fun. Alice paid for a ton of it." I told him. "Of what?" He asked me curiously. "Nash... I need to work out a deal with his father. I don't want this little boy to get hurt. I'll get a job to help provide money." I told him. All he said was "okay." And pulled me over to the bed. I laid down after he did and cuddled next to him. He gave me a kiss and I turned the lamp off. I fell asleep, feeling exhausted myself.