Forgiveness, Trust & Forever

Hero

The shrill of mum's mobile phone draws me from the grief coma I have slipped into since the moment I had received the call from Titan about Brandon.

The confused look on her face has me shifting in my seat, pushing myself into an upright position as my shoulders remain firmly raised, the muscles tightened into knots from the tension that has taken control. I can't take any more unwelcome news right now, but that look is not filling me with hope that this call is going to just be an innocent checking in on us during this time of grief.

"It's Ian" she mutters as she looks between me and the vibrating phone that is being clasped tightly in her trembling hand.

I stand to my feet "answer mum" I say quickly, the words more of a demand than I meant for them to be but I desperately hope that it doesn't sound like I am begging as I quickly add "please" before accepting that I don't give a shit if it sounds like I am begging or not because I need to know why he would be calling my mum, today of all days.

"Ian" she stutters into the receiver, a brief pause feels like an hour before she responds "I'm fine thank you" I mouth across the kitchen island for her to put him on speaker, I can't cope with a one-sided conversation right now when it comes to him and this unexpected call.

Mum quickly switches it to loudspeaker before resting it back onto the counter between us, the tone of his voice telling me this isn't just a random call, this contact from him is for a reason and that reason I need to know quickly.

The sound of my daughter screaming her little lungs off in the background is breaking my heart as I hear him sigh "Martha I'm really sorry to do this to you but we need to talk about Hero and Eleanora" those words on top of the screams has a low level rage bubbling inside me somewhere deep down that I can only feel it a little but I think that's because the confusion is dulling it right now.

"I don't understand Ian, you had told me with clear determination that you would not be willing to get involved between them and the battle your daughter has created" hearing my mum speak anything but positive words about my ex-fiancee is weird and something I never believed she would be saying, she offers me a reassuring squeeze of my hand as she leans across the counter towards me, clearly wanting me to know that she is on my side, after everything I have fucked up in my lifetime so far she is on my side right now over this.

The only sound between them right now is that of my distressed daughter, her high pitched cries filling our kitchen to a deafening level "I didn't want to get involved but clearly my daughter is not in the right head space at the moment to be dealing with any of this and so I have had to step in today" he pauses for breath or is it to add a little extra drama to this call either way my mum isn't having any of it apparently.

"Is Eleanora okay?" She asks "because she sounds distressed to me" my body rises from the chair as I begin to pace across the ceramic tiled flooring my temper desperately trying to rip through my chest as I force myself to remember that my daughter is at risk if I go back to the hot-tempered hot-headed boy from my past.

A sigh breaks through "Eleanora is okay, but she needs her Daddy, Martha I need to know if you think Hero could cope with her right now with everything going on with Brandon I don't want to add to that stress if he can't cope then I will keep her with us while we keep trying to work through things with the solicitors"

"I will be on my way as soon as I have packed" I cut him off "I will call you when I leave here" nothing will stop me going to my baby girl if she needs me, not him or his daughter, not this time.

I don't wait for his reply instead my legs are taking the stairs two at a time and I am crashing through the bedroom door, nothing else registering as I load my bags up with nothing except determination and panic to get back down south and finally have my baby girl back in my arms again.