The survivor

Chapter 8: Ghosts Of The Past

Meanwhile, Marco had walked to the bus stop with no shoes and caught the bus to Andrew's house in the rain. He had just gotten off the bus and walked inside the apartment building and found Andrew's apartment number and knocked on the door. When the door opened he was greeted by an all but unhappy Kayla who told him to come in and seeing that he was soaked and cold,sheet him in and gave him a blanket to wrap up in. Afterwards she ushered him to the couch and said"Tell me...why are you here?" and Marco said," I want to apologize to Mr. Andrew and I want to come back...please I have nowhere to go".

Kayla frowned and said "now you want his help after you turned him down" but little did either of them know that Andrew was hiding around the corner. Marco sighed and said" I left because he didn't understand...no one did on how it feels to be called garbage and told you'll never amount to shit all because you got stuck with parents who were trailer trash". "go on," said Kayla and Marco looked down and said "my parents would pick me up from school drunk and even beat me...I had to fend for myself when it came to food, clean clothes, and even emotional support" and I'm here because my dad began to beat on me for crying over how I screwed up everything I had with Mr. Andrew". Marco began to cry and choked out the words...I left because I decided to stop fighting and be the trash everyone expects me to be but it seems I can't even do that right".

I came from around the corner and hugged Marco, he messed up but I'm willing to let it go after all he's only 11 years old. I looked at Kayla and said, "what do you think his punishment should be?". She smiled and said "this ones on the house...I think he's suffered enough" and I winked at her and said," agreed, now go get cleaned up, I think I have some tubs of your clothes still left here". After getting cleaned up, I put him to sleep in my office recliner and closed the door and I motioned for Kayla to follow me upstairs to the roof garden.

when we got up there I asked Kayla if I made the right decision and she smiled and said "since when do you ask me for advice?" and I said, "well you seem to solve my problems better than I do plus you have something I don't have but need badly... a mothers instinct". She smiled and kissed my cheek and said "I'll help you raise him...if that's what you're asking but in my opinion, you made the right decision to forgive him and let go but you should've never taken on the job of fixing him all alone".

As usual, I said" you're right, now will you help me and she smiled and said "but it'll cost you...I have been thinking about going to "chez 'Pierre" downtown and you're gonna take me". I rolled my eyes and said" what like a date?" and she grinned and said" yes but not for you" I sighed and said, "for who then" and she giggled and said," for me and my stomach cuz imma' eat". I turned away and said "ugh" and she said, "oh come on admit it, you're totally in love with me" and I grinned and said "whatever" as I walked away quickly, blushing hard. I could still hear her giggling. I went inside and laid down on the bed and thought about what Kayla said. I knew it was true...or was it what I wanted to believe? I decided to wait a few more weeks to be sure before I fell asleep.

Meanwhile, Kayla was still on the roof thinking about the conversation that had just transpired on the roof and she decided to wait as well before she made it super obvious that she did have feelings for him. When she came in and checked in on Marco he was tossing and turning and kicking and mumbling "please stop" and she felt bad for the poor boy so she picked him up and laid him in the bed between her and Andrew before giving him a kiss and falling asleep herself.

When morning came, Andrew got up and smiled at Kayla holding Marco as they slept so he decided he would go to work and cover both of their shifts while she got Marco settled back in. Andrew also wanted them to get time to bond and know each other since she was going to be his new mother, so he gave her a kiss on the cheek and headed off to work after leaving her a note on the counter. A few hours later, Kayla woke up and saw Marco in her arms and panicked that she was late for work and went to go find Andrew and ask him why he hadn't woken her up too. As she walked through the house looking for him she assumed he went to work and went to make herself breakfast and finally came across the note.

After reading it she grinned and said "well played Andrew". After waking Marco up and feeding him breakfast, she told him to get dressed because they were going a few places. When they got in the car Marco looked down and said" do you hate me miss?" And she sighed and said, "no I don't hate you, it's just I was angry last night until you told me the truth and then I and your dad fully understood why you left". Marco said, "do you think you could help me apologize to him and Kayla smiled and said "sure...and call me mom". Marco yelled "so you're dad's girlfriend and Kayla said" not quite... it's complicated" and Marco laughed and said," well I hope you do because dad needs to get a girlfriend and stop being lonely".

Kayla blushed and hurried up and parked at the school. After getting Marco registered again she decided to take him out for pizza & arcade games and he enjoyed himself before they left to go look for some school clothes. Kayla noticed Marco's attitude changed horribly when she mentioned school so after they left the store and headed to the storage unit, she parked the car and sat in the back with Marco and grabbed his hand, and said "Marco what's going on...you seem terrified about going back to school and Marco said "yes I am...the kids, they make fun of me because of my parents,it's hard to make friends and it hurts "Kayla nodded as she smiled and said" sounds like  Andrew when he was your age".Marco said really what did he do?" and she said," you'll find out when he gets home tonight, I promise, but for right now, let's get your stuff out of storage".