Lay Me Down to Sleep

Chapter 21

Tankhun knows he shouldn't have thrown his mother. But who is to say that the toddler Kinn is now holding is his mother? They should probably interrogate her, find some old family pictures and-

"Didn't you say you put the collage together for her funeral?" Arm asks quietly, putting a gentle hand on Tankhun's back, "You can compare some photos to her and we'll go from there." 

Right. He did do that. Pa thought it would be good for him to plan everything. Tankhun did it without question because he thought Pa was probably grieving harder than any of them really knew. He had wanted to make things easier for his father. He even did the paperwork for her estate. That whole process led to him getting his degree in law, a degree he earned mostly from the confines of the compound. Losing his mother and being kidnapped and continuously assaulted within six months of each other had made it so the appeal of the college experience was suddenly not so appealing anymore. 

Before Tankhun's thoughts can spiral farther into his past trauma, the little girl lifts her head up and sniffles. She looks down at the pool, right where Vegas is, and her face crumples.

"Vegas, honey," she says, kicking her feet until Kinn puts her down in a daze. She walks over to the pool ledge and runs her tiny fingers through his wet hair, all while Vegas looks stumped. 

"You deserved more support after your ma died," Ma says in a choked voice, "My stupid, evil husband should have shown you kindness and worked things out with Gun! Your ma misses you so much! We hang out all the time! She's been so worried about you and Macau. She's…She's glad you found happiness with Pete. She really likes Pete! She was with me when they pulled me! And she wanted to tell you that she-" 

"Pete," Vegas says, sounding upset and disturbed as he pushes himself away from the wall. Pete quickly swims over to both physically and emotionally support Vegas. 

"I'm sorry," Ma says, standing up again, "I didn't mean to overwhelm you. We can talk about it when you're ready." 

Vegas just stares at her with wide eyes, but Tankhun could swear they are shining with tears. 

Ma comes to join them again and looks up at Tankhun.

"Where's Kim?" she asks quietly, "Where's my baby?" 

Shit. Kim. Tankhun doesn't know how Kim will handle this. They should probably talk about how to go about it before telling him and prepare him if this actually is Ma. Kim had wanted their mother since he turned. He cried for her. This will be confusing for him. They need to come up with a plan.

"Khun? Who is it?" 

Or they'll just tell him now because he's in the aquatics center with them and knows some toddler appeared on the diving board out of nowhere. When Tankhun turns to look at him, he sees Kim standing there as he stares at their toddler mother with wide eyes. Chay, Macau, and Aree are standing behind him. 

Ma studies him for a few seconds, then lets out a cry, "I heard you cry for me. I tried to let you know I was with you. It…I was confused. I didn't understand why this happened to you, but…but…I'm so glad you are okay! When you died, I thought I would die all over again!"