The Chosen Ones: Book 3: The War

3

Back at Matt's house Casey took Tyler upstairs to her room. The same one Matt had made her own when she broke into his house that fateful night. Soon it would be back to being another spare room in the house after she moved all her stuff into Matt's bedroom. The thought made her smile.

She sat on the edge of the bed and Tyler stood in front of her, ready to take all her pain away. With it, she hoped it would erase some of the memories of the Nest.

"You know I wouldn't make you do this unless it was really necessary. I just need to be at full strength for what we have to do." She explained to him.
"It's okay mom." He replied. He caught his slip of the tongue right away and turned away from her, embarrassed. "Sorry." He said, innocently.

Casey was too busy filling up with tears to mind.  Mom..... that was something she could get used to. She smiled as she quickly wiped her tears away. She put her hands on Tyler's little shoulders, making him look at her. She didn't want him to feel ashamed for what he said.

"You don't have to be sorry. You can call me mom anytime you want, okay?"
He nodded and smiled again.
"I'll never try to take the place of your real mom. She was so special, and she'll always be your mom. But I'll be here for you whenever you need me."
"Are you going to die?" He asked her, suddenly.

The question destroyed her. How do you respond to a five year old that asks a question like that.
"Not for a very very long time." She gave him a bear hug.
"You promise?"
"I promise. Now come on, fix me up, I'm all broken."

He worked his hands all over her. She didn't even need to tell him where, he just knew. When he did her ribs is when she felt the most relief. She looked down as the swelling on her knuckles went away and her breathing returned to normal. She closed her eyes again and felt the euphoria wash over her when he finished his healing.

She finally felt whole again. She opened her eyes to see him staring back at her.
"You good?" She asked.
"Yeah, I don't get sleepy anymore." He replied, before adding, "Except when I killed that monster."
"That must have been scary, huh?"
"It was a little scary." He admitted.

She laughed as she messed his hair. "That was amazing what you did. You're going to do something even more amazing one day. I can't wait to see it."

She prayed with everything she had that she would be alive to witness it. Especially after telling him she would be around for a very long time. She hated breaking promises.