The Boot (Book 1)

Chapter Twenty-Two

SEBASTIAN:

I can't keep avoiding this. I have to tell the kids the truth. So much has happened in the last twenty-four hours, a lot which I haven't even had the chance to process myself. But they need to know.

I take a deep breath before opening the door to the empty conference room where my kids are. "Daddy?" Bianca looks up. "What's going on?"

"Why was Papa dragged out of here by those cops?" Isaac asks.

"You saw that?" I try to keep a cool, unaffected tone. I didn't want them to see that I was just as scared and sad as they were.

"Yeah. He lunged at the glass," Isaac points to the glass windows lining the walls.

"Son of a b!tch," I mumble to myself.

"Did Papa do something bad?" Bianca asks.

"Yes. He- uh-..." I have no idea how to explain this to a six-year-old and a three-year-old.

Bianca starts to tear up. I haven't even said anything yet, but it's clear that she's scared. They both are. I can't blame them. I'm scared as sh!t, and I actually know what's going on. I can only imagine how scary this situation must be to someone who has no idea of what's actually going on.

"Sometimes, there are bad people in the world, and we don't always know it. Papa is one of those bad people."

Bianca blinks through her tears. "Why is Papa bad?"

"He made some choices that weren't okay, and people got hurt."

"Why would he hurt people?" Isaac asks.

"I don't know, kiddo. But he did. And now he has to face the consequences for what he did."

"Does that mean Papa doesn't love us?"

"What do you mean, kiddo?"

"People make bad choices because they feel bad inside."

I taught them that. I didn't realize he remembered. "Yes. That's right."

"Did Papa not love us? Did we make him feel bad inside so he wanted to make other people feel bad?"

"I don't know why he did what he did, but I promise you, it isn't your fault. Do you understand that?"

"Yes, Daddy."

"I have some good news, though."

Both kids perk up slightly at that, although Bianca's face is still stained with tears. I sit down and pat my lap. Bianca sprints over and sits on my lap, and Isaac sits on my knee. I use my hands to soothingly rub their backs.

"You have a new brother."

They both gasp, looking up at me, wide-eyed.

"Really?" Isaac asks.

Bianca frowns. "Another brother? Why couldn't you make it be a sister?" she whines.

I laugh. "I'm afraid it doesn't quite work like that, sweetie."

Ten minutes later, I go back up to the hospital room as one of the nurses brings the kids back to the daycare.

"How did it go?" Lucy asks, her hand resting on her bump.

"It went... okay, I suppose. They were obviously very frightened and sad. Apparently, as they were dragging Liam-" I pause. "I mean... Alejandro out of the hospital, they walked past the room that the kids were in, and he lunged at them. There was glass protecting them and he was in handcuffs, but they're little kids, so it had to have been scary."