"Did you have fun at the ComiCon convention?" Jessica asked through the door to her eleven year old son.
"Did you stay there all day?" Changing tactics.
Her son didn't answer. He hid behind the wooden frame of the bathroom door and enclosed himself in his knees. He needed his father so much right then and memories flooded his brain in those thoughts. He saw the signature jet black quiff, the small smile, the hazel eyes that he inherited and the warm glow in his skin. He needed to have his father hold him and kiss his head, telling him that everything was okay.
"Baby, are you okay?"
He covered his ears. He didn't want his mother. He wanted Zayn. More than anything in that moment, he wanted to lay in his father's arms watching cartoons on a Sunday morning. He missed how much his father understood him when no one could. The ice cream that he would wake him up late at night to share and the food fights that would erupt when they baked Jessica a cake for every occasion possible.
"Landon, please answer me," the small tears and desperation was audible in her frail voice.
"Why did you come here?" Landon spoke softly.
"To tell you.. that I love you."
They stood in silence. Both not knowing what the next move would be.
He waited. He waited until she would leave. He waited for her to realize that there was wasn't going to be an answer for her. He was hurting and he waited for her to realize.
Jessica crept away from the door until she saw a shadow cradling under door frame. She walked back quietly and scrunched down a safe distance away from the door. Her back hunched over her knees and arms, with her son in an identical position on the other end. She heard the small boyish whisper of his words leave his lips.
"I love you, too."
The air carried his words over and she scoot with her back against the wall. She cried silent tears as her son gave her more than she expected.
***
Landon crept over to his mother's side of the bed. The separation wasn't necessary, but she needed to feel like Zayn could possibly come back and that it would all be a horrible nightmare. Her son barely spoke to her and she felt alone. Landon rubbed his hand along his mother's face in an effort to wake her up.
"Landon, what's wrong?" She jumped awake as if on auto pilot.
"Are you sure that you love me?" He asked curiously.
"I've never been so sure of something in my life." The words rolled so surely off her tongue. Being his mother was a position that she would never give up or question.
"Then promise me that you won't bury me."
"What are you talking about, kid?" She was clearly confused by his words.
"When I die, don't bury me."
"You're not about to die. You're going to lie a long and healthy life."
"How do you know that?"
"Because I do." She spoke matter-of-factly.
"Dad didn't think that he would die that day, but he did! You don't know anything." His voice escalating rapidly.
"Talk to me. What's wrong?" Remaining as calm as she possibly could.
"Bury me in one of those mausoleum thingys! "
"Stop saying that! You aren't going to die." The frustrated nature in her was becoming extensive. Jessica couldn't bear the thought of not having the only living creation of her and Zayn vanish from her presence. Her heart couldn't even take the thought of it. Landon took on with the Palermo sass and stomped around her room furiously as if he was a volcano waiting to erupt.
