Our Time Is Here | a Lauren/You Short Story

4 • Accusations

The next morning, I woke up to Eddie jumping on my bed with a grin on his cute little face. He was surprisingly already dressed and looked to be ready for school, but when I opened my eyes and fully awoke, I noticed that he had his Spider-Man outfit on and his hair was spiked up awkwardly.

"Ed, what are you doing?" I chuckled at my son, despite my dry throat. The night didn't exactly treat me well, seeing as it consisted of me crying for majority of it.

"Nothing!" he shouted a little too over-excitedly. "I'm ready for school, though!"

Sitting up in bed, I pulled his hyper self onto my lap and kissed the top of his head. "Not yet, darling. You can't go to school like that."

He frowned and his eyes began to water. "But why not?"

Not wanting him to cry this early in the morning, I held his small hand in mine and tried to think of a way to change my initial statement. "You see, it's... your hair! You've not done it right. Spider-Man's hair is nothing like that, Teddy."

His face lit up and he nodded frantically. "Yay! Okay, I'll wait in the living room for you. Please hurry up, mummy!"

He practically leaped off my lap and ran as fast as his little legs could carry him to the living room. I sighed and smiled thinly. No matter what mood I was in, he always seemed to brighten it up.

After doing my usual morning routine of having a shower, brushing my teeth and getting ready, I went to the kitchen to whip up a quick breakfast for Eddie and I. I made a scrambled egg for us to share and we both happily ate it, myself finishing it faster and fixing his hair as he munched away.

"Do I look more like Spider-Man, now?" he asked, looking up at me with a hopeful glint in his cerulean eyes.

I smiled and nodded. "Definitely. Now come on, love. We don't want to be late for school, do we?"

He shook his head and held out his hand for me to grab, which I gladly did. Together, we descended from our apartment after I grabbed our bags, and began our walk to the elevator. However, Eddie, who was still unusually hyper this morning, let go of my hand and raced off towards the elevator without me.

"Eddie! Wait up!" I called after him, balancing our bags and coats in my hand before following him soon after.

Running just as he did, I made my way to the end of the hall and to the elevator, but as I was rounding the corner, I heard two voices speaking.

"Do you like it?" Eddie's high-pitched voice asked cutely. Oh, what did I tell him about talking to strangers?!

A familiar laugh echoed and the voice said, "I absolutely love it. You make a better Spider-Man than Spider-Man does!"

I slowed down once I reached the elevator, and noticed it was open and he was stood inside, talking to another person. My eyes solely trained on my son, I walked in, stopping at the doors, and took a moment to catch my breath.

"Eddie, never do that again," I breathed out, looking at him as he turned around to face me.

With a guilt-stricken face, he nodded. "I'm sorry."

I couldn't stand his adorable little pout, so I gave in reluctantly. "It's okay, love. Just don't do it again, please."

He nodded and looked up, a smile slowly making its way onto his face. "Look, mummy! I made a new friend!"

I looked up to the woman who was talking in the elevator with him and my jaw dropped with surprise. It was Lauren. Her eyes widened as she looked between Eddie and I, and I knew that there was no way I could get out of this one. He had already called me 'mummy' so she knew he was mine. As I studied her, a flashback from the previous night resonated in my mind and I immediately tore my eyes away from her, gulping down the lump in my throat.