Alex was pacing in the living room, "How could she lie to me, Kim?"
Kim didn't know what to say, she had begged Adam not to leave but he was insistent. She wanted to go with him, but he told her he needed to do it alone, asking that she kept Alex at the house until he returned.
"I don't know honey, I imagine all of this must be so confusing for you..and Adam" she said softly, "though I know a little boy who is going to be thrilled, Nicholas loves you so much Alex"
Alex nodded, "I love him too..he's a great kid."
"What's she like?" Kim had to ask.
"My mom? You don't know her?" He asked, though the minute the question left his lips he realized it was stupid. Of course she didn't know her, not once did his mother ever mention Adam.
"Nope..well, I met her once when Adam had been shot...but that's it" she did the math, "you weren't much older than Nicholas is now"
He shook his head, "She never mentioned a brother"
"I'm sure she had her reasons" Kim tried to keep her anger out of her voice, after all she was still Alex's mother and from hearing him talk about her prior to this bombshell she'd been good to him.
If only she had managed to do the same for Adam, instead of turning her back on him.
"How could you...?" Adam was furious, he'd been unable to keep his anger in check as he promise Kim he would, "you've been here for months.."
She fumbled with key, "Can we not do this in the hallway Adam?" She glared at him over her shoulder, he was towering over and he wasn't happy.
"I don't care where we do this" Adam growled as she finally opened the door and stepped aside so he could enter the apartment, "you know your grandson almost died a few months ago..."
She tossed her purse on the table, "I know..and I was terrified, so was Alexander" she needed to know if Alex was okay, she assumed he was the reason Adam was standing in her apartment.
Adam shook his head in disgust, "Don't do that!" He snapped.
"Do what?"
"Act like you give a damn..about me or my son! He's eight fucking years old and you've never seen him...not once! You know nothing about him!" He spat.
Sylvia knew she deserved every bit of the tongue lashing he was giving her but he was wrong about what she knew, "I know he loves baseball, and hockey! He likes the Cubs and Hawks just like you."
"You only know that because of Alex, he's the reason you know about my son. It's not that you care about him...because Sylvia Ruzek only cares about her next hit..the next line..right?" He'd known since he was about five or six that he was last on her priorities list. That the drugs she desperately craved where what she loved most, he was just an annoyance, not even an afterthought.
The only memories he had of her were either her high as a kite, usually flipping out on him for something, or her and his father fighting. Their fights had been vicious, he'd always hide when they started yelling, but he could never escape it. He'd watch in horror as his mother would be the shit out of his father and he'd take it all, never lifting his hand to hit her, only to try and protect himself.
She'd embarrass the shit out of him on the days that she was sober long enough to take him to school were the worst. She always made it this big production, introducing herself to his teachers when she'd already met them. It was just she was so out of it most days that she never remembered meeting them in the first place.
