Forget Me Not (Forgotten Series Companion Chapters)

Forgiving Touch

Lucas

I sat on the chair, rubbing at my face as I waited for Avery to be finished with her therapy session. I didn't like being away from her, not having her within my reach. It was part of my therapy just as it was hers. We had a very unhealthy relationship according to the doctors. We fed off of each other in a rather dangerous way. Her increasing need for safety meant I increased my aggressiveness and that in turn increased her need for safety. It was a vicious circle that needed to be broken.

It was why I was in the hallway rather than in with her. We needed separation so that she could work on figuring things out by herself and I could work on controlling my wolf and my aggression. I didn't like it, I didn't like not being around her but I understood that how we were before was a detriment to her getting better. No matter how I felt, her getting better was the most important thing to me.

It was just hard to know she was going through some terrible things and I wasn't allowed to be there for her. Our therapist had stated that while in my presence Avery retreated into herself, refused to address her issues, and relied heavily on me to protect her from them. It was where the issues stemmed from. I couldn't protect her from the things in her head and it made her want my protection even more. Everything compounded into this mass of aggression. It was what caused my attack on Willow.

Shame still swallowed me up as I thought about it. She had been just a juvenile and I had taken out all my aggression on her. I had deserved my punishment and even though Sorrel had waived what was left of my training punishment so I could take Avery to the Boarder House, I honestly felt like I needed it to continue. She had been fourteen and I had tore into her like she had been a full grown warrior.

I ground my teeth together and leaned forward in my chair. I just wanted to be with Avery. As much as she made the aggression increased, she also calmed me down. Having her beside me settled my wolf and I, made us feel better. I was starting to feel increasingly agitated with being separated from her. I knew it was needed but it didn't mean I had to like it.

A faint sound had me frowning in confusion, childish giggles came from down the hall and I lifted my head, searching them out. A little toddler wearing red coveralls and a blue shirt with a brown mop of curls on his head, toddled down the hallway. He had a soother dangling from the front of his overalls and a bright smile with only two front teeth on his face. I felt my own mouth twitch upwards at the giggles he let out as he attempted to run down the hall. I couldn't remember the last time I had seen a toddler. Veritas hadn't had any new children in a long time and the last ones were nearing ten.

He came closer and stuck his hands out, grabbing my pants as he smiled up at me. I chuckled at him but was unsure of what I was supposed to do. Usually the Boarder House wasn't a place for children. "Where did my Jacky go?" The soft voice that filtered down the hall had the little boy jolting with a giggle before he moved around my legs, hiding behind them with another squealing giggle. "I've lost my little Jacky." The female sang it out and I chuckled at the toddler pressed his face into my leg in an attempt to hide.

Kids were cute and it made me realize I kind of wanted Avery and I to have one or two. I knew we were very far off from that but it didn't make me stop hoping for perhaps one day we could actually start discussing about having children. I couldn't help myself as I reached out and ruffled his curls, he was far too cute. "Jacky! Are you bothering people? Silly boy!" There was a chuckle in the female's voice and the little boy giggled before quickly toddling towards her.

"Not at all." I smiled, turning to look at her. I jolted slightly at her appearance as she picked up the boy. She was dressed in a pair of jeans and a blouse with her brown curls, that matched her son's, pulled into a messy bun. "He's cute." She looked really familiar but I couldn't place it. It was niggling at me.