An Ever Changing Future - Alex Summers, book 2

We All Make Mistakes

            Once the two of us have calmed down Alex reaches for my hand, linking our fingers together and squeezing them tightly, and together we silently walk towards the elevator. Neither of us daring to break the silence between us because it was an unspoken feeling between us that we would start crying if we did.

The elevator dinged, signaling that we made it down a few floors, but before it allowed us out the lights around us turn red and an annoying beeping sound echoes through out the small space.

"What the hell is going on now?" Alex asks in frustration, releasing my hand so that he could go and play with the elevator buttons hoping to get something to work.

"Looks like a power sure." I reply, even though I know he was only asking a rhetorical question.
"Charles must have made a mistake while using Cerbereo..."

"Charles doesn't make mistakes." Alex seethes, sending shivers down my spine. It's been such a long time since I've felt his wrath against me that for a moment it startles me.

"We all make mistakes Alex." I whisper quietly hoping that would be the end of his anger.

He slams his fist against the wall next to him, the one that doesn't have a control panel on it thankfully, and sinks to the floor holding his head in his hands with his knees to his chest. I jump in surprise at his sudden act of violence and watch him carefully for any other sudden movements.

"Why Violet, why did you keep him from me?" Alex's voice cracks at every word and I sink to the ground, sitting across from him, and try to think of a nice way to put the situation.

"We knew that as soon as we told you then you would be fighting your way back home as soon as possible..."

"Of course I would have he's my son!... He's our son..."

"Charles was breaking Alex and I was fighting to keep him with us, there is no way that I would have been able to raise two sons, caring for a disabled brother, and giving my all in supporting your transition from home to war all on my own. There's no way that I would have been physically capable of doing that without someone else breaking along the way. You have no idea on what's truly been going on here since you've left. I know that if Hank didn't step in to help me with the boys..." I force myself to stop talking for a moment and breathe to try and calm myself down before I became a blubbering mess.

"What do you mean Violet?" Alex asks quietly.

"Shortly after you left many of the other men that we were teaching got recruited, soon after that the ones that remained lost hope and dropped out of the school. That seemed to be the last straw for Charles. He distanced himself from everyone, only coming out of his room when it was necessary. But even those trips became fewer and fewer after time."

"Libby, Cameron, Hank, and I argued for weeks about whether I should tell you about being pregnant again. After Ray became old enough to understand the situation I gave him the choice in introducing himself to you, he chose not to do it because he wanted you to come home to us on your own terms."

"Seems like he's got your personality down pat." I chuckle at Alex's response.

"Yea, at least I have that, those boys adore you Alex. They want to be like you when they're older, they told me one time that they want you to become a kind just so that they would be allowed to worship you." Alex snorts and shakes his head in disbelief.

"Crazy kids." He chuckles.

"Hank and I wanted to make sure that the kids knew that you didn't leave them willingly, so to make sure they knew what type of person that you are we would tell them stories about you. Even when we ran out of things to tell them about you they were wanting to hear everything all over again. I think it made them feel closer to you, in a way, being able to know so much about you." He smiles but lets it fade.