Reflection (Book #2)

Chapter Four

I curled up between Alex and Ben, flanked on both sides between the men I loved more than myself. I rubbed the hair back on Alex's head. "You are so handsome, Alexandros. I love you."

"I love you, too." He peeked over me at Ben. "I'm happy my mommy has you."

I gulped.

"I'm happy she does, too," Ben said, squeezing my shoulder. "We are moving tomorrow. Will you help us pack things up?"

"Of course! Can I pick my own room when we get to the new house?"

"Yes, baby. Now go to sleep. I love you!"

"Good evening, Mommy! Get up! We have to pack," my son informed me, shaking me awake.

"You sound very excited!"

"I want to have my own bed!"

"Where did you sleep at Uncle Kyle's?"

"With Ryan."

"Is that one of his boys?"

"He's the oldest one."

I nodded, kissing his head. "I'll get up. You go ask Ben what he wants you to help with." I stood and padded into the bathroom, then met my boys in the living room after I'd finished washing up.

"I packed the stuff from the basement today while you slept. Wesley stopped by to help," Ben assured me.

"Are we taking it with us?"

"I think we should."

I nodded. "Alex, can you pack our stuff from the bathroom please?" I held out a cardboard box to him.

A silly grin spread across his face. "Of course."

I leaned against the wall.

"We'll go get your stuff from your apartment and my stuff from storage next week if that's okay."

"That sounds good to me," I answered. "Are you nervous?"

He chuckled and stepped closer to me. "Should I be? He seems really well behaved. We'll be starting over in a sense. We have no secrets. We will build a foundation on honesty, as a family."

I reached out my arms and he stepped into my hug, squeezing me tightly. "I'm so grateful for you."

"We are going to figure it all out. It's going to be okay."

"Mama!" Alex shouted, appearing at my side in a blur of inhuman speed. "What is this?" He held up a deodorant stick.

I laughed. "It's deodorant. Safi wear it under their arms so they don't smell bad. You know how they smell after a long day?"

He nodded hard.

"To other Safi, the smell is very unpleasant. They also sweat. Do you know what sweat is?"

His tiny face drew up in confusion.

"They release moisture from their bodies to cool down. Safi are very strange creatures, baby. There's a lot to learn about them."

"How does he not know..." Ben asked, seeming lost.

"He's never lived with a human. He's likely to never encounter one, other than you, except to feed from. He doesn't really need to know a lot about them for right now."

Bens eyes went wide. "Okay. Now I'm a little anxious."

Alex gasped and grasped his hand. "Don't be afraid of me. I won't hurt you. No vampire will. You belong to my mommy."

Ben blinked at me quickly. "I need to take this in for a few moments. I'm going to go smoke." He walked outside shaking his head.

"Alex, how's it going in there? How much have you packed?"

"Most of it."

"Okay. We'll move on to the bedroom next."

Alex ran outside and I followed after him. He pointed at Ben's cigarette. "I knew that smelled familiar. Daddy had those a lot after you left. Uncle Kyle never had those, though. Is it manly?"

"No!" I answered, maybe a little too quick. "It is only for adults, and not fun. Ben doesn't enjoy it."

"So why does he do it?"

I looked at Ben. "He's sick. He needs them. Like how we need blood, he needs those. They're only for sick people."

Ben rolled his eyes at me.

"Daddy was sick?"

Shit, I cursed myself. "Yes, He was. That's why you went to live with uncle Kyle."

"Ben, do you think it's okay not to miss my daddy?"

Ben tossed his cigarette far away and knelt in front of Alex. "You have the right to feel whatever you feel. If you don't miss him today, that's okay. If you miss him tomorrow, that's okay, too. If you never miss him, or even if you never stop missing him. However you feel is okay. How do you feel? Do you miss him?"

He paused for a moment then shook his head. "No. Maybe I will tomorrow. Thanks, Ben!" He ran back inside.

I placed a soft kiss on my partner's cheek. "You are amazing. Thank you."

"Any time, baby."

~~ sorry this one is so short. I've been so busy with work. I'm trying to get back to writing regularly but it's tough. Thank you for reading!