My Baby Boy

Chapter 5

I calmly took a deep breath as I stepped out of Alex's car. He was constantly trying to assure me that this old lady wouldn't harm a fly, or let anyone harm Aiden. I didn't know who to trust; my brain, or someone I just met yesterday. He seemed to know his way around, but you could never be too sure.

Lately Aiden had been trying to walk a little. He, of course, needed help. So Felix and I each had one of his hands as we walked up Patricia White's porch. Alex had assured me that the old woman was sweet and loved kids. That made my trust in her a little bit better. That was the bad thing about me moving to a new town, finding a trustworthy babysitter.

I rang the doorbell cautiously. We waited as we heard the taps of shoes on the wooden floor from inside the cozy looking home. Aiden was looking down at his little shoes in fascination. I chewed on my lip impatiently as I contemplated turning on my heel and leaving Aiden with my mom, so that I could go to school.

Suddenly the door bursts open and a petite woman stands in front of us. Her hair was as puffy and white as the clouds in the sky. Wrinkles covered her face and her laugh lines shown years of laughter and contentment. Her smile lit her face as soon as she saw us. I instantly liked this woman. Once she looked down and gazed upon Aiden, who was looking at her in amazement, her smile grew.

"Hello there, cutie!" She cooed, kneeling and pinching his cheeks. She waves off his disgruntled noises and protests and looks up at me.

"Well, hello there. You must be Ophelia, the girl my grandson told me all about," she said, looking behind me and Felix to stare at Alex. I shot him a confused look, then noticed the similarities in the woman and Alex. He just looked at me with a smile and shrugged.

I turned back to Patricia, "Yes, I was told you could babysit Aiden."

She smiled then looked down the my son. Her smile widened as he let out a giggle at her. "Yes, I can. You have such a cute little brother. How old is he?"

I looked away and took a deep breath. Of course Alex wouldn't tell her that he's my son. It wasn't his place. I smiled at his thoughtfulness.

"He's not my brother. He's my son." I smiled at her with a little wariness. I had never had to tell anyone that he was my son, everybody in our old town already knew. I was a bit wary at what her reaction would be.

Instead of be judgmental, she simply gave a me a smile and looked at me with knowing eyes. It was strange. I felt as if she already knew what had happened.

I turned to look at Alex and Felix. "Go wait in the car for me. I need to speak with her alone please."

After they were in the car and their doors were shut, I turned to look at the woman holding Aiden.

"I-I need you to know the seriousness of our situation, and you can back out of babysitting him at any time. If you choose to watch him, you need to be aware of your surroundings. H...His father raped me and that's how I became pregnant with Aiden. He just got out of prison a few days ago, and we received a call from him basically saying that he was after us. We are pretty new here because we were placed here by the police for our protection. We need to stay out of the media and stay off his father's radar, so no posting pictures of him on any social media of any kind. Also, this is a picture of Derrek," I stated pulling his picture out of the back pocket of my skinny jeans.

I handed her the picture. "If you see him anywhere, you call me immediately. Please. I...I don't know what I'd do if something happened to Aiden," I said, my lip quivering. I felt the familiar lump in my throat as I gazed at a smiling Aiden.

Noticing my upset state, Patricia moved forward. Before I know it, she is holding me as I let out a few tears. She pulls back, and wipes the tears from my eyes.