L U K E
I was beyond terrified by the way Alex had acted right in front of me. It was worse that she was creating a scene and drawing Austin into this. I let go of her hands as she chased Austin behind a tree. I felt bad for Austin, taking so many things in at such a young age. I was surprised he even understood what Alex said. I followed after them and came up behind Alex. I put my hands on her shoulders in a way to calm her down as she curled up into a ball on the grass. "Hey," I softly stoked her arm. "He's going to be okay."
"No, he won't. I completely broke his heart," Alex cried. I searched for Austin and saw that he was running back to the swing set and picking his things up.
"Oh, c'mon. He's a big boy, he'll get through this," I nodded my head, assuring her.
"At this age? Luke, he's so young. Don't you think this'll affect him for his entire life?" she whispered, looking at him talking to the same little girl. I stayed quiet. I forgot that he was still a 9 year old child who had his life ahead of him. Surely, this would affect him and not in a good way. I turned to Austin and saw him shaking the ropes of the swing with an angry expression. One minute, he's talking to a sweet little girl and now, he's abusing the swings. Was he bipolar?
I ran to him, putting my hand on his shoulder, getting his attention. "Austin, stop it," I demanded. He shrugged my hand off his shoulder and marched over to the end of the slide and sat down with his arms crossed. I sighed and ran my hand over my face. I glanced at Alex and seeing she was staring right back at me. I could see her pleading me to fix this for her. I gave her a thumbs up and walked over to where Austin was, but not forgetting to get a glance at her beautiful smile.
I sat down beside Austin on the slide and placed him on my lap. I wrapped my arms around him and looked at him. "What's on your mind, bud?"
"Everything.. Daddy, Alex, everything," he whispered as tears fell from his eyes. I wiped them away and hugged him tighter.
"Austin, you don't need to think about that right now.You'll be okay. Alex will be okay. You both will see your dad again soon, don't you worry," I said softly, smiling at him. I was positive that he and Alex would see their dad again. They deserved to work things out and become a family again. Austin opened his mouth, but immeadiately shut it as he saw Alex walking towards us.
"Hey, guys, we need to start heading home. It's almost six and we still haven't eaten dinner," Alex mumbled. I stood up and carried Austin as he wrapped his arms around my neck and his legs around my waist.
"Do you want to head home with Alex, Austin?" I questioned, trying to get him off me, but his grip only tightened. "No," he mumbled.
I looked at Alex and saw the tears forming in her eyes once again. Sorry, I mouthed to her. She nodded and started walking out of the park.
"Alright, she's gone," I said to him. "Carry me," he smiled against my neck. I sighed with a smile on my face and ran out of the park.
As I turned the corner, I heard a car screech and a girl scream. Alex?
