Reflections of Light

Midnight

Tapping out the beat on the plastic of the steering wheel, Dec quietly sang the words of the song filtering through the stereo; Lila snoring softly on the back seat behind him.

A small tap to the sure window alerted him to Luci's return, and he scrambled to unlock the car.

"Hey, Love. Everything good?"

With a weary expression, Luci transferred the sleeping Billy from her arms into his car seat, deftly strapping the small boy in.

"Well... Everything got accomplished, which I guess is good.
Are you listening to Disney music?"

Dec hurriedly turned off the stereo. "Uh... It's suitable for Lila."

Grinning despite herself, Luci climbed into the passenger seat; tucking Billy's rucksack into the foot well before taking a deep, calming breath.
"Well, that was hard work."

"Why, did something happen?"

"... Nothing I shouldn't have predicted, really. Billy got upset; he didn't want to leave, and was refusing to let go of his father. Threw a right tizzy, you know, just as he can. He wore himself out and went to sleep in Mark's lap in the end; and we took the opportunity."

Dec looked back at the exhausted little boy tucked in to the child seat. "He's not going to be happy when he wakes up- poor mite."

Luci yawned tiredly, leaning back against the chair as Dec started the car. "We'll deal with it when it gets to that point. Can we get some food? I could murder some fries right now. And a milkshake; a strawberry milkshake."

"Sure. Midnight snack, why not? Also, I've sorted you out a place to stay for a while. That hotel I mentioned. I put a call through to Loretta."

"I'm so grateful for all this, Declan." Luci said sincerely. "You have no idea how much... What is that noise?"

Making noises of frustration, she bent down to unzip her sons rucksack and rummaged through the bag. "I swear, if he's pinched someone's phone again... Oo-kay..."

"What?" Dec said curiously as Luci sat back up. "Do we have a master of grand theft on our hands?"

"He's got a pixie in a jam jar. Because of course. How even... I'm to tired to deal with this now."

Dec chuckled, shaking his head as he pulled up the road. "Watch out for that boy; he's canny."

Billy awoke to the smell of food, blinking sleepily as the scent of fries sparked his senses.
"... Mummyyyy... Wots goin' on?" He slurred, wiping sleep out of his eyes with a heavy hand.

"We're in Declan's car, Sweetheart." Luci said kindly. "You can go back to sleep if you want; unless you're hungry?"

"... Why you got fries? Breakfast... woz next, an'... An' dats not breakfast food."

Luci chuckled at her sons tired ramblings, watching as he scrubbed his face repeatedly with his hands to try and wake himself up. "We're being naughty, just this once. You want to share?"

Blinking like an owl, Billy finally removed his hands from his face, looking bewilderedly around the car.

And then, the tears welled up in his eyes.
"Where's Daddy? I want Daddy!"
At the last word, the little boy dissolved into sobs.

"Shh, it's okay. Don't cry." Luci soothed, trying to turn in her seat to look back at him. "You knew Daddy couldn't come with us..."

"It's not FAIR!" Billy yelled, face drenched in tears. "I want DADDY!"

"Shhh, baby, I know. I'm sorry..."

"No you're not! You took me away from Daddy!"

"No, don't scream; Shh, William, you'll wake Lila." Luci hissed, reaching back to try and grab his thrashing hands.

"Take me back, take me back to DADDY!" Billy shrieked, thrashing his arms and legs violently, his face burning red as he cried. "I wanna go back.. To Daddy..."

"I know, baby." Luci cooed, stroking calming circles on his hand as his small fingers clung onto her tight. "You have a little cry, it's alright. Mummy's here."

Putting his forehead against the window, he refused to look at her, instead choosing to look out into the night; his breath coming in stilted sobs as tears ran down flushed cheeks. "You're so mean..."

"I know."

"It's not fair."

"I know."

"... Urghhh!" Billy yelled frustratedly, bashing his head against the glass.

Luci tilted her head sympathetically, eyes heavy and sad. "I know."

I was going to write more, but I felt it'd take away from the impact of the chapter to keep going.
So here it is! Hopefully you like it!