Broken Halves

Chapter Thirty-Four

POV: Dani

"Goddess woman," Jorden screeches at me as I throw his shoes at him. "Hurry up!" I shift obviously agitated to anyone who is looking at me. "Faolan naps at one Jorden! You know this, and the zoo is an hour away so that's two hours needed for driving and two hours at the zoo before we need to be back in time for him to sleep. We needed to leave like yesterday! You are throwing my schedule completely off!" Jorden does nothing but laugh at my frazzled state.

"He's one Dani; is two hours at the zoo completely necessary?" I groan frustrated at my co-parent. "This is our first time doing something like this with him Jorden and he understands what different sounds the animals make. Remember how happy he was to receive that animal book for his birthday? He is going to love this. And I swear to the Goddess above if you forget the camera I will neuter you." Jorden raises his hands up in mock surrender but smiles in amusement nonetheless.

"You shouldn't be worried about me Dani," he begins. "You should be more concerned with the fact that Faolan is unpacking your zoo bag and has gotten into the sunscreen." I flip around at his words to face my one year with a face full of sunscreen. "Faolan!" I yell. Jorden just laughs causing me to whip around once again to face him. "He learns this from you!" I growl out why pointing my finger at him in fake annoyance. "Damn I can't win with you woman." Jorden laughs before walking over and scooping up the baby. "Come on little man let's get you all cleaned up." He walks off to the sink leaving me to clean up the mess on the floor.

"Come on Dani," Jorden whines as I buckle Faolan into his car seat in the back of Jorden's Charger. "Why don't you let him watch a modern movie?" I shake my head adamantly as I hand Faolan the IPad that is playing Bambi. I am sure he doesn't understand the storyline yet but seeing the animals gives him joy; hence why we are on our way to the zoo.

"Bambi was one of my favorite movies growing up Jorden." He rolls his eyes as he hops in the front seat; I still refuse to drive. "Come on Dani, you were his age 19 years ago it's time to update the movie selection." I harden my glare and turn to face him. "I was forced to stop watching movies on my 7th birthday Jorden, part of this is for me too." Jorden stops arguing with me and puts the car is reverse. I can't help but let a smile slip out when I hear Faolan's giggles and squeals in the back seat.

"What did a typical day in your childhood look like?" I ask Jorden once we had pulled out of the parking garage and was on our way to the zoo. Jorden shifts his hands so his crippled one rests off the wheel; he had long ago perfected the art of driving one handed. In all honestly, Jorden has adapted well to his disability and most times I forget he is limited to one hand. Especially, considering he lost his once dominant hand. The only thing Jorden struggles with is writing. He has since had to learn to right left handed but honestly, he has worked enough at it that his scrawl comes out legible. I just know it isn't as good as it used to be. Occasionally, I can tell he is bothered. Sometimes he will struggle with changing a diaper or dressing himself or Faolan; and I know that it bothers him beyond belief to ask for help; much like Cole was. But, when looking at the situation realistically, he has come a long way from where he was and is progressing beyond the level the Doctor thought he would. He only has one working hand, there are going to be some things he just cannot do. Unfortunately, he is still working to accept that and it is something I can't help him with... he has to get there on his own.

"Are we talking before or after my parents moved out?" Jorden asks after a while of silence. I think for a moment, "How old were you when they left?" "11," he answers instantly. "Before," I reply. Jorden thinks for another minute before asking another question. "Before or after Cole's mother died?" "After," I respond. Jorden lightly thumbs his fingers across the steering wheel. "Ok last question, before or after Cole's dad left?" I huff at his third question before taking a moment to ponder his answer. I remember back to everything Cole had told me about his life during that time before answering Jorden. "After." "Ah," he sighs. "So we are looking at the glory ages of 8-11?" I roll my eyes at him but nod silently.

"Well actually," He begins while looking at me out of the corner of his eye. "We were in school by that point so you probably want more of the age range of 5-7." "Fine," I sigh at how he turned my question into a big complicated answer. "Tell me about 7 year old Jorden." Jorden smiles goofily, "That's more like it."

"Well, I was never as early of a riser as Cole. He'd be up at the crack of dawn and I'd stumble out of bed at about 8 O'clock. My parents didn't typically fight early in the morning because my mother was usually passed out in her bedroom as she had just stumbled in a few hours before then." Jorden begins quietly, his grip on the wheel tight as he reminisces about the past.

"My father trained every morning with the pack warriors and would bring breakfast upstairs for me and him afterwards. I would stumble out of my room and usually find him setting the table for us. He'd ruffle my hair and smile before saying 'Good morning Buddy' every morning Dani. Breakfast was our time, we'd talk and he'd tell me about training and I'd tell him about what adventure I went on the day before." Jorden smiles before he continues.

"My dad was a great dad. Unfortunately, my mother always managed to rile him up and when they went at it I was forgotten. He'd help me get dressed and ready before wishing me a good day before he would leave to go do the paperwork that Cole's dad was slacking on. My father doesn't know this part, but I would make my mother breakfast and leave it and some pain pills on her nightstand table. She'd get mad if I didn't." My heartbeat increases slightly, but I ignore it as I listen to Jorden continue.

"When that was all over I was out the door and racing up the stairs towards Cole. He was usually already dressed but not fed. We'd sneak down into the kitchen and play spies while trying to steal bits and pieces of whatever the women were preparing for lunch." A smile of my own soon takes over my features as I imagine two boys running around the pack house just trying to be kids.

"We spent most of our time playing outside in the forest. We'd go swimming, or play tag. Most times we pretended we were fighting off rogues or hunters. Sometimes we would just sit there and talk about our lives when we were older." Jorden's eyes are dazed and I know the memories must be some of his favorites.

"We would go into town every day. Nona and Grandad fed us lunch at the diner and then sometimes Cole would drag me down to the local music shop. It was owned by an old human couple. Their names were Marcus and Emily and we would listen to them play various instruments. They were kind but eventually they would tell us to go home. From there we would continue with our outside morning activity of the day." Jorden's smile widens, and pure happiness shines in his vibrant blue orbs.

"We ate dinner outside always and had a treehouse that we would watch the stars from, or play make believe in." "Sometimes my father would come get us, but most days he forgot. He was great in the mornings, but after dealing with my mother and pack work? He couldn't handle anything else. He was beyond stressed and took most nights to cool off and prepare for the next day." Jorden's voice holds no resentment as he talks about his father. I guess when compared to Calla and Dalton, Quinton was an amazing parent.

"Some nights we had sleepovers in that treehouse. Dalton and my dad built it for us when we were four. Most nights however we would sleep in each other's rooms." Jorden takes a second to look in the rearview mirror at Faolan before continuing. "We had so much fun Dani, so much. We truly were joined at the hip and we only grew closer as we got older. We were wild teenagers. I was a prankster at heart and we grew up with so much freedom." He chuckles as his eyes brighten before launching into another aspect of the past.

"Now, Cole might have been the quiet more reserved one of us two but let me tell you Dani, he was just as bad as I was. We drove Grandad crazy during those years." He smiles widely and you can tell that every word he has spoken is the truth. There is no denying the fact that those boys held something special. My heart aches for the loss of their bond, but at the same time I am finally content with my how life has progressed. Jorden, Faolan, and I, we are happy together, a true family who will gift Faolan with the good aspects of our pasts and correct the wrongs to guarantee he will never lose his smile.  

Question of the Day: What is the best ting you've ever bought? 

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