His [Book #1]

Chapter 15

Five months later
Setting down Loki's food bowl, I sat down at the table so I could watch Mateo eat his cheerios.

"What are you doing up so early?" My mom asked, fixing herself a cup of freshly brewed coffee before joining me at the dining table.

She took the seat across from me, Mateo offering her a saliva covered cheerio. She leaned in, pretending to eat it, Mateo giggling at the noises she was making.

"I couldn't sleep," I admitted.

I haven't been able to get a good night's rest since I escaped Tristan. I was back in Detroit, living at my parents house. I started a new life here, so I could regain some normalcy back in my life.

It hasn't been easy though. I've tried so hard to move on, but I can't help but to look over my shoulder every five minutes because I'm afraid Tristan will find me.

And who's to say he won't find me again? He succeeded the first time and he didn't know a thing about me.

"Still having nightmares about him?"

I nodded. When I showed up unannounced on the porch of my parents house, they knew something was wrong as they hadn't heard from me in awhile.

Which wasn't common, because I always made sure I spoke to them everyday. I'd even FaceTime them so they could see Mateo.

After telling them what happened, of course excluding a few details pertaining to his involvement in the Mafia, they decided it was best I stay with them until I could figure out a more permanent living situation where Tristan wouldn't be able to find me.

I've been keeping a low profile, especially with my new job. I started working nights at a bar during the time Mateo is asleep so my parents won't have to do much while I'm away.

I smiled at Mateo when he looked at me, but quickly frowned when I saw how much his eyes reminded me of his father.

Mateo's grown so much in the last couple of months. He's looking more and more like his father everyday, which I'm not so sure is a good thing.

Aside from physical changes in his appearance, Mateo is starting to eat more solid foods and is even crawling. He's tried standing on his own, but has never managed to stay on his little feet for long.

He always wobbles and then plops back on to the floor. He does that about once or twice before completely giving up for the day and just crawling on all fours.

I've been working on trying to get him to say "mama", but have had no such luck yet. He just babbles, trying to form the words with his mouth.

Seeing him grow has been one of the best parts about being a mother. I told myself I wouldn't become like some of the moms who record every aspect of their child's life.

But as a proud mother who doesn't want to miss documenting every aspect of his life, I have made it my mission to witness him say his first word. Which will hopefully be "mama".

Once Mateo was finished with his star-shaped cheerios, I wiped the saliva from off his mouth with his bib and took him out of his highchair.

"I know it's a risk, but I was thinking about taking Mateo to the park to get some fresh air." He's always cooped up in the house, which I absolutely hate because there is so much for him to explore and interact with outside these walls.

"That sounds like a good idea. Your father and I are going out to brunch with a few friends anyway."

Standing up, my mom walked around the table to give me a hug and Mateo a kiss on his cheek. "Please be safe."

"I will."

I had my gun with me, so I wasn't too worried about not being able to handle myself should Tristan make an appearance.

****

Strolling through the park, I passed by a myriad of people. It was a great day, the sun shining brightly in the clear blue sky and providing us with warmth.

I decided to invite a co-worker of mine, who also had a baby around Mateo's age.

"I've been trying to get him to say 'mama' all day. He hasn't said it yet, but I know it will be soon."

"Don't get your hopes up," Lexi said, while making smiley faces at her baby girl. "Alaia's first word was 'dada'. No matter how hard I tried to get her to say 'mama' she would always say 'dada' instead."

I groaned, giving Mateo his little blue pacifier. "He hasn't even known his dad long enough to say it. I'm sure he's long since forgotten what he looks like anyway."

"I don't know," Lexi said, skepticism in her voice. "Babies always know who their parents are."

I thought about her words for a moment, wondering if Mateo would be able to recognize Tristan if he ever saw him again.

Not that we would be seeing him. I don't ever want to see his psychotic ass again. I admit that the possessiveness was hot. But only in the beginning and only to a certain extent.

Things started to get out of control once he killed that guy. The poor guy hardly did anything. And he was just as drunk, if not more than I was.

Not that that justifies him putting his hands on me. But still, he shouldn't have had to lose his life for it.

I checked the time on my phone. We've been here for nearly two hours, Mateo and Alaia both out cold.

"I should probably head home."

She nodded in agreement, looking down at her watch. We both have to get ready for work in a few hours, which we weren't looking forward to at all.

Saying our goodbyes, we headed off in different directions. Reaching the parking lot after about five minutes of walking back the way I came, I transferred Mateo from his carseat into the truck my dad let me borrow.

As much as it pains me, I had to ditch the Porsche to avoid risking Tristan tracking me down in his sister's car.

After buckling him in, I shut the door and got to work on getting the stroller in the trunk. When I was done struggling with that, I got in the car and headed back to my parents house.

****

As soon as I tried to lay Mateo down in his crib, he woke up with a whine. He reached out to me, not wanting to go to sleep.

He used to sleep so well before. I never had any issues trying to get him to sleep and stay asleep. In fact, I used to hate that he'd sleep all day.

But now, he absolutely abhorred going to bed. And it was only ever when it was time for him to actually go to sleep that he would cry and try to fight it.

Picking him up, I rocked him slowly back and forth. "Please go to sleep baby. Mommy has to go to work in a few hours." I still needed to hop in the shower and get dressed.

Suddenly, Mateo was laughing. Like the kind of baby laugh that makes your heart melt and your body ache from laughing along with them.

I was thinking about what I said or did that would be funny to him when he unexpectedly pointed over my shoulder and shouted, "da-da!"