Always, Darling

Chapter 19

~ Ａ ＶＡ Ｌ Ｅ Ｅ ~

I was leaning against the car waiting for my wife to return from where she was standing with the other officers. There was no sign of the woman the kids had dialed 9-1-1 for nor the man who was with her. Some of the officers had claimed that perhaps it was a trick of the mind, an effect of the alcohol and possible drugs in their system, but I doubt they would have said that if it wasn't for the fact that three of the kids were Black and the fourth brown.

Teddy along with Wyatt had left a few minutes ago with Simon and Nathan, both kids understandably shaken up. He didn't want to stay long though with Nadia asleep at home, so after giving his contact information to the officers, he drove home in Simon's car while Wyatt took Nathan.

As I leaned against the car, I glanced through the window at my two children who were silently facing forward in the backseat like criminals. Imani's cheeks were stained with tears that had stopped by now, and I felt so much sorrow for my sweet girl. Then there was Parth who occasionally met my gaze before lowering his head, knowing that I was disappointed that he had drank at the party, the smell of his breath giving him away immediately.

As a parent, I wasn't completely against drinking. It was a normal part of high school parties, but I expected my children to be honest with me. Parth had lied about his drinking habits throughout high school, said that he had never taken a sip of alcohol outside of our home, but that was obviously not the case. Lying had caused me so much trouble when I was his age, and I didn't want him to go through that.

A few minutes passed before Arya started walking back, her gun strapped to the holster on her waist. I could see the anger in her eyes when she looked at Parth and Imani, but I knew that it was only covering the worry that lay underneath. Tonight could have ended so much worse for these kids. Instead of picking them up, we could have been called to the morgue to identify Parth's body while Imani was being held in some trafficking ring. The things she had seen at her job and the things I had experienced made us hyper vigilant, especially when it came to our kids.

Arya wrapped her arms around me, placing a gentle kiss on my lips. She looked over my shoulder towards Parth and Imani and sighed. "What are we going to do about them? They lied to us, disobeyed us—"

I placed a finger over her lips and shook my head. "Amore, we'll deal with them later. Let's just focus on getting home." I cupped her cheek, drawing small circles on her skin. "And relax. They're alive. That's all that matters."

Arya nodded her head and smiled. "You're right. They're alive."

With that, Arya got in the driver's seat while I took a seat on the passenger's side. Arya didn't speak a word as she started the drive. I turned to the back seat and reached for both of my children's hands, a look of relief crossing their features. "I love you both so, so much. Nothing will ever change that."

Parth smiled. "I love you too, Mom." He lowered his eyes as he continued, saying, "And we're sorry about tonight. We shouldn't have lied or come to this area tonight."

"No, you shouldn't have, but we'll discuss that at home." I glanced at Imani who looked like she was on the verge of tears, like the scared child who had entered our family twelve years ago. "Imani, what's wrong, baby?"

Imani blinked a few times, looking out the window. She pulled her hand away from me and rested it on her lap. "It's nothing. I'm just tired."

Arya's eyes flickered to the rearview mirror. "We'll be home soon, hun. But I want to talk with you both while the night's events are still fresh."

"Amma?" Parth called. "Did you ever find them? The pimp and prostitute?"

Imani stiffened against the window.