Return II

Chapter 6

Taryn's POV

After speaking with Michael, I knew that I had no choice but to talk to Blanket. When he reentered Natalie's room, I stood by myself and contemplated for a few moments. I then decided to go outside and find my son. 

"Is everything alright?" The lady at the front desk asks me as I make my way toward the double automatic doors. I kindly smile and shake my head. "Did you see a young boy about this tall with long hair by chance?" I ask, placing my hand in the air to give the woman a guess of how tall Blanket is. She looks to her right and up at the ceiling as if to think, then looks back to me and nods.

"Yes. He went outside a few minutes ago." She informs me and I thank her.

I walk outside and I'm surprised to see Blanket sitting on a yellow parking curb. I take a deep breath and approach him. When he brings his head up and sees me, he squints and stands. He shakes his head and stands, then walks away. I pick up my pace, trying to catch up to him before he gets too far away.

"Blanket!" I call. "Leave me alone!" He yells and begins to sprint. I stop walking. "Prince Michael!" I yell a bit too loudly. My voice echoes throughout the parking lot and Blanket stops dead in his tracks. He doesn't turn around, but just stands there and waits for me to speak. 

I inhale deeply and exhale, then take a few steps forward so that I'm a little closer to him than I was before. 

"You can't keep controlling us like that," I say loudly, hoping that my tone of voice had been firm enough for him to listen and understand. "I'm sick and tired of everyone in this family being scared to talk to you whenever you get angry. I know you get pissed off easily and sometimes can't control your temper. Believe me, you get that from your grandfather. But I will not stand here and let you walk away from me. I will not." 

Blanket slowly turns around and glares at me. A look he gives everyone a bit too frequently. "I have nothing to say to you." Blanket says, stepping back as if to get ready to walk away again. "If you think I'm afraid of you, Blanket, I'm not. Not anymore." My son's face falls at the sound of my words and I immediately wish I could take them back. How would it feel to hear from your mother that you were once feared by her? By your family?

He seemed to be satisfied, though, as if he had liked the idea of people fearing him. Feeling as if he had had the upper hand on everyone, but I will not allow it anymore. I am the mother and he is the child. He is not the only one who is hurting in this situation and I wish he would just understand that.

"How can you live with yourself?" Blanket asks and my heart sinks. I try to hold the tears back, but arguing with my son only brings back the memories of when I had done the same with Natalie, which had led her to running out in front of a car and now she's in the hospital. All because of me.

"You're only looking at the negative things, you know that? All of you are. It's ridiculous that you're all looking at me like I'm the bad guy, when really I'm looking out for all of you. Nobody has given me the chance to explain myself here and no one seems to care about what this is doing to me!" My voice cracks as the tears flood my cheeks. I had not anticipated on yelling at my son, but everything just came out without warning and I immediately feel horrible as soon as I watch a single tear slide down Blanket's cheek.

"No, we all have. That's all we think about, mom, do you know that? Your point of view was the first thing that came to our minds. We understand completely, believe it or not. The only thing we're all mad about, scratch that, I'm mad about, is that you're not giving her a chance! You're so quick to give up without putting up a fight!" Blanket pauses in his sentence and shifts his weight. "Just like when you told dad that you didn't want to be around us anymore." He finishes and my heart sinks further in my chest.

I cannot find the words to come back with. Blanket has won this fight. He has taken every last word that has been stirring in my mind as he spilled his heart on the parking lot blacktop. I can't help but understand where he is coming from. His words take me back to when I told Michael that we couldn't see each other anymore. I took his daughter from him and forced him to not let Blanket see me anymore.

"Blanket, stop it. Arguing like this is the same thing that got Natalie in the situation she's in right now. I may be digging myself a hole, but you guys are the ones the one shoving me into it."

The hurt all comes to me at once and the only thing I can do is walk away, so I do. My mind is completely blank as I walk back into the large building.

(Guys, I'm so sorry for such a late update! I don't have internet at my house anymore and my school had a 3 day weekend. I also had to take home a baby for my child development class. Please forgive me and don't forget to vote and comment!)