Not A King

“He has permission… I gave up keeping secrets from him…” Her brothers always found out one way or the other. It wasn’t worth it hiding it anymore. Except for the fear… she refused to let them know that she was still struggling. It wasn’t important. She shook her head, “No, I haven’t… I actually hadn’t planned on seeing one…” She was too stubborn for her own good, determined to will herself all better. She looked at the picture and then glanced up at Tate, taking note how much alike they looked. “He’s beautiful, really…” She almost frowned. She didn’t remember Greta being that far along when they had fought. How much time had she really missed? 

“I guess that’s probably for the best. I know how stubborn you can be.” Tatum chuckled softly. “And how protective you say your brothers are.” He gave her a look when she said she wasn’t planning on seeing a therapist.  “Wait, really?” He tried not to judge but he was pretty sure that anyone that had been through anything like she had, should probably be in therapy.  Hell, he was pretty sure everyone in Baberton should be. “Well, how about you take my friend Vanessa’s number and then you’ll have it in case you change your mind?” He offered.  He smiled down at the photo when she said he was beautiful. “He is. It’s disgusting how much I like his little fingers and toes.” He chuckled softly.  “But thank you.”

Audrey gave a small nod when he said that he would be okay. “I’m sure you will be…” He struck her as highly resilient. She couldn’t imagine that he would ever truthfully be unhappy long. She smiled gently and shrugged. “If not, they will call Ricky and he will get onto me…” She was sure that aside from psychological trauma she was all healthy. The suggestion of seeing his son made her stall for a moment. She thought of the argument with that woman. She didn’t want there to be hard feeling though. She didn’t want to blame a child for his mother… “–yeah… sure.” she decided, stepping closer to him. That boy was part Tate’s and even now she really did like Tate. 

Tatum would be okay, even if sometimes he couldn’t remember the last time he’d slept.  Between sleepless nights with the baby and extra shifts at work sometimes it felt like the whole world was passing him by in a blur.  He looked at her when she said they would call her brother. “Technically they can’t do that unless you give them permission.” He offered.   “And what about a therapist? Have you found one? If you need a recommendation I have one.”  He smiled when she agreed, pulling up a picture to show her as she moved towards him.  “That’s him, Levi Jasper King.”

Audrey wasn’t nearly as mad at him anymore as she had been. She hadn’t really had time to be mad at him in between the getting kidnapped and constant lingering fear. Had she fallen for him hard? Yes. Did she still wish that maybe he had picked her? Yes. Did it really matter anymore? No…  “Oh… I’m sorry…” She hated that he might possibly be unhappy or struggling. She didn’t want that for him. “–but i certainly understand the feeling…” She looked around and pointed in the direction she had come from. “I was just seeing Doctor Lewis… checkup… clean bill of health… I guess… I wasn’t entirely paying attention…” 

Tatum shook his head. “No, no, don’t be sorry. I’ll be okay.” He promised.  He nodded when she said she understood the feeling, he had thought she might.  H looked up when she pointed, giving her a small smile.  “Well, I guess I’ll just hope that you were paying enough attention and that you did get a clean bill of health.” He offered.  He looked at her for a moment before reaching for his cellphone.  “Do you want to see a picture of my son?” He asked softly, not sure if that would be too hard for her or not.

Audrey looked him over for a moment before looking away. She was partly afraid of him. What would his girlfriend think to see him talking to her? She hugged herself, rubbing her hands her arms. “Uh, yeah… yeah, I am good…” Even as she said it, she felt the obviousness of her lie. “How are you?” She took a deep breath, waving her hand in his direction. “How have you been? You look… you look great…” 

It was obvious that she was lying but he didn’t know if it was his place to call her out on it.  Unfortunately now he was hardly even her friend.  Tatum chuckled softly when she said he looked great, feeling a small flush form on his cheeks. “Honestly, just trying to get through the days.” He admitted, hoping she would take it as sign that she could talk to him. “Who are you here to see?”

Mari chuckled softly. “That’s very nice but I’m sure you don’t want to listen to all my silly problems.”

“Actually I have the day off and as sad as it sounds I don’t have anything better to do so you’d actually be helping me.”

“You’re welcome.” She smiled at him, shrugging at his previous comment. “And don’t even worry about it… really. I keep doing that lately, spacing out, I probably look mental.” She tried for a joke.

Tatum looked at her when she said she kept doing it. “You can tell me to bugger off but if it keeps happening maybe you should let me buy you another cup of coffee while you dump some of your troubles out on me.”

She smiled lightly, shaking her head. “Oh, yeah.. I’m fine. Totally good… just have a bit on my mind today.” She chuckled, gesturing to the empty chair. “Don’t suppose you’d like to join me?”

Tatum smiled when she said she was alright. “I don’t mean to pry.” He offered, letting out a small chuckle.  He nodded at the empty chair, moving to sit down with her.  “Thank you.”

“I haven’t had a mental breakdown yet, so that’s a plus.”

Greta smiled, leaning into him. “It’s weird to think that I’m already over halfway through…” She murmured.

Greta shook her head. “I’m fine, hopefully when my heart rate calms down a bit, so will he.”

“Exactly.” Greta nodded. “He’s just wiggling to let me know he’s alright.”

Greta shook her head. “It’s not, but it’s worth it.”

“It’s kind of like being kicked in the ribs.” Greta laughed softly.

Greta smiled brightly. “It’s so weird to feel him like that…”

“I would hope so.” Greta smiled, pausing slightly before grabbing his hand and moving it over her stomach. “Do you feel that?”