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I turned my attention to the back of the room. They were all trying to talk to her. All of them were screaming her name or shouting out questions. But she ignored them. She just held on to Ethan, and wrapped her arms around our son who seemed completely at ease. It was as if she were just another person holding him. No one significant.
I hadn’t even realized that I was walking until I could smell her. She smelled the same, but different at the same time. Her scent had a different effect on me than it used to. She smelled of relief, yet at the same time, the possibility of drowning in the torrential rains that she’d brought with her lingered.
Please do not let this be a dream.
I opened my mouth to speak, but someone else beat me to it.
“Where the hell have you been?” my mother yelled, as she wiped the tears from the corner of her eyes.
She looked up, and once again green met brown. But I couldn’t go any closer. I just couldn’t. I felt as though I was being torn; part of me wanted to slap her, and the other part just wanted to hold her, to hold her and my son forever.
MELODY
All of them looked at me with some form of confusion and anger in their eyes, even Liam. He seemed to be permanently fixed in his spot between Neal and his father. There was so much I wanted to say, to tell him, but I couldn’t, not now anyways.
Ethan fussed as the phone dropped from his chubby fingers and onto the seat, and as I reached down to get it, Olivia immediately reached for Ethan.
“Mel, be careful, he just ate. He should be going down for a nap anyway.” Olivia reached for him, but I gave her a look that clearly stated she needed to back the fuck off, now.
I reached over to give Coraline her phone. At the same time Ethan tried to grab it from my hands, but Olivia snatched it from my grasp.
“It needs to be wiped down for germs. Seriously, Mel, give him to me so he can rest. This is madness, you can’t just come back and take over—”
“I did and I am. I’ve got him, Olivia. Today of all days is not one to test me,” I told her as I pulled Ethan to my chest. I reached into my pocket to get my phone and give it to him. The moment he had it, he clapped his hands against it.
“Oh look, you do have a phone. Care to explain why the fuck you haven’t used it?” Evelyn snapped at me again.
She looked as if she needed to be put down for a nap as well.
“I just got it today,” I told her, trying to get used to the feeling of him in my arms again. He felt so much heavier, but he still smelled the same.
“Mel, this isn’t a game! Where have you been? Neal and I spent millions looking for you. We sent men all over the fucking globe,” Declan stepped up.
“Not to mention the damned late nights, the worrying, and the fact that our brother spent five months in jail because you up and disappeared off the face of the earth. And now, out of the blue, you’re back,” Neal said as he squeezed the bench’s backrest so hard I thought it would break.
“Yes, now I’m back,” I repeated.
The door swung open and DiMarco, I believe his name was, stepped out with Anna along with the two extra Interpol agents who worked for me. The prosecutor kept his head down as he walked directly to his table that was littered with papers.
DiMarco walked up to Liam and shook his hand. “Mr. Callahan, when this story gets out, I do believe I’m going to be out of a job, and I doubt you all will ever need a lawyer again.”
“Never say never, DiMarco,” Liam nodded, his voice barely over a whisper.
DiMarco looked at me and reached for a handshake as well. Shifting Ethan over to my hip, just like I’d envisioned doing for months, I reached for his hand.
“And thank you for everything you’ve done, Mrs. Callahan, I’m sure it couldn’t have been easy. I will keep a lookout for the President’s press conference,” he said to me.
Smiling, I nodded. “Thank you too. I’m so sorry you were not told—”
“No, I completely understand. National security trumps a hotshot Chicago lawyer, I’m just glad I’m on the right side of history. Again, good luck to you all!” he said as he waved once more before he exited the courtroom.
Liam’s eyes snapped to me like he was trying to piece together the web of lies I had spent the last few months concocting. The prosecutor came over next, he opened, then shut, and opened his mouth before sighing.
Turning to Liam, his head hung low in defeat.
“The damage has already begun. I’m sure by morning I will be completely broken,” he tried to laugh it off.
“Word of advice; move. The damage will linger, but at least there is hope that you may one day be able to show your face again,” I told him seriously.
He closed eyes, sighed, and nodded. “I’m truly sorry, I didn’t know. I will make a formal apology as well.”
When he left, Anna snickered as she looked me dead in the eye. “No more favors. I’m done.”
“No you aren’t,” I told her. She was family, no matter how many times she was removed or added.
“I fucking hate this family,” she muttered as she gave Liam a small hug, which he didn’t return. “Oh right, you have to fill them in. Well good luck with that, I have a press conference to get ready for.”
When everyone else left, they turned to me expectantly.
“How big is this cover up?” Sedric finally spoke. He seemed just as reluctant as Liam.
“When your grandfather is head of the FBI, as big as humanly possible.” And judging by their reactions, I guessed that he hadn’t told them because all of their eyes, with the exception of Olivia who kept watching Ethan, just about fell out of their heads.
“Liam?” Sedric turned to him.
He nodded, and finally moved closer to me, but he didn’t to touch me like I had hoped. Instead, he reached out for Ethan, but I didn’t want to release him. It hurt to let him go again, but I gave up. Ethan giggled, as he smacked his father’s face a little bit.
“Neal, have Monte and Fedel bring the car around back. Liam and I need to talk,” I commanded, resuming my position as if I had not disappeared for almost half a year. The sooner they got back to the way we ran this ship, the better it would be, for them. Because no matter what, we were the heads of this family and I was never giving up that position.
Olivia must have pressed down on her heel too hard because it broke. Without a word, she took off and stomped out with Neal following behind her. Evelyn pulled Liam into a small hug, which he returned.
“I’m so glad this is finally over,” she whispered.
But it wasn’t. In fact, we were only at the beginning, and looking around at the way things were within this family, I knew that everyone wouldn’t be intact at the finish line.
Evelyn turned to me, but she didn’t say a word; she kissed Ethan’s head before leaving.
“Babe, we should head back as well, I’m going to need a whole lot of booze to handle this shit,” Declan muttered as he took Coraline’s hand. But she broke away for a moment and came over to me.
“The entire family has to wear one, no exceptions,” she smirked, as she pulled her ‘Free Liam’ campaign button off, and pinned it onto my suit jacket. “Welcome home, Mel.”
I nodded not wanting to speak. I wasn’t sure if I could put into words what I was feeling.
