Chapter 1
Flashback
"Mommy! Mommy!"
"What is it, honey?"
"Where daddy?"
"What do you mean Where daddy?"
"There a letter on the table. He put it there."
'Since Nicky is not mine, I see no reason to keep pretending I still love you. Running away with you was a mistake. I regret all of it. This is where I would normally write I love you, but that would be a lie. So, Ill just say this: Goodbye.'
"What does it say Mommy? Mommy? Mommy?"
End of Flashback
"Mommy... Mommy..."
The young woman opened her clear blue eyes, finally happy that she was out of the dream. She looked up and saw a little brown haired boy leaning over her. His skin was lightly freckled, and his blue eyes were extremely curious and full of mischief... just like his fathers eyes.
The young woman sat up, and placed her hand on one his tiny shoulders.
"Where's daddy?" asked the young boy.
The woman sighed deeply. "Cmere sweetie." He crawled over to her, and she pulled him into a tight embrace.
"Daddy isnt coming back, is he?" the little one questioned.
She kissed his forehead. "I'm afraid not, baby. Now, why dont you go wait in the kitchen, and Ill make you some breakfast."
The little boy scampered off the bed and towards the kitchen. The woman sat up and yawned deeply before making her way towards the bathroom.
It was five years later. Five years after Mattie Daniels had eloped with her ex-husband, Justin Jacobs. Two years after her ex-husband, Justin Jacobs, had left her and Nicky.
He ran when he found out that Nicky wasnt his son. He left Mattie and the boy alone to fend for themselves. But, she managed. She had to drop out of college and get a job with which she could work at home, but she managed. Now, she lived alone with Nicky in an apartment in the city of Boston.
That little boy was Matties pride and joy. He looked so much like his mother and his father, and he was named after a very important person in her life.
Once in the kitchen, Mattie poured a small glass of juice for Nicky, and one for herself. And as soon as he had a bowl of cereal, Nicky raced into the sitting room to watch cartoons. She went back to her room and pulled a dusty photo album out from underneath her bed. She skimmed through it, looking at pictures. She saw ones of her from her childhood (Mattie as a princess for Halloween, Mattie at her high school graduation, school pictures) ones of her and Justin (wedding pictures, family outings with Nicky) and then her favorites. Ones of just her and her son, and ones of her and him. Reid Garwin. Her one true love. She slowly gazed at these pictures a dreamy look on her face. A lone tear slid down her cheek, and landed on a picture of her and Reid atop the Ferris wheel. She turned the page and saw a picture of Kimara, Sadie, Jesy, and Victoria in their bridesmaids dresses.
She had lost contact with each of them except for Kimara and Sadie, and she only called them once after the wedding. That was five years ago. And at that very moment, swamped in her memories, Mattie made a decision.
She was going to go home.
She got up and walked into the living room, where Nicky was sitting watching cartoons.
"Nicky, come here. Mommy wants to talk to you," Mattie told her son. Nicky hopped into his mothers lap, and snuggled against her.
"Nicky, what would you say if I wanted us to move?"
"Okay, Mommy, the boy said simply. This shocked Mattie deeply. Her son usually took forever to make decisions"
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, Mommy," Nicky said.
"Okay, sweetie." She kissed his forehead gently and Nicky crawled off her lap. She got up and rushed to her sons rooms to pack his things. She pulled a large suitcase out from under his bed and started to pack his clothes into it.
"Nicky, where is your teddy bear?" Mattie asked him.
"It's here, Mommy," Nicky replied. He was holding the bear in his hands.
"Do you want to take it with you on the drive or do you want me to pack it?"
Instead of answering, the boy clutched the teddy bear tight to his chest. Mattie continued to pack all of Nickys things into the suitcase. Once she was done, she went into her room to pack her things. She threw every article of clothing, dirty or clean, into her suitcase. She packed every single thing worth packing. Then, she picked up the phone and rented out an apartment in Ipswich.
It was early in the day, so she decided to leave right then and there. Neither her nor her son had made any friends in this town, so there were no heartfelt good-byes or teary farewells.
She walked down to the superintendents office and told them that she was moving out. Once that was done and everything was packed into the car, she and Nicky were off, never to return to that apartment building.
After driving for a few hours, she finally arrived at the new apartment building. She unloaded what little they had brought (the rest she had in storage) and took it inside. It was small, but it was nice. It was already furnished as well. The clean walls painted a pleasant shade of light brown, with a very soft yellow hue in the kitchen, and creamy white in the bathroom and one of the two bedrooms. One of them had a blue hue coming from it. Nicky dropped his bag and ran down the hall into the blue one.
"My room!" He ran and jumped onto his twin-sized bed.
"Nicky, be careful!" Mattie commanded. She looked at his boxes of clothing and began to unpack them into the little closet. She thought it was just adorable when he tried to help.
After unpacking his things, she went into her own room to start unpacking. But, she wasnt quite focused on it. Even as she lay down in bed that night, listening to the sounds of someone watching "The Price is Right" in the apartment beside her, and hearing her son toss in his sleep, only one question was on her mind. What is Reid doing right now?
