Chapter Twenty-One
After I have Nick in my arms I hurry back to the police car. They told me I should take him to a medic because they have no idea what they could've done to him. The cops brought one here so I do.
He starts crying when Nick leaves my arms/
"You're okay sweetie." I say and hold his small hand which makes him feel better.
"He looks good Mrs. Odair. You should go home now." He says.
"But what about Linda?" I whisper and pick Nick up. I have him lean into my chest.
"Mama." He whispers and starts playing with my necklace. The one that says Olivia on it.
"We have it under control, its best if you take your son home so nothing bad will happen to either of you." He says.
"Mama." Nick whispers again.
I look towards the table John and Linda were sitting and see they are both gone.
"Mama." He whispers.
"Alright." I say.
I come inside and see Finnick in the living room. He looks terrible.
"Annie." Finnick says. He sees Nick and takes him from my arms.
Nick looks scared at first but soon realizes it's Finnick.
"Dada." He whispers. Finnick kisses his head.
"Is he okay?" Finnick asks.
I nod.
"What about my Mom?" He asks.
"Dada." Nick whispers.
"They said they have it under control Finnick." I say softly and rub Nick's back.
"Mama, Dada." He says.
"We're here baby." I whisper and kiss the top of his head.
"Did he walk off with her?" Finnick asks.
"Yes." I say. "But since they know where he is they'll get her back Finnick." I say.
"And if they don't." Finnick says.
"I don't know." I whisper.
Finnick nods but is clenching his jaw.
"Mama, Dada." Nick says
"At least we have our little man back." Finnick says with a smile.
"Yes." I say and a tear rolls down my cheek. Finnick kisses it away.
"Dada." Nick says.
"I'm right here buddy." Finnick says. Nick puts his small hand on Finnick's cheek as if to make sure.
"Mama." He says and points to me. I take his small hand and kiss it. "Mama, Dada." He whispers.
"That's us." I whisper. "I'm never going to take my eyes from him." I say and can feel more tears about to leave my eyes. "He's going to sleep in our room now." I say. Nick is still in his crib so we just have to move it back in there.
"Okay." Finnick says surprising me. "Do you think John did anything to him?" Finnick asks.
"The medic said he was fine, although he started crying like crazy when I let go of him." I say.
"Mama." I hear softly.
"John probably did something then, just not physically." Finnick says.
"Being taken by a stranger probably does that. I just hope this didn't traumatize him so much that it will effect the rest of his life." I say.
"He's only six months old. He won't remember anything." Finnick says and I nod.
I kiss Finnick.
"We got him back." I whisper. "I thought I'd never see him again." I say and tears start to leak from my eyes.
"We did Annie, he's right here in my arms." Finnick says. "Do you want him?" He asks and I nod.
I take him and he has that scared look until he figures out it's his Mom.
Finnick is looking at him strangely.
"What?" I ask.
"He looked scared." Finnick says.
"Mama." He whispers.
"Once he realizes it's us though he's fine." I say.
"I hope so." Finnick whispers and kisses the top of his head. "I need to find out more about my Mom." He says.
"Okay." I say. I can't blame him it is obvious John wants to hurt her. Finnick kisses Nick and then me.
"I promise I'll be back soon." He says and I nod.
When the door closes Nick starts crying loudly.
"Shh. Shh. You're okay baby. Mommy's here. Mommy's here." I say and pick up his favorite toy. "Look, look, look." I say and put it close to him. "It's teddy." I whisper and he takes it and stops crying. "There we go." I say and kiss him. I clean up his tears and watch him cuddle his bear.
After spending a few hours with Nick it is clear something about him is different. He cries more than usual and seems to be afraid of loud noises. He started crying when I got his blocks out to play with and was almost impossible to feed.
"What did he do to you baby?" I whisper. I wonder if baby's can get some kind of PTSD. John said he took care of Nick but he just said he made sure to feed him and change his diaper. I wonder where they put him. They stole enough of his clothes and toys for him to be comfortable. But Christina and John could've been shouting or hurting each other. I know Nick's too young to actually remember what happened, but it seems like he remembers the noises or something.
"Mama." He says.
Finnick's been gone for hours and I'm getting worried. I don't want to get Nick back just to lose Finnick.
I get my phone out and call Finnick.
"Are you okay?" I ask.
"Yeah I'm fine. I'm at the hospital." He says.
"Is your Mom okay?" I ask.
"She should be." He says.
"And John?" I ask.
"Dead." He says softly.
"That's good." I say and feel a little guilty. I should feel happy that someone else is dead even though John traumatized all of us.
"Yeah it was self defense so it will be okay." Finnick says.
"Your Mom shot him then?" I ask remembering John had a gun.
"No that wasn't in his 'rules'." Finnick says.
"What?" I ask confused.
"His end game was to get shot, but by a certain person." Finnick says.
I close my eyes. I know the answer.
"You." I whisper.
"It was self defense Annie. I just didn't shoot up the place and they have security footage anyways." He says.
"I believe you Finnick." I say. I don't believe John's end game was for Finnick to kill him though and if it was he probably didn't think Finnick would do it.
"Is Nick okay?" Finnick asks.
"He keeps crying and gets scared easily. It was really hard to feed him." I say.
"He should see a doctor. John might have traumatized him." Finnick says.
"Maybe." I say and it is silent. "Are you okay Finnick?" I ask.
"I'm fine, why?" He asks.
"Because you killed someone." I say.
"I had to, to keep our family safe from that psycho." He says.
"I know, but I just want to make sure. I'll always love you Finnick." I say.
"I'll always love you too." He says. "I gotta go my Mom is waking up." He says.
"Okay thank her for us. She did too much Finnick." I say.
"I will. I have." He says and the line goes dead.
I set Nick down in his play pin which makes him starting crying. I can't hold him in my lap forever, maybe something is wrong with him. I just can't believe Finnick killed his Dad though. I understand why he did but I can't believe it.
Finnick POV
The only way to get out of here is if someone dies, that's the end game. It wouldn't be fun to just take Linda to a room and beat her to death. It's always more fun when there are more players are involved. I hear his words in my head as I wait for the doctors to tell me about my Mom. He was beating the shit out of her. It was the right things to do. He would've beaten her to death.
It was the right thing to do. I think to myself again. I've been repeating it over and over in my head, butf it was the right thing to do why do I feel so guilty.
Although all of this was too simple. Christina getting herself arrested and John giving Nick back just so he could take my Mom and die. John didn't seem suicidal and he's been stalking people long enough to not get caught so easily.
At least I didn't have to go over the story with the police because there were officers close by and cameras. It's not like I'm going to get locked up but I still did kill someone.
Annie seems so worried about Nick now too. We have him back, but John probably traumatized him somehow. Nick was only with him for about two days, but if Nick's crying at everything then something isn't right.
I remember what he said right before he died.
I hope this was worth getting your son back.
I wonder what he means by that.