Chapter 38
Aria's pov
Walking down the stairs, I saw Oliver watching Ezra back his car out of the driveway before driving down the street. If he hadn't been acting up and it wasn't almost his bedtime, then he would have been able to go with Ezra. Although, we could skip his bath for tonight and do it in the morning since I still have my headache, but he shouldn't be rewarded for bad behavior.
"Okay mr. Oliver, it's time for your bath." I said and he looked over at me.
"I promise daddy will be back, he's just getting some medicine for me." I promised him.
"Goo." He said, holding out his hand and I took it.
"Oliver, you are going to have to use your words again. I cannot understand what you want or need if you just keep using baby talk." I told him as we walked up the stairs.
Walking into the bathroom, I got the lavender bubble bath that he likes and won't be harsh on his skin. Oliver sat on the toilet seat as I went to turn the water on. Lately, he's been saying that his bath water is either too hot or too cold. Ezra had come up with having him test it, which actually works out pretty good. Plus, I think it could help for when he starts bathing by himself with no help from me or Ezra to get it ready for him. Glancing over, I saw Oliver walking up to me and I kissed his forehead.
"Okay, put your finger under the water Ollie." I said and watched him.
"Is it too hot or cold?" I asked and he shook his head.
As he went back to sit back down, I quickly closed the drain and poured in plenty of bubbles for him. I felt him tap my shoulder and I turned to see him holding his bath paint.
"Not tonight, but next time you can have bath paint. Could you get my phone out of my room please?" I asked
He went to get my phone and I squeezed some of the bubble bath into the water. He has to have a lot of bubbles when he takes a bath, mostly so he can play with the bubbles. I grabbed the small bucket of his all time favorite bath toys from the closet, along with his paw patrol bath towel. Oliver came back with my phone and handed it to me.
"Okay, I'm gonna go get your jammies and a book for me while you get undressed. Wait for me to get into the tub." I said.
"Play first?" Ollie asked as I walked back in.
"Yes, you can play. But I'm gonna clean your hair as you play this time." I told him.
"No tank you mama." He said, like it was a choice.
"This isn't a debate, you're getting your hair washed. You can still play and get your hair washed at the same time." I told him.
Walking out of the bathroom, I made my way into his and Malcolm's bedroom. Both the beds were made, but everything else was thrown around, shoved where there was room under their beds. I maneuvered around all the toys and everything else on the floor, grabbing Oliver's truck print pajamas and a clean pair of underwear for him. I quickly made my way out and grabbed the copy of 'Winesburg, Ohio' that Ezra gave me so long ago off the hallway bookshelf. Walking back into the bathroom, I saw Oliver waiting for me. I helped him into the bathtub and handed over his bucket of bath toys. He dumped out all the toys, ignoring everything except his ducks and boats. Out of all the bath toys he has… his ducks and boats are the ones he plays with every single time. If he had every single toy in the world, from a dollar toy up to the toys that cost millions of dollars, everything else except ducks and boats would be ignored. But if I try to donate the other toys, he'll throw a fit and play with them for a few minutes and then go right back his regulars.
"Almost out of shampoo here little boy." I told Oliver.
"Goo goo ga!" He squealed happily as I massaged the shampoo into his hair.
"Oliver, please stop with the baby talk. You're a big boy, not a baby." I told him
"Goo!" Oliver babbled and I sighed.
"Use your words Ollie." I told him, wiping my hands on a towel.
"Goo goo!" He exclaimed as I grabbed my phone.
'Babe, can you grab a bottle or two of no tear shampoo for Oliver?'
'Yeah, I'll grab that then be home soon.'
Noticing the time, I realized that Malcolm hasn't come home yet. As I balanced my phone between my shoulder and my ear, Oliver started squirming away from me. With my free arm, I held him still and scooped a bit of water into his rinse cup.
"No!" He exclaimed, knocking the cup out of my hand.
"You need the shampoo out." I told him as he tried escaping and my call went to Malcolm's voicemail.
"Oliver, stop that for a minute. Malcolm, you need to come home now. It's past your curfew and you're not home yet." I said and hung up.
"No clean! No clean!" Oliver shouted.
"Oliver Scott Fitz! Do not shout, you know you need your bath. Now let me get the shampoo out of your hair, or would you like to do it?" I asked, receiving a pout and silence.
"I'm not liking your attitude or behavior today Oliver. Do you want to tell me what's wrong?" I questioned.
"Goo!" He said, shaking his head.
"What have daddy and I been telling you? Use your words. We don't know what you want when you speak like a baby." I explained.
"Hmph." He pouted again as I squeezed a little bit of soap on a washcloth.
"Here, use this and wash yourself." I said, giving him the washcloth.
"No clean!" He exclaimed.
"You smell from playing outside, going in the pool and playing in the dirt. Also, you didn't get a bath yesterday, so yes, clean. I told him.
"And wash your entire body too." I added.
He pouted some more as he took the washcloth. I saw that it's been longer than I thought since I last called Malcolm, hopefully he or Ezra will get back soon because I don't know how much patience I have right now. I wiped my hands on the towel again and picked up my phone. There was no text or call back from Malcolm, going back into my calls, I pressed Malcolm's name and held my phone back to my ear. Keeping an eye on Oliver, I sighed as Malcolm's voicemail came through again. Ending the call, I called his phone again and got his voicemail once more. Getting irritated , I quickly called Malcolm again and once more got his voicemail. What is going on that he isn't answering my calls?
'Malcolm, call me.' I texted.
"All clean mama." Oliver said sweetly.
"Thank you, would you like me to rinse you off or do you want to do it yourself?" I asked and he pointed at me.
Turning the tub faucet back on, I quickly filled the cup. He covered his eyes as I poured the water over his head, making sure to get all the shampoo out of his hair. I quickly filled the cup again and poured it over his head again, where there was still a tiny bit of shampoo. Opening the tub drain, I grabbed the towel and wrapped it around him.
"Alright mr. Oliver, let's get you dry and into bed." I told him.
"Kay." He yawned.
"Tomorrow, I want you and your brother to clean your room." I said, quickly drying him off.
"That no fun." He said.
"Neither was trying to not step on your toys. Put your undies and shorts on." I told him.
'Malcolm Fitz, you're still not home nor have I heard from you. Get home now.' I texted again.
"Hep mama."
Looking over, I saw Oliver struggling with getting his head through his shirt. I slipped my phone into my back pocket and kneeled in front of him. Getting a hold of the top of his shirt, I helped maneuver the head hole towards the top of his head and he got his head through.
"Phew, I thought the shirt was gonna win." I told him, getting him to giggle.
"Uppy!" He said, holding his arms up.
"Alright, do you want a story or do you want your song to go to sleep?" I asked, scooping him up.
"Tory." He yawned, resting his head against my shoulder.
"You need to stop growing up so fast." I whispered and realized he was falling asleep already.
"Why don't we just hold off on the story tonight baby, and maybe tomorrow you can have two stories." I asked, making my way towards his bed.
"Mama." Oliver said, falling asleep and I carefully laid him down.
"Goodnight Ollie." I whispered, pressing my lips to his forehead.
I quickly turned on his nightlight and pull his his blanket over him before turning my phone flashlight on, making my way out of his room. Walking down the stairs, I saw that it was even later and Malcolm hadn't responded to either my call or my texts. He better be with Ezra at least, but that doesn't explain why he isn't responding to me to tell me. Seeing that he still wasn't home, I quickly called him again and got his voicemail. This is getting frustrating, he's normally good at coming home on time or letting us know if he's going to be late. This isn't like him to not text or call me back or even be this late.
"Malcolm Jeremy Fitz, I don't know why you're not answering my calls or texts but you need to get home now. Call me back." I said as the front door opened and I spun around to see Ezra.
"Malcolm didn't tell me he didn't need me to pick him up." Ezra said.
"I texted Malcolm on the way to the store and said that I'd pick him up from the park on my way home, to give him more time. But he didn't text me back that he didn't need me to pick him up." He explained, seeing my confused expression.
"What are you talking about that he didn't need to be picked up?" I asked.
"He wasn't at the park. So, l figured he came home." He responded.
"Ez, he's not home. I've been texting and calling him to tell him that he should be already. His phone is going straight to voicemail." I told him.
"I'm gonna call Hardy, maybe he stopped there and lost track of time." He suggested.
"Spencer and Toby live nearby the park, I'll call Toby." I said.
Grabbing my phone, I went into my contacts and started scrolling towards Toby's. Not really paying attention to Ezra's side of his conversation with Hardy, I got that Ezra was going to go driving around to look for Malcolm.
"Hey man, sorry for calling this late, but is Malcolm over there by any chance?" Ezra asked and shook his head to tell me that Malcolm wasn't with Hardy.
"He hasn't come home yet, and isn't answering his phone." Ezra explained as Toby answered.
"Tobes, where are you?" I asked before he could say anything.
"At home with Spencer and Alex, why what's up?" He answered
"Have you heard from Malcolm at all in the last few hours or so? Or is he there by any chance?" I asked.
"No, I haven't heard from him nor is he here.. What's going on Aria?" He questioned as Ezra went into the other room.
"Malcolm's not home and he was supposed to wait for Ezra to bring him home from the park and it's past his curfew. Ezra said that Malcolm wasn't even at the park when he got there to pick him up." I explained.
"Thanks man. We'll see you when you get here." I heard Ezra.
"Kids stay out past curfew all the time, we did it all the time when we were even younger than him." Toby pointed out as I heard Ezra talking to my mom.
"His phone isn't even ringing Toby, it's going straight to voicemail now. Also with us it's different, our parents knew where we were." I explained.
"Do you need me to drive around to look for him?" He asked.
"No, we're about to. Just…. Just call me if you hear from him." I said quickly.
"Okay we will, just remember to breathe." He said calmly.
"Not until I get my son back." I said and quickly hung up.
Ezra came back from calling Ella and I knew by the look he had that my dad went driving to look for Malcolm too. Hardy walked through the door and I grabbed my purse, following Ezra out the door. It's not like Hardy actually needs to know the rules with Oliver, who's asleep anyway. Opening my door, I took a deep breath. We're going to find him… find him safe and not hurt. There has to be a logical reason, one that does not include my little boy being hurt. As Ezra drove towards town, panic that we won't find him started to worry me.
"We're going to find him." Ezra reassured me.
