Sorry for the delay. R&R! Enjoy!

Chapter 46

Stan's POV

It's official! Susan is legally Eli's mom. Liz signed away her parental rights so it made the adoption much easier. "I can't believe it!" Susan hugs me as we leave the court. "I can't believe I'm officially a mom!"

"You've been a mom since we met Eli as far as I'm concerned." I tell her.

"But it's official now!"

"Yeah it is. Now we can finish packing so we can get the hell out of here!"

"Have you talked to Julia yet?"

I shake my head. "She still won't return my calls."

"I'm sorry."

"It's ok. Let's go get Eli so we can finish packing."

"Or we can do some packing first then get Eli." She winks.

"That will work." I smile knowing exactly what she's getting at.

Later that afternoon, Susan stayed home while I went to get Eli from my parent's house. I figured I better feed Eli before I leave so he doesn't get cranky on the ride home. "Stan, you have a visitor." Mom tells me as she comes in the room.

"Really?" I'm a little shocked as I wasn't expecting any visitors. I hand her Eli and head downstairs. I see Liz in the living room and she looks a mess. She's really pale and thin. She looks like she hasn't showered in weeks. Dark circles under her eyes too and she seems a little nervous and jittery. "Hi Liz."

"Hi..." We stand in silence for a few moments. It's awkward as we haven't seen each other in a very long time.

"Can I help you with something?" I ask.

"I know I signed away my parental rights, but I was wondering if I could see Eli one last time?" She starts looking around nervously.

"I don't think that's a good idea."

"Why not?"

"He hasn't seen you in almost a year. You're a stranger to him."

"Please..." She begins shaking and continues looking around nervously.

"Are you ok?" I ask concerned.

She looks at me. "Huh?"

"I said are you ok?"

"Yeah..." She starts scratching her head. I think she may have more problems than a split personality. "Can I please see Eli, just for a minute? I promise I will never bother you guys again…"

I look at her and she looks really genuine and sincere. I almost feel sorry for her. I nod. "I'll be right back." I go upstairs and get Eli and carry him back downstairs. I see Liz's eyes light up.

"That's Eli?"

I nod. "Yeah, that's him."

"He's gotten so big…" She touches Eli's hand, but he quickly snatches his hand away and clings onto me. "He doesn't remember me…" She looks down.

"It's almost been a year." I look at Eli. "Don't worry buddy, she's not going to hurt you."

"I just can't believe how big he is. He was so…tiny the last time I saw him. You're really doing a great job with him."

"Thanks, a lot of that is thanks to my wife Susan."

She smiles. "Congratulations…"

"Thank you."

"Can I hold him?" She holds her arms out.

I look at Eli then back at Liz and shake my head. "I don't think that's a good idea." I don't know why, but for some reason, I don't trust her with Eli, not even to hold him.

She nods. "Understandable." She looks at Eli again. "He looks so much like you…"

"I hear that all the time. I do have a question, why didn't you tell me you were pregnant?"

She shrugs and looks around nervously. "I didn't really know you and I was worried either you wouldn't believe me or you would make me get an abortion."

I shake my head. "I would never do that."

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I was so alone and scared." She lets out a deep sigh. " When he got here all he did was cry, I could take it anymore. I tried to end it all."

"So that's why you put him in a trash can?"

She nods slowly. "He was so tiny and I put him at the bottom of it and covered him in trash. It was garbage day so I made sure to do it that morning." My eyes widen as she tells the story. "Originally, I planned to starve him to death. When that didn't work, I figured the trash can was the next best option. He was almost in the garbage truck getting ready to get crushed, but the garbage man heard him crying." I put my hand on my mouth. "I ran off and jumped into a lake. Like I said, I wanted to end it all for both of us…"

At this point I'm in tears. I look at Eli and kiss him. "I'm glad both of you survived. I don't know what I would do without this little guy."

"I knew I couldn't take care of him that's why I had my mom reach out to you and give Eli to you."

"I'm grateful that you guys did that. I hope you're still getting help."

She nods. "I'm trying." She rubs Eli's back. "I guess I better get going. I'm going to miss him, but I know this is for the best." She gives Eli one last look before leaving his life once again. She didn't even bother saying goodbye. I agree with her on one thing, this is definitely for the best.

Wendy's POV

I hear yelling and crashing sounds coming from Julia's room. Originally I thought it was a TV until I heard something breaking. "UGH!" I hear her grunt and something else hit the wall. I don't even bother knocking, I just enter the room. I see things thrown all over the place.

"What the hell is going on in here?" I ask.

"Nothing!" She folds her arms.

"You're not making all this noise for nothing, now tell me what's going on!"

"This!" Julia holds up her phone.

"Hey Juju," I hear Stan's voice on her phone. "Since you won't return my calls, I just wanted to let you know that Susan, Eli, and I are moving to Utah this weekend. I would love to see you before we leave. Please call me back. I love you."

"What a stupid bitch!" She throws her phone, but I catch it.

"You're not going to break the phone I paid for!" I tell her.

"I'm so pissed! Why is he moving away? This is all that bitch's fault!"

I nod as I'm sure she's referring to Susan. "I'm sure it is."

"It's bad enough she got her hooks into him, now she's taking him out of state?" She hits the wall. "Stupid bitch!"

"She probably wants to keep him far away from his past. I think she feels threatened by me, as she should!" I smirk.

"I told you he wanted a new life without me!" She starts crying.

I put my hand on her shoulder. "You're better off without them in your life."

"Why do you think that?"

"Do you really want a stepmother? Especially one that doesn't have kids of her own? She'll probably treat you like crap."

"Yeah I guess." I can tell she's still a little bothered.

"If it bothers you that much, why don't you call him?"

"Because I don't have anything to say to him. He made his choice."

"If you're not happy about it then let him know."

"Maybe..."

"That's fine. In the meantime, stop breaking shit." I give her back her phone and leave. I'll admit, I'm a little disappointed that Stan's leaving. I better call him to make sure I get that child support check. He still has a few months left to pay that. I'll track his ass down if he tries to skip a payment…

Kenny's POV

I'm in the Walmart picking up some things for Butters and me when I literally run into Stan. "Hey dude!"

"Hey..." He tries to walk away but I stop him.

"Don't walk off!"

"Why?"

"I wanted to touch base with you. How's Julia?"

He shrugs. "I guess she's doing well, I haven't heard from her."

"Oh...I'm sorry."

"Thanks, I really should be going."

"I heard you got married, congrats." I say before he tries to walk away.

"Thank you." He turns to walk away again.

"Stan…I'm sorry…" He looks back at me. "I'm sorry for the way I treated you and for giving you a hard time about Julia." He continues to stare, but doesn't say anything. "I know Dustin was no angel, I was pissed off and under a lot of stress from Butters. I took it out on the wrong people. I treated you like crap when you didn't deserve it. Again, I'm really sorry dude."

He nods. "I really appreciate that. I'm really sorry about Dustin. How are you holding up?"

"Honestly? Terrible, I'm falling apart. I miss him so much. We were on bad terms, but I still loved him." I get a little choked up. "I can't change what happened. I do wish I spent less time arguing with him and trying to reach out to him. I could've helped him with his drug problem."

"I understand. Again, I'm sorry for your loss. I really need to get going. I have to get these diapers for Eli and run a few more errands."

"Can we meet up some time to catch up? Maybe go for a drink or something, my treat."

Stan shakes his head. "I'm moving to Utah this weekend, I won't have the time. But I know I'll be back visiting my family at some point. Maybe we can catch up then."

I smile and nod. "I would like that. Congrats on the move, I hope things work out for you."

"Thanks dude. Good luck with everything…especially Butters. "

"Thanks, I'll see you…later."

"See you." He walks off. I feel a little relieved that Stan and I have finally made peace. He really didn't deserve to get snubbed by me or the other guys. I kind of hope he makes up with them as well, especially Kyle. Either way, I'm glad we made up and things seem to be working out for him. Maybe I'll be next.