Chasing the Monsters: 51 (mild adult)

"I can file a suit, for custody," Tea said.  "He doesn't belong in that house."

"Tea, come on.  Blair has been raising him since he was tiny."

"Blair is one thing; Todd is another.  He ruins everything he touches."

Zeus looked at his wife, and her face was contorted with anger.  He said, "Tea, what is this all about?"

"It's about the truth.  They promised to protect this boy.  Your son.  They promised to make sure he was happy and healthy, and instead, they continually subject him to poison.  All in the name of Todd Manning!  I've been there; I know what that poison is about, first hand!"

"I don't understand.  We're happy.  They're happy.  Isn't it enough I contacted Sam, behind their backs, and talked to him, according to your plan.  We made him lose sleep.  I suppose that was better?"

"Better that a life with Todd Manning for a father.  They gave you his memories, right?  You know what his childhood was like."

"Tea, they can't have given me anything Todd didn't remember then, and from what I read, he's uncovered way more since.  Besides, what does that have to do with Sam?"

"He's his father: violent tendencies, bringing all this crap into that child's life.  He's a rapist, remember?  All this turmoil, the thing in Ireland, twice.  Then Peter last year."

"How is it anyone's fault that Peter was there?  Todd didn't ask for that."

"Stop defending him!  He ruins everything, he ruined my . . ."  she stopped herself.

"Go ahead, say it.  He ruined your life.  Right?  Left you for Blair, over and over, and left you with me, the fake."

"No, I didn't mean that.  No, mi amor . . ."

"That's what this is about.  You never had his love, the way Blair does.  It makes you see red, doesn't it?  He didn't choose you.  He never chose you!"

"Stop, Zeus.  Just . . ."

"I won't stop," he said, grabbing her wrists.  "I won't because I'm right.  I'm what you got left with."

"No, you're the man I love, you're the one for me, you know that," she fought him, attempting to pull her arms free.

"Do I?"

"You do, you do," she said, now flush against him.  He had twisted her arms behind her.  She could feel him, rock hard against her middle.  "You do," she softened her voice.

"Will it make you happy if we take Sam?"

"Yes," she said, letting her head hang back a bit.  "Yes, it will."

"As happy as this?" he said, pulling her hair until her mouth faced upward, and kissing her, his tongue inside her mouth, searching.

She couldn't get her arms loose to hold him, but she kissed him back with all of her anger.  He pushed her backward until she was up against the wall.

***

"What time will he be on?"  Blair said.

"I don't know.  Sometimes it's three in the morning.  The last call, the one we recorded the written chat for, was 3:39 a.m."

"Poor Sam, no wonder he's sleepless and a mess."

"I wish he'd told us."

"You and me both.  When this is over, he's getting a talking to.  So, what do we do?"

"We wait, I guess, until Zeus tries to contact him tonight.  If he does."

"Okay.  What'll we do, while we wait?"

"We can think of something," he said, walking her gently backward toward the bed.  

She sat down, and he knelt in front of her, putting his hands up inside the waistband of her pajama pants, and slid them down, panties inside them.  He kissed her knee, and gently parted her legs, kissing up her thigh, until he reached his goal, and her head fell back, and she sighed, her hands going to his hair.

***

Tea was under her husband, on the kitchen floor.  Her shirt was all but torn open, three buttons had popped.  His pants were still on, the belt open, them low enough for him to be free of them.  He found her hand with his, and held it.  He said, "Now what?"

"Nothing.  Nothing right now.  Isabella and Daniella will be home in a few minutes."

He turned on his side toward her, and said, tenderly.  "If you think of me as second best, just say it, I can take it."

"How can you be second best?  You're the love of my life."  She touched his face and kissed him.

"You want Sam?  We get Sam," he said.  How could he tell her no?  He was determined, ever since he was revealed not to be Todd, to make everything perfect for her.  

And he wanted her to love him and be his, always.  So badly.  She chose HIM.

"Sam needs us.  He doesn't need Todd's kind of craziness.  No one does."

"What about Blair?"

"What about her?  She has her own children.  Sam is yours, Sam is not even hers.  She has two new babies, and Jack, and Starr and Starr's daughter.  Sam belongs with us."

"You're forgetting.  Sam is afraid of me.  I . . . wasn't a good father.  I made a lot of mistakes."

"You were sick," she said.

"And that's all he knows," he said.

"It won't matter.  He'll forget, and he'll get to know you.  He'll love his sisters.  He will be fine."

"Okay."

"Okay?"

"Okay, if this is what you want.  I'll . . . I'll at least think about it."

"Okay," she said, with finality.  "Remember, we agreed to leave Sam with them on the basis that he was happy and safe.  If he's not, then . . ."

"Just let me think about it, a little longer, all right?" he said.

***

"Yes," she cried out, softly, "yes, just like that, Todd, yes . . ."

He was shining in the light of evening, sweat covering him.  He'd worked her, with everything he had, and then moaned, releasing inside her.  All of her muscles clenched around him as they peaked.  A groan, and then she heard him say, "I can feel you coming, makes it so much better."  

She traced small circles on his back, and then said, "How did it feel?"

"Good, as always," he said, out of breath and falling fast toward sleep.

"I don't mean the sex," she said.

He perked his head up.  "What, then?"

"Having known for over twenty years who you love?"

"Feels great," he said, rolling off her.  Their hands were still interwoven.

"You're not bored?"

"Bored?" he laughed.  "No.  You?"

"No.  Even when times were bad, just knowing you were there, somewhere, just like me. . . .I was never alone.  It felt good, except . . . "

"Except what," he said, directing his attention toward her.  He was no longer being pulled by sleep.

"Except when you were gone.  It was dark.  Something about it.  Zeus was there, sure, but. . . I felt alone most of the time."

"How do you explain that?"

"I don't know," she said, turning toward him.  "All I know is that nothing was right until you walked into that premier and kissed me."

"I did that, didn't I?"

She laughed, and said, "Yeah, you did.  In front of everyone.  I thought Tea was going to be sick."  She closed her eyes.

He let the quiet loom a moment.  "You don't have to stay up.  I will,"  he said.

"I'll sleep until it's time," she said. snuggling next to him.  "What do we say?"

"I don't know, I guess we tell him to leave our son alone.  We have custody; he's ours.  He's adopted.  What do you think Tea's thinking about this?  You know her, God knows why, better than I do, now."

"She may not even know.  She might not like it, if she finds out."

"Really.  Hmf."  He wasn't as sure of Tea as his wife was.

She closed her eyes.

In the dark, with her soft breathing the only sound, he pictured, again, Zeus' face becoming purple as he squeezed the very life out of him.

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