Quinn's Quickies 04: Creaming Mommy

"Oh, Chase," She lifted my chin so I was looking into her brimming eyes, "Don't you see? All the stuff I was saying was just to get rid of Brian. It won't work. All too soon he will realize that even if he doesn't have proof he can still get it. He will put his lawyers onto it, he will hire private investigators. He will watch us every minute of the day to try and catch us. Then he will use that to take Ian from us. Oh, God." She pulled her head into my chest and shook with tears. Ian gurgled in confusion and looked on the edge of crying himself.

"Oh," Was all I could manage, my heart feeling like it was being crushed under a boot heel. She was right. This would be the end for us. Brain was just the sort of asshole to hound us unto our graves. How could we ever safely be together? It would ruin not just Ian's life, but both of ours as well. Brain would surely spread his little discovery as far as he could. He was probably doing that right now.

"Hey," I gripped her tight by the shoulders then repeated, "Hey!" This time I gave her a little shake and looked down on her with all my love and affection, "Don't give up. You never give up."

"I don't want to lose Ian, but I don't want to lose what we have either. It's not fair. We're not hurting anyone."

"No, we're not, and we're not backing down either. We'll run."

"What?"

"You, me, and Ian. We'll run away. We'll go somewhere far away where Brian can't touch us, where no one knows us. Where we can be together without fear of recrimination."

"But my job, our house... your studies?"

"What about them? There are other jobs and houses. I can get one myself, or start studying somewhere else. It's you and me, mom. We've stood up to everything this world could throw at us before and we're still here and even closer than ever. We'll do it again."

"I don't know, Chase. Can we? Could we just do that?"

"We have to try. You said it yourself, I'm not willing to give up what we have here. This is something I would give up everything else to keep. Wouldn't you?"

She looked deep into my eyes, the flow of her tears slowing. Then she nodded. I pulled her in close again and she gave me a hug so crushing I was worried for my brother. We stayed like that a long while, Ian nestling himself into the embrace of the only family he would ever need.

Despite my conviction, I knew nothing was resolved and the road ahead was anything but certain. But, everything that mattered in the world to me was in my arms in that moment. Whatever it took, I was going to keep us together.