Two Sons, A Mother's Divided Heart

ne Jack

bus station, freezing and alone, convinced that pain was the only thing I would ever feel again. But something had changed in the last five

as a mask of cold fury, his eyes blazing as he l

stared, wide-eyed and silent, at the blood po

ough as he reached for me. He tried to

ing away from his touch. "Don't,

ressed it against the wound, trying to staunch the bleeding.

breathing. Hampton's jaw clenched. A muscle twitched in his cheek. He straightened up, a flicker of somethi

-hour clinic in a part of town Hampton would never visit. The doctor, a tired-looking man with kind eyes, plucked the porcelain shard from my palm and

dy for school. A wave of relief washed over me that he wouldn't see me lik

im. Calvin. Leaning against our doorway, his work clothes

is strong, steady presence a balm to my frayed nerves. My bandaged hand rested on his shoulder, the pain a dull, rhythmic throb. I buried my face in his neck, the famil

egan to burn off, revealing

in front of me, gently washing the city grime from my feet in a basin of

," I whispered, fighting b

ot looking at me. "The job... it might be moving. The landlord is ra

of anxiety tightening in my

guely. "Politics. Garner's name keeps coming up." He glanced up at my bandaged hand, and his brow furrowed into a d

ng, smelling blood in the water. Any scandal, any weakness, would be expl

han I felt. "I'm not afraid of being poor or working hard. As

rms around me, holding me tight. "I'm sorry, Josie," he murmured in

idn't fail. You saved my life, Cal. You gave me a home. You g

w adventure, a fresh start. He immediately started rummaging through his things, chattering about which model planes he would take and which bo

porch to call him in for dinn

hand tugged at the

run all the way here. He was wearing only a thin shirt and trousers, his hair was full

nd tear-streaked. He looked up at me, his

g?" he whispered, h