Enraptured

Chapter 71

Each shakey breath... Every tightening of his arms around my neck... To every last whimper... It tore my heart to see my boy in such a state.

Although he had ever told me what his life was like before I met him, I had figured that he most likely didn't have a very good history with his biological family. But I never thought that it would be this bad.

How could a mother ever treat their own flesh and blood like that? Pushing him around so roughly... Crushing his confidence so into rubble with such malicious words... Instilling such fear into his little body that he couldn't even move in her presence...

I remembered how his clothes were in tatters and how gaunt his face looked when I had first caught him rummaging through my house. His skin was so pale and sunken in that he looked as if he could have collapsed at any moment.

Based on the state of his condition, he must've spent at least a few months living on the streets by himself before I found him, meaning that he was probably only a bit older than two years old when his birth mother kicked him out.

I was horrified when I found out that little two-year-old was stuck surviving out in the harsh winters of New York by himself. He didn't trust me in the slightest when we first met and nearly bit me when I tried to get close to him. But as we got closer, I soon found out how mentally matured he was for a two-year-old, a true genius in hiding, explaining how he managed to survive in the streets for all that time by himself. But even if he was mentally matured, there was still no reason that could ever validate abandoning such a young child like that.

I had always wondered who could be so cruel to throw a child away so heartlessly like that. But after seeing his birth mother for the first time, it didn't seem as impossible as before...

My heels lacked through the empty hallway as I searched for a private room, a safe place where I could slowly coax Theo out of his panic attack.

Although I wanted to get Demetri, I knew that it wouldn't be possible. The incessant chatter of the banquet hall kept flooding in, making Theo's breath grow heavier with each passing second. The voices were slowly but surely overwhelming his senses, and I was certain that he would pass out if I carelessly brought him into the center of such a large crowd.

Spotting a series of curtains fluttering passed the luminous moonlight, I quickly made my way over to what appeared to be a private balcony on the upper floor. I let out a sigh of relief when I found it that was empty and immediately closed the balcony doors behind me, pulling the curtains shut in an attempt to block out as much of the external noises as possible.

As the panic from earlier slowly started seeping out of my body in the safety of our private safe, my legs collapsed under our weight, making me fall onto my knees with Theo's little body pulled close to my chest. 

I tried to gently ease his head out of the crook of my neck, softly cooing, "We're safe now, honey... No one's going to hurt you here..."

He resisted my nudges and tightened his arms around my neck instead, burying his face even deep into my neck with a nearly inaudible whimper.

It felt like my heart was being stabbed to death from seeing him in such a state.

I rubbed a soothing circle on his back and patiently rocked him from side to side, whispering comforting words. Telling him not to listen to her words. Reminding him how much Demetri and I loved him. Telling him that we would always be by his side. Listing all the things that we adored about him.

Several minutes passed without any response from Theo as the chilly winter air blew passed us. With time, Theo's breath eventually started to calm down. His grip slowly loosened from my neck, but he never pulled his face out of my neck.