Page 62 of Beautiful Trauma

“She can stay in bed on the tour bus,” Elle reasoned, returning to staring at her laptop as if this was remotely sane. I looked around at everyone in the room. They had the same look of disbelief I did.

“Lenny…” Silas rubbed her arm, “I don’t know if that is the best idea. What would we do with Wyatt? We can’t take a four-year-old on the road.”

“Mason and I decided it was best if Wyatt moved to a preschool in D.C.,” she replied.

My pulse picked up. “What did you just say?”

“She can’t take care of herself, and he can’t keep coming back and forth. He has a nanny down there to help out. It’s what’s best for Wyatt.”

“Who said you could fucking decide?” I was getting louder, and all eyes were on me, but I didn’t care. Cee was going to lose her shit, and I didn’t blame her.

“She can’t exactly do it herself, Serge. It’s a family matter. Let it go.” She waved me off.

“Absolutely not. You can’t take her kid away after she just lost Eli. She needs a fucking minute to get her shit together, but you’re talking about months. Did you tell her this?”

“Mason is going to tell her. He’s Wyatt’s father.”

I saw red. Wyatt wasn’t my kid, and Cee certainly wasn’t anything other than a friend, but this was bullshit. My fists clenched at my sides. “This is gonna kill her.”

Silas grabbed me by the arm. “Let’s get some air, yeah?” He led me outside where I paced the porch.

“Did you know about this?” I accused.

“No, and I agree it seems harsh, but they know her better than we do. And Wyatt needs stability right now. He’s just a little kid. Everyone is just trying to do what they think is best.”

“Are you taking her side because she’s your girl or because you really believe that shit?”

“I don’t get a say, and neither do you.”

Cee’s breakdown last night came to mind. “Mason must have told Cee yesterday. She was fucking beside herself. This is why she reacted the way she did. When she told me Mason was taking Wyatt to D.C. I thought she meant for like a week or something. He can’t just take him.”

Silas sighed. “Yeah, I can see how that would cause her to freak out.”

“I’ve gotta get back there.”

“It’s practice?”

I rubbed a hand on the back of my neck. “I know how to bang on the fucking drums. I don’t want her to be alone.”

“She’s not alone. Mish is there.”

“Don’t care.” I made my way off the porch toward my car.

“Serge,” he called after me. “She’s not yours to protect.”

“Well, no-one else is fucking doing it.” I threw myself into the driver’s seat and slammed the door, tearing out of the driveway toward Cee’s house.

Should I have put on soothing music to calm my ass down on my way there? Yes. Did I do that? No. I put on The Used and screamed along until I pulled into her driveway next to Mish’s car.

Now even more amped up than I was when I left Connor’s, I threw open the door to Cee’s room where she lay passed out. I didn’t think rationally, not even for a second. I just called out her name somewhat harshly. When she didn’t answer, I gave her a shake, checking to make sure she was actually breathing. Eli had said she gets bad, and I know she almost took matters into her own hands in the past. I was frantic. She fluttered her eyes at me, clearly unable to fully wake up, not unwilling to wake up.

Mish came into the room. “She’s okay. It’s just a sleeping pill. One. I gave it to her just before Silas called to tell me you were on your way back here. He explained what’s going on. She didn’t tell me why she wanted to sleep. I figured it was just, you know, Eli. But there’s no way she has had anything but the one pill. She just fell asleep before you pulled in.” Her words came out rushed, as if she knew I was on the edge and her words were the only thing standing between me and a breakdown.

It was probably an accurate assumption. I pulled the blanket back up over Cee’s shoulders and led Mish out of the room. “How was she before that?”

“Asleep, from what I could tell. Did you see her this morning before you left?”

Sure did. “She was asleep then. She was really upset last night. Told me that Mason was taking Wyatt to D.C., but I didn’t understand that it was for more than the usual week. She elaborated, though she was so upset it was hard to understand her.”