~Brie

My dad and I watched a nurse give Roman two pills with a glass of water. He made a face as he swallowed them.

“Yuck. I hate swallowing pills.”

“We know, buddy. But they'll make you feel so much better” Dad sighed, rubbing my back. “Right, Victor?”

The doctor looked up from whatever he was scribbling down and nodded.

“Yes.”

“So what now?” Roman asked.

“There's not much to do than to wait for the antihistamines to take effect I'm afraid, young man” he addressed Roman.

Then he turned to us.

“We're going have to keep him here for observations  overnight.”

“What? But you said it's not serious and he's fine.”

“Yes I said that, and it's all true—”

“So why can't we go home?”

“Honey calm down. Victor is just doing his job. It's what's best for Manny.”

“Thank you, Doctor Nolan.”

I sighed and watched Roman lie back on the bed, scratching his neck. I walked over and planted a kiss on his forehead.

“I'm staying here?” he whispered.

“Yeah, the Doctor said just to be safe.”

“Are you staying with me?”

“Of course Roman. Why are you would you even ask that?” I frowned a little.

He gave me a small weak smile and I gently caressed his hair.

“Did it scare you Mommy?” he whispered.

I shook my head.

“No, baby. I have never been prouder of you.”

“Really?”

“Of course. Most kids would be screaming in tears, throwing tantrums and whining. But look at you! So strong and brave. I haven't even heard you complain once Roman. And so I'm very proud of you.”

He smiled weakly at me again.

“Try to get some sleep okay, Roman?” the doctor spoke.

Roman nodded and closed his eyes, sinking back into the pillow and trying to relax. I hovered nervously at Roman's beside me, wringing my hands occasionally, unsure of what to do. Roman opened his eyes and sighed deeply.

“Mommy, what are you doing? You're making me nervous.”

“Oh, my sorry, baby. I'm just... watching over you.”

“Or being a helicopter parent” Dad chuckled.

I turned away from Roman.

“Daddy I'm his mother.”

“I know. But you shouldn't suffocate him, honey” he said.

Doctor Khan smiled kindly at me.

“Why don't you and your father go get Roman some ginger ale from the cafeteria?” he suggested.

I glanced at Roman who was dozing off.

“I don't think I wanna leave him” I shook my head.

“Breanna, the best way you can help your son is to relax yourself. If you're nervous, he'll catch on and him being nervous isn't what we need right now. And ginger ale is going to be good for you both.”

I sighed.

“C'mon Brie. We won't be long, hm?”

I nodded and moved back to kiss Roman on the forehead before leaving with my dad at my side.

“Oh thank God. I was about to come in there. Where's my grandson?” Mom quickly stood up at the sight of us.

“They're keeping him here overnight to monitor him, Becky,” Dad said.

“What? Why? We can monitor him at home. Who's in charge of him?”

“Victor.”

“Khan? Your resident?” Mom made a face and Dad nodded. “Well go get him to sign Manny's release papers.”

“I don't work here anymore, Rebecca. And Victor knows what he's doing.”

“Victor knows what he knows because you taught him all he knows” Mom frowned.

“Let it be Rebecca. Besides Roman is already falling asleep” Dad sighed.

I threaded my fingers through my hair and sighed. Emmett got up and wrapped me in a hug.

“You okay?”

“I have to be Em. For him” I whispered back.

“Mrs. Nolan? Here's your coffee.”

I stiffened slightly at the sound of Aiden's voice and Emmett rubbed my back, probably thinking it was my worry for Roman that was getting to me.

“How's he doing?” I heard Iris ask.

“He's better... falling asleep I think” I replied as Emmett let me go.

She nodded.

“Do you think they'll let me see him?” Iris asked, wringing her hand nervously.

I nodded.

“Of course yeah. Daddy would you please?” I asked.

“What about the ginger ale?” he asked.

“I'll get it myself, Daddy. Don't worry.”

“If you want, I'll go with you” Aiden spoke up. “I'm heading to the vending machine anyway.”

I nodded.

“Alright then. Come on Iris. This way” Dad said taking the lead.

“I'm coming too” Mom added.

Emmett sighed beside me.

“I'm gonna go with them, okay?” he said softly.

I nodded.

“Aiden” Emmett addressed him and then walked away.

I let out a deep sigh, rubbing my arms.

“Shall we?” Aiden asked.

“Yeah,” I muttered.

We walked in silence. From the corner of my eyes I could tell Aiden was struggling to find the right words to say.

Say something to help him out.

“Hey, Aiden...”

“Breanna,” he said at the same time.

“Sorry. You first” we said in unison.

A smile cracked on his face, making me smile a little.

“You first, Breanna,” he said softly.

I nodded.

“I just wanted to thank you for calling the ambulance when you did... even though I said it wasn't necessary. Thank you, Aiden.”

“You don't have to thank me, Breanna” he replied.

I nodded again.

“What did you wanna say?” I asked.

“More like ask” he sighed. “How are you?”

At that exact moment, my laugh turned rugged and I felt the fear I'd drowned when I saw Roman in that state come crashing at me in tenfolds.

“Like I'm a terrible mother for not paying attention enough.”

“Hey, hey, don't ever say that” he frowned. “You're a wonderful woman and an even better mother.”

“I don't feel like that Aiden. I really don't.”

“C'mere my love” he whispered, squeezing me into an oxygen-stealing hug. “Shhhh it's okay.”

I buried my face into the crook of Aiden's neck as he rubbed my back comfortingly. We stayed like that for a long time before Aiden spoke up again.

“Better?”

His thumbs gently swept the tears away from under my eyes as I looked up at him, shaking my head.

“I'm just glad you're here with me, Aiden,” I forced out between cries.

“And I'm never going to leave you okay? You're never going to have to deal with this alone because I'll always be here.”

Somehow that made me cry harder. It was only when I remembered where we were and how compromising our position was right now, did I distanced myself from him.

For a moment, a voice in the back of my head pictured Miles Herve lurking in the corner, gaining more evidence of us to blackmail me.

Aiden frowned at me a bit. But before he could talk, I spoke up.

“We're in a public place, Aiden. And I should be hugging my boss like that.”

“Fuck that, Breanna. You're not okay and it is my responsibility to make sure you are. I don't care what anyone thinks about you hugging your boss.”

But I do. And I can't make things worse.

He took a step closer to hug me again and I stepped back. Aiden's face hardened then as if he found his voice of reason, he let out a long sigh.

“You're right. No matter how much I want to sweep you into my arms and kiss all your tears away, this isn't the right time.”

I worried my lip.

“Do you feel better though?”

I nodded.

“Yes. And I know Roman's fine but every time he has the smallest reaction, I imagine the worst” I confessed.

Aiden nodded.

“And no one can blame you for that. Who knew such an ordinary day would become life-threatening in a moment?”

I fought back a sob. Aiden took me by the shoulders and looked intently into my eyes.

“I know you're scared and you feel terrible right now. It's okay to be scared Breanna. You're human. But I know that you're not going to let anything happen to your boy. And I'm not either. I know they don't know about us and my love, I don't care if they do or not. I love you. I love Roman. And I'll always be there for him when you can't okay?”

He didn't wait for a reply and pulled me into another oxygen-stealing hug. I let out a shaky breath to keep the tears from falling now that all that adrenaline had passed. Aiden let me go and planted a kiss on my forehead before taking my hand.

“Let's go get that ginger ale.”

°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°

“Where's Emmett?” I asked when Aiden and I got back.

“Home. He left not long ago” Iris replied.

“Oh sweetheart, how are you?” Mom sighed hugging me.

“I'm okay Mom” I replied as I hugged her back. “Don't worry.”

“How's Roman, Ris?” Aiden asked.

“Half asleep” she replied with a smile.

I smiled back.

“It's been a long day. You should all go get some rest” I said.

“And leave you all here by yourself?” my dad asked.

“Daddy this isn't my first rodeo okay? And we'll be fine. Doctor Khan said we'll leave tomorrow, so don't worry. Go get some rest hm?”

“Are you sure, Breanna?” Iris asked. “I mean I could stay—”

“I'm sure Rissa” I smiled. “We'll be fine.”

She nodded.

“You don't have to come in tomorrow Breanna” Aiden said. “Not until the doctor says it's fine for him to go back to school.”

I nodded.

“Thank you. Now go on Daddy. Take Mom home. And you two should get going too” I looked at Iris.

“Okay. Be safe honey” Dad said giving me a hug and kiss.

“Tell Roman I'll make his favorite soup and bring it to him in the morning, hm?”

“Yes Mom” I replied, kissing her goodnight.

I hugged Iris too and she squeezed into me.

“Thank you for today, Rissa” I sighed.

“You don't have to, Breanna” she smiled. “I'll see you two in the morning before I leave for work okay?”

I nodded.

“Okay.”

Aiden looked at me, not sure how our families would react to us hugging.

“I'll see you at work?” I muttered.

Aiden nodded.

“Yes, see you at work, Ms. Nolan.”

I nodded.

“Call me if you need anything okay?” he added softly when everyone else began to walk away.

I smiled and nodded.

“I will.”

When they were finally out of sight, I turned and crossed back into Roman's room.

“Hi baby,” I said softly. “Look what I got you.”

I opened the ginger ale, poured it into a plastic cup for Roman, and helped him to sit up and drink it.

“It's good Mommy. Thank you.”

“You're welcome my darling.”

“Where's everyone else?”

“Gone home. I asked them to.”

“Oh.”

“But I'm not going anywhere my darling, okay?”

He nodded and finished his drink. I settled down beside Roman and held his hand as he rested. It was only when my phone rang close to an hour after Roman was asleep that I let him go and stood up. Quietly sneaking outside his hospital room, I checked the caller ID.

Private number.

I sighed and hit record before sleepily answering the phone.

“Hello?”

“Well if you're not in tears then I'm guessing either the attack wasn't serious or you and your boy got extremely lucky.”

I froze at the sound of the voice coming from the other end.

“Miles?”

“Hello, darling. Missed me?”

I blinked.

“Why are you calling me?”

“To ask how your precious little boy is doing. Can he breathe fine?”

“Is this some kind of joke, Miles? Because if it is, then you're not funny” I frowned.

“A joke? You wound me, Breanna. I'd never joke about an allergy attack.”

“Shut up Herve!” I snapped. “And how the hell did you find out my son had an allergy attack?”

He let out a laugh that creeped my skin.

“I knew before anyone else, Breanna. Because I gave him that brownie.”

My stomach grew cold and my anger dissolved into terror.

“You what?” I asked, barely above a whisper.

Miles laughed.

“What was that Breanna?”

I swallowed the lump that had formed in my throat.

“Cat got your tongue?” Miles teased.

“You have a problem with me, Herve. So you fucking deal with me. Why on earth would you drag my innocent nine-year-old son into this?!”

“Because he's your son, Breanna. And that's exactly why I dragged him into this.”

My stomach churned.

“And also as a reminder that your deadline is tomorrow and so you better give me an answer I'll like. Otherwise, I'd be more than glad to send you another motivational reminder... via peanuts this time of course” he threatened.

The venom that rippled through his words drained the color from my face.

“Deadline is tomorrow morning, Breanna. Better tell me what I wanna hear. Or else” he chuckled. “Goodnight now gorgeous. And that's a beautiful dress you have on right now.”

I spun around, checking to see if he was watching me. He let out a sinister laugh and hung up the phone call. I quickly darted back into Roman's room and shut the door, locking it and barring the handle with a chair.

A pit of nausea welled in my stomach and I took a deep breath, steeling myself.

“It's gonna be fine. You're gonna be fine. It's going to be fine” I muttered to myself.

But immediately my eyes fell on Roman's sleeping figure, the pit in my stomach deepened and my eyes began to sting uncontrollably. My throat tightened and my phone fell from my grasp, clattering over the small coffee table beside me as it hit the floor.

Oh God!

Trying not to wake Roman, I hugged a pillow tightly to my aching chest, burying my mouth, and began to quietly sob.

°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°

“And, you're good” Doctor Khan smiled, signing some papers. “The best thing for Roman right now is to sleep it off. Aside from that, you're free to go.”

I smiled down at Roman.

“You hear that baby? We're going home.”

He gave me a little smile and yawned a bit. I yawned too, ignoring the headache that had somehow worsened from staying up all night.

“You should get some rest when you get home too Breanna. Your son doesn't need you falling sick for his sake” the doctor whispered to me.

I nodded politely.

“I will do that Doctor Khan. Thank you.”

“Have a great day and take care of yourselves.”

I nodded and watched him walk out. He passed Zachary and Louisa on his way out. Lousia ran over to Roman's bedside.

“Hey Lulu, aren't you supposed to be in school?” I asked.

“Megan dropped her off with my mom yesterday. Apparently, something came up with Gabby, that's why she couldn't make it to the bakesale” Zachary whispered.

Why didn't she call me?

“Are you okay now, Manny?” I heard Lousia ask. “Are you still sick? I wanted to come earlier when I heard but Uncle Zach said it was late and you needed breathing room” she rambled. “Are you okay?”

Roman giggled a bit.

“I'm fine, Lulu. I'm still just a bit itchy and really, really sleepy. But I'm doing okay.”

“And how are you?” Zachary whispered to me.

I nodded.

“I'm okay.”

“Really? Because you look like you haven't slept all night.”

You don't know the half of it.

I forced a small smile at him.

“I'm okay, Zach. I'll just sleep it off and I'll be okay.”

“Auntie Brie?” Louisa called out to me.

“What is it, sweetie?”

“Is Ro going to be fine?”

I smiled.

“He is, don't worry Lulu,” Zach told her.

“Yes, Lulu. He gave all of us a scare but the antihistamines have already helped a bunch. He just needs to sleep off the rest then you two will be back to running after each other again” I assured her.

She nodded.

“Mommy, is grandma coming?” Roman asked.

“No, baby. I called her earlier to tell her it wouldn't be necessary because the doctor is letting us leave early.”

“Okay.”

“Well if you're all ready to go then come on. I know you're both firmly in the exhausted category” Zach said, holding his hand out to Louisa.

I picked up a groggy Roman, his head resting on my shoulder. All together, we walked out of the hospital room.

When we arrived at my parent's house, Roman was half asleep. I laid a drowsy Roman in my bed and kissed his forehead.

“You okay, baby?” I whispered.

“Better Mommy. But still pretty bad.”

“Still itchy?”

He nodded, his little upset face making my heart clench.

“Well just try to get some rest okay, baby?” I whispered.

He nodded and I adjusted the covers over him. I kissed his forehead again and crossed over to Louisa who was standing at the threshold.

“He'll be just fine Lulu. Don't worry okay?”

She nodded and flung her arms around me. I hugged her back and smiled.

“Let's go get you something to eat okay?”

I closed my bedroom door and followed Louisa downstairs. The moment she disappeared into the kitchen, I grabbed my purse from the living room couch and slung it across my shoulder.

“And where do you think you're going?” Mom called out behind me.

I turned.

“I thought Victor asked you to rest up too?” Emmett folded his arms.

I nodded.

“Yes. And I will. I just need to run a quick errand. It won't be long.”

“And Roman?” Mom asked.

“He's asleep.”

“What do we tell him when he wakes up?”

“I'll be back before he does, Mom.”

And I won't have to ever leave again.

°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°

I stepped out of the elevator and made a beeline to go look for Aiden.

“Breanna! Hey!” Avery chirped from somewhere.

“Hi Ave” I greeted, not stopping.

“Err where are you in a hurry to?”

“Where's Mr. Corleone?”

“Conference room. They have a board meeting.”

They've already begun?

I nodded.

“Hey, what's wrong? And why do you have that look on your face?” she asked, falling in step beside me.

“I just need to talk to him” I replied.

“Brie” Cynthia smiled, juggling a tray filled with large coffee cups. “Wait, you're not supposed to come in today. So what are you doing here?”

“There's something I need to do. It won't be long” I said as Avery gave her a hand.

I didn't wait for them. I stepped into the conference room, my head held high, trying to kick my nerves to the curb. Miles stopped in the middle of whatever he was saying and arched a brow at me.

“Err Ms. Nolan? What are you doing here?” Mr. Martin asked.

I faced Aiden and pushed the letter in front of him.

All good things must end.

“What is this?” Mr. Martin asked.

“I'm tendering my resignation, effective immediately” I let out.

Cynthia paused the coffee cup she was setting in front of Herve in mid-air, her eyes wide. Mr. Martin recoiled in shock.

“Excuse me?” Avery muttered from beside Mr. Martin.

“I'm grateful for the opportunities you've given me but I'm bored and I need something better than this so here's my resignation letter” I continued.

Miles scoffed.

“Stop being dramatic, Ms. Nolan. And get back to work.”

I stood still.

“This isn't a joke, Miles.”

He rolled his eyes.

“This is what happens when you play favorites, Aiden,” he said and turned back to me. “What do you want huh? A raise? A promotion? Because this isn't the way to get it.”

“Quiet, Herve” Aiden suddenly spoke up.

Silently, he read through my resignation letter, eyes locked on the page. In an instant, Aiden ripped the letter into two and ripped it up again.

“Go home Ms. Nolan,” he said, meeting my eyes for the first time since I walked into the room. “I believe your son needs you at this moment so please, just go home.”

I let out a half sigh, half laugh, and pulled another letter from my purse. I pushed it in front of him again.

“I have seven copies of these, Aiden.”

He frowned at me.

“I say, let her leave,” Miles said. “Who's going to hire her without a reference from us?”

I shrugged.

“That's my cross to bear isn't it?” I asked.

“Breanna, are you sure about this?” Mr. Martin asked. “I mean this is too sudden.”

“Yes, Mr. Martin. My mind is already set” I replied.

“Brie...” Avery shook her head.

“I'm going to go clear my desk now,” I said, turning away.

With one foot already out the door, I tossed Miles a look over my shoulder just in time to catch him mouth the words, “You're going to be sorry you did this.”

Do your worst.

Thank you so much for reading! ✨