Chapter Six

The next morning, Nathan was asleep in his bedroom. Milo was sleeping alone on the couch in the living room. When Nathan woke up, he stretched, yawned, rubbed his eyes, and sighed. After removing his hand from his face, he stared at the ceiling for a moment.

Once he had propped himself up in bed and pulled aside his blankets, Nathan walked out of the bedroom and headed to the kitchen. He tried to be quiet so he wouldn't wake Milo. Nathan went to the refrigerator, took out a carton of eggs and a package of bacon, and closed the door. He then walked to the stove and placed the eggs and bacon on the counter beside it.

Nathan heard Milo coming into the kitchen. Milo wished him good morning.

"Hey, buddy," Nathan said, turning around to look at Milo.

"Good morning, Daddy," Milo said, sitting down in a counter chair behind Nathan. Milo rested his arms on the countertop and sighed.

"Did you sleep well?" Nathan asked as he took his frying pan from the kitchen cabinet beneath the stove.

"Yes, I did," Milo answered.

Nathan placed the frying pan on the stove and closed the kitchen cabinet.

"Do you want breakfast?" Nathan asked.

"I'm not much of a breakfast eater, Daddy," Milo said.

Nathan turned on the stove, then grabbed an egg and cracked it into the pan. He threw the eggshell into the trash can behind him.

"Well, breakfast is the most important meal of the day," Nathan said before turning back toward the stove.

Nathan took another egg from the carton and cracked it into the pan.

"I know, Daddy. I'm not a breakfast eater. But I guess having breakfast just one day won't hurt me," Milo said.

"Okay. Your words, not mine," Nathan said, chuckling.

"Daddy?" Milo asked.

"What, buddy?" Nathan said, looking at Milo.

"You promised me that if I ever go to a big-league game with you, you'll get to be the pitcher, right?" Milo asked.

"Yeah. Maybe," Nathan said, chuckling.

Nathan realized that it would probably never happen. He was dying of cancer.

"I want to win the World Series, Daddy!" Milo said.

Nathan sighed and smiled at his son. He chuckled, then turned around to face the pan on the stove.

The next day, Nathan was sitting in his car outside the daycare, waiting to pick up Milo from school. It was almost three in the afternoon. Earlier that morning, before picking up Milo, Nathan had called his oncologist and told him about coughing up blood. Dr. Abrams said it was a side effect of the chemotherapy.

It was rare for cancer patients like Nathan, who had leukemia, to cough up blood, but it could happen. Dr. Abrams told Nathan to keep track of his symptoms and watch for any other serious signs. If any appeared, he was to go to the nearest hospital to be tested and treated.

Nathan was more worried that his cancer was not responding to the treatment. He was scared, but he was a cop, so he was tough. That didn't mean he wasn't afraid of dying.

Nathan watched as Milo and the other students began coming out of the daycare center. Milo looked unhappy. His head was lowered as he walked toward the car.

After opening the door, Milo sat inside the car and closed it.

"Hey, Daddy," Milo said sadly.

"Hey, buddy. How was school?" Nathan asked.

Milo placed his backpack beside him, beneath the glove compartment and on top of the floor mat. He sighed and leaned back in his seat.

"Did you have a good day today?" Nathan asked.

He instantly regretted asking the question. Milo looked at Nathan and nodded silently.

"Milo? Tell me the truth. You seem sad. Did something happen to you today?" Nathan asked.

Without saying anything, Milo shrugged and looked away from Nathan.

"Okay. How about we go get some ice cream? I know your favorite flavor is chocolate-chip cookie dough, right?" Nathan said, looking at Milo.

Milo sighed. "I want to go home, Daddy."

Milo glanced sadly at his father. Nathan nodded.

"Okay. Okay. We'll go home. But first, Daddy's going to buy you some ice cream. I know that will cheer you up," Nathan said, looking at his son once again.

Milo did not look at Nathan.

Nathan sighed and turned on the car. He shifted into drive, pressed the gas pedal, and pulled out of the school parking lot.

When Nathan and Milo arrived home, Nathan went into the kitchen and scooped ice cream into Milo's bowl. Milo was playing with his baseball alone in his bedroom. Nathan placed the ice cream container back in the freezer, then turned around and walked to the counter to pick up Milo's bowl.

Milo was lying on his bed, gently throwing the ball into the air and catching it with his glove. Nathan knocked on the door and asked Milo if he could come inside.

Milo sighed and didn't say a word.

Nathan opened the door, walked into Milo's bedroom, and noticed that his son looked upset. He watched Milo play with his baseball.

"How are you feeling, bud?" Nathan asked as he walked toward Milo's bed.

He placed the bowl on the nightstand next to the bed, sat on the edge of the mattress, and watched Milo continue playing with his baseball.

"Hey," Nathan said, gently taking Milo's hand.

Milo looked at his dad.

"You know you can tell me anything. Did something happen to you at school today?" Nathan asked.

Milo sighed and looked away from Nathan. He stared out the window beside his bed.

The sunlight fell across Milo's face, but Nathan could not get him to say anything. Milo was giving him the silent treatment. Nathan sighed and looked away from him. He couldn't think of anything else to say about the situation or his son's difficult day.

Nathan knew Milo was having a bad day. Milo sighed and turned onto his side, facing the window.

"Eat your ice cream, buddy. It's going to melt," Nathan said, picking up the bowl.

Milo remained silent.

Nathan sighed and stood up from the bed before walking away from him.

Before leaving the bedroom, Nathan looked at Milo once again. Milo continued to lie on his side, facing the window. Nathan could see only his son's back. He turned toward the door and left the bedroom. After exiting, he gently closed the door.

Nathan took a bite of the ice cream, which was supposed to be Milo's favorite treat. He then headed to the living room and sat down alone on the couch.

The previous week, Milo had given Nathan the silent treatment. He had also given Ella and Victor the silent treatment because they could not figure out why he refused to speak.

Nathan was at the police station investigating another case. He and Lane were talking about Milo's silence.

"So, he hasn't said anything in a week. Even Ella and Victor can't get him to talk," Nathan said.

"Well, he could have a lot on his mind. Maybe someone gave him a hard time at school," Lane said.

"I asked him that. He just shrugged," Nathan said.

"He's a five-year-old boy. There could be many reasons why he stopped talking," Lane said.

Nathan nodded and sighed.

"Have you tried talking to Ella about the whole thing? You can ask her whether Milo has said anything," Lane said.

Nathan looked at the evidence board, then shook his head.

He heard his personal phone ringing. He went to his desk, picked up the phone, and answered the call.

It was Ella.

"Ella, what's going on?" Nathan asked.

Nathan waited for Ella to explain what was happening with Milo. He was being bullied at school.

Nathan sighed. "Okay, whoa, Ella. Tell me exactly what happened," he said.

Ella explained that Milo had gotten into a fight with another preschooler who had been bullying him. Nathan instantly knew that it didn't sound like Milo to hurt anyone.

"Well, he did, Nathan. I need you to come here right away," Ella said.

"Okay. Okay. I'm on my way," Nathan said before hanging up.

Nathan sighed, immediately grabbed his things from his desk, and left the squad room.

Once he arrived at the daycare center, he entered through the sliding doors and saw Ella arguing with Milo's teacher.

"Hey, I'm here!" Nathan said, looking at Ella.

"Tell him! Tell my ex-husband what you just told me about his son!" Ella said.

She was angry.

Nathan looked at Mrs. Smith.

"We're going to have to suspend Milo from school for two weeks," Mrs. Smith said.

"Two weeks? Why?" Nathan asked, frowning.

"Because your son tried to hit another one of my students, Mr. Luke," Mrs. Smith said.

"No. No. My son wouldn't hurt anyone. He's a good kid!" Nathan said.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Luke, but I'm telling you that Milo was the violent one here," Mrs. Smith said.

"Oh, really? And where were you when all this happened? My ex-wife told me that you were nowhere to be seen at the time of the incident," Nathan snapped as he walked toward Mrs. Smith.

Mrs. Smith sighed.

"Mr. Luke, I'm just doing my job."

Nathan scoffed.

"No! No! Your job was to suspend the other kid who was hurting my son! My son is the victim here!" Nathan continued. He was still upset with Mrs. Smith.

"Nathan, it's okay," Ella said, trying to keep him from getting closer to Mrs. Smith.

Mrs. Smith rolled her eyes and sighed.

"Don't you roll your eyes at me! I expect you to do better than this!" Nathan snapped.

"Nathan, Nathan. It's okay. Come on, let's go pick up Milo. He doesn't need to hear this," Ella said.

Nathan sighed and walked away from Ella and Mrs. Smith. He headed toward the office and opened the door. Inside, he saw his son sitting alone in a chair.

Nathan sighed and walked toward Milo. He squatted down.

"Milo, what happened?" Nathan asked quietly.

Milo didn't say a word. He stared at the wall across from the office.

Nathan took a deep breath.

"Milo, you know you shouldn't hurt people. Mrs. Smith said you got into a fight with another student. Is that true?" Nathan asked.

Milo looked at Nathan and sighed.

"Is that true?" Nathan asked again.

"I'm sorry, Daddy. I didn't mean to! He was being mean to me first. I was trying to ignore him, but he pushed me on the playground. I hurt my elbow," Milo said, looking sadly at Nathan.

"How long has this been going on? How long has this boy been mean to you?" Nathan asked.

"Since school started," Milo answered.

"Since the first day of school?" Nathan asked, frowning.

He took Milo's hand and gently squeezed it.

"I didn't want to bother you or Mommy about it. I was afraid I was going to get into trouble," Milo said.

"Well, Mrs. Smith is to blame here, not you. But don't ever be afraid to stand up for yourself. Bullying is not okay, and you know that, right?" Nathan said.

Milo nodded.

Nathan smiled. "Come here, buddy."

Nathan and Milo hugged. Nathan kissed Milo's forehead.

"I love you so much," Nathan said.

"I love you too, Daddy," Milo answered, smiling.

Nathan closed his eyes and kissed his son's forehead once again. He rocked him gently back and forth, then kissed Milo's forehead one last time. Nathan sighed as he and Milo continued to hug.