This chapter is dedicated to GigiMorgan - thanks for your support :)

34 – Just an Ordinary Day

Charlotte's POV

The day Jared died started out just like any other day. It was New Year's Eve, but we didn't have any particular plans – with two small kids, one of them only an infant, it was hard to get a babysitter. Brent was teething on top of that, crying constantly which got everyone on edge. The exhaustion dragged me down after I hadn't gotten a good night's sleep all week. I was actually looking forward to Ryan being home all day for a change, dreaming of a bubble bath with a glass of wine and a good book.

I had promised Jared to go to the playground with him in the morning, but Brent was running a temperature and we ended up in the emergency room instead. As it was customary around the December bank holidays, the place was packed with children, suffering from colds and minor injuries, mostly from falling of their brand new bikes they had gotten for Christmas. Jared was still on training wheels though Ryan had threatened to take the bike away if he didn't straighten up. A five-year-old should be able to ride a big boy bike.

Jared was nagging, shooting dark looks in Brent's direction. "Why can't Daddy wait with Brent? I want to go to the playground."

"Daddy is busy, plus he doesn't like hospitals." Ryan had always felt that waiting around for hours to see a doctor was beneath him – that was my territory.

"But you promised," Jared pressed on with a winy voice.

"I know, but I didn't think your brother would get this sick. Maybe later." I tried to distract him by pulling out his picture book. "Here, let me read to you."

"I don't want to read." He stomped his little foot on the ground, his gray eyes the color of a thunder cloud. In that moment, he was the spitting image of his father. "I want to go to the playground." He stuck his tongue out at Brent. "I hate him. He always spoils everything."

"Now, come on, Jared. Brent's just a baby and it's not his fault he's gotten sick. Be a good boy and settle down." I stretched out my arms to pull him on my lap, but he ignored me. With outstretched arms, he zoomed around the waiting area, playing airplane. That earned me plenty of nasty looks from unnerved parents who tried to keep their own brute in check.

"Jared, don't do that," I scolded him. "Come here and sit down."

"No." He pushed out his lip and continued what he was doing. A few times, his fingers almost grazed someone's head.

When a woman cleared her throat, giving me this "can't you at least make an effort to control your son" type of look, my face heated. This was so embarrassing.

I decided to resort to begging. "Jared, please. If you're good, I'll get you an ice-cream cone after the hospital."

The words bounced off of him without any effect. With new found viciousness, he scraped alongside the wall with his fingernails before bumping into another child who toppled over. The toddler hit the floor with a loud scream. Mumbling erupted and the nasty looks multiplied.

"Jared, sit down." Ryan's words managed to carry over the commotion. The room fell quiet. He was towering in the doorway with the same stormy eyes as Jared's, glaring at his son with utter disapproval. Then his gaze turned to me with an even more displeased expression. "Hello Charlotte."

Jared darted over to me and plopped on his knees. His little face buried in the plastic seat next to me. His body rolled from left to right while he sucked his thumb.

Ryan strolled over to us, glancing at the car seat where Brent was fussing with a red face. The baby's cheeks were swollen to a point where his eyes were barely visible.

"Do you want me to take Jared?" he asked.

If he got his hands alone on his son before calming down, he would beat the crap out of him. "No, that's fine. Jared was just a little bored, but I'm sure he'll behave." I stroked over his head. "Won't you, honey?"

"Uhum," he mumbled. His face was still buried into the chair.

"Jared, look at me," Ryan said.

He snapped up his head and I saw that his cheeks were streaked with tears. Terror was pouring from his eyes. Luckily, he was wearing his pull-ups since I could bet he peed his pants.

"Do you want to stay with Mommy or come with me?" Ryan asked him.

"Mommy," he said before his lips enclosed the thumb again. His head moved back into the safety of the seat.

"Okay, but if I find out you didn't behave, you'll get a spanking. Understood?"

He nodded without saying a word.

Ryan clicked his tongue. "You need to keep better control of him, Charlotte. You're too soft. He never misbehaves when he's with me." There was so much accusation in his voice that it made me cringe. This would not be the last of this. When I got home, he would have a go at me for his son's embarrassing behavior.

He checked his watch. "I'd better run. I promised my mother I'd stop by and install the new TV." He shot one more look at Jared who had stopped moving but still refused to look at him. "Be good now."

Jared nodded again.

Ryan bent forward and blew a kiss on my cheek. "See you later, honey." It sounded more like a threat than a goodbye. He was furious and his mood would not lift for hours.

When I realized that everyone in the waiting room was staring at us, my cheeks burned. Some of the nasty looks had been replaced by pity while others dropped their gazes as I glanced around. I couldn't shake the feeling that most of them knew what kind of man my husband was, but no one spoke up. It wasn't the thing to do.

Jared stayed quiet with his face buried in the chair until the doctor called us in. He followed me with slumped shoulders, dragging his feet over the floor. While Brent was examined, he didn't mutter a single word, only glaring at his brother with a sullen expression. His eyes were like dark slate. If he weren't my child, he would scare me.

"Your son has mumps, Mrs. Parks," the doctor informed me after the check-up. "It's rare in infants and should be monitored closely." He looked at Jared. "Did your other son already have his second vaccine for MMR?"

I scanned through Jared's vaccination history in my mind. "I don't think so. He just turned five a few weeks ago and the pediatrician said we should give him his last shots before school starts in August."

"Well, it can't hurt to give it to him now. That way, he'll be more protected." He rummaged through a drawer and pulled out a little container with a clear liquid, followed by a wrapped up syringe that he pulls from the pack. "Hop on here, little man." With an encouraging smile at Jared, he padded the bed next to him.

Jared stared at him with big eyes before vigorously shaking his head. "No. I hate needles."

"Jared, be good now," I said. "I promise it'll only hurt a little."

"No." My son wiggled his finger in front of Brent's face. "It's all his fault. I don't want to."

"Jared, I'll tell Daddy if you don't behave," I warned him. "You have to do it."

That did it. His eyes filled with tears and with a few pitiful sobs, he allowed me to lift him on the bed. His siren turned on as soon as the syringe got close to him, turning into a hysteric scream when the doctor inserted the needle.

I squatted down next to the bed to pull him into a hug when he was done, but his fists were punching at me.

"Go away, I hate you," he muttered between sobs. His whole face twisted into an ugly grimace and before I could react, he gave Brent's car seat standing next to him on the bed a good push. When the seat hit the ground, Brent joined his brother's loud cry.

Every muscle in my body was paralyzed. I stared at my screaming infant and my pouting son, unsure whom to soothe first. After a few seconds, my arms instinctively reached out for Brent, whose whole face had turned into a beet red ball.

"Shh, shh, honey, it's okay." Tears rolled down my cheeks. Jared was still screaming at the top of his lungs and I was about ready to lose my mind.

With calmness, the doctor took Brent out of my arms and laid him on the bed. His head signaled from the nurse to Jared. "Get him a lollipop or something."

She stretched out her hand. "Come on. I have loads of stickers and you can choose one."

Jared's scream stopped at once and he toddled along with the nurse. The doctor cooed over Brent until he settled. Yet, I couldn't stop crying, my sobs only interrupted by a bunch of hiccups. My nose stuffed up and I automatically searched through my purse for a tissue.

"Sit down, Mrs. Parks," the doctor said. "I'll get you some water."

By the time he returned, I had myself almost back under control. The water was ice cold and calmed the rest of my frayed nerves.

"Is Brent okay?" I finally managed to mumble.

"Yes, the seat buffered the fall. He's fine."

I let out a long sigh. "Thank God. I don't know what's gotten into Jared today. He has been misbehaving all morning. I'm really sorry."

"Don't be." His eyes cut into me. "But I'm really concerned with your son's violent behavior. It's very uncommon at his age. Do you have any idea why he would react this way?"

I blew my nose, careful how to respond. "He's really jealous of Brent. Ever since his brother was born, Jared struggled with having to share with him. My husband said it's just a phase. He's a psychologist."

"Well, you should consider therapy for your son. His behavior could turn even more violent and he could really hurt Brent." He smiled fondly at the baby before turning back to me. All friendliness had vanished from his face. "I'm sorry, but I have to ask you this. Has Jared ever witnessed any violence in your home?"

I couldn't hold his gaze. "No, of course not."

He studied me with narrow eyes and I wasn't sure if he was buying my innocent act. "Maybe you want to call your husband to pick you up. Handling both boys at the moment might be a little much for you."

"I'm fine." I rise, ready to get out of the hospital before he could ask more questions or discover the bruises on Jared's back. "I'll go straight home and my husband can take Jared to the playground." I tightened my grip around the handle of the car seat. "Should I get any special medicine for Brent?"

"No, just some baby Tylenol should be fine. You have to watch his temperature, though, and if it rises, you should bring him back. We might have to put him on a fluid drip."

"No problem." I forced a smile on my lips. "Thanks, doctor."

Jared was seated next door, licking a lollipop eagerly. When he saw me, he beamed at me. "Look, Mommy, I got a Pokémon sticker." He proudly pushed his chest out where a bright yellow sticker of some cat looking thing with a silly smile stared back at me. "It's because I was brave."

I wanted to shake him that there was nothing brave about pushing his brother off the bed but restrained myself. For the moment, I wasn't even sure if I was going to share the details of the incident with Ryan. The belt would be a definite, even though he might punish Jared even further.

I stretched out my hand. "Let's go."

He stroked over Brent's hair before his small hand disappeared in mine. With an angelic smile, he gazed up at me. "I'm sorry, Mommy. I was a bad boy."

I almost cried again. He could be so sweet at times, just as he could turn into a devil just moments later. Maybe the doctor was right and he needed therapy. That was something I would have to discuss with my husband, but I needed to be careful on how to break it to him. Ryan didn't like unwelcome advice from strangers and it usually fell on deaf ears.

On my way home, I stopped at a pharmacy to get baby Tylenol for Brent and some painkillers for myself to fight an oncoming migraine. My stomach was tight and I fought the nausea that had started to build in my throat like a big, fat lump. In that moment, I had no clue how to make it through the day with a sick baby and a rebellious child. Yet, asking my husband for help was not an option if I wanted to keep the incident at the hospital a secret.

So now you met Jared and can imagine the stress Charlotte is under. What did you think? Ever seen a kid act up the way Jared did or do you think of his behavior as extreme? A lot is the result of the domestic violence he has seen between his parents, but for those of you who have read 'Brent's Story', you also know that he is very different from his brother. 

Would love to hear from you and don't forget to vote if this chapter deserved it. As you know, this book is coming to an end in three chapters and I am right now planning which projects to work on for the next months. I was originally going to take a break from Rena, but it seems that she has quite the devoted follower base, so let me know if you would like to hear the conclusion of her story. There is also a novella planned 'Patrice's Story'.

Thanks for reading and have a great weekend :)