Build And Break novel Chapter 61

"Mommy?" Daniel's voice brought Angela back to the real world.

Rubbing the sleep from his face, the boy climbed to sit on the stool beside Angela.

"Good sleep?" Angela ruffled his messy hair.

"Mhm." The boy smacked Angela's hand away from him before messing up his own hair himself to his satisfaction. Touching his hair always annoyed him.

Since the day Daniel got out of the hospital, he'd been full of energy. He was like a brand new person, though still with the same smart and charismatic character he had before.

"What are you drawing?" Daniel sat up on his knees to inspect Angela's work closely.

Angela moved her hand away from the wooden canvas, allowing Daniel a better view.

"Wow." The boy said in awe at seeing his name beautifully carved with a soccer ball beside it.

"Want to help me finish it?"

Eagerly, Daniel nodded. Angela slid the wooden piece before Daniel, then instructed him how to hold the carving tool. Wrapping her hand over his small one, Angela guided the pen tool over the wood to burn the dark patches on the soccer ball. The boy's laughs of excitement made Angela wish the drawing had more than a few pieces left to be completed. She didn't want to end this moment of bliss with her son. It had been a long time since it's been just the two of them with all smiles.

"Done."

The boy clapped in joy as he admired the finished piece.

"You know where I'm going to hang that?" The boy shook his head. "In the family room."

"Why?"

"So every time we walk in the room to watch TV or play a game, we'll see it and always remember of you."

The boy chuckled in excitement. "Can we make another one?"

"What do you want to make?"

"Another one just like this."

Angela raised a curious brow at the boy. "Why would you want another one like this?"

"So I can give it to Steven and he'll remember about me too."

Oh, dear. There was the name she dread Daniel would mention. Now how could she waver the conversation away?

"I miss him." The boy spoke with a sudden change in his voice of sadness. "He promised he would come see me."

Angela brushed his soft hair back. "I'm sure he didn't forget that."

Daniel looked at her with his mouth in pout. "Why did we go live with Steven and then we left? I liked living with him."

"Don't you like living here?"

Angela pulled back to look into her son's eyes so similar to his father's. "He would do anything for you."

"But he won't come see me now. And he never came to see me before."

"He didn't come because..." Angela paused, trying to find the best words, the best lie to tell her son. "Because he was away on work. He's a busy man."

"He could have took me with him. He could have took both of us with him." Daniel wiped the wetness on his face with his palms. "Does Daddy love you?"

Angela was taken aback. Then Daniel surprised her again.

"Do you love Daddy?"

How could she answer that? "I do." Angela opted for a simple answer.

"Can I call Daddy?" The boy chimed hopeful.

The sudden hit of the truth had disappeared from Daniel's face and it was replaced with a wide smile again. And how could she say no to that sweet face?

Angela dialed on her phone before handed it to the young boy.

Steven was sitting in the middle of a long critical meeting when his phone chimed in his pocket. He took it out instantly with the intention of hanging up until he saw the caller's name. Angela never called him. His stomach dropped at the thought that something had happened to Daniel.

Without a care that those around the table were waiting for him to set his attention back to the meeting, Steven answered a little too quickly. "Hello?"