Thicker Than Water - 30. Chapter 30

The ride home from court was tense and made worse by the silence.

Steve drove, quietly waiting for one of the Padillas to explode. He didn't like conflict if it could be avoided, but he couldn't see how a fight wasn't inevitable.

Diego kept replaying the court proceeding over and over in his mind. Calvin had texts from his mother and from Diego wanting to have contact with the boys and plans to get them back. Billy's words echoed in his head: You better hope that he doctored some of those messages, because you're fucked if they're all real.

Bryan wasn't sure how to feel. His entire life felt like a lie. He knew that Calvin wasn't around much even before bailing to Pennsylvania. He knew that Calvin had been living in Washington since just after Bryan's birth, and only came back long enough to knock up Donna again, creating Caleb.

Logically, Calvin's abandonment was pretty typical and was going to happen over and over again, even if Calvin came back and brought Bryan and Caleb back east. Who knows where we would've ended up? Bryan thought. They certainly wouldn't have ended up with Diego. They probably would've been separated in the foster care system.

None of that stopped Bryan from being pissed at his dad, though. Diego lied, and even the lawyer knew that. Bryan tried thinking of why but ultimately didn't care what his dad's reasons were. Bryan was raised to never lie to his dad, no matter how much trouble he'd get into, and Bryan expected the same respect in return.

Unlike his brother, Caleb wanted to know why. The only man he knew as his father lied and kept Caleb's biological father out of his life on purpose. Nobody mentioned Calvin being abusive towards Caleb or his brother. The only crime Calvin seemed to have committed was abandonment, which probably wouldn't have happened had Diego and Calvin's mother not gotten in the way.

For his entire life, Caleb just wanted to know why Calvin left and didn't come back. Caleb just assumed he had been really bad and Calvin couldn't handle it anymore. Caleb knew that Bryan got in trouble a lot, and just assumed that Calvin would've felt that Caleb was going to be the same. Caleb assumed that it must have been enough for Calvin to call it quits and flee the state, maybe even starting a new life with kids who weren't bad like he and Bryan were.

The news that Calvin actually wanted contact and was even planning to take Caleb and Bryan away changed everything. He had spent most of his young life blaming himself for Calvin leaving when he should've been blaming Diego for Calvin staying away. Like Bryan, though, Caleb didn't care what Diego's reasons were, because it wasn't going to change the fact that his biological father wasn't being allowed to see him.

Steve pulled into the driveway, and even before the car was turned off, both boys bolted from the car and ran into the house. Steve grabbed Diego's arms, stopping his love from chasing after his sons. “You have to give them some time to process this.”

Diego couldn't hold back his tears any longer. “I need to explain why I did what I did.”

“Yes, you do, My Love, but now is not the time. They need to wrap their heads around everything.”

“How can they do that without hearing my side, too? I can't lose them.”

Steve pulled Diego into his arms and said, “You're not going to lose them, Babe. They're smart boys. When they're ready, they'll come to you to hear your side of things. Until then, you have to let them cope and trust them to come to you. I know it hurts, and I'm here for you 100%. I love you.”

“I love you, too,” Diego said, burying his face into Steve's chest, crying.

* * *

After taking a moment to collect himself, Diego sheepishly knocked on Bryan's door. He was forced to wait several minutes before Bryan dully said, “Come in.”

“Hey Chico,” Diego said, as he closed the door behind him.

Bryan was still in his suit, though the tie was on his desk. He was flat on his back, laying on his bed. Bryan didn't bother looking at his adopted father. “What do you want?”

Ouch, Diego thought. Bryan's tone was neutral but the question still stung. Diego normally wouldn't have put up with that kind of disrespect, but he knew he deserved it. “I want to talk about what happened in court today.”

“Are you planning on lying...again?”

“No. I want a chance to explain my side of things, and yes, I'll be brutally honest with you.”

“What about Caleb? Shouldn't he be here, too?”

Diego took a deep, settling breath. “No, I don't think he's old enough to hear this part of the conversation. I will tell him if I have to or when he's old enough, but none of this is something an 11-year-old should have to hear.”

Bryan was both intrigued and concerned. He sat up and finally looked at Diego. Bryan had never seen his adopted father look so distressed, even when Calvin first reappeared. “What happened?”

Diego sat down next to Bryan and proceeded to tell his eldest son about the abuse he suffered at Calvin's hand. He didn't go into gross detail but explained enough to get his concerns across. Bryan asked similar questions that Steve and Charlie already had, so Diego explained Calvin's forms of manipulation. As Diego talked, Bryan grew more concerned, but he also gained a better understanding as to why Diego had been acting unlike himself since Donna's funeral.

“Dad,” Bryan said, giving his father a chance to chill, “I'm sorry that happened to.”

“Thank you, Chico. That means a lot, especially after today.” Father and son hugged each other.

“I can see why you want to keep some of this from Caleb, but you need to tell him at least the part about Calvin being a manipulator.”

“I will once I can figure out how without mentioning the other stuff.”

“Do you think the texts with my grandmother are real?”

Diego gave it some thought then said, “I'm not sure. Calvin always bad-mouthed her, and she wasn't his biggest fan. However, they were still mother and son in the end. Calvin could've also been feeding her a line of shit, too. She wasn't in the best of health when you were living with her, and he might have been preying on her vulnerability.

“I can say that some of the texts from or to me are probably real. Before I had custody of you, your grandmother didn't want your dad contacting you, so I had to honor her wishes in order to keep seeing you and your brother. Then there were only a few messages between the time she died and I adopted you.

“I wouldn't put it passed Calvin to fake some emails or texts. He used to do the same to Donna when they were separated. It's really a matter for the court and the lab to decide.”

“I don't want to live with him, Dad, and it freaks me out that Caleb and I might have to.”

“I know, Chico. It's freaking me out, too, but we have to trust that Billy won't let that happen. So far, he's doing a good job. It'll mostly come down to who the judge is.”

“That's nothing to foreshadow about, Dad.”

Diego fought rolling his eyes. “It's just the reality of the situation, Chico, whether we like it or not.”

* * *

Caleb laid on his bed, looking up at the ceiling, when he heard a soft knock on his door. He didn't respond as his heart filled with dread.

“Hey,” Steve said quietly, as he awkwardly entered carrying a tray loaded with food. “Missed you at dinner.”

“I'm not hungry,” Caleb said defiantly, though his stomach growled betraying him.

“I get it.” Steve set the tray on Caleb's desk and sat on the floor next to his soon-to-be stepson. His massive size still had him at eye level with the 11-year-old. “Do you wanna talk about it?”

“No,” Caleb said, as tears started to form at the corner of his eyes.

“Okay,” Steve said, pulling his knees to his chest.

The pair sat in silence for quite a while. Steve eventually straightened his legs. He reached over and started to softly stroke Caleb's hair. It just seemed instinctual to him. The boy needed comforting, but they hadn't known each other long enough for Steve to feel comfortable holding the boy. “Your dad loves you, you know.”

“Which one?” Caleb asked with pain in his voice.

“I think we both know which one I'm talking about, Buddy. He had his reasons for what he did.”

“Then why didn't he tell us before?”

“You'll have to ask him.”

“I don't want to talk to him.”

“I understand, but you'll need to eventually.”

“No I don't.”

If the situation wasn't so serious, Steve might have thought the defiance was cute. “Yeah, you do. I can't keep bringing you food, so you'll have to come out of your room at some point, then there's school, Bryan and Me.”

Caleb rolled over to face Steve. “Why doesn't anyone want me?”

Steve's heart broke at the moment. He got up, laid down next to Caleb and pulled the boy into his arms. “Buddy, you have an entire family here who wants you. You have your dad, your brother, me, and a ton of aunts and uncles, not to mention your grandmother. We all love you very much. My life is so much better with you in it, Caleb. I have never been happier. Dating your dad is the best decision I've ever made and part of that's because of you.”

“Even Bryan?” Caleb asked, wiping his face dry.

“Well--” Steve said, making Caleb giggle. “He's growing on me.”

“Dad?” Caleb asked.

“Yeah, Buddy.”

“I love you.”

“I love you, too, Caleb.” Steve gave Caleb a big, gentle hug.