Chapter 15 Love You Most

• He never thought he liked kids that much. His relatives had kids, but the most he could do was have more patience with them. The boys were different. Ever since he saw them, all he wanted to do was spoil them and give them the whole world. He wanted to protect them and keep every kind of danger at bay. He would never allow anyone to hurt or anger them. He wanted them to be happy every day.
• I must be mad or something.
• Buddy gave him another flying kiss before he went into the car and sat with his brother in the backseat. Madeline revved up the car and went onto the highway a while later. "I like Mr. Hart, Mom," Buddy whispered.
• Aldo looked at him. "Me too," he agreed.
• Buddy said, "He's better than our uncles. His smile is like the sun. It's warm and fuzzy."
• Aldo pouted. "They spoil Phoebe and Isabel too much, our uncles."
• "Yeah." Buddy was crestfallen, and his voice was barely a whisper. "They're nice to us, but Phoebe and Isabel are always more important to them. Every time they bully you, uncles always take their side."
• Nobody cares about Mom aside from me and Aldo. She's always second in line for everyone else. Poor Mom.
• "Yeah!" Aldo snorted. "But it's alright, Mom. Don't be sad. Buddy and I will always love you. You'll always be the most important person to us. Nobody's more important than you are."
• "Yeah!" Buddy jumped off his seat and squeezed through the space between the driver's seat and the passenger seat. He kissed his mother on the cheek and smiled. "Aldo and I will always love you, Mom."
• It's fine if nobody loves Mom. Aldo and I will do that. We'll grow up and become super awesome. If anyone tries to bully Mom, we'll smack them back. Nobody's going to bully her ever again.
• Madeline teared up. She was about to cry, but she held it back and smiled. "I love you too, sweeties. Buddy, get back to your seat and buckle up. This is dangerous."
• "Okay, Mom." He kissed her on the cheek again and went back to his seat and buckled up.
• She watched him in the rear-view mirror until he buckled himself up. Then she looked at the road and held the steering wheel tightly, her heart filled with happiness. Before she had her sons, she was an unlucky woman, but after she had them, lady luck seemed to have finally smiled on her. Her boys were the gifts fate had given her. They were her angels and her whole world. Aside from death, nobody could separate her from the boys. If anyone tried to hurt them, she would drag them down to hell even if that was the last thing she did.
• They came back to their rented condominium half an hour later. It hadn't been too long since she came back to Dusktown, so she hadn't bought a house yet. However, she was checking out some units already, and she wanted to get a house where she and her kids could settle down.