“hey, i told you you could call me, so it’s fine. truly. don’t stress it, ary.” the guy said, hoping that stressing it enough could hopefully help to stop the girl from crying, although so far it did not go as intended. “no, no. aria. ––” he paused, clearing his throat and breathing in deeply before letting the girl know more about what he had in mind. “you are not a bad mother. you can’t possibly know how much better his life could’ve been otherwise. truly, just think of the alternatives. you were with your father, a man who barely appreciates male figures in your life. i had no clue, and could’ve only helped by taking you guys in, but the rest? you can’t possibly assume that what you did was the worse thing for him. if anything, you did it for derek’s best interest.”
for a moment, hearing taran call her that name, something only really he did, since ari was reserved for her sister, it made her feel better. even if it was just for a moment. taran was able to do that, which only solidified what aria already knew about her feelings for the boy. the more he spoke the better she felt, and that was the truth. “i tried so hard to get in contact with you t. i couldn’t help but think about if i could come back. just you, me, and derek, a happy little family. god he reminded me so much of you when i had him- shit i’m sorry i shouldn’t talk about it. thank you t, you really did help.” her rattled brain was clear as she hopped from topic to topic.