Page 25 of Lost Little Boy (Pride Camp 2025 #5)

Wex

“Perry Castle.”

The cheers were loud as Perry walked across the stage to accept his bachelor’s degree in education from George Mason University.

My parents, Nance and her family, Perry’s sisters and youngest brother were there to cheer him on.

His other brother, Billy, had called to wish him luck because he was stationed in Oklahoma and couldn’t get leave to attend.

Perry and his family were working to rebuild their sibling bond, and my boy shined when he spoke to any of them.

Ossie and Carmine were coming down for the party I was throwing at the house—a surprise for Perry—and I was looking forward to it. Our lives were full, but things were about to change again.

We’d talked about getting married a few times, but Perry had asked that we wait until after he had received his degree, so as I’d done since we’d met and figured out he was a boy, I respected his boundaries, and we waited.

Now, things were different, and before I left work on Friday, I got the ring I’d had for three years out of the safe in my office.

After the ceremony finished, we all went outside to wait for Perry. I turned to Liz, a question on my mind. “It’s none of my business, and if Perry hasn’t asked or if you’d rather not say, I won’t ask again, but where’s your bio mom?”

Their adopted parents, Kelly and Jordan Anderson, were invited to the graduation party the next night so we could all meet, but I’d never heard anything about Suzanne. I knew Perry’s father was buried in a cemetery back in Tennessee, but I had no idea about their mother.

“She’s in a psychiatric hospital. Turns out, she’s lived with a severe mental health issue and survived multiple suicide attempts.

Brian kept things going while he was alive, but after he was killed, Suzanne had no support system except us, and we were just little kids.

Perry tried so hard to keep us together, and I don’t want him to feel as if he failed us in any way.

He took care of us as well as he could until the state of Tennessee stepped in.

” Liz and I had drifted away from the others, so I believed I could ask her a few more questions.

“How long ago did you find this out?”

“Kelly was contacted. The lawyers they used when they adopted us got a call from the police in Memphis. Mom and Dad had put a permanent restraining order against Suzanne in place after the adoption was finalized, and under the order, the authorities were required to keep our parents informed regarding Suzanne’s actions so they would know if she was ever coming to try to get us back.

She got arrested for disturbing the peace at a fast-food restaurant in Memphis and they found a loaded gun in her possession.

They had her evaluated and found she was a danger to herself and others, so the court institutionalized her to keep her from harming anyone.

” Liz reached up and wiped a stray tear from her eye.

I pulled out my handkerchief and handed it to her.

“I’m sorry you all had to endure this. I can see why you’d be worried about telling your siblings if there was a chance she could do harm to them.

Are you okay?” I touched her shoulder in support.

She was shorter than Perry, but the two of them were so much alike it was astonishing.

“Mom and Dad got me an appointment to see her doctor once because they said, as the oldest, it was up to me whether to tell my brothers and sister. I wanted to know her mental state before I told them anything, but I found out she’s basically catatonic.

The doctor at the facility was nice. I talked to the man and explained what had happened that caused us to be taken away and adopted by a good family.

The doctor said it would be best if we didn’t have contact with Suzanne.

” She touched the cloth to her eyes again.

“I think that’s good advice. Again, I’m sorry you kids had to suffer through shit like this.” My heart broke for them.

I knew how much his childhood had affected my Perry, and even though they all wore happy smiles when they were together, I was sure his siblings were in pain as well.

I vowed to get Perry into therapy now that school was finished.

I’d be there to support him every step of the way and remind him he was my world. His healing was long overdue.

“The doctor said she probably wouldn’t remember who we were anyway, so it’s easier if we just imagine her gone like Brian.

You’re the first person I’ve spoken to about any of this.

I’ll leave it to you if you want to tell Perry, but I don’t see how knowing the information would benefit him in any way.

He seems happy in his life now, and we can’t change history. ”

She definitely had a point, but I’d give it some thought.

I didn’t want to keep secrets from my boy, but if the information would hurt him, I couldn’t see why I should tell him.

He’d been through a lot in his young life, and as I stared down the barrel at forty, I was more prone to the two of us avoiding heartache as much as possible.

Liz touched my arm. “I’ve forgiven Suzanne for my own sake, and maybe in time, the others will be able to do the same. I don’t want any of them to feel guilty. We were children. We weren’t capable of doing more for her.”

I gave her a brief hug. “You’re an incredible woman. If you want a job after you graduate, I’ll always have a spot for you. I’ll have a spot for any of you. You’re Perry’s family, and that makes you my family, too.”

When I met Perry after he saved my life the first time, he didn’t believe he had any worth to anyone. When I got to know him, I saw how wrong he was. He was the most important person in my world and only deserved the best life had to offer. I would never let him settle for anything less.