Infinite

I was grateful that Arch slept late in the mornings. I had multiple calls to make and didn't want him to hear any of them. I called Lyla Ains first and explained that she needed to contact Mrs. Drewry, relaying the same information that Heather had given me the night before.

"This is outrageous," she stated after she read the article, "I can't believe that any reputable paper would print something like this without learning all the facts beforehand." She sounded less composed than usual and I could hear her moving, gathering things. "I will handle this, I promise, Atticus," she spoke, "Abigail Drewry is not in a place to regain custody of Arch, however; if she begins to the process that will allow her to take steps towards that, there is nothing I can do if the state deems her recovered and allows Arch to go home."

I was sitting on the couch in the living room as we spoke and I glanced up at the second floor balcony. Arch's door was open, but from this angle I could only see the ceiling of his room. "That's not his home anymore, Lyla," I rebutted, pinching the bridge of my nose, "They can't really expect him to go back there. Parents can't just take a break from their children whenever they want."

"While Arch is still in foster care Mrs. Drewry has the right to try and regain custody of her son. Once she starts the steps, Arch is on the path to being given back to her. If a family wants to adopt Arch before then, Mrs. Drewry has the right to withhold consent, however; after a court date where she states why she doesn't want him adopted, the judge can make an adoption order which basically overrides the need for her consent, if the judge believes adoption is what is best for the child."

She simplified the process of what would happen if Arch's mother tried to fight for him back. There were really two options. The first was that Arch would return to her if the system thought she was able to take care of him and the second was that Arch would be adopted by someone else, after a judge said it was best for him.

They weren't ideal options, although the second was definitely better than the first. The only problem was that there was no family who was in the process of trying to adopt him. He was just another child in a system where the main goal was to return that child to their biological parents.

At quarter after eleven, Arch stumbled out of his room. I smiled as he walked out onto the second floor balcony and peered down at me through the bars that held the rail up, rubbing his eyes.

"Lyla, I'm going to have to let you go," I said as he turned to head down the steps, "Arch just got up and we have to get ready for registration at Nicolas. You faxed over the information, right?"

Her tone changed and became lighter and less worried sounding. "Yes, this morning, so everything should be in order. I'll get all of this under control. Tell Arch good luck from me."

I hung up and dropped the phone onto the couch as I got up. Arch had made his way to the bottom of the stairs so I walked over, the hardwood flooring cold against my feet. I picked him up before he stepped off down. "Good morning, sweetpea," I greeted cheerfully, "You've got to eat breakfast and then we've both got to get ready to go to your school."

Arch frowned and stopped rubbing his eyes. His hair was poking out in every direction and his pajama pant legs had managed to ride up like capris. "I have to go there now?" he asked as we walked past the couch, coffee table, and TV towards the kitchen.

"We have to get you enrolled. You have to do something while I'm at work," I said with a laugh, "You can't just sit home and watch TV all day. You'll kill all your brain cells." I set him on the kitchen island and he turned around to face me as I walked over to the fridge. He pulled his bare feet onto the granite counter top and sat Indian-style, watching as I pulled out ingredients for breakfast.

"What are you making?" he asked, pressing his palms into the counter top as I set bread, cheese, and turkey next to him before going back for the Apple juice.

"Does a grilled turkey and cheese sandwich sound good?" I asked, closing the fridge.

"Yeah." He shrugged like he didn't really care what he ate.

I turned on the radio that sat on top of the microwave. Arch laughed infectiously as I danced in front of the stove with cooking. His giggles stopped abruptly and his head shot up when the phone began ringing from next room.

"I'll get it!" he shouted over the music. He was about to slide off the island when I quickly grabbed him and set him on his feet. The second he touched the ground he took off into the living room.

"Let me answer it," I called out to him as I turned off the music, "We don't know who it is."

"Hello?" I heard him answer, despite what I'd just said. He walked slowly back into the kitchen with the phone to his ear. "Ronnie! What are you doing?"

I focused back on making breakfast when I knew it was just Ronnie. Arch wandered over and sat in one of the kitchen chairs, too absorbed in the conversation to care that I was bringing over our food. When I set the plate in front of him, he grabbed half and took a bite, not bothering to stop talking.

I went back and grabbed our cups. I set his in front of him and he reached for it, taking a quick sip before he replied to something Ronnie said, nodding.

"Okay, give me that," I demanded, pulling the phone away from his ear as he started talking about one of the shows we watched on TV last night. He complained, but then refocused on the food in front of him. "Hey, Ron," I greeted, "How was your night?"

"I spent it on a bus with seven guys," he replied, trying to imply that it wasn't something he enjoyed.

"So it was fun," I corrected.

He laughed. "Yeah, it was. Until I saw that email. What the hell is that about?"

I glanced at the blonde child who was practically shoving food into his mouth and then got up from the table. He turned and looked at me with his cheeks full. "Where are you going?" he asked, the words barely sounding like english.

"I'll be right back, I have to find something. Ronnie's not sure if it came here or went with him." I walked out of the kitchen and up the stairs, not wanting to risk Arch hearing any part of our conversation.

In the bedroom, I perched on the edge of the bed and flipped the TV on to mask any sound that might travel. "I talked to Lyla and she's going to handle it," I said first to the man, "She had no idea that Arch was even one of Abigail's concerns anymore, but we're going to handle this."

"So that terrible fucking mother is trying to take Arch back?" he asked, sounding more angry than I'd ever heard him before, "She can't just decide she actually loves him one day and take him back. He's barely adjusted to everything now."

"I know. That's what I said, but Lyla said that unless Arch is in the process of being adopted and a judge finds that it's a better option for him, he'll probably have to go back with his mom, if she takes the right steps and is seen as a good enough caregiver."

Ronnie let out a few choice sentences and I sighed, bringing a hand to my forehead. "That's fucking bullshit."

"We'll fight her," I said, "There's no way we'll let her take Arch."

Ronnie was silent as he let his anger dissipate some. I knew the question he was going to ask before he spoke it. It had come to my mind but I quickly dismissed it. "Is fighting to keep Arch in the system better than letting him go back to his mom? She's his family at least, no matter how terrible she is."

I was surprised that he actually vocalized it. It was rare that Ronnie was the voice of reason when it came to things like this. When he felt strongly about something or someone, it usually took more time for him to see the other side of things, although he usually did.

"Ronnie, she gave him up. Think of everything she put him through. Going right back to that life will be a constant reminder of how he lost both parents," I rationalized, trying to think of how Arch would feel rather than the feelings I had towards the woman who gave birth to him.

"Yes, but at least he would have a family."

"We both know how it feels to have a mother leave," I said, "If your mom came back almost two years later, would you have forgiven her? I don't think I would've."

Ronnie was quiet. Neither of us had quite related Arch's situation back to our own before and when we did, it hit home. Hard.

"Plus, Abigail didn't even leave him with his father, she left him alone. At four years old, she left him alone in the world," I said, not being able to imagine how it must've felt. Having your mother leave you is something, but having no one is something entirely different.

Finally Ronnie said, "Okay, we'll fight her," and we both realized that a hard battle had just begun. It wouldn't be easy fighting to keep a child away from his biological mom, but it was the right thing to do in this case and we both felt it.

Ronnie got called away by someone in the other room and he promised to call me after their show tonight. I knew how hectic tour was, so I figured our conversations would be short, but frequent.

"Alright, I love you," I said, "Be safe, please."

Ronnie chuckled at my constant reminder and worry. "I will," he replied, "I'll stay far away from any mischief."

"Good."

"Okay, I love you. I have to go. Bye Att."

The line went dead and I headed back downstairs to eat quickly so we could start getting ready. Despite it being a short conversation, Ronnie could always put a smile on my face. I wiped the grin off as I stepped from the living room to the kitchen where Arch was still stuffing himself.

"Is it good?" I asked playfully, running my fingers through my hair as I walked past and sat down in my own chair, "Make sure you breathe, Arch, Jesus."

He swallowed quickly, nodding. "Where's Ronnie playing tonight?" he asked after he gulped down a swig of Apple juice.

"I think they're heading out to Flagstaff after tonight's show," I said, trying to remember the names of that places Ronnie had told Sumarow at Evan's bar. "The list is on top of the fridge, we can check before we leave."

I ate half of my sandwich and then we went upstairs. I helped Arch brush his teeth and helped him get dressed before sending him to brush his hair while I changed. As I walked back out of my room to the bathroom at the end of the little hall, I said, "Arch, I ordered your uniform clothes off line last night. They should be here tomorrow or the next day."

He stood in the bathroom and looked at me as I finished tying up my hair in the hall, where it opened up to the living room beneath us. "Really? Can I see?" he asked, running a brush through his hair again.

"You can see then when they get here, you goof," I said, "Are you done? Lets get going then." I motioned for him to come on and he burst out of the bathroom in his socks.

"I have to check the list!" he shouted and headed down the stairs to go to the kitchen.

I sighed and shut the bathroom light off before following him. We managed to find a magnet and put the list on the fridge where he could see it everyday without me having to get it for him. After he confirmed that Falling in Reverse was headed to Flagstaff, he put his shoes on and slipped his lined jacket on over his long sleeved, light blue Oxford.

Instead of a dress like I wore the day before, I donned a pair of light gray, washed out jeans and a plain white shirt with a black and white blazer over it. The two of us headed out to the Escalade. I stopped to lock the front door while Arch charged ahead.

When we got there, the parking lot was busier than it was the day before, seeing as it was midday instead of late afternoon. There were a couple parents heading inside with their kids and Arch and I followed suit, slightly standing out against the matching uniforms.

Arch and I waited just inside the front door while two women signed in their children and then headed down the hall behind the desk one after the other, leading their kids. Ms. Caty grinned wider when she saw us walking up.

"So you're back," she greeted happily, "Looks like we've won you over."

I nodded, rubbing Arch's shoulder as a reminder to be on his best behavior. "We think he'll like it here," I responded, "Despite his tough persona, he'll enjoy it."

Arch looked up at me with his tough-guy face. He'd yet to say one word inside the building, including yesterday. I leaned down and picked him up so he could see over Caty's desk. She smiled at him.

"I'm sure that silence will wear off eventually," she concluded, directing her words towards Arch.

The blonde looked away from her and I huffed. "He's never quiet," I said, bouncing him a little on my side, "He's just being difficult." I glanced at the clock on the wall behind the desk. "We actually have a one o'clock appointment with Mrs. Gillian, so we should probably head that way," I told her, watching as she nodded animatedly and motioned to us to go on down the hall since we'd learned how to get there the day before.

"Thank you," I murmured and we headed through the hall towards the office in the back of the building. Arch peered into every classroom that we passed and each time looked a little more open-minded.

I didn't say anything about his slight change in attitude. When we got to the office, the door was closed but I could see through the side-bar window that another woman was there, so we sat down in the chairs across the narrow hall.

Artwork from the kids hung on the walls and Arch looked it all over. It was obvious that there were different projects that the kids were attempting and Arch studied them with a frown on his face. He got out of his chair and stood in front of them to get a better look.

"What do you think, bub?" I asked after a couple of minutes, "That would be fun to do."

He turned around and looked at me and I motioned towards the pictures. He shrugged. "I don't know," he said, "I'm not a good draw-er."

I laughed and motioned for him to come back. He walked over and I pulled him between my legs, both of us facing the office across the hall. "You don't have to be very good," I whispered in his ear and pointed towards a couple pictures just next to the door, "Obviously it's not about talent."

Arch giggled and nodded, covering his mouth with his hand. He pointed to another one on the wall, that matched none of the ones around it, and we both chuckled.

Neither of us were the kind to make fun of other people's art, but making Arch laugh was my number one concern so long as no one was getting their feelings hurt. I wrapped my arms around his waist and he leaned back into me as we waited for Mrs. Gillian to finish up whatever she was doing.

After another few minutes, the door opened and the woman smiled apologetically. "Atticus, Arch, I'm so sorry for the delay," she spoke, shaking her head, "Would you mind waiting fifteen minutes or so? There was a mix up and we really need to get this settled."

"Yeah, no problem," I replied, standing up. Arch stepped forward so I could stand behind him. He turned and looked at me with an expression that clearly stated he didn't want to wait. I looked back up to the woman. "We might go take another look around while we wait."

"Oh, yes, that's a great idea," she concluded, her dark hair falling over her shoulder as she nodded, "I'm sorry again, it should only be fifteen or twenty minutes more."

I took Arch's hand. "It's no problem, really."

She apologized again and then closed the door to her office. Arch and I began walking down the hall, looking at the different projects that the kids had done. When we turned the corner, there were written papers instead of art, so I figured Mrs. Gillian's office was in the middle of the art hallway.

"Atticus, lets go the other way," Arch said, stopping abruptly. He tried to pull me back around the corner or possibly out of the glass doors that led to the playground.

I frowned. "Arch, what's wrong?" I asked, peering down the hall. Near the middle of a hall was a woman. She was looking over some of the things hanging on the wall like we had done.

She was dressed in what could be considered a tunic dress. Her hair was light brown and got lighter at the ends and wavy much like mine was naturally. Golden jewelry dangled from her ears and she stood on heels that were tall and incredibly skinny.

"Arch, come on," I muttered, playfully glaring at the little boy as he tried to run away, "Stop acting so shy."

He groaned but the two of us continued on down the hallway. When the woman saw us she, grinned politely, and looked over Arch.

"You must be new," she said in a friendly way, causing us to stop walking. She laughed when she noticed my surprise. "He's not wearing a uniform so either you're new or just checking it out."

I smiled and turned to face her, causing Arch to do the same. "Registering, actually," I said, holding out my hand for her to shake, "I'm Atticus and this is Arch."

"I'm Jadeen Arroyo," she greeted, shaking my hand. She glanced around and laughed again, musically. "My two are in there." She motioned across the hall and through the window where we could see a playroom that was full of large, indoor playground equipment. "They've both got doctor's appointments in an hour, but they're fighting me to let them stay."

I peered back inside as a bunch of children swarmed the rubber playground. "Sometimes, they're just so hard-headed," I agreed, glancing at Arch, "I definitely understand that one."

Arch glared at me and mumbled, "Am not", under his breath, causing both Jadeen and I to chuckle. He crossed his arms over his chest and stepped away to sit in one of the child-sized chairs that were pushed against the wall.

"So, how long have your kids been coming here?" I questioned, folding my arms over my chest, "I haven't really had a chance to talk to any parents about how they like it."

She pushed her hair away from her face and brought her hand to her cheek as she thought back. "Well Silvi started when we moved here two years ago, and this is Camilo's first year. I was too nervous to let him come last year because he was so small." She grinned and ran her fingers through her hair. "Anderson made fun of me, but he could've gotten hurt," she defended, most likely referring to her husband, "I'm keeping my youngest at my mother's now."

"You have three children," I said in surprise. She didn't look like a mother and three kids was hard to believe.

"What?" she asked self-consciously.

"Nothing," I laughed, shaking my head, "You just don't look like you could have three young kids. You're so put together."

She laughed in disbelief. "You don't look like a mom either," she retorted, "But somehow we manage to look great and raise our kids."

I was about to agree when the door to the playroom opened.

A worker led two children out of the room. The little girl was gorgeous, with dark hair and darker eyes with her mom. Her skin was lighter and her eyes rounder. She had the same features as her brother but his skin was the same light brown as his mother. He was perfectly sun-kissed and adorable.

"What took you two so long?" she asked, pulling her son from the ground before thanking the woman who brought them out. "We're going to be late and we still have to pick up Iker from Nana's."

Arch wandered over from his chair to stand next to me so he could get a better look at the kids who'd just come out. The little girl looked like she could be about his age.

Jadeen wrapped her arm over her daughter's shoulder and turned her to face Arch and I. "Silvi, this is Arch, he's new here."

The little girl was as shy as Arch had been pretending to be. She smiled and two dimples appeared and disappeared quickly. Jadeen grabbed her daughter's hand and held Camilo with her other arm. "Atticus, you should give me your number. Maybe we can get together sometime. It would be nice to have a friend from Nicolas."

"Yeah, that sounds great," I replied, getting my phone out of the pocket of my jacket, "I'll take your number since you have your hands full."

She relayed her number to me and we promised to get in touch soon before she led her kids out of the Play School so that they could make their appointments on time. Arch and I turned around and headed back towards the office.

"What do you think, kid?" I questioned, bumping his shoulder with my arm, "Everyone seems really nice and that room looked like a lot of fun."

Mrs. Gillian was ready for us when we arrived back at her office. She called us inside and we both sat in chairs across from her desk. She explained that she'd received the 'go ahead' from Ms. Ains and everything was ready to be filled out.

"There are two payment options," she explained as I filled out Arch's paperwork, "You can pay it all at one time or we can set up a payment plan."

I glanced up from the clipboard on my lap. "What kind of price are we looking at?" I asked.

"Well, there are two options there also," she explained, putting her hands on her desk, "I wanted to talk to you about our elementary school program. I'm not sure where you're planning on having Arch attend in the fall, but there is a place for him here if you want it. Tuition for the summer program is around four thousand dollars and the entire 2013/2014 year is just over eight thousand."

I paused what I was doing and leaned back in my chair. Arch looked over at me with raised eyebrows. "Actually, Ronnie and I hadn't completely talked about elementary school options," I admitted, the numbers bouncing around in my head, "We were just planning on getting him enrolled in an early start program and we figured we had time to talk about the rest."

"Well, if you enroll him now, you have until September to change your mind," she said, holding the paperwork in her hand, "That includes a full refund."

I debated, tapping my pen against the wood of the clipboard. Arch dangled his feet from the chair without them even close to touching the ground.

"Can you excuse me for a minute? I need to call and talk to Ronnie about it," I said as I stood up. I told Arch to wait in the office and I stepped into the hall. He answered just before it went to voicemail.

"Att, what's up?" he asked when the call connected.

I smiled at the sound of his voice and shook off his concern. "Everything's okay, babe," I replied, "I'm at Arch's school and the woman in charge just offered for Arch to attend elementary school here in the fall."

"Wow, that's great, Atticus. Are they going to let him go straight to first grade?"

I sat in one of the chairs that Arch and I did earlier and put my elbow on my knee. "If he tests high enough," I replied, "but the thing is, they want to enroll him now. Which means we'll have to spend triple the money right now."

"Atticus, if you think this is the right fit for Arch then go for it," he stated, "Honestly, out of all the money I've spent, buying Arch a good education is one we can be proud of."

"What if he's placed with another family a month into school and they pull him out? There's no refunds once the year starts," I rebutted. I didn't realize how stressed I must've sounded until Ronnie replied in a soothing tone, sounding like the voice of reason, yet again.

"We'll just have to sit down with the family and explain that we want what is best for him even though we can't be the ones to raise him. I'm sure they'll understand and do what's best for him."

I glanced through the office window to make sure Arch was still in his chair before I replied. "What if he has to go back with his mother?" I questioned, "There's no way she'll sit down and talk with us about what we believe about his education."

Ronnie sighed on the other end of the line. "I say you do it," he said once more, summing up our conversation, "The worst is that we lose a little money and the best outcome is that Arch is on track to get a great education in a place that suits him."

I considered Ronnie's words and nodded. "God, I love you," I muttered, running my fingers through my hair, "I honestly don't know how I would do all of this without you."

Ronnie laughed and agreed. "I feel the same way, Atticus."

We chatted for another moment and I found out that the guys had been running in and out of the venue all day, trying to get the Salt Lake bar prepared for their show tonight. "I've been tweeting about it for the last hour," he said, "Don't you get them sent to your phone?"

"No," I laughed, "I was always with you so there wasn't any need to have them come directly to me."

Ronnie told me to star him on Twitter and I promised I would, even though I hardly went on the website. "Alright, Ron, I've got to go. There's a bit of paperwork left to fill out and twelve thousand dollars to fork over."

Ronnie wasn't shocked by the price and after a few encouraging words, hung up so I could get to it.

I walked back into the office. "Ronnie says hi," I told Arch as I walked past him and sat in my chair, "and he also says that he thinks you should go to school here next year."

Mrs. Gillian was pleased and gathered everything together while Arch smiled and sat back in his chair, his legs straight out in front of him. She handed me a packet to fill out and I looked over the basic questions. Names, birthday, social security number. This was all information that Lyla had given me and I had nothing to worry about. I filled out the rest of the papers and gave the school my debit card number so they could charge me for Arch's education.

Mrs. Gillian looked over what I'd done just to make sure. "Your name is so unique, Arch," she said to him, "I never would've thought it was spelled with a 'ch' instead of a 'k' or just a 'c'." She smiled and looked up at us. "Do you know where that pronunciation comes from?"

"His father's name was Archer," I commented, "They wanted to be similar, but not overwhelming. It means 'truly brave'," I answered for the boy, knowing that it was difficult topic for him to talk about.

"It's so interesting," she commented, "I love how malleable names are and the meanings we give to them. Yours is definitely special." She flattered the papers down and starting translating the basic information from print to her computer. When she was done, she slid them into a manila folder on her desk and then into the filing drawers behind her, under 'D' for Drewry.

"Alright, Arch," Mrs. Gillian said, causing his head to shoot up and his eyes to focus on her as she stood up. "You've got to take your placement test," she told him, surprising us both.

"I figured he would take that closer to the beginning of the school year," I rebutted, staying seated. Arch didn't move either.

"This isn't the kindergarden exemption exam, this is simply so we know what to teach him when he starts the summer progam," she said, calming us both down, "There's a desk in the other room if you want to follow me."

It took Arch a little over a half an hour to finish the exam. It was partially verbal and half written. I waited in the same room, managing to entertain myself on my phone while he worked. Despite the fact that this wouldn't determine his actual school placement, I was still nervous for him. If he did poorly he could be placed with kids younger than him or vice versa.

The summer program was mostly a daycare with a few learning activities thrown in. During the daycare portion of the day, it was a free for all, meaning that all the children of about the same age got to play together. But when it came time to do learning activities, the kids were sorted into different classes based on their abilities.

The summer school/daycare program was a lot different than usual schooling and that was the main reason I was drawn to it. There was more of a focus on abilities rather than age which allowed for each child to get the instruction and knowledge that they needed.

If Arch did well on this test and placed into a group that held older kids, he had a better chance of starting first grade in the fall rather than kindergarden.

When he was done, Teresa Gillian collected his test and he stood up from the little chair and desk. I helped him slip his jacket back on.

"Well, all right," Teresa concluded, holding the papers in her hands, "I'll have this looked over soon and we'll give you guys a call to let you know what ability group Arch is going to be placed into and when he can start." She glanced back at the bulletin board on the wall behind her. "I'll give you the name of the website where you can order his uniform clothes," she said offhandedly as her eyes scanned the board.

I put both my hands on Arch's shoulders as he stood in front of me. "Actually, that's all taken care of already," I announced, "I ordered everything last night so it should just be a couple of days."

Mrs. Gillian grinned. "That's great, now there won't be any delay and Arch will be prepared on his first day."

"What do you say we go out for lunch with Jenn?" I asked the child as we walked back through the building to the front door, "We've got some free time before we need to head out to Santa Monica."

He held my hand as we walked out of the front doors. "Why do we need to go there?" he questioned, squinting against the sun as he peered up at me.

"We're meeting Rachelle and Kaleb Earnheart. They're part of a music group and my boss thinks they could be a good fit for Epitaph," I explained.

We headed to a restaurant not far from the Play School to meet up with Jenn. Before we headed out, I sent a quick text to Christina and told her we were having lunch at Maurices and she could meet us there in fifteen minutes if she was in.