13. Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Thirteen
Andre
I meant what I said about Paul and Maddox staying here as long as they need, though I’m sure it’ll take some time for Paul to get it. They lost everything they owned just last night. It’ll take time for a lot of things to settle in, including all the stuff he’s lost. I’m sure it hasn’t hit him yet.
After dinner, I tried to get him to help me pick out more stuff for him and Maddox—I already got everything they’ll need, but what about stuff they want? Paul wanted no part of it though, so I let it be.
For now.
The kids are in bed already. Tonight, Maddox is sleeping on Rylee’s floor because they insisted on having a sleepover.
They’re just kids, so I said I was fine with it.
They aren’t super close, but they’re close enough.
They’ve always known about each other and they’re getting along great.
I love seeing them together. So I pulled down a sleeping bag for him and Rylee gave him her extra pillow, and they’re having a little sleepover in her room with Bacon J.
Ham and Straw Berry, who are guarding the door with forks as weapons. Kids and their imaginations.
I love it. I love this for Rylee. The circumstances suck, obviously, but she is smiling more when Maddox is around.
She’s going over my parents’ house tomorrow, and they offered to take Maddox too.
He said he had to think about it. He knows my parents, of course, but he isn’t close with them.
I can understand being wary, but maybe because Rylee will be there, he’ll want to go.
I think it would be good for him to do something and keep his mind off what happened.
I’m not a pro at this. I’m still figuring out how to handle Rylee losing her mother while dealing with losing my wife and the huge change with leaving my job and house.
But now, Paul and I are in this together.
We’re both starting over, and there’s something about that fact that makes my chest tight in more ways than one.
Not that I’d wish this on my worst enemy, but knowing I’m not alone, knowing that I can help him through this, the way he’s helped me? How could I ignore that?
Two cans of beer sit on the coffee table in front of me.
They’re both empty, but Paul fell asleep before I could grab two more.
I didn’t want to drink on my own, so I’m sitting here watching a movie while he snores softly beside me on the couch, just like he used to do back when we were roommates in college.
I watch him, the way his chest rises and falls gently.
Peacefully. His lips slightly parted, face at peace.
It’s nice to see after I know how much he’s been stressed lately, and that was even before everything had happened with the fire.
Not to mention, dealing with everything that goes with being the recipient of a disaster, in general.
Insurance claims, paperwork, and phone calls that never seem to stop.
Amelia has also called a hundred times, thinking of a new question each time.
She’s just trying to help, I get that, especially because she’s not here.
But I feel like she’s overwhelming him, which isn’t helping matters, and he’s too nice to tell her to stop.
When the movie ends, I get up, stretch, and stare down at Paul again. His position is a bit awkward, his neck scrunched, arms crossed over his chest. He shouldn’t have to sleep out here on the couch for the next week until the bed sets come in. My bed is big enough to fit us both.
Not to mention, it’s more comfortable. I lean down to shake his shoulder.
“Hey, Paul,” I say softly.
He stirs, eyes popping open.
“What? What’s wrong?” He sits up.
“Nothing, everything is good. Come on.”“Come on where?” he asks, rubbing his eyes. His hair is messy, and a chunk of dark waves fall forward.
“Bed,” I say.
He groans. “But I was sleeping...”“In the bed.”
Shaking his head, realization sets in and he says, “No, I’m not making you sleep on the couch.”
I roll my eyes and grab his arm to pull him up. “Don’t argue with me. The bed is big enough for both of us.”
He grunts, but follows me without protest. He shuffles into the bedroom, and lazily throws back the blankets before sliding in. I do the same on the other side. There is plenty of space between us, so this isn’t weird. We’ve shared smaller beds before. It’s not a big deal.
It doesn’t take long for his breathing to even out again, and I listen to it for a while before falling asleep myself.
When I wake up, there is a lot less space between us. We’re nearly touching. And it’s not because of me. In his sleep, he gravitated toward me, but I should have expected that since he always did move around a lot in his sleep. Apparently some things never change.
Chuckling to myself, I get up, noting the house is quiet. Still. I peak up the stairs but dare not go up there and wake the little demons. If I thought Rylee had a lot of energy, Maddox has more. And two kids are so much more chaotic than one, hands down.
I take the moment to enjoy the silence, knowing it won’t last, so I start on breakfast. Chocolate chip muffins from scratch.
Paul’s got a bit of a chocolate addiction, and cooking isn’t something I’m great at, but there are a few things I can whip up that are pretty good. Muffins are one of those things.
Victoria used to love them.
I’m just sliding them into the oven when Rylee comes downstairs, her hair a wild mess, with Bacon J. Ham dangling from her hand.
“Morning, pumpkin,” I say, lifting her up to give her a hug and a kiss.
She wraps her arms around my neck, Bacon J. Ham knocking into me.
“Morning,” she grumbles. “What are you making?”
“Chocolate chip muffins. That okay?”
“Yes,” she says with a smile as I set her back down. She rubs her eyes and yawns before asking, “Can I have some milk?”
“Of course.” I get her a cup of milk, and she takes it to the living room, quietly grabbing the remote and putting on cartoons. I stare at her for a long time, just sitting there, sipping her milk, hugging her stuffed pig, and smiling at the TV so innocently and genuinely.
She’s so precious. My little angel. I don’t know where I would be without her. She looks so much like Victoria right now, with that effortless smile. She’s a lot like her mother, actually. Sometimes I think the only thing she got from me was her eyes and her stubbornness.
My chest aches, thinking about my late wife.
I don’t think that will ever go away, but it does get easier and doesn’t hurt as badly as it used to.
At one point, I couldn’t breathe thinking about her.
We weren’t together long and everything moved so quickly for us.
Some people thought it was too fast, but when you know, you just know.
Now? It all seems like a lifetime ago, and a blink of an eye other times.
I’ll always miss her, that’s obvious, but the pain?
It’s become bearable, even when I thought it never would be. Because I have Rylee.
Maddox wakes up next, going to sit with Rylee on the couch to watch TV.
Paul doesn’t get up until the kids have already eaten and are off getting dressed and ready for the day ahead.
“Morning, sleepyhead,” I say with a smirk, offering him a muffin when he shuffles over with his eyes half shut.
His hair sticks out in tufts, and he grunts as he swipes the muffin from my hand, taking a seat at the island.
He gives me a knowing look as he bites into it. A low groan of relief escapes him.
“Oh my God, chocolate? Did you make these from scratch?” he asks. I don’t miss the surprise in his voice.
“Yup.”
“Shit, these are so good. I can’t bake anything that doesn’t come from a box,” he says with a chuckle.
“It’s not that hard, but I hear Betty Crocker is pretty good.” I shrug as I make him a cup of coffee, placing it in front of him. He devours the last bite with another groan, then sips the coffee.
“And the coffee’s good, too.” He moans.
I can’t help but smile from his momentary praise.
“Maddox said he wants to go to my parents’ with Rylee, as long as you’re okay with it.”
He nods. “Yeah, that’s probably not a bad idea. I’m sure he’d have more fun over there with Rylee, anyway.”
“I think so too. I also think we should go do something. You know, while the kids are gone.”He raises a brow. “Like what?”
I shrug. “Don’t know. I need some groceries.”
“You want to go grocery shopping together?” He grins and I laugh.
“Actually, yes,” I say. “I need to know what you both like to eat so I can stock the fridge and pantry.”
That turns his smile into a frown, but it’s true, whether he likes it or not.
I do need to know what sort of stuff they like since they will be staying here until he figures out what he is doing next.
I know this situation isn’t easy for him, and I want to make it as easy as I can.
I don’t want him to have to worry about things like dinner or furniture. I want to help.
“What?” I ask, crossing my arms over my chest as I stand next to him. Paul lets out a low sigh.
“You can’t pay for everything all the time, Dre.”
“Says who?” I ask.
Paul sighs, meeting my gaze, giving me the middle finger as he brings his mug to his lips with his other hand.
“I’m just saying…”
“Stop worrying about what I’m doing with my money, Paul. You have enough shit going on. Just worry about that.”
He narrows his gaze at me, but it isn’t angry. It’s sarcastic, maybe even a little humorous.
And oddly attractive.
“But it’s so much easier to complain about you spending money on me,” he pouts.
“You want me to get you a therapist?”“Oh, fuck you,” he says, throwing his muffin wrapper at me.
I laugh, snatching it from the air and tossing it into the trash.