Eleven | Lyric
Eleven
Lyric
I was sitting on the bed, forcing the tears to stop, when there was a knock at the door.
“Just a minute,” I answered, jumping up to toss the used tissues in the trash and check my reflection in the mirror. The last thing I wanted was for the kids to see me upset.
I wiped under my eyes, getting rid of the smudge of mascara before fanning my face with my hands. It was pointless because it was very obvious that I had been crying. I rolled my eyes and walked out of the en suite bathroom into the bedroom and did my best to gather myself. “Come in.”
“Hey,” Cole said as he stepped inside and closed the door behind him. “I wanted to come check on you and see how you were doing.”
“I’m fine,” I answered quickly, the fake smile giving me away.
He raised an eyebrow and cocked his head to the side as he called me on it.
“Lyric...”
“Don’t,” I whispered, holding up my hand to stop him as a fresh batch of tears pooled in my eyes. “I’m fine. Really.”
He pressed his tongue into the side of his cheek and tipped his head back in frustration.
“I’m going to do something, and it’s probably going to piss you off, but I don’t care.”
I pulled my head back in confusion, but before I could figure out what he meant, he was standing in front of me with his arms wrapped around me.
The smell of his cologne mixed with the scent of fresh laundry from his t-shirt catapulted me back to when we first started dating.
I wrapped my arms around his waist and held onto him, allowing myself the comfort I had been needing for so long.
We didn’t speak as he stood there and held me, not at all bothered by the soft sobs that managed to escape, even when I tried to stop them.
I knew that I didn’t deserve this level of affection from him after everything I had done over the last six years, but I also couldn’t pull away from him.
Cole had always been like a magnet for me, drawing me in and keeping me close to him.
“It’s not always going to be like this,” he said softly as he rubbed my back. “It will get better. I promise.”
I pulled my head back enough to look up at him and nod because he was right. It didn’t matter how I felt about things because I had three very special people I needed to worry about instead.
*****************************
The rest of the day went surprisingly well.
Kara helped me clean and organize the guest bathroom, and I loved how excited she was when I told her she could have one of the extra bottles of body wash I had.
She had also helped me organize the master bathroom, which I had cleaned when I first got there, but hadn’t had a chance to unpack much.
Her eyes had lit up when she arranged the different bath products around the large soaking tub that had never been there before.
I knew Clay had been working with Cole to remodel the house before he moved in with the kids, but I had no idea a soaking tub had been on his radar.
I made several notes on what Kara liked as we worked together, and I planned to get her some new stuff the next time I went to the store.
I also felt like she was more drawn to me because I was a woman and she hadn’t had one in her life since her mother died—aside from Cole’s mother, who was an absolute gem.
Spending the day with Kara had been like a breath of fresh air I hadn’t realized I needed.
Once we were done, we went to the living room and helped Cole and Ben finish building the entertainment center.
It was massive, but compared to the giant TV hanging from the wall, it was the perfect fit.
I didn’t know what Cole had planned for the entertainment center, but I envisioned it storing plenty of board games and maybe some video games now that I knew Ben liked to play them.
We always had family game nights when I was growing up, so I wanted to continue that tradition with the kids.
While it would never bring their father back, I wanted to share something he loved when he was their age with them.
The idea of a family game night had been tickling my mind all day, ever since I found the board games in one of the boxes I was unpacking this morning.
“So,” I said nervously as we all gathered in the living room while Chloe curled up beside Kara on the new sectional. “I was thinking, if you guys were interested, maybe we could have a family game night tonight?”
I held my hands in front of me to keep from fidgeting. Kara and Chloe smiled up at me as they both nodded, but my heart sank when my eyes shifted to find Ben looking away from me with his jaw tense.
Okay. So maybe this was a bad idea after all.
I heard Cole clear his throat, but didn’t look at him as I tried to focus on Chloe and Kara instead. Their smiles kept me grounded so the emotion I was trying to hide didn’t rush to the surface.
“Family game night sounds awesome,” Ben said, taking me by surprise.
My attention shifted to find him smiling—not much, but still a smile—at me.
“Really?” I asked, knowing how desperate I sounded, but not caring.
“Yeah.” He shrugged. “I think it would be fun.”
“Do we have any games to play?” Kara asked.
“Go fishy!!” Chloe exclaimed excitedly.
I looked at Cole, my brows wrinkling slightly in confusion.
“We don’t have the fish game here, munchkin,” he said as he walked past and ruffled her hair. “I’ll ask Nana to bring it tomorrow.”
“Shoot,” I said, more to myself than anyone. “The games I have might be a little advanced for Chloe.”
“What are they?” Ben asked, surprising me again with how involved he was in the conversation.
I knew Cole had talked to him, but I was curious what he said to get Ben to drop the walls he’d been putting up around me.
“Well, I have Monopoly,” I said, holding up my finger as I tried to remember all five of the games I had seen earlier. “I also have Battleship, Scrabble, and I forget the others. I can go grab them real quick.”
“I think Monopoly would be fun,” Ben said, nodding to Chloe. “Do you want to be my partner again, and we can steal all of Uncle Cole’s money?”
“Yes!!” Chloe shrieked with pure happiness on her adorable little face.
“You guys play Monopoly?” I asked, loving the way Ben was grinning.
“On occasion. Dad used to try to get us to play board games, but things got a little busy the past few years, so there wasn’t as much time. We played a lot when we were little.”
My face fell as I put two and two together.
Things got a little busy the past few years, so there wasn’t as much time. We played a lot when we were little.
Before their mom died.
“It’s okay, Aunt Lyric,” Ben said softly, catching me by surprise again. “You didn’t know.”
I shook my head and smiled at him, thankful that he was being so open with me.
No, but I should have. Clay was my brother. I owed it to him to be more involved in his life. I owed it to all of them to be more involved, but I wasn’t.
“But,” he continued, a cheeky smile crossing his lips that reminded me so much of his dad. “I can’t promise to take it easy on you. Chloe and I play to win.”
He winked at his sister, who attempted to return it but just blinked both eyes instead.
“Oh, it is so on,” I teased, the anxiety and fear of not knowing what I was doing starting to dissipate. My shoulders lowered as I took in a calming breath and pushed it out. “I was the reigning champion in my family for years.”
“Your dad actually had to come live with me for a while,” Cole added, scrunching his face. “That was how bad Aunt Lyric beat him. She didn’t just bankrupt him in the game...”
“You’re such a terrible liar,” Kara told him with a giggle. “I told you, your eyes give you away. We can always tell when you’re pulling our legs.”
Cole shrugged, but I loved the way he was looking at the kids. There was so much love there that I knew they would never go a day without feeling it.