I kept checking the time as I worked. It was getting so close to lunch. I’d only been waiting for a few hours, but it felt like it had taken so long and there was still half an hour left to go. I was anxious, but I did my best to hide it.If I’d just been on my desk, it would have been okay, maybe. But the problem was I was still sharing a room with Simon, even though our meeting was long over. He’d insisted I stay and work nearby, and since all my other cases had been cleared so I could focus on this one, I couldn’t even say no, dammit. It was so fucking uncomfortable, because it was a closed office with only the two of us, and I wasn’t used to it. My position in the company was still pretty low, so I had a desk, but it was on an open floor where my area was separated from others by some partitions, and that was it.Having a door between me and the rest of the floor was a bit strange for me. Especially when I had to be on this side with Simon. He was minding his own business while wo
I was lazing around the house again. I fucking felt the need to do it. While I was in the joint just doing your own thing was a fucking luxury. I wasn’t obligated to stay indoors just because I was on parole, and I could probably track a few of the people I used to hang out with before, but the idea wasn’t appealing, not one bit.More importantly, it had been a few days, and Claire was still too busy with work to go to the hospital with me. I had hoped, the day she said she’d meet me at the hospital at lunch, that I could just go and meet her there when she went. I should have gone alone in the morning, but I chickened out again.It wasn’t easy, though. I could remember having this feeling of helplessness before, when I’d thought I was in for a good basketball career, only to get hit with a serious injury. This situation was wholly different, but just like then, I didn’t have the confidence to make a move.“Ugh,” I groaned, jumping off the couch.Over the past few days, I’d been alter
I let Hannah lead me through the hospital. We didn’t go far, stopping at what looked to be the cafeteria. There were a few people around, patients sitting with people in street clothes and chatting. She led me to an empty table and had me sit, then sat down across from me.“Would you like something to eat?” she asked, arching her eyebrows.I frowned. I hadn't eaten, but I honestly didn’t feel like it. Especially not after seeing Dad looking like that.“No, thank you,” I said.“The food here isn’t as bad as people like to stereotype,” she said. “Are you sure you won’t be having any?”I nodded quietly, ducking my head to stare at the tabletop. I fidgeted with my hands on the table, curling and uncurling my fingers from around each other. I hadn't seen or spoken to Hannah longer than Dad, and though she was my Hannah, I didn’t know how to approach and talk to her most of the time, and the reverse was probably true. In the time since she’d gotten married to Dad I’d only talked to her a fe
I raised my arms, stretching my body out. Then I twisted and rotated my head, trying to get a crick out of my neck. I rubbed both my shoulders, and leaned back against my seat once again.Simon had just stepped out of the room, and I was taking it as a momentary break. I couldn’t help but be cautious around him, so there was no way for me to relax with him there. I didn’t know how long I had, though.“What time is it, even,” I muttered to myself, pulling my phone out.I was too afraid to even use my phone and I’d left my watch in my hurry to get to work this morning. I had no idea what time it was, but it had to be really late because it had been dark outside for a while. The lights in the room were on, but the blinds hadn't been let down so I could look out the window at the dark night. Even other buildings around us had their lights off.I checked the time and winced.Shit!It was nine and I was still stuck at the office! This was becoming a reoccurring thing in an annoying way. It
I was sleeping in my own bed alone, and I had to admit it to myself. It hadn’t been that long yet, but already I was too used to sleeping in the same bed with Rogue. With him gone, it felt so uncomfortable I couldn’t even get a proper sleep. So, when I heard my phone ring on the nightstand, I was only half asleep.“Who could that be this early in the morning,” I muttered to myself.My eyes squinted open. The room was still dark, but it was a little bright, and I could tell it was really early, but it was morning.“Ugh,” I groaned, reaching my hand out from underneath the covers. I was practically curled in on myself because it felt too cold in bed alone. I grabbed the phone and dragged it over to me.The name on the screen woke me up in an instant.Simon?Why the hell was he calling me at six in the morning?I answered the call quickly as I sat up. “Good morning, sir,” I said, clearing my throat as my voice came out a bit hoarse.Why the hell was he calling me so early in the morning
“I didn’t know you knew how to drive. Or that you had a license.”I glanced over at Claire sitting in the passenger seat of her car, for once. I smirked.“I did have a car before, you know. And of course I know how to drive. I got my driver’s license ages ago. I will admit that I didn’t drive around often because I had people to do it for me, but I don’t mind doing this for you.”“What about your injury?”I lost the smirk, wincing at her words as my right knee gave a phantom ache. I removed a hand from the steering wheel to rub it a bit, frowning.“It’s a busted knee, but I did receive treatment for it, you know. I spent a long time on crutches before I could put much weight on it, and it still acts up sometimes, but it’s not like it means I absolutely can't drive.”The most annoying thing was the phantom pain, and I didn’t know when it would attack me, though. It was one of the major reasons why I kept asking other people to drive me around or taking taxis even after I could walk aro
I sat across from Mom at a table in the hospital cafeteria. Rogue wasn’t with us, because he’d volunteered to buy the food for us while the two of us waited.“I hope you weren’t too bored,” Mom said, smiling at me as she braced an elbow on top of the desk and rested her chin in her hand.“We were fine,” I said with a shrug. “It’s not like we’d have anything to do at home, anyway, so it’s better to be nearby, right?”Mom hummed, but didn’t reply, looking away, toward where Rogue was standing, purchasing food for us.Since I didn’t have a job anymore, and I wasn’t exactly in a hurry to be looking for a new one just yet, I’d been appearing at the hospital with Rogue pretty often. Not that we always went together, but it was rarer for one of us to show up alone, so this was something Mom was growing used to. It did bring its own complications, though. Rogue and I had mostly been walking around outside the hospital, since we would only be in the way if all three of us ended up in Richard’
We sat there for a long time after Hannah had left, and Claire didn’t look like she wanted to move. She didn’t even try her drink, just holding it between her palms, warming it up. After a long moment, when I couldn’t stand seeing the lost look on her face anymore, I sighed and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.“Did something happen between you two that I should know about?” I asked. “What were you two talking about before I came back here? Is something wrong that I should know about?”Claire sighed and looked at me, a tiredness in her eyes that hadn't been there before.“It doesn’t matter.”I frowned. “What are you talking about? Of course it matters! Does it have something to do with Dad?”She bit her lip, looking unsure. My heart suddenly felt cold, thinking it might actually have something to do with Dad.He had been getting better recently. He was awake more often, he looked more alert. His face looked fuller, though his color only looked a little better. I wasn’t naïve enough
I lay on the bed, on my side, with pillows stacked around me. It was close to the baby’s due date, so I’d taken my maternity leave. The strain on my body was a lot greater than what I had imagined it would be, even with it being baby number two. The closer to the due date I arrived, the heavier my body felt. Rogue had pretty much confined me to bed rest until our daughter arrived. He took on the role of care giver, when he wasn’t at work, taking care of both Richard and me. When he was away at the Old Blue Tavern, Mom would be here helping me when I felt like I needed to move around to alleviate some pressure.I was being pampered, and even though it got annoying at times, I loved it.“How are you doing?” Rogue asked, walking into the room.We’d had breakfast a while ago, and he’d left to wash the dishes and do some other chores around the apartment while I rested on the bed. He’d put Richard in his playpen in our room so he could see me. I had my eyes closed, though I wasn’t sleeping
“Wake up, Claire,” Rogue murmured in my ear, shaking me awake. “If you don’t get up now you’re going to be late, you know? You’re starting your new job today!”I groaned as I struggled out of my drowsiness. We’d gotten married over the weekend and today was my first day as the new Assistant District Attorney. Rogue had even been considerate enough not to keep me up late last night and he’d done everything with Richard, our nearly two-year-old who we named after his father, including getting up with him at one a.m. This second pregnancy was only a bit less than a couple of months along, so I wasn’t showing yet, and it hadn’t gotten in my way, though I’d still had to report it when I went in for my interview for the ADA position. I had been told it wasn’t an issue, though, and seeing as I had gotten the job, it clearly hadn’t been.Funny how I had been pregnant when I started working as a public defender and now, I’m pregnant again starting as the ADA. I was determined though, to do my
The first day of my new job was coming up. I was so fucking scared. I was going to be a fucking chef at the Old Blue Tavern. Dad and I used to eat there when I was a kid. It was under new ownership now, after it had gone downhill, but I wanted to bring it back to its glory. Make it into a place where I would want my family to come and enjoy. I smiled. My family. Me, Claire, our little Richard, named after my dad, and the new little one on the way. Now, all I had to do was make it perfect.For the first time in my life, I had a purpose and I didn’t feel like the bad apple anymore. If anything the complete opposite. As if for once I could look in the mirror and feel proud about who I was and what I was going to do with my life. This was all new to me, but it filled me up with this crazy warm feeling and I knew that it had everything to do with Claire. Whoever said that love was made for fools, had obviously never been in love. “You coming in here, big boy, or are you going to make me w
“Say what?”I was still a bit dazed from Claire’s confession. “I told you to sit down. But you insisted on standing,” she said as we stood in the living room. I came home and thought that I’ll bring her something that I made this afternoon. It was the best Bouillabaisse that I'd ever made and she was a fan of French cuisine, so I brought it home in between class.“I’m pregnant. We’re going to have a baby.”It was as if she’d rehearsed the speech as she said it, over and over again.We were going to be parents.I was going to be a dad.Shit!“Great,” I said as I lifted her up and hugged her. Fuck, I wish that I was taking acting classes and not culinary, because I was fucking panicking, but I didn’t want her to worry. I wasn’t going to run away from this, but it was a little much to take in. I never thought of becoming a dad, so something like this being sprung at me out of nowhere would obviously be a shock.It was definitely my responsibility, and I really wanted to be with Claire,
I woke up late in the morning. It was something I was growing used to, now that I didn’t have a job to go to. It was a pretty dangerous habit for me to have, since I would end it soon.Especially since I’d finally hit gold. There was no confirmation yet, but I thought I had a pretty good chance. It had been a while since I’d actually worked, though. Not that I stayed idle while I was unemployed, I did some freelance work that brought in a bit of cash every month, since I had nothing to do at home the days Rogue had to go to school, it kept me from being bored, too.We had lasted a longer while than I’d initially thought we would, and I didn’t even have to sell the apartment and move into a smaller one for it. though a part of me felt really guilty, using cash from Richard’s will and life insurance that he’d left to my name to keep us afloat, but I liked to think of it as him looking after us from beyond the grave.The money hadn't run out, because I’d been extra careful with it, but I
A week after Dad passed away, we started preparing for the funeral. Hannah was so distraught over the whole thing that all three of us had to get involved with burying Dad.There was a part of me that felt like, since I was doing this, in a way, I was making up to my dad for being a disappointment. We didn’t get to talk much since I got out of prison, even though I’d gotten to visit him a few times. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to, but either Hannah was talking with him, or he couldn’t speak, even when he was awake.I’d gotten him to look at me, and he didn’t look at me with the disappointment from before, but because he didn’t say it out loud that he forgave me, I couldn’t take it as if he did.At least, he’d looked at peace the last time I saw him, and he seemed to be glad that Claire and I were getting along well when we showed up at his room together.Still, I hadn't done enough for him. Hell, I hadn't done a single fucking thing for him.It was too late to make things up to him.
We woke up in the middle of the night or it could have been the early hours of the morning. Who knew? Claire had nothing in her apartment to tell the time, or even to make it comforting. So, I was at a complete loss, with an aching cock and feeling nauseous from not eating. The thumping on the door that woke us up became louder. It scared me so fucking much. Maybe Kathleen had found out where Claire lived and decided to send some goons over. Shit, why the fuck I hooked up with her at times was beyond my comprehension. She was nothing like the women I normally hooked up with. At least they were a bit polished. Kathleen could easily have passed for a badly dressed drag queen.I shook my head at the idea of her knowing where Claire lived or sending guys to beat me up. Then, I thought that maybe something I had done in the past had come back to haunt me and that I had put Claire in danger.Shit, Claire.The stepsister that I had always thought was so uptight was completely different to wh
I let out a groan of frustration as I threw myself back into the couch. I was at home in my living room, with my laptop open in front of me on the low coffee table. I’d been looking online for jobs, and a while back I found a good lead, and applied. I just got back a reply.It was a bit soon to be getting a reply. If it took a couple weeks to a month, I would feel better about my chances of getting the job. When I saw I’d gotten a reply already, I knew it was bad before I opened it, and sure enough, it was a rejection.“Fuck,” I muttered to myself. “What am I going to do?”It was a bit early to be getting too panicked over this, but I couldn’t not worry about it, either. I’d gotten my paycheck for my last month of work at the company. I didn’t miss how I didn’t get any commission out of the job I had been working on with Simon, even though I’d done considerable work on it. I at least got paid for all the overtime I’d pulled. I couldn’t go back there and complain or they’d just slap me
We sat there for a long time after Hannah had left, and Claire didn’t look like she wanted to move. She didn’t even try her drink, just holding it between her palms, warming it up. After a long moment, when I couldn’t stand seeing the lost look on her face anymore, I sighed and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.“Did something happen between you two that I should know about?” I asked. “What were you two talking about before I came back here? Is something wrong that I should know about?”Claire sighed and looked at me, a tiredness in her eyes that hadn't been there before.“It doesn’t matter.”I frowned. “What are you talking about? Of course it matters! Does it have something to do with Dad?”She bit her lip, looking unsure. My heart suddenly felt cold, thinking it might actually have something to do with Dad.He had been getting better recently. He was awake more often, he looked more alert. His face looked fuller, though his color only looked a little better. I wasn’t naïve enough