“Give your mother a kiss,” Justin says. Dylan comes over, and I kiss his head.
“I’ll meet you in bed.” He leans down and kisses me.
I get up and make sure all the lights are turned off and go wait in bed. I lie down, looking toward the door as I wait for him to walk in. After thirty minutes, I get up and walk into Dylan’s room, and they are both sleeping. Justin has Dylan tucked in beside him. I walk out and go to our bed and try to sleep, and after tossing and turning, he finally walks into the room.
“I fell asleep,” he says, crawling into bed and taking me into his arms. He falls asleep as soon as his head hits the pillow, and soon after, I’m falling asleep myself.
When his alarm goes off at four, he turns it off, and instead of going to work out, we get lost in each other. Our hands are hungry for each other, and for two hours, all we do is live in the moment. “I need a nap.”
“So sleep,” he says, getting out of bed, and I look at him.
“I have to go to work today,” I say, and he shakes his head.
“You’re not going back there,” he says, and I sit up, holding the sheet to my chest.
“Excuse me?” I say, and he looks over at me as he puts his boxers on. I hate that he’s so good looking and that I love him when he starts to get bossy.
“I don’t want you going back there,” he says, and I get out of bed, walking to put something on.
“I have a job,” I say. “A job that I need.”
“Yeah, and your ex who is slightly unstable is out to get you, so I don’t think you going back there is a smart thing to do.” It bothers me even more when he makes sense.
“I need to work, Justin,” I say, and he shocks me.
“Come work for me,” he says, and I glare at him.
“I need someone to take Amy’s place.” He slips on his shorts. “Do you want coffee?”
“Justin, I already live with you,” I say, and he kisses my neck while he walks out and I slip on the shirt he was wearing last night. “I can’t work for you.” I follow him out of the bedroom and to the kitchen.
“If it makes you feel better, you wouldn’t be working for me,” he says, starting the coffee. “You would be working for my foundation.”
“You know it’s the same thing,” I say. “Plus, now I have to pay for your lawyer.” He slams the cupboard so hard I think it’s going to come off its hinges.
“Don't say that shit again.” He points at me. “Andrew is not your fucking problem.”
“Well, if it wasn’t for me,” I say, and he just glares at me.
“Don’t piss me off, sweetheart,” he says.
“Don’t piss me off, Justin,” I say to him, and then Dylan comes out and rubs his eyes.
“Are we going to camp?” he asks, and Justin shakes his head.
“I’m hungry,” he says, going to the pantry and grabbing a doughnut out of there. He takes a bite and is chewing it on the way back to his room.
“I don’t want you going back there,” he whispers. “What would I tell Dylan if something happened to you?”
“That’s not fair,” I say, refusing to think about it.
“Just think about it,” he says. “Sit down and think about it.”
“Even if I don’t want to, Justin, I have no choice,” I say, and when he starts to say something, I cut him off. “I am not taking money from you.”
“Sweetheart,” he says, and I glare. “Stop being so stubborn.”
“I have to go get ready,” I say to him and walk to the bedroom. With a heavy heart, I get dressed in jeans and a shirt. I kiss Justin and Dylan goodbye and make my way to the church.
When I walk in, Father Rolly is there waiting for me. “Caroline,” he says and comes over to me. “I’ve been thinking about you since Sunday.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t come into work yesterday,” I say, and he waves his hand in the air.
“I read about Justin in the paper.” He starts to say. “You’ll know that I went down to the police station yesterday to give my side of the story. I saw everything and so did a couple of the parishioners.”
“Thank you so much, Father,” I say.
“It’s a shame that his team is suspending him,” he says, and I look at him.
“Sorry, what?” I ask, confused.
“The team put out a statement last night saying that until they get to the bottom of it, he is suspended,” Father Rolly says. My heart sinks, and I sit down in the chair.
I’m about to lose it when the door opens, and I’m suddenly terrified it’s Andrew. My hands start to shake, and I hate to admit that Justin is right. I think I hold my breath until I see it’s Parker with Viktor following her. “What in the world are you guys doing here?” I ask, my heart beating normal now.
“I was going to hit up a meeting,” Viktor says, and I look at him. “I’m three years clean.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t know that,” I say, and I have so many questions. “Father Rolly, this is Justin’s mom, Parker, and his brother-in-law, Viktor.”
“Father,” Viktor says, nodding at him.
“I just found out that Justin is suspended,” I say low and try not to let the tears come, but they do anyway.
“It’s going to be fine,” Parker says, and I nod and look at Father Rolly.
“I’m sorry to do this to you, but,” I say, taking a deep breath, “I can’t work here anymore.” I’m expecting him to be a bit mad, but instead, he smiles. “I know I need the job, but just now, I was shaking thinking that Andrew was walking in here.”
“The job is going to be here no matter how long you decide,” he says, and then I look over at Parker.
“Will you come with me?” I ask and she just smiles. Then I look at Viktor. “Cheryl is going to be here in five minutes. She runs the meeting, and she is amazing.”
“I’ll wait here,” he says and looks at Parker. “You better tell Zoe that you decided to leave me and not that I just dropped you off.”
Parker laughs and goes over to him. “You’re my favorite,” she says. “Don’t tell the others.”
“You know that we talk, right?” Viktor tells her. “Last week, you told Evan he was your favorite.” Parker gasps.
“He was not supposed to tell you that,” she says. “I really mean it with you.”
“That’s what you told Max,” Viktor says, and Parker throws up her hands.
“I’m ready to go.” She turns to me. “We’re leaving.” I walk out, and she gets in the car and puts her seat belt on. “So where are we going?”
“I have a couple of things I have to do, and I would like for you to be there,” I say, and she just smiles. When we pull up to my old apartment I turn off the truck. “This is my place,” I say, and she looks around.
I walk out, and she follows me, and I wonder if she is scared. When we get to my place, we walk up the five flights of stairs. I turn the key and when I walk in, the smell of fresh paint hits us right away. The windows are closed, and the air is thick. I see that the futon is gone, and the mattress is not there either. “This is my home,” I say, turning in a circle. “Not much to see,” I say, laughing with all the nerves. She smiles at me and has tears in her eyes. “Wow, this is harder than I thought,” I say and now it’s me who’s scared. “I love your son.”