I'm With You

Chapter 33

"You guys know each other?" Miguel asked, shocked and it was clear that Donna was confused too. Lauren slowly pulled away from Eira, who was wincing and let a small whimper escape her lips because hugging her had pulled on her stitches.

"Babe, you remember when I told you about when I went to the store, and the old man was yelling at a homeless girl so I went to the camping store next door and bought what I could?" Lauren asked and Donna's eyes widened, Miguel's too as they could fill in the blanks.

"You're the one that bought us the blanket and the food?" Mackenzie asked, shocked and Lauren nodded her head.

"You didn't even stay long enough for me to thank you." Eira breathed and Lauren smiled.

"Because I didn't do it to get thanks, I did it because that guy was a fucking douche and you deserved better," Lauren said and Eira smiled, fighting back tears.

"Well, thank you," Eira said.

"You're welcome." Lauren breathed, rubbing her arm. "Let's get you inside, you need to stay off your feet." Lauren encouraged, letting Miguel be the one to unlock the front door to Lloyd and Darlene's house and Eira was relieved to sit down on the couch, even though her wound ached painfully. The house was bigger than what was needed for just the two of them, but it made the whole open-plan downstairs area bright and colorful. It was decorated with family pictures and pieces of art, bookcases overflowing with books and movies. Eira recognized pictures of Cody from the one picture she'd seen of him as Miguel's lock screen - he was a beautiful little boy. It made her think of her own pregnancy, how she knew each day she got to be pregnant was a blessing - their child was a miracle and he or she wasn't even born yet. It was also strange to think that where she was, would be her home for the next couple of weeks at the very least, and then she'd have a home with Miguel, somewhere to raise their child.

"Would you like a drink, sweetheart?" Darlene offered, but Eira shook her head.

"No, thank you." She said, watching as Mackenzie got up to follow Darlene to the kitchen area which led on from the living room. There was a wide archway that separated the two rooms from each other, but it was otherwise a completely open room with just a dining table between the couches and the archway.

"I was thinking we could take Mackenzie out tomorrow to get some clothes and necessities whilst you rest here, I'm sure she could pick out clothes that you would like but then we can take you out when you're feeling better?" Lloyd suggested and Eira nodded her head as Mackenzie came back over to her with a glass of water. They hadn't had much more to drink over the years than water, it was the cheapest thing to buy.

"Y-Yeah, but I don't want you spending a lot of money on us..."

"You don't have much of a choice right now, sweetheart. We're offering to do all of this because we want to, not because we have to. You're family now - both of you." Darlene said softly and Eira sighed, looking down into her lap.

"Don't worry about it, Eira... one day, you'll have an amazing job and you'll be able to treat all of us." Miguel vowed.

"Exactly! A nice meal out sometime can be our repayment." Lloyd agreed and Eira cracked a smile.

"Deal." She agreed.

"And you too, young lady, I want a meal out of you as well," Lloyd said, pointing to Mackenzie who smiled nervously and nodded her head.

"Got it." She agreed.

"So, what is it that you wanna do with yourself, Mackenzie?" Donna asked, an arm around Lauren, and Lauren was curled into her side.

"I don't know... I mean, Eira made sure I kept learning - we used newspapers to make sure I always remembered how to read, I knew math through money but I was ten or eleven years old when we were homeless..." Mackenzie trailed off.

"You're still young, there's plenty of time for that and I'm sure you can both do classes online to get a GED," Lauren assured them, Eira turning her head to look to Miguel.

"Can I go lie down?" She asked quietly and Miguel nodded his head, able to see that being sat up straight was still a little painful for her.

"Come on, baby girl." Miguel breathed, helping her to stand. "I'm taking Eira up to her room."

"She's got your old room, honey," Darlene said and Miguel nodded, Eira squeezing Mackenzie's shoulder to silently assure her that she was okay as she passed and she headed up the stairs with Miguel, who guided her into his old bedroom. It was grey and cream as a color scheme and obviously redecorated since Miguel had moved out, but it was bright but not overly big.

"You like it?" He asked.

"It's beautiful... it's just strange to be in a house." Eira admitted.

"I bet, but you'll get used to it... get some rest, baby girl." Miguel said softly, kissing her softly after helping her to lie down.

"Ugh, it's soft," Eira mumbled and Miguel chuckled.

"I'll make sure our mattress is firmer, but you're gonna have to put up with this for now." Miguel teased. "Love you."

"Love you." Eira breathed, closing her eyes as Miguel left her alone to rest.