Homeless

Chapter 36

Monday morning rolls around and I wake up to the sound of commotion downstairs. I realize Danielle is not laying next to me so I head downstairs to see what she's up to.

"Dani?" I ask as I come down the stairs. It's only 5 in the morning but all the lights in the kitchen are on and Danielle is cooking.

"My love, what are you doing?"

"Oh hey," she says, looking up from the pot she is stirring. "I'm just packing up some food for Asher to take today."

"Dani," I say as I take a seat at the island. "They're gonna have food there."

"Yeah, but what if he doesn't like it? I know he really liked the chicken I made last week so I made a few servings of it."

I chuckle a little. "I think you're doing too much. I went to that rehab when I was getting clean. The food there was great. Not as great as yours but still pretty good."

"I just want to make sure he's okay Derek. I packed a small cooler with some meals and cupcakes to get him through the first week."

"He'll be fine baby." I pull out my phone to double check that all of Asher's paperwork is filled out. When he came to stay with us last week, I also updated his pickup location to Dani's house. His pickup time is 8am.

"What can I help with?" I ask, putting my phone down.

"I think everything is pretty much done." Dani scoops the bit of rice she was cooking into a large Pyrex container. "I'm just gonna clean up everything and relax until it's time to wake up Asher."

"How long have you been up?" I ask. I stand up from my seat and walk over to the stove to stand next to Dani.

"Mmm... since 2." She smiles weakly and I shake my head. It's 5am.

"Why don't you go lay down?" I place my hand on her waist then slowly slide it down. "I'll clean up the kitchen and when it's 7, I'll wake both you and Asher up. Does that sound okay?"

"That actually sounds wonderful." Danielle let's out a small yawn. She places the pot she's holding down and leans into me. "Thank you Derek."

"You're welcome." I lean down to place a small kiss in her lips and she returns the kiss with a deeper one of her own. She places one hand behind my head and locks me in.

"Go to bed," I say laughing. My mouth is against hers and I can feel her smiling.

"Can't wait til we have the house to ourselves again," she says naughtily.

"Gooo," I say. I give her butt a small squeeze and she finally lets go.

"Thanks again Derek." A few moments later she is back up the stairs and I get to work cleaning the kitchen.

It's 6:50 in the morning when I finish cleaning the kitchen. I've also made a small breakfast of eggs, bacon and buttermilk pancakes. I place everything in the oven so that it will stay warm then decide to go wake up Asher so Danielle can get a few more minutes of sleep.

"Asher?" I knock on his door. "You awake?"

"Come in," he says from inside his room. When I go inside, I don't immediately see Asher.

"I'm down here," he says softly. I follow his voice to find him sitting against a wall with his knees drawn to his chest.

"You okay dude?" I ask him. I slide down the wall and sit next to him.

"Not really," he says. I can tell he's starting to  hyperventilate.

"Just breathe slowly Asher." I rest my hand on his back and he calms down a little. I give it another minute before I talk again.

"Are you worried about rehab?"

He nods a little. "Yeah. I'm scared to be honest. I don't know what to expect. And then I'm scared I won't have a home to come back to. So much is going to change." He rocks back and forth a little and begins to breathe faster.

"Asher, I promise you it's going to be okay. I wouldn't send you there if I didn't think this was the absolute, best thing for you at this time. And as for your home, this is your home now. For as long as you want it to be. Danielle adores you."

"Does she really?" Asher looks at me hopeful.

"Absolutely. She wants you here for as long as you'll stay." We sit for a few moments before I speak again. "Are you all packed?"

"Pretty much," Asher says. "Just need to pack my toiletries once I'm done getting ready and I'll be good to go."

"Okay." I stand up. Asher does too. "You work on that and I'm gonna go wake up Danielle. I made some breakfast for you too so don't take too long."

Asher gives me a small smile. "I'll be down in a few."

Danielle's POV

It's 8am when the van comes to get Asher and I'm surprised at how emotional I am.

"You have our numbers written down right?" I ask Asher. We are standing outside my house while one of the workers takes Asher's bags and places them into the back of the bus.

"I want you to call us as soon as you can to let us know you're okay."

"I promise I will."

I can't help the tears that are coming to my eyes for this kid that I just met. He's already gone through so much and yet also has a long way to go. I'm glad he's getting the help he needs but I also worry if he'll be okay.

I gently place my hands on either side of Asher's face. "And you know that you always have a home here right? When you're done with rehab, I want you to come back." I pause and my voice cracks as I try to speak again. "Hopefully you'll want to come back."

Asher hugs me suddenly and I hug him back. "I would love to come back. Thank you for everything Dani."

I fight back my tears as Derek and Asher say their goodbyes.

"See you guys soon." Asher waves us goodbye as he steps onto the bus.

Derek and I wave back as the bus disappears into the distance.

"Gosh, I'm gonna miss that kid. How long is the program?"

"It's adaptive and based on each person's needs. So he could be there as little as a month or up to a year. Just depends on the progress he makes."

"A year?!" I ask in shock.

Derek grabs my hand. "I doubt he'll be gone more than a month baby. He's motivated and wants to quit. He's already overcome the hardest part."

I let out a sigh. "Well, I'm gonna hope for the best."

"That's all we can do."