I'll Be There

15 | loyalty

As the natural light flooded into the room, Spencer squeezed his eyes shut against the brightness. Rolling over, he pulled the covers over his head and made a mental note to invest in heavier curtains.

He got approximately thirty more seconds of shut eye before a dip in the bed caused him to reemerge. Blinking against the daylight, he took a second to identify the figure in front of him.

"Liv?"

After their movie morning had turned into a movie day the day before, he wasn't expecting to see her again so soon.

"It's game day, baby!" she cheered as she held up a paper bag from his favorite breakfast spot.

He stared at her in awe, a wide grin breaking out on his face as he propped himself up onto his elbow.

"Remind me to change the gate and door codes later today," he laughed, his voice still deep with sleep.

Crawling closer, she brought her face inches away from his. "No," she smirked, her eyes challenging him to say something. When he didn't, she stuck out her tongue before pushing herself back.

"Now, I made you some breakfast for the big day," she carried on, reaching for one of the trays she had brought up with her.

"Made?" he raised his eyebrows at the bag she was currently pulling wrapped sandwiches from.

"Made. Bought. Same thing," she brushed him off. "You have to be well-rested and well-fed for today."

"Liv, how many times are we going to go over this? I'm not playing," he groaned as he lay back onto the bed, flinging his left arm over his face.

"Doesn't matter."

Disregarding the melodrama, she pulled his arm away from his face and placed a bacon, egg, and cheese in his hand. "Eat up. We can't have you looking weak on the sidelines."

Playing or not, he wasn't one to deny food. He shifted into a seated position and slowly started to unwrap the warm sandwich. The delicious aroma already making him forget that he wouldn't be suiting up in a few hours.

"Wait!" she yelled, startling him. "The tray," she said softly, sliding a wooden tray onto his lap.

Confused by the outburst, he gaped at her as she took another bite of her sandwich and smiled back at him.

"We don't want crumbs," she shrugged.

"I don't know whether to call you amazing or just crazy," he kept his eye on her while he cautiously went to unwrap his breakfast a second time.

"A little bit of both," she grinned, sticking her hand into the bag and pulling out a tatter tot. Remembering the rest of the order, she twisted her torso to reach for the nightstand, "Ah! And I got us smoothies!"

"Oh, definitely amazing," he chuckled, taking the cold drink from her.

While they ate, Olivia kept sneaking glances at him. Her goal was to keep him smiling as long as possible because once he was down on that sideline, she wouldn't be able to keep his spirits high.

It wasn't that she thought he was depressed or anything. It was clear by the way he talked that he was truly managing okay. But emotional progress aside, she still wanted him to have a good day.

"Thank you," Spencer said once there was nothing but air coming through his straw.

"Of course," Olivia smiled, lifting herself off the bed. She collected all the trash and took it downstairs to the kitchen.

When she got back, she found him still in bed.

"Time to get up," she sang, grabbing the edge of the comforter and pulling it off of him.