Absence

6

He didn't seem to want to say anything else, but sat looking at me like I was a wounded puppy. Funny how that's how he see's me now, isn't it?

"While you're around you should probably sign that vacant space on his birth certificate." I muttered.

"I'm here to stay Flint."

"Yeah, well you said that last time and here we are Casper Woods."

He just looked at me again, nodding slowly. I put my beer bottle down, burying my face in my hands with the sudden overwhelming urge to sob.

I felt his hand slowly start to rub my back, and I immediately wrapped my arms around his neck and buried my face in his shoulder.

Yeah, I'm fucking pissed at him, but I missed him so damn much.

•••

When I woke up with arms around my waist and a body pressed against my own, I nearly jumped out of my skin. Upon realizing it was Casper, I did jump out of my skin. How the hell did this happen!?

I was too tired to care as I sunk back into bed. At least he's warm. I glanced at the clock on my nightstand and yawned, realizing I had to get Paxton up. I reached for my phone and scrolled through some messages, reading over the ones from Sawyer. Last minute reschedule of a game, so no more baby sitter. Great, that means I have to call Ash... I need to call him anyways.

I pryed myself from Casper's grip, sitting on the edge of my bed and rubbing my face. I'll start making Pax breakfast, and then i'll call Ash... I don't wanna call Ash.

I felt an arm snake around my waist, pulling me closer to him. "Come back to bed baby." He muttered, making me turn too look at him. Did he just call me baby?

"I have to get our son, songbird." I said, looking down at him. He didn't respond to his old nickname, meaning he probably had fallen back asleep. I stood up, letting his arm fall off my waist before I went to go get Pax from his room.

I avoided the creaky boards of his bedroom floor so I wouldn't scare him, but was pleasantly surprised to see my sleepy baby with his eyes open. "Good morning my love." I smiled down at him, making him smile back up at me. He stretched his arms out before reaching out for me to pick him up, making me smile. I love getting him up in the morning, he's so sleepy and cuddly.

"I hungre" he whispered as I kissed his cheek.

"Let's go get some breakfast baby."

I kept him wrapped up in my arms as I brought him downstairs, setting him in his chair. I clicked on the TV in the living room, flipping to the Saturday morning cartoons before I went to go begin to make him breakfast... and call Ash... I sighed, picking up my phone and brining it to my ear. It only rang a couple times before he picked up.

"Go on now, i'm waiting."

I rolled my eyes as I turned on the coffee pot. "I'm sorry."

"For?"

"Yelling at you."

"And?"

"Kicking you out of my house."

"Thank you. I suppose i'm also sorry for threatening to beat the shit out of that god awful man."

"He's changed you know..." I sighed, walking over to my fridge to get out the waffles. "I wouldn't say that if I didn't actually mean it."

"Yeah, I know. But i'll believe it when I see it."

"Fair enough." I sighed, popping the waffles in the toster. "Can you do me a favor?"