"Babe, you're so hot." Vic commented, after the buzzing of my phone had woken the both of us up.
It was only seven-thirty and I didn't care whom it was- I wasn't going to pick up my phone at such an ungodly hour. So I just rolled over and crawled into my sweet, sexy, comfortable boyfriend. . . I mean husband.
God, I still had to get used to that.
I smirked as I nuzzled my face into his chest. "You're pretty hot yourself." I told him, running a finger around in circles on his chest.
He chuckled lightly. "I appreciate the compliment, but that's not what I meant." He said.
He then moved his hand up to brush the hair out of my face and placed his palm gently on my forehead. "You're seriously burning up. . . are you feeling okay?"
I frowned a little and nodded, moving away so I could look up at him. "Yeah, I'm feeling fine." I simply told him, and at the time it was the truth. Well, mostly, anyway.
Vic's mouth opened, probably about to ask me whether I was sure that I felt fine, but my phone buzzing again cut him off. But this time it was a text message.
I groaned lightly and rolled onto my back so I could reach for the bedside table to grab my phone. The screen lit up and I saw that I had a missed call from Johnnie as well as a text from him.
'I'm dropping off Kyle later. Dunno what's wrong with the kid but he's driving me fucking crazy. You're his mother so deal with it, or else I'll put him in a god damn foster home.'
My eyes widened. "Oh you better fucking not." I barked at the screen of my phone. If he ever even dared to do something like that I would mutilate his package so badly that he'd never be able to father a child again, let alone get it up.
"Babe, what's wrong?" Vic then asked me. I growled without realizing it and showed the text message to Vic. "What the fuck? Can he do that?" He questioned, sounding a little bewildered.
"Sadly, yes." I murmured softly. "He has all of the power. . . I have no say at all over what goes on in Kyle's life."
"Why? You're his mother for crying out loud!"
I let out an exasperated sigh and began to explain the whole thing to him. The truth was, that Johnnie used to be in possession of a number of illegal substances, which he sold to friends and whoever else. One time, briefly after Kyle was born, he was arrested but then released three days later.
Johnnie was convinced I ratted him out so when the cops were ready to come over and arrest him again, he had managed to make it look like it was me all along. And with my shady past of teenage misbehavior, having no home of my own nor a steady income, they took it quite seriously and gave Johnnie full and complete custody over Kyle.
I had basically been trying to win it back ever since.
"Then why don't you get a lawyer and get this going?" Vic then wondered. "I'll pay for the lawyer, that's not a problem. I mean, just think about it. . . you have a steady income now, especially combined with mine. . . we're married so they'll immediately assume that you're in a stable, adult relationship. . . and though officially the house is mine, your name being Fuentes now and all that, technically it's yours too. You have bettered yourself and have enough proof to show it to the court. You can get Kyle back and be rid of Johnnie, just like that."
"I can't just get rid of Johnnie." I mumbled sadly, earning me a confused look from Vic. "My son needs a father figure in his life."
As if on queue, Vic shot me a deadpanned look. "The way he talks about the kid, he isn't exactly worthy of the title." He pointed out.
I crossed my arms over my chest and groaned. "Yes, well. . . still." I stressed. "Do you know what happens to children who don't have a father in their life? They end up in juvie! They do drugs! They spend the rest of their lives waitressing at a shitty diner with no actual future in sight!"
Vic sat up and scooted closer beside me, starting to rub my arms up and down while I ranted. "Baby, I think you're just projecting because of your own dad. Some kids turn out just fine without having a father figure around." He stated calmly.
"I am not projecting!" I defended, waving my arms around in frustration. "Why, huh? Is Kyle not good enough because he was unplanned and he's bad at math? Is it because he doesn't like to read the bible and rather explores his creative side?" I sighed deeply, finally starting to realize what I was doing. "Okay fine, I am projecting. But really. . ."
Vic kissed my cheek in an attempt to calm me down a little. I just sighed in response.
"Baby, calm down, please. It's not as bad as it all sounds." He then assured me. "And you know that I am more than willing to fill that spot in Kyle's life. He's a great kid and I know that he likes me. . . remember when he asked me if I could be his dad?"
I chuckled a little. "Yeah, I remember."
"Well then, why not? Technically speaking I'm already the kid's stepdad, so. . ."
Vic had a legitimate point; I'll give him that. And it had been my goal since the beginning to get Kyle back. I just never added getting married to whoever I'd move in with to my calculations, but hey, shit happens. . . and sometimes good shit happens.
"I want to talk to Kyle about it first, though." I then said. "He may be a kid, but I feel that he's old and smart enough to not have big decisions like that be made for him."
Vic nodded in agreement. "We'll do that, and you're also staying home today." He decided, just like that.
My eyes widened. "What? No." I simply told him.
I was about to protest some more, but Vic was having none of it. "You have a fever, I can tell. . ." He started as he began to tuck me into bed again. "So you're staying right here while I call your boss and make you some chicken noodle soup."
I had never taken a sick day off before. Mostly because I never got sick. I just used other excuses to get out of work earlier, or to get in later. Sure, I caught the common cold on a regular basis, but I never actually got sick. I had only gotten sick in the past from hangovers or the first few weeks when I was pregnant with Kyle.
Vic kissed my forehead and smiled. "I'll make sure you won't get any sicker." He then told me.
I just rolled my eyes at him. I didn't feel that sick. Not at all, really. Apart from my stomach churning a little. . . but I've had worse.
"I'll be in the kitchen. If you need anything, just yell."
I sighed, shaking my head a little. "I'll be fine, you idiot."
He just smiled and gave me a quick nod. "Alright, well. . . I love you."
How the hell did I ever even get this lucky? Good things like this didn't usually last. So mentally I basically prepared myself for whatever shit the world would decide to throw at me after this.