It was a couple days later, and Nelson was already leaving. Which broke my heart of course, and I didn't expect it to come so soon.
I took a few days off to spend some much needed time with him and Zoe, and gave Brennan's case to Kimmy until I could get back to it.
"Have all your things?" I ask Nelson, who put his last suitcase in the back of his car. I was holding Zoe, who was, frankly, more sad than I was about Nelson's departure.
He shuts the car's trunk door and looks over to Zoe and I. He nods sadly. "Everything's all packed and ready to go."
I feel a few tears quickly run down my cheeks, and Nelson walks over to me, pulling me into a hug and being mindful of Zoe.
"Just for a few months. I'll call you two every single chance I get. Alright?" He promises us, and I nod, leaning up slightly to plant one last final goodbye kiss on his lips.
After a few seconds, he pulls away, planting one last gentle kiss on my forehead and reaches for Zoe.
I let him hold her in his arms for a hug, and she's sobbing into his shoulder, easily soaking the fabric of his shirt.
"Be good for your mom, okay Zoe Bear?" He gently tells her, and she just continues crying.
He reluctantly hands her back over to me, her shrieking possibly getting louder since she had to let go.
"Call me when you get there. Be safe, okay?" I bite my lip, and he nods to me. Giving me a soft and reassuring smile.
I watch, feeling helpless as he steps into his car, starts the engine, and drives away with a wave.
I hear Zoe sniffling softly into my shirt now, and I walk inside, not wanting to stand out in my driveway anymore.
I can tell both Zoe and I are tired and are in desperate need for a nap.
I walk into Zoe's room, setting her down in her bed, and she doesn't comply. She kicks and yells in my ear.
"Zoe, you need to take a nap." I tell her, and she shakes her head.
"Fine. If you won't nap in here then you're going to nap with me." I walk out of her room, making sure to shut her door.
I make my way over to my room instead, laying us both down on my bed. I tuck us underneath the sheets, and she cuddles close to me.
I grab my phone and send a quick text to Kimmy.
Me: Nelson just left for his job. If you come over later me and Zoe might be asleep in my room, just a heads up.
I don't bother to wait for a response and shut off my phone, connecting it to a charger. I rest my head in my pillow and sleep quickly swallows me up.
———
I feel a little poke on my cheek, and my eyes slowly flutter open. They still feel heavy from crying when Nelson left.
I see Zoe staring at me through her big green eyes.
"KimKim and B made food." She tells me.
B? Who the hell was B?
I hear my door creak slightly open, and I look over to see Kimmy smiling at me, holding a cup of some drink.
She walks over to me, and I sit up. She hands me the cup, which is thankfully orange juice.
"Before you get upset, I was doing an appointment with Brennan and he saw the text you sent through my phone. He insisted on coming with me, so he's here. He's been watching Zoe for about an hour."
Oh, so that's who 'B' was.
"Are you kidding me?" I wince when my head starts to throb. Probably from the lack of nutrients. I take a sip of my orange juice.
"I wish. I tried to tell him no so many times but that man doesn't listen." She rolls her eyes, clearly annoyed. "I was about to whoop his a-butt." She glances over to my daughter, catching her language just in time.
"At least you tried. Thank you." I tell her honestly, and she nods.
A knock at the open bedroom door brought my attention there, and sure enough, he was here. And as angry as I was about him not listening to Kimmy, I was simply too sad and depressed to give a shit.
"Sleep well?" Brennan asks, clearly concerned. I just roll my eyes and shrug. I slept alright. It wasn't the best sleep I had ever gotten though.
Zoe jumps off the bed and runs over to Brennan, and he quickly picks her up. That action between the two is one of the things I don't mind. If Zoe wanted to be picked up by him then she could.
"I made some food. Probably not as good as Nelson's cooking since he seems to be a chef, but it's edible." Kimmy looks back over to me after glaring at Brennan, and I give a soft chuckle.
"Edible? You actually made something edible?" I tease, and she smacks me across the head, making me laugh harder.
"Don't tease me you whore."
"Watch your language in front of Zoe, you hoe." Kimmy smiles and I push the bed sheets off of me, stepping out of my bed.
I caught a glance of myself in a mirror, and needless to say, I looked horrible.
I know I haven't been sleeping well ever since Nelson told me the news of him leaving, but I didn't even think of the effect it would have on my body. My ashy hair was messy, dark bags under my swollen eyes, and oversized clothing. In fact I was wearing his shirt that he'd left behind just for me to have.
I wish I could actually care about my appearance though.
I walk out of my bedroom with Kimmy, Brennan already gone and in some other room with Zoe.
I walk to the kitchen, and Kimmy put together ramen.
I smile, and take a bowl. On a normal day I would not let her live this down, but I just simply wanted to eat and take my mind off today's events, even if that meant eating Kimmys barely edible ramen.
"Hey, I know what you're thinking. It's 'ugh I gotta eat this bitches inedible ramen for the thousandth time. Why thank you Kimmy, I appreciate your effort.'" Kimmy gives me an over dramatic bow, and I roll my eyes.
"Sure. We can have it your way." I tell her, grabbing both of us a fork.
She gratefully takes it and sits down on a stool. I stand on the other end of the counter, digging into the ramen.
"So, Brennan just basically followed you here?" I ask quietly, making sure no one in any other room would be able to hear. And by no one, I mean Brennan.
She nods, her eyes narrowing. "I almost yelled at him for looking at my phone in the first place. Like, a little privacy please?" She scoffs, taking another bite of her ramen.
I purse my lips, sighing, then I shook my head. "I'm going to let him know he can't do that again. Technically it's on the list. Rule number seven, no showing up to my place unannounced."
"He already violated a rule?" She makes an uneasy face.
"I guess. I'm not surprised though. Maybe I should lay down my foot harder."
"Ya think?" She shakes her head.
"You made ramen?" I look over to Brennan as he enters the room, Zoe holding his hand.
I nod and carefully watch them, noticing how Zoe is quickly getting more and more comfortable around him. It made me uncomfortable yet relieved at the same time.
I walk to a cupboard and open it, grabbing one of Zoe's small bowls. I hand it to Brennan, and he gratefully takes it from me.
I ignore the tips of our fingers touching. He puts a little ramen into her bowl and I show him where the utensils are. He takes a little fork and leads her over to the table, and begins talking to her while she's eating. Zoe becomes totally engrossed into her toddler conversation with him, and I don't interfere.
I look to Kimmy, and she's narrowing her eyes at me, watching me carefully.
"What?" I whisper to her as I begin eating at my spot on the counter once again.
She takes a bite of her ramen. "Nothing."
———
(You know that feeling you get when you're such in the mood to write, but then you can't because you've been stuck in a horrible writers block? Yeah lol that's been me)