by Alison Mello
“Mommy, Mommy! I did it, I slept all night in Stephan’s room.” He’s so excited he’s jumping up and down.
“Good job, buddy. Mommy missed you.” She scoops him up and wraps him in a big hug.
“Mikey, can I run something by you in the office?” Logan taps me on the arm with the back of his hand.
“Yeah sure. Baby, I’ll be right back.”
I follow Logan to his home office on the second floor. He shuts the door, locking it behind him so we aren’t disturbed. “Have you spoken to her yet?”
“I brought her to my place last night and showed her what I did in Ryker’s room. They’re spending the weekend with me, but that’s as far as I got.”
He sighs and crosses his arms at his chest. “I heard from Cooper.” He lowers his voice.
“Her ex is not a nice guy. He was in jail for some pretty nasty things.”
“Was?” I question. “If it was nasty, then why is he out?”
“He was accused of breaking and entering as well as attempted rape, but they didn’t have enough proof to nail him on the attempted rape. Cooper says this isn’t the first time he’s been accused of rape, either.”
My brows furrow. “Did he rape Shelly?”
Logan puts a hand on my shoulder. “It doesn’t look that way. The reports seem to be after Shelly ran. He’s been out for two months, Mikey. You need to get them protection. Get them to move in with you. It’s not safe for them at her place.”
“Do you think she knows that he’s out?” I let out a slow, deep breath and shake my head. I know she has no idea because she keeps talking about him like he’s still in.
“You need to tell her.”
Looking out the second floor window to the front yard, I stare, thinking about what to do. “If I tell her this is totally going to freak her out.” I turn to face Logan. “Maybe I can naturally ask her to move in with me. That will buy us some time to figure out what to do.”
“You keep this from her and it’s going to really piss her off.”
I sigh. “I think the dude has been hanging out downstairs from her building. I’ve spotted a car there a few times. Always with someone in it. The same car went speeding off one night while I was kissing Shelly good night. That’s when I became concerned that it had to do with Shelly and I got you the info for Cooper to look into.”
“This isn’t good, man.”
“I know, and I have to let her go to work tonight.”
Logan grabs my arm. “We’ll watch over her, I promise.” I nod and walk out of his office, but not before slipping on my mask. I’m not quite ready to worry her just yet.
Logan follows behind me, and when we get downstairs, the girls are in the kitchen finishing up our brunch. “There you are. Is there ever going to be a time when you two aren’t discussing business?” Sky scolds them.
“Sorry, but sometimes there are things that just can’t wait.” Logan kisses her on the cheek.
I put my arm around Shelly. “Where’s Ryker?”
“Playing with his new best friend.” Shelly shows me her beautiful smile.
I press a kiss to her lips. “I love you,” I whisper.
“I love you too.”
“Stephan, Ryker, time to eat,” Skyler calls the boys, who come racing into the kitchen to eat at the smaller table in here.
Shelly makes Ryker a plate and gets him started before coming back to make us a plate. Sky went all out. She has pancakes, bacon, sausage, scrambled eggs, and muffins. “Sky, this looks awesome, but I think you went a little overboard.”
She shrugs. “I learned from my husband.”
We laugh, taking a seat at the table to enjoy this delicious meal.
***
Shelly
It has been an amazing morning. I was so touched when Mikey showed me Ryker’s room at his place. He did an amazing job of decorating it. He picked a Lego bed set and got him a really cute Lego lamp for the side of the bed. It looks totally like a kid’s room. There are even some toys in there for him to play with. It was so thoughtful of him and made me fall in love with him that much more. We spoke with him on the way home about spending the weekend at Mikey’s and he was really excited. It was so cute when he asked Mikey if Mr. Bear could sleep over with him. Mikey teased him and told him as long as he was potty trained. Ryker giggled and told him that his bear has never had an accident. All this news makes it really hard to go to work tonight, but I still need to make money, so once I say good night to Mikey and Ryker is settled, I hit the shower and begin the process of getting ready.
When I finally come out of the bathroom, Ryker has finished up the dinner my sister made him and he’s telling her how we’re spending the weekend at Mikey’s house. “Really, that sounds like a lot of fun,” Brea exclaims.
“He made me a Lego bedroom,” he shouts, clapping his hands.
My sister looks over at me. “I guess that means I can spend the weekend at Eric’s.”
“Sure. I’m working tomorrow, but I’m not sure that Mikey is, so I would think he’d spend the night with him.”
“Cool. I can’t wait to tell Eric.”
I’m actually happy to have someone else to help me with my son. Brea has been a huge help, but I feel like she’s put her life on hold for me, and to be honest it’s really not fair. I appreciate it and she knows that, but it doesn’t mean I don’t feel bad. She doesn’t know this, but I’ve heard her and Eric having conversations about her moving in with him when I’m ready and able to handle Ryker on my own. As soon as I’m done with my clinicals later this year, I’ll be ready to graduate, and then move onto my residencies. I’m looking forward to it. Then, I’ll be able to hopefully get into a practice and have some normalcy in our lives. Of course, knowing she’s waiting on me has been even more of a motivator to stay focused and graduate on time.
I pull my phone from my purse and dial Mikey’s number to be sure he’ll be good with this, since I basically just gave my sister the night off. He answers on the second ring, sounding very happy to hear from me. “Hey, baby. What’s up?”
“Well, I kind of made an assumption that I hope won’t be an issue.”
“What’s that? If it is, we’ll figure it out.” I can hear his chair creak as he leans back, and I can picture him looking all sexy behind his desk lounging, crossing his leg at his ankle. “Baby, you still there?”
“Yeah, sorry. Um, well, I assumed that since you invited us to stay the night that you would be good staying with Ryker tomorrow while I’m at work. I thought you had told me you weren’t working.”
“You are correct. I’m not working, and I’m good staying with Ryker. I’m hoping to make him comfortable at my place.” He sounds really excited for this.
A smile spreads across my face. “You’re really happy that we’re spending the weekend aren’t you?”
“I am, and I’m hoping once you see Ryker comfortable at my place, you’ll consider moving in with me.” I’m a bit surprised by his confession. I know he’s mentioned it but I didn’t think he meant right away. “Did I freak you out?” he asks, pulling me from my thoughts.
“I wouldn’t say freaked me out, but I didn’t expect you to want that so quickly. I mean, you’ve lived alone for so long, and now you’re talking about not only taking on a live-in girlfriend, but her kid too. That’s a lot.” Brea catches my conversation and a huge grin spreads across her face. She squeals quietly and claps her hands.
“That’s so awesome,” she whispers. I shake my head.
“Listen, babe, I have to get going so I can get to work on time but I’ll see you tomorrow.” My mind is reeling.
“Do me a favor?” He sounds a little concerned.
“Sure.”
“Stay safe tonight and think about it. I’m not saying it has to happen this weekend, but I really want this.”
I start to nod like he can see me. “I will.”
He laughs. “To which one?”
“Both. Have a good night, Mikey.”
“Good night, baby.” I cut the call and tell my sister that we’re good for tomorrow. She starts to jump on me about moving in with Mikey. Telling me how awesome it is that he wants that, but I put my hands up, stopping her.
“First, I haven’t agreed, and second, I have to go.” She shakes her head and gives me a look like I’m crazy for not saying yes.
“I don’t know what the big deal is. The guy treats you and Ryker like gold, and he certainly has the money to take care of you.”
I put my hands on my hips. “I’m no gold digger, and you know me. I have worked hard to be able to care for my son on my own. The last thing I want is someone who thinks I want him for his money.”
“That’s not what I’m saying,” she defends herself. “I’m just saying that he isn’t Eli, where you’re going to bust your ass to go to school and take care of his lazy ass. Mikey works hard and he wants to take care of you.”
“We’ll see. Right now I can’t think about this because I have to go to work.”
“Ryker,” I call out to my son, who comes running into the dining room. “Mommy has to go to work. Get some rest, because we’re going to Mikey’s tomorrow so you can see the room he decorated for you.”
He jumps up and down, excited. “Yay!”
“Calm down, please.” I bend over to give a hug. “Are you okay with staying with Mikey while Mommy goes to work tomorrow?”
He nods his head. “I’ll be a good boy, Mommy.”
“That’s my boy. You have a good night and I’ll see you in the morning.”
I hug my boy goodbye and head down to my car for work with thoughts of my conversation with Mikey running through my mind. I’m so lost in thought I bump into a woman on my way to my car because I didn’t see her. She gives me a dirty look as I apologize, then runs off across the street, nearly getting hit by another car. It’s time to clear my head and make some money. I climb into my car and take off to the club, focused on work.
Chapter 8
Mikey
I’m worried about Shelly and can’t wait for them to get here. I haven’t spoken to her other than a text message since she got out of work last night. I left her a message asking her to call me, but all I got was a text at three-thirty saying it was a long night at work, but she’s on her way home. It may be time for me to tell her about the dangers lurking around her neighborhood. I’m not sure how much more of this I can take. I worked my ass off last night to stay occupied, but it was really hard to focus with her out on her own.
It’s almost noon. Shelly is due here any minute and the wait is killing me. I’m antsy over their safety and I can’t wait for Ryker to see his new room. There’s a knock at the door that causes me to jump, but I’m thrilled because they are finally here. I hurry over and pull the door open with a huge grin on my face. Shelly and Ryker are both standing there with huge grins on their faces. “Hey, baby.” I take her hand and pull them both into the house, closing the door and locking it behind me.
She presses a kiss to my lips. “Hello.” Her voice is barely a whisper. “I missed you last night.”
“I missed you too.”
“I wanna see my room.” little man pulls on my shirt, interrupting our moment.
I squat down. “Sorry, little man. How are you?”
“I’m good. I’m excited to see my room.”
I love this kid’s soft raspy voice. I throw my head back in laughter. “Okay, let’s show you the entire house.” I point out the living room and kitchen, and though I can see his eyes are wide with amazement seeing how two of my rooms are about the size of his entire apartment, I can also see he’s bored.
He lets out a long, exaggerated huff. “So, where do I sleep?” he asks, confused.
“You, my friend, sleep over here.” I walk him toward the hallway. I open the door to reveal a bedroom that is completely done in a Lego theme. His eyes light up and a huge smile spreads across his face.
“Wow! This is my room?” His eyes are scanning the room, unsure what to do.
“It sure is, little man.” He has a bureau on one wall and on top of it is a brand new TV with a cable box and a DVD player. I had Zoe help me pick a few kids’ movies to put in here until we move his here. He has brand new bedding with Lego guys and the Lego logo on it and in the corner is a toy box with some new toys in it. He runs over to his bed, jumps up on top of it, and begins setting up his bear with a blanket in the middle of the bed.
Shelly slips her hand in mine. “Thank you so much. He looks so happy.”
“It’s my pleasure. I’m just glad he likes it. I was so nervous that I picked the wrong theme for him.”
“What’s this, Mikey?” Ryker goes over to the side of the toy box.
“Oh, I almost forgot. I got you some big Legos that we can play with tonight.”
“So cool.” He grabs the container and drags it into the middle of his huge room.
“We need to eat lunch first, young man.” He shows Shelly the cutest pout, but she’s not buying it. “Come on, young man.”
“All right.” He pushes it back to the corner and we all make our way to the kitchen.
She gets him situated with a glass of milk while I pull all the fixings for sandwiches from the fridge. Shelly informed me that he likes ham, bologna, and salami, so I was sure to get a little of each. “What kind of sandwich would you like, little man?”
“Bologna and salami with cheese, please.” He sits swiveling in his chair, enjoying his milk.
Once Ryker is busy eating, I help Shelly put his bag away in his room and we take her overnight bag to mine. When we get into my room, I’m lost in thought. I want to talk to her, but I’m not sure how she’s going to react. I made some room for her to put things away so she wouldn’t have to live out of an overnight bag and she looks thrilled. I’m sitting on the bed watching her make her way around the room. She brought a few extra outfits and I’m really happy to see her putting things away.
“What’s wrong, Mikey?”
“I’m worried about you two living in that neighborhood. I know you’ve done well but let’s be honest, it’s not a nice neighborhood.”
She pouts at me. “You may be right, but we’ve been living there with my sister for a few years now and we’re doing fine.”
I puff out my cheeks, exhaling a deep breath. “Would you consider moving in with me?”
Now she’s pacing as she takes in what I just asked her. “I don’t know, Mikey. It took me a while to get to where I am now. I’m not sure I can just give it up and move in with you because we’ve been dating for a couple of months and you feel my neighborhood isn’t safe.”
I walk up to her, placing my hands on both her shoulders. “You don’t understand. I’m really worried about you two. I’ve seen someone sitting around watching your building.”
She shakes her head. “Michael, stop. You’re trying to scare me and that’s not cool.” She starts to walk away, but I grab her arm. “I’m not. I love you and I want to take care of you guys.” She looks like she's softening, but I still haven’t convinced her.
“I’ll think about it, but right now I have to check on Ryker and relax a bit before I have to work tonight.” She sighs and walks out of the room.
Fuck, what am going to do with this stubborn woman? I follow her out to the kitchen, where I find her tending to Ryker. I can see she’s shaken by what I said, and it makes me feel bad. She has to work tonight and I don’t want this on her mind, but she also needs to be aware. Tomorrow morning she and I are having a huge conversation about everything I learned. Not so I can scare her into moving in with me, but so she can make a decision based on the reality of what’s happening around her.
“Mikey, I finished my lunch.”
“Good job. What do you say we let Mommy lay down for a bit and you and I can watch a movie?” He nods his head, so I turn to Shelley. “Go. I got him.” She presses a kiss to my lips and walks to the other room to lay down for a bit. She didn’t get home until really early this morn
ing and she was here at noon with him, she has to be exhausted.
***
Shelly
I wake to a crash followed by giggles and laughter. It sounds like my two favorite men are busy playing with Legos. I stretch before climbing out of bed and wandering down the hall to get a peek at what’s happening, and sure enough, they’re in the living room playing. “Watch out,” Mikey says with laughter. They both look so carefree playing on the floor building towers, and when they fall and collapse into a million pieces, Ryker bursts into laughter, causing me to chuckle. Both of them turn to see me leaning on the island watching them. My son comes running over.
“Mommy.” Ryker wraps me in a hug. “Mikey and I are building towers. It’s so much fun.”
“I’m glad, buddy.” A yawn escapes me.
Mikey comes over too. “Hey, little man. Can you put the Legos back into the bucket?” He nods and runs off to do as Mikey asked. “Did you have a nice nap?”
I smile. “I did. I heard his giggles and I had to see what you two were up to.”
“Sorry, I was trying to keep him quiet, but we were having so much fun.” His smile broadens.
“It’s fine.” I look down to the counter top for a second before my eyes meet his again. “Listen, about earlier.”
He puts his hands up, stopping me. “We can discuss it more tomorrow. I want you to go to work and focus on what you need to do, not worry about us. We’re good. I’m sorry I scared you, that wasn’t my intention. My intention was to discuss how I feel and my concerns, but right now I need to start dinner so you can eat before work.”
I sigh. “Listen, I love that you worry about us, but you need to understand that our history runs deep, and the scars are there and will never go away. I need time to adjust and to take this whole thing in. You totally threw me off. I figured at some point we would have this discussion considering you decorated the room for Ryker, but I wasn’t expecting it tonight.”