But I'm not drowning anymore, not barely keeping my head above water while everything else pulls me under. I'm living, actually living, and that's more than I ever thought I'd have again.
41
JACKSON
It took us only a few weeks to get everything sorted, but moving day's finally here. It might seem fast to some people, but for us? After everything we've been through, it feels like we've been waiting forever. The apartment's not much—two bedrooms, one bath, third floor of an older building near the arena. But it's ours, which makes it everything.
Chase helps me carry the last box up the stairs while Maya and Emma direct furniture placement with the authority of generals commanding troops. Sofia's strapped to Emma's chest in a carrier, sleeping through the chaos like she's already mastered the art of tuning out family drama. Ethan's"helping"by moving his toy trucks around the empty living room, making vrooming sounds that echo off the bare walls.
"Couch goes there," Maya says, pointing to the far wall. "No, wait. There. Actually..."
"Pick a spot before Chase's back gives out," I tell her, setting down my end of the couch.
She chews her lip, studying the space with narrowed eyes, then settles on the far wall under the window where afternoonlight streams in. Chase and I maneuver it into place, grunting with the effort.
"Good?" Chase asks, breathing hard and wiping sweat from his forehead.
"Perfect."
We spend the next hour unpacking essentials. Bed frame, kitchen stuff, clothes that somehow multiplied during the move. Emma makes herself useful by organizing the bathroom, while Maya tackles the kitchen. I assemble furniture with an Allen wrench and questionable instructions, trying not to break anything or lose essential screws.
By late afternoon, the place looks almost livable, boxes stacked everywhere, but the important furniture is in place, and the rooms are starting to feel less like empty shells.
"You two sure you don't want help unpacking the rest?" Emma asks, bouncing to keep Sofia asleep.
"We've got it," Maya says, closing a cabinet door. "You should get home before Sofia needs to eat again."
Emma looks around the apartment with wet eyes. "Look at you two with your own place."
"About time, right?"
"Definitely about time." She hugs me tight, Sofia squished between us. "I'm proud of you. Both of you."
"Thanks for letting us crash for so long."
"Anytime. Literally. If this doesn't work out, which it will, you're always welcome back."
"It's going to work out," Maya says firmly, like saying it out loud makes it true.
Emma hugs her next, whispering something I can't hear that makes Maya's eyes go bright. They've come so far from the day Emma found out about us, from the silence and hurt that followed.
Chase claps me on the shoulder with enough force to make me stumble. "Good luck, man. Call if you need anything."
"Will do."
Ethan demands goodbye hugs from his position on the floor, so I scoop him up, and he wraps sticky hands around my neck. "Be good for Mom and Dad, okay?"
"Okay, Uncle Jack." He pats my face with those chubby hands. "Bye bye."
I kiss Sofia's tiny head where she's still sleeping against Emma, breathing in that baby smell. "See you soon, baby girl."
They leave with promises to come back for dinner next week. The door closes behind them, and suddenly it's just Maya and me in our apartment, the silence almost shocking after hours of noise.
Our space.Our home.
Maya looks at me and grins, something wild and delighted in her expression. "We're alone."
"Completely alone."
