He’s already mentioned that he doesn’t like his school, and given that he’s changed districts now, again, he has the choice to move if he wants to. I’ll wait until Lake is home before speaking to him; it’s a decision we should all make together.
It’s been a long week, one both uneventful and yet filled with activity. I just want Lake home, back in my arms. He still couldn’t give me even a rough estimate last night, and it’s been almost three weeks since he left. Three weeks too long.
To distract myself, I decided to do some DIY. It feels like a spur-of-the-moment choice that Lake would make—hasmade—and it makes me feel closer to him.
Except for the part where it’s going tremendously badly.
The spanner slips, and I smack my hand, pain reverberating through my thumb and palm.
“Motherfucker!”
“Such language.”
I jerk, surprised, hitting my head on the underside of the new sink. Rubbing where it throbs, I glare at the man standing in the bathroom doorway.
“What the hell are you doing here?” He’s like some evil entity that appears if you’re having a bad day, just to make it that much worse.
Sebastian leans against the doorframe, eyeing the mess surrounding me. “Quinn was worried, sent me.”
Of fucking course, he did. “He was too busy to come himself?” I ask sarcastically. Sometimes I can’t decide if my partner likesme or hates me. Most days it’s probably both. There’s no need to sic the lawyer on me, though.
“Thought you’d like a friendly face.”
That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard. “Why’d he send you, then?” On that note— “How did you even get in?” Hades isn’t here to be my guard dog since he’s with Riley at Lake’s parents. They embraced him straightaway, like he was a long-lost grandson. Something about them puts Riley at ease in a way he doesn’t feel around me, not yet.
“You know how Quinn is really good at locks?”
From his delinquent days, running around with Sebastian all those years ago? “Yes.” The fuck does that— “Did you just admit to breaking into a cop’s house?” Is our lock really that easy to pick? I’m getting a new one. Deadbolt. Cameras. Fucking rocket launchers to shoot at any trespassers, like that weird place on the movie Lake made me watch. With the little yellow things that look like Tic Tacs.
“I didn’t say that.”
“It’s what you meant.”
“Implications mean nothing without proof.”
Picking up the spanner, I lean back in to finish installing the new sink. I’ve spent the last few days going back and forth between here and Bunnings, getting everything I need to create Lake’s bathroom for him. Maybe if I get it done, he’ll come home.
Ridiculous thought. He’ll come home when they’re done; it’s not like he’s gone forever.
“Your hallway looks like an ad for a home improvement series.”
Whatever that means. “Is this your idea of cheering me up?”
He comes further into the room, carefully walking over and around all the tools and shit that I have strewn all over the floor.It’s a fucking mess, and it feels like I haven’t made any progress at all.
“I could sing you a song if you want. I know a few good bouncy ones.” He crouches next to me, looking under the sink. “Is this a midlife crisis thing or about Lake?”
“Am I getting charged forthistherapy session?” I ask sarcastically.
He shrugs, doesn’t answer. He picks up a shower curtain packet that I bought from Spotlight. Along with five others because I wasn’t quite sure what Lake would want; the picture he shared doesn’t have one. I didn’t get a standing bath, instead just updating the bath and shower that’s already here. I replaced the glass sliding door and redid the tiles. Replacing the entire thing would be a job that’s more than I can handle. If Lake really wants to, we’ll hire someone to do it.
“It’s alright to struggle while he isn’t here.”
“Thanks for your permission.”
He hands me the spanner back. “Heard you got a new family member,” he says, changing the subject. I’m not going to thank him for that. I didn’t ask him to come here.
“We’ve had the dog for ages.”
