like real people do./ arvin russell

0.4

a few weeks after the incident with arvin, i had picked up more hours at the diner again to try and pay for bills, harry had come along with me for most of my shifts but i felt horrible about him not being able to do anything with someone while i was at work.

katherine had left town on a vacation with her fiancé so i didn't bother calling her and i knew lenora was at the school tutoring some underclassman, i was running out of options of who to call to come and watch him while i was at work and i almost called out but then harry gave me an idea.

"hey sissy? when's arvin coming back over? i made another comic for him to read!"

i smiled. of course, arvin could help watch harry while i was at work and then someone i knew and semi trusted could be with him so he isn't bored.

i dialed the russell's house phone instantly getting an answer.

"russell residence, emma speaking"

i smiled, i hadn't talked to mrs. russell in a while, usually i was always out with lenora or she was always over here.

"hi mrs. russell! it's natalia brinkway, i was wondering if arvin was home?"

i could practically see her smile as my name rolled off my tongue.

"oh hello dear! yes arvin's here let me go get him!"

there was a long silence and i kept an eye on harry and the time to make sure he wasn't too bored or got into anything and so i wasn't late for work.

"this is arvin"

"hey arvin..."

when i heard his voice my breath instantly caught in my throat and i had forgotten everything i was trying to say.

"natalia?"

i tried to pull myself together enough to where my knees wouldn't go weak, my mind still racing with the images and his voice from a few weeks prior.

"yeah um, look i have to work and i can't keep taking harry with me, i was wonderin if maybe you could watch him for me, i don't get off too late."

i heard him chuckle at my nervous response and it made my heart flutter in a way it hasn't before.

"of course i will, anything for you doll. i'll be over in 5."

it didn't take long to get from the russell's house to here, the town was so small that you could practically walk anywhere you wanted too if you really tried. after saying a quick thank you to arvin, i hung up and told harry who would be watching him for the night, he was so excited and soon enough arvin was walking through the door as i finished putting on my work uniform. harry instantly tried to pull arvin to the living room but i stopped him so i could say bye and another thank you to arvin.

"if you need me don't hesitate to call the diner, i get off around 9 tonight, harry's supposed to be in bed by 8:30 and he knows that so don't let him trick ya. thank you again arvin."

i said goodbye to harry, kissing his head and hugging him, i let him run off to the living room and i pulled arvin into a quick kiss before heading out the door with a smile. maybe arvin wasn't so bad after all right..?

the diner wasn't too packed with costumers, which was weird for a friday night but i didn't mind, i spent most of my shift writing out another grocery list and trying to get myself to stop thinking about arvin but he was all over my mind and my body, he took over me quicker than i had liked to admit but i had no control over it.

"hey brinkway, you got someone on the phone for you!"

i immediately expected the worst and rushed into the office where the phone was, my boss had walked out to give me privacy and to make sure nothing happened while i was in the back.

"hello?"

"hey natalia, it's arvin, nothing's wrong really, i'm just a little confused, you guys barely have any food or drinks, what am i supposed to feed the kid!?"

i let out a sigh of relief and chuckled, i wasn't able to go grocery shopping on my break like i had wanted too cause my check wasn't as big as i wanted it to be.

"i didn't have enough money to go grocery shopping, he's a really picky eater, just let him pick, but remind him no ice cream before 7"

i chuckled, in relief of nothing bad happening, but when all i heard was silence on the other line my heart dropped, i had been so good at letting everyone know i was doing just fine and i let it slip to the one person i hated most in the world for so long.

"arvin i didn't mean too-"

"lenora told me that ya'll were doing just fine."

"arvin it's not a big deal.."

i heard him shuffling around, telling harry to go to his room for a bit while he picked out what to have for dinner, harry agreed in the background and i heard him run off as arvin sighed deeply.

"it's no big deal? natalia you're basically livin off of nothin and instead of telling someone you needed help, you lied."

maybe he was right but i didn't have time to talk about my problems, so i told him we'd finish the conversation when i got home and hung up quickly. for the rest of my shift i stood anxiously as the clock ticked by, i didn't know if i wanted to rush home or not so when i had gotten off i took a few minutes to calm down before starting my truck and heading back home.

when i had finally arrived i pulled my truck back into the garage and walked as quietly as i could to the front, i knew harry was going to be sleeping so i tried to keep quiet as i walked into the house, when i had finally taken off my shoes and jacket i had expected to see an angry arvin and no harry in sight, but what i didn't expect was turning around and seeing arvin passed out on the couch with harry laying on top of him.

i chuckled and headed to the kitchen to grab some water, i sat and looked at the boys, noticing how comfortable harry had gotten around arvin made me smile, but it also made me concered, the pit in my stomach still didn't sit right with me, after i stopped being friends with arvin he got in trouble a lot, i know he did, he used his anger to protect his sister no matter what, but how far would he go exactly.

i shook off the thought though, putting my cup away and heading to go change and get ready for bed, it had been a long night and i'm glad that arvin fell asleep before he could put more pressure onto me.

after i was done getting ready for bed, i figured it was too late to call the russell's to tell em that arvin fell asleep and waking him up would cause harry to wake up and i don't want arvin to be driving half asleep so, i grabbed some blankets from harry's room and laid them across the two boys, i kissed harry on the head and smiled and then took off arvins baseball cap, putting it on the table beside them before kissing his head with a small smile as well.

"goodnight boys."

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a/n:

some soft arvin cause i'm finna break ya'll's hearts in a few chapters :,)