Emery [bxb]

176

I give Emery his space, leaving him the house and renting a small flat nearby.

I throw myself into my work, diagnosing and treating and healing people in a never-ending quest for heroism. I've long since sworn off women and parties and alcohol. Now all I have left after work is my exercise equipment and empty space.

When I am extremely blessed, Emery calls me over to see the baby, and I red-line it all the way.

Adonis, only a month old, is wailing in his usual plea for some loving. So I take my shirt off and lay on the sofa with his cheek plastered to my chest until he falls asleep.

"My grandma and I can't keep up by ourselves," Emery scolds me as he transfers the boy to his crib. My eyes widen with the realization that he wants me - no, expects me - to be a part of his baby's life. Me, the shittiest human being alive.

"I-I would love... I just didn't think you'd want..."

"If I didn't want you to be involved, I wouldn't have called you the night he was conceived." Emery kisses me. I go staggering backwards, bumping into the edge of something solid. Something else clatters to the ground with a crash but neither of us pays it any mind.