The Sweetest Thing (Book 1) ✓

18 - An idea

Dax

There was this strange heaviness in my chest while I was trying to wake up. I tried to roll to my side, but the weight on me mumbled and didn't let me do it. Wait, the weight mumbled? I opened my eyes to see that the little red head that was occupying my every thought was lying spread over me and sleeping soundly. Her head was on my chest, her hands on my sides, keeping me closer to her, like I had a chance to walk away. Her whole body was between my thighs, making it impossible to move without waking her up. Honestly, I was perfectly OK with the way we were right now, but I was sure she wouldn't agree with me. I risked touching her head, putting my fingers through her silky waves when she stirred and made herself more comfortable on my chest. Then I heard a deep sigh from her, after which her body became stiff, and I knew she was finally awake.

"Good morning, Cupcake." I was still playing with her hair when she moved to look at me with her sleepy eyes.

"Umm, hi." There was a shock in her eyes. I was sure she didn't know how to react in this situation. Nor do I, but I was fine with it. I could get used to this kind of wake-up arrangement every day.

"Feeling comfortable?" Her cheeks were getting red, and she tried to move, but I put both of my hands around her, securing her place on top of me.

"Um... Dax?"

"Mhm?"

"Sorry for...um...occupying you. I'm not sure how it happened."

"I'm not."

"What?" she tried again to move from our position to look at me, but I didn't give her a chance.

"I don't feel sorry for the way we are. Honestly, it's very comfortable, so feel free to do it all the time. I like it when you are this close to me. I had the best sleep in ages, and now I know the reason for that." I was sure she was trying to come up with an excuse why we shouldn't be sleeping so close, but didn't have the chance to say it because there was a loud scream from the other room. I immediately moved Lily to the bed and jumped from it, sprinting to Caitie's room to check on her. She was barely awake when I brought her here yesterday, so I thought that maybe she was confused about where she is or how she got here.

When I got to her room, Caitie was trembling on the floor. Her whole body was covered with sweat. I guess the withdrawal was catching her way sooner than I thought.

"C'mon, Caitie, let's get you back in bed." I got her fragile body in my arms; the trembles weren't stopping for a second.

"Is she alright?" Lily was sitting at the door, not sure what to do.

"Yeah. It's just... that's what happens when you stop the drugs. She'll have a tough few weeks, but I hope she manages to survive them without going back on her old path. She's having a fever now. Can you, please, give me something to try to ease it a little bit for her?"

"Of course, I'll be right back." A few minutes later, Lily came back with a bow with liquid in it and a cloth, which she soaked and put on my sister's forehead.

"There was this nice lady that told me one time that water with a little bit of vinegar in it helps with bringing someone's temperature down."

"Thank you, Lily. Sorry, I know that it's not the best..."

"Dax, stop. I'm really happy that Caitie has a brother who cares so much for her. I wish I had someone like you in my life. She is really lucky. Don't apologize for caring for your family."

"Now, you have me in your life too, Cupcake."

The next two weeks were though. Caitie was having all these hot and cold waves. I was trying to do my best to help her, but honestly, every day, I was feeling more and more helpless. I knew that this was a long process, we'd already done it, but this time, it was worse. I'm pretty sure she didn't know where she was, who was around her, what was happening. I was really thankful to Lily for helping me, because for sure I wasn't going to be able to do it by myself. Not with all my shifts and SWAT calls. And she was still recovering from the bullet in her back...and taking care of my sister, and cooking and cleaning the house. She was an angel, and I didn't have the time to truly show her how much she meant to me. She was becoming a constant in my life, that I was sure I didn't want to lose.

I was changing into my civil clothes after another SWAT call about a druggie who wanted to steal money from his mother, and things didn't go as he planned. If he even had some kind of plan in his head. He busted into her house and tried to find money when his mom came from work and found him. She tried to get him out of her place, but he didn't want to go without the money. The argument became physical, and he stabbed his mother and ran away. The neighbors called the police and after a little search, we managed to find him in another house with an old couple in it. It was a little bit tricky, but we managed to get inside unnoticed, while Luke was trying to talk with the kid. Ollie put him on the ground, and everything was secured. The couple was fine, just a little bit scared. His mom was in the hospital with a wound in her left arm, but it was nothing serious. The kid, who was barely 19 years old, was sent to a clinic for a drug detox before his trial.

"Hey, Dax, how is Caitie?" Max was just putting his gear into a bag when he asked me.

"Okay, I guess. It's a little bit tricky to know. But the hot and cold episodes are gone now, and she is staying awake for a few hours throw-out the day, so I think we are on a good path. It's good that Lily is in the house, so I have someone keeping an eye on Caitie. I'm not sure how I was going to do it without her."

"How is she, by the way. How's the wound?" Cleo was just sitting on the bench next to me, waiting for the answer to his question.

"She's OK. Getting back almost all of her mobility. Still has moments where I can see that it's hard for her to do something, but she's way too stubborn for a little bullet wound to stop her doing what she wants. I need to get her to a hospital to check her and remove the stiches, but I'm not sure what to do with Caitie."

"I can watch over her."

"Thanks, Ollie, but I don't want to take away from your time. I'm sure you have a lot more important things to do than watching over my sister."

"Not a big deal, Dax. And besides, since meeting Lily, you two haven't really had a proper time for just yourselves. You know, we kind of like her, so we don't want her dumping your sorry ass because you didn't have time for her."

"Yup, you need to make anything possible to keep her, Dax. Her cupcakes are phenomenal, I need more of them in my life. I'll keep Ollie company, just to be sure you do everything you can to wow the girl and keep her. Or I might try my luck with her. That way I'll be closer to the cupcakes..."

"Shut your mouth, Cleo, before I shut it down for you. You won't be making any moves on my girl, or I swear..."

"Your girl, huh?" The whole team was watching me, waiting to see my answer.

"Fuck yeah. She's been mine from the moment I saw her in the bank. So, all of you should stop fantasizing about her, because she's taken."

"Well, you better show her then. I'm not sure how much she knows about it." I guess Cleo was right. Lily and I didn't meet like normal people do. Her whole life changed in a couple of days, and then she had to take care of my sister. I'm not sure if she even had the time to understand what happened to her. And her plans were put at the back. I needed to change that.

"Okay. I need the time to be just the two of us, so I'll take you on that offer, Ollie."

"Cool, and I'll keep him company to make sure you don't mess up things with Lily."

"Thanks for believing in me, Cleo."

"That's why I'm here, Dax. You're welcome. So, how about you call our little baker and tell her of the plan, so she can have the time to get ready before we get to your place?"

***So, these two lovebirds will have a date. What do you think will happen?