Should've slept alone (Damon Albarn)

Chapter Six

A wave of relief washed over Charlotte as she tucked, a still sleeping, Freddie into the bed in one of the spare bedrooms. He had slept on her lap for the entire journey which had meant the ride had been filled with slightly awkward conversation. The reality of what she was actually doing had hit Charlotte and, whilst she didn't regret it, she couldn't quite comprehend how she was to spend a week in someone else's house, who she barely knew.

Damon, kept the conversation flowing and he was unbelievably easy to talk to but that didn't stop Charlotte from growing too wrapped up in her thoughts to really converse that much. She shook her head lightly, almost trying to free it of the thoughts, before placing a kiss on top of Freddie's head and quietly exiting the room. She wanted nothing more than to climb into bed with him, she felt like she could barely keep her eyes open. It was only nearing ten o'clock but she'd gotten used to going to bed with Freddie every night, so it may as well be midnight for all she cared.

"Is he okay?" Damon asked softly as she entered the lounge, she nodded her head and smiled at him.

"He's fine, soundo still" She told him, sitting down on the opposite end of the sofa he was on.

"Would you like some wine?" He asked, nodding his head in the direction of the coffee table, where there was an open bottle of white wine, one empty glass and one full glass "I thought white was a safer bet than red"

Charlotte laughed in response, reluctantly nodding her head in agreement. She used to be a really big social drinker before Freddie came along, but as soon as she found out she was pregnant she couldn't justify spending money on something as frivolous as alcohol.

"Does he sleep through the night?" She pulled a bit of an uncertain face at Damon's words, before deciding on a confident nod of her head.

"Normally he does, well if he wakes up he'll often settle pretty quickly once he realises I'm next to him" She paused to think about how she'd left him in a completely unfamiliar place "But this is his first time in a different bed, so I'm not sure how he'll be"

"You sleep with him?" He questioned, his eyes slightly widened as he looked at her. She couldn't help but laugh at his words, of course that was what he'd chosen to focus on.

"Yeah, always have done" She internally sighed, chewing on her bottom lip as she thought about her next words "We've never really had space for a cot and when he outgrew his Moses basket I couldn't really afford a cot"

She hated having to say things like that to Damon, she hated the life she had created for her and her son. However, she also knew that for this to work with Damon she had to just swallow her pride and be honest with him.

"I can change that now, yeah?" He responded gently, moving across the sofa so that he was sat next to her and taking her hand in his.

"No Damon, I don't want your money" She sighed, closing her eyes briefly as she shook her head "I just want you to be there for Fred"

"Being there for Freddie means being there for you too, you're his mother" He smiled, squeezing her hand once more "I can't look after Fred without looking after you too"

Charlotte nodded her head, pulling her hand from his grip before intertwining her fingers together as she looked away from him. She chose to swallow the words of disagreement she was thinking, the last thing she wanted to do was get into an argument with him. The last thing she wanted was for Damon to buy things for them out of pity. Damon had only had a brief look at her flat, but it was already enough for him to be making mental notes of places he'd seen for sale. He had no doubt in his mind that Charlotte had made the best life possible for Freddie and he could see what an amazing mother she was, but he could also see just how much help they truly did need.