From Here On Out

34

Daveed was running up and down the rows of the theater he knew so well. In front of him was a younger boy, no more than 15 years old, who too was running, yelling backwards "You can't get me!" The two of them were the only ones in the otherwise dark auditorium, the only ones yet their laughter managed to fill the whole room.

The student being playfully chased around was the last one to be picked up from the bridge program Daveed had started working at a few weeks ago. This was a recent program Marymount had started in partnership with a local high school. Students from all grades would come after school to learn performance arts. Daveed had managed to snag a job after his lengthy search and here he was, now panting, up and down the rows.

This job meant he was at school a lot more and at home much less, but it was all seeming to work out. He really enjoyed the work he got to do with these kids and it was often him who'd stay until the last one was picked up to go home. And sometimes it'd be an hour after they finished, but he couldn't bear with leaving a kid behind, his empathy for children growing even more now that his own would be here soon.

That had been a tough adjustment though, now that he was spending so much time with these kids, he hardly had time for his own, and his girlfriend.

Shortly after they had finished the race and adequately hydrated, the last child was picked up. Daveed walked up to the backpack he had left near the side of the stage and pulled out his phone. The light flashed on when he flipped it over and right on the front was "Emmy Raver - 3 Missed Calls." Shit, he murmured to himself, just now realizing that he hadn't checked in with her, and it was over an hour past when he was supposed to be home.

He quickly slid the notification to call her back, hoping she wouldn't be too mad even though he knew she deserved to be. The phone ringed a couple times before she answered.

"Hey Emmy," he spoke timidly.

"Hey."

A  moment of silence fell over the call before Emmy spoke again.

"Daveed where the hell are you?" she asked and he could feel the slight anger in her voice through the phone.

"I'm sorry babe. I- I stayed late with a kid and lost track of time and my phone was in my backpack and that was all the way on stage and-" he babbled.

"And it didn't run across your mind not one time to maybe... I don't know, if not think about me, think about how your own kid is doing?"

"I'm sorry, I really am. There's no good excuse. I'm on the way home now. I promise to call you next time, promise," he almost pleaded for her forgiveness.

"It's fine, D," she shrugged, "I was just scared. So, so scared. I haven't seen you since this morning, barely talked to you all day, and it's almost 8! You could've been anywhere, you could've been hurt, anything, and I wouldn't even know."

"I feel terrible about that. I'm so sorry baby," he apologized once more.

"It's alright, just please try to communicate better."

"I will. See you at home. Love you Em."

"I love you too. Be safe."

Daveed walked through the darkening streets and up to their apartment building. There were several lights peeking out from the skyscraping office buildings, yet at thousands of feet down, every step felt dark. Outside their home, he pushed open the door to see Emmy right inside, waiting for him on the couch.

"Hey babe," he announced his entrance.

"Hey," she said, slowly standing up with one hand flying straight to her back in support. She walked slowly over to him and he met her in between the couch and door.

She greeted him with a wide grin and pulled him into a hug, wrapping her arms around his neck. She leaned into him and he caught the rest of her body. Daveed matched her smile and let one of his hands come up to rub circles on her back. "Your back feeling alright?"

"Yeah just... more than halfway there now." She rubbed the bottom of her growing belly with one hand. The load on her back was causing some pain but it wasn't too much of a problem until she was running around during a rush at the coffee shop. Today happened to be a busier day, and her body was really feeling the weight.

Daveed guided the two of them to the couch so she could take a seat. He put the biggest throw pillow they had on the couch and guided her down to it. He then took a seat next to her and cuddled into her side.

"I have a proposal," Emmy suddenly said once they'd gotten settled next to one another. Daveed's eyebrows curled in question but he let her continue. "We should share our locations with each other."

Daveed sighed as he thought this was already over, "Emmy I told you I would. I meant that."

"No, no," she stopped him, "I mean like turn it on on our phones and everything." She grabbed his phone and clicked the few buttons to share it with her. "Not saying I don't believe you or trust you or anything. Just... it would give me some peace of mind. Like... look outside right now, it's already pitch black."

"Makes sense," he nodded in agreement, "So, do I get yours too?" he asked.

"Already done," Emmy said, toying with her own phone.

"Perfect," he said, getting the notification that it had been shared. She'd also apparently already put in a location because with her name popping up on his screen so did "D&E Home."

"Perfect," she said, echoing his words, "Thank You," she added.

"Of course," he nodded, leaning slightly to the side to kiss her temple. He pulled away and turned a little more so he could see her. "So, Gender reveal tomorrow," he grinned, reminding her, "How you feeling?"

"My final bets on girl," she stated with a smirk on her face and her shoulders raised in a shrug.

"That's alright," he shrugged as well, "Final bets on boy," he grinned.

The pair shook on the wager, laughing the whole time their clasped hands moved up and down.

Daveed leaned down and pressed his face close to her stomach. "You're my little man right?" he started, "Kick twice for yes."

"Hey, that's cheating," Emmy exclaimed with her mouth hanging slightly ajar.

"I... think the verdict was chosen..." he pretended to check a watch, "5 months ago."

Emmy grabbed the pillow from behind her and hit it playfully against the side of his head. "That was for me and our little girl," she laughed.