Hopeless

6| Riley

"Mummyyy!" Juliet giggled as she ran out of the gate with Ryder trailing shortly behind her with a smile on his face
It's been 2 weeks since I started helping the boys with James and honestly he's made some serious progress that I hadn't seen in his pervious attempts
It was giving me a small slice of hope that this time would be different

"Can we get ice-cream?" Jules asked as soon as the pair of them were close enough
"Ju, we can't remember we're spending the night at Auntie Em's tonight" Ryder said before I could give her the bad news
"With Uncle El? And Uncle Hunter?" Juliet asked, her brown eyes lighting up at the thought making me smile
"And Uncle West and Auntie Michelle" I added making her skip slightly as we continued walking to the car 

The boys needed a break from James in the nicest way possible. They had taken time away from their own lives to look out for him and it's about time they got to do something they wanted. Babysitting the kids wasn't a part of that but once they caught wind of a sleep over and Michelle and Emily's they all jumped at the chance 
The kids being there was just the icing on the cake
With the kids with all of them, it meant that I was on James duty. Or at least that is what we were calling it

As soon as we got to Emily and Michelle's, Juliet was quick to get herself out of her car seat running inside without a single goodbye which only made me laugh while I turned back around to see Ryder still sat there looking out at the car

"Are you okay baby?" I asked, he looked at me and nodded before looking back at the house
"Where are you sleeping tonight?" He asked and I shrugged
"Your Uncle's have been sleeping with our friend for the last week so they needed a night off so I'll make sure he's okay then crash at their house. Probably in Uncle Hunter's room" I said
"He's got the comfy bed at the cabin" Ryder smiled

We'd taken the kids there a few times in the winter, mainly for Christmas. It gave us all a place to be together, there was one close call where James showed up unannounced but luckily for us Eldon had taken Juliet out ice skating while Emily, Hunter and Ryder were out getting more firewood

"Let's get your inside RJ, I want to hear all about your night tomorrow okay?" I asked earning a nod before he finally undid his seat belt 

--

I pulled up to the cabin and to my surprise all of the lights were off. It was only 8pm, I couldn't imagine James would already be in bed. He knew I was coming and the boys have told me countless times how often he'll bother them about when I next come over
As soon as I got to the front door, it opened easily meaning it hadn't been locked
James was somewhere inside so that's something right?

The further into the house I walked, the more worried I got. It was dark, like pitch black, no light in sight at all 
He had to be here, he wouldn't have left the door unlocked.. right?

As soon as I was about to give in and call one of the boys something caught my eye on the kitchen counter

It was a picture.. with a note on the back. Could this get any more strange

As I picked up the photo I couldn't help but instantly smile.. That one picture held enough to make this entire situation worth it in the long run

To my favourite duet partner. 

I know I haven't been the easiest to put up with over the last several years or ever depending on who you ask. But I promise things are going to get better

And I'm going to make up for everything I have done wrong 

That picture wasn't on it's own. The moment I put that one down, I noticed one by the back door, I had anticipated it would be a picture of the two of us. But of course James being Mr unpredictable gave me a shot in the dark when it was just a photo of myself

I remember back all those years ago, you told everyone that you wouldn't ever be with someone like me. At the time I was very very hurt Ri but now a days I couldn't blame you 

My favourite thing about you was your optimism, no matter what I did, no matter how much it annoyed you, you would always see the best of the situations I got myself into even though at heart  you were stressing about it 

After picking up the pictures I continued walking, this time heading outside where I could already see another photo lined up at the bottom of the steps 

All I've done is make things harder for you, I was a pain in the ass while we were growing up and it would seem that never changed
Circumstances changed and things got a little heavy but I think this really could be a new leaf for me. For us Ri

Since James made that promise almost a month ago, I couldn't fault him at all. He's had a few nights where he has wanted to fall off the deep end but after a chat with the boys or a phone call with me he was soon to get back up and carry on 
But next week strikes the next big step for him
He'll be going back to his apartment, we'll be staying with him. Someone will be there every night but that isn't going to make it easier to the point he wouldn't be scared about it 

But then again, it's James is he ever scared?

"I thought you were a quick reader Ri" A voice said making me look up from the photo in my hand. There stood James in a slightly more put together outfit then his usual t-shirt and joggers. 
"What is all of this" I said noticing a small picnic blanket laid out behind him, he turned around to look at me with a smile 

"Well I kinda, put together a date for us" He smirked walking over to the picnic blanket opening the basket next to it
"Complete with Shawarma" He smiled making me roll my eyes, but the smile on my face instantly matched with him

"Didn't I say that to you once upon a time?" I asked making James nod
"Once upon a time" He chuckled