Sweven / Mike Schmidt [Hiatus]

Quiet Nights Of Quiet Stars

"She- she doesn't even care about Abby. All she wants is the monthly check from the state," he said, visibly frustrated.

Mike was talking with the teacher at Abby's school about the court situation, needing to hear it from someone else's perspective.

He took in a deep breath, eyes switching from Abby outside back to her teacher.

"But, I mean, she- she has some good points, though. I'm hardly fit to be raising a kid- Elena and I aren't married but we're living together which isn't a good look." he finished, his hands stuffed in his pockets.

"I know a little girl who would strongly disagree." Ms. Lillian smiled slightly.

"Come on," he deadpanned, "she talks to air more than she talks to me. I could drop dead tomorrow and she'd be too busy drawing to even notice."

Ms. Lillian glanced outside at Abby, "You know, pictures hold tremendous power for children. Before we learn to speak, images are the most important tool we have for understanding the world around us. What's real, what matters to us most? These are things children learn to communicate almost exclusively through pictures"

"Yeah, her pictures mean something.?"

"And who is at the center of nine out of ten of them?"

"... me."

"Mm-hmm." she hummed with an approving look. "Like it or not, you're her world."

"But what if it's not up to me?" he rebuttled, resisting to urge to clench his teeth at the thought. "My aunt, she's an idiot, but she's right. No judge in their right mind is ever gonna side with me."

"... did you find a job yet?" she asked, holding her hands together in front of her.

He didn't say anything but avoided eye contact.

"Okay, that would be a good place to start."

- TIME SKIP -

I sat in my room as I read, the windows open allowing some fresh air to flow through the house while I was home alone.

Hearing the door unlock and open, I turned in the direction of the hallway and waited a moment. Once I heard the light footsteps of Abby followed by Mike's familiar steps, I closed the book I was reading and set it on his nightstand.

Getting up, I tucked my hair behind my ears and pulled the sleeves of my sweater over my hands. I crossed my arms as I walked down the hall, seeing Abby in the living room watching TV.

I stayed quiet, moving to peak into the dining room from the kitchen. Mike sat at the table, staring at a card he held in his hand, seemingly thinking pretty hard about something.

I crossed my arms over my chest and moved to lean against the wall leading to the dining room.

"What are you thinking about?" I asked, not loud enough for Abby to hear.

I saw him flinch but he relaxed when he heard my voice. "... I got fired yesterday."

I sighed, leaning off the wall and walking over to the table to sit beside him.

"Tackled a guy... he was taking a kid- his kid. I punched the life outa him in front of his kid."

I waited for him to finish explaining, seeing that he didn't once take his eyes off of the card in his hands.

"Okay... and what do you have there?" I asked, leaning forward against the glass table and tilting my head slightly.

"Careers counselling business card. He had a job for me- a night shift," he explained, it seemed more like he was avoiding eye contact.

I fixed my posture, "And you're gonna take it?"

I watched him bite the inside of his cheek and finally look over at me, "I'm gonna try it out a night or two and if it's not working out I'll see what I can do."

I nodded, "I like that idea. I'm here nights- but we have to get Max to watch Abby till I'm home.

"You're not against this?" he asked me, seemingly confused.

I took a deep breath and drew my hands together. "No. I think this is good. See how it goes, you'll be free during the days which gives you more time with Abby instead of her having to talk to air."

I chuckled, making the air around us less thick. I could tell he was feeling pressured to tell me, but since he was already fired there would be no point in getting mad.

He nodded at my explanation, and in a slight daze, he went back to looking at the business card in his hand. After a few seconds of silence, I stood, reaching over and squeezing his hand for a moment. "I'm gonna start dinner, when you're done, can you set the table?"

I heard a quiet 'yeah' from him as I entered the kitchen.

I heard him take a breath and then sigh, and from the one-sided call that I could here, it seemed to have gone fine.

"Uh, hi. Mr. Raglan, this is Mike."

"Right."

"Uh, yeah, I was just calling to see if that job that you offered was, uh, still available."

"How soon could I start?"

- TIME SKIP -

"Go say bye to your brother," I nudged Abby out of the bathroom, giving her a sly smile when she looked at me.

She did what I said, walking to say bye to him before going back into her room. I finished brushing my teeth, wiping my mouth I threw the towel into the hamper and walked towards the front door.

I grabbed the travel mug of coffee off of the counter and walked up to him, "Don't sleep on the job." I smiled, pressing a quick kiss to his lips and backing away.

He gave me a sarcastic smile and nodded, "Thanks. Love you, bye."

"Love you," I replied, standing by the open door as he got into his car and locked it after he was gone.

I turned off the main lights in the house and then walked back to Abby's room. I peeked my head inside and saw her sitting in her fort.

Walking in I sat down just outside the fort, "C'mon Abs, you have school tomorrow."

"Are you taking me to school again tomorrow?" she asked, continuing to draw in her notebook.

I nodded although she couldn't see me. "Mm-hmm, Mike said he should be home before you're awake though,"

She nodded, we spent a few more seconds in silence before she got up and went to her bed.

I followed her, carefully tucking her in and turning off the lights. "Night, Abby."

"Lena?" she called as I was just about to close the door.

I peeked my head back into her room. "Yeah, kiddo?"

"Can you wake me up tomorrow please?" she murmured, clearly on the edge of sleep.

"I'll wake you up," I smiled, closing the door gently and retreating to my room.

It was stark and empty.

As I got into my bed which felt too big for one person, I stared at the ceiling. The poster felt familiar, but it still felt too quiet.

I turned to his nightstand, turning on his wildlife noises to fill the silence and turned back to the window. Slipping into a peaceful, cold sleep.

.