Yours Truly (Post Malone)

20

A couple days had passed since we had arrived to Austin's house. Winter had settled in nicely and was happier. Because Austin was an artist, he was cultivating Winter's creativity and she was able to play music more. He had gotten Winter a drum set and she had spent hours playing it. I could hear her playing it since we had gotten there.

Later in the evening, Austin and I decided to make dinner. We were joking around and bumping into each other as we cooked. We were making street tacos and it smelled amazing. I heard the sound of crutches and turned to see Winter coming into the kitchen. She peered over Austin's shoulder to look at what we were making.

"It looks good, Dad," Winter said.

"Dad?" Austin asked.

Winter looked at him, a sassy look on her face. "Yeah, it's Dad now."

Austin pulled her into a hug. "Thanks for that, honey. You're a great kid."

"And you're a great dad. When's dinner going to be ready?"

"Soon," I said. "Why don't you help set the table?"

Winter moved around the kitchen, setting her crutches around to hop around. It was easier for her to move around without them sometimes. By the time dinner was ready, the table was set and we started eating. Austin was watching Winter with the most loving look I had seen him use. Winter was for sure his daughter and there was no arguing about it.

"Can we go to a park this evening?" Winter asked. "I don't want to stay in. We've been stuck in the house all day."

"Sure," Austin said. "There's a nice park nearby that we can go to. Some of the other neighborhood kids go there too so you can make friends."

Winter rested her cheek against her hand, sighing. "I'm going to miss my friends back in Chicago but I think I'm going to do okay here. When am I going to go to school?"

"We'll get you signed up when school starts in a couple weeks," I said. "I've looked into the couple of the schools around here and there's a few nice ones."

"Can I go to one that has a good music program?" Winter asked. "I'd love for that."

Austin squeezed her shoulder as he got up to put his dishes away. "I'll call around. I'll also get a music tutor for you too. Would you like that?"

"Yes, please," Winter said. "I'll love you a million times more if you get me a music tutor."

Austin came over and kissed the top of her head. "I love you more than you can even think, honey."

After Winter and I finished eating, we went to the nearest park. I sat on one of the park benches and watched as Austin ran around with Winter. Austin was like a kid as he pushed Winter on the swing and ran around with her on his back. Eventually, Austin came to sit next to me as Winter went to play with some of the other kids. A few of them seemed off put by her crutches but warmed up to her. Winter was laughing in a few minutes as she chased the other kids and slid down the slide.

"She seems like she's having fun," Austin commented. "I think she'll do just fine here."

"I think so too," I said. "I just hope that she finds her place like she did in Chicago. The crutches scare some kids off and that's why she didn't have many friends at her old school."

"Have you ever thought about getting her a prosthetic?" Austin asked.

"Sometimes but I never had the money for it," I replied. "They're expensive and she would need to get new ones as she grew older. I couldn't see myself continually paying for a new one each time she outgrew the old one when the old one was already expensive."

"I can help with that and get her prosthetics," Austin offered. "If that's okay with you, that is."

"That's too kind of you," I said. "That's also something to bring up to her and see if she's okay with it. I want her to make her own decisions."

Austin watched Winter hop up the stairs to go down the slide, her crutches sitting at the bottom. "She seems to get around just fine like that but she could also benefit from having another leg."

"She's one strong girl," I said. "You can talk to her about it and see what she thinks. I've never really brought it up to her. I think she's gotten used to having the crutches and hasn't thought or asked if she can get a prosthetic."

"Have you thought about the wedding since you were last here?" Austin asked.

"What wedding is there to have when you haven't even proposed in the first place?" I asked.

Austin snorted. "That's a fair point. I was just wondering if you thought about it."

"Not really," I replied. "I'd still like a smaller wedding but I can change my mind about that. You know more people than I do so I'm sure your side will be bigger than mine."

"The size of the crowd has nothing to do with it as long as I'm marrying you," Austin said. "I just want the important people there."

"So do you want a smaller one then?" I asked.

"Yeah, I guess. Depending on what you consider small," Austin said. "What's your thoughts on the size?"

"Like a hundred and fifty or so," I replied. "What about you?"

"I was thinking between that and two hundred people," Austin said. "I'm assuming you don't want paparazzi there?"

I shook my head. "I'm okay with posting pictures and making the announcement afterwards but not paparazzi."

"You're okay with posting your face?" Austin asked. "I thought you were against that."

"I was but it's kind of hard to hide the fact that I'm dating you now," I replied. "Maybe even now, you can post me and make it Instagram official."

Austin smiled. "Yeah, sure. We can go over it together because I want to see what you think about the post."

I agreed. About a half an hour later, we left to go back home. We spent some time in the living room. Austin and I went over pictures we had taken over our time together. Austin wrote a sappy and loving description of our time together. He didn't tag me in the post but I knew that it wasn't going to be long before my profile was found. Austin had a lot of followers and I knew that they'd tear me down just for being Austin's girlfriend. They already were based off the faceless picture he had posted of me.

Austin posted the post and put his phone away. We spent some time together as a family before Winter was sent to get ready for bed. She took a shower and went to change. After she was done, Austin and I tucked her into bed.

"I love you, Mom and Dad," Winter said.

"We love you too," Austin said. "We'll see you in the morning."

"Goodnight," Winter said and we replied in the same way with Austin kissing her forehead. We left and went into our room. We laid in bed, talking while on our phones. I saw the post that Austin had put out and read some of the comments. A lot of them were supportive, saying they were happy that Austin had found someone. Some of the others were saying nasty things about how I wouldn't treat him right and they were better.

I ignored those comments. Austin was with me for a reason. He treated us right and were kind to us. The fans of his were only attracted to him for his fame, not his personality. 

I put my phone away and cuddled into Austin. He put his phone away too and pulled me close. I fell asleep rather quickly, happy with how my life was going.