Stumbling Through It {C.H}

Chapter 20

I woke up in a state of confusion. Where was I? This certainly wasn't my bedroom. But I quickly remembered that I was still at Calum's.

I pulled myself out of the sheets. I made the bed, out of politeness. I normally didn't make my bed at home, because who even cares, but this wasn't my house so I don't want to leave a mess. I made my way toward the balcony, opening the curtain. The sudden presence of the sun practically blinded me. I blinked, adjusting to the brightness. I checked the time on my phone, it was 8:53.

I stepped out into the pleasant morning air. Although I hated waking up early, the morning was such a beautiful time of day. The sun shone just above the horizon, casting yellow light on the east side of the house. Birds chirped merrily, as they flew around the trees. The air was fresh with the scent of late spring. It was almost June, I realized.

I took one last look over the balcony, as I leaned against the railing. The pool water glittered, the flowers were in full bloom, and the emerald leaves rustled in the light breeze. I wish my apartment had a view like this. I didn't even have a balcony. But if I did, it would just show the pavement of the street below.

I sighed as I walked back inside, closing the French doors behind me. I decided to go downstairs. I felt that awkward feeling I used to get when I went to sleepovers at someone's house and I woke up before them. The house was quiet besides the hum of the air conditioning. The cold floor chilled my bare feet as I walked down the hallway to the kitchen.

"Ellie?" I jumped when I heard a voice as I walked into the kitchen. Sitting at the island counter was Daniel, still in his pajamas with little dinosaurs covering them. His black hair was a tangled mess a top his head. He looked confused and scrunched his eyebrows together, "Why are you here?"

"Oh, good morning Daniel. I slept over." I answered him.

"Are you wearing dad's clothes?" He giggled at my oversized outfit.

I blushed lightly, "Yes. Speaking of which, where is your dad?"

"Sleeping. He likes to sleep. I don't wake him up." He told me, sweetly.

I remembered how early little kids woke up, "When did you wake up?"

He had to think about it, "At seven, one, four." He said out the numbers, having not learned time.

"Oh!" I exclaimed, "You must be starving!"

He nodded his head, eager for food. I opened the pantry, looking around the shelves for breakfast items. Calum was right when he said there wasn't much to eat. He was in need of a shopping trip. I found some bread, and there were two eggs left in the fridge.

"Do you want French toast?" I asked.

"Oh yes!" Daniel smiled widely, bouncing in his seat a little. I had become pretty much an expert at making French toast back in college. I hoped Calum didn't mind me using up the rest of the eggs and bread, but I had a feeling he wouldn't, since I was feeding his son.

It was simple to whip up, and soon I placed a piece of toast in front of Daniel, who licked his lips. I found an almost empty bottle of maple syrup and assisted the little boy with pouring it.

"Ooh something looks good, and it's not just you." I turned when I heard Calum's voice. He gave me a playful wink.

"Well someone's feeling flirty this morning." I giggled with a smirk, trying to hide the fact that I was bushing.

"I'm also feeling hungry. Is that French toast?" He pointed to the frying pan.

I nodded, "Yep, you can take one." We each grabbed a plate, and sat at the island with Daniel. We gobbled down the food, and Calum took our plates to the dishwasher.

"Hey Dan, why don't you get dressed, and we can go out." Calum ruffled his son's already messy hair.

"Where are we going?" He asked with excitement.

"To the grocery store," Calum started, causing the boy to frown, "and we can go to the playground if you want." That shot Daniel's frown back into a smile.

"Yay! Is Ellie coming?" He looked to me with his adorable, puppy dog eyes.

"If she wants to." Calum looked at me as well.

"Yeah, sure. I don't have anything to do today." I nodded.

"Yippee!" Daniel cheered, turning and dashing away to go get dressed.

-

Not long after, we were in the car on the way to the park. I was wearing the exact same outfit as yesterday, which made me feel kinda gross, but I'm sure no one noticed.

We spent awhile at the playground. We first played with Daniel, pushing him on the swings, holding him up on the monkey bars, and playing hide and seek. We even all tried going down the tube slide, which ended up with Calum almost getting stuck, and us all in a fit of laughter as we bumped into each other at the bottom.

Eventually, Calum and I needed a break, and we went to sit down while Daniel kept playing. We took a seat on the same bench we did the time I met him here at this very same park. I bit the inside of my cheek to stop a smile from spreading. Then, Calum was merely just a stranger, and now he was my boyfriend.

After we finished at the park, we headed to the grocery store. We strolled the isles. I pushed a shopping cart, which Daniel sat in, while Calum grabbed items off the shelves.

"You can pick out one treat." Calum told Daniel, holding up a single finger. Daniel nodded obediently, knowing the rule.

"Okay we need milk, cereal, hamburger meat..." Calum listed off to himself, under his breath.

"And eggs." I reminded him.

"-And eggs." He repeated. We went around the store, filling up the cart. It got harder to push once it was pile high with groceries, as well as a four year old boy. A sticky wheel didn't help much either. It squeaked and squealed as we made our way down the isles.

"Ooh, ooh!" Daniel crowed, reaching out towards a shelf, "I want these!" He grabbed a box of miniature brownies.

Calum nodded, "Okay, that can be your treat."

Daniel held the box tightly, as if he was afraid someone would take it away. We got to the other end of the store when Calum realized something.

"Sh- Shoot!" Calum censored himself in front of his son, "I forgot the chips. I will be right back. You can just stay here." Calum ran off leaving us in the bread isle.

"Ellie, can I get out of the cart?" Daniel asked, raising his arms so I could lift him out.

"Okay, buddy." I picked him up, out from the pile of food. He held my hand as he pulled me over to the bakery to look at the cakes.

"I want that one." He pointed to a cake decorated with frosting balloons and rainbow sprinkles.

"Maybe for your birthday. When is your birthday?" I asked.

"July 9th." He answered with a grin.

"Oh, that's almost a month away!" I told him.

His eyes widened in excitement, "Really? Will you come to my birthday party?" He asked me with a pleading pout.

"Of course! I wouldn't miss your fifth birthday." I ruffled his hair.

"Yay!" He started leading me back to the cart, tugging on my hand, "We can have balloons, and presents, and cake, and pizza, and..." He kept listing off things.

"That sounds like quite a birthday party." I said.

He nodded, "It's gonna be even better because you will be there!" He gave me a hug, causing my heart to melt.

An elderly lady carted past, she gave smiled brightly as she saw us, "You're son is adorable." She said kindly, as she continued on.

I stuttered, "Well, he- he isn't quite-" but she was gone before I could explain.