Carmen
We drove the Mustang back home.
It's 5:32 in the morning.
I look at Shaun.
"Let's go." He says.
"I can't." I say.
He gets out, practically dragging me to go with him.
"Stop!" I hiss, pushing his arm off of me. I can hear a TV upstairs.
"Chill out." He mutters. "I'm going home." He says. "If you don't go up there, I will kick your ass."
"I'm going up." I grumble.
He leaves, making a point of slamming the front door.
He slams it so hard that the windows rattle.
I rip open the front door.
"Shaun!" I hiss, watching his walk towards his car. "The kids are asleep!"
"Declan isn't!" he calls back.
Sighing, I quietly shut the front door, locking it.
I'm really nervous.
Quietly, I tiptoe upstairs, peeking into Emily's room. She's asleep. I peek into Ethan's room. He's sleeping.
I peek into Declan's room.
His blankets are falling on the floor and he's nowhere to be found.
The bedroom door is cracked.
My heart is pounding.
I take a quiet deep breath, and then slowly, I walk into the room, pushing the door open.
Tyler is lying in bed in a pair of black basketball shorts and no shirt, the waistband of his boxers peeking out, his arms behind his head, his ankles crossed. He's watching Tom and Jerry, only, I know he's not watching.
He's staring blankly at the TV.
Declan is laying in the bed, holding his blanket with one hand, his thumb in his mouth.
The bedroom door creaks when it's halfway open.
I push the door open all the way. It creaks quietly, but the TV is turned down a lot.
Tyler turns his head, probably thinking it's one of the kids. His eyes land on me, and he sits up.
Declan turns his head when Tyler sits up, and he gasps.
I quietly set my bag down.
Tyler looks happy for a second, and then he looks worried, and then he looks downright pissed.
"Mommy?" Declan whispers.
"Hey buddy." I give him a small smile.
I don't ask him why he's awake.
He can't sleep.
He can't sleep and it's my fault.
Tyler just stares at me. He doesn't say a word.
"Are you tired?" I ask him. He nods, yawning. "Come on, I'll take you to bed." I hold my hand out. He climbs off the bed, taking his hand out of his mouth, wrapping it around mine. Bring him into bed, tucking him in.
"Where were you?" he whispers.
"I went to the place I grew up for a little while." I give him a small smile.
