Oblivion

9

'Babe, look, it's just for a few weeks.' Pleaded Kyle. Eve stood with her hands on her hips, glaring at her husband.

'Kyle. I just don't think it's a good idea to have him around the boys. You don't know what he's like now, what if he starts using again? We can't risk that in the house.'

'He won't, I promise. He's clean. And he wants to get better.'

'You dont know that, Kyle. You have no idea the stuff hes been taking for years. What if he harms the boys? What if they're scared of him?'

Though Kyle had told Dan that hed ok'ed it with his wife, he hadnt actaully asked her and assumed she would be willing to have a house guest.

'It'll be fine, I promise. The boys will love him, he won't do anything wrong.'

'I'm saying no, and thats it. Why can't his parents put him up?'

'Because they don't know how to handle it. He needs me. And I want to help him. I'm partly to blame for this. If I'd taken five minutes to ask how he was, why he wasn't showing up to rehearsals or writing new songs, I could've stopped all of this. Please, Eve?' He gave her big puppy dog eyes. She glared back at him intensely. This trick had never failed him once. He knew she couldn't resist his big brown eyes. The standoff lasted a whole two minutes before she broke.

'Two weeks. And if I get even a hint of doubt about him, he's out. Got it?' She'd barely finished her sentence before Kyle had jumped onto her with a hug. He smothered her with kisses.

'I love you. Thank you.'

'He pulls his weight too. I'm not cleaning up after him.'

'Of course. Yep. It'll keep him occupied. We might even get him to babysit so we can have a night out.' Kyle suggested, but Eves face fell.

'You're not to leave those boys with him. Not for a second. Do you hear me? I said yes to him staying here for a while, but I do not trust him.'

Kyle wished she could trust him as he did. But then Eve had only really met him just before he had gone off the rails. She didn't know the amazingly funny Dan. The clever, talented, happy man that he had once been. And Kyle was sure that person was still inside, somewhere. It was just a matter of shaking off his guilt and fear, chipping away at whatever horrors he'd seen whilst living rough, and reminding him of all the good things he'd done. Dan had promised him he would try to get better. And that was enough proof for him.