Easy Enough

Chapter 38

"Where are you?" My mind was racing a mile a minute.

"Uh..." There was shuffling in the background before she came back to the phone. "I'm on 3rd and Midway, by the tracks."

Aiden grabbed my phone from my hand. "Yo, walk to 7th and we'll be there to pick you up."

My face scrunched at him, not really understanding why she couldn't just stay where she was. But we had a much bigger issue at hand, so I wasn't going to push the issue.

Erin agreed and hung up the phone.

"I guess we're gonna have to postpone our little session." Aiden said, attempting to make light of the situation.

I smirked a little. "Yeah."

"Come here." He held out his arms until I walked into them and he wrapped his arms around me. "Everything is gonna work out, I promise." He assured after kissing the top of my head.

I only nodded in response. I had so much to do to make sure she was comfortable. It was almost like I was preparing another nursery.

"You ready to go?" He asked once he let me go.

I shook my head. "No. Can you just go get her? I need to find some clothes and get a room ready for her. Plus, I don't want to have to drop the kids off again."

He nodded in agreement. "Yeah, that's cool. I'll be back in about 20 minutes."

"Okay. Just be careful, please."

Aiden leaned in and placed a slow, reassuring kiss on my lips. "Baby, you worry too much."

"No, I worry just enough." I corrected.

"Okay, I'll be extra careful then."

"Thank you."

He kissed me one last time before turning to leave the house.

Once I heard the front door close, I immediately went to work on the guest room at the end of the hall, making sure Erin had clean sheets as well as a variety of clothes to choose from. Next, I stocked the connecting bathroom with towels, washcloths, and any other toiletries that she would need. After everything was put together in her room, I went downstairs to the kitchen to prepare something to eat. I knew that she would be starving or wanting something that didn't resemble prison food, so I quickly made her favorite chicken quesadillas.

Just as I finished cooking and washing the dishes, I heard the front door open and close, signaling that they had made it back. I dried my hands and put the few dishes up before taking out a few plates.

"Hey." I heard the faint voice call out as I placed the food on the plates.

I turned to see an exhausted looking Erin dressed in baggy khaki pants, along with the oversized white t-shirt that the prison provided. There were still bruises riddled across her skin and I had to force myself to look away before I got upset all over again.

"Hey, E. You hungry?" She nodded shyly.

I grabbed two of the plates and lead her to the large dining room. I sat the plates down in front of a couple of chairs. We sat down and ate in silence, with only the sounds of our thoughts filling our heads.

Erin quickly ate her food as if it was the best thing she had ever eaten.

"Here." I slid the rest of my food onto her plate since she devoured hers so quickly. She began eating the extra food, only slower.

"Dev?" Her voice was so low, that I was surprised that I was able to hear her.

"Yeah?" She began to answer me, but the sound of crying babies interrupted us. "Give me two seconds."