Bad Company

Chapter 50: All Along The Watchtower

Six Weeks Later

"That's mommy's big boy!" I praised Shaun, who had just finished his third bottle of the day and it wasn't even noon yet.

"Yes, you are a big boy!" Christy cooed, scooping Shaun from my arms and sitting down on the wooden rocking chair that the hospital had in the NICU room. "Whatcha figure Shaun? Should aunty break you out of this fucking place?"

"Language." I scolded dully, not looking up from my phone as I read through my emails.

"Are you forgetting who his parents are?" Christy chuckled.

"Nope. Ugh."

"What?"

"My mom's going through her second childhood..." I replied with a groan.

"Do you blame her? she's hot and single." Christy laughed.

I clicked my jaw to the side and stared up in Christy's direction, "She's not even technically separated from my dad yet."

"So?"

"So... he's already got cancer spreading throughout his body, he doesn't need some random STD my mom brings home from the YOUNGER men she's been fucking."

"Is it really that bad?" Christy asked with a frown.

I nodded and sighed, "I wish I would have known... I would have gone home earlier, patched things up and accepted that my family is dysfunctional yet functional in its own fucked up way."

"You can't think like that, it'll just make shit worse," Christy said as she held out her index finger and smiled warmly as Shaun wrapped his hand around it. "I can't believe how big he's gotten."

"He's my miracle chubbster who is set to be discharged from the hospital tomorrow at noon!" I squealed in excitement, "Thank fucking God. I just want to get him out of here."

Christy snorted, "No shit."

"It's gonna be hard leaving him here tonight..." I exhaled a shaky breath, "But I gotta get the house cleaned up and pack for the trip."

"Clean?" Christy cocked an eyebrow, "I thought Jamie took care of the railing and Ramona and Amanda cleaned up the blood and shit?"

"They did. Do you know who lived there? I want no trace of cigarette smell anywhere in that house." I replied sharply.

"And the trip?"

"What about it?"

"Oh, I don't know Amber, what do you think?"

Shrugging, I pressed my tongue to the inside of my cheek, "What?"

"Did you get our tickets?" She asked wide-eyed in disbelief that I hadn't caught on to her question, "and are you sure it's safe to fly Shaun there?"

"Obviously." I said rolling my eyes, "Meg's got them at the shop. And yes, I double checked with Shaun's doctor, the NICU nurses, and the pediatrician, he's perfectly fine to travel the few hour flight."

"So what's the agenda for tonight? clean and pack?"

I nodded but didn't reply.

"I'll go home and pack my shit and then head over. Is it gonna be weird being back in the house? Everything being the same as you left it... the same way as Billy left it?" Christy asked as she slowly stood up and carefully put Shaun down in his glorified glass box.

Thinking about that made me feel like someone had just punched me in the stomach and stabbed me in the heart. I've been so busy with Shaun that I hadn't even really had time to think about it. I mean, of course, I've thought about Billy... hell, I think about him every few minutes.