Look After You

Chapter 18

The next morning Xander woke up around eleven in the afternoon. He had stayed up till nearly four am the previous night. Xander had FaceTimed Nolan while the two of them played Xbox at their separate houses. Around three am Nolan had fallen asleep but it took a solid half an hour before Xander even noticed. After he did though he smiled softly and ended the FaceTime. But before he went to bed that night he had sent him a text that read "thanks for falling asleep on me loser. Talk to you tomorrow."

Now he found himself getting in Beckett's truck while Lauren got into the driver's seat. "Okay, so what do we need?"

"Paintings, canvases and brushes," Xander tells her. They had about forty dollars that Lauren had found around her bedroom so they had to be picky on what types of art supplies they bought. Xander had suggested just stealing everything they needed, but Lauren had scolded him for the idea.

She nods. 'And you're painting Nolan something for his birthday?"

Xander nods and smiles a bit. He was excited to paint something for Nolan. He was slightly nervous that it wouldn't be good enough for him, but he was hoping that wouldn't be the case. He was hoping it was good enough that Nolan might even hang it up in his room. Xander would want nothing more than to see his painting hanging on Nolan's wall.

Soon enough they arrive at the store and Lauren parks the car in a spot towards the front. They both get out and walk into the store. "If we have any extra money you can get something else if you want."

Over the past day or so that Lauren has been home, she had been different around her kids. Xander was the one that noticed it the most but he saw how she was extremely kind to all of them all of the sudden. Instead of lashing out at the simplest of things like she normally did she was instead patient and helpful.

Xander smiles a bit at her. "Sweet, Thanks mom," he says. She smiles back and grabs a cart for them. They didn't really need a lot, but Lauren wanted something to hold onto. She still wasn't feeling the best and felt more comfortable holding something into case she got nauseous or light headed.

They head down the first aisle and Xander stops in front of the water colors. "What back should we get?" He asks her as he looks at all the different types. Xander couldn't help but feel excited. He loved painting and being able to do it with his mom again was exciting for him.

"Hmm... let's get this pack right here," she says and grabs the one she was referring too. "This one isn't too expensive but it's got a variety of colors. I think it'll work."

"Yeah, Okay That sounds -"

"Xander!" A voice called

Xander frowns a bit and turns to face the end of the aisle. At the end was Ava and her older sister, Sara. "Hey Xander what're you doing here?" She smiles widely as she walks up to him and hugs him.

Xander reluctantly hugs her back and smiles. "I'm just here with my mom. We're gonna paint tonight so we have to get a few things."

Ava smiles and pulls a way from the hug. "That's so cool. I have to get a few things for a project. I have to make a mask in psychology that shows five of my traits or something," she says with a shrug. "Hey, why weren't you at lunch yesterday?"

Xander shrugs. "I had to stay late in class to talk to my teacher about something," he lies. He didn't want to admit to having stayed back with Nolan instead Incase she got upset or suspicious. The last thing he wanted was word getting out about them now. He just wasn't ready for that.

"Oh, well I missed you," she smiles. "Anyways I gotta go get my supplies for the project. I'll see you on Monday though. Bye Xander." She leans in and presses a soft kiss to his cheek before walking a way with her sister. Xander blushes softly and rubs at the spot she kissed