Guilty || E.V.

ch 14. evidence

this chapter contains mentions of child abuse.

i woke up to the sound of keys jingling, and i opened my eyes to the sunlit room.

Eddie was stood near the door, shoving his phone into his pocket and looking to me as i sat up.

i rubbed my eyes.

"good morning, beautiful." his voice was soft, hushed, and i noticed Sophia was still fast asleep on the couch.

"um, morning," i whispered. he watched as i pushed my blanket off my lap, my hips sore from sleeping on the hardwood floor. i stood up, stretching my arms.

"i'm about to leave," he said. "i didn't mean to wake you up, i was hoping not to."

"you're okay." i stepped forward, reaching out to straighten out the black tie he'd chosen to add to his outfit. he looked so, so handsome, a bit overdressed for his custody hearing, but perfect for work. "i needed to get up anyway."

he nodded towards Sophia. "no doubt she would've woken you up. are you gonna be okay with her today? while i'm at court, and work?"

"of course." i kissed his cheek. i wanted to tell him what she'd said to me the night before, but i didn't want to upset him right before he had to go face his wife in front of a judge. "we'll be fine."

"okay." he smiled. "i love you. i'll call you later, okay?"

"okay." i took a deep breath. "i love you, too."

he kissed me, and left.

the sound of the door closing woke Sophia up, and she yawned, before confusion washed over her face as she tried to remember where she was.

"hey, sleepyhead." i stepped back towards her, brushing her hair out of her face.

she smiled when she realized it was me, and my apartment. "where's daddy?"

"he just left."

"for work?" she asked innocently. i wondered if she understood everything that was going on between her parents, and if she knew that today, a judge was going to decide how much time she got to spend with each of her parents.

"yes," i lied. "for work."

she was quiet for a moment. "breakfast?"

"sure." i said. "what would you like?"

"do you have waffles?"

i laughed. "no. but we could go get some waffles. how about we get dressed and i'll take you to IHOP?"

her face lit up, and she climbed off of the couch. "okay!"

she brushed her hair and teeth and changed into a t-shirt and overall shorts. her hair was unruly and stuck out every which way, but i was once again admiring how she looked like a perfect combination of both of her parents, undeniably their beautiful daughter. she was such a little sunshine, a gift of an existence, and it was obviously why she'd have her dad wrapped around her finger like she did.

"i'm ready," she told me, and i grabbed her booster seat from the floor by the door to put into my car.

we drove to IHOP, and she sat across from me in a booth, coloring the kid's menu they'd given her.

i rested my elbows on the table, watching her focus, and before i knew it, they brought out our food and set it in front of us.

she looked up at me. "how did you meet my daddy?"

i smiled. "i used to work at the place he would go to sing at." she nodded.

"he's a good singer," she said. "for a boy."