The Help~(Completed♡)

Wednesdays

Damon's P.O.V.

I gently grabbed Ash's chin, forcing him to look at me as he gulped,

"Why won't you look at me?", I asked softly, "You've been home a week and you can barely look me in the eyes. Why?" He hesitated,

"All I can see is how I broke you. Everytime I look at you, I just wanna die."

"We're gonna be okay Ash. I promise." I hugged him tightly, "I love you. And I forgive you."

"I love you too."

"Can we go?", Harley asked coming in, "I miss Al." I nodded,

"Yeah, c'mon kid."

~~~~

"Damon.", Alex said softly, gesturing me into the kitchen. I looked back at the kids and Ash, who were playing bored games in the living room, before following him.

"Yeah?", I asked softly.

"Has-Has he said anything about hurting himself?", he asked quietly. I hesitated,

"He hasn't been able to look me in the eyes since he came home. I asked him about it today and he said everytime he looks at me, he wants to die." He nodded a little,

"He-He was gonna kill himself that night." My heart fell. That hurt more than him cheating on me.

"H-He was- what?"

"He called me from the bridge and I-I thought I lost him. I found him on the bridge just crying. I'm not trying to make excuses for what he did, but I've seen Ash at what I thought was his lowest. This was different. You are absolutely the love of his life and he'd do anything for you. He'd rather die than hurt you."

"Losing him would kill me Alex. He's the love of my life too. I seriously can't live without him. I-I know he depends on me and everything, and I like being depended on, but I need him just as much. I was so fucked up when he was gone. Luke had to come stay with the kids because I-I just couldn't get out of bed. I couldn't do anything."

"I know. He called me." Luke Michaels had lived next to us for as long as I could remember. He was like a surrogate dad for us like Alex was for Ash.

"I feel awful about it but I-I'm really grateful he was there."

"Kid, you know I'll be there too, right? I know I'm Asher's uncle, but you guys are family too at this point. I can be there for both of you. Whether it's a falling out or a little fight or something like this. You guys are still family in my eyes, always."

"Thanks Al." I paused, "Could you watch the kids one night next week?"

"Always. Why?"

"I-I think I'm gonna propose to Ash. I don't wanna risk losing him ever again. I wanna make it official." He nodded, smiling,

"Good. It's about damn time."

~~~~~~~~

"So... when can we have a kid?", Ash asked, looking up at me hopefully.

"Lemme talk to the kids."

~~~~~~~

"Ash and I wanna adopt a kid... what'd you guys think?", I asked nervously. All three kids lit up,

"Really!?", Harley asked, bouncing slightly.

"Yeah.", I chuckled.

"It's about time.", Rowan rolled his eyes.

"So you guys are okay with it?"

"Okay? We're ecstatic!", Rosa bounced like Harley. I smiled,

"Good."

~~~~~~~~

Lukee smiled softly,

"Guys, I'm so proud of you. But you need to know how hard it is before you commit to a broken kid."

"What'd you mean?", Ash asked, sipping his tea as we sat at Luke's kitchen table.

"Mason was okay. He was four when I adopted him. He'd been through some rough spots, but his mom had given him up as a baby so he never had the true hurt of watching her leave him. And he was in a pretty stable foster home for months before I got him. I got lucky with Mase. Gemma wasn't as easy. I had a few foster kids in and out over the years, but she was different. She was mean and aggressive and I was determined to break that. I told Sheila that I wasn't taking anymore fosters until I got Gemma under control. I was worried she'd hurt someone."

"She never hurt Mason?", Ash asked, enveloped in the story. Luke shook his head,

"Mase was almost a senior when we got Gemma and she was only twelve. He was the only person she got along with. It took me almost two years, but one night, she cracked. I-I'm still not completely sure what happened, but I gave her some leniency when she behaved and I let her go to a party for a few hours and told her I'd pick her up. She came home in her own an hour before she had to and just clung to me. She'd never let me hug her or anything like that. Not after a bad day or getting spanked or anything. Never. After getting over the initial shock of her being affectionate, I just held her for almost an hour while she cried. After that, she was clingy and sweet and almost never got into trouble. Kids take a lot of love in a lot of ways. Especially kids who have been through shit like that. They're scared to get close to people and they're scared to be loved."

"I-I know what it's like to get left by the one person who was always there.", Ash whispered. I held his hand tightly, "My dad beat me and left me when I came out to him and my uncle took me in. It was really hard to trust him."

"I'm sorry. Is-Is that why you want to adopt?" He nodded,

"Yeah. It's a big part of it."

"There's a chance you'll get a kid who's okay. They might be able to trust and adjust quickly and be fine. But you have to prepare for both sides of the spectrum." We nodded.

"Thanks Luke."

"Of course. You guys can always come to me. Raising kids is really hard, especially without guidance. Alex tries, but he doesn't have kids and he raised you from almost an adult." Ash nodded,

"That's why we came to you. Al is really great at taking care of us and being an uncle but he doesn't know exactly what it's like to be a dad."

"Exactly."

"Daddy?", Gemma called.

"In the kitchen love."