Life in Between

3 ~ Punk

John

"Why is it so bright?"

"Shh." I beg Melissa, pressing a finger to her lips. "Five more minutes."

I love sleeping in. I especially love sleeping in with my girlfriend. Peaking an eye open as she checks her phone, I grin. I have a girlfriend and she's pretty as can be. Messy brown hair and wrinkles from the sheets on her face and all.

"I'm late for work!" She jumps up, ruining my admiration. Well, that's one way to ruin my morning plans.

Watching her run around like a chicken with its head cut off as she tries to get dressed, I hold back laughter. I should be worried about the fact it's late and I'm not at work but for the first time in months, I don't care.

Suddenly, she looks out the window. "It snowed?"

Just like that, she dives back into bed and I'm happy all over again. "What time is it?"

"9:15." She says as I reach for my own phone.

Going through my texts, I become more awake. My assistant said she's not coming in and since she knew I wasn't anywhere near the office, she told everyone else to have the day off. She deserves a raise. The concern comes from reading Scarlett's message.

Bean

It's snowing but we're ok. Sage is at Ella's. The twins are at Sam's. Saffron is at Ronnie's and I'm home by myself. Love you!

"Something wrong at the office?"

"Hm, no." I glance up. "The kids all spent the night at different places. Bean texted me."

"They okay?" Her genuine concern makes me happy. I've dated plenty of women who never understood my love for my godchildren. They're my world and I love them to pieces. Most feel threatened or bothered, but Melissa never pouts when I bring them up. She loves hearing stories about them.

"She spent the night alone." If I know one thing, it's that Scarlett doesn't handle situations like this well. That mixed with the fact that punk never visited her means she's clearly upset. "You're off all day, right?"

"Yup."

"You have no plans?" I clarify.

"None."

"I think I'm gonna go make sure she's okay and make them breakfast." I decide. She needs cheering up. I need to make sure everyone's good. Plus, they're home and I've missed so many mornings with them. "Then we can go out to lunch and I'll make dinner tonight?" I ask, afraid to see her response. I'm ditching her to see kids. "Unless you're tired of me."

"No, go visit with them and then come back." She smiles warmly and my heart melts a little.

Getting dressed and giving her one last kiss, I head for my car. I've got some cheering up to do.

*****

Humming to myself, I pull into their driveway and head for the front door. Using my key, the one I had to earn back by getting sober, I let myself in. I could knock, but it's freeing to know they trust me enough to walk on in.

"Good morning." I call out, noticing how unnaturally quiet it is. The kids definitely aren't back yet. That's fine. I can cook and it can be ready for them or we can go pick them up.

Knowing there's no way in hell Scarlett is still asleep, I head up two flights of stairs to her room. Opening the door, I'm greeted by an ear shattering scream and the sound of a body falling to the floor.