The Good in Sin

The Next Big Thing

Autumn allowed herself to sit through almost an hour of the movie before starting dinner, knowing that Phoenix was probably starving.

When the house was filled with the smell of spices and peppers, the pan of chicken sizzling from beneath her nose, Sin's head popped in.

"Hey, where's your bathroom?" He said softly as if not trying to distract Phoenix from the movie.

Autumn led him into her room, opening the door to her bathroom. "There's only one, but feel free to use it as you need," she said when he stepped in, and she felt something tell her to keep her feet still. Something deep within her did not want to move, but the second he turned, she ordered her legs to move, and was out of her room and back in the kitchen, wondering to herself what was going on.

When dinner was finished, she made two plates and handed them to Sin and Phoenix. The boy looked up at her in confusion. "We're eating in here?" He said in awe.

"We only have two chairs in the kitchen, so this just made more sense." She shrugged to him, going back to get everybody some water.

Sitting during the rest of the movie, dinner practically inhaled by both boys, they sat back in comfort. The plates were in a pile on the tiny coffee table in the corner by Sin, and Phoenix was falling in and out of sleep beside Autumn.

"Hey, why don't you get ready for bed, it's already late," she advised.

"But I'm not tired," Phoenix said back, stifling a yawn.

"Uh huh," she nudged him softly. "Go." 

Rising to his feet, he padded drowsily to his room and went back and forth from his to Autumn's, meanwhile Autumn stood and reached over to grab the plates, but Sin took them before she could.

"Let me clean this for you," he insisted.

"No, Sin, I told you already that you're a guest, just sit."

He stood as well, looking down at her, "It's the least I could do. You didn't have to make me anything."

Resisting an incoming eye-roll, she grabbed the glasses and led him to the kitchen, where Sin began to scrub the dishes.

"You know I have a dishwasher, right?" she teased as he rolled his sleeves back to reveal his muscular arms with slight veins bulging throughout, long brown hairs sparsely peering out from his shirt. Her eyes were tempted to linger at the subtle display of strength, but she summoned enough self control to look away.

"Just let me do this for you," he said stubbornly, and she couldn't hold back the smile at his determined thoughtfulness.

When Phoenix was finished getting ready for bed, he peered into the kitchen with a yawn. "I'm ready," he said as Autumn dropped what she was doing and began to follow him out, but not before he stopped and turned to her. "Can Sin come say good night to me, too?"

"If you want him to," she responded, having Sin come up from behind her and follow them into Phoenix's room.

There was something oddly intimate to Autumn when it came to Sin joining her in tucking Phoenix into bed, and it left her feeling uneasy with fear. Where was this fear coming from and why did she feel it? She was unsure, but she knew for a fact that Sin's presence did that to her, and she was learning how to accept it rather than run from it.

When she tucked Phoenix in and planted a kiss on his forehead, she turned the bookshelf to face them. "Are you too tired to read a book before bed?" she asked in amusement, seeing him rub his eyes roughly.

"I think so," he admitted, looking at Sin and sending him a pure smile. "Thanks for coming over, Sin. I hope you come back soon."

"Thanks for inviting me, Kid," Sin said at the door frame.