Waiting for Superman

Chapter Three: Conversations in the Dark

Sitting comfortably in the bottom bunk of the room her brother shared with two of the other boys, Elle relaxed with her back against the wall and a soft smile on her lips as she watched Luca sleep; running her fingers through his hair, she couldn't help but play the events of the day over and over again in her head. The house was so quiet that she could hear the soft murmur of someone in another room talking in their sleep, and the quiet gave her a chance to really relax for the first time in a very long while. Honestly, she hadn't expected the craziness of her brother's life. She figured that he lived a busy life, but she had no idea that it was this busy. Despite her sudden arrival, though, the boys all seemed to adjust easily to the addition of herself and Luca in their lives. Darius had decided to stay back at the house with them to catch up, and Bryan had stayed back to take a Zoom call (whatever that was) that he had apparently forgotten about. What she hadn't expected was to see another familiar face in the group of boys, and her reunion with the 6'4" Marine had been almost as emotional as her reunion with Darius.

The apartment in Florida that she'd shared with Tripp had been in the same complex that Dayne's older sister Shay's was; in fact, their apartments had been in the same building, and when Dayne came to live with his sister for a while, the two of them had connected almost immediately. Much to Tripp's dismay. Dayne had grown into the best friend that she'd never really had; sure, she had had friends before, but none of them clicked for her like Dayne had. He was truly the one person she could trust with anything; he had been the first person that she had told about the mental and physical abuse that she suffered at the hands of her husband. Though, if she really thought about it, she hadn't really needed to admit it if she were being honest. He had figured it out himself pretty easily and refused to accept any of her bullshit answers or excuses that other people usually believed. While he hadn't been able to convince her that she should leave Tripp, and he had tried hard, he had always kept a close eye on Elle and Luca.

Tripp absolutely hated the fact that she was friends with Dayne, a man he couldn't charm into believing he was an absolute saint, but what he hated even more was the fact that it only took a few days for Luca to form a tight-knit bond with the Marine; he was the first real, positive male role model that her son had ever known, almost like a father to the boy in many ways for a time, and that made Elle cherish their friendship even more. Dayne was there for her more than almost anyone else was with the exception of her own brother. When the Marine left for his new life in LA, it seemed like the abuse had gotten even worse; she wasn't sure if it actually had escalated or if it just seemed that way because she no longer had the safety net of Dayne's presence to lean on for support.

When she saw Dayne again, the surprise on both of their faces had been evident, but it was the outcry of "UNCLE DAY!" from the little boy that everyone thought had been asleep that had drawn a laugh from her mouth; the little boy's reunion with the older man led to quite the entertaining sight. Luca had jumped from the chair with an almost lightning-quick speed and ran as fast as he could towards Dayne as the Marine knelt to the ground, and the force with which Luca collided with him was enough to send him them both to the ground; the entire scene had drawn a melodious laughter from Luca's mouth that brought tears to Elle's eyes. She hadn't seen or heard her son that happy in a very long time.

After their reunion, Dayne had decided to stay behind as well to catch up with Elle, but she could tell how much he had missed Luca too. As the day went on, most of the guys continued with their day like it was just another day. Later that night, after eating more than she had in probably months and actually relaxing for the first time in years, she had spent a good hour arguing with Darius once more about where she was going to stay; she insisted that their lives would be easier if she just stayed in a nearby motel, but in the end she finally caved and agreed to stay in the house. It was hard to argue when it was three guys and her own son against her own persistence. Not surprisingly, it had been Darius and Dayne's voices which were the loudest and most insistent. After she finally caved, it was just a matter of figuring out which room her and Luca would be staying in.