Lovers at War - (A.R.)

Chapter 26

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Visions of Gideon

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CLOSING MY EYES, I tilted my head against Arvin's. For a moment, all I knew was that we were there. Together.

"I should go . . ." Arvin said, standing up properly. I reached up to his face and rubbed at his cheeks, noticing the way he eased into my hand. The eye bags under his eyes were so noticeable that I began to worry, wondering when the last time this man had gotten a good night's sleep. It only took a single yawn from Arvin for him to confirm my suspicions. He leaned away, nodding at me curtly and then making his way over to the main door. When the sun started to set, I didn't know.

I grabbed his wrist, stopping him in his tracks. He glanced over at me. "Stay. I'm not lettin' you drive when you're just about asleep."

"I can't. I gotta get some more information -"

"Arvin," I said a little more timidly, pulling his hand in. "Come. You can do that after you've had some sleep."

Reluctantly, he nodded and allowed me to lead him over to my bedroom. He didn't as much as question why I was allowing him to use my bed instead of the couch like last time, but that seemed to be the least of his concerns. I was just about to leave when Arvin held my hand. "Wait," he said. "Stay. At least for a little while?"

The sun was setting when I felt Arvin dozing off. From the week of barely getting any sleep, I had expected this. As his head lolled onto my shoulder, his eyelids finally slipping closed; I smiled. The rest of him slowly leaned into me, the rest of his body going limp. I could finally see him sleep. Without the complex workings of his conscious mind he looked so vulnerable and childlike, it took a few seconds to register that it was Arvin laying on my lap, not Wesley like I was so used to. His breaths were even and calming, the expression on his face no longer stressed but relaxed. His eyelids fluttered, but he seemed too out of it to notice.

***

Later that night, I was putting Wesley to bed. The boy's day camp dragged on longer than usual that day and as soon as he arrived home, he insisted on skipping dinner and heading straight to bed.

"Go to sleep," I told him calmly, smiling at my little brother. He stared up at me curiously. "Something you're wondering about?"

"Yeah," he said. "When I came in, I saw some other shoes. They ain't yours, and they certainly ain't small enough to fit me. So, whose are they?"

"Oh," I said, remembering. "Forgot to tell you. Arvin's next door, stayin' for the night."

Wesley perked up a little. "Really? Like a sleepover?"

I nodded, chuckling. "Exactly like a sleepover," I said. "But remember, he's asleep, so don't make any noise or bother him, okay?"

"I don't bother nobody!" He grinned at me teasingly, to which I tickled him a little.

"Oh yeah? You don't bother nobody?" I repeated in between his fits of laughter. After a moment, I stopped and gave him a slight look of warning as he struggled to keep his breaths even again. "You, mister, should go to sleep too. You've got a long day tomorrow."

I didn't need to ask Wesley twice as he only nodded and snuggled into his blanket. I smiled at him lovingly and gave him a single kiss on his forehead before getting up from his bed. Looking around the room, I sighed and began to pick up the dozens of toys that scattered around his bedroom, placing them away where they belonged. A few minutes later, I glanced over at Wesley to find him fast asleep.