Just like me.
“Another container.”
Alyssa looks up at me as she kneels beside the Tupperware on the porch. “When is he going to come back?”
I blow out a long breath between my lips. “I don’t know, kid.”
Every night this week, Chance has left dinner on the porch—cooked and ready, with enough left for the kids to take for lunch the next day. I talk to him on FaceTime before bed, and call to see Stephen as well. But neither of them has been here in days. After their fight out on the lawn the other night, I told Stephen that it isn’t fair to anyone to have him here without Chance, and vice versa. My house needs to be a neutral zone, for me and for the kids.
I don’t wantoneof them. It’s both, or nothing.
I’m holding out for both, but I don’t know how this will all turn out—especially if Alexander doesn’t wake up. This animosity between the boys was there before I came into the picture, and with Stephen’s best friend in a coma, it’s back stronger than ever.
I’ve never seen Stephen like this before. I’m worried that he won’t be able to move past this, regardless of Alexander’s outcome. His friends are his family, and I know better than anyone how difficult it is losing someone close to you. I’m trying to stay positive for him, but deep down I’m anxious.
Avery takes the food from Alyssa and walks into the house without a word. The kids have been talking to Stephen and Chance on the phone daily, but our house just isn’t the same without them here, together. I hate that it’s taking a toll on the kids.
Yet another way that I’ve caused them pain with this relationship.
“Okay, kids. Back in the car.”
Alyssa stops in her tracks. “What? Where are we going?”
“We’re taking a road trip.”
Avery perks up. “To Philadelphia?”
“To Philadelphia.”
He grins and bolts back out the door, still carrying the container of food in his hands.
“Wait!” Alyssa runs up the stairs. “I have to get something.” A minute later, she returns clutching two bottles of nail polish, one in each hand. “I want to paint his nails for his game tomorrow!”
I give her a sad smile. “Not sure he’ll be in the mood for that, babe.”
“Duh. That’s why I’m gonna cheer him up.”
I laugh.Yeah, she totally will.
Nerves dancein my stomach as we walk toward Chance’s door.
I called ahead and told him we were coming, yet I’m still anxious about how he’ll respond to us being in his space. I knowhe isolates when he’s upset, plus he has a game tomorrow—the first one since Alexander’s accident—and I don’t want to cause him more stress than he’s already under.
But all my worries dissipate when he swings open the door and hugs the kids tightly to his chest.
Alyssa invites herself in, and makes herself at home. “We brought dinner. Well, technically, you brought dinner, but then we brought it back to you. You know what I mean. Oh, wow—your TV is huge!”
Avery follows her into the apartment, shaking his head.
I grimace. “Sorry. She’s...Alyssa.”
Chance offers me a sad smile. “Don’t apologize.”
I slip my arms around his waist, and breathe in his clean scent. “How are you holding up?”
His shoulders slump as he wraps his arms around me. “Better now that you’re here.”
“Are you able to skip tomorrow’s game? Do hockey players get sick days?”
